• Energy Research
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Widespread low-rise residential buildings with a seismically resistant concrete frame and brick infill walls have lower microclimate levels in cold seasons due to low temperatures on the inner wall corner surfaces.These temperatures are lower if there is a corner column. For Bishkek, this temperature is 4.6 °C lower than that for permissible microclimate, even when the external wall has the required 70 mm of mineral wool slab insulation. It is caused by the negative effect of the wall corner thermal bridge. This effect is determined by ArchiCAD 20 software packages by visualizing the temperature distribution in the cross-section of the corner, which needs an additional thermal insulation layer of 40 mm. Using the LiraSAPR 2013 software package, the authors reduced the square cross-section dimensions of the column by 40 mm to allow for that additional thermal insulation layer. The optimal width of this layer is determined for different options for the meeting angle of two external walls from 70° to 180°. For a typical 90° angle, an acceptable width is 860 mm. With this insulation, it is possible to achieve the required temperature at the corner. The authors eliminated the negative thermal effect of the corner by rounding it with cement-sand plaster. Using the isotherms, it was determined that the rounding radius of 300 mm allowed for equal temperatures on the corner and inner surface of the external walls. The achieved results show that the microclimate formed as in a room without external wall corners.

Road transport accounts for around 12% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As many high-income countries are moving to decarbonise their road vehicle fleets, Kyrgyzstan – with rapid growth in passenger car ownership – is seeing a significant increase in transport-related GHG emissions and air pollution in urban areas. Whilst a transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is a key part of Kyrgyzstan’s Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement, the potential for successful EV deployment in the region is under-researched. To fill this research gap, this paper presents an assessment of the potential for EV deployment in Kyrgyzstan. Firstly, we present an investigation of the policy and institutional landscape relating to transport and the promotion of EVs in Kyrgyzstan. Secondly, based on research of 50,000 car sales and interviews with 23 key stakeholders in the country, we present analysis of the existing Kyrgyz vehicle fleet. Thirdly, using information ascertained from the interviews and desk-based research, we conduct a Total Cost of Ownership assessment of EVs versus internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) in the Kyrgyz context. We find that under the current conditions, EVs can have a lower total cost of ownership against similar ICEVs in Kyrgyzstan. However, it is evident that this is not typically the case: the analysis in this paper suggests that cost-competitiveness between EVs and ICEVs is more likely for larger and higher-powered vehicles, for which the ICEV version has a higher retail price. Finally, combining analysis of these results and analysis of the current conditions in Kyrgyzstan, trajectories for EV adoption in geographically and economically similar nations, and data from expert stakeholder interviews, we propose a set of policy recommendations to accelerate EV uptake in Kyrgyzstan.

Abstract In Turkey, the consumption of diesel oil is increasing both in transportation and in agricultural fields. In this study, the opportunities of the use of safflower oil, which grow originally in Turkey as a direct fuel in diesel engines, were researched to provide a new alternative for biofuel industry and to popularize the farming of oil crops. In this study, the kit design was completed first, and afterwards safflower oil was exposed to the process of neutralization and laundering, and then turned into standard fuel. For engine performance experiments, reference experiences were conducted by using diesel fuel by using safflower as a fuel in the engine with kit for 500 h; comparisons were made with regards to power, moment, diesel consumption, and exhaust emission. As a result, it was seen that when safflower was used as a fuel, there was a decrease in motor performance and emission, however specific fuel consumption increased. When safflower was used, there was not any residual on the engine that was found. The designed kit, which can be easily produced with national technology, did not cause any malfunction or negativity in the engine and it was successfully used.

Energy generation is currently evolving into a smart distribution system that incorporates several green energy resources at a distributed level, ensuring that clean energy is generated without releasing harmful gases, that operational procedures are consistent, and that energy management and supervision arrangements are improved. This paper proposes a multi-agent system-based microgrid energy management and proper control in distributed systems. For the complexity of energy management in distributed systems, a multi-agent system-based decentralized control architecture was developed. The proposed technique is based on several smart agents, each agent is based on the microgrid data for energy management and frequency control. The proposed energy management system based on the multi-agent system was tested by simulation under renewable resource fluctuations and seasonal load demand. The simulation results show that the proposed energy management system proved to be more resilient and high-performance controls than conventional centralized energy control systems.

In this study, biodiesel was produced by turning the raw oil, obtained from safflower seed, into Safflower Oil Methyl Ester by means of transesterification method. Mixing the biodiesel fuel, which was obtained from the safflower, with diesel fuel by adding bioethanol at the rate of 2.5% and 5% and volumetrically in inverse proportion, test fuels were acquired in the form of M100, E2.5B2.5M95, E5B5M90, E5B2.5M92.5 and E2.5B5M92.5. The tests of the diesel fuel and the obtained mixture fuel were carried out related to the fuel features; kinematic viscosity, density, water content, pH level, determination of color, calorific value, flash point, clouding, pour and freezing point, copper bar corrosion test, iodine number, cold filter plugging point and cetane number. Also, the obtained mixture were tried and examined on a four-cycle, single cylinder and on water cooled diesel engine with direct injection fuel system. The engine ran for 100 hours under partial load and the samples were taken from the engine oil at specific times and wear elements were searched. As a result of the analysis of the samples taken from engine lubricating oil, it was observed that as the engine run time increased, the wear elements in the samples increased, too. As a result of ICP oil analysis, the amount of wear elements such as iron, copper, aluminum, lead and chromium in engine lubricating oil were stated diagrammatically. It was determined that the use of E2.5B5M92.5 produced better results than the other types of fuels in terms of wear elements.

In this study, linseed oil was obtained with the aid of screw presses and linseed oil biodiesel (B100) (linseed oil methyl ester) production was performed by transesterification method. Linseed biodiesel was blended with regular diesel fuel at different ratios as B2 (98% diesel + 2% biodiesel), B5 (95% diesel + 5% biodiesel), B20 (80% diesel + 20% biodiesel), B50 (50% diesel + 50% biodiesel). Fuel properties tests were performed on all fuels. Results revealed that engine performance values of linseed biodiesel and fuel blends were similar with the standard diesel fuel. With regard to maximum torque, while the highest value was obtained as about 59.6 Nm at 1000 rpm with diesel fuel, the value was observed as about 53.8 Nm at 1200 1/min with B100 fuels. The highest maximum power output was recorded as approximately 10.96 kW at 2100 rpm with diesel fuel and as approximately 10.23 kW at 2000 rpm with B100 fuels. With regard to minimum specific fuel consumption, while the lowest value was measured as about 231.36 g/kWh at 1000 rpm with diesel fuel, the value was measured as about 296.73 g/kWh at 1200 rpm with B100 fuels. Exhaust emissions are generally improved by the addition of linseed biodiesel to diesel fuel.

Abstract Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are the two countries in Central Asia that have a huge reserve of hydro resources of the region. It is important to recognize the significance of the part played by the micro-hydropower plants (HPP) in the electric power generation in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan from the point of view of sustainable economic development. After all, the construction of micro-HPPs in mountainous areas will reliably ensure the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of agriculture and livestock, industry, tourism, improve the social conditions of the population, as well as ensure the production of “green” hydrogen, which will contribute to the development of an environmentally friendly transport system in the regions. Micro HPPs gained recognition as a good alternative to traditional power generation for many developing countries around the world. This study presents a structural model and methodology of choice of a feasible type of micro HPP using the developed algorithm for calculation of hydro turbines’ characteristics based on the hydrological characteristics of small and shallow watercourses located in Central Asian countries, such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Based on this model, the software “Calculation and choosing the type of hydro turbines for micro HPPs” has been developed. Depending on the load, a consumer can choose one of the suggested types of micro-hydroelectric power plants to meet his requirements. When choosing the type of micro-hydroelectric power station, a consumer should also take into account the factor of the seasonality of the water level, the constancy and speed of the water, and the volume of river water, since in some places the water freezes in winter.

Internet of Things (IoT) has attracted tremendous research attention in the recent past fromindustry and academia. IoT is quite helpful in uplifting living standards by transforming conventional technology into smart systems. Greenhouse production is considered as an ultimate solution for rising global food demands with the growing population. Greenhouse provides a year-round production facility for fresh vegetables with around 50% increased production rate in comparison to open-air cultivation. However, energy consumption and labor cost in greenhouses account for more than 50% of the cost of greenhouse production. In this paper, we have proposed a novel optimization scheme that aims to achieve a trade-off between energy consumption and desired climate setting in greenhouse i.e. temperature, $${\mathrm{CO}}_2$$ level, and humidity. For performance evaluation of the proposed system, we have developed an ad-hoc emulator of the greenhouse environment. For the proposed model validation and experimental analysis, we have used 15 days of external environmental data collected in Jeju, South Korea. Proposed optimization scheme results are compared with a baseline scheme. Comparative analysis of experimental results shows that our proposed model maintains desired indoor environment for maximizing crop production with 26.56% reduced energy consumption than the baseline scheme. Furthermore proposed model achieve a 27.76% cost reduction when compared to the baseline scheme. Better optimization results of the proposed scheme give us the confidence to further investigate its effectiveness in a real environment for achieving improved energy efficiency.

Abstract This study analyzes the socio-economic impact of electrification with special attention to gender dynamics using evidence from the Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan. We employ survey data and stakeholder interviews to evaluate changes in education, health and economic opportunities. We find that women in grid-supplied communities are on average 27% more literate and complete more years of schooling compared to women in off-grid communities. Households in grid-supplied communities report a lower incidence of diseases, lower child mortality, improved access to ante-natal care, and higher vaccination rates, but they also endure a higher incidence of respiratory diseases due to cooking indoors. We show that switching from off-grid to grid-supplied electricity would allow households to power either 4,200 hours of LED light, 1,340 hours of TV, or 55 hours of hotplate usage at no additional cost. Access to grid-supplied electricity also enables economic opportunities which is reflected in the average higher income by a factor of 5.9 compared to households using solar panels. Moreover, households with grid-electricity save time on the collection of biomass fuel, e.g. for households using firewood, the daily time saving potential amounts to 5 hours. Consequently, men spend on average more time with their children and are more likely to provide help with household tasks that are typically in the female domain in grid-supplied households. Nonetheless, we find that access to grid electricity has mixed effects on education, health and economic outcomes, especially with regards to gender dynamics. Therefore, we challenge the assumption of a linear relationship between electrification and associated impacts, and stress that structural, institutional and power dynamics exert greater influence on education, health and economic outcomes than access to electricity alone.