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Generally, impregnation of solid insulation is performed to increase the dielectric strength and reduce the dielectric losses of solid insulants. This increase in dielectric strength depends on the oil’s diffusion and dielectric properties. This paper investigates the diffusion behavior of mineral oil and ester fluids (synthetic, natural, and mixed) to understand the influence of oil diffusion on paper breakdown voltage. To better understand this phenomenal influence, cellulose insulation paper of different thicknesses has been considered. Wetting characteristics of various oil-paper insulation systems were investigated with and without thermal stressing. Thermal aging was carried out as per modified ASTM D1934 at 110 °C, 140 °C, 160 °C, and 185 °C respectively for 2 weeks. The wetting characteristics and influence of different oils on paper breakdown voltage were explicitly reported. It is inferred that paper wetting characteristics are attributable to the type of oil, the thickness of paper, and the aging factor of oil-paper insulation. Importantly, the increase in paper dielectric strength and diffusion behavior for ester fluids is found to be superior to that of the mineral insulating oils.

This paper presents the effect of the impact of moisture in paper insulation used as insulation of transformer windings on its thermal conductivity. Various types of paper (cellulose and aramid) and impregnated (mineral oil, synthetic ester, and natural ester) were tested. The impact of paper and impregnated types on the changes in thermal conductivity of paper insulation caused by an increase in moisture were analyzed. A linear equation, describing the changes in thermal conductivity due to moisture, for various types of paper and impregnated, was developed. The results of measuring the thermal conductivity of paper insulation depending on the temperature are presented. The aim of the study is to develop an experimental database to better understand the heat transport inside transformers to assess aging and optimize their performance.

This paper presents analysis, diagnosis and disposal with a typical internal breakdown failure of the resin impregnated paper (RIP) valve side bushing in high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter transformer. Based on the analysis of fault current characteristics at the time of the RIP valve side bushing failure, and field test results of insulation parameters, a method of diagnosing typical breakdown failures of valve side bushings is proposed. Through disassembly inspection of the internal overheating and arcing traces on the failure bushing, the root cause of this typical breakdown failure is found, which is upper axial flashover along the RIP condenser/SF6 interface caused by the abnormal contact of two current-carrying conductive tubes. Temperature distribution inside the bushing with an abnormal contact resistance between the copper conductive tube and aluminum conductive tube under different load current is simulated by using the finite element method. An special device is also developed for repairing defective bushing on-site, and 75 bushings with conductive contact defects have been repaired on the premise of not pushing converter transformers away from the valve hall and even without pulling out defective bushings.

In January 2011, the introduction of high-efficiency cogeneration in Europe radically modified the incentive scheme for combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Since then, the techno-economic feasibility of new cogeneration plants in different areas of application (industry, service, residential, etc.), along with the definition of their optimal operation, have inevitably undergone a radical change. In particular, with reference to the Italian case and according to the most recent ministerial guidelines following the new EU regulation, in the event that cogeneration power plants do not reach an established value in terms of overall efficiency, their operation has to be split into a CHP and a non-CHP portion with incentives proportional to the energy quantities pertaining to the CHP portion only. In the framework of high-efficiency cogeneration, the present study compares different CHP solutions to be coupled with the paper industry that, among all the industrial processes, appears to be the best suited for cogeneration applications. With reference to this particular industrial reality, energy, environmental, and economic performance parameters have been defined, analysed, and compared with the help of GateCycle software. Among the proposed CHP alternatives, results show that gas turbines are the most appropriate technology for paper industry processes.

Using mathematical programming with activity-based costing (ABC) and based on the theory of constraints (TOC), this study proposed a green production model for the traditional paper industry to achieve the purpose of energy saving and carbon emission reduction. The mathematical programming model presented in this paper considers (1) revenue of main products and byproducts, (2) unit-level, batch-level, and product-level activity costs in ABC, (3) labor cost with overtime available, (4) machine cost with capacity expansion, (5) saved electric power and steam costs by using the coal as the main fuel in conjunction with Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This model also considers the constraint of the quantity of carbon equivalent of various gases that are allowed to be emitted from the mill paper-making process to conform to the environmental protection policy. A numerical example is used to demonstrate how to apply the model presented in this paper. In addition, sensitivity analysis on the key parameters of the model are used to provide further insights for this research.

This paper studied the impact of moisture on the correlated characteristics of the condenser bushings oil-paper insulation system. The oil-impregnated paper samples underwent accelerated thermal aging at 130 °C after preparation at different initial moisture contents (1%, 3%, 5% and 7%). All the samples were extracted periodically for the measurement of the moisture content, the degree of polymerization (DP) and frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy (FDS). Next, the measurement results of samples were compared to the related research results of transformer oil-paper insulation, offering a theoretical basis of the parameter analysis. The obtained results show that the moisture fluctuation amplitude can reflect the different initial moisture contents of insulating paper and the mass ratio of oil and paper has little impact on the moisture content fluctuation pattern in oil-paper but has a great impact on moisture fluctuation amplitude, reduction of DP presents an accelerating trend with the increase of initial moisture content, and the aging rate of test samples is higher under low moisture content but lower under high moisture content compared to the insulation paper in transformers. Two obvious “deceleration zones” appeared in the dielectric spectrum with the decrease of frequency, and not only does the integral value of dielectric dissipation factor (tan δ) reflect the aging degree, but it reflects the moisture content in solid insulation. These types of research in this paper can be applied to evaluate the condition of humidified insulation and the aging state of solid insulation for condenser bushings.

Due to the recent global increase in fuel prices, to reduce emissions from ground transportation and improve urban air quality, it is necessary to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Water, methanol, and a mixture of the two were added at the pre-intercooler position to keep the same charge and cooling of the original rich mixture, reduce BSFC and increase ITE, and promote combustion. The methanol/water mixing volume ratios of different fuel injection strategies were compared to find the best balance between fuel consumption, performance, and emission trends. By simulating the combustion mechanism of methanol, water, and diesel mixed through the Chemkin system, the ignition delay, temperature change, and the generation rate of the hydroxyl group (−OH) in the reaction process were analyzed. Furthermore, the performance and emission of the engine were analyzed in combination with the actual experiment process. This paper studied the application of different concentration ratios of the water–methanol–diesel mixture in engines. Five concentration ratios of water–methanol blending were injected into the engine at different injection ratios at the pre-intercooler position, such as 100% methanol, 90% methanol/10% water, 60% methanol/40% water, 30% methanol/70% water, 100% water was used. With different volume ratios of premixes, the combustion rate and combustion efficiency were affected by droplet extinguishment, flashing, or explosion, resulting in changes in combustion temperature and affecting engine performance and emissions. In this article, the injection carryout at the pre-intercooler position of the intake port indicated thermal efficiency increase and a brake specific fuel consumption rate decrease with the increase of water–methanol concentration, and reduce CO, UHC, and nitrogen oxide emissions. In particular, when 60% methanol and 40% water were added, it was found that the ignition delay was the shortest and the cylinder pressure was the largest, but the heat release rate was indeed the lowest.

Sludge incineration is a sludge resource management and disposal method that can greatly decrease the volume of sludge, reduce the degree of harm and realize the recovery of sludge heat energy. Most of the research on sludge incineration focuses on the combustion process and gas emissions, but there are relatively few studies on the sludge fuel molding and drying process before sludge incineration. Besides, independent incineration of sludge has high energy consumption. This paper proposes a pre-incineration treatment method in which sludge and corn stover are mixed to make fuel pellets and then dried. Specifically, the influence of molding pressure, raw material ratio and raw material particle size on the physical properties of the fuel, and the related mechanism, were studied. The density of fuel particles is mainly affected by the forming pressure, and the impermeability is mainly determined by the proportion of sludge in the raw material. The order of the variables based on their effect of improving fuel physical properties was: molding pressure &gt, raw material ratio &gt, raw material particle size. Moreover, the influence of drying temperature (40 °C, 60 °C, 80 °C, 100 °C, 120 °C) has been explored. When the initial water content is similar, the drying rate increases with the increase in temperature. It provides a reference for the sludge fuel molding and drying process, and promotes the practical application of mixing sludge and corn stalks to make fuel.

Hybrid bio-thermochemical based technologies have the potential to ensure greater feedstock flexibility for the production of bioenergy and bioproducts. This study focused on the bioconversion of syngas produced from low grade technical lignin to C2-/C4-carboxylic acids by Butyribacterium methylotrophicum. The effects of pH, medium supplementation and the use of crude syngas were analyzed. At pH 6.0, B. methylotrophicum consumed CO, CO2 and H2 simultaneously up to 87 mol% of carbon fixation, and the supplementation of the medium with acetate increased the production of butyrate by 6.3 times. In long-term bioreactor experiments, B. methylotrophicum produced 38.3 and 51.1 mM acetic acid and 0.7 and 2.0 mM butyric acid from synthetic and lignin syngas, respectively. Carbon fixation reached 83 and 88 mol%, respectively. The lignin syngas conversion rate decreased from 13.3 to 0.9 NmL/h throughout the assay. The appearance of a grayish pellet and cell aggregates after approximately 220 h was indicative of tar deposition. Nevertheless, the stressed cells remained metabolically active and maintained acetate and butyrate production from lignin syngas. The challenge that impurities represent in the bioconversion of crude syngas has a direct impact on syngas cleaning requirements and operation costs, supporting the pursuit for more robust and versatile acetogens.

This research reviews the impact on emissions from the engine fueled with the fuel containing a large share of bio-components, in particular with 30% n-Butanol. The research was carried out using a diesel engine. It has been shown that it is possible to achieve a double positive ecological effect concerning CO2 emissions. There was a decrease in CO2 emission from the engine with the fuel contained a significant share of bio-carbon. At the same time, NOx and Filter Smoke Number (FSN) emissions have been reduced together (FSN in large percentage). Usually, if NOx emissions are reduced, FSN increases, and vice versa. The paper shows also that the use of n-Butanol (bio, but nonfood) in the future is more effective than larger amounts of higher fatty acids methyl esters, although the full withdrawal of these esters seems unjustified.

In this study, five fuels including pure diesel (B0), pure palm oil biodiesel (B100), and their blends (B10, B20, and B30) were investigated in relation to soot particle distribution and regulated and unregulated emission characteristics in a common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine. The results indicated that CO, hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM) regulated emissions were effectively controlled to a very low level by combining the addition of palm oil biodiesel (POB) to diesel with optimized engine operating conditions. Paper filters and TEM grids were used to capture the diesel particles. All the PM primary particles were less than 100 nm in diameter observed by TEM, and the average diameters of the PM primary particles for the biodiesel blends were distributed between 20 and 26 nm. Unregulated emissions such as trace metals including Pb, Mn, and Ba were found in the PM particles, and the xylene, toluene, and benzene unregulated emissions of B100 were reduced by 55.68%, 21.56%, and 18.32%, respectively, compared to those of B0. Therefore, POB is an excellent alternative fuel for diesel engines and has great application potential to solve the current pollution problems of regulated and unregulated emissions.

The study investigated co-digestion batch experiments using kitchen waste (KW) and garden waste (GW) collected from individual households. Grass and leaves were first subjected to a 3-day hyperthermophilic pretreatment at 70 °C and 80 °C and then co-digested with kitchen waste at 35 °C and 55 °C. The hyperthermophilic pretreatment resulted in the solubilization of organic material with the release of fatty acids, whereas the biogas yield was negligible. In the second stage, the greatest methane yield of 387 NmL/gVS was achieved for the mono-digestion of leaves, whereas the co-digestion of grass with 50% KW gave the highest hydrogen production of 88 NmL/gVS. Considering the overall process performance, the best operating conditions were established using a 3-day hyperthermophilic pretreatment at 70 °C, followed by co-digestion at 55 °C in the second stage for the mixture of 25% garden waste with 75% KW.

Poultry waste is increasingly used as a substrate for the methane fermentation process in a biogas plant. However, not all waste materials processed in the meat industry meet the criteria for optimal process management and cost-effective methane efficiency. An example may be centrifuged biological sludge, etc. Treatment of such material used as a substrate by introducing new metabolically and enzymatically active strains of bacteria could be beneficial for the fermentation process in a biogas plant and provide increased energy efficiency. The aim of the study was to compare the amount and quality of biogas obtained from biological sludge from the processing of poultry vaccinated with metabolically diversified bacterial inoculum after initial incubation of the batch before the actual process in a biofermenter. Laboratory tests were carried out in accordance with the guidelines contained in the DIN 38 414-S8 and VDI 4630 standards. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the optimized biological sludge can be used as a substrate in the methane fermentation process in a biogas plant. The material processed by the combination of bacterial strains marked with the symbols A/C, E/G, and F/H showed a significantly increased efficiency of biogas, including methane, compared to the non-grafted material. This is a good predictor for industrial applications, process feasibility, economic viability, and environmental sustainability that should be compiled based on the results obtained from this study.

In this study, the links between performance and microbial communities were investigated with municipal solid waste (MSW) at two feedstock ratios and eight organic loading rates (OLRs). The co-digestion systems were stably operated at OLRs of 2.0–6.0 g VS/(L·d). The performance of the co-digestion system varied with the feedstock ratio. Compared with the 50:50 (hybrid Pennisetum:MSW) system, the 75:50 system, GM31, obtained increases of 1.93–17.68% and 0.29–23.29% for the specific biogas and methane yields, respectively. Whereas a shift in bacterial and methanogen communities occurred as the operating conditions changed, particularly with OLR variations. The genera Saccharofermentans, Prevotella, Clostridium, Syntrophomonas, and Proteiniphilum became the dominant bacteria for the conversion of carbohydrates and nitrogen compounds as the OLR increased. Meanwhile, a shift from acetoclastic to hydrogenotrophic or multifunctional methanogens was observed.

Sewage sludge hydrochars (SSHs), which are produced by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), offer a high calorific value to be applied as a biofuel. However, HTC is a complex processand the properties of the resulting product depend heavily on the process conditions and feedstock composition. In this work, we have applied artificial neural networks (ANNs) to contribute to the production of tailored SSHs for a specific application and with optimum properties. We collected data from the published literature covering the years 2014–2021, which was then fed into different ANN models where the input data (HTC temperature, process time, and the elemental content of hydrochars) were used to predict output parameters (higher heating value, (HHV) and solid yield (%)). The proposed ANN models were successful in accurately predicting both HHV and contents of C and H. While the model NN1 (based on C, H, O content) exhibited HHV predicting performance with R2 = 0.974, another model, NN2, was also able to predict HHV with R2 = 0.936 using only C and H as input. Moreover, the inverse model of NN3 (based on H, O content, and HHV) could predict C content with an R2 of 0.939.

Abundant biomass is a potential energy source. However, it possesses several challenges when considered for energy applications. Torrefaction, a thermal pretreatment process can improve the properties of biomass as energy source. This study focused on comparing effect of torrefaction operating parameters on agricultural and wood wastes properties as fuel. The physiochemical properties, composition, moisture-biomass interaction and ash melting behavior were determined. The result show that higher torrefaction temperature and longer residence time increased lignin content, reduced hemicellulose and cellulose content. The moisture uptake of torrefied biomass was reduced in the range 2.47–9.94% compared with raw biomass depending on torrefaction temperature that indicate torrefied biomass was more hydrophobic than raw biomass. The moisture adsorption isotherm curve shows type II isotherm based on the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller’s (BET) classification and was best described by the Oswin model. In addition, torrefaction treatment showed significant influence on the melting behavior of the biomass ash. Especially for agricultural wastes, the fouling tendency shifted from serious range to low range with torrefaction treatment. Torrefaction showed promise for improving fuel characteristics of the studied biomass.

Biomass waste, as raw material for renewable energy, is an attractive alternative since it does not compete with human food supply. An emerging alternative for its treatment is supercritical water gasification (SCWG), due to the high moisture content of some types of biomass. On this regards, guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most wasted agro-food products in Mexico. This motivated us to evaluate gasification of guava waste on dry biomass base under supercritical water conditions for the first time, with the aim of analyzing the impact of moderate temperatures and feed ratios as reaction parameters on gas products. Temperature was varied in the range of 673.15–773.15 K and using a batch reactor loaded with biomass:water (B:W) mass ratios of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:6. Furthermore, the obtained solid, liquid, and gas phase products were characterized. Hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10) were identified in gas phase and quantified by means of a gas chromatograph equipped with a TCD detector. Liquid and solid phase products were subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy analyses. This preliminary research indicated that high temperature operation and high biomass:water mass ratio enhanced gas yields (mol/kg) of about 4.137 for CH4, 6.705 for CO2, and 7.743 for H2; whereas the selectivity and gas efficiency for hydrogen was 65.26% and 58.94%, respectively.

Gasification is considered a clean and effective way to convert low quality biomass to higher value gas and solve various waste utilization problems as well. However, only 80% of biomass is converted through thermal processes. The remaining part is char, which requires more time for conversion and in that case reduces the efficiency of gasifier. Seeking to optimize the process of gasification, this work focuses on the intensification of residual char gasification in a gasifier. For this purpose, three different types of char prepared from wood, sewage sludge and tire were examined under different conditions in a lab-scale gasification setup. Results showed that the air flux increase from 0.11 kg/(m2s) to 0.32 kg/(m2s) intensified the gasification process and the gasification rate increased from 0.8 to 2.61 g/min with the decrease of duration of wood char gasification by 72%. An additional introduction of pyrolysis gas into the char gasifier led to decreased bed temperatures, but the gasification rate increased from 0.8 to 1.25 g/min and from 2.61 g/min to 2.83 g/min, respectively, for the wood char and the sewage sludge char. Moreover, the use of pyrolysis gas coupled with air as the gasifying agent enhanced the composition of produced gas from char, and the CO2 concentration decreased by 1.68 vol% while the H2 concentration increased by 2.8 vol%.

Pollutants resulting from domestic combustion would have harmful effects on public health, causing disturbances in the atmosphere chemistry and the climate. In this work, the emissions from the combustion of pellets made of 80% poplar (organically fertilized) and 20% cereal straw (Triticum aestivum) have been analysed. Poplar wood from I-214 and AF-8 clones was obtained from fertilized and non-fertilized plots (CONTROL). Dairy wastewater treatment (MUD) and dehydrated sewage sludge (BIOSOLIDS) were the fertilizers employed. BIOSOLIDS-I214 pellets had lower quality standards, so its combustion was omitted. A flue gas sample was sampled together with the particles emitted. The I-214 MUD sample had the highest emitted CO value (1505 mg/MJ). Regarding HCl emission factors, there was a homogeneity in the results linked with the Cl content present in the raw material. A higher particle emission was associated with pellets with higher ash content. Particles were composed mainly for elemental carbon (26&ndash, 80 mg/MJ), except I-214 MUD. I-214 pellets had the indicators of incomplete combustion and, therefore, major contaminants emission and major environmental impact. Thus, both the poplar clone and the organic fertilizer influenced the parameters and emissions analysed. Therefore, special attention must be paid to both characteristics.

The article presents results of laboratory tests performed on samples of NOMEX&reg, 910 cellulose&ndash, aramid insulation impregnated with Nynas Nytro 10&times, inhibited insulating mineral oil using the polarization and depolarization current analysis method (PDC Method). In the course of the tests, the insulation samples were subjected to a process of accelerated thermal degradation of cellulose macromolecules, as well as weight-controlled dampening, thereby simulating the ageing processes occurring when using the insulation in power transformers. The effects of temperature in the ranges typical of normal transformer operation were also taken into account. On the basis of the obtained data, the activation energy was then fixed together with dominant time constants of cellulose&ndash, aramid insulation relaxation processes with respect to the temperature and degree of moisture, as well as thermal degradation of cellulose macromolecules. It was found that the greatest and predictable changes in the activation energy value were caused by the temperature and the degree of moisture in the samples. A similar conclusion applies to the dominant time constant of the relaxation process of cellulose fibers. Degree of thermal degradation samples was of marginal importance for the described parameters. The final outcome of the test results and analyses presented in the article are regression functions for the activation energy and the dominant time constants depending on the earlier listed parameters of the experiment, which may be used in the future diagnostics of the degree of technical wear of cellulose&ndash, aramid insulation performed using the PDC method.

Microalgae are a practical source of biological compounds for biodiesel production. This study examined the influence of three different light-emitting diode (LED) systems on the biomass production of green algae Chlorella vulgaris BA0002a. The cultivation was carried out in a photobioreactor illuminated from the bottom with a single side light jacket (PBR I), in a photobioreactor illuminated from the bottom with a double side light jacket (PBR II) and in a photobioreactor illuminated only from the top (PBR III). Research has shown that the intensification of algae cell production and growth depends on the light distribution and exposure time of a single cell to radiation. In the experiment, the highest growth of algae cells was obtained in the photobioreactor with double jacket and lower light panel. The lowest cell growth was observed in the photobioreactor illuminated only from above. For cultures raised in the PBR I and PBR II photobioreactors, increased oxygen production was observed, which was directly related to the increased production of biomass, which in turn was dependent on the increased amount of radiant energy.

A high-temperature oil&ndash, paper insulation system offers an opportunity to improve the overloading capability of distribution transformers facing seasonal load variation. A high-temperature electrical insulation system (EIS) was chosen due to thermal calculation based on a typical loading curve on the China Southern Power Grid. In order to evaluate candidate high-temperature insulation systems, Nomex&reg, T910 (aramid-enhanced cellulose) immersed in FR3 (natural ester) was investigated by a dual-temperature thermal aging test compared with a conventional insulation system, Kraft paper impregnated with mineral oil. Throughout the thermal aging test, mechanical, chemical, and dielectric parameters of both paper and insulating oil were investigated in each aging cycle. The thermal aging results determined that the thermal class of the FR3-T910 insulation system meets the request of overloading transformer needs.

This paper summarizes a study based on a modified, light, single-cylinder diesel engine and the effects of the physicochemical properties for n-butanol-diesel blended fuel on the combustion process and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions in the intake at a medium speed and moderate load in, an oxygen-rich environment (Coxy = 20.9&ndash, 16%), an oxygen-medium environment (Coxy = 16&ndash, 12%), and an oxygen-poor environment (Coxy = 12&ndash, 9%). The results show that the ignition delay period is the main factor affecting the combustion process and it has a decisive influence on HC emissions. In an oxygen-medium environment, combustion duration affected by the cetane number is the main reason for the difference in HC emissions between neat diesel fuel (B00) and diesel/n-butanol blended fuel (B20), and its influence increases as the intake oxygen concentration decreases. In an oxygen-poor environment, in-cylinder combustion temperature affected by the latent heat of vaporization is the main reason for the difference in HC emissions between B00 and B20 fuels, and its influence increases as the intake oxygen concentration decreases. By comparing B20 fuel with diesel/n-butanol/2-ethylhexyl nitrate blended fuel (B20 + EHN), the difference in the ignition delay period caused by the difference in the cetane number is the main reason for the difference in HC emissions between B20 and B20 + EHN fuels in oxygen-poor environment, and the effect of this influencing factor gradually increases as the intake oxygen concentration decreases.

Wastewater originating from the yeast industry is characterized by high concentration of pollutants that need to be reduced before the sludge can be applied, for instance, for fertilization of croplands. As a result of the special requirements associated with the characteristics of this production, huge amounts of wastewater are generated. A microbial fuel cell (MFC) forms a device that can apply wastewater as a fuel. MFC is capable of performing two functions at the same time: wastewater treatment and electricity production. The function of MFC is the production of electricity during bacterial digestion (wastewater treatment). This paper analyzes the possibility of applying yeast wastewater to play the function of a MFC (with Ni&ndash, Co cathode). The study was conducted on industrial wastewater from a sewage treatment plant in a factory that processes yeast sewage. The Ni&ndash, Co alloy was prepared by application of electrochemical method on a mesh electrode. The results demonstrated that the use of MFC coupled with a Ni&ndash, Co cathode led to a reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) by 90% during a period that was similar to the time taken for reduction in COD in a reactor with aeration. The power obtained in the MFC was 6.1 mW, whereas the volume of energy obtained during the operation of the cell (20 days) was 1.27 Wh. Although these values are small, the study found that this process can offer an additional level of wastewater treatment as a huge amount of sewage is generated in the process. This would provide an initial reduction in COD (and save the energy needed to aerate wastewater) as well as offer the means to generate electricity.

This study examined the feasibility of using non-sterilized swine wastewater for lipid production by an isolated microalga, Scenedesmus rubescens. Different dilution ratios using municipal wastewater as a diluent were tested to determine the suitable levels of microalgal growth in the wastewaters, its nutrient removal, and its lipid production. The highest lipid productivity (8.37 mg/L/d) and NH4+ removal (76.49%) were achieved in swine wastewater that had been diluted to 30 times using municipal wastewater. Various bacteria coexisted in the wastewaters during the cultivation of S. rubescens. These results suggest the practical feasibility of a system to produce lipids from swine wastewater by using microalgae.

Disposal of vast agricultural residues has been a nerve-wracking social problem in many agriculture-intensive regions. Open-field combustion both squanders those biomass resources and causes severe atmospheric pollution and hazards. In addition, wood industries yield residues such as sanding powders without value application. Production of biofuels out of these biomass provides a multiple beneficial solution. To that end, this work focused on fabrication of biomass fuels using rice straws (Calorific value: 14.7 MJ/Kg) and wood residues from OSB industries (Calorific value: 17.3 MJ/Kg). Biofuel sticks from various proportions of biomass residues were made using an 18.5 KW industrial biomass extruder without adding bonding agents, achieving densities of 1.0&ndash, 1.6 g/cm3 and comparative calorific values. The biofuel sticks exhibit moisture sensitivity when subjected to a ten-day conditioning. Release of residual stresses that were created during the densification process led to structural destruction of the products under moisture aggression. It&rsquo, s highlighted that combination of rice straw particles with OSB residues gives sound extrusion process ability and high combustibility. The blend of rice straws and OSB residues are proven practically feasible for making solid biofuels. It&rsquo, s suggested to promote the waste-to-wealth technological scheme in addressing the energy crisis worldwide, especially in those regions rich in agricultural residues while poor in non-renewable energy sources.

Carbonation lime mud is a by-product formed during the production of sugar in the process of raw beetroot juice purification. On average, during one campaign, over 12,000 tons of carbonation lime mud is obtained in the operation of one sugar production plant. It is stored in prisms, which negatively affects the environment. The chemical properties of carbonation lime mud allow using it as a soil improver. This article presents the results of research into the development of carbonation lime mud disposal technology and its management. The chemical composition and physical properties of waste were determined. It has been proposed to use carbonation lime mud as the basic raw material in the production of mineral–organic fertilizers. Tests were conducted in a disc granulator. The granulated material was wetted with water and aqueous solution of molasses. Carbonation lime mud is a material that is easily subjected to the granulation process, using any wetting liquid. The beds wetted with 33% and 66% solutions of molasses are characterized by a greater homogeneity and smaller size of the obtained product. During experiments in which wetting with water was applied, the product obtained after drying demonstrated low resistance to compression; granules wetted with 33% aqueous solution of molasses demonstrated resistance to compression below 10 N; and granules wetted with 66% aqueous solution of molasses demonstrated resistance to compression above 10 N.

Short rotation woody crops (SRWC) like shrub willow are highly productive biomass resources of interest for energy and fuel applications. Hot water extraction (HWE) as an upgrading tool to enable the use of willow biomass in pellet applications has been proposed, and is of increasing interest. This study treats willow and mixes of willow and conventional mixed hardwood feedstock with HWE in a tumbling laboratory reactor to elucidate the effects of time, temperature, feedstock mixes, and other process considerations (water:biomass ratio, presteaming, counter-current processing) on mass removals and other extraction outcomes (e.g., sugar, acetate, and furan yields). Results demonstrated alignment of extraction outcomes with P-factor from 155 &deg, C to 175 &deg, C, with a good compromise of removed mass and co-product potential in the range from 575&ndash, 800 P-factor. The preferred condition was chosen as 575 P-factor. HWE of mixes of willow and hardwood feedstocks showed a linear response of extraction outcomes to willow:hardwood ratios. Testing of water:biomass ratios demonstrated that this is a significant consideration, with each outcome being affected somewhat differently, and indicating that HWE is more diffusion dependent than expected. Presteaming shows little to no effect on extraction outcomes, while multi-stage cooks simulating counter-current operation indicate a significant potential value in counter-current extraction.

Palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) is known as problematic biomass due to its high alkali content, i.e., more than half of inorganic matter is potassium (K). EFB when used as a fuel in fluidized beds with silica sand as bed material could form the sticky compound K2O·nSiO2 starting at around 750 °C and adhere bed particles together, resulting in bed agglomeration. Blending EFB with rubber wood sawdust (RWS) could improve the chemical properties and consequent ash composition of the blended fuel. In this study, RWS was blended with EFB at three ratios: RWS:EFB = 25:75, RWS:EFB = 50:50, and RWS:EFB = 75:25. Adding RWS to the fuel prolonged de-fluidization time. The high content of CaO in the RWS ash acted as an inhibitor to prevent the formation of K2O·nSiO2 and, instead, enhanced the formation of K2CO3, a higher melting point compound, which reduced bed agglomeration. During the experiment using RWS:EFB = 75:25, no bed agglomeration was found.

The behavior of the kinetics and pyrolysis of the corn and sugarcane waste (cob corn, husk corn, and bagasse) produced in Colombia have been evaluated in a thermobalance as a step toward their valorization, in order to recover this type of waste. For this, a kinetic model has been developed consisting of a multicomponent mechanism that seeks to describe the formation of volatile materials. This model evaluates the decomposition of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin from three parallel and independent reactions network. It also involves the production of other products such as fixed coal and ashes. The evaluation of the model from the kinetic parameters and the thermogravimetric curves were compared with other types of waste, in the same way the chemical characteristics of the studied waste were determined. Although the wastes of this study are completely different, it was found that the degradation behavior of the residues of this study are very similar to other lignocellulosic materials, which demonstrates again that the pyrolysis valorization is possible.

This research work presents the results of studies on the effect of modifiers comprising the salts CuSO4&middot, 2H2O, NaCl, NH4Cl, MgSO4&middot, 7H2O, CaCl2, and urea at various concentrations on the combustion of fine coal. The tests were carried out in a 12-kW laboratory boiler equipped with a rotary-grate retort furnace. The emission levels and concentrations of CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, and TOC in the flue gas were measured using analyzers. A modifier composed of 350 ppm Cu, Na, Mg, NH4+, Ca, and urea showed particularly high activity in the combustion of fine coal. The flue-gas levels of CO, NOx, and SO2 were reduced by approximately 9%, 12%, and 10%, respectively, in comparison with the modifier-free sample. In this case, the boiler efficiency also increased from 65% in the tests with no modifier to 76% in the tests with the modifier. The proprietary application system, enabling the modifier to be added in exact amounts to the variable flow of fine coal, is also described. It was found that the use of the modifier in coal combustion tests results in lower emissions of harmful fuel components, a higher amount of heat obtained from the fuel unit mass, lower corrosive impact of the fuels, lower boiler maintenance costs, and extended service life.

Thirteen types of fuel pellets were prepared from hydrothermally treated hospital solid waste, hydrothermally treated rice straw, pyrolytic plastic waste residue, rice straw, and Sakhalin fir residue using a flat die pellet machine. Different pellet properties such as pellet density, pellet durability, aspect ratio, physicochemical characteristics, and gross calorific value (GCV) were evaluated as well as compared concerning the European standard specification for residential/commercial densified fuels. In addition, the quality of pellets was compared with coal. The results showed that the pellets made only with hydrothermally treated hospital solid waste, hydrothermally treated rice straw, pyrolytic plastic waste residue, and rice straw failed to meet few individual criteria (96.5 wt% pellet durability, and >600 kg/m3 pellet density) of the European standard specifications. However, most of the mixed fuel pellets satisfied the requirement of pellet properties according to the European standard specification. In particular, up to 16.70 wt% hydrothermally treated rice straw, 1.50 wt% hydrothermally treated hospital solid waste, and 4.76 wt% of pyrolytic plastic waste residue can be blended with Shakhalin fir residue to produce low-chlorine fuel pellets. The gross calorific value of pellets made from the mixture of hydrothermally treated wastes and pyrolytic plastic waste residue (around 22 MJ/kg) showed similar results to that of coal. In the case of mixed pellets, the presence of these hydrothermally treated wastes and pyrolytic plastic waste residue valorized the fuel pellet quality. The main outcome of this study was the production of low chlorine biomass fuel pellets of high gross calorific values blended with hydrothermally treated wastes and pyrolytic waste residues, which opens a new door for utilizing waste in a better way, especially hospital solid waste.

This experiment investigates the combustion and emissions characteristics of a common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine using various blends of pure diesel fuel and palm biodiesel. Fuel injection pressures of 45 and 65 MPa were investigated under engine loads of 50 and 100 Nm. The fuels studied herein were pure diesel fuel 100 vol.% with 0 vol.% of palm biodiesel (PBD0), pure diesel fuel 80 vol.% blended with 20 vol.% of palm biodiesel (PBD20), and pure diesel fuel 50 vol.% blended with 50 vol.% of palm biodiesel (PBD50). As the fuel injection pressure increased from 45 to 65 MPa under all engine loads, the combustion pressure and heat release rate also increased. The indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) increased with an increase of the fuel injection pressure. In addition, for 50 Nm of the engine load, an increase to the fuel injection pressure resulted in a reduction of the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) by an average of 2.43%. In comparison, for an engine load of 100 Nm, an increase in the fuel injection pressure decreased BSFC by an average of 0.8%. Hydrocarbon (HC) and particulate matter (PM) decreased as fuel pressure increased, independent of the engine load. Increasing fuel injection pressure for 50 Nm engine load using PBD0, PBD20 and PBD50 decreased carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. When the fuel injection pressure was increased from 45 MPa to 65 MPa, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were increased for both engine loads. For a given fuel injection pressure, NOx emissions increased slightly as the biodiesel content in the fuel blend increased.

Bioelectrochemical system (BES)-based reactors have a limited range of use, especially in aerobic conditions, because these systems usually produce current from exoelectrogenic bacteria that are strictly anaerobic. However, some mixed cultures of bacteria in aerobic reactors can form surface biofilms that may produce anaerobic conditions suitable for exoelectrogenic bacteria to thrive. In this study, we combined a BES with an aerobic trickling filter (TF) reactor for wastewater treatment and found that the BES-TF setup could produce electricity with a coulombic efficiency of up to 15% from artificial wastewater, even under aerobic conditions. The microbial communities within biofilms formed at the anodes of BES-TF reactors were investigated using high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Efficiency of reduction in chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen content of wastewater using this system was &gt, 97%. Bacterial community analysis showed that exoelectrogenic bacteria belonging to the genera Geobacter and Desulfuromonas were dominant within the biofilm coating the anode, whereas aerobic bacteria from the family Rhodocyclaceae were abundant on the surface of the biofilm. Based on our observations, we suggest that BES-TF reactors with biofilms containing aerobic bacteria and anaerobic exoelectrogenic bacteria on the anodes can function in aerobic environments.

With increasing emphasis on the control of greenhouse gases, power plants may move towards oxy-fuel technologies rather than air-fired plants. This move leads to a change in the feed to the desulfurization unit, which also needs to be adapted along with the power plant. Most existing plants already have functioning desulfurization units, which need to be retrofitted for the new conditions. In the present study, three different limes have been examined as sorbents for sulfur capture in oxy-fuel conditions with varying residence times at medium temperature (150&ndash, 450 ∘ C). Parameters indicative of the kinetics and competition between SO 2 and CO 2 , like SO 2 breakthrough time, total lime conversion, yield for sulfur capture and sulfur selectivity have been evaluated. The results of this study lead to the recommendation that medium temperature desulfurization should be used for moderate SO 2 capture, in combination with already existing sulfur capture systems. The effects of CO 2 and water vapor have also been analyzed. In addition, the performance of the unit irrespective of temperature strongly depends on the lime type. In addition, absence of water vapor strongly favored the desulfurization process when there was high concentration of CO 2 .

The pattern of micro-electricity production of simple two-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFC) was monitored in this study. Piggery wastewater and anaerobic sludge served as fuel and inocula for the MFC, respectively. The output power, including voltage and current generation, of triplicate MFCs was measured using an on-line monitoring system. The maximum voltage obtained among the triplicates was 0.663 V. We also found that removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the piggery wastewater was 94.99 and 98.63%, respectively. Moreover, analytical results of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) demonstrated that the output current comprised alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) components, ranging from mA to &mu, A.

As a treatment method of sewage sludge, the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process was adopted in this work. HTC has a great advantage considering the economic efficiency of its process operation due to its reduced energy consumption and production of solid fuel upgraded through the increased fixed carbon and heating value. The ash of sewage sludge, however, contains up to 52.55% phosphate, which degrades the efficiency of the thermochemical conversion process such as pyrolysis, combustion, and gasification by causing slagging. In this study, three kinds of organic acids, i.e., oxalic, tartaric, and citric acid, were selected to eliminate phosphorus from hydrochars produced through the HTC of sewage sludge. The efficiency of the phosphorus removal and the properties of the corresponding HTC hydrochars were analyzed by adding 20 mmoles of organic acids per 1 g of phosphorus in the HTC sample. In addition, the phosphorus reduction effect and the applicability to an upgrading process were verified. Oxalic acid was selected as the most appropriate organic acid considering the economic efficiency of its process operation. Furthermore, the optimal conditions were selected by analyzing the efficiency of the phosphorus elimination and the characteristic property of the HTC hydrochars with the weight fraction of oxalic acid.

Coastal debris has recently emerged as a serious environmental pollution problem. Coastal debris can be treated using pyrolysis because it consists mainly of combustible materials like plastics (e.g., polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), nylon) and wood. In this study, the pyrolysis characteristics of coastal debris were fully utilized by applying their basic data to fuel production. The initial temperature increased from 330 °C to 380 °C for the nylon fishing net coastal debris sample, from 405.01 °C to 430.08 °C for the PE fishing net coastal debris sample, from 395.01 °C to 419.96 °C for the PP rope coastal debris sample, and from 114.95 °C to 115.02 °C for the wood (bamboo) coastal debris sample. The activation rate of the global activation energy and the pre-exponential factors rose with the increasing heating rate, complementing the reduction rate constant due to the larger growth of the exponential term due to the kinetic models used.

We propose a &lsquo, Waste to Carbon&rsquo, thermal transformation of sewage sludge (SS) via torrefaction to a valuable product (fuel) with a high content of carbon. One important, technological aspect to develop this concept is the determination of activation energy needed for torrefaction. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the kinetics of SS torrefaction and determine the effects of process temperature on fuel properties of torrefied products (biochars). Torrefaction was performed using high ash content SS at six (200~300 &deg, C) temperatures and 60 min residence (process) time. Mass loss during torrefaction ranged from 10~20%. The resulting activation energy for SS torrefaction was ~12.007 kJ&middot, mol&minus, 1. Initial (unprocessed) SS higher heating value (HHV) was 13.5 MJ&middot, kg&minus, 1. However, the increase of torrefaction temperature decreased HHV from 13.4 to 3.8 MJ&middot, 1. Elemental analysis showed a significant decrease of the H/C ratio that occurred during torrefaction, while the O/C ratio fluctuated with much smaller differences. Although the activation energy was significantly lower compared with lignocellulosic materials, low-temperature SS torrefaction technology could be explored for further SS stabilization and utilization (e.g., dewatering and hygienization).

Currently, n-butanol is a promising oxygenate (potentially of renewable origin) to be used in blends with conventional diesel fuel in compression ignition engines. However, its poor ignition quality can drastically deteriorate the cetane number (CN) of the blend. In the present work, the effects of adding n-butanol to ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) were assessed, aiming at simultaneously eliminating its negative effect on the blend’s ignition quality. Concentrations of 10% and 20% (v/v) n-butanol in ULSD fuel were studied. As cetane-improving agents, a widely used cetane improver (2-ethylhexyl nitrate—EHN) and a high-CN, bio-derived paraffinic diesel (hydrotreated used cooking oil—HUCO) were used. The initial investigation of ignition quality improvement with the addition of either EHN or HUCO produced four “ignition quality response curves„ that served as mixing guides in order to create four blends of identical ignition quality as the baseline ULSD fuel. These four blends (10% and 20% v/v n-butanol in ULSD fuel, with the addition of either EHN or HUCO, at the cost of ULSD volume share only) were evaluated comparatively to the baseline ULSD fuel and a 10% (v/v) n-butanol/90% ULSD blend with regards to their physicochemical properties and the effect on the operation and exhaust emissions of a stationary diesel engine.

The feasibility of the application of a tray drier in dewatering microalgae was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to evaluate and optimise the effect of air temperature and air velocity as independent variables on the dewatering efficiency as a response function. The significance of independent variables and their interactions was tested by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a 95% confidence level. Results indicate that the air supply temperature was the main parameter affecting dewatering efficiency, while air velocity had a slight effect on the process. The optimum operating conditions to achieve maximum dewatering were determined: air velocities and temperatures ranged between 4 to 10 m/s and 40 to 56 &deg, C respectively. An optimised dewatering efficiency of 92.83% was achieved at air an velocity of 4 m/s and air temperature of 48 &deg, C. Energy used per 1 kg of dry algae was 0.34 kWh.

Biomass residues from agriculture and agroindustry are suitable sources for the production of energy because they don’t compete with the food chain and they are produced cheaply. Their transformation into heat and power or energy vectors depends on morphology and composition. Shells of almonds and hazelnuts can be easily gasified in fixed beds because of their low fines content and high gas permeation. In this work we investigated the overall process performances and syngas composition, especially the H2/CO ratio, by changing the air and steam supply. The tests were carried out in a pilot updraft gasifier having a capacity of treating up to 20–30 kg/h of biomass. Experimental data were worked out by surface response analysis as function of the equivalence ratios (ER) in relation to the complete combustion and water reaction. By using only air at ER(O2) 0.24 the ratio H2/CO in the syngas was 0.33 while adding steam at ER(H2O) 0.28 the ratio reached a value of 1.0. The energy conversion efficiency from solid to gas and oils reached maximum values of 76% and 28%, respectively. As anticipated by TGA, hazelnut shells produced less organic volatiles and gas efficiency was generally higher than for almond shells.

To optimize commercial-scale biogas production, it is important to evaluate the performance of each microbial step in the anaerobic process. Hydrolysis and methanogenesis are usually the rate-limiting steps during digestion of organic waste and by-products. By measuring biogas production and methane concentrations on-line in a semi-continuously fed reactor, gas kinetics can be evaluated. In this study, the rate constants of the fermentative hydrolysis step ( k c ) and the methanogenesis step ( k m ) were determined and evaluated in a continuously stirred tank laboratory-scale reactor treating food and slaughterhouse waste and glycerin. A process additive containing Fe 2+ , Co 2+ and Ni 2+ was supplied until day 89, after which Ni 2+ was omitted. The omission resulted in a rapid decline in the methanogenesis rate constant ( k m ) to 70% of the level observed when Ni 2+ was present, while k c remained unaffected. This suggests that Ni 2+ mainly affects the methanogenic rather than the hydrolytic microorganisms in the system. However, no effect was initially observed when using conventional process monitoring parameters such as biogas yield and volatile fatty acid concentration. Hence, formation rate constants can reveal additional information on process performance and k m can be used as a complement to conventional process monitoring tools for semi-continuously fed anaerobic digesters.

A chilled water system transports cooling functionality from refrigerators to users via heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. This paper investigated an optimal control strategy to regulate the volume flow rate of each user branch in a chilled water system, considering the minimum resistance operation to reduce energy consumption. An artificial neural network (ANN) was adopted to establish the nonlinear relationship between the volume flow rate of each user branch, pump frequency, and valve opening of each user branch. An optimal control strategy for a chilled water HVAC system is proposed in this article, according to the pump-valve combined control (PVCC) principle and an ANN model, i.e., pump-valve combined control using an artificial neural network model (PVCC-ANN). A series of tests were conducted to collect data to train the ANN model and analyze the performance of the PVCC-ANN in an experimental chilled water system. The results show that the trained ANN model has good prediction performance. A minimum resistance operation can be achieved to control the volume flow rate of each user branch independently by using the PVCC-ANN model. Moreover, the proposed PVCC-ANN method shows good energy-saving performance in chilled water systems, which can be attributed to the minimum resistance operation. Taking the energy consumption of the pump’s constant frequency operation as the reference, the energy saving rate using the PVCC-ANN is between 14.3% and 58.6% under 10 operating conditions, as reported in this paper.

Energy management for multi-home installation of solar PhotoVoltaics (solar PVs) combined with Electric Vehicles’ (EVs) charging scheduling has a rich complexity due to the uncertainties of solar PV generation and EV usage. Changing clients from multi-consumers to multi-prosumers with real-time energy trading supervised by the aggregator is an efficient way to solve undesired demand problems due to disorderly EV scheduling. Therefore, this paper proposes real-time multi-home energy management with EV charging scheduling using multi-agent deep reinforcement learning optimization. The aggregator and prosumers are developed as smart agents to interact with each other to find the best decision. This paper aims to reduce the electricity expense of prosumers through EV battery scheduling. The aggregator calculates the revenue from energy trading with multi-prosumers by using a real-time pricing concept which can facilitate the proper behavior of prosumers. Simulation results show that the proposed method can reduce mean power consumption by 9.04% and 39.57% compared with consumption using the system without EV usage and the system that applies the conventional energy price, respectively. Also, it can decrease the costs of the prosumer by between 1.67% and 24.57%, and the aggregator can generate revenue by 0.065 USD per day, which is higher than that generated when employing conventional energy prices.

Nowadays, sustainability-related issues have attracted growing attention due to fossil fuel depletion and environmental concerns. Considering many cities have gradually replaced taxis with electric vehicles (EVs), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traditional energy consumption, this paper studies the optimization strategy of battery swapping for electric taxis (ETs), and it is not only to ease congestion in the battery swapping station (BSS) but also for electric taxis to address their range anxiety and maximize their benefits. Firstly, based on the road network, the Dijkstra algorithm is adopted to provide the optimal path for ETs to BSSs with the minimum energy consumption. Then, this paper proposes the optimization objective function with minimum cost, which contains the battery service cost based on the battery’s state of charge, waiting cost caused by waiting for swapping battery in BSSs and the carbon emission reduction benefit generated during ETs driving to BSSs, and uses a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) algorithm to solve this function. Finally, taking the Leisure Park of Laoshan City in Beijing as an example, the numerical simulation is carried out and the proposed battery swapping strategy is efficient to alleviate the congestion of BSSs and maximize the total benefit of ETs, and the cost based on the proposed strategy is 14.21% less than that of disorderly swapping.

Forecasting the electrical load is essential in power system design and growth. It is critical from both a technical and a financial standpoint as it improves the power system performance, reliability, safety, and stability as well as lowers operating costs. The main aim of this paper is to make forecasting models to accurately estimate the electrical load based on the measurements of current electrical loads of the electricity company. The importance of having forecasting models is in predicting the future electrical loads, which will lead to reducing costs and resources, as well as better electric load distribution for electric companies. In this paper, deep learning algorithms are used to forecast the electrical loads; namely: (1) Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), (2) Gated Recurrent Units (GRU), and (3) Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN). The models were tested, and the GRU model achieved the best performance in terms of accuracy and the lowest error. Results show that the GRU model achieved an R-squared of 90.228%, Mean Square Error (MSE) of 0.00215, and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.03266.

In the study of solar greenhouses, microclimate, soil, and back walls have an important influence on the greenhouse thermal environment because of their good heat storage and release characteristics. The transpiration of crops makes indoor humidity increase sharply, which is the main factor affecting indoor humidity distribution. Therefore, it is of great significance to grasp the microclimate change law of solar greenhouses and study the coupling effect of thermal and humidity environment. In this paper, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a three-dimensional model of the thermal and humidity environment of a solar greenhouse is established, and the indoor temperature and humidity distribution under the influence of soil, crops, and back walls are considered. The CFD model initialization uses binary fitting functions to fit the temperature distribution of soil, back wall, and air. The distribution law of the temperature field and relative humidity field of the solar greenhouse under three different working conditions is simulated, that is, the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is closed during the day (G1), the insulation is uncovered and the ventilation window is opened during the day (G2), and the insulation is put down and the ventilation window is closed at night. (G3). The results show that the simulation results are in good agreement with the actual results under the three working conditions, and this paper can provide a reference for the improvement of the greenhouse structure and environmental regulation.

Energy efficiency programs funded by utility customers provide an electricity resource in most U.S. states, but their scale and cost of saving electricity varies significantly by state. In this paper, we explore the drivers of the cost of saved electricity in these programs with an econometric model and nearly a decade of data reported by efficiency program administrators. We found strong evidence for economies of scale and weak evidence for diseconomies of scale, which suggests that states with low levels of efficiency savings relative to retail sales can increase the size of their efficiency programs without large increases to the cost of saved electricity. We discuss examples of energy efficiency forecasting and potential modeling in light our econometric analysis and identify methodological improvements relevant to utilities and grid operators. This paper provides insights into the economics of customer-funded efficiency programs that will support regulators, utilities, and policymakers to utilize energy efficiency as a resource.

The nonlinear characteristics of power electronic-based loads in a power system contribute a major role in the harmonics’ injection and other power quality disturbances. This affects the quality of the power supplied to consumers by distribution systems. Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices at the transmission level and custom power devices at the distribution level are used for an effective power transfer. In addition to these devices, filters play a prominent role in distribution systems. This paper aims to analyze the supply voltage in the time–frequency domain to perceive the variations in signal strength, explaining the role and significance of filters in mitigating or reducing harmonics. This paper presents the significance of harmonic filters in terms of signal-processing terminology. This depicts the prominent role of filters in improving the power quality by harmonic reduction or elimination, depending upon the requirement. The mathematical transform used in this approach is the short-time Fourier transform, which results in transforming the signal into a domain giving information about time and frequency. A MATLAB Simulink environment and ‘spectrogram’ were used to simulate harmonic signals, and we analyzed them using a short-time Fourier transform. Different windows were used with varying window size lengths.