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Industrial energy management is critical to ensuring efficient energy usage, market viability, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. In this study, the aim is to investigate energy management practices in paper and pulp industries (PPI) of Bangladesh. The study identifies several barriers to adopt energy management practices; "Lack of governmental attention", "Inadequate staff awareness" and "limited access to capital" are identified as the major constraints. In addition, HVAC systems and compressed air systems present higher barriers compared to electrical motor and pump systems while looking at the barriers by technology areas. On the other hand, "Owner's demand", "Commitment from the top management" and "Pressure from the customers and different non-Governmental organization" are found to be the dominant drivers of energy management in the studied PPI. Energy management practices can enhance the energy efficiency approximately by 4–5 % according to the study. Furthermore, this study reveals that the majority of PPIs are unaware of the energy service companies (ESCO) with the lack of a standardized system for energy audit, as well as a lack of trust and information, appearing to be the obstacles behind this. • Energy management practices in paper and pulp industries of Bangladesh are shown. • Barriers and drivers to energy management practices in paper and pulp industry are presented. • Barriers to energy efficiency measures by technology area are discussed. • Barriers to consult energy service companies (ESCOs) are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current challenge facing the European pulp and paper industry is how to materialize the transformation to a bio-economy, as well as to realize the necessary new green innovations. The risks, costs and constraints of doing business will increase, thereby further intensifying competition, but at the same time new business opportunities will open up. This study adopts a three-round dissensus-based Delphi approach in order to explore our key research question of how the pulp and paper industry may change strategically, and what is the potential for value creation in the year 2030. According to our expert panel, the main drivers of competitiveness in 2030 will include energy and material efficiency, sustainability, as well as new innovations in products to serve customer needs better. According to the projected 2030 scenario, the pulp and paper industry will produce more diversified products, focus on higher value-added, and aim at consumer segments with higher environmental awareness. On average, 40 percent of the turnover will according to the panel come from genuinely new products. Strategic cross-sectorial partnerships will have a key role in making this big leap, while simultaneously acknowledging the changing needs of sustainability-conscious customers and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy production throughout low-voltage grids has gradually increased in electrical distribution systems, therefore introducing small energy producers - prosumers. This paradigm challenges the traditional unidirectional energy distribution flow to include disperse power production from renewables. To understand how energy usage can be optimized in the dynamic electrical grid, it is important to understand the behavior of prosumers and their impact on the grid's operational procedures. The main focus of this study is to investigate how grid operators can obtain an automatic data-driven system for the low-voltage electrical grid management, by analyzing the available grid topology and time-series consumption data from a real-life test area. The aim is to argue for how different consumer profiles, clustering and prediction methods contribute to the grid-related operations. Ultimately, this work is intended for future research directions that can contribute to improving the trade-off between systematic and scalable data models and software computational challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the advent of the Paris Climate Agreement and China ratifying it recently, there is a need to adopt a diversified approach to address climate change; this is especially the case of promoting residential energy conservation. This study is one of the first household energy intervention studies that focuses on the comparison of two message delivering means, paper-based versus instant messaging tool, as a platform for sharing energy-saving tips and engaging households to save energy in China. Conducted in several communities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China, the effectiveness of using a widely used application known as WeChat in promoting household energy conservation is compared with that of using stickers. It was found that WeChat is the most effective is reducing monthly consumption, but the effects are short-lived. Comparatively, using stickers as a mean of engaging households produces more sustained results in terms of energy savings. This study also provides evidence to correlate the changes in energy consumption behavior with personal perception of one's responsibility and quality of life. That is, certain behavior can be triggered if residents are willing to impose energy ration in their households or are given more opportunities in the form of local programs that enable them to have more practices in energy conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of recycled paper by the paper industry to support the Green Industry in the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Industry. But technically, there are some disadvantages of recycled fiber usage such as low drainage rate in which boosted the high energy consumption on drying process. As already known, the drying process consumes the highest energy in papermaking. To overcome this problem, the research using the concentrate of endoglucanase Egl-II has done. The steps of research included production of endoglucanase Egl-II; concentration by ultrafiltration method, modification of recycled paper fibers using endoglucanase Egl-II; characterization of paper sheet; and evaluation of energy consumption in drying the sheet of paper. The results showed that endoglucanase Egl-II had increase drainage rate of recycled fiber stock, which indicate by the freeness number. The number had increased by 80 ml CSF (Canadian Standard Freeness) from 190 ml CSF to 270 ml CSF, and fiber retention increased by 0,63% from 99,31% to 99,94%. The dissolved cellobiose test results of recycled fiber stock by the enzyme treatment at low dosage showed that no degradation of cellulose, no change into soluble sugars. Characterization of sheet of paper that has been modified with endoglucanase Egl-II based FTIR spectra showed no change in functional group, SEM results showed on the fiber surface fibrils grow more, and the results of the XRD analysis showed area reduction of amorphous regions is about 6%. The potential for energy efficiency is calculated through thermodynamic approach is about 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic benefits of the pulp and paper industry have led it to be one of the most important industrial sections in the world. Nevertheless, in recent years, pulp and paper mills are facing challenges with the energy efficiency mechanisms and management of the resulting pollutants, considering the environmental feedbacks and ongoing legal requirements. This study reviews and discusses the recent developments of affordable methods dealing with pulp and paper mill wastewaters. To this end, the current state of the various processes used for pulp and paper production from virgin or recovered fibers has been briefly reviewed. Also, the relevant contaminants have been investigated, considering the used raw materials and applied techniques as the subject for further discussion about the relevant suitable wastewater treatment methods. The results of the present study indicated that adopting the integrated methods, alongside a combination of biological (e.g., anaerobic digestion) and physicochemical (e.g., novel Fenton reactions) treatment methods, can be environmentally and economically preferable to minimize environmental contaminants and energy recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There is a large value in making Pulp and Paper mills more energy efficient. ABB has developed an energy assessment service where opportunities to save energy in the paper machine are identified. The energy assessment is done by quantifying energy flows, benchmarking energy users, data mining and steam sensitivity analysis and by experiments and additional measurements at the paper machine. Energy quantification helped in identifying main energy consumer, benchmarking was useful to assess the gap between operating performance and best performance whereas data mining and steam sensitivity analysis helped in studying the impact of key operating variables on performance of paper machines. After the assessment an action plan was presented to the mill for energy efficiency improvement together with a return on investment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of the study is to model and to simulate the thermal and electrical efficiencies of the cogeneration plant of a paper mill. The final purpose is the benefits optimization by adjusting production to the amount of energy to be sold. It is necessary to know it because the sale price goes down when the actual production of electrical energy does not match the scheduled power. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article introduces a bottom-up global model of the pulp and paper sector (PULPSIM) with a focus on energy consumption and carbon emissions. It is an annual recursive simulation behavioural model with a 2030 time horizon incorporating several technological details of the industry for 47 world regions. The long time horizon and the modular structure allow the model users to assess the effects of different environmental, energy and climate policies in a scenario comparison setup. In addition to the business as usual developments of the sector, a climate commitment scenario has been analysed, in which the impacts of changing forest management practices are also included. The climate scenario results reveal that there is a significant carbon reduction potential in the pulp and paper making, showing a number of specific features: the central role of the fibrous resource inputs and the potential impact of increased waste wood and black liquor based heat generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Paper industry is one of major material and energy users in Finland, material costs being far bigger than energy costs. Energy saving is promoted in Finland by an energy service centre, subsidies and energy service companies (ESCOs). Material savings in production processes are typically used to reduce costs while life cycle material efficiency rather would require focusing, e.g. on product design. This could be promoted by total producer responsibility, economic instruments and environmental permits. For industrial sites with limited resources, MASCOs’ (Material Saving Companies) services could manage material savings, e.g. by funding the investments, planning and running the project. Authorities should put more emphasis on material auditing and information on material saving technologies and logistics. Material savings should also be included into the environmental permitting procedures. Materials saving services are developing and the projected Finnish material efficiency service centre could support new businesses. This article is based on a literature review and interviews of persons in paper producing companies and environmental authorities. We also analyse experiences of the first MASCO project in Finland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a comparison of the opportunities for energy savings provided by market pulp mills and integrated pulp and paper mills in Scandinavia. The model mills in this study have identical pulp mill connected to either a pulp dryer or two paper machines. An energy analysis of the integrated mill indicated that there are steamed-saving opportunities of about 16%, which allow an increase in electricity production or fuel savings through reduced bark burning. It was found that the integrated mill would offer better profitability over the market pulp mill in terms of steam demand and water usage.

The article provides information on the case studies regarding the use of modern clothing designs in order save energy costs in paper making. Accordingly, the high costs of energy due to used of paper machines had caused the shutting down of non-competitive mills. The author suggests that in order to save costs of energy consumption, industries must install modern paper machine clothing designs.

Security token offerings (STOs), based on blockchain technology, are attracting increasing attention as an innovative alternative means of venture financing. Information about specific STOs is generally provided in white papers. This study analyses the content of white papers using a unique sample of 188 STOs from 2017 to 2021 to identify which topic is related to campaign success. We leverage latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling to identify the topics and themes in white papers. Nine topics are identified through LDA: company description, distributed ledger technology components, energy and green issues, financial and legal issues, artificial intelligence, and tech applications in different industries—specifically, healthcare, manufacturing and construction, education, and financial services. We find that energy and green issues represent one of the most prominent topics among all types of projects and that their disclosure is positively related to the probability of campaign success and the amount of funding raised. Another prominent topic that affects campaign outcomes is technology in the healthcare industry, reflecting wider investment trends in this sector. Our results may help entrepreneurs to improve their campaign disclosures and present new issues for policymakers regarding investments in digital tokens. • An integrated framework of STOs success is proposed by combining topic modelling with other campaigns' indicators. • Company's energy consumption and green impact is one of the most dealt topics among all types of projects. • The technological components in the healthcare field is a topic related to the campaign success • Energy consumption and green issues must be adequately disclosed to affect campaign success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Estimation of GHG emission and energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants. [•] On-site and off-site emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. [•] Higher GHG emission in anaerobic and hybrid plants due to higher CH4 generation. [•] Recovery and use of biogas satisfy the energy demands of treatment systems. [•] Higher off-site than on-site GHG emissions due to the use of fuel and material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study considers different alternative uses of secondary heat in a mechanical pulp and paper mill. The considered alternatives are (1) three different heat exchanger network retrofits, (2) drying of bark, (3) drying of primary and activated sludge and (4) drying of both bark and sludge. The data has been gathered from an operating mill and a simulation model has been built to examine the mill-wide effects of the proposed changes. Targets for steam and cooling water use, used in the heat exchanger network retrofits, have been evaluated using pinch analysis. The amount of available secondary heat found in the pinch analysis can be used in drying of bark or sludge. Sludge is typically burned together with mill fuel in the bark boiler of a power plant to deliver heat and electricity to the mill. These wood-based biofuels typically consist of 50%w.b. water, which will evaporate and consume some of the fuel''s energy content during combustion. Fuel drying is a way to increase the heating value of fuels and to increase the energy efficiency of heat and power production. The utilisation of low-temperature secondary heat in the drying may reduce the need for fuels and primary energy in the mill. The different ways of using the secondary heat have different effects on primary fuel consumption and electricity production. Therefore the different results are compared using the reduction of CO2 emissions as a common criterion. The results show that all the considered alternatives have great energy-saving potential up to 8MW steam use in winter and 6MW in summer time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article offers information on the commercialization and biomass gasification technologies of black liquors. It states the effective capital intensities and production costs. Major assessment of the performance of the commercial gasification-based biorefineries integrated with kraft pulp and paper mills was also taken into account. Biorefinery was attributed for the difference in electricity delivered through biofuels. A chart is provided that depicts levelized costs for energy commodities in biorefining process.

Small area femtocell increases the energy efficiency of the cellular network as the distance between base station and user is very less. Mobile femtocell causes the spectrum reuse to be used at very large extent making spectral efficiency suffer. This paper discusses recently researched techniques that have been used to increase the spectral efficiency in mobile femtocell network. But these techniques also come with their own limitations. Considering this, data aggregation and compression technique can be consider as one of the best contender to increase the spectral efficiency in cellular network which is also been explained in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things is evolving in terms of technology and applications. IoT networks are made up of a lot of smart devices having networking capabilities, also known as endpoints. The battery life of these endpoints is often limited, which has an effect on how long IoT applications can run in the real world. The Internet's current state was developed using a variety of technologies. IoT technology relies heavily on WSNs, which enable the fusion of diverse systems, data, and applications. The findings demonstrate that the suggested structural design can successfully lower energy usage and increase the WSN's course of life. We will outline the causes of energy waste in WSNs in this paper, along with various methods for reducing it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Adoption of energy efficient technologies is considered a key sustainability strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in global industries. This article aims to assess costs of energy savings and carbon reduction from applying energy efficiency technologies in the US pulp and paper sector. Applicable efficiency measures were identified and their cost effectiveness was evaluated in two historical years – 1994 and 2006. Potential savings of final energy use resulting from applicable sustainability options were estimated as 707 PJ in 1994 and 1064 PJ in 2006, respectively, corresponding to approximately 32% of the sector''s annual final energy use in 1994 and 62% in 2006. The associated carbon-emission reduction was 8.1 million ton of carbon (MtC) in 1994 and 11.8MtC in 2006, corresponding to 26% and 45% of sector''s total energy-related carbon emissions in 1994 and 2006, respectively. Using the concepts of cost of conserved energy and cost of carbon reduction, we estimated that cost effective sustainability options contributed to final energy savings in the range of 15–25% of the annual energy use, and carbon-emission reduction from 14% to 20% of annual carbon emissions from the sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on energy flow characteristics of the paper machine drying section, the dryer section can be divided into network. The Agents applied for the proxy of energy network node. A collaboration approach based on an extended contract net protocol for dryer section energy networks of paper machine is presented, applied for Multi-level negotiation protocol to solve distribution of energy allocation and use of conflict that exist in energy used in paper machine dryer section, in which the trust degree, threshold, and priority are introduced into the classical contract net protocol. This approach resolves energy distribution conflict in the dryer section network through bidding, game theory between the central control Agents and node Agents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on factors which may affect paper companies with large energy consumption in Europe. Reason why a new emission trading scheme may affect paper companies; Possibility that paper companies will face antitrust fines; Charts depicting coated and uncoated paper deliveries.

The paper proposes a methodology for rapid assessment of energy efficiency and of its impact on energy costs and on environment. Indicators of energy efficient and of environmental impact assessment are proposed. As a numerical example, we present a case study for a pulp and paper mill. Such methodology is very useful for departments tracking energy consumption and for decision staff from paper mills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For most materials used to provide buildings, infrastructure, equipment and products, global stocks are still sufficient to meet anticipated demand, but the environmental impacts of materials production and processing, particularly those related to energy, are rapidly becoming critical. These impacts can be ameliorated to some extent by the ongoing pursuit of efficiencies within existing processes, but demand is anticipated to double in the next 40 years, and this will lead to an unacceptable increase in overall impacts unless the total requirement for material production and processing is reduced. This is the goal of material efficiency, and this paper aims to stimulate interest in the area. Four major strategies for reducing material demand through material efficiency are discussed: longer-lasting products; modularisation and remanufacturing; component re-use; designing products with less material. In industrialised nations, these strategies have had little attention, because of economic, regulatory and social barriers, which are each examined. However, evidence from waste management and the pursuit of energy efficiency suggests that these barriers might be overcome, and an outline of potential mechanisms for change is given. In bringing together insights into material efficiency from a wide range of disciplines, the paper presents a set of 20 open questions for future work. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Viable alternatives to conventional newspapers, such as electronic papers, e-papers or e-readers, are intended to have many of the qualities of paper, such as reading using reflective light, high resolution, 180° viewing angle. It has been suggested that the environmental impact of e-paper can be lower than for printed and internet-based newspapers. However, in order to find the facts of the matter, a thorough life cycle perspective covering raw material acquisition, production, use and disposal should preferably be used to study the environmental performance of the different products. A screening life cycle assessment was performed to describe the potential environmental impacts of two product systems; printed on paper and tablet e-paper newspapers. Results show that the most significant phase of the life cycle for both product systems was the production of substrate or platform. Accordingly, key aspects that may affect the resulting environmental performance of newspaper product systems were for the printed newspaper number of readers per copy and number of pages per issue and for the tablet e-paper newspaper lifetime and multi-use of the device. The printed newspaper in general had a higher energy use, higher emissions of gases contributing to climate change and several other impact categories than the tablet e-paper newspaper. It was concluded that tablet e-paper has the potential to decrease the environmental impact of newspaper consumption. However, further studies regarding the environmental impact of production and waste management of electronic devices and internet use, as well as more comprehensive assessment of toxicological impacts are needed. As the data on the electronic devices becomes more comprehensive this may prove to be a major limitation of electronic newspaper systems. Developers are suggested to strive towards minimisation of toxic and rare substances in production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been mainly utilized in military applications due to its certainty and efficiency. Nowadays, it is considered to be the first-hand in many civilian applications such as leakage detection. Various technical issues, like power consumption, radio propagation models and sensors need to be considered for different types of applications. WSN has emerged lately as an effective solution for fluid leakage. This paper will discuss four different solutions for leaks in pipelines using wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The WSN-based solutions are magnetic induction based, continuous pressure monitoring, underground to above ground radio propagation and wireless signal networks (WSiN). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The climate change policy debate and ensuing discussions about industrial energy use and carbon emissions have highlighted the need to: (a) aggregate engineering information to a level relevant for economic policy analysis while maintaining sufficient detail so that results are meaningful for industry decision makers, (b) properly represent an industry’s capital vintage structure to better understand inertia associated with changes in aggregate industrial emissions profiles, and (c) identify policy instruments that leverage an industry’s potential for technological change such that carbon emissions can be noticeably reduced. This paper presents an econometric analysis of energy use and emissions profiles of the US Pulp and Paper Industry and uses the resulting set of equations to specify a dynamic model for the analysis of select climate change policies. Scenarios of cost of carbon, energy tax, and investment-led policies indicate that a combination of cost of carbon and investment-led policies can achieve the desired result of rapidly improving overall efficiency of the industry and promoting changes in fuel mix, which together can result in drastic reductions of carbon emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy, in a Northern context, is seen as gender-neutral; women and men are regarded as equal in their uses of and views about energy, hence policies accurately reflect the needs and wishes of the population. However, recent research has shown that the assumption of gender neutrality might be a misconception. This paper tests the hypothesis of gender neutrality in energy in the North by reviewing the available evidence. The paper argues that on the basis of gender equality, it is valid to ensure that women and men''s views should be equally reflected in energy policy and that women should have the opportunity of meaningful and rewarding professional career opportunities in the energy sector. The paper uses four questions as the framework of analysis. Are the lives of women and men affected differently in terms of the energy forms they use? If gender differences towards energy exist, are women and men able to exercise choices that reflect those differences about energy? Do women and men in the North have different preferences for energy policy? Are women able to make effective contributions as academics, as activists and as workers in the energy sector? The findings indicate that there would appear to be a distinct gender dimension in the way women''s and men''s lives are affected by energy use while the evidence about gender differences in preferences for particular primary energy forms as a basis of supply is, with the exception of nuclear energy, equivocal. Women are clearly under-represented as professionals in the energy sector. There are examples of creative approaches to encouraging women to join the sector but less attention seems to be paid to keeping them there. An interesting finding is the shift in attitudes of young men towards attitudes more strongly associated with women: being more environmentally conscious and socially aware. Young men do not always subscribe to the “masculine culture of work”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the monitoring and evaluation of three improved cookstove dissemination projects implemented between 2004 and 2006 by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India and Mexico. The projects assessed stove performance using lab-based water boiling tests (WBTs), which yield a number of performance indicators including time to boil water, specific fuel consumption, and energy efficiency when the stove is operated at both high and low power output. They also conducted field-based kitchen performance tests (KPTs), which yield daily per capita fuel consumption in real cooking conditions. In addition, one NGO utilized a controlled cooking test, which combined elements of lab- and field-based tests. In all cases, improved cookstoves (ICSs) were compared to local traditional cookstoves (TCSs). The results of the WBTs were mixed. Although the improved stoves generally showed some improvement in efficiency for the low-power simmering phases, the stoves were less efficient than traditional stoves in high-power water-boiling phases. The results from the KPTs were much less ambiguous. Three ICS models were tested for fuel consumption during real household use. All ICSs showed statistically significant reductions (p < 0.05) in average daily per capita fuel use ranging from 19 to 67%. We also explore the correlations between the outcomes in lab-based tests and field-based tests in order to understand the relationships between the two assessment methods. Only fuel consumption in the low-power phase of the WBT showed a strong correlation with fuel consumption in the field (r2 = 0.83, p = 0.01). We discuss the implications of this association as well as the other outcomes and present some policy recommendations for monitoring and evaluation of large-scale stove interventions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Treatment of mustard wastewater with high salinity and organic concentration by electrochemical degradation was studied. The influence of the critical parameters of electro-oxidation such as pH, current density, salt concentration and energy consumption on the removal efficiency of COD and NH3-N was studied using porous carbon electrode. It was found that the COD and NH3-N removal efficiency could be enhanced by increasing pH, current density and salt concentration. The current density of 0.032A cm-2 at pH 9 with a salt concentration 7% was found to be optimal, achieving a maximum COD and NH3-N removal of 64.2% and 81.2%. The optimum energy requirement for the reduction of 1kg COD is 0.83 kWh at pH 9, salt concentration 7% and current density 0.032A cm-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The women-energy nexus involves the challenge of engendering energy and the challenge of empowering women through energy. The first challenge arises from the gender disaggregation of energy consumption patterns. A quantitative account of the share of women in these patterns is presented through a description of the rural energy consumption pattern of the village of Pura in South India. The results indicate that women work more hours than men. Women also perform the back-breaking tasks and are displaced by agricultural mechanisation. The energy output-input imbalance is aggravated by the fact that, in developing countries, women traditionally eat last and least in a family – women therefore take in less food energy than men. The gender distribution of labour results in negative health impacts. The scarcity of energy services in rural areas has serious social and gender impacts. Tackling them requires energy interventions to improve the quality of life for women. Examples of such energy interventions are the community biogas plant at the village of Pura and the multi-purpose platforms of the Mali project. Since technological opportunities exist for such energy interventions, attention is turned to the second challenge of empowering women through energy entrepreneur ship. This requires a change of mind-set on the part of energy planners and activists – they must promote the notion of women as managers and entrepreneurs, and not just beneficiaries, of improved energy services. The idea is to push the following sequence: women as deprived in energy consumption patterns → women as beneficiaries of energy interventions → women as managers of enterprises → women as energy entrepreneurs. This is nothing short of a paradigm shift – but once achieved and implemented, the results will speak for themselves. Such an approach will engender energy by converting it into a force for improving the quality of life as well as enhancing productive capacities – a virtuous circle of energy for women and women for energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By 1970, European and Japanese dependence on Middle Eastern oil had increased tremendously both in absolute terms and as a percentage of their total energy consumption. In 1950, eighty-five percent of the energy needs of Western Europe and Japan were satisfied by indigenous coal deposits, but by 1970, ninety percent of their demands were met by crude oil imports, most of which came from the Middle East and North Africa. Even the U.S. was becoming increasingly reliant upon foreign imports. While it would remain far more energy self-sufficient then either Europe or Japan, in 1970, U.S. domestic oil production began to decline at a rate of two percent per year. This meant that the U.S. would not only become increasingly dependent upon foreign oil, but also that it would be increasingly difficult for it to supply its allies in an emergency. Finally, it is important to note that in the early 1970's, worldwide consumption of oil was increasing at a rate of seven to eight percent annually. The competitive threat posed by the industry newcomers and the increased importance of Middle Eastern oil combined to make it increasingly difficult for the oil companies to resist demands of the oil producing nations.

The pulp and paper sector is the fourth-largest industrial sector worldwide in terms of energy use, accounting for approximately 6% of the total industrial energy consumption and contributing to 2% of direct carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions produced by industries. The definition of the environmental profile of this industrial sector is crucial, due to the high market demand of paper and the increasing concern for the environmental costs of the whole papermaking process. A sustainability perspective should rely on a wider and holistic viewpoint, properly including all direct and indirect interactions with the environment. To this purpose, the Emergy (spelled with “m”) Accounting method (EMA) is very appropriate for the evaluation of the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the papermaking process under different perspectives (resource quality, fossil energy and material consumption, environmental and human-driven support). Several studies concerning environmental impacts, eco-efficiency, and cleaner technologies in the pulp and paper sector have already been carried out, but none of them addressed resource quality and resource generation costs from a supply-side point of view. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by highlighting the direct and indirect contribution in terms of natural capital and ecosystem services to the pulp and paper production process. By means of EMA performance indices, this paper aims to assess the environmental sustainability associated to the production of pulp and paper, so as to identify those process steps that entail the highest environmental costs and require improvements. Three forest management scenarios − based on Spruce/Pine, Eucalyptus and Poplar production for raw material supply − were evaluated to assess the sustainability and the efficiency of each species. Moreover, the marginal costs of achieving higher energy and material efficiency are investigated, with a special focus placed on the identification of the effects of energy input flows on additional demand for environmental services. The research results show that the largest supply-side environmental costs are generated by the industrial processing activities, due to high energy, water and chemicals consumption. Only a minor role is played by forestry activities that supply the raw feedstock, although forestry management practices certainly affect both the final productivity and the energy balance, through the amount and use efficiency of the farm inputs. Additionally, among the three forest systems under study, Spruce/Pine forest management displays the most sustainable option for paper production because, basing on the emergy indices, it presents the best sustainable contribution to both the economy and the environment of the investigated region. In conclusion, the application of EMA approach allowed a more comprehensive assessment of forestry and industrial operations, contributing to assist decision makers in implementing the best environmental management of papermaking process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) networks always operate within the context of diverse and constrained characteristics of the devices. Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs) constitute a network architecture commonly utilized in IoT application deployments, facilitating networking and the establishment of paths for data transmission. The Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) demonstrates promising capabilities for LLN network operations, supporting IPv4 and IPv6-enabled services. The RPL protocol constructs a Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG) logical routing topology based on defined Objective Function (OF) metrics. Routing operations within the DODAG utilize these metrics and constraints to select parent nodes and calculate optimal routes between two nodes. Standardized OFs have traditionally focused on either parent node selection or routing objectives within the DODAG, often treating load balancing and bottleneck optimization separately. However, their combined impact on RPL's effectiveness has been overlooked. This paper introduces an Adaptively Composite Objective Function (AC-OF) approach that considers the combined objectives of DODAG load balancing and optimized routing operations. Through simulation evidence, the paper presents improved network parameters. The AC-OF implementation brings out significant results in the form of a balanced DODAG topology and it has good impacts on data transmission, control overhead messages, parent switching, delay, energy consumption, and node lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerogels, with their exceptional properties such as high insulation performance, lightness, and eco-friendliness, present immense potential for use in the construction industry. This paper reviews the progress in research and application of various types of aerogels in construction, highlighting notable case studies demonstrating energy efficiency gains and sustainability impacts. It delves into the lifecycle of aerogels, discussing environmental implications at each stage. Despite their potential, aerogels face certain limitations including production complexity, brittleness, and high cost which hinder their widespread adoption. The paper further discusses these challenges and highlights the need for continuous research and development efforts to overcome them, with a view to achieving more scalable production, enhanced mechanical properties, and cost reduction. Looking forward, the paper discusses the expansive horizon of aerogel research, emphasizing the potential of smart aerogels, their integration with renewable energy systems, and exploring the possibility of recycling or creating bio-based aerogels to enhance their overall sustainability. While still in early stages, aerogels promise to be a major contributor to the future of construction, leading to more sustainable and efficient built environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydraulic turbine has been used extensively in the field of energy conservation. For turbines that have low heads and large discharge, improving recovery efficiency and stability is crucial due to their significant hydraulic impact. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the correlation between the influence of radial guide vanes on the stability of low-head, large-discharge turbines focusing on hydraulic performance and energy dissipation before and after the implementation of guide vanes. Moreover, in this paper, two types of turbines, with and without guide vanes, were designed considering the desulfurization scenario. Hydraulic efficiency, radial force, and internal flow field mechanics were numerically studied, and validated through experiments. The results reveal that the working range of the hydraulic turbine could be widened and the energy recovery efficiency improved by a maximum of 3.11% in the small flow rate under the action of guide vanes. Furthermore, it results in a substantial reduction in the radial force of the impeller. Subsequently, the variation in entropy production of different components under full flow rate conditions was compared between the models with and without guide vanes. The total energy consumption decreases sharply under overall working conditions due to the flow control ability of guide vanes affecting the flow state. The entropy production rate of the impeller remains the largest regardless of the presence of a guide vane in the turbine. The vortices inside the guide vanes increase obviously with the flow rate increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2012, researchers have explored various factors influencing Bitcoin prices. Up until the end of July 2023, more than 9100 research papers on cryptocurrencies were published and indexed in the Web of Science Clarivate platform. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of publications on Bitcoin prices. This study aims to uncover significant themes within these research articles, focusing on cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin specifically. The research employs latent Dirichlet allocation to identify key topics from the unstructured abstracts. To determine the optimal number of topics, perplexity and topic coherence metrics are calculated. Additionally, the abstracts are processed using BERT-transformers and Word2Vec and their potential to predict Bitcoin prices is assessed. Based on the results, while the research helps in understanding cryptocurrencies, the potential of academic publications to influence Bitcoin prices is not significant, demonstrating a weak connection. In other words, the movements of Bitcoin prices are not influenced by the scientific writing in this specific field. The primary topics emerging from the analysis are the blockchain, market dynamics, transactions, pricing trends, network security, and the mining process. These findings suggest that future research should pay closer attention to issues like the energy demands and environmental impacts of mining, anti-money laundering measures, and behavioral aspects related to cryptocurrencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption forecasting plays a pivotal role in modern resource management and sustainable development. This paper presents a concise overview of state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies employed in the field of energy consumption forecasting, with a particular emphasis on the application of Machine Learning (ML) models. The paper surveys recent advancements, addresses key challenges, and identifies promising directions for future research in this critical domain. By examining the current landscape of energy consumption forecasting through the lens of machine learning, this review aims to offer researchers and practitioners valuable insights and guidance for enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of energy consumption pattern prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed-mode ventilation system (MMVS) can significantly decrease the energy consumption of Egyptian office buildings while meeting indoor air quality requirements and thermal comfort of occupancy. This paper studies the effect of using mixed-mode ventilation system (MMVS) in achieving both energy efficiency and thermal comfort in office buildings. The research specifically focuses on investigating the energy-saving potential and thermal performance of existing office buildings in Egypt by merging natural ventilation (NV) with mechanical ventilation (MV) to reach an effective mixed-mode ventilation system (MMVS). Additionally, an energy performance simulation was used to study how to achieve thermal comfort and the building's indoor temperature. Firstly, a selected office building in Cairo was used as a case study, and its thermal performance was studied by simulation. Secondly, site measurements were conducted to record the real thermal performance of the tested office building. These measurements were used for the validation phase. The validation demonstrated a satisfactory agreement between the building simulation and measurement data for air temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Thirdly, building energy simulations and analysis were used for testing the energy performance and thermal comfort of the tested scenarios that have different alternatives in the operation settings. The results revealed that it is possible to increase the thermal comfort hours by merging natural ventilation and applying the mixed-mode ventilation system only by changing the operation settings on the MMVS performance. The building's annual energy consumption was reduced by approximately 27 % compared with the use of HVAC in the building. Natural Ventilation hours increased by approximately 27 % to reach 427 hours (h) and the HVAC hours decreased by 17 % to reach 898 hours (h). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved dual-phased framework for energy-efficient, cluster-based routing in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). It addresses the critical challenge of balancing energy consumption with reliable network performance. Cluster-based routing is a crucial parameter for WSN operational efficiency, especially in applications demanding minimal energy use and dependable data transmission. The proposed framework integrates two advanced meta-heuristic algorithms: Sailfish Optimization (SFO) and Spotted Hyena Optimization (SHO). This combined approach leverages SFO's rapid exploration for efficient clustering and optimal Cluster Head (CH) selection. Additionally, SHO's refined exploitation capabilities optimize efficient routing paths. This innovative methodology significantly improves network performance metrics like energy efficiency, network lifetime, and Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR). The originality of this work lies in the dual-phased optimization strategy. It distinctively outperforms traditional single-algorithm based approaches by employing a unique hybrid optimization approach, offering greater originality and value. Experimental simulations demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms several popular algorithms in terms of key performance metrics. This makes it a valuable contribution to the field and an efficient solution for diverse applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet of Things (IoT) in recent times offers a greater amount of flexible design during the deployment of it in the form of network. The interfacing of IoT with a wireless sensor network (WSN) requires an optimal solution to preserve the consumption of energy while the data has been transmitted via nodes. In this paper, we develop machine learning (ML)-assisted routing to route the data packets of IoT sensors from the real-time environment over WSN. In this study, we use three different planes for optimal routing of packets from the source node to the destination node. The source node is the IoT sensors that involve data collection, and the intermediate nodes are the WSN sensor nodes that route the packets. Optimal routing decisions based on the pre-trained data in an artificial neural network (ANN) stabilize the routing of data packets without congestion. The simulation is conducted to test the efficacy of the ANN routing in the integrated network, and the results show that the ANN-based routing achieves higher energy efficiency and throughput than other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current sea monitoring equipment's are being used for a variety of purposes around the world. Currently used vehicles have some drawbacks. The first is the high fuel cost. The Vehicle engines cost more fuel as they have to release more power and environment and pollution. As well as not being able to stay under the sea for long days, there will often be a need for vehicles to come to the surface to refuel. The second is the vibrations and noise of these vehicles. The vibrations caused by these can be detrimental to the biodiversity of the ocean. Also, the noise makes it easier for enemies to identify our vehicles. Similarly when these vehicles go under water, water waves form on the surface. With this in mind, radar can detect what a vehicle under the sea looks like. In this paper, an artificial intelligence based microbiological model was proposed to monitor the sea level. With this biological model can greatly reduce fuels. It can get more capacity than normal vehicles. As fuel consumption decreases, so it does environmental pollution and since it operates quietly and without high vibrations, there is no threat to the biodiversity of the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks into natural gas as a factor influencing the dynamics of the energy market in Eastern Europe. The energy market as such is in fact the correlation between various interrelated markets which have different effects on the final consumers' prices and on the inflation. The Eastern European energy market is currently one of the fastest-growing energy markets. It consists of resource-rich and transit countries (Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine) with a population of roughly 291 million people, that contributes significantly to the world's energy consumption and security. The dynamics of this market depend on the new infrastructure for transiting and storing natural gas as well as the big undergoing investments in renewable energy infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Denial of services (DoS) attacks exist in wind integrated power system. DoS attacks can cause network-induced delay and packages loss in information transmission. Meanwhile, considering the parameter perturbation of controller and system model uncertainty in wind integrated power system, these may cause the system dynamic performances degradation or even instability. Based on the above considerations, the joint non-fragile automatic generation robust control of wind integrated power system under DoS attacks is studied in this paper. In order to ensure the expected system performance and more effectively utilize the limited network communication resources under DoS attacks, a novel dynamic multi-event driven mechanism based joint non-fragile H ∞ automatic generation control method is proposed. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and utilizing the Shur complement lemma to handle nonlinear matrix inequality, the sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the asymptotic stability of wind integrated power system under DoS attacks. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed non-fragile regulator is demonstrated through a four-area wind integrated power system to show the feasibility and applicability. The analysis result indicates that the proposed scheme provides stronger robustness, higher wind energy utilization efficiency and more efficient communication mechanism. [Display omitted] • A multi-event driven mechanism (MEDM) based joint non-fragile control scheme is derived. • The wind-integrated power system model based on MEDM is established. • The MEDM is integrated into the joint non-fragile controller design under DoS attacks. • The MEDM based joint non-fragile H ∞ automatic generation control strategy is proposed. • It provides stronger robustness and higher wind energy utilization efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses ways to reduce paper machine energy consumption. Importance of performance indices in benchmarking energy consumption and identifying improvement opportunities; Advantages of installing energy tracking systems.

In this paper, we introduce the Enhanced Whale Optimization Algorithm (EWA) to optimize dependent task offloading in a multi-edge cloud computing environment. Our proposed algorithm aims to identify the most suitable offloading scenario for dependent tasks, focusing on minimizing total processing latency, energy consumption, and associated costs. We operate within a system comprising many decentralized Mobile Edge Computing servers (MECs) and a centralized cloud server. Two novel improvement operations, namely Frame Shifting (FS) and Load Redistribution Strategy (LRS), are introduced to enhance the performance of the whale algorithm. Through simulation, our results demonstrate the superior performance of EWA. Specifically, compared to the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), EWA achieves a remarkable reduction in latency by 22.84%, a substantial decrease in energy consumption by 78.28%, and a notable reduction in cost usage by 61.47%. These outcomes underscore the efficacy and practical significance of the proposed EWA in addressing the challenges posed by dependent task offloading in the multi-edge cloud computing landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates improved throughput and energy efficiency of wireless communications by exploiting nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA), multiple input–multiple output (MIMO), and radio frequency energy harvesting (EH) technologies. To assess the performance of NOMA MIMO communications with EH (MMe), we consider the nonlinear characteristics of EH devices and propose explicit expressions for throughput and outage probability. Based on our results, the system performance is significantly mitigated by EH nonlinearity and is considerably improved by increasing the number of antennas. Additionally, by appropriately adjusting the system parameters, our NOMA MMe innovation can avert complete outages while optimizing system performance. Moreover, the results demonstrate the superiority of the NOMA MMe over its orthogonal multiple access MMe counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method to compute various measures of effectiveness (MOEs) at a signalized intersection using vehicle trajectory data collected by flying drones. Specifically, this study investigates the use of drone raw data at a busy three-way signalized intersection in Athens, Greece, and builds on the open data initiative of the pNEUMA experiment. Using a microscopic approach and shockwave analysis on data extracted from real-time videos, we estimated the maximum queue length, whether, when, and where a spillback occurred, vehicle stops, vehicle travel time and delay, crash rates, and fuel consumption. The results of the various MOEs were found to be promising. We also demonstrated that estimating MOEs in real-time is achievable using drone data. Such models can track individual vehicle movements within street networks and thus allow the modeler to consider any traffic conditions, ranging from highly under-saturated to highly over-saturated conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]