Electrification plays a crucial role in the advancement of rural communities but establishing its impact to the communities’ sustainable development remains a challenge. This paper presents a pragmatic framework for assessing how electrification affects sustainable development at the grassroots level with eight indicators in the economic, technical, social, and environmental dimensions highlighted. An exploratory factor analysis approach is applied to determine how these dimensions contribute to the community’s overall sustainable development. The framework is applied in two islands in the Philippines of less than 500 households and varying electrification levels. Results indicate that Gilutongan Island, which has less than 24-h electricity access rarely find productive uses of electricity and still make use of conventional fuels for lighting. Meanwhile, Cobrador Island, which has 24-h access see improvements in almost all aspects, although they are slightly burdened by the unaffordabi... [more]

The particulate pollution in the open-pit coal mines of China is particularly severe in winter. The aim of this study is to understand the pollution characteristics of particulate matter (PM) in winter and provide a basis for the prevention and control of particulate pollution. We took the problem of PM concentration at the bottom of the Haerwusu Open-pit Coal Mine (HOCM) as the research object. Dust monitoring equipment at two measurement points at different heights were positioned for continuous monitoring of the PM concentration. The data for three months were gathered. Statistical analyses were performed to analyze the variation characteristics of the PM and its relationship with meteorological factors. The results show that the average PM concentration in the study area is below the average daily limit of the China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (GB 3095-2012). However, the average concentration of PM10 exceeded the national limit in December. The order of PM concentration... [more]

The aim of this research is to analyse the correlation between public intervention in Poland within the Regional Operational Programmes and the key macroeconomic variables for the sustainable development of regions, i.e., the labour market, with particular emphasis on the unemployment rate and the level of employment; the average monthly remuneration; the residential construction market, with particular emphasis on the number of permits issued for the construction of apartments and the number of apartments under construction. The research and the analyses carried out on the basis of the above-mentioned aspects made it possible to indicate the relations between the studied macroeconomic indicators and the EU funds spending in Polish provinces, which will enable the implementation of the sustainable development policy. The capitals used in the research process are very important components of the region’s and country’s sustainable development. In the research, a calculation methodology w... [more]

The process of material removal from a workpiece to obtain the desired shape is termed machining. Present-day material removal technologies have high spindle speeds and thus allow quick material removal. These high-speed spindles are highly exposed to vibrations and, as a result, the accuracy of the final workpiece’s dimensions is compromised. To overcome this problem, the motion of the tool is restricted, and multiple degrees of freedom are given through the motion of the workpiece in different axes. A machining bed configured as a parallel manipulator capable of giving six degrees of freedom (DOF) to the workpiece is proposed in this regard. However, the proposed six DOF machining bed should be energy efficient to avoid an increase in machining cost. The benefit of using the proposed configuration is a reduction in dimensional error and computational time which, as a result, reduces the energy utilization, vibrations, and machining time in practice. This paper presents kinematics, dy... [more]

To meet rising energy demands, power plant operations will expand, influencing the interactions between the water−energy nexus and society. However, a major challenge is integration of social dimensions within electricity generation. To address this, we generate a baseline dataset using US public data (2014−2019) from the Energy Information Administration and US Bureau of Labor Statistics. We identify the rate of energy consumed, CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions generated, and water used per MWh net electricity as well as employee wellbeing per unit MW capacity during electricity generation. Rates of energy consumption (MMBtu/MWh) decreased 4.9%, but water consumption and withdrawal (m3/MWh) both increased 0.93% and 0.31%, respectively. Emissions of CO2, SO2 and NOx decreased 22.64%, 75% and 25% MT/MWh, respectively. Thermoelectric cooling withdrawal and consumption is led by natural gas (50.07%, 38.31%), coal (29.61%, 25.07%), and nuclear energies (13.55%, 18.99%). Electric power generation... [more]

Recently, the interest in the plant factory-based crop production technologies is rising following the application of the smart farm technology to the agricultural arena. A lettuce production system platform is proposed in this study considering the effects of indoor environmental conditions and artificial light sources. The spectral characteristics of a visible ray according to growth performances were analyzed first to develop a control algorithm that can stimulate the plant’s growth for the proposal. Secondly, an imaging system was designed to analyze the plant’s growth characteristics based on the images and set up the system configuration. Lastly, a crop production system was proposed by using an experimental crop production group for environmental control and monitoring.

The paper focuses on the development of a thermal protection and energy requirements in relation to the issue of prefab residential housing buildings and prefab housing estates while emphasizing the need for a conceptual approach and environmental considerations. The development is recapitulated with examples of compositional sets of prefab residential housing on selected sites in the Czech Republic. Based on the comparison of archival documents and results of a long-term observation of the prefab residential housing resources, it outlines the direction of further expected development of prefab housing estates within a social context. The comparison also takes into account the impact of the European Union energy strategy and the implementation of directives into the legal rules and standards of the member states. The aim of the paper is to show the negatives and positives of current political and social strategies in relation to the thermal protection of buildings, the energy managemen... [more]

With the large-scale grid connection of renewable energy sources, the frequency stability problem of the power system has become increasingly prominent. At the same time, the development of cloud computing and its applications has attracted people’s attention to the high energy consumption characteristics of datacenters. Therefore, it was proposed to use the characteristics of the high power consumption and high flexibility of datacenters to respond to the demand response signal of the smart grid to maintain the stability of the power system. Specifically, this paper establishes a synthetic model that integrates multiple methods to precisely control and regulate the power consumption of the datacenter while minimizing the total adjustment cost. First, according to the overall characteristics of the datacenter, the power consumption models of servers and cooling systems were established. Secondly, by controlling the temperature, different kinds of energy storage devices, load characteri... [more]

The power quality of the Electrical Power System (EPS) is greatly affected by electrical harmonics. Hence, accurate and proper estimation of electrical harmonics is essential to design appropriate filters for mitigation of harmonics and their associated effects on the power quality of EPS. This paper presents a novel statistical (Least Square) and meta-heuristic (Grey wolf optimizer) based hybrid technique for accurate detection and estimation of electrical harmonics with minimum computational time. The non-linear part (phase and frequency) of harmonics is estimated using GWO, while the linear part (amplitude) is estimated using the LS method. Furthermore, harmonics having transients are also estimated using proposed harmonic estimators. The effectiveness of the proposed harmonic estimator is evaluated using various case studies. Comparing the proposed approach with other harmonic estimation techniques demonstrates that it has a minimum mean square error with less complexity and better... [more]

In the rapidly growing economies of Southeast Asia, energy consumption and energy costs in buildings continue to increase. Over the past decade, energy consumption from the commercial building sector in Thailand has increased at an average of 4% per annum and currently represents over 30% of total electricity consumption, second only to the industrial sector. Buildings that exist today will continue to represent most of both energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the built environment, with newly constructed buildings representing only a small additional portion. This paper analyzes the environmental, technical, and financial characteristics of energy efficiency retrofit activities in commercial buildings in Thailand through detailed case studies of forty-two projects undertaken over the past 8 years. Our findings suggest that retrofits provide significant opportunities to reduce energy use, energy costs, and GHG emissions while also validating the economic feasibility of inves... [more]

The combination of building energy management technology and technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has a significant potential for reducing energy consumption and, hence, CO2 emissions. However, numerous studies have indicated barriers preventing market growth. These challenges are mainly attributed to characteristics of the ecosystem of the building energy management systems (BEMS) industry. Thisstudy aimed to identify the major challenges hindering the deployment of BEMS in combination with Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and to derive policies conducive to the achievement of the effective BEMS industry ecosystem. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) survey was conducted on key players in the ecosystem to achieve this. The main elements of the ecosystem, economic, institutional, technology, and social system that earned weight, followed a decreasing trend in this order. Among the sub-elements, the payback period, upfront cost, electricity pricing scheme, energy cons... [more]

Electrical and thermal loads of residential buildings present a unique opportunity for onsite power generation, and concomitant thermal energy generation, storage, and utilization, to decrease primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide intensity. This approach also improves resiliency and ability to address peak load burden effectively. Demand response programs and grid-interactive buildings are also essential to meet the energy needs of the 21st century while addressing climate impact. Given the significance of the scale of building energy consumption, this study investigates how cogeneration systems influence the primary energy consumption and carbon footprint in residential buildings. The impact of onsite power generation capacity, its electrical and thermal efficiency, and its cost, on total primary energy consumption, equivalent carbon dioxide emissions, operating expenditure, and, most importantly, thermal and electrical energy balance, is presented. The conditions at which a... [more]

Despite the introduction of increasingly restrictive regulations, the air quality in Poland is still considered one of the worst in Europe. Two cities (Wroclaw and Cracow) were selected for this study, so they represent a pair of Polish cities with poor air quality, and at the same time are academic cities, popular with tourists. The article focuses on the emission of particulate matter, which is one of the most dangerous components of air pollution. The focus was on particles less than 10 µm in diameter which are most often neglected at measuring stations. We have identified the sources of particulate emissions in selected locations in Wroclaw and Cracow, and then measured particles in terms of their mass and number distribution. It was noted that the PM10 emission values obtained as a result of the measurements were different from the value specified by the Inspectorate of the Environmental Protection in Poland.

While the production costs and logistical benefits of biomass pelleting have been widely discussed in the literature, the downstream economic and environmental benefits of processing pelleted biomass have been largely neglected. To investigate those benefits, we performed a comparative techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of producing ethanol using loose and pelleted forms of biomass. Analyses of a 2000 metric tons (dry)/d biorefinery showed that using pelleted biomass is more economical than using loose or baled biomass. The lowest minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) for pelleted biomass was USD 0.58/gal less than the lowest MESP for loose biomass. Among all processing conditions analyzed, MESP for ethanol produced with pelleted biomass was always lower than when produced with loose biomass. Shorter pretreatment and hydrolysis times, higher pretreatment solids loadings, lower ammonia requirements, and reduced enzyme loadings were the primary factors contributing to lowe... [more]

Due to the continuous diurnal, seasonal, and annual changes in the German power supply, prospective dynamic emission factors are needed to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from hybrid and flexible electrification measures. For the calculation of average emission factors (AEF) and marginal emission factors (MEF), detailed electricity market data are required to represent electricity trading, energy storage, and the partial load behavior of the power plant park on a unit-by-unit, hourly basis. Using two normative scenarios up to 2050, different emission factors of electricity supply with regard to the degree of decarbonization of power production were developed in a linear optimization model through different GHG emission caps (Business-As-Usual, BAU: −74%; Climate-Action-Plan, CAP: −95%). The mean hourly German AEF drops to 182 gCO2eq/kWhel (2018: 468 gCO2eq/kWhel) in the BAU scenario by the year 2050 and even to 29 gCO2eq/kWhel in the CAP scenario with 3700 almost emission-free... [more]

Environmental protection, and in particular air protection against pollution, is an extremely important element of the global policy of many countries. The problem of air pollution is particularly important in Poland, where the heating market is one of the largest in Europe and is based in 74% on the use of fossil fuels, in particular hard coal. One of the technological solutions for the implementation of cleaner fuels is the co-combustion of coal and biomass. This process enables the reduction of harmful pollutants such as CO2, SO2, and can be implemented in existing boilers. Heating boilers achieve the highest design efficiency during optimal load at the level of 85−95% of nominal power. Under such conditions, heat production is most efficient. During operation, boilers are often started, extinguished or run below rated output, resulting in increased emissions. This publication presents the results of measurements of efficiency and concentrations of pollutants in the WR water boiler... [more]

Cellulosic biorefineries have attracted interest due to the growing energy security and environmental concerns related to fossil fuel-based energy and chemicals. Using pelleted biomass as a biorefinery feedstock can reduce their processing inputs while improving biomass handling and transportation. However, it is still questionable whether energy and emission savings from feedstock transportation and processing can justify pelletization. A life cycle assessment approach was used to compare energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from pelleted and non-pelleted corn stover as a biorefinery feedstock. Operations considered were pelleting, transportation, and soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA) pretreatment. Despite greater GHG emissions (up to 25 times higher than the transportation) generated from the pelleting process, the model showed a significant opportunity to offset and even reduce overall GHG emissions considering the pretreatment process benefits. Our process energy an... [more]

Attaining a good level of internal comfort is possible by controlling various parameters. Among all, the thermo-hygrometric comfort and the indoor air quality are of fundamental importance. This research is developed with the aim of verifying the indoor air quality following the installation of a passive cooling device in a historic building located in the province of L’Aquila in the municipality of Poggio Picenze in climatic zone E. This research aims to verify the functioning of a ventilation duct installed between the hypogeal and the second level of the structure that was installed to obtain air recirculation by exploiting the inertial potential of the hypogeal room. The first phase of the research was aimed at thermo-hygrometric monitoring using sensors installed on-site and controlled remotely in order to verify the operation of the device. The second-phase object of this text was useful in investigating the acquired indoor air quality level.

Electrolytes are involved in the thermal runaway (TR) process of cells, which is a potential hazard in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Therefore, the effects of different mass ratio of carbonate solvents (ethylene carbonate (EC)/propylene carbonate (PC)/ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC)) with LiBF4 and different environmental pressure on the combustion characteristics of electrolyte such as flame centerline temperature, mass loss rate (MLR) and heat release rate (HRR) were analyzed. The combustion process could be divided into four stages: ignition, stable combustion stage, stable combustion with flame color change stage and extinguishing; with the decrease of pressure, the MLR of electrolyte declined and the combustion time prolonged, while the temperature of flame centerline increased.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the Farnsworth Unit’s (FWU) carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) operations were accounted for through a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) for a period of about 10 years, since start of injection to 2020, and predictions of 18 additional years of the CO2-EOR operation were made. The CO2 source for the FWU project has been 100% anthropogenically derived from the exhaust of an ethanol plant and a fertilizer plant. A cumulative amount of 5.25 × 106 tonnes of oil has been recovered through the injection of 1.64 × 106 tonnes of purchased CO2, of which 92% was stored during the 10-year period. An LCA analysis conducted on the various unit emissions of the FWU process yielded a net negative (positive storage) of 1.31 × 106 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, representing 79% of purchased CO2. An optimized 18-year forecasted analysis estimated 86% storage of the forecasted 3.21 × 106 tonnes of purchased CO2 with an equivalent 2.90 × 106 tonnes o... [more]

Anaerobic digestion is considered unsuitable for the bioremediation of tannery effluent due to process inhibition, mainly due to high concentrations of sulfur species, and the accumulation of H2S and/or NH3. This study using the standardized biochemical methane potential protocol showed that efficient processing is possible with slaughterhouse wastewater, provided sufficient functional biomass is present at the start of the process and the SO42− concentration is below inhibition threshold. Methanogenic activity (K = 13.4−17.5 and µm = 0.15−0.27) and CH4 yields were high when reactors were operated ISR ≥ 3 and/or lower SO42− ≤ 710 mg/L while high SO42− ≥ 1960 mg/L and ISR < 3.0 caused almost complete inhibition regardless of corresponding ISR and SO42−. The theoretical optimum operating conditions (922 mg/L SO42−, ISR = 3.72) are expected to generate 361 mL biogas/gVS, 235 mL CH4/gVS with reduction efficiencies of 27.5% VS, 27.4% TS, 75.1% TOC, 75.6% SO42−, and 41.1% COD. This implies t... [more]

This research emphasizes the analysis and assessment of the environmental impact in the construction sector. It aims to propose a model for analyzing the management of environmental resources in the building process. This specific sector presents a significant potential risk of negatively affecting the environment, through pollution, energy consumption, and waste generation. Environmental responsibility involves analyzing the environmental impact and implementing effective solutions for an adequate governance of the environmental resources. Various life cycle assessment methods are employed to design a new model of management of environmental resources, starting from the factors impacting the environment. The resulting model takes these factors into account and carries several advantages from an organizational point of view. One novel result is that the model can be applied at a microeconomic level as well as at a macroeconomic level. By implementing this model, the preconditions for r... [more]

One of the fundamental maintenance tasks of ports is the periodic dredging of them. This is necessary to guarantee a minimum draft that will enable ships to access ports safely. The determination of bathymetries is the instrument that determines the need for dredging and permits an analysis of the behavior of the port bottom over time, in order to achieve adequate water depth. Satellite data processing to predict environmental parameters is used increasingly. Based on satellite data and using different machine learning algorithm techniques, this study has sought to estimate the seabed in ports, taking into account the fact that the port areas are strongly anthropized areas. The algorithms that were used were Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and the Multi-Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS). The study was carried out in the ports of Candás and Luarca in the Principality of Asturias. In order to validate the results obtained, data was acquired in situ by using a single bea... [more]

Contemporary research stresses the need to reduce mankind’s environmental impacts and achieve sustainability. One of the keys to this is the construction sector. New buildings have to comply with strict limits regarding resource consumption (energy, water use, etc.). However, they make up only a fraction of the existing building stock. Renovations of existing buildings are therefore essential for the reduction of the environmental impacts in the construction sector. This paper illustrates the situation using a case study of a rural terraced house in a village near Brno, Czech Republic. It compares the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the original house and its proposed renovation as well as demolition followed by new construction. The LCA covers both the initial embodied environmental impacts (EEIs) and the 60-year operation of the house with several variants of energy sources. The results show that the proposed renovation would reduce overall environmental impacts (OEIs) of the house by... [more]

Nuclear power remains one of the most accessible choices in addressing environmental and social concerns due to the continuously increasing energy needs around the world. While it remains an excellent source of energy due to its low price and low level of emissions, potential accidents remain a serious problem. An example of such is the most recent accident in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (2011), which reminded the world of the potential risks of nuclear energy and the consequences of which continue to have a lasting effect. There is no nuclear power plant in Serbia, but there are about 15 nuclear power stations scattered within its neighboring countries. Therefore, the Serbian Government decided to study how the Serbian public perceives the risks related to the potential construction of nuclear power stations in the country, nuclear energy in general, and its possible benefits and risks. The objective of this paper is to present the results of this assessment along with a... [more]