• Energy Research
• 2021-2025close
• engineering and technology close
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Decarbonizing the building sector is extremely important to mitigating climate change as the sector contributes 40% of the overall energy consumption and 36% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Net-zero energy buildings are one of the promising decarbonization attempts due to their potential of decreasing the use of energy and increasing the total share of renewable energy. To achieve a net-zero energy building, it is necessary to decrease the energy demand by applying efficiency enhancement measures and using renewable energy sources. Net-zero energy buildings can be classified into four models (Net-Zero Site Energy buildings, Net-Zero Emissions buildings, Net-Zero Source Energy buildings, and Net-Zero Cost Energy buildings). A variety of technical, financial, and environmental factors should be considered during the decision-making process of net-zero energy building development, justifying the use of multi-criteria decision analysis methods for the design of net-zero energy buildings. This paper also discussed the contributions of renewable energy generation (hydropower, wind energy, solar, heat pumps, and bioenergy) to the development of net-zero energy buildings and reviewed its role in tackling the decarbonization challenge. Cost-benefit analysis and life cycle assessment of building designs were reviewed to shape the priorities of future development. It is important to develop a universal decision instrument for optimum design and operation of net-zero energy buildings.

Abstract Newer generation sources and loads are posing new challenges to the conventional power system protection schemes. Adaptive and intelligent protection methodology, based on advanced measurement techniques and intelligent fault diagnosis such as machine learning (ML), is found to be useful to meet these challenges. A large number of research works are reported on ML-based power system fault diagnosis. However, ML techniques are evolving at a very fast pace, and an inclusive, as well as state-of-the-art review on ML-based power system fault diagnosis, is not available in the literature. Given this need and growing trend towards ML, the study presented in this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of ML-based power system fault diagnosis. At first, efforts have been made to enlist the issues present in conventional fault diagnosis which led to the popularity of ML techniques. Also, a baseline framework and workflow for ML-based fault diagnosis are presented. Next, various unsupervised and supervised learning techniques have been discussed separately which have been used by several researchers for fault diagnosis. The discussion throughout is supported with tabulated facts for fault detection, classification and localization works with techniques used, different simulation tools used, and their application system. The advantages and disadvantages of all the techniques of fault diagnosis have also been discussed which will help the readers in the selection of techniques for their research. A brief review of reinforcement learning and transfer learning is also given as they are gaining popularity in power system-related studies and have the potential to be used for fault diagnosis. Finally, the research trends, some key issues, and directions for future research have been highlighted.

Abstract The main hindrances to the large-scale development of renewable-energy projects are the lack of bankability and the inability to align investments and investors with suitable financial instruments or robust policy measures. To illustrate a bankable project, this paper presents a research-based case study on the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of 195 trains of the Indian Railways. Detailed information on the annual running hours, exposure to sunlight, efficiency of solar photovoltaic generation and electrical power demands of each rail coach is considered to conduct a quantitative measure of the tentative amount of fossil fuel savings. The purpose is to provide insight into the types of renewable-energy projects that can be highly attractive to financial institutions and promoters due to their lucrative internal return on investment. As seen in this case study, there are annual savings in diesel of 12 323 088 litres and a CO2 reduction of 32 755 tonnes, with return on investment of 1.3 years. Furthermore, this study conducts a comprehensive analysis of the limitations of existing renewable-energy project financing mechanisms in India. Subsequently, three policy measures are recommended to develop a robust financial mechanism that can effectively meet the needs of investors and investors. These measures include increasing equity injection through a buy-and-hold strategy, providing direct tax benefits to promoters and financing through real-estate investment trusts. The findings are highly relevant to address the challenges associated with bridging the financial gap between access to finance and capital investment in the renewable-energy sector, especially for Asian countries.

With the aim to fully exploit the by-products obtained after the industrial extraction of starch from sweet potatoes, a cascading approach was developed to extract high-value molecules, such as proteins and pectins, and to valorize the solid fraction, rich in starch and fibrous components. This fraction was used to prepare new biocomposites designed for food packaging applications. The sweet potato residue was added to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) in various amounts up to 40 wt % by melt mixing, without any previous treatment. The composites are semicrystalline materials, characterized by thermal stability up to 260 °C. For the composites containing up to 10 wt % of residue, the tensile strength remains over 30 MPa and the strain stays over 3.2%. A homogeneous dispersion of the sweet potato waste into the bio-polymeric matrix was achieved but, despite the presence of hydrogen bond interactions between the components, a poor interfacial adhesion was detected. Considering the significant percentage of sweet potato waste used, the biocomposites obtained show a low economic and environmental impact, resulting in an interesting bio-alternative to the materials commonly used in the packaging industry. Thus, according to the principles of a circular economy, the preparation of the biocomposites closes the loop of the complete valorization of sweet potato products and by-products.

Abstract The present work attempts to devise an efficient method utilizing an on-grid photovoltaic-thermal heat pump water heater (PV-THPWH) integrated with a real-time variable frequency controller to achieve the goal of energy-efficient buildings. The prime focus is to reduce the grid's dependence on the compressor's energy-intensive operation by employing a feedback-controlled variable frequency drive (VFD). Additionally, the possibilities involved with addressing the electrical and thermal energy requirements of an energy-efficient building was investigated utilizing the proposed system. R-32 refrigerant in the photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) evaporator coils of the heat pump assembly help to cool the photovoltaic (PV) panel while delivering the absorbed heat in the condenser to heat water contained inside the storage tank. Outdoor experiments and theoretical investigations of the combined system were carried out to appraise the dynamic behavior under varying solar irradiation and ambient temperature conditions. The observations conveyed that the PV-THPWH system succeeded in reducing the PV panel operating temperature by 25%, which resulted in a 20% increment in PV power output. Also, the performance indicators, such as the instantaneous energy efficiency and instantaneous PV efficiency, were found to increase by 15% and 34%, respectively, resulting in an average coefficient of performance of 6.4. For a clear sky day, the recorded total PV energy output was 4.67 units, while the VFD compressor consumption was 3.42 units, and the surplus 1.25 units were sent to the grid. Furthermore, the economic analysis reported a payback period of 2.3 years for the developed PV-THPWH system.

Two approaches to synthesis of unsymmetrical disulfides based on different types of thiol activation, namely, an electrochemical method in the presence of a redox mediator and a microwave irradiation, were discussed. The mediated electrosynthesis procedures were carried out by the oxidative coupling of thiols or by the thiol-disulfide exchange in the presence of redox pairs—substituted o-aminophenol/o-iminobenzoquinone. It has been established that the formation of unsymmetrical disulfides under electrochemical conditions occurs as a result of both the oxidative coupling of sulfur-centered radicals, and a redox-mediator promoted thiol-disulfide exchange, which led to a high yield of heterodimeric products (89%–99%). The microwave-assisted synthesis made it possible to obtain the target products with yields of 13%–86% depending on different irradiation parameters such as power, temperature, and irradiation duration. However, this method requires a rigorous selection of conditions for each reaction and is therefore inferior to the electrochemical approach.