The rapid development of digital finance has delivered significant benefits, such as sustainable development and economic growth. We explore the relationship between digital finance and green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) for the first time, filling a gap in the existing literature. This paper uses dynamic panel models to explore digital finance’s impact on GTFEE at the Chinese city-level panel data from 2011 to 2018. The results show that digital finance can significantly improve urban GTFEE, and the findings remain robust with various tests. Second, the mechanism analysis indicates that digital finance can improve GTFEE by promoting urban green technology innovation and industrial structure upgrading. Further study shows that digital finance has a better effect on the improvement of GTFEE in central and western cities, small cities and non-resource-based cities, but has no significant or small impact on GTFEE in eastern cities, large cities and resource-based cities, reflect... [more]

In this paper, the author intends to show the interaction between the living standards of the population and the financial situation of Polish local government units at the commune level. The first (theoretical) part of the paper provides a synthetic description of topics related to defining the economic terms and to the local government’s ability to impact the standards of living of the local population. In view of the multifaceted nature of terms covered by this analysis, the second part uses a canonical analysis (which means multiple linear regressions are generalized for two sets of variables) in order to identify the relationships between them. The analysis resulted in identifying a number of indicators, including canonical correlations, total redundancy and variances extracted, as well as six statistically significant canonical variates, which enabled the identification of multidimensional relationships between the categories considered. The greatest and the most statistically si... [more]

Interest in the development of electro-fluid-dynamic devices (EFDs) based on corona discharge is growing due to their advantages and applicability across different industrial sectors. On the one hand, their performance as forced convection motors, in terms of weight, volume, and absence of noise and moving parts, make them competitive against traditional systems such as fans. On the other hand, the actions of the corona discharge, in terms of elimination of viruses and bacteria, are already known. This paper studies the characteristics of corona discharge in terms of air flow for a new proposed configuration and geometry of electrodes. A systematic study is performed through a parametric study of the distances, power consumption, and size of the corona electrode. The characteristic voltage−current (CVCCs) and flow−pressure curves obtained provide design rules to use the generated corona discharge and the device itself, as a silent air propeller, which may also sterilize the surrounding... [more]

The growing demand for low-carbon fuel is predicted by ultimate goals to fit the carbon neutrality by 2050 in many countries and regions including the European Union. According to the International Energy Agency, the CO2 emissions related to transportation stand for around 30% of total annual emissions, and so, the decarbonization of the mobility sector has the highest priority. In this work, we attempt to evaluate the expected demand for low-carbon fuels, including blue and green hydrogen, and low-carbon electricity in order to compare the available and required capacities of low-carbon fuels and electricity. According to our calculations based on the figures from 2020, the transition toward H2 mobility would require an amount of hydrogen equal to 366 million tons/annum, and by 2035, this requirement will increase up to 422 million tons/annum, which is several times larger than the existing H2 production capacities. We have estimated the volume of the carbon capture and storage facili... [more]

Red mud storage is associated with an increased risk of dam failure and there is an urgent need to address the environmental problem caused by the very fine particle size (average 4.9 µm) of red mud with high alkalinity (pH = 10−12.5) in the alumina industry. The specific objective of this study was to investigate the use of red mud based on the “simulation” integrating the sustainability aspect through the PROMETHEE method. The data source is from a field survey with experts conducted at the research location from the province of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The results of the study using the PROMETHEE ranking parameter showed that the best optimal industrial cluster sites were Ketapang, followed by Belitung Island, Mempawah, and Teluk Batang, with scores of 0.4167, 0.0476, 0.0, and −0.463, respectively. However, using economic input and environmental output, the efficient frontier showed that Ketapang, Teluk Batang, and Pulau Belitung are efficient sites. Considerably more work will n... [more]

The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) has discrepancies in relation to the thermal reality of the environment; thus, adaptive models serve to improve this estimate. In this context, this research aimed to verify the performance of PMV and adaptive models under different conditions in Brazil from an analysis of variance and to further classify individuals into clusters according to their feelings of thermal comfort. Through ASHRAE’s Global II Thermal Comfort Database, users of offices and classrooms in Brasilia, Recife, Maceió, and Florianópolis were investigated. The results of ANOVA showed that the PMV model did not represent the thermal reality of any of the cities investigated, and the cluster analysis showed how most people felt thermally in relation to indoor environments.

The present study compiles a life cycle inventory for Ecuadorian sugarcane-derived ethanol production to quantify its environmental performance and identify the life cycle stages that cause major impacts. The scope of this study encompasses a cradle-to-gate analysis that includes the agriculture, the milling, the distillation, and the co-generation of electricity. This assessment is modeled using the OpenLCA v1.10.3 software. Two functional units (FU) were established in this study: “1 ton of sugarcane at-the-farm-gate” for the agricultural stage and “1 L of ethanol at-the-plant-gate”. A hybrid attributional and consequential life cycle analysis (LCA) approach has been followed. Economic allocation (EA) and system expansion (SE) were used to take co-products into account in the milling and co-generation of electricity stages, respectively. The co-generation stage is analyzed in three different scenarios: (i) average mix displacement scenario where the surplus electricity produced in th... [more]

This paper assesses the primary energy and environmental impacts of a restaurant main course product’s lifecycle, especially focusing on end-of-life (EoL) stage. In the first step, a cradle-to-grave complex life cycle assessment (LCA) model of the product has been set up from the extraction of the required raw materials through the preparation, cooking and use phase to the end-of-life. In the second step, three scenarios (landfilling, incineration, and composting) were compared for the generated food waste in the end-of-life stage given that one of the biggest challenges in waste management is the optimal management of food waste. We calculated eleven environmental impact categories for the examined food product with the help of GaBi 9.0 software. During our research work, the primary energy was examined in each phase. In the third step, a comparison between the traditional and “sous vide” cooking technologies has been created to optimise of the cooking/frying life cycle phase. This pa... [more]

Energy is essential to achieving economic growth, yet the production of energy results in the emission of carbon dioxide, the primary factor in the deterioration of the environment and the acceleration of climate change. In this sense, the diversity of energy sources can contribute to achieving both environmentally sustainable development. This study investigates the relationship between energy diversification and economic growth in Nordic nations by employing a unique measure of energy diversity. The Nonlinear Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NPARDL) approach is utilized in the research, and it looks at data from 1998 through 2018. According to our results, these nations experience favorable economic growth when there is an increase in the long-term diversity of their energy sources. However, in the near term, they have seen negative economic development due to the diversification of their energy sources. According to these findings, energy diversification benefits Nordic economi... [more]

Mineral oil has long been used as an adequate coolant and dielectric medium in power transformer design. However, it is flammable and environmentally risky as it may be leaked or spilled. Therefore, ester fluids, which have been increasingly used in the last two decades, look promising as an ideal dielectric option. This research aims to better understand how using ester fluid insulation in power transformers impacts their physical and electrical dimensions, including their load-losses, impedance, masses, and equipment dimensions. Three case studies were carried out in a Portuguese electrical equipment manufacturer’s facility, with varying electrical parameters and physical properties of the mineral oil and ester-filled power transformers. The main results enhanced the known good electrical behavior of ester fluids, namely creating a lower electric field around winding wedges, yet the use of ester fluids led to higher load-losses, larger masses, additional radiators and, consequently,... [more]

The rate of technological progress is an important metric used for predicting the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of future light-duty fleets. A trade-off between efficiency and performance is essential due to its implications on fuel consumption and efficiency improvement. These values are not directly available in the Brazilian fleet. Hence, this is the main gap in knowledge that has to be overcome. Tendencies in all relevant parameters were also unknown, and we have traced them as well, established on several publications data and models. We estimate the three indicators mentioned above for the Brazilian fleet from 1990 to 2020. Although the rate of technological progress was lower in Brazil than that in developed countries, it has increased from 0.39% to 0.61% to 1.7% to 1.9% in subsequent decades. Performance improvements offset approximately 31% to 39% of these efficiency gains. Moreover, the vehicle market is shifting toward larger vehicles, thus offsetting some... [more]

The deposition of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous rocks on the Kongquehe slope provides a good opportunity to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Tarim Basin. To explore the paleoredox conditions, paleoclimate, and provenance of this deposit, 21 samples were collected from Well A, and the concentrations of major and trace elements were analyzed. The V/(V + Ni), V/Cr, Ni/Co, U/Th, Uau, and V/Sc ratios indicated that the sediments in the water body from the Lower Cambrian were in a reducing environment, and the degree of reduction weakened from the bottom to the top. The Sr/Cu, Mg/Ca, and Fe/Mn ratios in the sediments revealed that the Lower Cambrian was mainly characterized by a warm and humid paleoclimate, and there may be a paleoclimatic transition toward drought conditions as recorded by the sediments of Xidashan Formation. The chemical alteration index, compositional variation index, plagioclase alteration index values, and Th/U and K/Rb ratios of the Lower Cambrian... [more]

The future of opencast mining and energy production based on conventional resources is one of the most important issues being discussed in international forums. The whole discussion is becoming increasingly heated and takes on a special significance with the drastic increase in energy commodity prices that has occurred with the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Especially in a country like Poland, these issues are accompanied by heated discussions between miners, the government and citizens. It should be emphasised that Polish lignite mining currently produces about 35% of the cheapest electricity in Poland and also creates many jobs. The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of continuing opencast mining and its impact on rural development—both from an environmental and socio-economic point of view. The study was conducted for two municipalities in Poland where opencast lignite mining plays an important role, namely Kleszczów and Kleczew. As a result, it was found that in the case... [more]

In the present study, energy and exergy analyses of a simple supercritical, a split supercritical and a cascade supercritical CO2 cycle are conducted. The bottoming cycles are coupled with the main two-stroke diesel engine of a 6800 TEU container ship. An economic analysis is carried out to calculate the total capital cost of these installations. The functional parameters of these cycles are optimized to minimize the electricity production cost (EPC) using a genetic algorithm. Exergo-economic and exergo-environmental analyses are conducted to calculate the cost of the exergetic streams and various exergo-environmental parameters. A parametric analysis is performed for the optimum bottoming cycle to investigate the impact of ambient conditions on the energetic, exergetic, exergo-economic and exergo-environmental key performance indicators. The theoretical results of the integrated analysis showed that the installation and operation of a waste heat recovery optimized split supercritical... [more]

In the publication, the authors put forward a thesis about the low social understanding of the essence of the idea of sustainable development (SD), its assumptions, and difficulties with its implementation. This thesis became the starting point for research on contemporary problems related to the understanding and implementation of the idea of SD in Poland and an inspiration to look at Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The aim of the study was to get to know the opinions of experts on the statutory definition of SD and social awareness of this idea, and then to relate these opinions to the state of knowledge of students, as well as their opinions and attitudes towards SD. Primary data obtained in the course of surveys among 105 Polish experts (employees of universities, research institutes, government and local government units) and 844 students from several Polish university centres were used. The obtained results indicated gaps in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD... [more]

A change in thinking has been ongoing in the architecture and building industry in response to growing concern over the role of the building industry in the excessive consumption of energy and its devastating effects on the natural environment. This shift changed the thinking of architects, engineers, and designers in the initial phases of a building’s design, with a change from the importance of geometry and form to assessing a building’s performance, from structure to a building’s skin, and from abstract aesthetics to bio-climatic aesthetics. In this context, sustainable, intelligent, and adaptive building façades were extensively researched and developed. Consequently, several typologies, strategies, and conceptual design frameworks for adaptive façades were developed with the aim of performing certain functions. This study focuses on the biomimetic methodologies developed to design adaptive façades because of their efficiency compared to other typologies. A comprehensive literature... [more]

In this article, we present the possibility of applying the concept of elasticity in the system of sustainable energy development through the use of wood biomass. We used a dual (socio-ecological and economic) approach to sustainable energy development. The research was carried out using the methods of reduction reasoning, scientific observation, and examination of source documents. We identified crisis threats in the context of sustainable energy development. Then, we analyzed the supply of wood biomass in Poland, taking into account its geographical location. As a result, we identified and characterized the causal relationships between the assumptions of the concept of resistance and the sustainable development of energy with the use of wood biomass. We found that the concepts of resilience can be adapted to assessing energy sustainability. This adaptation is based on resilience, flexibility, and strategic ability to revitalize the country. We found that five key threats (extreme wea... [more]

Electrical machines are commonly used in industries and transport and are manufactured with enameled wire coils with polymer insulation. In extreme conditions, as in aeronautics and aerospace, where temperatures exceed 280 °C, the organic insulation deteriorates and it is necessary to find another way to insulate winding wires, in order to ensure a longer life duration of the insulation system and a better operating reliability of electric motors in these environments. Ceramics are more resistant to high temperatures than polymers and the proposed study focuses on the temperature dependence of the dielectric properties of anodized aluminum strips for use in high-temperature electrical machine windings. Different dielectric parameters are measured during thermal constraint. The purpose is to determine the temperature index of the anodized strip and propose a thermal stress life model.

In recent years, there has been an upsurge of studies on sustainable development. The majority of research focuses on developed countries and issues that are incompatible with developing nations. This study addresses a gap in the literature by reviewing the research on developed and developing economies, as well as their social and environmental boundaries, under the renewable energy and sustainable development (RESD) nexus. It also explores how RESD may be applied in extreme situations such as population increase, energy supply disruptions, and transportation shortfalls. The fundamental contribution of this paper is to provide detailed debate from the perspective of economic growth hypotheses and their relationship with energy usage and renewable energy solutions for sustainable growth and development.

The growing impact of consumption on the environment has been attracting much attention from academics for the last couple of decades and has caused inquiries into the antecedents of responsible consumption. Previous studies focused on analyzing different antecedents of responsible consumption in various areas and contexts. However, very few studies investigated the antecedents of responsible consumption in the energy sector, and only a few referred to emerging European countries. The aim of the paper is to examine the effect of environmental awareness on responsible energy consumption. Data for this study have been collected using the survey methodology. A total of 1407 households were selected as a sample for the CAWI methods of gathering data. The territory of the study population is Poland. The methodology of research involves several measurement scales of theoretical constructs. The constructs′ reliability coefficients, as well as discriminant and convergent validity indices, show... [more]

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is an important element of an efficient and comprehensive corporate governance system. It represents a combination of activities that minimise the negative impacts of the risk exposures on the company’s value and long-term corporate sustainability. Recently, there has been a growing awareness on the role and importance of the risk management function. Such trends are partly driven by the consequences of the last economic and financial crisis on the one hand, and on the other by legal and regulatory requirements. The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, volatility in the energy markets and increased uncertainty expected in the upcoming period reiterate the importance of timely risk management practices, because organisations with developed risk management systems are more resilient in case of crisis. This paper analyses the organisation and level of development of ERM systems in the ten largest European electric power companies. The compani... [more]

Within the last few decades, the issue of the environmental performance of European financial institutions has become a significant feature of their strategic plans. Financial institutions can contribute through their own activities and investments, and also through their relationship with economic sectors and consumers, in decreasing environmental footprint. The purpose of this research is to investigate the determinants that affect the environmental performance of European financial institutions. Financial markets have been selected as the main research field for this study, as it presents an opportunity for environmental policy and is useful in view of the need for a wider range of policy instruments. Moreover, on a more practical level, financial institutions can interact with the environment in several ways, such as investors, innovators, valuers, powerful stakeholders, and polluters. The study is based on a mixed methodology approach, which integrates: (i) bibliometric analysis b... [more]

The incentive policies of new energy vehicles substantially promoted the development of the electrical vehicles technology and industry in China. However, the environmental impact of the key technology parameters progress on the battery electrical vehicles (BEV) is uncertain, and the BEV matching different lithium-ion power batteries shows different environmental burdens. This study conducts a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a BEV matching four different power batteries of lithium-ion phosphate (LFP), lithium-ion nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), and lithium titanate oxide (LTO) batteries. In addition, the 2025 and 2030 prediction analyses of the batteries production and life cycle BEV are conducted with the specially considered change and progress of the power battery energy density, battery manufacturing energy consumption, electricity structure, battery charge efficiency, and vehicle lightweight level. In addition, sensitivity analyses of power battery ene... [more]

Growing energy demand worldwide and onshore limitations have increased interest in offshore renewable energy exploitation. A combination of offshore renewable energy resources such as wind and wave energy can produce stable power output at a lower cost compared to a single energy source. Consequently, identifying the best locations for constructing combined offshore renewable energy farms is crucial. This paper investigates the technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of Combined Offshore Wind and Wave Energy Farm (COWWEF) site selection. Past literature was evaluated using a systematic review method to synthesize, criticize, and categorize study regions, dataset characteristics, constraints, evaluation criteria, and methods used for the site selection procedure. The results showed that most studied regions belong to European countries, and numerical model outputs were mainly used in the literature as met-ocean data due to the limited coverage and low spatiotemporal resol... [more]

Considering the excellent environmental properties and heating capability under wide running conditions of the natural fluid CO2, the transcritical CO2 heat pump system has widely been used in the application of water heaters, commercial heating and cooling, electric vehicle thermal management, etc. Since the performance was highly affected by the discharge pressure and heat recovery rate in a transcritical CO2 system, the collaborative optimization of these two parameters was analyzed in detail in this study. The results showed that the optimal value of the system heating COP, which was the ration of heating capacity to power consumption, was better under a higher heat recovery rate and relatively lower discharge pressure, which is why these kinds of operating conditions are highly recommended from the perspective of collaborative optimization. Additionally, the heat recovery rate had a positive effect on the system performance when the discharge pressure was lower than its optimal va... [more]