• Energy Research
• natural sciences close
• 13. Climate action close
• 11. Sustainability close
• 8. Economic growth close
• UA close

This article highlights the impact of innovation on achieving environmental sustainability of regional economic systems in the context of effective man-agement of significantly limited natural resources in modern Ukraine, which was the subject of the study, its key objective and main task. Methodology. The proposed work uses systemic and synergetic approaches, methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, historical and comparative analysis, etc. Value/originality. Consideration of the issues of regional innova-tion and environmental sustainability of regional economic systems in their combination is a novelty in modern studies of ecological-economic processes. It is exhaustively taken into account that innovation is a complex process of transformation of newly obtained ideas and goals into an actual object of eco-nomic relations. At the same time, it was found that in the conditions of trans-formation of the modern Ukrainian economy began to manifest such features as frequent and unpredictable changes in demand due to the emergence of completely new needs, which can be satisfied only by qualitatively new, pre-dominantly knowledge-intensive products. Therefore, there is an urgent need to restructure regional economies on a fundamentally new basis, which provides a real opportunity to reproduce the existing innovation potential, improve the innovation and technological level of all spheres of economic activity in the re-gion and achieve a much higher degree of competitiveness. At the same time, given the significant role of innovation processes in improving and ensuring the proper environmental sustainability of regional eco-nomic systems, the def-inition of appropriate tasks, taking into account their characteristics, is a pre-requisite for the effective management of natural resources of the country as a whole and its regions. Therefore, in European practice, the European Innova-tion Scoreboard (EIS), calculated by Eurostat, is used to determine the achieved level of regional innovation development. At the same time, the methodology used in its basis to assess the effectiveness of national research innovative projects is not without criticism. And one of the main criticisms was the absence of a conceptual or theoretical model of innovation. Simultane-ously, this paper proposes a fundamentally new approach to determining the effectiveness of innovation in the hierarchical-regional dimension, which is based on the use of appropriate tools of multidimensional statistical analysis and statistics of the European Union (in particular, Eurostat) and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. In addition, synchronously with their standardi-zation, based on the obtained values of innovation levels in the regions, matri-ces were formed separately for incoming and outgoing regional innovation in-dices. Result. The achieved levels of innovativeness of Ukrainian regions in the context of ensuring appropriate environmental sustainability of their economic systems in the management of significantly limited natural resources were de-termined. Practical implications. Another real opportunity has arisen to signif-icantly improve the management of the available natural resources of each re-gion and the state as a whole in terms of ensuring the proper environmental sustainability of regional economic systems.

The article is devoted to a study of the issues related to the processes of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions using different types of biofuels. The dynamics of carbon dioxide emissions in the global energy sector were analyzed and it was determined that a stable level of the CO2 emissions in the last three years is due to introduction of the technologies with the use of renewable energy sources by developed countries. It was proven that the assessment of total greenhouse gas emissions requires an analysis of emissions throughout the life cycle of a biofuel. The impact of a biofuel on the climate change depends on the raw material from which it is produced, and which has a decisive influence on its chemical composition and performance. It was established that a significant role in ensuring energy security and preventing climate change is attributed to the development of biotechnologies, unrelated to the risks of agricultural production. The use of a biofuel from lignocellulose raw material may be more efficient in terms of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. A biofuel, obtained from the processing of microalgae, also has important prospects. The ability of microalgae to bind atmospheric carbon dioxide may have a positive effect on solving the problem of greenhouse effect.

A circular economy emerged as an alternative transition model, which is considered to be a solution to massive environmental degradation. The transition from a linear economy to a circular economy requires companies to be actively involved in more sustainable practices. For such a transition, companies must rethink, innovate on business models, and encourage sustainability-oriented innovation to deliver customer value, while simultaneously considering environmental and social aspects. On the other hand, the role of the circular economy in energy conservation and infrastructure has not been mapped out in the current literature. This systematic literature review seeks to map out the main interrelated topics of the circular economy and sustainability-oriented innovation, describing internal and external factors that need to be considered in the transition to a clean energy future. Key lines of research are identified, and suggestions for future research and for how to facilitate the movement towards a circular economy are provided. This study contributes to an enhancement of the literature by identifying priority areas regarding the circular economy and sustainability-oriented innovation to encourage future research that contributes to sustainability and environmental preservation.

The noise problem in hotel rooms is strictly connected to noise generated by heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) devices. Hospitality industry companies in many countries have specific requirements and monitor the noise level with technical equipment inside the hotel room. To ensure an adequately low level of noise from the HVAC system, proper calculations and tests are performed before the final application of the system in the hotel room. One of the best methods for assessing the noise level from HVAC devices in hotel rooms is to create a testing room (mock-up) in a certain available space, e.g., in a warehouse, and to perform appropriate standard measurements for the noise level. This method is a popular choice in the hotel industry because the noise level can not only be verified, but also, the installation and operation of the HVAC system inside the room can be checked. The main factors in choosing the space in which the mock-up will be made are availability and appropriate volume. It is not always possible to provide a hall space with a very low background level of noise. This article shows that the selection of a mock-up space is also determined by the noise level in the selected space. The background noise level—thus, the noise level in the mock-up room—must be low enough to be able to reliably measure the noise level from the HVAC equipment to avoid the phenomenon of acoustic masking by other noise sources (background noise) not related to the measurement. Background noise at too high a level will lead to invalidation of the measurement results or overestimation of the actual noise level in the room from the tested HVAC devices. In this study, background noise level measurements made in the testing rooms are described. The results are discussed, and a conclusion is drawn.

A huge concern regarding global warming, as well as the depletion of natural fuel resources, has led to a wide search for alternative energy sources. Due to their high reliability and long operation time, thermoelectric generators are of significant interest for waste heat recovery and power generation. The main disadvantage of TEGs is the low efficiency of thermoelectric commercial modules. In this work, a unique design for a multilayer TE unicouple is suggested for an operating temperature range of 50–600 °C. Two types of thermoelectric materials were selected: «low temperature» n-and p-type TE materials (for the operating temperature range of 50–300 °C) based on Bi2Te3 compounds and «middle temperature» (for the operating temperature range of 300–600 °C) n- and p-type TE materials based on the PbTe compound. The hot extrusion technology was applied to fabricate n- and p-type low-temperature TE materials. A unique design of multilayer TEG was experienced to achieve an efficiency of up to 15%. This allows for the possibility of extracting this amount of electrical power from the heat generated for domestic and water heating.

The production of aquaculture products in closed water supply plants is becoming more widespread, and the volume of cultivation with such systems of freshwater fish is increasing. The use of closed water supply plants is the most promising global trend. When growing in closed water supply facilities, all parameters of the technological process are supported by automated devices, and the influence of natural factors on the process of the process is minimal. However, such systems require complex technological support, which needs constant improvement. When working in closed water supply plants, a precipitate is formed that needs to be recycled. It is expedient to utilize these sediments using methods that allow to receive additional heat and electricity for the needs of closed water supply plants in the production of aquaculture. On the basis of generalization and analysis of literary sources, it was found that the average value of the coefficient of conversion of mixed fodder during fattening of pigs is from 2.8 to 3.2 kg of feed per kg of weight gain. The average value of the coefficient of conversion of mixed fodder during fattening cattle is from 6.3 to 7.2 kg of feed per kg of weight gain. When growing broilers, the feed conversion rate is from 1.6 to 2 kg per kg of weight gain. The average value of the coefficient of conversion of mixed fodder during the cultivation of trout was 1.6 kg of feed per kg of weight gain, and at feeding sows – 1.2 kg of feed per kg of weight gain. The results of the development of block diagrams for the installation of closed water supply for the production of aquaculture with the provision of partial energy autonomy due to heat and electricity generated during the cogeneration of biogas generated during methane digestion of organic constituents of the sediment formed during the operation of the closed water supply system are presented.

Abstract The study aims to substantiate theoretical and methodological aspects of the use of strategic environmental assessment as an instrument for public regulation of the ecological status of territories. The research methodology is based on using a systematic approach for conducting a strategic environmental assessment of the possibility of environmental problems and threats posed by the implementation of long-term projects and current activities. The development of ecological balance, comparison of the results of normative and exploratory forecasts of the state of the environment become the basis for the formation of goals of strategic environmental management, the appearance of a set of measures for the conservation and restoration of natural resources. Identification of factors influencing the state of the environment is a necessary condition for the prevention of pollution of territories, inefficient use of natural resources, justification of the essential measures of state regulation to ensure the achievement of goals. The practical experience of assessing the achievements in the management of the conditions of the environment is illustrated by the example of regions of Ukraine. The proposed approach to the development of the ecological balance and the methodology of complex assessment of the ecological status of the territory have scientific novelty and contribute to the assessment of the effectiveness of public administration balanced development of the territories.

Since early 1970s, the Black Sea pelagic ecosystem has been experienced severe impact caused by numer� ous anthropogenic factors, which have significantly changed its state [1–3]. Among the latter, eutrophica� tion was of great importance. It has altered the tropho� dynamics of the pelagic zone owing to an increase in the phytoplankton abundance and biomass and a sig� nificant change in its species composition. For exam� ple, the proportion of diatoms, which account for over 90% of the total phytoplankton abundance on the Black Sea shelf, has significantly reduced. As a result, dynoflagellates and small species, primarily coccoli� thophorids and small flagellates became dominants [4]. Such changes in the Black Sea pelagic zone affected both the entire structure of its food web, including the upper trophic layers of the ecosystem (primarily the stock of small pelagic fishes), and its state in general. On the one hand, the primary produc� tive base in the ecosystem has increased; on the other hand, qualitative changes in the primary producers of the trophic web resulted in a decrease in the ecological efficiency of utilization of matter and energy in the Black Sea ecosystem on the whole. This, in turn, has disturbed its resistance to adverse impacts [1, 5]. To clarify the relationship between the primary and ter� minal trophic components in the Black Sea pelagic