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The chemical and petrochemical sector is by far the largest industrial energy user, accounting for 30% of the industry's total final energy use. However, due to its complexity its energy efficiency potential is not well understood. This article analyses the energy efficiency potential on a country level if Best Practice Technologies (BPT) were implemented in chemical processes. Two approaches are applied and an improved dataset referring to Europe has been developed for BPT energy use. This methodology has been applied to 66 products in fifteen countries that represent 70% of chemical and petrochemical sector's energy use worldwide. The results suggest a global energy efficiency potential of 16% for this sector, excluding savings in electricity use and by higher levels of process integration, combined heat and power (CHP) and post-consumer plastic waste treatment. The results are more accurate than previous estimates. The results suggest significant differences between countries, but a cross-check based on two different methods shows that important methodological and data issues remain to be resolved. Further refinement is needed for target setting, monitoring and informing energy and climate negotiation processes. For the short and medium term, a combination of benchmarking and country level analysis is recommended.

Recently electric vehicles (EVs) have increasingly been used for transportation due to low cost operation and less carbon emission. However, major disadvantages of EVs are charging time, range and overloading the grid, and the latter may lead to instability in the grid when a vast number of EVs are simultaneously charged from the grid. One solution to this may be to charging times and to share amount of charging power through photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage (ES) systems with minimum cost. In this study, a 20 kW grid tied charging station with PV and ES systems is designed to charge EVs with minimum cost for the hourly changing electricity price through a variety of charge options such as grid to EV, ES to EV, PV to EV, EV to EV etc. This is achieved by optimizing charge start times and facilities using metaheuristic based computational algorithms. The proposed approach worked well and results obtained are encouraging and meaningful for the case study

Green energy technologies (GETs) are environmentally friendly in nature, making a promising contribution to attaining net-zero carbon goals. Although the Pakistani government has begun using GETs to minimize the adverse effects of carbon emissions, consumers' adoption rate is quite low. There are few studies examining consumers' desire to adopt GETs in the country. This study attempts to fill this research gap and also contributes by adding three novel factors to the theory of planned behavior (i.e., green energy technology awareness, openness to experience, and green energy technology discomfort) to comprehensively analyze the impact of various factors influencing consumers' desire to adopt GETs. For this purpose, the study establishes a systematic research framework. Data were collected from (n = 330) households in the five major cities (Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mardan, Mingora, and Swabi) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province via an inclusive questionnaire survey. The formulated hypotheses are evaluated and scrutinized using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that environmental concern (β = 0.245), green energy technology awareness (β = 0.362), openness to experience (β = 0.256), and green energy technology benefits (β = 0.225) positively affect consumers' desire to adopt GETs. On the other hand, green energy technology costs (β = 0.325) and green energy technology discomfort (β = 0.395) have a negative effect on consumers' adoption of GETs. The research findings emphasize the importance of increasing recognition of GETs, reforming policy frameworks, and providing budget-friendly and user-friendly technologies. Research limitations and future research perspectives are also addressed.

The production of charcoal for its many uses requires a careful selection of biomass and pyrolysis conditions, especially temperature, to ensure suitable quality. To do so, physical, chemical, and mechanical energy must be considered. This study aimed to analyze the yields and properties of charcoal produced at different pyrolysis temperatures. Eucalyptus saligna wood was pyrolyzed in a reactor with final temperatures of 450, 550, 650, 750, 850 and 950 °C. The yields of charcoal, pyroligneous liquid and non-condensable gases were determined. Mass loss was determined for each temperature. Charcoal analysis included the determination of the apparent density, proximate analysis, heating value, mechanical strength, X-ray images for the internal visualization of its structure and hygroscopicity test. Relevant charcoal properties for the steel industry and barbecue, such as density, mechanical strength, heating value and hygroscopicity, show variable trends from pyrolysis at 650 °C. The results show that pyrolysis temperature had a great impact on the properties of charcoal. The apparent density of charcoal rose from 500 °C and had no relation to the breaking strength. When the pyrolysis temperature was raised, an increase in both apparent and true densities, internal fissures and cracks and fixed carbon content of charcoal was observed.

The existing standard current-temperature calculations for overhead line (OHL) conductors have been adequate for conventional conductors and their operating temperatures. However, these calculations make assumptions and include simplifications about conductor geometry and aero-thermal-dynamics, introducing an error in the High-Temperature Low-Sag conductors operating temperatures. To quantify the error introduced by the shape of strands, the paper employs a Multi-Physics Finite Element Modeling approach that calculates the conjugate heat transfer for trapezoidal stranded OHL conductors. Furthermore, it proposes corrective equations to improve the accuracy of existing methods. The equations incorporate a new Nusselt number correlation for mixed convection and capture the surface area ignored by current calculations. The outer conductor geometry assumptions and the combined natural and forced convective cooling omission in the IEEE and CIGRE methods introduce an error at low (below 0.12 m/s) cross-flow wind speeds suggesting an underestimation of conductor temperature by up to 4%. In medium wind speeds, typically at 0.5 m/s - 0.61 m/s, the standard methods overestimate the conductor temperature limiting its current-carrying capability. A 5% uprating for existing OHLs is potentially feasible, particularly for the trapezoidal stranded conductors, when removing the assumptions made in existing methods.

Abstract The safe decommissioning as well as decontamination of the radioactive waste resulting from the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi represents a huge task for the next decade. At present, research and development on long-term safe storage containers has become an urgent task with international cooperation in Japan. One challenge is the generation of hydrogen and oxygen in significant amounts by means of radiolysis inside the containers, as the nuclear waste contains a large portion of sea water. The generation of radiolysis gases may lead to a significant pressure build-up inside the containers and to the formation of flammable gases with the risk of ignition and the loss of integrity. In the framework of the project “R&D on technology for reducing concentration of flammable gases generated in long-term waste storage containers” funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), the potential application of catalytic recombiner devices inside the storage containers is investigated. In this context, a suitable catalyst based on the so-called intelligent automotive catalyst for use in a recombiner is under consideration. The catalyst is originally developed and mass-produced for automotive exhaust gas purification, and is characterized by having a self-healing function of precious metals (Pd, Pt and Rh) dissolved as a solid solution in the perovskite type oxides. The basic features of this catalyst have been tested in an experimental program. The test series in the REKO-4 facility has revealed the basic characteristics of the catalyst required for designing the recombiner system.

Abstract With drastic fossil fuel depletion and environmental deterioration concerns, a move towards a more sustainable bioenergy-based economy is essential. Lately, the application of microwave (MW) irradiation for waste processing has been attracting interest globally. MW-assisted heating possesses several advantages such as the provision of high microwave energy into dielectric materials with deeper penetration for internal heat generation, showing beneficial features in improving the heating rate and reducing the reaction time. Consequently, the most recent literature regarding the applications of MW-assisted heating for biomass pretreatment as well as biofuel and bioenergy production was reviewed and consolidated in this study. An impressive increase in the product yield and improvement of the product properties are reported, with the use of MW-assisted heating in several conversion routes to produce biofuels. Despite being a promising technology for biofuel production, some major fundamental data of MW-assisted heating have not been comprehensively identified. Therefore, the feasibility of this technology for large-scale implementation is still subpar. Understanding the interaction between the feedstock and the microwave electromagnetic field, and the optimization of several operational and mechanical parameters are the two main keystones that would propel the industrialization of MW heating in the near future. This provides key insights leading to increased feasibility and more advanced application of MW heating.

Phase change materials (PCM) are materials with the ability to store a large amount of energy (latent heat) during their change from solid to a liquid phase. This takes place at a certain melting temperature. Amid the global energy crisis, multiple applications of these materials have been studied at the theoretical, numerical and experimental approach, obtaining promising results in terms of an increase in the efficiency of these systems. However, the application of these materials is being studied since there are no rules or predictions of the feasibility of its application in diverse weather conditions. The tropical climate condition is one of the least studied in this context. In this work, a review of the main findings of recent studies conducted in tropical climate conditions is presented. Additionally, an analysis of the main challenges and opportunities of the application of PCM in the climate of Panama is performed. It was concluded that some applications in passive cooling and solar water heating systems might have the potential for their implementation. However, further studies are required to take into account other applications.

Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) are challenging the traditional food system by leveraging concepts such as self-organisation and self-management aiming to shorten the food supply chain and give cu...