• Energy Research

Abstract There is a demand for economic, affordable cost manufacturing and Improvement in power conversion energy of DSSC has made most researches finding for alternative ways to optimize each components of the cell to improve its efficiency. This paper reviews alternative ways to manufacture and synthesizing purpose for DSSC. The DSSC is one of the example for renewable energy power generation. This paper reviews the manufacturing or method by utilizing the FTO coated glass (Dr. Blade method) for applying the paste on glass substrate for effective sunlight harvesting.Photoanode prepared by ZnO powder, Counter electrode prepared by the combination of Electrolyte (Ki + I2 + Acetonitrile). Scanning electron microscopy revealed a material with an crust and trough structures like morphology. With X-ray diffraction analysis, With the help of thermal imager found the emittance and temperature on the DSSC surface , X-ray Florescence’s used for finding components present in the semi conductiveoxide. We can measure the Open circuit voltage is 35.5 and Short circuit current 0.024 by connecting in series with DSSC by using Multimeter, fill factor is 1.477 and efficiency is 0.164.

Covid-19 has given one positive perspective to look at our planet earth in terms of reducing the air and noise pollution thus improving the environmental conditions globally. This positive outcome of pandemic has given the indication that the future of energy belong to green energy and one of the emerging source of green energy is Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). LIBs are the backbone of the electric vehicles but there are some major issues faced by the them like poor thermal performance, thermal runaway, fire hazards and faster rate of discharge under low and high temperature environment,. Therefore to overcome these problems most of the researchers have come up with new methods of controlling and maintaining the overall thermal performance of the LIBs. The present review paper mainly is focused on optimization of thermal and structural design parameters of the LIBs under different BTMSs. The optimized BTMS generally demonstrated in this paper are maximum temperature of battery cell, battery pack or battery module, temperature uniformity, maximum or average temperature difference, inlet temperature of coolant, flow velocity, and pressure drop. Whereas the major structural design optimization parameters highlighted in this paper are type of flow channel, number of channels, length of channel, diameter of channel, cell to cell spacing, inlet and outlet plenum angle and arrangement of channels. These optimized parameters investigated under different BTMS heads such as air, PCM (phase change material), mini-channel, heat pipe, and water cooling are reported profoundly in this review article. The data are categorized and the results of the recent studies are summarized for each method. Critical review on use of various optimization algorithms (like ant colony, genetic, particle swarm, response surface, NSGA-II, etc.) for design parameter optimization are presented and categorized for different BTMS to boost their objectives. The single objective optimization techniques helps in obtaining the optimal value of important design parameters related to the thermal performance of battery cooling systems. Finally, multi-objective optimization technique is also discussed to get an idea of how to get the trade-off between the various conflicting parameters of interest such as energy, cost, pressure drop, size, arrangement, etc. which is related to minimization and thermal efficiency/performance of the battery system related to maximization. This review will be very helpful for researchers working with an objective of improving the thermal performance and life span of the LIBs.

In this experimental study, the performance of the diesel engine was analyzed for biodiesel derived from Calophyllum inophyllum. The impact of the addition of additives such as N-octanol and N-butanol with Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel has been assessed. Impact of the application of hybrid N-octanol and N-butanol with biodiesel on emission profile used for the engine performance has also been demonstrated. Response surface analysis of alcohol additives-biodiesel blend was performed separately in this study for the engine efficiency and emission profile. A combination of N-octanol and N-butanol presented the highest brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and lowest carbon monoxide (CO) emission among the ternary blends of octanol. N-butanol-biodiesel blend presented the lowest hydrocarbon (HC) emission among the blends of N-butanol. N-octanol with 5 and 10% addition with biodiesel showed the lowest HC emissions among the blends of octanol. The response surface methodology (RSM) optimization revealed that the optimized thermal efficiency and emission were obtained at full load and minimum load, respectively. The addition of N-octanol hindered the emission at all loads, while N-butanol reduced it at higher loads. A strong correlation between the load and alcohol additives on the engine performance and emission profile has been obtained using the RSM optimization approach. The R-squared value obtained from the RSM was 0.92 and emission profile has been characterized.

Parked vehicles are vulnerable to cabin overheating, which leads to hyperthermia, accidental death of babies and pets, increased fuel consumption and deterioration of vehicle interior. In this study, an effort was made to maintain thermal comfort inside an automobile cabin by impregnating phase change material (PCM) beneath the rooftop of the vehicle. Experiments were performed for a period of 3 months with coconut oil as PCM, in the Abha region of Saudi Arabia. An Arduino UNO microcontroller-based temperature measurement system with LM-35 temperature sensors along with a bluetooth module and an android application was used to monitor the cabin temperature history. Initially, the cabin temperature was monitored without PCM, and it was found in good agreement with the theoretical values published in the literature. Subsequently, the cabin temperature with PCM was measured, and the results show that the interior temperature of the automobile cabin is decreased by 15 °C on an average. This method is a simple and feasible solution to prevent undesirable heating of automobile cabins when parked under sunlight.

Fossil fuels are depended upon often in the transport sector. The use of diesel engines in all areas produce pollutants, such as NOx and CO, which cause serious environmental pollution and hazards, such as global climate change and breathing difficulties. Conventional fuel usage should be reduced, and there should be a shift toward alternative fuels. For compression ignition (CI) engines, microalgae biodiesel has been promoted as a clean, sustainable fuel. This is because it possesses desired traits, such as a quick rate of development, high productivity, and the capacity to turn CO2 into fuel. When algal biodiesel is used, pollutants, such as CO, UBHC, and smoke, are typically reduced, whereas NOx emissions are typically increased. The adoption of an exhaust gas recirculation technology and the advancement or delay of injection timing can effectively reduce NOx formation. Incorporating antioxidant chemicals such as butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA) into fuel also minimizes NOx formation. In this study, the use of microalgae biodiesel as a substitute fuel for CI engines was investigated by altering the injection timing and adding each antioxidant in two doses. According to ASTM standard test procedures for biodiesel, the fuel qualities of various blends of algal biodiesel with antioxidants were tested and compared with the diesel fuel. The experiments were conducted using CI engines, and parameters were examined, such UBHC, CO, NOx, and smoke opacity. In comparison to diesel fuel, B20 + 30% BHA (21 bTDC) blends produced 49% lower oxides of nitrogen. The smoke, HC, and CO emissions of fuel blend B20 + 30% BHA (25 bTDC) were reduced by 33.33%, 32.37%, and 11.21%, respectively, compared with those of diesel fuel. The fuel blend B20 + 30% BHA (25 bTDC) showed the highest brake thermal efficiency of 14.52% at peak load condition. A multi-output regression deep long short-term memory (MDLSTM) model was designed to predict the performance and emissions of CI engines operating with varied fuel mixtures. The average RMSE and R2 values for the proposed MDLSTM were 0.38 and 0.9579, respectively.

Abstract In this work, an outdoor experimental analysis is conducted to determine the impact on the useful heat gain when discrete cylindrical energy storage units are directly integrated into the solar collector. The collector has a double-pass airflow channel pathway, and the storage is intended to serve only for a short-term. The location of storage inside the collector is always a major concern. This study seeks to determine whether the thermodynamic performance of the system is effective by the location of cylindrical energy storage (paraffin wax) capsules on the upper or the lower airflow channel pathway. The obtained results suggest that due to asymmetric channel depth, the thermodynamic performance of the collector was not greatly influenced by the placement of capsules, unlike with symmetric channel depths. The amount of useful heat gain when storage was placed in the upper (Case A) and lower (Case B) airflow pathways was 0.35 kW and 0.4 kW. For Case A and Case B, the average collector thermal efficiency was 62.9% and 73.7%, and the exergy efficiency was 44.3% and 47.5%. The energy payback time for the collector based on energy calculations is nine months, and that on exergy analysis is 34 months and 20 days.

The greenhouse gases in the environment emitted from emissions of IC engine raises great concern for the survival of human beings, and it has a detrimental effect on the environment. There is a significant requirement to switch the energy source towards renewable as much as possible. From this viewpoint, oxy-hydrogen (HHO) gas was produced and tested in a CI engine. The HHO gas was supplied as a secondary fuel into the combustion chamber at the flow rates of 0–6 Litres/min (LPM) in the interval of 1 LPM through the intake manifold with the air along with biodiesel derived from novel feedstock Bauhinia variegate, injected at the blending percentage of 20%. The experiments were conducted at a constant crankshaft speed of 1500 rpm and varying load from 0 to 100% with intervals of 25%. The addition of biodiesel with conventional diesel fuel causes a decrease in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and an increase in the brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of the engine owing to its lower calorific value. This shortcoming has been overcome by inducting HHO gas at the intake manifold, resulting in an improved BTE and BSFC due to its high flame speed and high heating value leading to improved combustion. The result also indicates that the fuel enriched with HHO reduces significant exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon except for NOx. The combustion characterization reveals that mixing HHO gas in biodiesel blends increases the peak in-cylinder gas pressure and heat release rate. The ideal flow rate of HHO was found at 3 LPM for maximum combustion, performance characteristics and minimum emissions characteristics, except NOx which continuously rises with increasing flow rate. The study reveals that the use of bauhinia variegate biodiesel in CI engines worsens the engine characteristics, but the induction of HHO gas can be a very promising renewable fuel to improve the worsening engine characteristics in terms of combustion, performance, and environmental issues.

Renewable fuels are alternative resources that find use in the power generation, agricultural, and transportation sectors. The sustainable utility of these renewable fuels mostly addresses the socio-economic issues of a country and reduces its dependency on fossil fuels. In addition, being environmentally friendly allows them to handle global warming more effectively. Two B20 fuel blends were produced using methyl esters of cashew nutshell and jamun seed oils to test the performance of the common rail direct injection engine. To improve the engine performance, injection parameters such as nozzle geometry, injection time, and injector opening pressure are used. Improved brake thermal efficiency and lower emissions of smoke, hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were achieved with the help of advancing the injection timing, raising the injector opening pressure, and increasing the number of injector nozzle holes. In addition to reducing the ignition delay, extending the combustion duration, and increasing the peak pressure, the revised injection settings also boosted the heat release rates. At the maximum load, compared to CHNOB B20, JAMNSOB B20 showed a significant rise in the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) by 4.94% and a considerable decrease in smoke emissions (0.8%) with an increase in NOx (1.45%), by varying the injection timing, injection pressure, and nozzle geometry of the common rail direct injection (CRDI) engine.