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The thermal performance of a novel solar air collector with metal corrugated packing in the buildings of cold regions is studied in this paper. Mathematical models are developed to investigate the thermal performance of the collector and the results are verified by experiments. The hydraulic analysis is conducted experimentally to study the pressure drops of the air flows in the corrugated packing. Effects of the structural and operating parameters, such as the collector width, height, specific surface area and solar radiation intensity, ambient air temperature, air inlet temperature and velocity are studied to optimize the thermal performance of the collector. Comparisons are conducted among the metal corrugated packing solar air collector, the unglazed transpired solar collector, the glazed transpired solar collector and the packed bed solar collector with iron chips. The results indicate that the metal corrugated packing solar air collector is more appropriate to be used in the rural buildings of cold regions for its advantages of large heat transfer area, high heat transfer coefficient and good economic performance.

Agro-wastes, such as crop residues, leaf litter, and sawdust, are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, and consequently a major concern for climate change. Nowadays, mushroom cultivation has appeared as an emerging agribusiness that helps in the sustainable management of agro-wastes. However, partial utilization of agro-wastes by mushrooms results in the generation of a significant quantity of spent mushroom substrates (SMS) that have continued to become an environmental problem. In particular, Shiitake (Lentinula edodes Berk.) mushrooms can be grown on different types of agro-wastes and also generate a considerable amount of SMS. Therefore, this study investigates the biotransformation of SMS obtained after Shiitake mushroom cultivation into biogas and attendant utilization of slurry digestate (SD) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop fertilization. Biogas production experiments were conducted anaerobically using four treatments of SMS, i.e., 0% (control), 25, 50, and 75% inoculated with a proportional amount of cow dung (CD) as inoculum. The results on biogas production revealed that SMS 50% treatment yielded the highest biogas volume (8834 mL or 11.93 mL/g of organic carbon) and methane contents (61%) along with maximum reduction of physicochemical and proximate parameters of slurry. Furthermore, the biogas digestate from 50% treatment further helped to increase the seed germination (93.25%), seedling length (9.2 cm), seedling root length (4.19 cm), plant height (53.10 cm), chlorophyll content (3.38 mg/g), total yield (1.86 kg/plant), flavonoids (5.06 mg/g), phenolics (2.78 mg/g), and tannin (3.40 mg/g) contents of tomato significantly (p < 0.05) in the 10% loading rate. The findings of this study suggest sustainable upcycling of SMS inspired by a circular economy approach through synergistic production of bioenergy and secondary fruit crops, which could potentially contribute to minimize the carbon footprints of the mushroom production sector.

In this paper, petroleum product (mainly petrol and diesel) consumption in the transportation sector of China is analyzed. This was based on the Bayesian linear regression theory and Markov Chain Monte Carlo method (MCMC), establishing a demand-forecast model of petrol and diesel consumption introduced into the analytical framework with explanatory variables of urbanization level, per capita GDP, turnover of passengers (freight) in aggregate (TPA, TFA), and civilian vehicle number (CVN) and explained variables of petrol and diesel consumption. Furthermore, we forecast the future consumer demand for oil products during “The 12th Five Year Plan” (2011–2015) based on the historical data covering from 1985 to 2009, finding that urbanization is the most sensitive factor, with a strong marginal effect on petrol and diesel consumption in this sector. From the viewpoint of prediction interval value, urbanization expresses the lower limit of the predicted results, and CVN the upper limit of the predicted results. Predicted value from other independent variables is in the range of predicted values which display a validation range and reference standard being much more credible for policy makers. Finally, a comparison between the predicted results from autoregressive integrated moving average models (ARIMA) and others is made to assess our task.

A differential evolution algorithm for solving Nash equilibrium in nonlinear continuous games is presented in this paper, called NIDE (Nikaido-Isoda differential evolution). At each generation, parent and child strategy profiles are compared one by one pairwisely, adapting Nikaido-Isoda function as fitness function. In practice, the NE of nonlinear game model with cubic cost function and quadratic demand function is solved, and this method could also be applied to non-concave payoff functions. Moreover, the NIDE is compared with the existing Nash Domination Evolutionary Multiplayer Optimization (NDEMO), the result showed that NIDE was significantly better than NDEMO with less iterations and shorter running time. These numerical examples suggested that the NIDE method is potentially useful.

Achieving carbon-neutrality has become a global agenda following the ratification of the Paris Agreement. For the developing countries, in particular, attaining a low-carbon economy is particularly important since these economies are predominantly fossil-fuel dependent, to which Bangladesh is no exception. Therefore, this study specifically aimed at evaluating the environmental impacts associated with energy consumption and other key macroeconomic variables in the context of Bangladesh over the 1975-2016 period. As opposed to the conventional practice of using carbon dioxide emissions to proxy environmental quality, this study makes a novel attempt to use the carbon footprints to measure environmental welfare in Bangldesh. The outcomes from this study are expected to facilitate the carbon-neutrality objective of Bangladesh and, therefore, enable the nation to comply with its commitments concerning the attainment of the targets enlisted under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals declarations. The econometric analysis involved the application of methods that are suitable for handling the structural break issues in the data. The overall findings from empirical exercises reveal that aggregate energy consumption, fossil fuel consumption, and natural gas consumption boost the carbon footprint figures of Bangladesh. In contrast, nonfossil fuel consumption and hydroelectricity consumption are witnessed to abate the carbon footprint levels. Besides, economic growth and international trade are also evidenced to further increase the carbon footprints. Hence, these findings suggest that a clean energy transition within the Bangladesh economy can be the panacea to the nation's persitently aggravating environmental hardships. Furthermore, the causality analysis confirmed the presence of unidirectional causalities stemming from total energy consumption, fossil fuel consumption, natural gas consumption, hydroelectricity consumption, economic growth, and international trade to the carbon footprints. On the other hand, nonfossil fuel consumption is found to be bidirectionally associated with carbon footprints. In line with these aforementioned findings, several key policy suggestions are put forward regarding the facilitation of the carbon-neutrality agenda in Bangladesh.

Given the urgent need for China to reduce the growth rate of energy consumption (EC), the relationship between financial development (FD), urbanization (UR), and EC is directly related to the effectiveness of China's current ecological civilization construction. This study analyzes the internal relationship between the three from the perspectives of financial scale (FD1), financial structure (FD2), and financial efficiency (FD3) through the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation, impulse response, and variance decomposition of the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model. The following conclusions are derived. First, the results of the PVAR model show that when FD is measured with FD1, FD2, and FD3, each variable has path dependence, and the lag-phase-one term of each variable has a strengthening effect on itself. Second, based on the pulse response diagram, a positive response occurs after FD1 and FD2 give a standardized shock to EC, but a negative response occurs when FD is characterized by FD3. When FD is measured with FD1, a positive response occurs after UR gives a normalized shock to EC. When FD is measured with FD2 and FD3, there is a weak negative response. Third, the results of the variance decomposition show that the changes of FD, UR, and EC rely more on their own inertia. Although the impact of FD and UR on EC has an increasing trend, the impact is small. Therefore, local governments should rationally control the financial scale, optimize the financial structure, improve the financial efficiency, and strengthen the propaganda of energy conservation.

The combustion of coal in Thermal Power Plants generates fine dust particles (coal fly ash, CFA), which are collected from the flue gas streams and deposited as solid wastes. One of the technologically reliable solutions for utilization of CFA is its alkaline conversion into zeolites. The present study focuses on the influence of calcium content in CFA on the chemical and phase composition, morphology and surface properties of coal fly ash zeolites. Comparative studies of the capacity of zeolites of Na-X and Na-Ca-X types from coal fly ash to capture carbon emissions under static and dynamic conditions have been performed. The present study answers a key question from a practical point of view, how does moisture in flue gases affect the adsorption of carbon dioxide on zeolites. The development of efficient adsorbents from CFA with varying composition will contribute to a number of environmental benefits and to the development of efficient CO2 capture technologies in the context of the circular economy.

Dans cet article, nous avons proposé, conçu et simulé un système domestique intelligent résidentiel connecté au réseau bénéficiant d'un système d'énergie hybride (HES) pour un équilibrage et un contrôle optimaux d'une charge dynamique à l'aide de tarifs de rachat (FiT) en augmentant l'autoconsommation sur site du système photovoltaïque solaire. Pour réaliser la fonction objet, deux scénarios de configuration de système photovoltaïque différents ont été conçus, simulés et analysés pour différentes études de cas. Dans le premier scénario, système photovoltaïque sans système de stockage de secours par batterie (BBSS) dans le cadre du régime FiT avec des tarifs forfaitaires a été étudié pour une journée typique d'hiver et d'été. Dans un deuxième scénario, le système photovoltaïque avec BBSS dans le cadre du régime FiT avec des tarifs ToU a été étudié à nouveau pour une journée typique d'hiver et d'été. L'équilibrage optimal et le contrôle dynamique de la charge peuvent être obtenus en augmentant le niveau de pénétration du photovoltaïque solaire en maximisant l'autoconsommation sur site du système photovoltaïque, en minimisant l'importation d'électricité sur le réseau dans les périodes de tarifs ToU élevés, en chargeant la batterie pendant les tarifs ToU bas, en déchargeant la batterie pendant les tarifs ToU élevés et en exportant la production photovoltaïque excessive en crête PV périodes de génération, en particulier en saison estivale. Les résultats simulés suggèrent que des revenus importants peuvent être économisés et qu'un équilibrage et un contrôle optimaux peuvent être obtenus lorsque le système PV est configuré avec BBSS dans le cadre du programme FiT en utilisant les tarifs ToU. La proposition sera plus rentable et un contrôle optimal peut être obtenu si elle est mise en œuvre sur les micro-réseaux communautaires résidentiels en utilisant une approche coopérative de la théorie des jeux. En este documento, hemos propuesto, diseñado y simulado un sistema doméstico inteligente residencial conectado a la red que se beneficia del sistema de energía híbrido (HES) para un equilibrio y control óptimos de una carga dinámica utilizando tarifas de tarifas de alimentación (FiT) al aumentar el autoconsumo in situ del sistema solar fotovoltaico. Para lograr la función del objeto, se diseñaron, simularon y analizaron dos escenarios diferentes de configuración del sistema fotovoltaico para diferentes estudios de casos. En el primer escenario, el sistema fotovoltaico sin sistema de almacenamiento de respaldo de batería (BBSS) bajo el esquema FiT con tarifas planas se investigó para un día típico de invierno y verano. En el segundo escenario, el sistema fotovoltaico con BBSS bajo el esquema FiT con tarifas de ToU se investigó nuevamente para un día típico de invierno y verano. El equilibrio óptimo y el control dinámico de la carga se pueden lograr aumentando el nivel de penetración de la energía solar fotovoltaica maximizando el autoconsumo in situ del sistema fotovoltaico, minimizando la importación de electricidad de la red en períodos de tarifas altas de ToU, cargando la batería durante tarifas bajas de ToU, descargando la batería durante tarifas altas de ToU y exportando el exceso de generación fotovoltaica en PV pico períodos de generación, especialmente en la temporada de verano. Los resultados simulados sugieren que se pueden ahorrar ingresos significativos, y se puede lograr un equilibrio y control óptimos cuando el sistema fotovoltaico se configura con BBSS bajo el esquema FiT utilizando tarifas ToU. La propuesta será más rentable y se puede lograr un control óptimo si se implementa en microrredes de comunidades residenciales utilizando un enfoque de teoría de juegos cooperativa. In this paper, we have proposed, designed and simulated a grid connected residential smart home system benefiting from hybrid energy system (HES) for optimal balancing and control of a dynamic load using Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) tariffs by increasing the onsite self-consumption of solar PV system.To achieve the object function, two different PV system configuration scenarios were designed, simulated and analyzed for different case studies.In first scenario, PV system without battery backup storage system (BBSS) under FiT scheme with flat tariffs was investigated for a typical day of winter and summer.In second scenario, PV system with BBSS under FiT scheme with ToU tariffs was investigated again for a typical day of winter and summer.The optimal balancing and dynamic load control can be achieved by increasing the penetration level of solar PV by maximizing the onsite self-consumption of PV system, minimizing the grid electricity import in high ToU tariff periods, charging the battery during low ToU tariffs, discharging the battery during high ToU tariffs and exporting the excessive PV generation in peak PV generation periods especially in summer season.The simulated results suggest that significant revenue can be saved, and optimal balancing and control can be achieved when PV system is configured with BBSS under FiT scheme by utilizing ToU tariffs.The proposed will be more cost effective and optimal control can be achieved if implemented to residential community microgrids by using cooperative game theory approach. في هذه الورقة، قمنا باقتراح وتصميم ومحاكاة نظام منزلي ذكي سكني متصل بالشبكة يستفيد من نظام الطاقة الهجين (HES) لتحقيق التوازن الأمثل والتحكم في الحمل الديناميكي باستخدام تعريفة التغذية (FiT) عن طريق زيادة الاستهلاك الذاتي في الموقع للنظام الكهروضوئي الشمسي. لتحقيق وظيفة الكائن، تم تصميم سيناريوهين مختلفين لتكوين النظام الكهروضوئي ومحاكاتهما وتحليلهما لدراسات الحالة المختلفة. في السيناريو الأول، النظام الكهروضوئي بدون نظام تخزين احتياطي للبطارية (BBSS) تم التحقيق في إطار مخطط FIT مع تعريفة ثابتة ليوم نموذجي من الشتاء والصيف. في السيناريو الثاني، تم التحقيق في النظام الكهروضوئي مع BBSS في إطار مخطط FIT مع تعريفة ToU مرة أخرى ليوم نموذجي من الشتاء والصيف. يمكن تحقيق التوازن الأمثل والتحكم الديناميكي في الحمل عن طريق زيادة مستوى اختراق الطاقة الشمسية الكهروضوئية عن طريق زيادة الاستهلاك الذاتي في الموقع للنظام الكهروضوئي، وتقليل استيراد الكهرباء من الشبكة في فترات تعريفة ToU المرتفعة، وشحن البطارية أثناء تعريفة ToU المنخفضة، وتفريغ البطارية أثناء تعريفة ToU المرتفعة وتصدير توليد الطاقة الكهروضوئية المفرط في ذروة PV فترات التوليد خاصة في موسم الصيف. تشير النتائج المحاكية إلى أنه يمكن توفير إيرادات كبيرة، ويمكن تحقيق التوازن والتحكم الأمثل عندما يتم تكوين النظام الكهروضوئي مع BBSS في إطار مخطط FIT من خلال استخدام تعريفة ToU. سيكون التحكم المقترح أكثر فعالية من حيث التكلفة ويمكن تحقيق التحكم الأمثل إذا تم تنفيذه على الشبكات الصغيرة للمجتمعات السكنية باستخدام نهج نظرية الألعاب التعاونية.