• Energy Research
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AbstractThe article aims to bring into discussion architecture as cultural ingredient, and to investigate the current status of the consecrated or of the recently established heritage (patrimony) as well as to ask questions about the contribution that the experiments of professionals may have in the space of the city. If the architecture educates, innovates, launches questions and controversies, it continuously complements the in situ image of the place, city, or, at global level, of the conceptual, technological and innovative developments. Whether it addresses the town-dweller, the user, the tourist or the curious, architecture continually writes new expressions in city space, negotiating with tradition, arguing and reconstructing fragments of urban life. How much is it accepted, pleasant / loved or challenged - or how much it pleases the initial or subsequent demands, are sensitive discussions in the dedicated domain. Regarded at the level of the object or the ensemble, architecture can be a scenographic background for the city or a piece in the set, a point on a route - landmark of urban paths, or simply an unfolded surface which accommodates activities. From level of the area of discussion, architecture is also another space, the one of debates - from the principles in line with the problems of the world for which it strives to find an answer to the philosophical, the local and the ones related to the built application.

This paper demonstrates the capabilities of the Simulink simulation environment for tuning the parameters of Power system stabilizers (PSS), which play a key role in damping the low-frequency oscillations in the electric power systems. First, the theory and algorithms for optimization of the parameters are examined, focusing on the phase compensation (P-Vr) method, which was selected and implemented in Simulink. The different steps of the tuning algorithm are explained, as well as the formulation of the objective function. The theoretically described steps were practically applied to a single-machine system, as well as to the well-known four-machine system of Kundur. The available solvers were also tested and compared in terms of speed and efficiency.

A new approach for the electromagnetic control and propulsion of a current carrying electric arc plasma ring is described. The essence of the approach is to form and manipulate the arc plasma outside rather than inside a magnetic field producing coil so that pulsed plasma thrusts can be produced in a choice of different directions. The interaction of the electric arc, formed in atmospheric pressure air, with such a magnetic field has been investigated. It has been shown that a stable azimuthal plasma ring can be rapidly produced by the simple process of separating two annular contacts. Pulsed plasma propulsion is obtained when the arc plasma and B-field sustaining current is reduced to zero whereby the constraining electromagnetic forces are removed and, as a consequence, the resulting plasma ring expands radially outwards. Several different measurement techniques have been deployed for investigating the behavior of the plasma ring. These include electrical probing, B-field probing and high-speed plus video photography. The results suggest that the plasma control and propulsion is governed by a combination of effects including ablation of the material around which the plasma ring is formed and self-pressurization related to the device geometry, as well as the electromagnetic forces. Preliminary results indicate that through the use of appropriate device geometries, the arc plasma may be propelled in axially opposite directions as well as radially.

Abstract We present a production-theoretical approach to decomposing the change of aggregate CO2 emissions over time using the Shephard input distance functions and the environmental data envelopment analysis (DEA) technology in production theory. Application of the proposed approach requires only some aggregate data and the change of aggregate CO2 emissions can be decomposed into contributions from seven factors. These contributions are obtained through solving a series of DEA models. The key features of the proposed approach are the use of panel data to estimate the production frontier and the inclusion of several production technology related components. Using the proposed approach, we present two application studies on decomposing the CO2 emissions for world regions and OECD countries. A comparison between the proposed approach and other decomposition analysis methods is also presented.

The object of the study is the water supply and sanitation system of an industrial enterprise. Currently, many enterprises do not use the treated industrial waste water in the water supply cycle. Therefore, the use of treated wastewater is of practical importance. The scheme of thermal treatment of waste water for obtaining pure condensate by evaporation is proposed. The main results of the study are the technical solution for the development of the enterprise's wastewater treatment complex. Pure condensate is obtained in an instant boiling evaporator. The research method is based on the calculation of energy costs in wastewater treatment for different types of waste water. The results of the study allow us to determine the optimal set of energy equipment for obtaining pure condensate and its further use. The specific practical significance lies in the development of a technical solution that helps the treatment of wastewater and the reduction of emissions into the water basin.

Abstract The presented study deals with univariate and multivariate analysis of the dependencies between the factor and consequent variables in the study of the efficiency of a heat pump unit with a radiant evaporator. The strength and direction of the connections between these variables is studied and discussed. The values of the correlation and determination coefficients were determined and the equations of the models describing them were derived. The presented analysis is considered as a valuable tool for the heating, ventilating and air conditioning design process in the building sector.

Abstract Mitigating the effects of environmental deterioration requires a focus on not just CO2 emissions from energy consumption, but also environmental pollution from industry sectors. To reach this goal, recent studies have extended ecological footprint (EF) analysis to identify the ecological drivers of various key industry sectors. The role of the phosphorus (P) industry on the EF within the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework for China is the emphasis of this study. Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) as well as the impulse response function and robustness analysis were used to consider a time from 1985 to 2018. The study verifies the EKC hypothesis for China in both the long and the short run, and indispensable determinants are proposed to be included to assure the model’s fitness and robustness when conducting EF analysis of industry sectors. Energy consumption–based carbon emissions have been verified as the dominant contributor to EF, but P use and urbanization have a significant lagged positive influence on EF in the short run. P exports, in particular, have been highlighted as a critical driver of the EF of China’s P industry. The conducted frequency domain causality test reinforced the above findings and demonstrated bidirectional causality at different frequencies. This work suggests that formulating plausible P export policies to alleviate the conflict between the output of China’s P industry and the environmental sustainability of this industry are necessary. In this context, “multidisciplinary, multidimensional, and practical solutions” are most desirable for sustainable P management.

As a financial innovation model to promote sustainable economic development, carbon finance promotes green and inclusive economic development by reshaping the financial system. As a big energy consumer, China has been committed to the green transformation of energy structure, and carbon finance has been regarded as an important tool to support carbon emission reduction. This paper divides carbon finance from three levels, financial macro, environmental governance, and technological development, and selects 17 indexes to measure the development level of carbon finance in China. Time series regression model and the entropy weight method (EWM) are used to analyze the impact of carbon finance on China's energy consumption structure. The empirical results show that carbon finance plays a positive role in promoting China's energy consumption structure, and developing carbon finance is conducive to the use of clean energy and the optimization of energy consumption structure in China; carbon finance can further optimize China's energy consumption structure by investing capital, resources, and technology in industries related to promoting clean energy consumption. Therefore, China should continue to develop carbon finance and promote the establishment of a unified national carbon trading market; at the same time, China should use the CCER trading mechanism to promote the development of renewable energy and enhance the endogenous driving force of energy transformation by promoting technological progress.

Accelerating the development of renewable energy is seen as an effective way for achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. The polices of Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) and Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) play increasing and important roles in developing renewable energy. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to analyze the impacts of the interaction of RES and REC polices on the renewable energy investment levels of an electricity generation firm and the carbon emissions. Our analysis reveals several interesting insights. First, we find that the green tags price under REC policy has a non-monotonic effect on the renewable energy investment, which highly depends on the quota (i.e., the required percentage of renewable electricity consumption on total electricity consumption) under the RES policy. Specifically, when the quota in RES policy is set too high, an increase in the green tags price will increase renewable energy investment; otherwise it will reduce the electricity generation firm's incentive to invest in renewable energy. Second, we show that the green tags price also has a non-monotonic effect on the carbon emissions. Specifically, when the quota in RES policy is set small enough, an increase in the green tags price will decrease the carbon emission. However, when the quota in RES policy is high enough, an increase in the green tags price will increase the carbon emission.