• Energy Research
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Abstract With the rapid advancement in wearable electronics, energy harvesting devices based on triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been intensively investigated for providing sustainable power supply for them. However, the fabrication of wearable TENGs still remains great challenges, such as flexibility, breathability and washability. Here, a route to develop a new kind of woven-structured triboelectric nanogenerator (WS-TENG) with a facile, low-cost, and scalable electrospinning technique is reported. The WS-TENG is fabricated with commercial stainless-steel yarns wrapped by electrospun polyamide 66 nanofiber and poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) nanofiber, respectively. Triggered by diversified friction materials under a working principle of freestanding mode, the open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and maximum instantaneous power density from the WS-TENG can reach up to 166 V, 8.5 µA and 93 mW/m2, respectively. By virtue of high flexibility, desirable breathability, washability and excellent durability, the fabricated WS-TENG is demonstrated to be a reliable power textile to light up 58 light-emitting diodes (LED) connected serially, charge commercial capacitors and drive portable electronics. A smart glove with stitched WS-TENGs is made to detect finger motion in different circumstances. The work presents a new approach for self-powered textiles with potential applications in biomechanical energy harvesting, wearable electronics and human motion monitoring.

AbstractRevolutionary changes in energy storage technology have put forward higher requirements on next‐generation anode materials for lithium‐ion battery. Recently, a new class of materials with complex stoichiometric ratios, high‐entropy oxide (HEO), has gradually emerging into sight and embracing the prosperity. The ideal elemental adjustability and attractive synergistic effect make HEO promising to break through the integrated performance bottleneck of conventional anodes and provide new impetus for the design and development of electrochemical energy storage materials. Here, the research progress of HEO anodes is comprehensively reviewed. The driving force behind phase stability, the role of individual cations, potential mechanisms for controlling properties, as well as state‐of‐the‐art synthetic strategies and modification approaches are critically evaluated. Finally, we envision the future prospects and related challenges in this field, which will bring some enlightening guidance and criteria for researchers to further unlock the mysteries of HEO anodes.image

Inert gas is often used in the deoxygenation of microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) to maintain growth and viability of anaerobes. However, the effects of the gas atmosphere on hydrogen production and microbial community of MECs are often neglected. Here, the performances and biofilm microbiomes of MECs pre-sparged with different gases were compared. MECs pre-sparged with argon gas (Ar) yielded more hydrogen (3.73 ± 0.13 mol-H2/mol-acetate) and a higher hydrogen production rate (2.99 ± 0.17 L-H2/L-reactor-day) than MECs pre-sparged with N2 (3.41 ± 0.13 mol-H2/mol-acetate and 2.27 ± 0.28 L-H2/L-reactor-day, respectively). Microbiome analysis indicated that the relative abundance of Geobacter increased from 59.25% to 77.79% when the gas atmosphere in MECs shifted from N2 to Ar. Hydrogen production may have been catalyzed by nitrogenase from Geobacter and photosynthetic bacteria in MECs pre-sparged with Ar. These findings suggested that the gas atmosphere substantially influences the microbiome of anode biofilms and Ar sparging is most effective for enhancing hydrogen production in MECs.

China is the largest fruit producer and consumer market in the world. Understanding the growing conditions responses to climate change is the key to predict future site suitability of main cultivation areas for certain deciduous fruit trees. In this study, we used dynamic and growing degree day models driven by downscaled daily temperatures from 22 global climate models to project the effects of climate change on growing conditions for deciduous fruit trees under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios over 2 future time periods (represented by central years 2050s and 2085s) in northern China. The results showed a general increase of available winter chill for all sites under RCP4.5 scenario, and the most dramatic increase in chill accumulation could reach up to 36.8% in northeast regions for RCP8.5. However, the forecasted chill will decrease by 6.4% in southeast stations under RCP8.5 by 2085s. Additionally, the increase rate of growing season heat showed spatially consistency, and the most pronounced increase was found in the RCP8.5 by 2085s. For the southwest station, median heat accumulation increased by 20.8% in the 2050s and 37.1% in the 2085s under RCP8.5. Similar increasing range could be found in the northeast station; the median growing season heat increased by 19.8% and 38.8% in the 2050s and 2085s under RCP8.5, respectively. Moreover, the date of last spring frost was expected to advance and the frequency of frost occurrences was projected to decline in the study area compared to the past. Overall, the present study improves understanding regarding site-specific characteristics of climatic suitability for deciduous fruit tree cultivation in main producing regions of northern China. The results could provide growers and decision-makers with theoretical evidence to take adaptive measure to ensure fruit production in future.

Microalgae offer a great potential to contribute significantly as renewable fuels and documented as a promising platform for algae-based bio refineries. They provide solutions to mitigate the environmental concerns posed by conventional fuel sources; however, the production of microalgal biofuels in large scale production system encounters few technical challenges. High quantity of nutrients requirements and water cost constrain the scaling up microalgal biomass to large scale commercial production. Crop protection against biomass losses due to grazers or pathogens is another stumbling block in microalgal field cultivation. With our existing technologies, unless coupled with high-value or mid-value products, algal biofuel cannot reach the economic target. Many microalgal industries that started targeting biofuel in the last decade had now adopted parallel business plans focusing on algae by-products application as cosmetic supplements, nutraceuticals, oils, natural color, and animal feed. This review provides the current status and proposes a framework for key supply demand, challenges for cost-effective and sustainable use of water and nutrient. Emphasis is placed on the future industrial market status of value added by products of microalgal biomass. The cost factor for biorefinery process development needs to be addressed before its potential to be exploited for various value-added products with algal biofuel.

Forest soil acidification caused by acid deposition is a serious threat to the forest ecosystem. To investigate the liming effects of biomass ash (BA) and alkaline slag (AS) on the acidic topsoil and subsoil, a three-year field experiment under artificial Masson pine was conducted at Langxi, Anhui province in Southern China. The surface application of BA and AS significantly increased the soil pH, and thus decreased exchangeable acidity and active Al in the topsoil. Soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ in topsoil were significantly increased by the surface application of BA and AS, while an increase in soil exchangeable K+ was only observed in BA treatments. The soil acidity and active Al in subsoil were decreased by the surface application of AS. Compared with the control, soluble monomeric and exchangeable Al in the subsoil was decreased by 38.0% and 29.4% after 3 years of AS surface application. There was a minimal effect on soluble monomeric and exchangeable Al after the application of BA. The soil exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the subsoil increased respectively by 54% and 141% after surface application of 10 t ha-1 AS. The decrease of soil active Al and increase of base cations in subsoil were mainly attributed to the high migration capacity of base cations in AS. In conclusion, the effect of surface application of AS was superior to BA in ameliorating soil acidity and alleviating soil Al toxicity in the subsoil of this Ultisol.

Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) is a versatile technology emerging as an ecological and sustainable solution for traditional monoculture aquacultures in terms of effluent treatment. Nevertheless, IMTA is still poorly applied in aquaculture industry due to, among other reasons, the lack of effective, low-investment and low-maintenance solutions. In this study, one has developed a practical and low maintenance IMTA-pilot system, settled in a semi-intensive coastal aquaculture. The optimisation and performance of the system was validated using Ulva spp., a macroalgae that naturally grows in the fishponds of the local aquaculture. Several cultivation experiments were performed at lab-scale and in the IMTA-pilot system, in static mode. The specific growth rate (SGR), yield, nutrient removal, N and C enrichment, protein and pigment content were monitored. Ulva spp. successfully thrived in effluent from the fish species sea bream (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) production tanks and significantly reduced inorganic nutrient load in the effluent, particularly, NH4+, PO43− and NO3−. The enrichment of nitrogen in Ulva spp.’s tissues indicated nitrogen assimilation by the algae, though, the cultivated Ulva spp. showed lower amounts of protein and pigments in comparison to the wild type. This study indicates that the designed IMTA-pilot system is an efficient solution for fish effluent treatment and Ulva spp., a suitable effluent remediator.

Bioplastics are alternatives of conventional petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics are polymers processed from renewable sources and are biodegradable. This study aims at conducting an environmental impact assessment of the bioprocessing of agricultural wastes into bioplastics compared to petro-plastics using an LCA approach. Bioplastics were produced from potato peels in laboratory. In a biochemical reaction under heating, starch was extracted from peels and glycerin, vinegar and water were added with a range of different ratios, which resulted in producing different samples of bio-based plastics. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of the bioplastics production process was evaluated and compared to petro-plastics. A life cycle analysis of bioplastics produced in laboratory and petro-plastics was conducted. The results are presented in the form of global warming potential, and other environmental impacts including acidification potential, eutrophication potential, freshwater ecotoxicity potential, human toxicity potential, and ozone layer depletion of producing bioplastics are compared to petro-plastics. The results show that the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, through the different experiments to produce bioplastics, range between 0.354 and 0.623 kg CO2 eq. per kg bioplastic compared to 2.37 kg CO2 eq. per kg polypropylene as a petro-plastic. The results also showed that there are no significant potential effects for the bioplastics produced from potato peels on different environmental impacts in comparison with poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid and polypropylene. Thus, the bioplastics produced from agricultural wastes can be manufactured in industrial scale to reduce the dependence on petroleum-based plastics. This in turn will mitigate GHG emissions and reduce the negative environmental impacts on climate change.