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It is important to reduce the amount of municipal waste deposited in landfills, Czech Republic, therefore, puts more emphasis on the recovery of mixed municipal waste, which oblige and EU regulations. Production of solid alternative fuel that is suitable also due to less consumption of fossil fuels, is one of the uses of mixed municipal waste (Waste to Energy). A relatively high proportion of glass in mixed municipal waste is a major problem in the production of solid alternative fuel. The glass contained in the solid alternative fuel can be the cause of formation incrusts on heat transfer surfaces in combustion plants. For all examined types of glass, it was found that the melting temperature of the muffle furnace was 750 ° C. When using the method (ISO 540) for determining the temperature of softening , melting and flow showed no effect of the amount of glass in the ash, but the melting point was significantly higher (around 1,200 °C).

Abstract An alkaline earth boro-aluminosilicate glass (Eagle XG), a soda-lime glass, and a light-weight polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) foil, used as typical substrates for photovoltaics, were treated by an energetic proton beam (3 MeV, dose 106–107 Gy) corresponding to approx. 30 years of operation at low Earth orbit. Properties of the irradiated substrates were characterized by atomic force microscopy, optical absorption, optical diffuse reflectance, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Minimal changes of optical and morphological properties are detected on the bare Eagle XG glass, whereas the bare PET foil exhibits pronounced increase in optical absorption, generation of photoluminescence, as well as mechanical bending. On the other hand, the identical substrates coated with Indium-tin-oxide (ITO), which is a typical material for transparent electrodes in photovoltaics, exhibit significantly higher resistance to the modifications by protons while ITO structural and electronic properties remain unchanged. The experimental results are discussed considering a potential application of these materials for missions in space.

In this work we assess the pathways for environmental improvement by the coal utilization industry for power generation in Australia. In terms of resources, our findings show that coal is a long term resource of concern as coal reserves are likely to last for the next 500 years or more. However, our analysis indicates that evaporation losses of water in power generation will approach 1000 Gl (gigalitres) per year, equivalent to a consumption of half of the Australian residential population. As Australia is the second driest continent on earth, water consumption by power generators is a resource of immediate concern with regards to sustainability. We also show that coal will continue to play a major role in energy generation in Australia and, hence, there is a need to employ new technologies that can minimize environmental impacts. The major technologies to reduce impacts to air, water and soils are addressed. Of major interest, there is a major potential for developing sequestration processes in Australia, in particular by enhanced coal bed methane (ECBM) recovery at the Bowen Basin, South Sydney Basin and Gunnedah Basin. Having said that, CO2 capture technologies require further development to support any sequestration processes in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Current power generation cycles are thermodynamic limited, with 35-40% efficiencies. To move to a high efficiency cycle, it is required to change technologies of which integrated gasification combined cycle plus fuel cell is the most promising, with efficiencies expected to reach 60-65%. However, risks of moving towards an unproven technology means that power generators are likely to continue to use pulverized fuel technologies, aiming at incremental efficiency improvements (business as usual). As a big picture pathway, power generators are likely to play an increasing role in regional development; in particular EcoParks and reclaiming saline water for treatment as pressures to access fresh water supplies will significantly increase.

Abstract One factor that significantly limits blade service life and reliability in GT-100 power turbines is sulphide-oxide metal corrosion of guide and rotating blades. Application of coatings is the most efficient method to prevent corrosion failure. An electron beam physical vapour deposition CoCrAlY coating is used for high and low pressure turbine first-stage rotating blades made from E1 893 alloy. Studies of CoCrAlY-coated blades after different service periods (from 390 to 5900 h) showed that this coating most efficiently protects rotating blades in turbines which operate in northern regions of the country. Because of low temperature hot corrosion leakage, corrosion failure is observed in turbines operating in southern regions of the country. In order to improve corrosion resistance, a ceramic coating has been developed. These coatings increase the endurance of equipment and make it possible to save energy.

This review covers the main examples of fuel-free light-driven micro/nanomotors and their different swimming styles, highlighting the most important parameters to consider when designing photocatalytic-based devices with a high propulsion efficiency.

The paper proves the economic feasibility of using a local autonomous source of energy supply, which is formed from electrical equipment of other functional purposes based on an asynchronous machine with capacitive self-excitation. To assess the technical and economic indicators of the effectiveness of introducing a local autonomous source of energy supply, the discounted method is adopted, where an indicator of savings from possible losses due to the exclusion of labor resources from production is used as an additional influence factor.

Abstract A major problem in the operation of photovoltaic (PV) panels is the need for frequent maintenance and cleaning. In the present work, the effect of a self-cleaning, photocatalytic, antireflective glass coating on the efficiency of PV panels is investigated. The optical and photocatalytic properties of the coating were determined via UV–vis spectroscopy and degradation of organic pollutant Methylene Blue, respectively. Increased light transmittance in the visible light region and enhanced self-cleaning of the coated in comparison to the uncoated glass was demonstrated. The adhesion and the stability of the coating were tested in conditions of thermal fluctuations, UV weathering and sandblasting. The outdoor performance of coated and uncoated PV panels and arrays were monitored for several months at different climate conditions (Greece and China) in order the extra energy produced due to coating to be measured. An average 5–6% gain was found for both cases for the entire period of time. It was established that specific conditions such as intensity and angle of the incident light, occurrence of rain and sand storms influence significantly the power difference (ΔPm) between coated and uncoated PV panels. The increase of ΔPm under diffused light (cloudy day) and irradiation with high incident angle (morning, evening) reached ∼20% and 30% respectively, that were related to the anti-reflecting property of the glass coating. The coated surface showed better dust removal ability due to its superhydrophilicity (θ = 6°). The superior efficiency of coated panels as well as the low-cost spraying procedure without any post-deposition treatment render the nanocomposite SurfaShield G coating very important especially for northern regions with limited sunlight periods.

AbstractDespite the rapid increase in the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSC), they still suffer from low lab‐to‐lab or people‐to‐people reproducibility. Aiming for a universal condition to high‐performance devices, we investigated the morphology evolution of a composite perovskite by tuning annealing temperature and precursor concentration of the perovskite film. Here, we introduce thermal annealing as a powerful tool to generate a well‐controlled excess of PbI2 in the perovskite formulation and show that this benefits the photovoltaic performance. We demonstrated the correlation between the film microstructure and electronic property and device performance. An optimized average grain size/thickness aspect ratio of the perovskite crystallite is identified, which brings about a highly reproducible power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.5 %, with a certified value of 19.08 %. Negligible hysteresis and outstanding morphology stability are observed with these devices. These findings lay the foundation for further boosting the PCE of PSC and can be very instructive for fabrication of high‐quality perovskite films for a variety of applications, such as light‐emitting diodes, field‐effect transistors, and photodetectors.

Abstract The mission of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (RSER) is to communicate the most significant and relevant critical thinking in renewable and sustainable energy research and development, bringing together the research community, the private sector and policy and decision-makers. The aim of the journal is to share problems, solutions, novel ideas and technologies that support the transition to a low-carbon future and achieve the global emissions targets as established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). The Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction (PRES) 2018 conference brought together the following topics through interdisciplinary dialogue: (a) Process Integration for sustainable development; (b) Process analysis, modelling and optimisation; (c) Total Site Integration; (d) Heat transfer and heat exchangers; (e) Energy-saving and clean technologies; (f) Sustainable processing and production; (g) Renewable and high efficiency utility systems; (h) Footprint minimisation and mitigation; (i) Operations and supply chain management; (j) Waste minimisation, processing and management; (k) Batch process analysis and integration; (l) Process network dynamics, flexibility and control; (m) Industrial implementation and optimisation; (n) Numerical fluid flow and heat transfer simulation; (o) Sustainability and Process Integration teaching, learning and knowledge tools. This Virtual Special Issue (VSI) captures many of the most significant developments in renewable and sustainable energy research.