This paper presents the high contact resistance (HCR) and rotor bar faults by an extraction method for an induction motor using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The root mean square (RMS) and mean features are obtained using DWT, and ANN is used for classification using activation functions. Activation provides output by assigning the specific input with respect to the transfer function according to the nature and type of the activation function. Method: The faulty conditions are induced using MATLAB by adopting the motor current signature analysis (MCSA) method to achieve current signature signals of the healthy and faulty motors. Results: The DWT technique has been applied to obtain fault-specific features of the average continuously varying signal (RMS) and an average of the data points (mean) at levels 5, 7, 8, and 9, followed by ANN to classify the faults for condition monitoring. Utility: The utility of the results is to reduce unscheduled dow... [more]

An e-bike sharing system (e-BSS) solves many of the shortcomings of BSS but requires high financial investments compared to BSS. This article proposes a sustainable and targeted extension of the existing BSS with e-bikes and charging piles. The existing BSS in the selected city area is divided into sub-areas using the Voronoi diagram and reference points (landmarks). Then, the integrated approach of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to assess the adequacy of the existing bike-sharing stations for updating with e-bikes and charging piles. The joint approach allows decision-makers to look at the whole process and highlight the link between the criteria assessment and user preferences in the context of the chosen reference point. This can encourage future users to use e-BSSs. Based on a thorough literature review, the defined system of criteria takes into account all dimensions of sustainability: the requirements of most stakeholders and the... [more]

Environmental protection is currently one of the key priority areas of the European Union (EU). The search for effective solutions for the supply and use of energy in cities is currently a key topic. The reduction in gas emissions and the use of renewable energy sources are goals that result from environmental aspects. The purpose of this publication is to conduct a literature review in the area of municipal energy management. Municipal energy management systems integrate many areas, from energy supply systems and the modernization of public transport to the energy demand reduction of residential and commercial facilities. The results of the literature review research have allowed for the classification of articles based on the following criteria: research methodology, research purpose, research data collection method, use of research results article type, and research subject area.

The current production of water energy in Poland is much lower than the theoretical and technical potential. The aim of the article is to analyse the current state of hydropower in Poland as well as the prospects and conditions for development. Poland's total technical hydropower potential is estimated at 12,000−14,000 GWh/year, but currently, approx. 20% of this potential is used. The considerations undertaken in the study concern, for example, pumped-storage power plants and the development of small hydropower plants. Hydropower plants are not only important from the point of view of electricity production and storage, but also fulfill many other functions, including the general social, which is an essential element of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development. The analyses show that the hydropower sector in Poland may be an important element of low-carbon energy and an important element of energy security. Increasing the volume of electricity production from hydro... [more]

Due to industrialization, urbanization, and rapid population increases, the worldwide energy demand is increasing daily. The need for energy meets limitations, and searching for new energy sources is crucial, particularly for European countries. Energy crises occur temporarily due to different circumstances and cause oil price fluctuations. The present study aims to identify circular economy (CE) determinants that conditionally increase/decrease energy use to remain sustainable. It focuses on the linkage between energy consumption and circular economy in the European Union (EU) member states. In the econometric panel model specifications, two alternative endogenous variables are considered, i.e., total energy consumption and energy consumption from renewable sources. The results demonstrate that the selected CE indicators decreased the former and increased the latter. The data covered the period from 2010−2019. The significance of this study relies upon identifying the current level of... [more]

The presence of earthworms in soil contaminated with petroleum products (PPs) increase the rate of decomposition. The use of more than one animal species simultaneously in soil remediation could accelerate the process. However, the effects may be different when long-term aging soil contamination exists during which toxic by-products can be formed. This study evaluated the effect of soil contamination with PPs (petrol, diesel fuel, and used engine oil) carried out 12 and 24 months earlier on the life parameters of Lumbricus terrestris L. during single- and dual-species breeding with Porcellio scaber Latr. The changes in the content of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the soil were also measured, as were the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) accumulation in the bodies of the test animals. Survival of earthworms cultivated separately (single-species experiment) in soil contaminated with diesel fuel 12 months earlier significantly decreased, while body mass gain was not... [more]

The improvement of the overall utilization rate of compressed natural gas (CNG) engine fuel is the basis of efficient energy utilization. On the foundation of heat balance theory of internal combustion engines, this study fully considers the operation characteristics of CNG engines and systematically analyzes the distribution characteristics of different waste heat under variable working conditions. The nonlinear relationship between speed and intercooler heat source becomes evident with the increasing of intake mass flow rate. In accordance with the structural characteristics, the thermodynamic model, heat transfer model and environmental model of dual-loop organic Rankine cycle (DORC) are constructed. The system potential in full working environments is systematically evaluated. Compared with the speed, airmass flow has a significant effect on comprehensive performance of loop. The maximum power, heat transfer area and power output of per unit heat transfer area (POPA) of DORC are 36... [more]

In the context of increased energy demands and finding solutions for energetic autonomy, the use of waste base materials has increased in recent years in all areas of research. In this context, waste waters, sludge or slurry, biodegradable materials, second generation effluents, and their byproducts are some of the key substrates of interest to obtain biogas through AD (anaerobe digestion). The goal is to utilize these materials as a base for the generation of renewable energy and thereby make it the main source of energy for households or industries. This paper aims to characterize, from a physical and chemical point of view, wastewater from Timis county as a base substrate material in the co-fermentation process with cereal residual biomass. We aimed to determine the energetic potential of the wastewater and perform preliminary testing at a small and pilot-sized experimental installation for biogas production with Timis wastewater as the main energy carrier. The novelty of the paper... [more]

The shift toward renewable energy resources, and photovoltaic systems specifically, has gained a huge focus in the past two decades. This study aimed to assess several environmental and economic impacts of a photovoltaic system that installed on the rooftop of an industrial facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The life cycle assessment method was employed to study all the flows and evaluate the environmental impacts, while several economic indicators were calculated to assess the feasibility and profitability of this photovoltaic system. The results showed that the production processes contributed the most to the environmental impacts, where the total primary energy demand was 1152 MWh for the whole photovoltaic system, the total global warming potential was 6.83 × 10−2 kg CO2-eq, the energy payback time was 2.15 years, the carbon dioxide payback time was 1.87 years, the acidification potential was 2.87 × 10−4 kg SO2-eq, eutrophication potential was 2.45 × 10−5 kg PO43-eq, th... [more]

Currently, Pakistan is in a stage of urbanization and industrialization, raising its energy demand and supply and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2Es) due to the excessive use of fossil fuels. In meeting future demand and supply predictions, much emphasis should be given to both energy consumption and the level of inter-factor and inter-fuel substitution possibilities. Specifically, future outcomes for energy demand are more valid when production models contemplate substitution elasticity occurring during the period. To analyze the potential for little reliance on fossil fuels and diminish CO2Es, the present research has examined the potential for the substitution of energy and non-energy factors (i.e., natural gas, electricity, petroleum, labor, and capital) by using translog productions function over the period between 1986−2019. The ridge regression method is applied to evade the multicollinearity issue in the data. The model analyzes the output elasticity, substitution elasticity, tech... [more]

Poly-generation systems are a feasible alternative to conventional energy production techniques in buildings. A poly-generation system allows for the concurrent production of electricity, heat, cold, and fresh water, with considerable advantages regarding technology, finances, energy recovery, and the environment. In the present study, the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), the humidification−dehumidification desalination system (HDH), and the desiccant cooling system (DCS) are merged with three unique solar-driven poly-generation systems (BS, IS-I, and IS-II) and numerically examined. The proposed options provide energy, space cooling, domestic heating, and potable water to buildings of small/medium scale. Using n-octane ORC working fluid, the impact of operational circumstances on system productivity and execution characteristics was considered. The findings show that (i) the suggested poly-generation systems can provide electrical power, conditioned space cooling, local heating, and fresh... [more]

The growing economic efforts and investment for the production of green hydrogen make the definition of new competitive and environmentally friendly storage methods. This article deals with the proposal of gas hydrate production with binary or ternary H2-based gaseous mixtures for hydrogen storage. In the text, the physical and chemical elements necessary to confirm the technical feasibility of the process are given. The proposed solution is also compared with the traditional ones in terms of energy costs, energy density, environmental sustainability, safety, ease of transport, future perspectives, and innovation level.

Environmental taxes, including energy taxes, are applied in all EU Member States. They are considered important instruments in the implementation of the EU energy and climate policies. The main purpose of the research presented in this article is to identify trends in the EU Member States in shaping environmental tax revenues, with particular emphasis on their most important group, i.e., energy taxes. The researchers sought answers to the research question regarding the existence of converging trends in this respect. The “letter values” method was used in the research procedure, which is an extension of the box-plots method. The analysis covered 27 EU Member States. The data used in the research came from the Eurostat database (2009−2020). As a result of the research, it was found that in the EU as a whole, there is a slight downward trend in the share of environmental tax revenues in GDP and the share of environmental tax revenues in total tax revenues, while the share of energy tax r... [more]

South Asian countries have seen remarkable economic growth and development in the past few decades. This has been driven by financial sector reforms, industrialization, and expansion of foreign trade. The present study is designed to identify the long- and short-run relationships among environmental degradation, economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness in the South Asian region. Our research contributes to the literature by employing a new approach (the NARDL method). We examine annual data for four South Asian countries between 1971 and 2014. We found that there was a long-run equilibrium relationship between environmental degradation, economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness. The results confirmed the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis only for India and Pakistan. However, the long-term coefficients related to energy consumption were statistically significant only in Pakistan. The most interesting finding was that only in Sri Lanka did the long-run coeffic... [more]

The overall transition towards a low-carbon economy is expected to pose a solution for several global problems, including the ongoing climate change while ensuring economic and social development. Large oil and gas companies are aware of the need to transform their business, turn to renewable and clean energy sources to build a positive image and reputation, and have the economic power to do so. This paper aims to evaluate the marketing communication of leading European oil and gas companies on their Instagram accounts in the context of reputation building through using social media and identify to what extent the companies reflect the environmental aspects of corporate social responsibility. Content analysis and the Social Blade tool were used to examine the marketing communication of the five biggest companies by revenue. All the companies are active on Instagram, but it has been found that the Russian companies have remained inactive and have even been losing followers since March 2... [more]

Hydrogen has received substantial attention because of its diverse application in the energy sector. Steam methane reforming (SMR) dominates the current hydrogen production and is the least expensive endothermic reaction to produce grey hydrogen. This technology provides the advantages of low cost and high energy efficiency; however, it emits an enormous amount of CO2. Carbon capture storage (CCS) technology helps reduce these emissions by 47% to 53%, producing blue hydrogen. Methane pyrolysis is an alternative to SMR that produces (ideally) CO2-free turquoise hydrogen. In practice, methane pyrolysis reduces CO2 emissions by 71% compared to grey hydrogen and 46% compared to blue hydrogen. While carbon dioxide emissions decrease with CCS, fugitive methane emissions (FMEs) for blue and turquoise hydrogen are higher than those for grey hydrogen because of the increased use of natural gas to power carbon capture. We undertake FMEs of 3.6% of natural gas consumption for individual processes... [more]

In recent years, energy harvesters using pendulum systems have often been applied in ultra-low-frequency environments, such as ocean waves, human motion, and structural vibration. To illustrate the research progress in pendulum-type energy harvesting, a comprehensive review is provided in the present study. Specifically, single- and double-pendulum energy harvesters based on different energy-conversion mechanisms are separately grouped. In addition, different improvement techniques and design schemes used in studies on pendulum energy harvesters are summarized. Theoretical studies have explored the dynamic characteristics of single and double pendulums. Various key aspects, including the fundamental mechanisms, optimization methods, core structures, and applications, to improve the performance of single- and double-pendulum energy harvesters are discussed. Finally, several potential research directions and applications are proposed.

The installed capacity of PVs in the distribution grid is affected not only by network constraints, but also by the economic viability of the related investments. Depending on the market participation models, this is determined critically by the Day Ahead Market (DAM) prices. Increasing RES installations in a country usually results in a long term drop in the market prices and, as a consequence, a reduction in the income of the PVs investors and possible market cannibalization. This paper models the effect of large-scale penetration of PVs on the market prices and identifies the optimal penetration level for the viability of PV projects. The optimal penetration is highly related to the installation of new PVs and this is a parameter for the analysis. Therefore, the paper identifies different penetration costs for the different installation cost. Furthermore, the PV network hosing capacity can be increased by distribution network reinforcements. Therefore, in the paper, the investments... [more]

According to data provided by the International Energy Agency, buildings consume more than one-third of the energy produced globally and represent a major source of carbon dioxide-related emissions [...]

The emergence of new transformational technology, known as the fourth industrial revolution, has crucially opened a new window to green economic growth. The transition to low carbon, green economy, and green sustainability has gained momentum simultaneously in developed and developing countries. The greening policy echoes the pending climate change and its entrenching disruptions. Financial technology, or FinTech seems to be a promising direction in unlocking the green dilemma; to be concrete, FinTech and the green economy are separately documented in the literature. Against this background, the current study investigates the intersection between green economic growth and FinTech by conducting a systematic-cum-bibliometric analysis of published papers in the Scopus database with the goal of first examining the role and opportunities of implementing green FinTech as a stimulus for transition towards green economic growth in African countries and, second, identifying knowledge gaps and f... [more]

From the late 1900s onward, hydrocarbon exploitation has led to severe environmental footprints in the Khuzestan province, Iran. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to evaluate such issues. In this research, an inclusive analysis was performed to investigate these environmental impacts. To do this, first, two datasets related to a 15-year period (2006−2021) were collated: the satellite data from the Sentinel-1 mission and the seismic data recorded by the National Iranian Geophysics Institute as well as the catalog of the global Centroid Moment Tensor project (CMT). These datasets were processed using generic mapping tools (GMT), differential synthetic aperture radar (D-InSAR) techniques, and multiple processing algorithms using a specific toolbox for oil spill application in the sentinel application platform (SNAP) programming, respectively. The results revealed three critical footprints, including regional earthquakes, land subsidence, and oil spill issues in the area.... [more]

A complex method developed to assess quality within a proposed framework and at a certain scope of measurement for circular economy (CE) quality indicators is presented. This was used to compare three different scenarios for municipal waste management systems: 1—incineration; 2—recycling and reuse of separated municipal waste and the transformation of the organic fraction into biodiesel and bio-coal; and 3—an upgraded Scenario 2 including decreased recycling of waste streams and the bioprocessing of paper/cardboard and processing the non-recycled fraction into bio-diesel, bio-coal, and second-generation biofuel. For the evaluation of the CE quality indicator, a set of technical, environmental, economic, and social elements was selected by a panel of experts, who also assigned them a qualitative assessment and weighting on the basis of the factors identified. The calculated Relative Increase in the CE indicator for the scenarios analyzed showed that Scenarios 3 and 2 are much more benef... [more]

With an expected annual increase of 1.2%, the industrial sector already consumes over 54% of all the energy generated globally. The majority of industrial sectors presently relies on fossil fuels to fulfil their needs for heat energy, but renewable sources, especially solar energy, can be substituted for them. For an underdeveloped country such as Pakistan, its industrial sector is important for the country’s economic development and long-term growth. The use of solar thermal energy potentially offers a significant and cheap alternative to fossil fuels. The current study focuses on a process heating system based on flat-plate solar collectors, developed to provide low to moderate temperature process heat. The innovative model’s thermal efficiency and economic feasibility have undergone a thorough investigation and analysis through TRNSYS simulations. The system portrayed a 79% thermal energy efficiency and 4.31% exergy efficiency during peak hours. The optimized system for three differ... [more]

Over the years, anaerobic digestion (AD) has evolved as a competent technology to retrieve energy potential from various organic substrates, including wastewater. However, the energy metabolisms of anaerobic microorganisms, biochemical reactions, and biogas production are affected by various parameters, including heavy metals. It is important to understand the interaction of heavy metals with anaerobes and their potential influence on the process to enhance energy potential. This review methodically outlines the occurrence and role of heavy metals in the AD process. Additionally, the repercussions of the most common heavy metals (i.e., Cu, Zn, Cd, Fe, and Ni) on each stage of AD (i.e., hydrolysis, acidogenesis, and methanogenesis) have been discussed. We found that traces of heavy metals can endorse anaerobic digestion, but inhibition increases with increasing concentration. Methanogenic archaea are more susceptible to heavy metal inhibition than hydrolytic and acidogenic archaea. An i... [more]

In agricultural production, it is important to determine where input usage saving can be implemented by taking energy use into consideration and to analyze the greenhouse gas emissions of agricultural activities. This study has been conducted to review orange (Citrus sinensis L.) production in terms of energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study was carried out during the 2015/2016 production season in Adana, a province in Turkey. Energy balance and GHG emissions have been defined by calculating the inputs and outputs of agricultural nature used in orange production. The findings of the study indicate that the distribution of energy inputs in orange production are 11,880 MJ ha−1 (34.10%) of electricity, 10,079.75 MJ ha−1 (28.93%) of chemical fertilizer energy, 7630 MJ ha−1 (21.90%) of chemical energy, 3052 MJ ha−1 (8.76%) of diesel fuel energy, 1348.91 MJ ha−1 (3.87%) of human labor energy, 378 MJ ha−1 (1.09%) of irrigation water energy, 351.22 MJ ha−1 (1.01%) of mach... [more]