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The global population growth and awareness about the important role of vitamins in human health drive demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. In line with this need, greenhouse cultivation addresses year-round availability, but chemicals pose challenges. Hydroponic systems control pests, boost yields, and decrease chemicals while faced with significant waste generation. Waste generated by hydroponic systems holds potential for repurposing into value-added products, which aligns with the principles of the circular bioeconomy. However, before embracing widespread adoption, it is crucial to assess its environmental compatibility. This study employs a life cycle assessment approach to compare hydroponic tomato production in greenhouses under conventional and circular bioeconomy systems. The first scenario (Sc-1) encompasses hydroponic tomato production in a greenhouse system under a conventional system. The second scenario (Sc-2) involves the production of tomatoes, along with the conversion of residue of tomato production into compost. The third scenario (Sc-3) closely resembled Sc-2, while valorizing residue of tomato production into biochar. The outcomes indicate that per kg of tomato production under Sc-1 leads to a damage of 4.32 × 10−6 DALY to human health, 4.33E−06 species.yr to ecosystems, and 1.82 × 10−1 USD2013 to resources. The results of weighting of environmental damages also shows a total environmental damage of 75.36 mPt per kg of tomato production under Sc-1 which is mainly based on the production and consumption of natural gas. The findings demonstrate that Sc-2 and Sc-3 exhibit a diminished potential on damage to human health, ecosystems, and resource compared to Sc-1, respectively. Accordingly, in comparison to Sc-1, Sc-2 leads to an approximately 11% reduction in total weighted environmental impacts, while Sc-3 results in an approximately 4% reduction in total weighted environmental impacts. Based on these outcomes, integrating compost and biochar production into hydroponic tomato systems holds significant potential for environmental benefits. Accordingly, further research and development efforts should focus on optimizing the efficiency and scalability of composting and biochar production technologies to maximize their impact on sustainability in hydroponic tomato production. [Display omitted] • Hydroponic tomato cultivation faces challenges with waste disposal. • Residues from tomato cultivation can be valorized into biochar and compost. • Composting residue reduces total environmental damage tomato production by 11%. • Biochar production from residues reduces the total environmental impact of tomato by 4%. • Circular bioeconomy improves the sustainability of tomatoes in hydroponic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study uses cradle-to-factory gate life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impact categories in producing packaged canola edible oil in Isfahan province of Iran. In this study, LCA methodology is applied in order to satisfy two goals, namely, to evaluate hot spots in production chain of canola oil and to compare environmental burdens of oil production at each stage of the production chain. The initial data about inputs consumption and canola yield are collected from 126 farmers in Fereydounshahr region by face-to-face questionnaire method. Detailed information about processing, input materials and energy consumption in industrial phase of oil production are obtained by visiting factory units and interviewing with employees and engineers of Golbahar Sepahan oil factory. The required data about the background system are extracted from Ecoinvent 3.2 and Industry data 2.0 databases. LCA results in canola edible oil production show that farm stage has a key role in environmental impacts wherein the use of chemical fertilizers and diesel fuel make major contributions. In oil extraction and refinement step, natural gas combustion and background processes of natural gas also play major roles in generating environmental impact categories. In packaging step, the packaging materials, i.e., plastic and carton, and the background processes of diesel fuel have major contributions to aggravating environmental burdens. In conclusion, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen-based ones, is important for reducing environmental footprints in canola edible oil production due to the key role of farm stage in environmental impacts of canola edible oil production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saffron is one of the most expensive agricultural crops in the world which needs to be clearly monitored in the view of energy balance and carbon footprint in the production stage. Iran is the leading countries in saffron production and now accounts for approximately 60% of the world total production. As the biggest producer of saffron, analyzing the energy and carbon balance would help to produce this crop more economically and environmentally friendly. In the present study, the saffron cultivation in Southern Khorasan, a province in the east of Iran was taken into consideration and this cultivation was evaluated in terms of energy balance and carbon footprint. The evaluation was performed based on the data derived from whole life cycle of this crop i.e., a 6 year period. The assessment of energy balance demonstrated that on average, the total input energy consumed was 99,236 MJ ha −1 . More specifically, the average of energy indices i.e. energy ratio, energy productivity, and net energy were calculated 0.0044, 0.0003 kg MJ −1 , and −98,818.5 MJ ha −1 , respectively. The results clearly revealed that Nitrogen based fertilizers, farmyard manure and Phosphor based fertilizers dominated the total energy consumption meaning that their consumption management need to be given a priority. The total greenhouse gas emissions in saffron production was calculated on 10,897 kg CO 2eq ha −1 which showed a high degree of mismanagement in farm practices in the region meaning that without considerable reduction in saffron yield energy saving can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is to create a novel eco-exergoenvironmental toxicity index to identify the most sustainable irrigation system among surface irrigation and drip irrigation for sunflower production in Kurdistan, Iran. This research emphasizes on choosing a sustainable irrigation agricultural system with an invented index, which considers all aspects. For this purpose, life cycle assessment (USEtox 2.0) is applied for evaluating toxicity factors and results show that the environmental situation of drip irrigation is better than that of surface irrigation. Exergy analysis results reveal that total exergy demands are 287,421 and 211,458 Megajoule per ten ton of sunflower for surface irrigation and drip irrigation scenarios, respectively. Nitrogen has the highest share (more than 50%) in all factors and exergy categories. Eco-efficiency of all toxicity factors of drip irrigation (with net profit $7417.86) is more than those of surface irrigation (with net profit $6614.35). The analytic hierarchy process analysis indicates that human toxicity, cancer has the first rank of priority based on expert choices. Based on the novel index results, sustainable rates are 1.690 and 1.169 for surface irrigation and drip irrigation, respectively. Thus, drip irrigation is an eco-exergoenvironmental-friendly scenario in comparison to surface irrigation. [Display omitted] • Eco-Exergoenvironmental toxicity index is created for comprehensive suitability assessment. • LCA of surface and drip irrigation systems is investigated by USEtox 2.0. • CExD and Eco-efficiency are applied for energy and economical investigation. • Nitrogen is the main hotspot in all environmental toxicity and exergy categories. • Drip irrigation is the most sustainable irrigation system with EET of 1.169. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The plug-flow fluidized bed drying process under dynamic conditions was simulated. [•] A satisfactory agreement between simulated and measured results was achieved. [•] The duration and course of the dynamic response of the outlet solids mass flow rate was properly predicted by the model. [•] With this dynamic model it is possible to simulate transient in the drying process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy and life cycle assessment of walnut are computed by IMPACT 2002+. • MOICA is used to optimize output energy and total weighted damages. • Gasoline and On-Orchard emissions are the most effective factors in energy and LCA. • MOICA can save total energy and damages by about 19316 MJ ha−1 and 1.47 Pt. • Gasoline and ecosystem quality have most potential in saving by MOICA. Although the agricultural sector is an important source of bioenergy production, this production can be considered sustainable when energy consumed and environmental emissions are optimal. As such, the assessment of energy flow, environmental emissions of walnut orchards in Alborz province of Iran and their simultaneous optimization by multi-objective imperialist competitive algorithm are the main goals of this investigation. Input-output energy analysis, IMPACT 2002+ method of life cycle assessment, and multi-objective imperialist competitive algorithm are used in the energy-environmental evaluation for optimization in this study. Results ascertain that energy uses of the entire output and input are computed to be 31,015 and 27200 MJ ha−1, respectively and that gasoline with 40% is the dominated consumer of energy. Moreover, energy use efficiency is 0.88, which indicates energy inefficiency in walnut production. Environmental results shows that On-Orchard emissions with a share more than 50% in ecosystem quality, human health, and climate changes and gasoline in resources category are the main hotspots. Multi-objective optimization illustrates that the reduction in total energy is 19316 MJ ha−1 (about 62%) and gasoline with 58% is the most energy saving input among all. On the other hand, the total weighted emission decreases by about 1.47Pt (about 40%). Generally, results reveal that timely maintenance can help orchardist attain close to optimal condition. Furthermore, the application of imperialist competitive algorithm not only can offer optimum pattern of walnut production, but also be extended to the world for different crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the environmental impact is a critical factor in achieving sustainable development in agricultural systems. To achieve this goal, the environmental assessment of agricultural products to identify environmental hot-spots and provide strategies for reducing them is essential. In line with that, the current study is performed to assess the environmental impacts of Primrose greenhouse production in Savojbolagh County, Iran. More specifically, the environmental impacts of Primrose greenhouse production based on the cradle to gate analysis using the life cycle assessment approach are evaluated. According to results, production and combustion of diesel fuel are introduced as the environmental hotspot in non-carcinogens, respiratory inorganics, respiratory organics, terrestrial acid/nutri, aquatic acidification, global warming, and non-renewable energy impact categories. The application of pesticides and fertilizers in the greenhouse has the highest contribution in aquatic ecotoxicity as well as terrestrial ecotoxicity impact categories. Moreover, electricity consumption has the highest impact on carcinogens, and ozone layer depletion impact categories. Based on the outcomes of the life cycle assessment approach, the production of a piece of Primrose leads to damages of 1.48 × 10−7 DALY (disability-adjusted life year) and 3.41 × 10−1 PDF.m−2.yr−1 (potentially disappeared fraction in square-meters per year) to human health and ecosystem quality, respectively. In addition, the production of each Primrose plant results in primary damages of 2.06 × 10−1 kg CO 2eq. (equivalent carbon dioxide) and 2.94 MJ (Megajoule) to climate change and resources, respectively. Finally, the weighing of environmental impacts based on IMPACT 2002+ methods shows that the ecosystem quality damage category has a share of 30% in total environmental impacts of one piece of Primrose production. Damages to ecosystem quality are mostly caused by pesticide and fertilizer applications in Primrose greenhouse. Accordingly, it could be concluded that correct management of pesticides and fertilizers can potentially mitigate environmental impacts of Primrose production in a greenhouse. Image 1 • Global warming caused by Primrose greenhouse production is 0.206 kg CO 2eq./piece. • Damage to human health of Primrose greenhouse production is 1.48 × 10−7 DALY/piece. • Primrose production leads to 0.3.41 PDF.m−2.yr−1/piece damage to ecosystem quality. • Ecosystem quality damage category has a share of 30% in total environmental impact. • Fertilizers consumption is an important factor in damage to the ecosystem quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the growing population and the subsequent need for more food, food production systems have moved towards industrialization. Accordingly, a large amount of energy, particularly fossil fuels, should be supplied annually to this important sector of the industry, thereby increasing environmental hazards for human health and ecosystems. Therefore, the hotspots of energy consumption and environmental impacts of food production systems should be accurately identified in order to improve their efficiency and sustainability. To this end, energy consumption and environmental impacts of apple juice production in West Azarbaijan province of Iran was analyzed in the present study from farm gate to end of packaging of bottled juice using energy flow and life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches. According to the results of energy analysis, the specific energy consumption of apple juice production was found to be 28.33 MJ/bottle. More specifically, diesel fuel, natural gas, and polyethylene terephthalate bottles had the greatest contributions to the specific energy consumption of apple juice production. Based on the outcomes of the LCA approach, the corresponding life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the resources consumed in apple juice production were 1.83 kg CO 2 eq , mainly caused by the combustion of diesel and natural gas. The damages to ecosystem quality due to acidification and eutrophication were respectively found to be 1.69 × 10−2 kg SO 2 eq and 4.54 × 10−3 kg PO 4 −3 eq , mainly because of resources utilization in the agricultural production step. The emissions released due to the consumption of chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure in the agricultural production step had the highest impacts in acidification and eutrophication impact categories. The emissions arisen from the production and consumption of pesticides were the hotspots in abiotic depletion, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Overall, it could be concluded that using bio-fertilizers and biological control approaches in the agricultural production step as well as implementing renewable energy technologies in the juicing step could potentially mitigate the environmental burdens of apple juice production. • Energy consumption and environmental impacts of apple juice production was analyzed. • The specific energy consumption of apple juice production was 28.33 MJ/bottle. • Global warming caused by apple juice production was found to be 1.83 kg CO 2 eq /bottle. • The agricultural production phase markedly affected the majority impact categories. • Marine aquatic ecotoxicity impact category showed the highest normalized value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the energy flow and environmental impacts in grape production system are studied at first. Then, energy consumption is optimized to determine optimum energy consumption pattern for saving energy and mitigating adverse environmental impacts in the production system. To attain this purpose, a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is conducted. In this study, 58 vineyards are examined in Arak county, Iran. The energy input and output are computed as 33,264.47 MJ ha −1 and 211,715.80 MJ ha −1 , respectively. Results indicate that 22.41% of the studied vineyards operate efficiently. The optimization by using constant returns to scale (CRS) method shows saving of 3628.18 MJ ha −1 (10.90%) in energy consumption. The most potential reduction in energy consumption is related to potassium fertilizer, by 27.14%. LCA results show that poultry manure is the hotspot in six impact categories, including Global Warming (GW), Abiotic Depletion (AD), Ozone Layer Depletion (OLD), Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity (FAE), Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity (MAE), and Terrestrial Ecotoxicity (TE). The coupled application of LCA + DEA shows reduction in impact categories in the range of 0.25% for Acidification to 18% for Ozone Layer Depletion. Accordingly, the estimated value of GW impact category is reduced by 10%. It is concluded that results of the coupled LCA and DEA is able to help to convince farmers to reduce input consumption so as to attain operational efficiency, lower costs and lower environmental impacts in grape production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous growth in energy demand, the inevitable decline in the availability of fossil fuels, and the rising concern about increasing emissions are all precursors to climate change. The aims of this study comprise the assessment of energy flow and greenhouse gas emission of peanut production in Guilan province, Iran, and then the application of data envelopment analysis to determine optimum energy use pattern for saving energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emission. 120 peanut farms in Guilan province, Iran, an important hub for peanut production, are examined. Data envelopment analysis results show that 22 (18.33%) and 90 (75%) peanut producers are effective units based on constant and variable returns to scale, respectively. The technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies are 0.79, 0.98 and 0.81, respectively. The amount of energy consumption saving by converting inefficient farms into efficient farms is estimated to be 1760 Mega-Joule per hectare. Chemical fertilizer (contributing 48%) has the maximum share to total energy saving in peanut production. Therefore, correct and standard consumption of chemical fertilizer can be a viable solution for energy saving consumption. The total greenhouse gas emissions from peanut farming are computed to be 571.18 and 512.39 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare for present and optimum farms, respectively. Moreover, the total greenhouse gas emission can be reduced by 58.79 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare by optimizing energy inputs in peanut farming. This reduction in greenhouse gas emission can be realized by management of diesel fuel, nitrogen and machinery consumption according to optimized input rates introduced by the data envelopment analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high dependence of single and dual objective optimization algorithms and commercial energy optimization tools on economic criteria has a negative impact on the sub-goals of energy systems. This is due to the typical inverse relationship between economic affairs and other objectives, such as reducing emissions, minimizing energy waste, and enhancing energy security. Optimizing energy systems with high sustainability indexes becomes even more challenging, particularly for off-grid applications that cater to essential human needs like food and water. This need for a practical global decision-making framework based on objective/subjective prioritization has led to a knowledge gap in maximizing sustainability indexes through optimization methods. In this study, for the first time, the 169 targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG17) developed by the United Nations are applied to determine the influence of criteria in the relation map using the DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method. The developed method is applicable to all countries; however, Iran was selected as a case study due to the significant challenge of providing a sustainable power supply for agricultural demands in this country. The resulting relation matrix is then imported into the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to enhance the reliability of criteria weighting. Finally, the weighted multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is employed to address the real greenhouse demand, wherein potential power supply solutions are determined using the predictive dispatch strategy in the HOMER tool. The hybrid solutions include conventional PV, agri-photovoltaic (APV) units, wind turbines, a diesel generator, and a battery bank. The results of the SDG17-DEMATEL-ANP method indicate the prioritization of environmental, economic, technical, energy security, and social objectives, with total decision influence weights of 22.6%, 22.1%, 21.2%, 18.4%, and 15.7% respectively. While the commercial optimization tool shows a higher affordability of conventional PV compared to APV units, the proposed method demonstrates that implementing APV units, despite a slight increase in energy cost (reaching 0.137 $/kWh), can result in a higher sustainability index of about 75.5%, over 48% renewable fraction, <1% unmet load, and >7% improvement in CO 2 emission reduction. These advantages are achieved while significantly enhancing the land usage index and without any negative effects on excess electricity levels, capacity factor, and total energy system life cycle emissions. Therefore, the developed framework can be utilized by investors and agricultural demand owners to select energy systems with higher sustainability indexes. • The 169 targets of SDG17 were applied to determine the DEMATEL-ANP influence matrix. • Environmental and economic objectives show the highest effectiveness with >21% weights. • Applying agri-photovoltaic improved the sustainability indexes of the off-grid energy system. • Optimum energy cost of <0.14 $/kWh and renewable fraction of >48% were achieved. • The proposed weighted MCDM method led to lower CO 2 emissions and higher land utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effects of carbon nanoparticles on the combustion of a diesel engine were studied. • Carbon nanoparticles addition into fuels markedly lowered nitrogen oxides emissions. • Carbon nanoparticles increased unburned hydrocarbon emissions at full load conditions. • Carbon nanoparticles promoted carbon monoxide formation under full load operation. • Power generation cost could be discounted by adding carbon nanoparticles into fuels. Biodiesel utilization is associated with reduced calorific value and increased nitrogen oxides emissions. Hence, various strategies are implemented to address these challenges such as water addition into diesel/biodiesel fuel blends. In line with that, this study was undertaken to explore the effect of water (3 wt.%) and aqueous carbon nanoparticles (38, 75, and 150 µM), as a novel fuel nanoadditive, on combustion and exhaust emissions of a diesel engine at a fixed engine speed of 1000 rev/min under four different engine loads ranging from 25% to 100% of full load conditions. Overall, the engine performance characteristics were improved by incorporating the aqueous carbon nanoparticles. In particular, the incorporation of carbon nanoparticles into water-emulsified biodiesel/diesel blends generally enhanced brake power and thermal efficiency while lowering specific fuel consumption. The most appealing performance features were observed for the emulsified fuel blend containing 38 µM carbon nanoparticles which increased brake power and brake thermal efficiency by 1.07 kW and 11.58% at full load operation, respectively, while it led to decreased brake specific fuel consumption by about 107.3 g/kWh. The addition of carbon nanoparticles to the water-emulsified fuel blends adversely affected unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions at full load conditions owing to an increase in carbon content of the fuel blends but it lowered nitrogen oxides emissions. The addition of water deteriorated the economic features of the fuel blend (i.e., the cost per kWh of power generated). However, carbon nanoparticles addition into the water-emulsified fuel blend partially neutralized the adverse economic effects of water due to its positive impacts on thermal efficiency. Overall, water-emulsified diesel/biodiesel containing 38 µM carbon nanoparticles could be regarded as the most promising emulsion fuel in terms of engine performance characteristics, nitrogen oxides emissions, as well as fuel economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps are introduced in detail. • Various spatio-temporal exergetic maps are drawn for Iranian climatic conditions. • The exergy efficiency map may lead to wrong site selection of photovoltaics. • The developed maps can be effectively used for locating photovoltaic solar farms. This work introduces and develops the concepts of solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps for photovoltaic systems. These maps are developed to complement the information provided by solar exergy maps for recognizing the most appropriate sites for hosting photovoltaic power plants. A detailed case study is carried out to demonstrate how the proposed approaches can be practically applied to promote solar photovoltaic systems. More specifically, the exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental performances of a 100 kW grid-connected photovoltaic plant are assessed for several Iranian cities over the year based on actual climatic, economic, and environmental impact data. The spatio-temporal solar maps for unit exergoeconomic cost and unit exergoenvironmental impact of electricity generation are then developed for the investigated climatic conditions for the first time. In order to demonstrate the suitability and reliability of the developed maps, their interoperations are assessed and compared to those for exergy efficiency. The results show that solar exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental maps provide more valuable information on the performance of solar photovoltaic systems than exergy efficiency maps, demonstrating their robustness for optimum site selection and plant sizing. In addition, the exergy efficiency maps may result in inappropriate site selection of photovoltaic solar farms. The central, south, southeast, and some west parts of Iran are the most suitable locations for implementing photovoltaic power fields from exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental viewpoints. The developed approaches can also be used for locating and sizing other renewable energy systems under different climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Effects of various diesel/biodiesel additives comprehensively reviewed & discussed. • Effect of engine operating factors on regulated and nonregulated emissions reviewed. • Research works related to life cycle assessment of biodiesel was reviewed. Abstract Biodiesel, in its neat or blended form with petrodiesel, is widely accepted alternative fuel for diesel engines. Although biodiesel is presumably associated with lower CO 2 , HC, and PMs emissions, it suffers from its own drawbacks including higher viscosity, lower volatility, lower heating value, and higher NO x emissions. In order to address these shortcomings and to meet stringent emission norms, diesel/biodiesel additives have attracted more attention recently owing to their ability to improve engine performance and mitigate hazardous emissions. While discrete emissions analysis could provide useful information on environmental impacts associated with various fuel additives, decision-making on such basis would be very difficult or even impossible since different fuel additives may have different positive/negative effects on pollutants generated during combustion process. This issue becomes even more serious in multi-objective optimization studies due to the fact that considering all emission indices for finding a global optimal point would be very complex as a result of conflicting objectives. Moreover, exhaust gas emission analysis does not consider environmental impacts caused in fuel production process. Discrete emissions analysis also lacks weighting in decision-making procedure since the level and degree of harmfulness of pollutants may not be comparable. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been recognized as a valuable tool to address these challenges through systematical evaluation of potential environmental impacts of fuel additives. Accordingly, this paper was aimed at comprehensively reviewing and mechanistically discussing the effects of various diesel/biodiesel additives including metal-based, oxygenated, antioxidant, cold flow improver, lubricity improver, and cetane number improver additives as well as engine operating parameters like engine load, engine speed, EGR, and injection timing on both regulated and non-regulated emissions. Moreover, the environmental impacts of various diesel/biodiesel additives by incorporating an LCA approach was also critically discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the environmental profile of Iranian rapeseed cultivation was analysed with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, in order to identify the hot spots of the system. Also, in order to apply environmental indicators for agricultural decision making purposes, the environmental burden of different residue management practices were compared. Primary data were collected from 150 rapeseed farms from the Iranian Mazandaran province. The system considers a cradle-to-farm gate boundary, and the functional unit was regarded as being one Mg of rapeseed production. The LCA results indicate that the global warming potential amounts to 1181.6 kg CO 2eq Mg −1 . Also, the acidification and eutrophication potentials were found to be 23.3 kg SO 2eq Mg −1 and 18 kg PO 4 3 eq Mg −1 , respectively. The results also reveal that environmental emissions of crop production were significantly affected by residue management practices. Specifically, rapeseed residue removal from the field is the most environmentally-friendly practice. This is followed by a scenario involving residue incorporation in the soil. The practice of burning such residue entails the highest environmental emissions. In conclusion, reducing the consumption of chemical fertilisers, especially nitrogen based ones, is important for decreasing the environmental footprints in the area. Furthermore, avoiding crop residue burning and developing rapeseed-bean rotation are favourable management strategies for establishing more environmentally-friendly rapeseed production systems in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Three water/power generation configurations were designed, modeled, and optimized. • Damage to human health and the ecosystem caused by diesel generator were estimated. • Division algorithm was more accurate and faster than the genetic algorithms. • Desalination with photovoltaic panel/wind turbine was environmentally efficient. • Desalination with the photovoltaic panels was economically the best configuration. Although freshwater is necessary for the well-being of humankind, increasing population growth and limited resources lead to a serious crisis to supply freshwater. Since the Earth is surrounded by seawater, desalination based on electrical power is introduced as a promising technology to provide freshwater. It is well documented that the connection of remote areas that usually do not have access to freshwater into the electricity grid is not affordable and eco-friendly. Hence, the efforts to design and construct high reliability, cost-effective, and eco-friendly stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system in remote areas. In line with this, this paper describes a novel energy management system for the optimized operation of a stand-alone hybrid energy system based on photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, batteries, and diesel generator. For this purpose, a multi-objective optimization problem is formulated by combining three objective functions, i.e., minimum the total life cycle cost as well as environmental impacts on human health and ecosystems and the maximum system reliability that can conflict with each. To solve the multi-objective optimization problem, a division algorithm is proposed that is more flexible and faster compared with conventional algorithms such as genetic algorithm. In order to show the proposed framework, a real case study in Larak Island, Iran, with appropriate solar and wind is considered. The effectiveness of the applied approach compared with optimization results of genetic algorithm and the artificial bee swarm optimization algorithm that was previously used successfully to solve optimization problems related to desalination integrated with the renewable energy system. The optimization is performed based on different diesel fuel price amounts (0.2, 0.5, and 1 $/liter). It is seen that at fuel price set to 0.2 and 0.5 $/liter, the seawater reverses osmosis desalination/photovoltaic/diesel generator/battery is the most cost-effective energy system, and when fuel price is 1 $/liter, the seawater reverses osmosis desalination/photovoltaic/wind turbine/diesel generator/battery is the most cost-effective hybrid system. While at fuel price set to 0.2, 0.5, and 1 $/liter, the seawater reverse osmosis desalination /photovoltaic/wind turbine/diesel generator/battery is the most eco-friendly. Finally, the results of this study show proposed algorithm is faster and more accurate (100 iterations, 98.36% accuracy) than the genetic algorithm (1000 iterations, 83.03% accuracy) and the artificial bee swarm optimization (300 iterations, 95.49% accuracy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Doping diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels with CNP was environmentally studied. • Electricity use was main environmental hotspot in carbon nanoparticles production. • CNP addition led to lowest weighted environmental impacts per GJ shaft work. • Emulsion fuels doped with 150 µM CNP were the most eco-friendly at low engine loads. • Emulsion fuels doped with 38 µM CNP were the most eco-friendly at full engine loads. This study was aimed at consolidating emission indices of a diesel engine powered by carbon nanoparticles (CNP)-doped diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels using a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The effects of fuel chemistry and engine load on the consolidated LCA-based environmental indicators of the engine (i.e., human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resource consumption damage categories) were investigated. Mineral diesel was reconstituted by adding 5 wt% biodiesel, 3 wt% water, and various concentrations of the waste-derived aqueous CNP ranging from 38 to 150 μM. Three CNP-free baseline fuels were also used as control. The engine was loaded in the range of 25–100% and at a fixed speed of 1000 rpm. In general, electricity use in the CNP manufacturing process increased all the investigated damage categories for the fuel blends dosed with the nanoadditive. Nevertheless, the lowest weighted environmental impacts per GJ shaft work were also obtained for the CNP-doped emulsified fuels. More specifically, dosing diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuel with 38 and 150 µM CNP favorably mitigated all the LCA-based environmental indicators considered herein through declining brake specific fuel consumption, boosting brake power, as well as abating lower brake specific nitrogen oxides and brake specific carbon dioxide. The weighted environmental impacts showed that diesel/biodiesel emulsion fuels doped with 150 and 38 µM nanoadditive were the most appealing fuel blends at low and full load operations, respectively. The eco-friendliest blend was diesel/biodiesel emulsion doped with 38 µM nanoadditive with an overall score of 61.3 mPts/GJ shaft work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]