The shale oil reservoir of the Lucaogou Formation in the Jimsar Sag has undergone tectonic movement, regional deposition and complex diagenesis processes. Therefore, various reservoir space types and complex combination patterns of pores have developed, resulting in an intricate pore throat structure. The complex pore throat structure brings great challenges to the classification and evaluation of reservoirs and the efficient development of shale oil. The methods of scanning electron microscopy, high-pressure mercury injection, low-temperature adsorption experiments and thin-slice analysis were used in this study. Mineral, petrology, pore throat structure and evolution process characteristics of the shale oil reservoir were analyzed and discussed qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on these studies, the evolution characteristics and formation mechanisms of different pore throat structures were revealed, and four progressions were made. The reservoir space of the Lucaogou Formation... [more]

This Editorial provides an overview of the 13 papers published in the Special Issue Environmental and Energetic Valorization of RenewableResources belonging to Section B: Sustainable Energy of the Energies journal, five being review papers and the remaining being scientific articles.

The latest European Union measures for combating climate adopted in the “Fit for 55 package” envisage the extension of the Emissions Trading System, the first “cap-and-trade” system in the world created for achieving climate targets, which limits the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a price on carbon. In this context, our study provides an integrated assessment of carbon price risk exposure of all economic sectors in the European Union Member States, thus supporting decision making in determining the energy transition risk. We propose a novel approach in assessing carbon risk exposure using the Value at Risk methodology to compute the carbon price under the EU ETS, based on historical price simulation for January−August 2021 and ARMA-GARCH models for the October 2012−August 2021 period. We further built a value erosion metric, which allowed us to establish each sector’s exposure to risk and to identify differences between Eastern and Western EU countries. We find that the... [more]

Plastic waste generation has increased dramatically every day. Indiscriminate disposal of plastic wastes can lead to several negative impacts on the environment, such as a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. Therefore, it is wise to think of other alternatives to reduce plastic wastes without affecting the environment, including converting them into valuable products using effective methods such as pyrolysis. Products from the pyrolysis process encompassing of liquid, gas, and solid residues (char) can be turned into beneficial products, as the liquid product can be used as a commercial fuel and char can function as an excellent adsorbent. The char produced from plastic wastes could be modified to enhance carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption performance. Therefore, this review attempts to compile relevant knowledge on the potential of adsorbents derived from waste plastic to capture CO2. This review was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The pl... [more]

Integrated solar-assisted gasification cycles (ISGC) have emerged as a more flexible and environmentally friendly solution for producing power, steam, and other high-valued by-products from low-cost opportunity fuels. In this light, this paper investigates a new ISGC system for converting heavy refineries fuels into power and steam utilities while enhancing energy efficiency and economic and environmental performance indicators. In this approach, a solar energy field and a two-pressure heat recovery steam generator were integrated into the ISGC system to improve overall economic and environmental plant viability. The ISGC system was modelled in MATLAB software, and the results were validated using Thermoflex software. Conventional and advanced energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental (4E) analyses were implemented to assess the main performance parameters and identify potential system improvements. The ISGC system produced 319.92 MW of power by feeding on 15.5 kg/s of he... [more]

The content of pharmaceuticals in natural waters is steadily increasing. Especially nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often detected in natural waters due to their widespread use. This group of compounds includes commonly used representatives, such as paracetamol and ketoprofen. The quality of natural waters determines the processes applied for the treatment of drinking water. The methods used in order to remove pharmaceuticals from treated water include adsorption and biologically active filtration. Both processes also occur during artificial infiltration (forced flow of intake surface water through the ground to the collecting wells) at surface water intakes. The processes, which occur in the soil, change the water quality characteristics to a great extent. The goal of the study was to evaluate the removal efficiency of paracetamol and ketoprofen in the process of artificial infiltration used as a pre-treatment of surface water. The studies were conducted at a field e... [more]

An innovative method was proposed to facilitate the analyses of meteorological conditions and selected air pollution indices’ influence on visibility, air quality index and mortality. The constructed calculation algorithm is dedicated to simulating the visibility in a single episode, first of all. It was derived after applying logistic regression methodology. It should be stressed that eight visibility thresholds (Vis) were adopted in order to build proper classification models with a number of relevant advantages. At first, there exists the possibility to analyze the impact of independent variables on visibility with the consideration of its’ real variability. Secondly, through the application of the Monte Carlo method and the assumed classification algorithms, it was made possible to model the number of days during a precipitation and no-precipitation periods in a yearly cycle, on which the visibility ranged practically: Vis < 8; Vis = 8−12 km, Vis = 12−16 km, Vis = 16−20 km, Vis = 2... [more]

Schism is the new normal for the bioeconomy concept. Since its proliferation in governments, the concept has been adapted to fit national or regional exigencies. Earlier this century the knowledge-based bioeconomy (KBBE) in Europe was seen as a technical and knowledge fix in the evolving sustainability landscape. At the OECD, the concept was further honed by imagining a future where biotechnologies contribute significantly to economic growth and development. Countries started to make national bioeconomy strategies. Some countries have diverged and made the bioeconomy both much larger and more general, involving a wide variety of sectors, such as industry, energy, healthcare, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and fishing. Whatever the approach, what seems to be consistent is the need to reconcile environmental, social and economic sustainability. This paper attempts to establish one schism that could have ramifications for the future development of the bioeconomy. Some countries, inclu... [more]

Thanks to the allocation methods, i.e., the division of the total GHG emissions between each of the products generated in the production of biofuels, it is possible to reduce the emissions of these gases by up to 35% in relation to the production and combustion of fuels derived from crude oil. As part of this study, the biodiesel production process was analyzed in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the basis of the obtained results, the key factors influencing the emissions level of the biodiesel production process were identified. In order to assess the sensitivity of the results of the adopted allocation method, this study included calculations of GHG emissions with an allocation method based on mass, energy, and financial shares. The article reviews recent advances that have the potential to enable a sustainable energy transition, a green economy, and carbon neutrality in the biofuels sector. The paper shows that the technology used for the production of biodiesel is of gre... [more]

Polish organic agriculture has faced rapid growth in the recent two decades. Nevertheless, one may observe considerable discrepancies in organic agriculture development in specific regions of Poland. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the key conditions for this development and its spatial differentiation. Since the relationship between organic farming and the natural environment has a fundamental meaning in this production system, it is crucial to study the development determinants of environmental characters. Thus the paper aims to identify the level of organic farming development in Polish districts and to investigate multidimensional relations between this level and selected environmental conditions. In order to identify the range and direction of those multidimensional relations between the discussed phenomena, canonical analysis was applied. Within the conducted study, proprietary synthetic measures were constructed (using the TOPSIS—Technique for Order of Preference by Simi... [more]

Climate change has a strong influence on the energy consumption of buildings, affecting both the heating and cooling demand in the actual and future scenario. In this paper, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to evaluate the influence of both the occupant behaviour and the climate change on the environmental impact of the heating and cooling systems of an apartment located in southern Italy. The analysis was conducted using IPCC GWP and ReCiPe indicators as well as the Ecoinvent database. The influence of occupant behaviour was included in the analysis considering different usage profiles during the operational phase, while the effect of climate change was considered by varying the weather file every thirty years. The adoption of the real usage profiles showed that the impact of the systems was highly influenced by the occupant behaviour. In particular, the environmental impact of the heating system appeared more influenced by the operation hours, while that of the cooling sys... [more]

Owing to rapid increase in PV penetration without inherent inertia, there has been an unremitting deterioration of the effective inertia of the existing power systems. This may pose a serious threat to the stability of power systems during disturbances if not taken care of. Hence, the problem of how to emulate Synthetic Inertia (SI) in PV Systems (PVS) to retain their frequency stability demands attention. Super Capacitor (SC)-based storage become an attractive option over the other energy storage types because of its high-power density, burst power handling capability, faster response and longer life cycle. Considering this, the authors here propose a novel PV-SC Cascaded Topology (PSCT) as a cost-effective approach to emulate SI by integrating a low voltage SC to a high voltage grid-connected PVS. The proposed PSCT helps in operating the SC as a voltage source rather than a current source. Thus, it eliminates the high gain requirements of the SC interfacing converters. The aim is to... [more]

The consequences of climate change are an important point of contention in the current policy debate on the sustainability of economic development and growth. Climate change contributes to many socio-economic disadvantages and risks. The primary objective of global policy 2050 is to fully understand the negative externalities of environmental change. Goal and methodology: the main goal of the study is to examine convergence to the steady green growth state for a sample of 130 countries from 1990 to 2019. Setting up an efficient and consistent policy to fight climate change demands empirical knowledge on green growth. Using log (t) test methodology, we investigate convergence in green growth indicators for selected samples based on available country data. Findings: our assumptions are: (1) economies are not motivated and eager to foster energy transition; instead, they accept it as a random policy goal and (2) economies want to foster energy transition, but they are limited by a signifi... [more]

As an environmentally friendly gas with good insulation and stable chemical properties, CF3I gas mixture is considered as a potential alternative to SF6 gas to compensate for the shortcomings of SF6 gas as a greenhouse gas. This article attempts to study the CF3I ternary gas mixtures with c-C4F8 and N2 by considering the process of streamer development in surface discharge. The model of surface discharge in CF3I gas mixture under DC voltage was established by COMSOL, and the drift-diffusion equations of particles was solved to show the discharge process, and the changes of electric field and particle concentration, etc. during the development of streamer were obtained, which provides the theoretical basis for the reliable diagnosis of partial discharge. On this basis, the model is compared with models for two other different gases (SF6/N2, artificial air) in terms of particle characteristics, streamer characteristics and streamer branches characteristics. Finally, it is concluded that... [more]

According to the forecasts made by IEA, BP, and Total in early 2021, the demand for hydrocarbons will continue for decades, and their share in the global energy balance will remain significant. Russia, as a key player in the energy market, is interested in maintaining and increasing hydrocarbon production, so further exploitation of the Arctic energy resources is an urgent issue. A large number of onshore oil and gas projects have been successfully implemented in the Arctic since the 1930s, while recently, special attention has been paid to the offshore energy resources and implementation of natural gas liquefaction projects. However, the implementation of oil and gas projects in the Arctic is characterized by a negative impact on the environment, which leads to a violation of the ecological balance in the Arctic, and affects the stability of its ecosystem, which is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet. The main goal of the present study is to understand how the implemen... [more]

Environmental protection is currently one of the key priority areas of the European Union (EU). The search for precise tools to assess the impact of the economy, industry, or the production of individual products or services is crucial for an effective and efficient policy in environmental protection. Blockchain technology, originally related to the financial sector and cryptocurrencies, is an innovative solution that is increasingly being implemented by other areas of the economy and industry sectors. The authors reviewed the literature and based on it presented the possibilities and effects of using blockchain technology in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is in line with the current development trends of this method. The analysis of the research conducted in this area also allowed to present not only the advantages of blockchain in LCA, but also the limitations of this technology and the potential directions of further research.

The development of energy-efficient buildings and sustainable energy supply systems is an obligatory undertaking towards a more sustainable future. To protect the natural environment, the modernization of urban infrastructure is indisputably important, possible to achieve considering numerous buildings as a group, i.e., Building Energy Cluster (BEC). The urban planning process evaluates multiple complex criteria to select the most profitable scenario in terms of energy consumption, environmental protection, or financial profitability. Thus, Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM) is presently a popular approach applied for studies towards the development of sustainable cities. Today’s UBEM tools use various calculation methods and approaches, as well as include different assumptions and limitations. While there are several popular and valuable software for UBEM, there is still no such tool for analyses of the Polish residential stock. In this work an overview on the home-developed tool... [more]

The use of fossil fuels, which still dominate global primary energy consumption, results not only in emissions of greenhouse gas but also in emissions of pollutants such as SO2, NOx, and PM. Damage caused by air pollution can be expressed in monetary terms in the form of external costs to society. The goal of this paper is to answer the following questions: How much will the energy sector’s emissions change as a result of decarbonization? What is the estimated level of external costs related to human health in future energy scenarios? How large are the estimated external costs compared to the planned investments in this sector? The study conducted for the period 2018−2050 used the impact pathway approach and covered the centralized power and heat generation sector in Poland. The reported values of the concentration−response functions that relate human exposure to air pollution with health impact were reviewed. The results show that external costs decrease from an estimated annual level... [more]

Landfills have been identified as one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and as a contributor to climate change. Landfill facilities exhibit considerable spatial and temporal variability of both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) rates. The present work aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of CH4 and CO2 and their δ13C isotopic composition originating from a municipal landfill site, to identify its contribution to the local GHG budget and the potential impact on the air quality of the immediate surroundings in a short-term response to environmental conditions. The objective was met by performing direct measurements of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 at the selected monitoring points on the surface and applying a binary mixing model for the determination of carbon isotopic ratios in the vicinity of the municipal waste landfill site. Air samples were collected and analysed for isotopic composition using flask sampling with a Picarro G2201-I Cavity Ring-Down Spectros... [more]

This article presents research results on a smart building prediction, navigation and asset management system. The main goal of this work was to combine all comfort subsystems, such as lighting, heating or air conditioning control, into one coherent management system supported by navigation using radio tomographic imaging techniques and computational intelligence in order to improve the building’s ability to track users and then maximize the energy efficiency of the building by analyzing their behavior. In addition, the data obtained in this way were used to increase the quality of navigation services, improve the safety and ergonomics of using the room access control system and create a centralized control panel enriched with records of the working time of individual people. The quality of the building’s user habit learning is ensured by a network of sensors collecting environmental data and thus the setting values of the comfort modules. The advantage of such a complex solution is an... [more]

The article presents the current situation with the implementation of electric cars in Poland against the background of pan-European trends and the current energy sector condition in Poland. The aim of the study was to show the ecological, economic, social, and technical difficulties and controversies related to the use of electric cars in Poland. The authors used statistical analysis and identified the main factors of electromobility development in Poland. Despite the declared electromobility in the Strategy of Responsible Development program, the degree of its implementation is far from the previously established goals. The article analyzes the feasibility of the above plan and indicates the factors inhibiting the development of electromobility in Poland. The strategy and decisions to further implement electric cars cannot be purely political. In justifying the need to promote the use of electric cars in Poland, one should take into account the specificity of the Polish economy, its... [more]

This paper aims to search for a high-performance low-cost standalone photovoltaic water pumping system (PVWPS) based on a three-phase induction motor (IM). In order to control the IM, a fuzzy direct torque control (FDTC) is proposed in this paper for overcoming the limitations of the conventional direct torque control (CDTC). In fact, the CDTC suffers from several problems such as torque ripples, current distortion, and switching frequency variations. These problems can be solved with the proposed FDTC. To ensure high performance of the PVWPS, the reference torque is generated using a fuzzy speed controller (FSC) instead of a conventional proportional integral speed controller. In order to extract the maximum amount of power, the proposed maximum power point tracking controller is based on variable step size perturb and observe to surmount the weakness of the conventional perturb and observe technique. The performance of the proposed FDTC based on the FSC under variable climatic condit... [more]

The electrical power sector plays an important role in the economic growth and development of every country around the world. Total global demand for electric energy is growing both in developed and developing economies. The commitment to the decarbonization of economies, which would mean replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources (RES) as well as the electrification of transport and heating as a means to tackle global warming and dangerous climate change, would lead to a surge in electricity consumption worldwide. Hence, it appears reasonable that the electric power sector should embed the principles of sustainable development into its functioning and operation. In addition, events such as the recent European gas crisis that have emerged as a result of the massive deployment of renewables need to be studied and prevented. This review aims at assessing the role of the renewable energy in the sustainable development of the electrical power sector, focusing on the energy provid... [more]

The paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human resource management processes in project-oriented companies. It is proposed to use formal transformations on groups of performers. The use of formal transformations will reduce the influence of the subjective factor and improve the quality of sustainability management decisions made when forming a project team. The formalization of the selection process of applicants and the distribution of work among the performers have been considered. The existing methods of forming a project team with functional redundancy are approximate. Methodological support for the process of forming a project team with functional redundancy, based on a logical-combinatorial approach, and allowing to form project teams under given constraints, is proposed. A method of forming a functionally redundant project team based on formal transformations of groups of performers has been developed. The use of the apparatus of symbolic sequences for the forma... [more]

This paper presents the results of the technological and economic analysis of mine water treatment systems before their discharge into the environment. The following analysis enabled us to determine the profitability of the investment, taking into account the TSS (total suspended solids) concentration in mine water. The simulation results showed that it is economically profitable to apply a water treatment system if natural sedimentation carried out in underground mine water passages, or in sedimentation tanks located on the ground, is ineffective for TSS removal. Economic and financial parameters allow us to conclude that all analyzed variants of the application of a pre-treatment system are characterized by high economic effectiveness. This mainly results from the high profitability of an analyzed investment, comparatively low capital expenditure, and present low market percentage rates. The most profitable variant (TSS concentration is 1000 mg/dm3) brings significant economic indica... [more]