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In the last 20 years, China's steel production has proliferated, leading to increased environmental damage by releasing 574,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), 1,114,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), and 897,000 tons of particulate matter (PM) in 2020; therefore, the country is now struggling to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change because of the conflicting demands of economic growth and environmental protection. Given the global emphasis on decarbonization and sustainable production, China has prioritized achieving peak carbon emissions of 30% by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Likewise, China's steel industry is progressing toward attaining the maximum carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2025. This study reveals that despite a 321 Mt increase in global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022, CO2 emissions in China experienced a decline of 230 Mt during the same period. Notwithstanding enacting several pertinent statutes and directives, China's iron and steel sector has not advanced substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lifting permanent magnet is a new type of magnetic transport device consisting of a mechanical driving mechanism and a permanent magnet system. It can reduce power consumption as opposed to lifting electromagnet. However, the single-drive mechanism could not be used in the inclined condition, and how to calculate the balance working point of the magnetic circuit with several permanent magnet limits its application and development. In this paper, an anti-inclined mechanism with double drive mechanism was designed and implemented. The concentric shafts and the reversing gear were adopted to realise synchronous rotation. For the permanent magnet system, the iteration method for multi-magnets balance working point analysis is proposed and implemented. Based on the prototype experiment, the anti-inclined lifting permanent magnet hoisted a 1 ton weight workpiece successfully at an inclination angle of 30 degrees. And the measurement experiment proved that the iteration method is more precise than the conventional isolated method and is a better preparation for analysing the magnetic force and residual magnetic field strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel double-stage hydraulic system incorporating a hydraulic controllable accumulator (HCA) was proposed to simultaneously improve the energy and working efficiency of the hydraulic fineblanking press. Within this system, an innovative controller was proposed to orchestrate the HCA's operations, allowing it to adeptly adapt to abrupt pressure fluctuations and the energy demands from the external load. Within this study, a meticulous analysis was conducted to assess the energy demands of the fineblanking process and the function requirements of the hydraulic system. Subsequently, the energy consumption model based on the energy conservation law was established to analyze the supply–demand relationship of each stage and the energy conversion characteristic of capacitive energy, inertial energy, and resistive energy, thereby calculating these key parameters of the HCA. Then, an accurate simulation model was meticulously established and ultimately validated by the 1000-ton hydraulic fineblanking press, enabling a comprehensive assessment of the system's working performance and energy consumption characteristics. The simulation and experimental results showed that within this proposed system, the main cylinder circuit accounted for a big part of energy consumption, three times higher than that of the fast cylinder circuit. In the fast cylinder circuit, both resistive and capacitive energy were prominent, whereas in the main cylinder circuit, capacitive energy took precedence. Compared to the traditional system, the proposed system performed better with lower system pressure fluctuation and higher working efficiency increased by 10%. Moreover, the energy efficiency of the proposed system reached 45.9%, 20.35% higher than that of the traditional system, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption of 169.4 kJ per duty cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a heat demand prediction model that analyzes the heat behavior of heat users, and analyzes the heat behavior data of heat users through a clustering algorithm to predict their heat demand. This paper is based on the supply-demand balance strategy to reduce the heat loss during the transmission of heat medium, and then improve the energy-saving efficiency of the boiler. The traditional boiler energy-saving and consumption reduction method is to optimize the boiler combustion parameters, improve the fuel combustion efficiency and waste heat recovery technology through the Internet of Things and big data technology. The method of balancing the heat-using end with the load of the boiler at low usage frequency is seldom considered. Therefore, this paper predicts the heat demand of the heat-using end by analyzing its thermal behavior, and balances the heat demand and boiler heat supply under the condition of meeting the heat demand. Finally, through simulation experiments, the validity of the model is verified, and the trend and data can be well predicted in the short-term heat demand prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of a heterogeneous region in the ternary diagram of 1,4-dioxane/water/ethyl acetate allows for separation by conventional three-column heterogeneous azeotropic distillation (HAD). Considering the characteristics of the ternary phase diagram, two novel heterogeneous azeotropic processes are designed, which are the heterogeneous azeotropic distillation process by adding pure ETAC as the self-solvent (HAD-PE) and heterogeneous azeotropic distillation process with partial organic phase reflux (HAD-OPR). Subsequently, self-heat recuperation (SHR) technology is introduced to the HAD-PE and HAD-OPR processes to achieve energy savings. Finally, the economic, energy, environmental and exergy aspects of the process are evaluated. Both configurations of HAD-PE and HAD-OPR are superior to HAD. The results show that the HAD-OPR-SHR process is the optimal process, with a total annual cost (TAC) reduction of 64.28%, TEC reduction of 74.62%, gas emission reduction of 72.84%, and exergy loss reduction of 74.43% compared with the HAD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantages of continuous freeze-drying are increasingly being emphasized, including energy saving, high production efficiency, and superior quality. In this context, an innovative continuous production process and cold trap structure for large-scale freeze-drying equipment is proposed. Built-in alternating cold traps are adopted instead of the stationary type to reduce the defrosting downtime, significantly improving the energy efficiency of the refrigeration and heat pump heating units. In the freeze-drying production of shiitake, comparisons between the built-in alternating cold traps and the stationary type indicate a reduction in energy consumption of approximately 24% for the full production process when the alternating cold traps with tube coils are used, that is, from 1937 kW·h for the stationary type to 1471 kW·h. In addition, the energy consumption for the built-in alternating cold traps with finned tube coils could be further reduced by about 8%. Finally, through the implementation of the new continuous production process and built-in alternating cold traps in industrial large-scale freeze-drying equipment, the systematic energy consumption per unit of food dehydration (kg) is reduced by approximately 40%, i.e., from 1.31 kW·h in the intermittent production process to 0.79 kW·h in the new continuous production process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic ball milling has demonstrated remarkable energy-saving efficiency in industrial applications. However, there is a pressing need to enhance the grinding efficiency for coarse particles. This paper introduces a novel method of combining media primarily using ceramic balls supplemented with an appropriate proportion of steel balls. Three grinding media approaches, including the utilization of steel balls, ceramic balls, and a hybrid combination, were investigated. Through an analysis of the grinding kinetics and the R–R particle size characteristic formulas, the study compares the breakage rate and particle size distribution changes for the three setups. The results indicate that employing binary media effectively improves the grinding efficiency for +0.3 mm coarse particles while maintaining the energy-saving advantages of ceramic ball milling. Simultaneously, the uniformity of the ground product is ensured. This proposed approach has been successfully validated in industrial applications, providing robust theoretical support for the expansion of ceramic ball milling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent metasurfaces are artificially engineered structures that can real‐time control electromagnetic (EM) waves. However, the manipulating ability is usually realized by adopting the wired electrical control method, which is effective and robust, but there are still some limitations. Here, we propose an energy‐efficient light‐controllable intelligent metasurface consisting of meta‐atoms with the ability to manipulate EM waves without energy consumption and control overhead. As demonstrated, the resistance‐based metasurface is illuminated under different strengths of illumination to generate different radiation patterns. The measured results show that the metasurface can well realize dynamic beam steering under different illumination conditions. The proposed intelligent metasurface establishes the connection between microwave and light, which could promote the development of related multiphysics applications, such as photoelectric reconfigurable intelligent surface and internet of things devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy conservation in buildings is paramount, especially considering that glass accounts for 50% of energy consumption. The solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of glass is a critical energy-saving index for transparent structures. However, the fixed SHGC of ordinary glass makes it difficult to provide both summer shading and winter heating. In this study, we synthesized a hydrogel with a thermosensitive scattering (TS) property using triblock polyether and acrylamide. This hydrogel can realize the transition of clearness and atomization based on the temperature. When sealed within a glass cavity, it exhibits a high SHGC of 0.682 in its transparent state and a low SHGC of less than 0.31 when atomized. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the TS glass can be adjusted from 0 to 70 °C to suit different regions. The photothermal properties of the material remained stable after 200 hot and cold cycles and 200 h of ultraviolet irradiation. This glass can prevent solar radiation from entering the room in summer, thereby reducing air conditioning usage and power consumption. In winter, it allows solar heat radiation to enter the room, minimizing the need for artificial heating. Its adaptable temperature design makes it an excellent solution for designers to create energy-efficient building exteriors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern buildings, it is evident that exterior glazing is highly desirable to enhance the visual environment and provide daylight. This study investigates the energy performance of polycarbonate glazing as a potential substitute for conventional glass. A detailed energy analysis is conducted using a design-builder simulation tool to simulate the performance of multiwall polycarbonate sheet and normal glass for a model residential building. The result shows that the polycarbonate sheet outperforms normal glass. The wall systems' total annual cooling energy consumption for 16 mm triple 5-wall x-structure polycarbonate and the 3 mm regular single clear glass was 25,834 kWh and 39,565.18 kWh, respectively, resulting in 35% energy savings. Similarly, the skylights' cooling energy consumption for the same polycarbonate types was 35,776.47 kWh and 63,340.74 kWh, respectively, resulting in 44% energy savings. The impact of aluminum and uPVC framings was insignificant. Therefore, polycarbonate sheets are an excellent alternative to glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy‐free thermal regulation is in great demand nowadays. Thermochromic materials are widely explored and used in smart windows. However, most thermochromic materials have fixed transition temperature and still suffer from poor stability. To overcome this challenge, a thermochromic polymer coating based on ion–dipole interaction with switchable transition temperature, high stability toward several harsh environments, self‐healing, and radiative cooling property is developed. It can continuously tune from transparent to opaque according to the temperature change. The lower critical transition temperature can be tuned from 33 to 43 °C by simply adjusting the composition of ionic liquids. Owing to the fluorine polymer backbone and dynamic ion–dipole interactions, it can also keep stable in aquatic, −20 °C, and 70 °C environments and self‐heal upon damage thus prolonging its working life for real applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To alleviate the impact of air conditioning (AC) systems on the overall performance of electric vehicles (EVs) and realize optimal control over the AC system, an optimal energy-saving operating control strategy for AC systems was proposed in this work. The main goal of our approach was to minimize the power consumption under the premise of meeting load demands. The energy-saving optimization problem of AC systems was solved using the improved genetic algorithm (IGA) by establishing a steady-state model of a frequency-variable heat pump AC system. In the proposed IGA, sequential quadratic programming (SQP) was embedded as a local search scheme to enable high convergence rate and solving accuracy, as well as effectively solve the optimization problem of frequency-variable heat pump AC systems. According to optimization results, the energy-saving operation of an AC system can be realized by dynamically adjusting the compressor frequency, indoor-fans frequency, and outdoor-fans frequency according to the actual working conditions of the system. The proposed optimal control method for the frequency-variable heat pump AC system based on the IGA also provided a robust basis for the intelligent control of AC systems. Meanwhile, it would be a potential solution to extend the driving ranges of EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic sanitaryware products are produced using inorganic and non-metallic raw materials such as clay, kaolin, quartz and feldspar at certain rates. After mixing and grounding process, the slip is obtained. The products are shaped in gypsum or synthetic resin moulds. Green bodies are fired at 1250 °C for 16–18 h, and their water absorption values are less than 0.5%. Nowadays the most important issues are raw materials and energy costs. In this study, the sintering behaviour of Na-feldspar and K-feldspar, which are widely used in ceramic sanitaryware, is analysed by reducing to different grain sizes. The grain sizes of the samples containing Na-feldspar were reduced under 63 µm. It was found that the decrease in grain size of Na-feldspar contributed to the decrease in sintering temperature. Potassium feldspar was also added instead of Na-feldspar in order to develop deformation behaviour at higher temperature. The increase in the amount of K-feldspar contributed to the decrease in deformation values. However, the flexural strength of the bodies decreased. A decrease in grain size of Na-feldspar resulted in a reduction of 10 °C at the sintering temperature. The decrease in sintering temperature will provide a cost advantage of around 3%. It was also found that technical properties such as firing shrinkage, bulk density, and flexure strength increased as the grain size of Na-feldspar decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the mismatch between gas production and consumption in the gas delivery system (GDS), reduced customer demand can easily lead to overpressure and gas release. Companies mainly use high-pressure release (HPR) to lower the GDS pressure, which results in significant energy losses for compression and gas separation. This paper (1) proposes a low-pressure release method (LPR) for users' low-demand scenarios to avoid regulating air separation units, and (2) provides a way for obtaining optimal parameters for LPR when used alone and together with HPR. LPR released low-pressure gas by lowing the compressor inlet guide vane opening (IGA) or the inlet valve opening to reduce the compressor load, outlet pressure, and GDS pressure, and reduce the energy consumption of the compressor. Case studies showed LPR reduced effectively the gas emissions and compressor operating energy. When LPR is used alone, the maximum reduction in gas emissions and compressor operating energy consumption compared with HPR was 6,049 Nm3 and 900 kW·h , accounting for 62.96% and 2.18%, respectively, and the gas emission rate was reduced from 0.11% to 0.04%. When LPR was used together with HPR, 43.88% oxygen emissions and 0.28% total compressor energy consumption were reduced, and the total conditioning time can be effectively reduced from 42 to 10 min. The method increases the ability of the compressor to regulate the GDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization plays a crucial role in the elevator group control system (EGCS) since various unpredictable factors, such as future traffic demand of each floor, passengers' random destinations, and indiscriminate starting-stopping of elevators, are incorporated in scheduling a group of elevators. When solving the optimization problem of EGCS, a number of dynamic performance indices, including average waiting time, average journey time, energy consumption, etc., have to be taken into account. Until now, numerous optimization approaches have been utilized to solve the car-dispatching problem of vertical transportation. Among those methods, in this study, the authors concentrate on various metaheuristic techniques that were implemented to optimize the metrics of EGCS. While establishing a metaheuristic approach, all the previous authors recognized various factors and limitations, which ought to analyze to develop a new metaheuristic-based EGCS. Owing to this, EGCS implemented via metaheuristic techniques is summarized in this review study, together with the underlying contributions, fitness functions, computational time, and limitations. What is more, performance comparisons of different previously implemented metaheuristic approaches are depicted in this study. This research will not only assist to figure out optimal elevator group optimization algorithms, but also will shrink the technological gap by outlining a number of potential future research lines and methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The very slow anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) greatly limits the development of large-scale hydrogen production via water electrolysis. By replacing OER with an easier urea oxidation reaction (UOR), developing an HER/UOR coupling electrolysis system for hydrogen production could save a significant amount of energy and money. An Al-doped cobalt ferrocyanide (Al-Co2Fe(CN)6) nanocube array was in situ grown on nickel foam (Al-Co2Fe(CN)6/NF). Due to the unique nanocube array structure and regulated electronic structure of Al-Co2Fe(CN)6, the as-prepared Al-Co2Fe(CN)6/NF electrode exhibited outstanding catalytic activities and long-term stability to both UOR and HER. The Al-Co2Fe(CN)6/NF electrode needed potentials of 0.169 V and 1.118 V (vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode) to drive 10 mA cm−2 for HER and UOR, respectively, in alkaline conditions. Applying the Al-Co2Fe(CN)6/NF to a whole-urea electrolysis system, 10 mA cm−2 was achieved at a cell voltage of 1.357 V, which saved 11.2% electricity energy compared to that of traditional water splitting. Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that the boosted UOR activity comes from Co sites with Al-doped electronic environments. This promoted and balanced the adsorption/desorption of the main intermediates in the UOR process. This work indicates that Co-based materials as efficient catalysts have great prospects for application in urea electrolysis systems and are expected to achieve low-cost and energy-saving H2 production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines normality in time series econometrics for a sustainable energy transition. By analysing data from January 1997 to December 2021, this study integrates macroeconomic, environmental, and energy data to gain insights into the potential changes in daily commuting patterns among Slovenians. Various methods, including unit root tests such as the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF), Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS), and Zivot–Andrews (Z-A), as well as other tests, are employed. Additionally, the vector autoregressive (VAR) model, Granger Causality and regression analysis determine the impact. This paper contributes to uncovering valuable information within data from macrovariables using macroeconometric techniques. It also provides insights that can support evidence-based decision-making for sustainable energy transition policies in Slovenia. The results of the normality tests indicate that most macro variables are integrated; there is a need for a careful analysis of integration levels and appropriate testing methods. These findings have implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in economics, the environment, and energy supply. At the same time, this research highlights that gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and carbon dioxide positively impact car usage among Slovenians, while gasoline prices and commuters have a negative one. While the recently investigated development of sustainable commuting does not work, the study highlights an innovation: the connection of time series econometrics, which offers a better understanding of future commuting patterns on energy consumption and their causalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the limitation of existing excavator optimization methods, which primarily focus on the force performance while neglecting energy consumption and fail to realize environmentally friendly and low-carbon designs, this paper proposes a new multi-objective collaborative optimization method for an excavator to reduce energy consumption during the working process while maintaining optimal performance. By formulating a mathematical model that quantifies the energy consumption during the working process, this paper optimizes the working conditions by analyzing the energy consumption characteristics under typical working conditions. To overcome the limitation of existing linear weighting methods in multi-objective optimization, such as imbalanced optimization quality among sub-objectives, this paper proposes a new modeling approach based on the loss degree of sub-objectives. A multi-objective collaborative optimization model for the excavator with reduced energy consumption is established, and a corresponding multi-objective collaborative optimization algorithm is developed and applied to achieve optimal solutions for sub-objectives. The optimization results demonstrate that applying the new multi-objective collaborative optimization method to the excavator achieves better optimization quality than traditional methods. It also provides a more balanced improvement in the optimization values of each sub-objective, resulting in a significant reduction in the energy consumption of the excavator during operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the manufacturing industry, there is an extensive use of high-precision motion control techniques to achieve high performance in the feed drive system. This study deals with the simple adaptive control (SAC) technique for simultaneous high-precision motion and energy-saving of the feed drive system. The application of the SAC requires that the "almost strictly positive real (ASPR)" property is satisfied and there is a command general tracking solution for the plant and the reference model. This paper presents to use the jerk-based augmented output signal for the ASPR property. The proposed approach allows the SAC to track the desired signal at high frequencies more precise and is achieved by placing the zeros of the system at effective locations. To verify the feasibility of the proposed approach, simulation and experiment are conducted. The results are compared with those of the commonly used parallel feedforward compensation (PFC) approach. Experimental results revealed that the proposed approach reduced the tracking error by about 80% compared to PFC without any additional control input. Moreover, the proposed approach has been proved to be energy-efficient by about 21% than PFC under similar tracking conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sec-butyl alcohol (SBA), a common chemical intermediate, is used as an anti-emulsion, dye dispersant, industrial detergent, and raw material to produce methyl ethyl ketone. To further reduce the energy consumption and production cost of the hydrolysis of sec-butyl acetate (SBAC) to SBA, a reactive distillation coupled with extractive distillation using a mixed entrainers process was proposed in this study. Based on the relative volatility curve and quantum chemical calculations, EG and DMSO were selected as potential entrainers. Based on the total annual production cost, the appropriate ratio of mixed solvent is obtained (EG: DMSO = 9:1). The thermal coupling distillation technology is introduced into the proposed process to achieve energy-saving further. The results showed that the thermodynamic efficiency of the thermal coupling process using mixed entrainers increased by 18.02%, the total annual cost is saved by 15.18%, and CO 2 emissions were reduced by 391.82 kg/h compared to the process using single DMSO entrainers process. [Display omitted] • Quantum chemical calculation and VLE data were used to screen mixed extractants. • Combination of mixed extractant and thermal coupling process can effectively save energy. • The thermodynamic efficiency of the novel process can be improved by 18.02%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data centres, though a necessary part of modern society, are being stigmatised for consuming vast amounts of electricity for their operational and cooling needs. Due to Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels to meet the increased energy demand of data centres, the data centres are contributing significantly to Ireland's total carbon emissions. As much of this energy is expelled from data centres as waste heat energy, the potential for recycling some of this wasted heat energy was explored using environmentally friendly systems from recent publications. The recovered waste heat energy was applied in a vertical farming system, and the benefits of this waste heat to the vertical farm were analysed and quantified in two scenarios. Using conservative estimates, it was predicted that each vertical farm could be between 5–23% the size of the data centre and produce enough food to feed between 14–61 adults their daily calorie needs, and between 13–58 people their daily fresh produce requirements, depending on the scenario applied. For a more accurate prediction, each vertical farm would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as there is no current research in this area. However, there was not enough data available on Irish data centres to perform these calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terms of high capacity and reliable safety, low‐valent silicon‐based composites with small grain sizes are practicable anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries. However, robust tetravalent silicon precursors make the synthesis hard to be green. Using biosilicification in water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), it is found to be a superior natural precursor of low‐valent silicon. The biogenic sub‐nano (0.5 nm) siliceous dots composite (EC‐SiOC) shows a reversible conversion mechanism between Si─O and C─O bonds, unlike previous lithium storage mechanisms associated with alloying reactions. Due to the homogeneous biogenic structure facilitating the solid‐phase reaction, the normalized energy consumption of pyrolytic EC‐SiOC is about 80% lower than the carbothermic reduction of silica, similar to molten salt electrolysis. Statistically, the sampling survey of EC‐SiOC from different regions shows a high average capacity of 749.9 mAh g−1 under a current density of 100 mA g−1. This study reveals the great potential of biomass precursors for synthesizing Si─O─C materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air separation units (ASUs) integrated with liquid air energy storage (LAES) have the potential to balance grid demand and improve production profits. This study aims to enhance the demand response of a novel co-production air separation system (NCASS) by maximizing the energy arbitrage of a LAES system. We developed a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model to minimize operating costs by using a proxy model to represent the ASU production space and a black box model to represent the material and energy flow balance of LAES. The model is based on rigorous mathematical programming and, considers material and energy flow balance, analyzes the production and delivery processes and constraints for each product, and matches equipment start-up and shutdown time constraints. The case study shows that the model achieves a high level of matter and energy matching between the distillation process and the LAES process, maximizing the LAES peak-shaving capacity and improving system economics. During the 24 h schedule period, the total electricity consumption of NCASS increases by 18.94% during the valley electricity period and decreases by 20.59% during the flat and peak electricity period. The economic benefits increase by 9.51 k$, accounting for 14.29% of the total costs. This study contributes to the wider application of NCAS with LAES technology for sustainable energy management. [Display omitted] • A novel economic scheduling model is proposed to minimize gas production costs. • A black box model represents the conversion process of liquid air energy storage. • High-performance operation of air compressors and zero gas emission are achieved. • The time-of-day tariff is utilized to maximize profits and minimize operating costs. • Liquide air energy storage achieves around 20% power load shifting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Maintenance policy considering energy-saving based on dual time windows is proposed. • The energy-saving time window is used to find the energy-saving opportunities. • This article focuses on energy consumption, cost, and quality. • The superiority is illustrated by an automotive manufacturing system. This paper proposes a novel optimal maintenance policy considering energy-saving based on dual time windows is proposed for a serial production system with limited buffering. The machines suffer from degradation, and the degradation process obeys the Gamma random process. Based on the dual time windows, condition-based preventive maintenance and opportunistic maintenance are activated: when a machine reaches a set state (i.e., threshold deterioration state), the preventive maintenance action is taken, and the time of preventive maintenance performed is determined by the time window w ; meanwhile, the time window W is used to determine whether the other machines need opportunity maintenance. To reduce energy consumption, and increase the proportion of effective energy in the manufacturing process, the energy-saving time window is used to find the energy-saving opportunities for the system. The impact of different maintenance thresholds and dual time windows on the maintenance cost per effective product is discussed through Monte Carlo simulation. A practical example of an automotive manufacturing system is provided, and comparative analyses with other maintenance policies are used to illustrate the superiority of the proposed policy in energy saving, cost reduction, and quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large scale hydrogen generation by water electrolysis is severely impeded by the high cost of noble metal electrode materials and the kinetic-sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here we design a MOF-derived NiCoP/CoP/Co 3 O 4 multi-shell hollow nanoflakes as a low-cost cathode electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and replace the OER with more favorable silver oxidation reaction (AOR). The NiCoP/CoP/Co 3 O 4 supported on carbon cloth (CC@NiCoP/CoP/Co 3 O 4) endows an impressive low overpotential (η) of 90 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a low Tafel slope of 81.7 mV dec−1 for HER in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 electrolyte. Coupling it with Ag electrode to forming an asymmetric alkali-acid electrolyzer exhibits superior performance with the requirement of a cell voltage of only 1.16 V to attain 10 mA cm−2 with nearly 100% of Faradaic efficiencies for both H 2 and Ag 2 O generation, showing dramatically lower voltage than that previously reported for conventional water splitting systems. In addition, the size and shape of Ag 2 O can be controlled by manipulating current density. Our electrolyzer design provides not only an economical approach to produce H 2 and Ag 2 O but also shows great promise for expansion into the electrosynthesis of other value-added chemicals. [Display omitted] • Low-cost NiCoP/CoP/Co 3 O 4 nanoflakes achieves efficient hydrogen generation. • Acidic hydrogen evolution reaction and alkaline silver oxidation reaction (AOR). • AOR assisted electrolytic H 2 generation can reduce energy consumption. • The morphology and size of Ag 2 O can be controlled by adjusting the voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Mobile sink nodes play a very active role in wireless sensor network (WSN) routing. Because hiring these nodes can decrease the energy consumption of each node, end‐to‐end delay, and network latency significantly. Therefore, mobile sinks can soar the network lifetime dramatically. Generally, there are three movement paths for a mobile sink, which are as follows: (1) Random/stochastic, (2) controlled, and (3) fixed/ predictable/predefined paths. In this paper, a novel movement path is introduced as a fourth category of movement paths for mobile sinks. This path is based on deep learning, so a mobile sink node can go to the appropriate region that has more data at a suitable time. Thereupon, WSN routing can improve very much in terms of end‐to‐end delay, network latency, network lifetime, delivery ratio, and energy efficiency. The new proposed routing suggests a reinforcement learning movement path (RLMP) for multiple mobile sinks. The network in the proposed work consists of a couple of regions; each region can be employed for a special purpose, so this method is hired for any application and any size of the network. All simulations in this paper are done by network simulator 3 (NS‐3). The experimental results clearly show that the RLMP overcomes other approaches by at least 32.48% in the network lifetime benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart windows with light management and indoor solar heating modulation capacities are of paramount importance for building energy conservation. Thermochromic poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) hydrogel smart windows exhibit advantages of the relatively suitable transition temperature of 32 °C, high cost‐effective and automatic passive sunlight regulation, but sustain slow response rate and unsatisfactory solar modulation efficiency. Herein, a strategy of one‐step copolymerization of NIPAm and different olefine acids (OA) using reverse atom transfer radical polymerization method is developed to fabricate various chain/microparticle hybrids (CMH) for liquid energy‐saving windows. Synergetic mechanisms of thermal‐induced dissolution and aggregation of linear polymer chains integrated with water capture and release of microgel particles contribute to tunable light‐scattering behaviors and adaptive solar modulation. Without any post‐treatment, the as‐prepared poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) (P(NIPAm‐co‐AA))‐based CMH suspension is injected into sandwich glass to construct energy‐saving windows, which exhibits appreciated near‐room‐temperature transition (26.7 °C), rapid response (5 s), extraordinary luminous transmittance (91.5%), and solar modulation efficiency (85.8%), resulting in a substantial decline of indoor temperature of 24.5 °C in simulation experiment. Combining the versatile strategy with flexible adjustment on transition temperature, multifarious P(NIPAm‐co‐OA)‐based CMH windows with eminent light management capacity are obtained. This work will powerfully promote the development and renovation of energy‐efficient windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic sensor networks (PSNs) represent one of the important networks which are used in Internet of Things (IoTs) future. It has gained a rapid increased interest due to its wide use in various fields of applications. However, it suffers from the drawback of a limited lifetime as its power supply cannot be replaced or renew due to the nature of its deployment. Much of the research in this area has been focusing on conserving energy in whatever way possible. In this study, we tackled the issue of reducing the data volume transmitted to the final base station or sink. We proposed an energy-efficient two-layer data transmission reduction scheme that exploits both temporal and spatial redundancy in sensed data. The first layer is based on a modified version of the kNN algorithm and is applied at the sensor node level. Bottom-up hierarchical clustering is implemented at the cluster head or aggregator to reduce data received by aggregator before sending it to the sink node. The proposed approach in layer 2 exploits the spatial correlation between neighboring nodes to remove the redundancy of data and thus to improve the lifetime of the PSN. The proposed approach is implemented using OMNeT++ network simulator using real sensed data from Intel Berkeley Lab sensors. A number of experiments have been conducted to evaluate the proposed approach. The results that are compared with some recently published methods show that the proposed approach outperforms the other methods in terms of many performance metrics such as data reduction rate, energy consumption, and lost data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In factories, energy conservation is a crucial issue. The co-fabrication space is a modern-day equivalent of a new factory type, and it makes use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as sensors, software, and online connectivity, to keep track of various building features, analyze data, and produce reports on usage patterns and trends that can be used to improve building operations and the environment. The co-fabrication user requires dynamic and flexible space, which is different from the conventional user's usage. Because the user composition in a co-fabrication space is dynamic and unstable, we cannot use the conventional approach to assess their usage and rentals. Prototyping necessitates a specifically designed energy-saving strategy. The research uses a "seeing–moving–seeing" design thinking framework, which enables designers to more easily convey their ideas to others through direct observation of the outcomes of their intuitive designs and the representation of their works through design media. The three components of human behavior, physical manufacture, and digital interaction are primarily the focus of this work. The computing system that connects the physical machine is created through communication between the designer and the digital interface, giving the designer control over the physical machine. It is an interactive fabrication process formed by behavior. The Sensible Energy System+ is an interactive fabrication process of virtual and real coexistence created by combining the already-existing technology, the prototype fabrication machine, and SENS. This process analyzes each step of the fabrication process and energy, fits it into the computing system mode to control the prototype fabrication machine, and reduces the problem between virtual and physical fabrication and energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrocatalytic conversion of water‐to‐hydrogen powered by renewable energy is one of the promising strategies to unravel the energy and environment crises. However, a such process usually costs large energy consumption owing to the low efficiency of anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is another vital half reaction of the overall water splitting (OWS) system. Herein, we designed and fabricated hollow nitrogen‐doped carbon nanocages loaded with Ni3N and Co nanoparticles derived from polyoxometalate‐encapsuled metal‐organic frameworks. The catalyst exhibited appealing dual functions for both OER and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), outperforming the Ni‐free and solid samples. Notably, the designed catalyst also showed much enhanced electrochemical performance for glycerol/glucose oxidation reaction when compared with OER. The home‐made two‐electrode electrolyzer, coupled HER with polyalcohol or glucose oxidation reaction, only needs cell voltages of 1.125 and 1.557 V to reach 10 mA cm−2, respectively, which are much smaller than that in 1 M KOH (2.087 V), demonstrating a large amount of energy saving for hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a precise lighting controller which can concurrently adjust and display the real-time illuminance of a working platform for solitary ocular comfort. It gives the user the provision to select the right amount of lux for a particular task by knowing illumination as endorsed by IES, which is supposed to receive on the desired working plane or area. The abovementioned controller provides a high degree of certainty for delivering energy savings without compromising ocular comfort. Besides, it can be considered as one of the rationales for the Demand-Side Management lighting technique. This idea is accomplished by integrating a microcontroller prototyping platform with three separate modules namely the controlling module, sensing & displaying module, and power supply module. Appropriate codes for the microcontroller were written, compiled, and uploaded by verifying through simulation. Finally, hardware implementation was done successfully and energy-saving prospects were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cement industry includes energy-intensive processes, e.g., clinker rotary kilns and clinker grate coolers. Clinker is obtained through chemical and physical reactions in a rotary kiln from raw meal; these reactions also involve combustion processes. The grate cooler is located downstream of the clinker rotary kiln with the purpose of suitably cooling the clinker. The clinker is cooled through the action of multiple cold air fan units as it is transported within the grate cooler. The present work describes a project where Advanced Process Control techniques are applied to a clinker rotary kiln and a clinker grate cooler. Model Predictive Control was selected as the main control strategy. Linear models with delays are obtained through ad hoc plant experiments and suitably included in the controllers' formulation. A cooperation and coordination policy is introduced between the kiln and the cooler controllers. The main objectives of the controllers are to control the rotary kiln and grate cooler critical process variables while minimizing the fuel/coal specific consumption of the kiln and the electric energy consumption of the cold air fan units within the cooler. The overall control system was installed on the real plant, obtaining significant results in terms of service factor and control and energy-saving performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to investigate the interior lighting environment of the registration room and waiting room of a bilateral lit clinic. Through measuring and comparing with computer-simulated values, exploring the lighting quality of the registration and waiting rooms of the clinic as well as calculating the energy consumption, an energy-saving and highly efficient lighting scheme that benefits the patients and medical staffs visually and psychologically is proposed. The results show that by reconfiguring the existing lighting scheme with LED lamps to the existing standards of 500 lux for the registration room and 200 lux for the waiting area, the energy use intensity is reduced by 10.6 W/m2, which is a 59% yearly saving, with an average payback period of 2.8 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, energy management systems are usually assessed as key to sustainable development goals. One of the best criteria for energy management systems in construction projects is Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA). This research is a quantitative-qualitative study based on a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model. This research involves four stages: library study, statistical survey, descriptive study, and case study. The review of previous studies showed that the LCEA and MCDM alone could not provide a comprehensive energy consumption management assessment model, due to inherent uncertainty and the existence of various analysis parameters; however, when are used in an integrated framework; the LCEA & MCDM hybrid approach serves as the best instruments to assess energy management systems. This research has proposed a newly developed hybrid multi-objective mathematical decision-making model to select appropriate and optimum options for all building shell components to optimize and manage the Cost and Energy of the Building Life Cycle. The life cycle energy analysis of an educational building in a case study showed that optimization using the proposed model saves about 16% of energy during the lifetime of the building. In addition, the investment payback period for this optimization is less than seven months in the first year of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The application influence of three typical sunrooms in rural houses were compared. • The additional sunroom has the best performance in the rural area in Southeast Shandong, China. • The order of influence of factors on the heating performance of the additional sunroom in rural houses was given. • Additional sunroom optimization suggestions based on different angles are proposed. The sunroom, a passive solar heat collecting component, is widely used in rural residential houses in Southeast Shandong Province, China. However, many forms of sunroom are applied in this area, and the impact of their application on the indoor thermal environment, energy-saving, and economy is unclear. In this paper, the influence of additional sunroom, courtyard sunroom, and additional sunroom coupling with courtyard sunroom on the indoor thermal environment are tested and studied. A comprehensive evaluation method based on the Energy Plus and dynamic investment payback period analysis is adopted to evaluate the energy-saving rate and economy. Furthermore, the optimization of the sunroom is performed, and the impact of seven key structural factors of sunroom for the indoor thermal environment, energy-saving, and economy was analyzed and evaluated. The additional sunroom has the best performance in improving the indoor thermal environment compared with the courtyard sunroom and the additional sunroom coupling with the courtyard sunroom. Compared to the typical additional sunroom existing in this area, the heating performance of the additional sunroom after comprehensive optimization is improved by 7.1%. Compared with the typical ordinary rural residential house without additional sunroom, the energy-saving rate of the additional sunroom after comprehensive optimization is 44.8 %, and the indoor temperature increases by 2.38 ℃. The conclusions will provide a theoretical basis for improving the indoor thermal environment of rural residential houses in Linyi and other areas in cold zones where solar energy resources are not abundant and the construction of rural residential houses with sunrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-saving extractive distillation for separating ethanol and 1,4-dioxane from the industrial effluent is proposed. From the point of COSMO-SAC model and thermodynamic insights, appropriate entrainer is screened. Ethylene glycol (EG) is chosen in direct extractive distillation process. Subsequently, it is observed that increasing the pressure can make the azeotropic point of ethanol and 1,4-dioxane disappear. Thus, both EG and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are used as entrainers in indirect extractive distillation (IED) process. The entropy generation of different sections of each column is analyzed. And then, heat integration and heat pump technologies are used to reduce more energy consumption. The comparison results show that the total annual cost (TAC), total energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and entropy generation of IED process with DMSO as entrainer (IED-DMSO) is smaller than those processes with EG as entrainer. The IED-DMSO process in combination with heat integration performs best, the TAC is reduced by 41.96%, energy consumption is reduced by 50.28%, CO 2 emissions is decreased by 50.28% and entropy generation is decreased by 57.46% comparison with the IED-EG process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy loss is one of the significant challenges in the Electric power industry and demands severe reduction methods. Therefore, this article aimed to illustrate the energy-saving in Iran using Long-Range Energy Alternative Planning model for sustainable development in developing countries. The scenarios, such as the reference scenario, the transmission and distribution losses reduction scenario, and efficiency improvement and losses reduction scenario, are also evaluated in this article, along with their impact on fuel consumption in Iran's thermal power plants. The results for power plants, fuel consumption in Reference, Transmission and Distribution Losses Reduction, and (Efficiency Improvement and Losses Reduction) scenarios were estimated at 260.6, 223.0, and 110.3 Bcm for 2040. According to the fuel type, the fuel consumed in power plants is -37.5 Bcm in the case of the Reference scenario compared with the Transmission and Distribution Losses Reduction scenario. In addition, fuel consumed in power plants is -131.5 Bcm in the case of the Reference scenario compared with the Ideal Efficiency scenario as 131.5 Bcm would be saved based on the fuel type. The savings will increase as 2040 draws closer. Also, the saved fuel by the Reference scenario was 150.2 Bcm compared to the efficiency improvement and losses reduction scenario for the final year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano‐porous super thermal insulation composites are an important component in refractory and play a key role in energy‐saving. In this work, we adopt dry preparation technology and high‐temperature sintering and use nano‐Al2O3 and nano‐SiO2 as the main materials to prepare nano‐Al2O3/SiO2‐based composites for a range of performance characterization. According to this study, the as‐prepared nano‐Al2O3/SiO2‐based composites exhibited a high porosity (77.4%–89.6%) and a low thermal conductivity (.06–.134 W/(m k) at 200–800°C). The most striking finding of this study was the nanostructure that was successfully constructed in nano‐Al2O3/SiO2‐based composites and exhibited a well hierarchical aperture distribution. The as‐prepared nano‐Al2O3/SiO2‐based composites could be widely applied in energy‐saving and heat preservation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: The whole bamboo mere made directly into cellulose composites, which greatly reduced massive energy consumption from the mechanical pre-processing process. The wall thickness of transparent whole bamboo can reach 6.23 mm. The modified whole bamboo possesses excellent optical transmittance of about 60% at 6.23 mm, the illuminance of 1000 luminance (lux), water absorption stability (the mass change rate less than 4%), longitudinal tensile strength (46.40 MPa), and surface properties (80.2 HD). The combination of excellent transmittance, mechanical properties, surface properties, thermal performance, and electromagnetic shielding properties makes this composite attractive in areas such as transparent, energy-saving, and electromagnetic shielding buildings. Currently, light-transmitting, energy-saving, and electromagnetic shielding materials are essential for reducing indoor energy consumption and improving the electromagnetic environment. Here, we developed a cellulose composite with excellent optical transmittance that retained the natural shape and fiber structure of bamboo. The modified whole bamboo possessed an impressive optical transmittance of approximately 60% at 6.23 mm, illuminance of 1000 luminance (lux), water absorption stability (mass change rate less than 4%), longitudinal tensile strength (46.40 MPa), and surface properties (80.2 HD). These were attributed to not only the retention of the natural circular hollow structure of the bamboo rod on the macro, but also the complete bamboo fiber skeleton template impregnated with UV resin on the micro. Moreover, a multilayered device consisting of translucent whole bamboo, transparent bamboo sheets, and electromagnetic shielding film exhibited remarkable heat insulation and heat preservation performance as well as an electromagnetic shielding performance of 46.3 dB. The impressive optical transmittance, mechanical properties, thermal performance, and electromagnetic shielding abilities combined with the renewable and sustainable nature, as well as the fast and efficient manufacturing process, make this bamboo composite material suitable for effective application in transparent, energy-saving, and electromagnetic shielding buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the use of Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) materials as an option for the energy efficiency enhancement of HVAC systems is investigated. In particular, the possibility of using MOFs as dehumidifying materials to reduce the latent load associated with the moisture content of the airflows is studied. A literature review is proposed, highlighting the benefits of using MOFs instead of other adsorbents (e.g., silica-gel) and discussing the unique features (high water uptake capacity and low regeneration temperatures) that make MOFs a preferential desiccant. The possibility to finely tune these properties is also underlined, reporting some explicative examples. A theoretical proposal of a psychrometric transformation, to be performed in a HVAC system equipped with a MOF-Assisted Dehumidifier (MAD), is presented. This transformation is compared with a traditional one (cooling and dehumidification operated by a cooling coil with low temperatures of the coolant). The preliminary numerical simulations, conducted on a reference case study in Florence, Italy, show an estimated energy saving of 30–50%, leading us to consider the use of this technology as a very competitive one in the air-conditioning sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar heat gain and natural ventilation cooling of the indoor environment in buildings are highly influenced by the shading and openable area of windows. In addition to the ambient condition, the Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system's mode of use can affect the windows' performance, especially when multiple modes are used in combination (mixed-mode). Although many studies have investigated the mixed-mode application, their conditions for starting/shutting down HVAC equipment and controlling window ventilation are inconsistent with the relevant codes. Here, we propose a mixed-mode operation that resolves the gap between the air conditioning operation temperature and the adaptive comfort upper temperature. It investigates residential buildings' indoor thermal environment and energy efficiency by combining the effective ventilation opening area ratio (REV) and shading design. Simulation results show that our mixed-mode can reduce the indoor overheating hours by about 50% and the building's energy consumption by about 50%. We thereby conclude that the openable area of exterior windows in residential buildings in Chongqing should not be less than 10% of the room's floor axis area where the exterior windows are located. In general, our study expands the existing knowledge of passive energy-saving measures and provides a method for further research on building energy design in hot summer and cold winter regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in energy demand as the world population grows, as well as the competition in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, force producers to work hard on developing cost‐effective production technologies. Upfront nitrogen removal (UNR) before the LNG plant's cold section is considered a promising option to save energy that would otherwise be wasted to cool down a large volume of unused nitrogen in the gas stream. In this study, the use of the lithium cycle (Li‐Cy) as a cost‐effective method for UNR is investigated. The Li‐Cy is compromised of three stages: lithium chemisorption of nitrogen (ChemN2 ${\mathrm{Chem}}_{{{\rm{N}}}_{2}}$), hydrolysis of lithium nitride (HydLi3N ${\mathrm{Hyd}}_{{\mathrm{Li}}_{3}{\rm{N}}}$), and electrowinning (Elec.‐w) of the final product to precipitate lithium metal for further reuse. The relevant chemistry, applicability, economic, and future challenges of Li‐Cy as a UNR technology from natural gas (NG) were explored and discussed. The main challenges that required further investigation to apply Li‐Cy to large‐scale applications were highlighted for future works. The literature review revealed that Li‐Cy can spontaneously remove nitrogen from NG even at low temperatures and produces ammonia as a valuable hydrogen storage material. The used lithium can be regenerated via HydLi3N ${\mathrm{Hyd}}_{{\mathrm{Li}}_{3}{\rm{N}}}$ and Elec.‐w and reused again many times. The cost of the Li‐Cy can be compensated by energy savings, the increase in production rate, and by selling the generated ammonia. Calculations showed that selling the produced ammonia from LNG plants with capacity in the range of 1–5 MTPA would not only offset the costs of Li‐Cy but would generate a net profit of $21MM to $103MM, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mobile edge computing environment, users can offload local computing-intensive tasks to the edge server, thereby shortening the completion time of the workflow and saving equipment energy consumption. However, many studies have neglected the influence of network connection changes caused by user movement on workflow scheduling. In view of the unreasonable unloading problem in the existing algorithms, a workflow scheduling algorithm MaWS is proposed. The algorithm predicts the user’s movement trajectory to obtain a set of future communicable base stations, and incorporates genetic algorithms to formulate reasonable task execution sequence and execution position. The simulation results show that compared with algorithms such as HEFT and Greedy, the MaWS algorithm can effectively shorten the completion time of the workflow by 10% to 15% and reduce the energy consumption of the equipment by 8% to 13%, which indicates that the proposed MaWS algorithm is an effective solution for workflow scheduling under mobile edge computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web virtual reality (WebVR) is gaining increasing attention as interactive VR experiences become more prevalent. The high energy consumption and strict quality requirements are still significant challenges for its application in the mobile edge network. In this context, content caching and task offloading are promising solutions to save the energy of WebVR. This paper proposes a hybrid decentralized offloading architecture in which the MEC server and multiple terminals jointly participate in the caching and processing of WebVR tasks. In this framework, the graph convolutional network and unsupervised clustering algorithm are jointly applied to process the WebVR service feature graph to achieve FoV-level content caching. Moreover, WebVR users with idle computing resources assist neighboring users with performing tasks. On this basis, we propose a distributed low-bound-based alternative direction method of multiplier (LADMM) algorithm to optimize the offloading mode and the allocation of tasks and computing power resources to minimize system energy consumption. The proposed offloading mode can lower energy consumption while maintaining a good balance between delay performance and resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NiFe spinel material itself has good thermal stability and emissivity and can be prepared as an infrared high radiation coating for energy saving applications in industrial high temperature furnace applications. In this study, Cr3+ and Cu2+ doped spinel NiFe 2 O 4 was prepared by solid phase reaction at 1250 °C for 3 h and the microstructure and physicochemical properties of the powder and coating were characterised by XRD, SEM, EDS and IR radiometry. The effect of Cr3+ and Cu2+ doping on the infrared emissivity of spinel NiFe 2 O 4 was investigated and energy saving assessment was carried out in a resistance furnace. The results show that the doping of Cr3+ and Cu2+ can significantly affect the emissivity of spinel powders in the 2.5–10 μm band, and the coatings prepared from the four powders have an emissivity of up to 0.95 in the 2.5–10 μm band. using this high temperature infrared radiation energy saving coating in a resistance furnace resulted in significant energy savings compared to no coating. The furnace was tested for energy saving by holding the furnace for 2 h and 5 h, and the energy saving efficiency reached 20.7% and 17.0% respectively. The coating was subjected to 10 thermal shock tests from room temperature to 700 °C. The coating bonded well and had good thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the coating has wide application prospects for energy saving applications in the field of industrial high temperature furnaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the most energy-intensive industries. Every stage of wastewater treatment consumes energy, which is the primary contributor to WWTP costs. Adsorbents and process optimization are critical for energy savings. The removal of dyes from industrial wastewater by adsorption using commercially available adsorbents is inefficient. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have outstanding properties that can improve separation performance over current commercial adsorbents, and thus, these materials represent a milestone in improving dye removal in water treatment methods. In this work, three types of metal–organic frameworks (Fe-BTC, Cu-BTC, and ZIF-8) have been investigated as prospective adsorbents for methyl orange removal from water in batch setups. The results showed that at 15 mg/L MO initial concentration and 100 mg dosage, Fe-BTC had the highest removal efficiency of 91%, followed by ZIF-8 (63%), and finally Cu-BTC (35%), which exhibited structural damage due to its instability in water. Fe-BTC maintained consistent adsorption capacity over a wide range of pH values. Furthermore, a 23 full factorial design analysis was implemented to evaluate the conditions for maximum MO-removal efficiency. The main effects, interaction effects, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Pareto chart were reported. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the MOF type was the most significant factor, followed by dosage and initial concentration. The analysis indicated that the type of MOF and dosage had a positive effect on the removal efficiency, while the initial concentration had a negative effect. The two-way and three-way interactions were also found to be significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The AEMR-pNIPAM copolymeric hydrogel films with tunable LCST are developed through free radical polymerization. • Cs 0.33 WO 3 nanoparticles synthesized through high-yield method with AEMR surfactant to enhance the NIR shielding efficiency. • Thermoresponsive flexible composite hydrogel film with high NIR shielding ability is used for smart windows and curtains. • This composite hydrogel film exhibits good solar modulation ability and thermal insulation performance. Thermoresponsive flexible smart windows and smart curtains having high near-infrared (NIR) shielding and tuned visible light transmittance are essential for improving the energy efficiency of the buildings. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) hydrogel film was precisely modified to a desired LCST value at 27.4 °C through the free radical copolymerization with 10 wt% of acrylated epoxidized methyl ricinoleate (AEMR). Cs 0.33 WO 3 as NIR shielding nanoparticles (particle size < 200 nm) were synthesized via high energy ball milling method with AEMR as a surfactant for high NIR shielding efficiency and dispersion—the composite flexible hydrogel films with different wt% (0.3, 0.5,0.7, and 0.9 wt%) of Cs 0.33 WO 3 nanoparticles were fabricated to analyze the NIR shielding efficiency and thermal insulation performance. The copolymeric hydrogel film with 0.7 wt% of Cs 0.33 WO 3 nanoparticles (0.7-CWO) demonstrates a significant reduction in the NIR transmittance (15.0 % to 2.3 %) and variation in visible light transmittance from 73.6 % to 15.7 % while undergoing temperature-induced phase transition. The smart window fabricated with composite hydrogel film exhibits good integral luminous transmittance (T lum , 380–780 nm, 68.7 %, below LCST) and justifiable solar modulation ability (ΔT sol , 300–2500 nm, 53.6 %). A model house was designed to monitor the indoor temperature difference, and a noticeable variation of 7 °C was observed in the house with and without 0.7-CWO film. Further, the developed composite material showed improvement in flexibility, water resistance, and thermal stability, confirming its usage for energy-saving smart windows or smart curtains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The photochromic microcapsules containing Si-O-Si bonds were prepared for fabricating smart windows. • The photochromic microcapsule-coated glass exhibited self-adaptive control of sunlight. • A 3.7 °C reduction of indoor air temperature can be achieved by the smart windows. • The photochromic microcapsules hold great promise for next-generation of smart-window technology for energy savings. Photochromic microcapsules adjust to sunlight adaptively and using them to fill windows is an attractive option for constructing smart windows that can manage solar heat and daylight. However, fabricating high-durability polymer-composite photochromic microcapsules for use in outdoor glass windows remains challenging, requiring high contrast ratio, high transparency, and low haze. Herein, we synthesized a novel poly(urea-siloxane) shell monomer containing Si-O-Si bonds and successfully prepared a photochromic microcapsule by modulating the mass ratios of shell monomers and emulsifiers. The photochromic poly(urea-siloxane)-based microcapsule-coated glass (PCPUS MCG) showed high luminance transmittance (83.66 %) and low haze (20.31 %). The as-prepared PCPUS MCG exhibited self-adaptive sunlight control without additional energy input, with strong solar modulation ability (Δτ sol of 38.30 %). Furthermore, the response indoor air temperature was reduced by approximately 3.7 °C in a field test using a model house equipped with PCPUS MCG windows, showing promising energy-saving potential compared with conventional windows. Therefore, uniform photochromic-microcapsule modification using Si-O-Si bonds warrants attention in future energy-saving window designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sail-assisted ships have garnered widespread interest as a sustainable technology. The three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) stabilized system of ship propulsion-assisted sail is used to track the optimal azimuth of the sail and isolate the swaying of the ship's hull. In this paper, the problem of tracking control for the system with prescribed performance is investigated. By using an appointed-time prescribed performance function (APPF), a novel bi-limit homogeneous sliding surface with expected trajectory is proposed to improve the convergence rate, accuracy, and overshoot. Considering the external disturbance, a wind resistance model is established and compensated to reduce the conservatism and chattering. Adaptive extreme learning machines (AELMs) are employed to estimate the mismatch parameters caused by Reynolds number fluctuations and unmodelled dynamics. Finally, an adaptive bi-limit homogeneous sliding mode controller is constructed, by which the system can track the 3-DOF target signals with prescribed performance and suppress disturbances. The fixed-time reachability of the system is verified by Lyapunov analysis and fixed-time theory. To validate the effectiveness of the presented controller, numerical simulations and principle prototype experiments are conducted. The results are compared with other algorithms and show that regardless of the control performance or energy-saving benefits, the proposed method has a better effect. • A control for 3-DOF stabilized system of ship propulsion-assisted sail is designed. • A novel bi-limit homogeneous sliding surface with expected trajectory is proposed. • A wind resistance model is established and compensated to reduce conservatism. • The optimization effect on control and energy saving is verified experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]