scholarly journals Photobiological hydrogen as a renewable fuel

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Vidya Jose

The huge global energy consumption has raised concerns over the depletion in readily available conventional energy resources. Besides, there are harmful atmospheric effects of fossil fuels and the qualms of future energy resources. The world hence is in dire need of new renewable energy sources that are cheap, non-polluting, environmentally friendly, and clean. This is the only way we can stop using fossil. Hydrogen is considered as an ideal fuel for the future because of its high energy content and its clean combustion to water. However, extensive technologies are required to introduce hydrogen as an alternative clean and cost-effective future fuel, which brings about the relevance of the exploitation of the microorganisms for large-scale renewable energy production. Reports of photobiological hydrogen production by oxygenic photosynthetic microbes, such as green algae and cyanobacteria and by anaerobic photosynthesis, are summarized in this paper, with a focus on the major obstacles that must be overcome by scientific and technical breakthroughs to make way for commercially feasible energy. The principle, progress, and prognosis of photobiological hydrogen as a renewable energy source are reviewed.

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladan Mićić ◽  
Pero Dugić ◽  
Zoran Petrović ◽  
Milorad Tomić

The use of fossil fuels results in global warming and pollution. In comparison with fossil fuels biofuels represent an eco-friendly, biodegradable, sustainable, cost-competitive and promising alternative energy source. They contain high energy content and do not contribute to greenhouse effect. Therefore, using cheap or renewable resources as the feedstock for biofuels production has a great potential in terms of a major contribution to future energy supply. The production and use of biofuels is already well established and a further promotion of these fuels such as lipid biofuels (bioethanol, pure plant oils and biodiesel) and gas biofuels (biomethane, biohydrogen) mainly depends on non-technical issues, such as policies and cost–effectiveness. Biofuels will definitely stay for the foreseeable future and still can continue to provide the earth and the human population with a relatively clean source of energy with several benefits such as economic benefits of providing employment and health benefits of reduced carbon emissions, leading to cleaner air. With increasing sophistication of technology and intense research and development done, one can safely infer that biofuel will become more appealing and applicable for use on a globally commercial level. As such, biofuel is acknowledged as the Earth’s future energy source. Until a newer and cleaner energy source is discovered, scientists will definitely persist in researching and enhancing biofuels to make them more cost-effective, while still being environmentally friendly.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Hu

A comprehensive case study on life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) was conducted on a two- story education building with a projected 40-year lifespan in College Park, Maryland. The aim of this paper was to (1) create a life cycle assessment model, using an education building to test the model, (2) compare the life cycle cost (LCC) of different renovation scenarios, taking into account added renewable energy resources to achieve the university’s overall carbon neutrality goal, and (3) verify the robustness of the LCC model by conducting sensitivity analysis and studying the influence of different variables. Nine renovation scenarios were constructed by combining six renovation techniques and three renewable energy resources. The LCCA results were then compared to understand the cost-effective relation between implementing energy reduction techniques and renewable energy sources. The results indicated that investing in energy-efficient retrofitting techniques was more cost-effective than investments in renewable energy sources in the long term. In the optimum scenario, renovation and renewable energy, when combined, produced close to a 90% reduction in the life cycle cost compared to the baseline. The payback period for the initial investment cost, including avoided electricity costs, varies from 1.4 to 4.1 years. This suggests that the initial investment in energy-efficient renovation is the primary factor in the LCC of an existing building.


2020 ◽  
pp. 59-79
Author(s):  
Sergey Nikonorov ◽  
Konstantin Papenov ◽  
Denis Sergeyev

Renewable energy is a rapidly developing area of the modern economy. As many experts forecast, global electricity consumption will double by 2050, while the share of renewable sources in energy generation will be 50%. For most states, the main incentives for the development of renewable energy are the ability to eliminate the consumption of fossil fuels and reduce the level of emissions of pollutants, while ensuring sustainable development of the country. At the same time, Russia, which has significant reserves of natural resources, is in no hurry to switch to the use of energy from renewable sources since it is believed that the country’s subsoil can provide it with cheap energy resources for many generations to come. Therefore, introduction of renewable energy sources that are unable to compete with traditional energy without a developed energy infrastructure and established production is impractical. In our study we try to evaluate the efficiency of the introduction of renewable energy sources in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Russia using the example of the Chinese experience.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1283
Author(s):  
Zeineb Thiehmed ◽  
Abdul Shakoor ◽  
Talal Altahtamouni

The energy from fossil fuels has been recognized as a main factor of global warming and environmental pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to replace fossil fuels with clean, cost-effective, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly fuel to solve the future energy crisis of the world. Therefore, the development of clean, sustainable, and renewable energy sources is a prime concern. In this regard, solar energy-driven hydrogen production is considered as an overriding opening for renewable and green energy by virtue of its high energy efficiency, high energy density, and non-toxicity along with zero emissions. Water splitting is a promising technology for producing hydrogen, which represents a potentially and environmentally clean fuel. Water splitting is a widely known process for hydrogen production using different techniques and materials. Among different techniques of water splitting, electrocatalytic and photocatalytic water splitting using semiconductor materials have been considered as the most scalable and cost-effective approaches for the commercial production of sustainable hydrogen. In order to achieve a high yield of hydrogen from these processes, obtaining a suitable, efficient, and stable catalyst is a significant factor. Among the different types of semiconductor catalysts, tungsten disulfide (WS2) has been widely utilized as a catalytic active material for the water-splitting process, owing to its layered 2D structure and its interesting chemical, physical, and structural properties. However, WS2 suffers from some disadvantages that limit its performance in catalytic water splitting. Among the various techniques and strategies that have been constructed to overcome the limitations of WS2 is heterostructure construction. In this process, WS2 is coupled with another semiconducting material in order to facilitate the charge transfer and prevent the charge recombination, which will enhance the catalytic performance. This review aims to summarize the recent studies and findings on WS2 and its heterostructures as a catalyst in the electrocatalytic and photocatalytic water-splitting processes.


Author(s):  
Tarla Rai Peterson ◽  
Cristi C. Horton

Transitioning to renewable energy systems requires changing the ways people interact with energy as well as technological change. This shift involves social changes that include modifications in norms, policies, and governance. Multiple sociopolitical factors shape the likelihood that solar energy will emerge as a significant component in energy systems around the world. This article describes ways climate change communication may be strategically employed to encourage substantial deployment of solar installations and other renewable energy resources as part of the innovations that contribute to transition and transformation of current energy systems. Understanding how communication may contribute to integration of more solar power into energy systems begins with examining current public awareness of and engagement with solar energy, as well as other low-carbon energy resources. With this foundation, climate change communication can contribute to research, development, and deployment of solar energy installations, by facilitating strategic alignment of solar energy with existing interests and preferences of its stakeholders. These stakeholders include elites who fear that shifting the energy system away from fossil fuels threatens their political influence and financial profits, energy workers who fear it will bring further reductions in already reduced wages, and those who perceive fossil fuels as the only alternative to opportunistic mixtures of animal waste and biofuel. Climate change communicators have the unenviable task of helping all of these groups imagine and participate in transitioning energy systems toward greater reliance on renewable energy sources, such as Sun. This article briefly describes the development and implementation solar energy technologies, and suggests how strategic communication may contribute to further implementation. It concludes with examples of differential deployment trajectories of solar energy in the Navajo Nation and Germany. These cases demonstrate that neither the endowment of natural resources nor the material energy needs of a location fully explain energy decisions. Indeed, social dimensions such as culture, economics, and governance play equally important roles. This provides numerous opportunities for climate change communicators to strategically highlight the ways that solar energy responds to immediate needs and desires, while simultaneously contributing to climate change mitigation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 2471-2479 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. H. Jensen ◽  
C. Graves ◽  
M. Mogensen ◽  
C. Wendel ◽  
R. Braun ◽  
...  

Electricity storage is needed on an unprecedented scale to sustain the ongoing transition of electricity generation from fossil fuels to intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1116 ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neelima Mahato ◽  
Mohd Omaish Ansari ◽  
Moo Hwan Cho

The renewable energy sources had been known to humankind since the very beginning of the human civilization, though practiced in very primitive forms. The first civilization and subsequent greater civilizations, came up, existed, and flourished at or near river valley/basins. Rivers provided water for irrigation, domestic utilization, transportation; overall development of the entire civilization. In the latter years, the increase in the human population and certain revolutionary inventions and discoveries like fire, the wheel, and domestication of cattle and animals led the movement and spread of the human populations in the other parts of the globe far from river irrigated lands. Humans learnt to utilize underground waters and harvest rainwater for living and survival. In the course of development, there also increased demand for more energy and its storage so that it can be utilized as and when required. This brought humankind to discover the laws of thermodynamics, emergence of combustion engines, electromagnetic induction, electricity and storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors. The development has been revolutionized since last few centuries with increasing demand of energy with growing industries and a faster life. Nowadays, because of massive exploitation of fossil resources for fuel and electricity, and concerns of global warming, exploring renewable energy alternatives are gaining momentum. Of many renewable resources, viz., sun, wind, water, geothermal, biomass, etc., the biomass energy is the most widely studied one in terms of both, published literature and wide social acceptance across the globe followed by solar and wind energy.The chapter presents the potential alternatives to non-renewable energy resources, mechanism and machinery to draw and exploit the energy in the usable or utilizable form; past, present, recent progresses and future scope of the ongoing researches on this subject. The chapter also deals with the relative merits or pros and cons of the massive and large scale installation of machinery to produce electricity from some of the noteworthy renewable energy resources, such as, wind, water and sun, which is affecting the local environment or natural habitats, flora and fauna; overall influence on the delicate balance of the ecosystem.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-183
Author(s):  
K.R. Kamil ◽  
A.O. Yusuf ◽  
S.A. Yakubu ◽  
S.B. Seriki

Majority of electricity generation in Nigeria comes from fossil fuels, with about two-thirds of thermal power derived from natural gas and the rest from oil, resulting in the emission of carbon dioxide (𝐶𝑂2). With the prevailing global climate change, shifting to renewable energy would reduce the greenhouse gas emission which would be the salvaging option to help our degrading environment. The aim of the resource’s hybridization process is to generate enough electricity that would help the supplementing for the inadequate electricity supply in the local province at the least detrimental effect on the environment. This work discusses the renewable energy potential of Nigeria and raises the possibility of having Nigeria electricity grid powered by small, medium and large-scale renewable energy systems. The hybridised power generation system simulations were done using HOMER simulation software. The hybridisation of the resources was able to generate 149,313 kWh/yr to adequately sustain the estimated electrical load of 126,027kWh/yr. Conclusively, cost effectiveness of the individual and hybridised systems was also considered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Amirali Razzaghipour

With the industrialization of the world, energy resources need management more than anything else. Because today we live in an energy-dependent world, we need energy to generate heat and cold, to create light, to start car engines, to run factory gears, to harvest crops, and so on. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the need for efficiency of energy sources management in sustainable architecture was conducted. In this research, a descriptive-analytical method has been used to look at the concept of energy resources management and sustainable development and their relationship, to study renewable energy sources in Iran and to propose proposed solutions in this regard. The results show that energy management requires the presentation of policies by managers of a country and also requires public education at the community level. Achieving sustainable development also requires access to sustainable energy sources that non-renewable energy and fossil fuels are not suitable sources in this regard due to unsustainability, but renewable energy will remain for future generations if used, unlike fossil fuels. They will not lead to pollution and global warming. Undoubtedly, by replacing renewable energies with non-renewable energies, the steps taken towards sustainable development will become stronger. In addition to these issues, the epidemic and the increase in the number of victims and victims of the Covid-19 virus, which led to the closure of oil fields, refineries, mines, etc., was another blow to the managers and officials of countries to find out more than ever the only solution to these problems is referring to renewable energy.


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