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Nuclear power can replace fossil fuels and will have a decisive impact on the change in the approach to conventional energy. However, nuclear (or radioactive) wastes are produced by the operation of the nuclear reactors should be safely and properly disposed of. This paper assesses the uranium resources and the global state of nuclear power plants and determines the energy mixes in different countries using the most nuclear energy. Furthermore, this paper analysed the nuclear waste management and disposal and the depletion of abiotic resources, and the primary energy sources of a basic production process using electricity mix and nuclear electricity for a basic production (PET bottle manufacturing) process. The life cycle assessment was completed by applying the GaBi 8.0 (version 10.6) software and the CML method. In this study, we limit our discussion to high-level nuclear waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) waste. We do not consider waste generated from uranium mining and milling, which is usually disposed of in near-surface impoundments close to the mine or the mill. The investigation of waste management methods is limited to European countries. This research work is relevant because determining abiotic resources is important in a life cycle assessment and current literature available on LCA analysis for nuclear powers remains under-developed. These results can guide and compare manufacturing processes involving a nuclear electricity and electricity grid mix input. The results of this research can be used to develop production processes using nuclear energy with lower abiotic depletion impacts. This research work facilitates the industry in making predictions for a production-scale plant using an LCA of production processes with nuclear energy consumption.

Aside from the industry-standard Gaussian intensity profile, top hat and non-conventional laser beam shapes, such as doughnut-shaped profile, are ever more required. The top hat laser beam profile is well-known for uniformly irradiating the target material, significantly reducing the heat-affected zones, typical of Gaussian laser irradiation, whereas the doughnut-shaped laser beam has attracted much interest for its use in trapping particles at the nanoscale and improving mechanical performance during laser-based 3D metal printing. Solar-pumped lasers can be a cost-effective and more sustainable alternative to accomplish these useful laser beam distributions. The sunlight was collected and concentrated by six primary Fresnel lenses, six folding mirror collectors, further compressed with six secondary fused silica concentrators, and symmetrically distributed by six twisted light guides around a 5.5 mm diameter, 35 mm length Nd:YAG rod inside a cylindrical cavity. A top hat laser beam profile (Mx2 = 1.25, My2 = 1.00) was computed through both ZEMAX® and LASCAD® analysis, with 9.4 W/m2 TEM00 mode laser power collection and 0.99% solar-to-TEM00 mode power conversion efficiencies. By using a 5.8 mm laser rod diameter, a doughnut-shaped solar laser beam profile (Mx2 = 1.90, My2 = 1.00) was observed. The 9.8 W/m2 TEM00 mode laser power collection and 1.03% solar-to-TEM00 mode power conversion efficiencies were also attained, corresponding to an increase of 2.2 and 1.9 times, respectively, compared to the state-of-the-art experimental records. As far as we know, the first numerical simulation of doughnut-shaped and top hat solar laser beam profiles is reported here, significantly contributing to the understanding of the formation of such beam profiles.

The sudden increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere due to the high dependency on fossil products has created the need for an urgent solution to mitigate this challenge. Global warming, which is a direct result of excessive CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, is one major issue that the world is trying to curb, especially in the 21st Century where most energy generation mediums operate using fossil products. This investigation considered a number of materials ideal for the capturing of CO2 in the post-combustion process. The application of aqueous ammonia, amine solutions, ionic liquids, and activated carbons is thoroughly discussed. Notable challenges are impeding their advancement, which are clearly expatiated in the report. Some merits and demerits of these technologies are also presented. Future research directions for each of these technologies are also analyzed and explained in detail. Furthermore, the impact of post-combustion CO2 capture on the circular economy is also presented.

This article discusses the problems of exhaust gas emissions in the context of the possibility of their reduction through the use of fuels with hydrogen as an additive or hydrotreatment. These fuels, thanks to their properties, may be a suitable response to more and more demanding restrictions on exhaust emissions. The use of such fuels in reactivity controlled dual fuel engines (RCCI) is currently the most effective way of using them in internal combustion (IC) engines. Low-temperature combustion in this type of engine allows the use of all modern fuels intended for combustion engines with high thermal efficiency. Thermal efficiency higher than in classic engines allows for additional reduction of CO2 emissions. In this work, the research on this subject was compiled, and conclusions were drawn as to further possibilities of popularizing the use of these fuels in a wide spectrum of applications and the prospect of using them on a mass scale.

By 2025, biogas is estimated to become a larger part of Indonesia’s energy mix. Biogas is a renewable energy source that also has economic and environmental advantages. Domestic biogas generation has been embraced in Indonesia as a response to the country’s energy security concerns in rural areas. Since the 1970s, 48,038 biogas plants have been built in the region. To fully develop this technology, Indonesia must discontinue relying on fossil fuels and substitute current fossil-fuel-based energy. This article provides an overview of renewable technology in Indonesia, as well as addressing domestic energy demands and referring to existing literature on the socio-technical and socio-economic barriers to biogas adoption in Indonesia. Based on a rigorous review of 71 publications published in Web of Science (WoS) between 2010 and 2021, this study explores existing barriers for biogas adoption by summarizing the current literature from technical, economic, social and environmental perspectives. Biogas adoption is a complex process with many interwoven components. Therefore, this research addresses a gap in the strategic planning and implementation process, providing policymakers with pathways to eliminate bottlenecks in renewable energy planning. Recommendations for future research are also proposed.

In spite of the benefits from thermal energy storage (TES) integration in dwellings, the penetration rate in Europe is 5%. Effective fiscal policies are necessary to accelerate deployment. However, there is currently no direct support for TES in buildings compared to support for electricity storage. This could be due to lack of evidence to support incentivisation. In this study, a novel systematic framework is developed to provide a case in support of TES incentivisation. The model determines the costs, CO2 emissions, dispatch strategy and sizes of technologies, and TES for a domestic user under policy neutral and policy intensive scenarios. The model is applied to different building types in the UK. The model is applied to a case study for a detached dwelling in the UK (floor area of 122 m2), where heat demand is satisfied by a boiler and electricity imported from the grid. Results show that under a policy neutral scenario, integrating a micro-Combined Heat and Power (CHP) reduces the primary energy demand by 11%, CO2 emissions by 21%, but with a 16 year payback. Additional benefits from TES integration can pay for the investment within the first 9 years, reducing to 3.5–6 years when the CO2 levy is accounted for. Under a policy intensive scenario (for example considering the Feed in Tariff (FIT)), primary energy demand and CO2 emissions reduce by 17 and 33% respectively with a 5 year payback. In this case, the additional benefits for TES integration can pay for the investment in TES within the first 2 years. The framework developed is a useful tool is determining the role TES in decarbonising domestic energy systems.

Biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy in the energy industry. It is assumed that by 2050 the global energy deposit could be covered in 33–50% of biomass combustion. As with conventional fuels, the combustion of biomass produces combustion by-products, such as fly ash. Therefore, along with the growing interest in the use of biomass as a source of energy, the production of ash as a combustion by-product increases every year. It is estimated that approximately 476 million tons of ashes per year can be produced from biomass combustion. For example, the calorific value of dry wood mass tends to be between 18.5 MJ × kg−1 and 19.5 MJ × kg−1, while the ash content resulting from thermal treatment of wood is from 0.4 to 3.9% of dry fuel mass. However, biomass ash is a waste that is particularly difficult to characterize due to the large variability of the chemical composition depending on the biomass and combustion technology. In addition, this waste is, on the one hand, a valuable fertilizer component, as it contains significant amounts of nutrients, e.g., calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and microelements, but on the other hand, it may contain toxic compounds harmful to the environment, including heavy metals and substances formed as a result of combustion, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PAHs and VOCs are formed mainly in the processes of incomplete combustion of coal and wood in low-power boilers, with unstable operating conditions. However, it is important to remember that before the fly ash is used in various industries (e.g., zeolite synthesis, recovery of rare earth metals or plastic production) as an additive to building materials or fertilizers for cultivation, a number of analyses are to be conducted so that the by-products of combustion could be used to allow the by-product of combustion to be used. It is important to conduct tests for the content of heavy metals, chlorides, sulphates, microelements and macroelements, grain and phase composition and organic compounds. If such ash is characterized by low pollution levels, it should be used in agriculture and reclamation of degraded land and not directed to landfills where it loses its valuable properties. The purpose of this review is to present the properties of ashes generated as a result of biomass combustion in Poland and the world, to discuss factors influencing changes in its composition and to present the possibilities of their reuse in the environment and in various branches of industry.