• Energy Research

One major concern about foreign direct investment (FDI) is the potential negative environmental impact due to increased CO2 emissions. However, there is a possibility that FDI mitigates CO2 emissions through green innovation and creates a cleaner environment. In the existing literature, there is no significant empirical evidence on the linkage among FDI, green innovation and CO2 emissions in the context of BRICS countries. Hence, this study aims to analyze the impact of FDI and green innovation on the environmental quality of BRICS economies for 1990–2014. The study employed Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators for empirical data analysis. The study’s findings depict that foreign direct investment, energy use, and economic growth have a significant and positive impact on the CO2 emissions of BRICS economies. Moreover, green innovation has a significant inverse impact on CO2 emissions. The results show bidirectional causalities between CO2 emissions and green innovation, trade openness and CO2 emissions, energy use and CO2 emissions, and urbanization and CO2 emissions. Additionally, the findings reveal a one-way causality from CO2 emissions to GDP and CO2 emissions to urbanization. This study offers essential policy recommendations for the environmental sustainability of BRICS countries through green innovation.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered to be a solution for sustainable transportation. EVs can reduce fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and the negative impacts of climate change and global warming, as well as help improve air quality. However, EV adoption in Thailand is quite low. Against this backdrop, this study investigates barriers and motivators for EV adoption and their public perception in Thailand. A total of 454 responses were collected through an online questionnaire. The results indicate that the top three concerns of respondents about EVs are public infrastructure and vehicle performance in terms of charge range and battery life. Respondents with more than five years of driving experience in the age range of 26–35 years old could be key targets for early EV adoption.

This study investigated the characteristics of biochars derived from the pyrolysis of rubberwood sawdust (RWS) and sewage sludge (SS) and their co-pyrolysis at mixing ratios of 50:50 and 75:25. Biochars were produced at 550 °C through slow pyrolysis in a moving bed reactor and then characterized. Results showed that the rubberwood sawdust biochar (RWSB) had high carbon content (86.70 wt%) and low oxygen content (7.89 wt%). By contrast, the sewage sludge biochar (SSB) had high ash content (65.61 wt%) and low carbon content (24.27 wt%). The blending of RWS with SS at the mentioned ratios helped enhance the gross and element contents of the biochar samples. The elemental analysis of the biochars was also reported in the form of atomic ratios (H/C and O/C). The functional groups of biochars were observed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) revealed that the biochar from SS contained a high content of inorganic elements, such as Si, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, P, and Zn. The pH of the biochars ranged from 8.41 to 10.02. Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that RWSB had a lower surface area and larger pore diameter than the other biochars. The water holding capacity (WHC) and water releasing ability (WRA) of the biochars were in the range of 1.01–3.08 mL/g and 1.19–52.42 wt%, respectively. These results will be the guideline for further application and study of biochar from RWS, SS, and blended samples.

In recent years, the contamination of the aquatic environment with antibiotics, including tetracyclines, has drawn much attention. Bottom ash (BA), a residue from the biomass power plant, was used to synthesize the magnetic mesoporous silica (MMS) and was utilized as an adsorbent for tetracycline (TC) removal from aqueous solutions. The MMS was characterized by Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optimum conditions were obtained in overnight incubation at 60 °C, a pH of 6–8, and an adsorption capacity of 276.74 mg/g. The isotherm and kinetic equations pointed to a Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-first-order kinetic optimum fitting models. Based on the very low values of entropy changes (ΔS°), the negative value of enthalpy changes (ΔH°) (−15.94 kJ/mol), and the negative Gibbs free-energy changes (ΔG°), the adsorption process was physisorption and spontaneous.

Abstract This study investigated the characteristics of biochars derived from pyrolysis of rubberwood sawdust and sewage sludge, and co-pyrolysis of these feedstocks at the ratios of 50:50 and 75:25. All feedstocks were pyrolyzed at 550°C in slow pyrolysis with a moving bed pyrolysis reactor. Then, the investigated characteristics of biochar samples were determined and are reported. The rubberwood sawdust biochar (RWSB) had a higher in carbon content (86.70 wt%) and was lower in oxygen content (7.89 wt%), while sewage sludge biochar (SSB) had a higher ash content (65.61 w%) and a low carbon content (24.27 wt%). The weight losses of biochars were observed in TGA while the DTG graphs show degradation rate of biochar produced in pyrolysis specific conditions. RWSB had a lower content of Si, Fe, K, Na and P than SSB as observed by XRF. The pH of RWSB, SSB and the blends (50:50, 75:25) of biochars was in the range 8.41–10.02. High carbon content of the biochar confirms potential for its use in carbon sequestration. The large pore volumes and specific surface areas of biochars were found by SEM and BET. The available functional groups in biochars were C–O, C = C, and C–H as confirmed by FTIR. Water holding capacity (WHC) and water releasing ability (WRA) of RWSB, SSB, and the blends (50:50 and 75:25) of biochars were 1.01–3.08 (mL/g) and 1.19–52.42 (wt%), respectively. In this study, our results show that blending woody and non-woody based biochars can help address nonpoint source contaminants in environment. So, these all findings should develop as tune to parameters of thermal degradation of biomass and bio-biowaste with sustain and eco-friendly biochar production.

The world’s energy consumption is outpacing supply due to population growth and technological advancements. For future energy demands, it is critical to progress toward a dependable, cost-effective, and sustainable renewable energy source. Solar energy, along with all other alternative energy sources, is a potential renewable resource to manage these enduring challenges in the energy crisis. Solar power generation is expanding globally as a result of growing energy demands and depleting fossil fuel reserves, which are presently the primary sources of power generation. In the realm of solar power generation, photovoltaic (PV) panels are used to convert solar radiation into energy. They are subjected to the constantly changing state of the environment, resulting in a wide range of defects. These defects should be discovered and remedied as soon as possible so that PV panels efficiency, endurance, and durability are not compromised. This paper focuses on five aspects, namely, (i) the various possible faults that occur in PV panels, (ii) the online/remote supervision of PV panels, (iii) the role of machine learning techniques in the fault diagnosis of PV panels, (iv) the various sensors used for different fault detections in PV panels, and (v) the benefits of fault identification in PV panels. Based on the investigated studies, recommendations for future research directions are suggested.

Cordyceps militaris is an entomopathogenic fungus. It is well-known as a rich source of bioactive compounds called cordycepins and adenosines, which are useful in medicinal applications. The effects of medium components on cordycepin and adenosine production by C. militaris, obtained by adding different conditions of corncob biochar in solid media, were investigated in this study. The medium components, which mixed 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1, 5 and 10 g of biochar with rice berries, were optimized to improve the yield of biomasses, cordycepins, and adenosines. The results showed that 10 g of biochar mixed with a rice berry medium was the optimal medium condition for the highest dry fruiting body weight (DFW) and cordycepin yield (CY) at 3.6 kg/bottle and 20.5 mg/g, respectively, but the adenosine yield (AY) was similar to that in other conditions. Moreover, the SEM showed that the mycelia of C. militaris attached to the biochar surface (pores) and used it as the resident. EDS analysis from the basal medium indicated that C and O were present in the mycelia of C. militaris with the average values of 25.6% and 71.4%, respectively. This study provides an effective cultivation method by using agricultural residue, and biochar corncob as a high concentration of carbon for increasing the biomass, cordycepin, and adenosine yield of C. militaris. The information obtained in this study is fundamental and useful to the development of a C. militaris cultivation process for the efficient production of cordycepin on a large scale. The findings suggest that the system design of the cultivation medium is crucial for growth and cordycepin production.