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Water and electricity have a unique relationship in the modern world as one requires the other in a complex system of networks to supply the utility to the customers. This energy–water interaction is especially peculiar in the Gulf Cooperation Council, where there are limited water resources, but extremely high use rates. Qatar provides a unique case in terms of extreme water scarcity and excessive water use. To understand the intricate network, this paper establishes an updated and comprehensive qualitative model of the water system in the country with the help of a water balance and system dynamics (causal loop diagram) methodology. Regression estimates are then used to estimate future water and energy consumption in addition to carbon dioxide emissions until the year 2050. Finally, system dynamics (stock and flow diagram) is used to determine the supply impacts of efficiency policies including limiting of groundwater abstraction to only 50 million m3, reduction of water consumption in the household, commercial and industrial sector by 10%, and gradual increase in the share of reverse osmosis (RO)-produced desalinated water to 50% in order to assess the supply volume, electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. The efficient use of water in different sectors of the economy results in a combined saving of 1222 GWh (8.1%) or 594,000 tons CO2. Furthermore, by moving to membrane-based desalination technology energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 3672 GWh (24.3%) and 1.8 million tons CO2, respectively. Further results suggest that while replacing groundwater with desalinated water can increase the energy consumption significantly, reuse of treated wastewater has almost the same footprint as groundwater, but can increase the resilience of the system considerably as groundwater abstraction levels are lowered to their renewal rates.

Currently, there is a widespread interest in the different methods of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as a result of the continuous decline in the conventional oil reserves and the accelerated increase in the global energy demand. Surfactant flooding is a well-established method of chemical EOR. This method has proven successful as it increases oil recovery through a combination of mechanisms. These include interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, wettability alteration, foam generation and emulsification. Despite its popularity, surfactant flooding is still challenged by issues including instability under harsh (or normal) reservoir conditions and excessive adsorption. These issues affect the expected oil recovery and thereby reduce the economic returns of EOR projects. Nevertheless, surfactants can be properly selected according to reservoir conditions and rock type. This is usually carried out using surfactant screening methods, which impose limits related to the IFT, surfactant adsorption and other factors under given temperature and salinity conditions. This paper reviews surfactant characterization and phase behavior, the role of surfactants in oil recovery, surfactant adsorption onto reservoir rock, and the application of surfactants in EOR on both laboratory and field scales. Finally, the review presents current research trends and future prospects based on recently published studies in the area of surfactant flooding.

This paper aims at the sustainable development of activated carbons for value-added applications from the waste tyre pyrolysis product, tyre char, in order to make pyrolysis economically favorable. Two activation process parameters, activation temperature (900, 925, 950 and 975 °C) and residence time (2, 4 and 6 h) with steam as the activating agent have been investigated. The textural properties of the produced tyre char activated carbons have been characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption experiments at -196 °C. The activation process has resulted in the production of mesoporous activated carbons confirmed by the existence of hysteresis loops in the N2 adsorption-desorption curves and the pore size distribution curves obtained from BJH method. The BET surface area, total pore volume and mesopore volume of the activated carbons from tyre char have been improved to 732 m(2)/g, 0.91 cm(3)/g and 0.89 cm(3)/g, respectively. It has been observed that the BET surface area, mesopore volume and total pore volume increased linearly with burnoff during activation in the range of experimental parameters studied. Thus, yield-normalized surface area, defined as the surface area of the activated carbon per gram of the precursor, has been introduced to optimize the activation conditions. Accordingly, the optimized activation conditions have been demonstrated as an activation temperature of 975 °C and an activation time of 4 h.

Besides being limited in quantity, conventional energy sources also emit toxic gases. The Photovoltaic (PV) Solar System is one of the most energizing green energy sources. Around the globe, solar panels are being installed on barren land as well as on the roofs of buildings to generate electricity. An education institute in northern India recently took a step in this direction by installing a grid-tied 100 kWp solar power plant. The installed PV panels are tilted at an angle of 30° and mounted on the roof of the building. The actual PV plant system’s performance differs from the performance under laboratory conditions. Hence, performance evaluation of real outdoor plants becomes essential, especially when the plant is commissioned in different situations, such as roof-mounted systems. Many softwares can estimate the plant’s performance evaluation, but their reliability is not yet proven. This paper examines the performance evaluation of grid-tied PV plants between January 2019 and December 2019 in accordance with the IEC 61724 standard. Moreover, the results of the actual plant have also been compared with the results from the PV*Syst software that simulates the real-time behavior of the plant. Further, in order to evaluate the power plant’s performance, this paper analyzes the various parameters of the PV plant, including reference yield, final yield, and performance ratio of the PV plant. An evaluation of the module’s performance indicates that it has produced 101.57 MWh of energy over 1 year, with a performance ratio of 0.60. It is evident from the comparative analysis that rooftop solar panels are an economically viable and technologically feasible means of providing electricity in the northern parts of India. By taking such measures, the institutes or offices can protect the environment and save money by becoming microgrids. The proposed project provides a roadmap for installing rooftop photovoltaic plants in populated cities without occupying additional land.

AbstractHydrogen production from biomass steam gasification is systematically reviewed. Equilibrium modeling and simulation studies using various techniques for effective hydrogen production are presented. Heat integration, economic analysis of the hydrogen production, and systematic design algorithms research publications are overviewed and discussed for energy‐efficient and economic hydrogen production from various biomass feedstocks. Comparison and analysis of the results strongly suggest the viable potential of biomass steam gasification for hydrogen production from small to large scales with applications for thermal heat, power generation, and many other industrial fields.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a more attractive transportation option, as they offer great cost savings, decrease foreign oil dependency, and reduce carbon emissions. However, varying temporal and spatial demand patterns of EVs threatens power grid operations and its physical components. Thus, the ability of the power grid to handle the potential extra load has become a major factor in the mainstream success. In order for this integration to occur seamlessly, the power grid and the consumers need to be coordinated in harmony. In this paper, we address the critical challenges introduced by the penetration of EVs, systematically categorize the proposed frameworks for demand management, and the role of information and communication technologies in the solution process. We provide a comprehensive survey on the communication requirements, the standards and the candidate technologies towards the Internet of electric vehicles (IoEV). This survey summarizes the current state of research efforts in electric vehicle demand management and aims to shed light on the continued studies.

Abstract Carbon emissions from the aviation sector are expected to double during the coming three decades as the sector expands rapidly. Besides, the fluctuation of conventional fuel prices continues to obstruct the establishment of stable commercial strategies for the airlines. Meanwhile, Jet Biofuel (JBF) has been identified as a reliable alternative to conventional Jet-A fuel. Amongst the tested promising feedstocks for JBF production, Jatropha oil has gained growing attention and is believed to play a key role in the JBF industry. Though, no in-depth reviews on Jatropha JBF are found in literature, it is believed that there is a need to evaluate Jatropha as feedstock for JBF production after over 10 years of intensive research. Therefore, this article presents a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of Jatropha JBF production. The article offers a thorough review of the hydroprocessing of Jatropha by investigating its optimum operating conditions, recent catalyst application developments, the feasibility of JBF, its performance and environmental impact. This study concludes that Jatropha JBF production by hydroprocessing can achieve up to a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to Jet-A. While Jatropha JBF can be produced with a levelised cost as low as $0.6/kg. The main challenges facing Jatropha JBF industry has been identified to be the availability of feedstock and achieving a competitively priced JBF. As such, alternative routes to utilise the remaining parts of the Jatropha fruit into JBF production are proposed to reduce the land footprint, enhance JBF yield and minimise its selling price. The proposed pathways are expected to achieve a significant fuel yield increment of 24–89% as compared to utilising Jatropha oil alone, which remain to be evaluated in terms of technical and economic aspects.

Abstract Economically, fossil fuels remain the main source of energy despite their high emissions of greenhouse gases. However, biomass, a renewable fuel with CO2 neutrality, has experienced widespread attention as a potential contributor to sustainable development of the energy sector. Gasification is an important thermochemical process that converts biomass feedstock into H2-rich combustible gases, which are favoured by wide downstream applications. The use of pure steam or oxygen as a gasifying agent is preferred to increase the yield of combustible gases. Consequently, hydrogen is utilised as an important intermediary in the generation of value-added products such as urea, fuels and power. This study compares the biomass gasification using oxygen-only and steam-only gasifying agents. Moreover, the study examines a poly-generation system that consumes biomass feedstock of multiple sources to produce high grade Fisher-Tropsch liquids, methanol, urea, and power. To achieve this aim, four Aspen Plus simulation flowsheets are developed considering both gasifiying agents and compared utilising the built-in economic and environmental capabilities. The results obtained from the economic and environmental evaluation demonstrate the excellence of steam-only biomass gasification in providing profitable and cleaner products. The methanol production using steam gasification is the most economical solution with a net profit per input of $0.12 per kg of biomass input and the lowest emissions pathway with 0.68 kg of CO2-e per biomass input. The relative nature of the results can offer diverse perspectives depending on the market situation of the products. Consequently, analysing the results relative to production capacity, power generation using steam gasification achieves a net profit approximated at $0.80 per kg of product, whilst methanol production using steam gasification remains the lowest environmental impact solution with 2.32 kg of CO2-e per output product.