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This critical review report highlights the enormous potentiality and availability of renewable energy sources in the Gulf region. The earth suffers from extreme air pollution, climate changes, and extreme problems due to the enormous usage of underground carbon resources applications materialized in industrial, transport, and domestic sectors. The countries under Gulf Cooperation Council, i.e., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, mainly explore those underground carbon resources for crude oil extraction and natural gas production. As a nonrenewable resource, these are bound to be exhausted in the near future. Hence, this review discusses the importance and feasibility of renewable sources in the Gulf region to persuade the sci-entific community to launch and explore renewable sources to obtain the maximum benefit in electric power generation. In most parts of the Gulf region, solar and wind energy sources are abundantly available. However, attempts to harness those resources are very limited. Furthermore, in this review report, innovative areas of advanced research (such as bioenergy, biomass) were proposed for the Gulf region to extract those resources at a higher magnitude to generate surplus power generation. Overall, this report clearly depicts the current scenario, current power demand, currently installed capacities, and the future strategies of power production from renewable power sources (viz., solar, wind, tidal, biomass, and bioenergy) in each and every part of the Gulf region.

Compression ignition engines play a significant role in the development of a country. They are widely used due to their innate properties such as high efficiency, high power output, and durability. However, they are considered one of the key contributors to transport-related emission and have recently been identified as carcinogenic. Thus, it is important to modify the designs and processes before, during, and after combustion to reduce the emissions to meet the strict emission regulations. The paper discusses the pros and cons of different strategies to reduce emissions of a diesel engine. An overview of various techniques to modify the pre-combustion engine design aspects has been discussed first. After that, fuel modifications techniques during combustion to improve the fuel properties to reduce the engine-out emission is discussed. Finally, post-combustion after-treatment devices are briefly discussed, which help improve the air quality of our environment.

Biodiesel is one of the potential alternative energy sources that can be derived from renewable and low-grade origin through different processes. One of the processes is alcoholysis or transesterification in the presence of a suitable catalyst. The catalyst can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous. This article reviews various catalysts used for biodiesel production to date, presents the state of the art of types of catalysts, and compares their suitability and associated challenges in the transesterification process. Biodiesel production using homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis has been studied extensively, and novel heterogeneous catalysts are being continuously investigated. Homogeneous catalysts are generally efficient in converting biodiesel with low free fatty acid (FFA) and water containing single-origin feedstock. Heterogeneous catalysts, on the other hand, provide superior activity, range of selectivity, good FFA, and water adaptability. The quantity and strengths of active acid or basic sites control these properties. Some of the heterogeneous catalysts such as zirconia and zeolite-based catalysts can be used as both basic and acidic catalyst by suitable alteration. Heterogeneous catalysts from waste and biocatalysts play an essential role in attaining a sustainable alternative to traditional homogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production. Recently, high catalytic efficiency at mild operating conditions has drawn attention to nanocatalysts. This review evaluates state of the art and perspectives for catalytic biodiesel production and assesses the critical operational variables that influence biodiesel production along with the technological solutions for sustainable implementation of the process.

This study considered the impacts of diesel-soybean biodiesel blends mixed with 3% cerium coated zinc oxide (Ce-ZnO) nanoparticles on the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine. The fuel blends were prepared using 25% soybean biodiesel in diesel (SBME25). Ce-ZnO nanoparticle additives were blended with SBME25 at 25, 50, and 75 ppm using the ultrasonication process with a surfactant (Span 80) at 2 vol.% to enhance the stability of the blend. A variable compression ratio engine operated at a 19.5:1 compression ratio (CR) using these blends resulted in an improvement in overall engine characteristics. With 50 ppm Ce-ZnO nanoparticle additive in SBME25 (SBME25Ce-ZnO50), the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and heat release rate (HRR) increased by 20.66% and 18.1%, respectively; brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) by 21.81%; and the CO, smoke, and hydrocarbon (HC) decreased by 30%, 18.7%, and 21.5%, respectively, compared to SBME25 fuel operation. However, the oxides of nitrogen slightly rose for all the nanoparticle added blends. As such, 50 ppm of Ce-ZnO nanoparticle in the blend is a potent choice for the enhancement of engine performance, combustion, and emission characteristics.

The present study investigated the relationship between the transmission of COVID-19 infections and climate indicators in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using coronavirus infections data available from the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Bangladesh. The Spearman rank correlation test was carried out to study the association of seven climate indicators, including humidity, air quality, minimum temperature, precipitation, maximum temperature, mean temperature, and wind speed with the COVID-19 outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study found that, among the seven indicators, only two indicators (minimum temperature and average temperature) had a significant relationship with new COVID-19 cases. The study also found that air quality index (AQI) had a strong negative correlation with cumulative cases of COVID-19 in Dhaka city. The results of this paper will give health regulators and policymakers valuable information to lessen the COVID-19 spread in Dhaka and other countries around the world.