The main aim of this review is to present the current state of the research and applications of superconductivity and plasma technologies in the field of energy and environmental protection. An additional goal is to attract the attention of specialists, university students and readers interested in the state of energy and the natural environment and in how to protect them and ensure their sustainable development. Modern energy systems and the natural environment do not develop in a sustainable manner, thus providing future generations with access to energy that is generated from renewable sources and that does not degrade the natural environment. Most of the energy technologies used today are based on non-renewable sources. Power contained in fuel is irretrievably lost, and the quality of the energy is lowered. It is accompanied by the emissions of fossil fuel combustion products into the atmosphere, which pollutes the natural environment. Environmental problems, such as the production... [more]

Due to the population’s growing need for energy and the increasing impact of the phenomena of global warming and climate change on a global level, it becomes imperative to diminish energy consumption worldwide. For this reason, a deeper understanding of factors that encourage energy-saving habits and overall lifestyle is required. This research examined the factors that hold an impact on the adoption of energy-saving habits in Romania. It used eight constructs that were checked to see if they influence the individuals’ intentions to save energy. The research used a quantitative analysis approach, with primary data assembled through a survey of the population from six developed counties in Romania. In order to investigate and assess the data, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. The results show that environmental awareness, perceived consumer effectiveness and a collectivistic perspective affect individuals in implementing energy-saving habits (in their life) in a significant a... [more]

Preservation of potatoes in a controlled cool environment (i.e., in cold storage) consumes a substantial amount of energy. The specific energy consumption in Indian cold storage has been estimated to be between 9 and 26 kWh/ton/year. In this article, the potential for minimizing the energy consumption in the refrigeration process of cold storage through passive cooling concepts (i.e., roof evaporative cooling and the earth integration of the storage building) was explored. These passive concepts of cooling have shown significant potential for lowering the cooling loads and the energy consumption in different types of buildings. Therefore, a feasibility analysis for a potato storage building, considering the effect of the passive cooling concepts, was conducted for three different climatic conditions (i.e., hot−dry, warm−humid, and composite) in India. The energy saving potentials in the cold storage were assessed by quantifying the thermal energy exchange between the indoor and outdoor... [more]

Circular economy is a tool based on the inclusion of environmental, social, and governance performance (ESG) in decision-making to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG). In recent years, it has become clear that business-as-usual has nothing to do with sustainability, and alternative business models, primarily on technological grounds, must be implemented to mitigate the damage caused by significant and unpredictable effects of climate change. The current situation requires unprecedented and urgent changes to policies and business development models. The current research aimed to target on industrial symbiosis as one of the business models of the circular economy. It evaluated the benefits of symbiosis and the fostering of cooperation between industries and, consequently, has a major impact on resource efficiency ratios. The research is based on quantitative and qualitative research methods, including a literature review, assessment, and application of the triangulation method. A... [more]

Residential biomass combustion has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of atmospheric pollutants. Rising awareness of the environmental effects of residential biomass combustion emissions boosted the development of different emission reduction devices that are currently available on the market for small-scale appliances. However, detailed studies on the efficiency of these devices in different combustion systems available in Southern European countries are lacking. In this study, two pollution control devices (catalytic converter and electrostatic precipitator) were tested in two different combustion systems (batch mode operated woodstove and automatically fed pellet stove) in order to assess the emission reduction potential of the devices. Pine firewood was used to fuel the woodstove. One commercial brand of pellets and an agricultural fuel (olive pit) were taken for the experiments in the pellet stove. While the efficiency of the electrostatic precipitator in reducing PM10... [more]

The research problem addressed in this article concerns the formation of a business model in an energy company as a consequence of the European Green Deal. The paper seeks answers to three questions: (1) What is the significance of the European Green Deal for the business model of the examined energy company? (2) Which elements of the business model of the studied energy company take the form of sustainable ones? (3) In what direction is the business model of the analysed energy company evolving? The subject of the study is the business model of the Tauron Capital Group. The business model is analysed in the context of the requirements for climate protection formulated in the European Green Deal. A single case study was used. As a result of the study, two research statements were adopted: (1) Economic regulations in the area of the European Green Deal lead to changes in the business model of the examined energy company. (2) The examined energy company through the implementation of sust... [more]

Recently, due to the industrial and e-commerce revolution, the freight transport sector has grown rapidly and has become one of the key factors for economic development. Coupled with the growth of this sector, significant energy and environmental problems have arisen. Therefore, a huge effort has been made around the world in order to develop some solutions that could mitigate these problems. One of these promising solutions is electrifying the urban freight transport sector including the trucks and freight commercial vehicles fleets. In Palestine, as in other developing countries, the implications of this solution are still unquantified and the efficiency of the application is unpredicted. Therefore, this has necessitated a comprehensive study that considers all the relevant factors, such as the source of the electricity (renewable energy, oils, natural gas, etc.), fuel rates, and electricity rates. In this study, a prediction model has been developed using the historical data for the... [more]

The main objective of this study was to examine the nonlinear relationship between environmental deterioration and foreign direct investment for subpanels based on the country’s income level. In this study, the model’s determinants were total consumption of energy and electricity consumption, the share of renewable energy, and economic growth. Due to the observation of cross-sectional dependence, utilization of cointegration tests and panel data unit root were incorporated, which confirmed a mixed integration order. For the compliance of long-run and short-run relationships among the variables, a pooled mean group estimator panel auto-regressive distributed lag approach was incorporated. The results of long-run development support the pollution haven hypothesis; hence, ecological footprint is increased by the activities related to foreign direct investments. The obtained findings depend on the different subpanels based on the income level of countries. For the assurance of economic dev... [more]

The EU has several directives aiming toward carbon neutrality and is attempting to promote and encourage individual electricity consumers to participate in this endeavor. The key idea behind consumer awakening and activation is to push consumers to become aware of their electricity consumption behavior. The purpose of this paper was to examine the current consumption behavior of Finnish electricity consumers and their intention to support the goals of carbon neutrality through energy efficient consumption. The aim was to reveal how far the consumption behavior of people was from the intention to tackle climate change. To reach this goal, a qualitative research method was applied to evaluate the consumer awareness and intentions. A consumer survey was conducted to enable standardized and consistent data collection. The research utilized a key performance indicator (KPI) approach to evaluate the results: the social KPIs connected with qualitative values provide a comprehensive approach.... [more]

Odorant emissions are associated with, among other things, wastewater transport in sewer networks; they contribute to air pollution and result in complaints from residents living close to emission sources. The critical location in terms of the formation of unpleasant odour compounds is the pressure line that connects the pumping station and the expansion well; this is where they are released into the atmosphere. This paper presents comprehensive results of olfactometric and chromatographic tests in the Polish city of Białystok using portable devices that allow for multiple determinations and instant results. The study attempts to investigate the relationship between odour and odorant concentrations and check the suitability of field olfactometry as a tool for the ongoing monitoring of the emission of noxious odours and for verifying complaints submitted by residents. Statistical analysis shows a very high correlation coefficient between cod and the concentrations of individual odorants... [more]

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions. The improvement in MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency is crucial for China to achieve its CO2 emission targets. Firstly, this study used the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model to calculate the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019. The results show that the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in all provinces except Shanghai and Jiangsu is less than 1, and the provinces with high efficiency are mainly located in eastern China. Secondly, the spatial auto correlation model and spatial Markov chain are used to test the regional differences and the spatial spillover effect of efficiency. The results show that the national average efficiency shows a fluctuating downward trend, and only the western region achieves a gradual increase. The regional differences in China’s MSW processing efficiency of carbon emissions show a fluctuating upward trend, an... [more]

Patients are different regarding their health conditions, illnesses and ailments, and mobility. These and other factors could affect their specific feelings about the thermal environment. Current methods of predicting thermal sensations were developed based on research on a group of healthy people. Therefore, the use of these methods with patients should be verified. This paper aimed to verify selected thermal comfort models in terms of their reliability to predict the average assessment of thermal conditions in the patient rooms and the percentage of dissatisfied patients. Thermal condition analyses were based on microclimate parameter measurements and extensive questionnaires among patients, done in parallel in the hospital’s patient rooms. The research was carried out in 23 hospitals located in the following provinces in Poland: (Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Mazowieckie, Wielkopolskie, Łódzkie, Świętokrzyskie, Lubelskie and Dolnośląskie). Overall, 890 patients from 14 di... [more]

This paper presents the results of comparative studies on the implementation of machine learning methods in the damage intensity assessment of masonry buildings. The research was performed on existing residential buildings, subjected to negative impacts of the industrial environment induced by coal mining plants during their whole technical life cycle. The research was justified on the grounds of safety of use, as well as potential energy losses and CO2 emissions generated by the inefficient management of building materials resources resulting from poor planning of retrofitting. In this field, the research is in line with the global trends of large-scale retrofitting of existing buildings in European countries due to their thermal insulation parameters and seismic hazard. By combining this with the effects of material degradation throughout the technical lifecycle of buildings, the proposed methods allow for a more efficient approach to maintaining quality management of large groups of... [more]

Subchannel codes have been widely used for thermal-hydraulics analyses in nuclear reactors. This paper details the development of a novel subchannel code within the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). MOOSE is a parallel computational framework targeted at the solution of systems of coupled, nonlinear partial differential equations, that often arise in the simulation of nuclear processes. As such, it includes codes/modules able to solve the multiple linear and nonlinear physics that describe a nuclear reactor, under normal operation conditions or accidents. This includes thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance, and neutronics codes, between others. A MOOSE-based subchannel code is a new addition to the fleet of INL-developed codes, based on the MOOSE framework. In this work, we present the derivation of the subchannel equations for a single-phase fluid, we proceed with the description of the algorithm that is used to solve these... [more]

This study focuses on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of an onshore wind farm in India. The study is conducted on 10 Vestas 1.65 MW wind turbines situated in the Karnataka state of India. Following the ISO 14044 standard, SimaPro LCA software is used to model the process. The functional unit is chosen as 1 MWh sent out electricity. The results of the life cycle-based emissions of wind farm are compared with those of the coal power plant. The global warming potential is found to be 11.3 g CO2-eq/MWh for wind power, which is 98.8% lower than that for the coal power plant. A comparison of data available in SimaPro LCA software was carried out with data in GaBi software. There is a small difference between the two databases. This may be due to different boundary and inclusion of input items. Steel, aluminium, and concrete contributed 86%, 84%, 84% and 85% of total CO2, NOx, SO2 and PM2.5 emissions, respectively. Recycling the materials of a wind turbine at the end of its life can reduce th... [more]

Dombi t-norm (DTN) and t-conorm (TCN) are among the most effective triangular norms in fuzzy systems for aggregation purposes. The environment of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy (IVIF) set gives us precision in expressing uncertain information by using a membership grade (MG) and non-membership grade (NMG) in the form of closed subintervals of 0, 1. The goal of this paper is to introduce DTN-based aggregation operators (AOs) for IVIF numbers (IVIFNs) and study their performance in the evaluation of the worth of energy recourses to be opted in Pakistan to deal with the energy crises situation. We first introduced some DTN and TCN-based operations for IVIFNs and developed two new AOs known as IVIF Dombi weighted averaging (IVIFDWA) and IVIF Dombi weighted geometric (IVIFDWG) operators. The validity and fitness of the proposed operators are tested. A case study is presented where the energy resources of Pakistan are discussed and the problem of the selection of sustainable energ... [more]

Renewable reductants are intended to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from ferro-alloy production, e.g., by up to 80% in 2050 in Norway. However, charcoals provide inferior properties compared to fossil fuel-based reductants, which can hamper large replacement ratios. Therefore, conditioning routes from coal beneficiation was investigated to improve the inferior properties of charcoal, such as mechanical strength, volatile matter, CO2 reactivity and mineral matter content. To evaluate the global warming potential of renewable reductants, the CO2 emissions of upgraded charcoal were estimated by using a simplified life cycle assessment, focusing on the additional emissions by the energy demand, required chemicals and mass loss for each process stage. The combination of ash removal, briquetting and high-temperature treatment can provide a renewable coke with superior properties compared to charcoal, but concomitantly decrease the available biomass potential by up to 40%, increasing the... [more]

This paper presents the assessment of the European Union member states in terms of the circular economy (CE) targets, using a combination of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and factor analysis. This approach fills in the existing knowledge gap by providing an innovative methodology of an objectivised comparative evaluation of the degree of implementation of the CE principles by the EU countries. Assessing countries’ performance in achieving the goals of the circular economy is a challenge due to the lack of a generally accepted methodology, the multitude of indicators, and the insufficient data. Countries may be compared in a narrow way, according to single indicators, but a more holistic synthetic assessment of countries is also needed to determine their position against each other. In such cases, DEA may be successfully used. The study resulted in the identification of two clusters of countries with similar profiles of relative efficiency in the CE goals’ implementation. I... [more]

The use of heat pumps in buildings is one of the best and often the only option for the decarbonization of the building stock. District heating seems a promising solution in urban areas and in existing buildings when the use of heat pumps is restricted and also technically and economically challenging (source exploitation, space restrictions, sound emissions, etc.). Heat pumps can be integrated in various ways in buildings and district heating systems: large central high-temperature heat pumps in district heating, medium-size heat pumps block- or building-wise or small heat pumps decentral apartment-wise. The best option depends on the individual district heating CO2 emissions and the electricity mix as well as on the perspective of the building owner versus that one of the district heating system and its future development. Austrian examples of district heating systems and different variants of integrating heat pumps are investigated in a comprehensive way by means of an energetic and... [more]

This work presents new data on the life cycle impact assessment of various lignocellulosic biomass types in Mexico. A comparative life cycle assessment model of biomass densification systems was conducted. An integrated approach that incorporated various process variables, such as technology and variations in feed properties, within the analysis was employed to evaluate the environmental impact of producing 1 MJ of energy-containing densified fuel. The results show that the densification unit and curing (fuel drying) have the highest impact on the life cycle’s operational energy and the total life cycle energy, respectively. Of all the 33 biomass types from the 17 species sources considered in this study, sweet sorghum and sandbur grass have the highest global warming potential, 0.26 and 0.24 (kg CO2-eq), and human toxicity 0.58 and 0.53 (kg 1,4-dichlorobenzene-eq), respectively, while coffee pulp and cooperi pine wood have the least impact in both categories, with values of 0.08 and 0... [more]

Generally, PV (photovoltaic) modules are known as devices which are used semi-permanently for more than 20 years, but the electrical performance and lifespan of PV modules can be significantly degraded due to various environmental factors. Thus, a proper evaluation method for aging phenomenon of PV modules is required. Although there already are methods which compare adjusted PV output power based on STC (standard test condition) with initial PV module specification, or perform direct comparison by conducting the test under STC, there are issues with objectivity or efficiency in the existing evaluation method of aging phenomenon due to the data distortion while adjusting measured data or difficulties in implementation. Therefore, in order to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantage of the existing evaluation method for deterioration in PV modules and evaluate the aging characteristics of PV modules based on on-site measurement data in an accurate and efficient manner, this paper imple... [more]

Groundwater storage is an important water management solution that is overlooked by several countries worldwide. This paper evaluates the potential for storing water in the Bananal sedimentary basin and proposes the construction of canals to reduce sediment obstructions in the river flow and harmful flood events. This would allow for better control of the water level. The water stored in the sedimentary basin can be used as a climate change adaptation measure to ensure that the level of the flood plain is maintained high during a drought or low during an intense flood event. Additionally, the flood plain will function as a water reservoir, regulate the river flow downstream from the flood plain, and enhance hydropower generation. A significantly smaller reservoir area is expected to store water, as the water will be stored as groundwater in the sedimentary basin. Results show that the Bananal basin has the potential to store up to 49 km3 of water, which can add up to 11.7 TWh of energy... [more]

The purpose of this study is to provide a holistic review of two decades of research advancement in the indoor environmental quality modelling and indexing field (IEQMI) using bibliometric analysis methods. The explicit objectives of the present study are: (1) identifying researchers, institutions, countries (territories), and journals with the most influence in the IEQMI topic; (2) investigating the hot topics in the IEQMI field; and (3) thematically analysing the keyword evolution in the IEQMI field. A scientometric review was conducted using the bibliometric data of 456 IEQMI research articles published in the past two decades. VOSviewer software was employed for bibliometric analysis, and the SciMAT tool was used to investigate the keywords’ thematic evolution in three sub-periods (2004−2009; 2010−2015; 2016−2021). Results show that there is a continuous increment in the number of published papers in the field of IEQMI, and 60 out of 193 countries in the world have been involved in... [more]

In this study, we investigated the impact of the lighting environment on psychological perception, physiology, and productivity and then designed lighting control strategies based on the experimental results. The research was conducted in a smart lighting laboratory, and 67 subjects were tested in different illuminances and correlated color temperatures (CCTs). During the experiment, the physiological data of subjects were continuously recorded, while the psychology and productivity results were evaluated by questionnaires and working tests, respectively. The experimental results found that both illuminance and CCT could significantly influence the feeling of comfort and relaxation of the subjects. Warm CCT and higher illuminance (3000 K−590 lux) made subjects feel more comfortable. Productivity reached its maximum value with illuminance above 500 lux and equivalent melanopic lux (EML) higher than 150. The brain-wave and heart-rate changes did not have a close relationship with either... [more]

Given that vanadium is a valuable material, the implementation of vanadium recycling processes is thus necessary to enhance the element’s value chain as well as minimize its undesirable environmental consequences. Among various remediation methods available, a biological method based on microalgal adsorption is known to be eco-friendly and calls for further investigations. Herein, we evaluated V2O5 adsorption efficiencies of four different microalgal strains: Nannochloropsis oculata, Heterocapsa circularisquama, Chattonella marina, and Chattonella antiqua. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) data indicated that vanadium concentration in the culture medium of Nannochloropsis oculata was reduced from 4.61 ± 0.11 mg L−1 to 1.85 ± 0.21 mg L−1 after being exposed to V2O5 solution for 24 h, whereas the supernatants of the other three strains displayed no change in vanadium ion concentration. Therefore, our results indicated a strong potential of Nannochloropsis oculata for... [more]