Review on Materials Used for Enhancing the Efficiency of Solar Cells

Global resources are limited and mindless use of them will finally lead to a scarcity. The need of the hour is to find the alternative energy resources which are abundant in nature and which deviate us from using fossils fuels. Solar Energy has gained a significant popularity in the past few decades as it is clean, meaning it does not release greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants. It is also an abundant source of energy as it is available till the existence of the planet. Unlike fossil fuels, which are finite and cannot be replenished for thousands of years. Another drawback of fossil fuels is that they emit greenhouse gases and contribute to global climate change. Solar energy is an important technology for many reasons and has become a popular topic as many scientists around the world are working to increase the photo-electron conversion efficiency with minimum production cost. Diversified approaches have been undertaken to enhance the efficiency of solar cell. This paper will review the current state of art on photovoltaic cells (PVCs) in context to the materials used for fabrication, their possible cost and their working efficiency. This paper will also undertake the challenges that came across during the whole process and their possible solutions.

The use of banana peels as raw materials of bio-alcohol production

Indonesia’s energy demand has increased in recent years in line with the increase in economic growth and population in Indonesia. Most of this energy is derived from non-renewable sources such as oil, natural gas, and coal. These trends will have a significant impact on energy depletion. One solution to overcome this problem is developing alternative energy resources to replace petroleum, such as bio-alcohol. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential of bio-alcohol production from organic waste, that is, banana peel. This research is experimental. Bio-alcohol was obtained through a fermentation process of 3 types of banana peels waste, including Raja banana (Musa acuminata×M. balbisiana) peel, Agung banana (Musa paradisiaca) peel, and Nangka banana (Musa acuminata×M. balbisiana) peel. Fermentation was conducted using variations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae of 1%, 3%, and 5% with a fermentation time of 5 days. All experiments were performed in duplicate. The results showed that the highest value of bio-alcohol was produced from the waste of Raja Nangka peel at a concentration of 5% Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which was 1.70% (p-value <0.05). This study suggests the potential of banana peel waste in producing bio-alcohol as alternative energy in the future.

Progress in Catalytic Pyrolysis of Oil Shale

This paper briefly describes the research status of oil shale pyrolysis technology and the main factors affecting oil shale pyrolysis, with emphasis on four kinds of commonly used catalysts: The effects of natural minerals, metal compounds, molecular sixes, and supported catalysts on the pyrolysis of oil shale were discussed. The changes of the pyrolysis mechanism and product composition of oil shale with the addition of different catalysts were discussed. Finally, the development direction of preparation of new catalysts was discussed, in order to provide a prospect for the development and utilization of unconventional and strategic alternative energy resources around the world.

Wind, hydro and solar energy challenges for Technical Vocational and Training (TVET) electrical entrepreneur in Malaysia: A review

Renewable energy is one of the alternative energy resources in Malaysia to replace fossil fuel use, which is an important issue that needs to be established. Some of the possible renewable energy sources are wind, hydro and solar. Since 2019, various incentives announced by the Malaysian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (KeTSA) to enhance renewable energy development which is in line with Government Energy policy. However, today, in contrast to the participation of investors and international contractors, the presence of entrepreneurs and domestic workers in this sector is feeble. In this regard, the Technical Vocational and Training (TVET) institution is seen to have the potential to minimize this crisis by creating competent, skilled and competitive electrical entrepreneurs for the field of renewable energy. This paper explores the ability of TVET electrical entrepreneurs to participate in renewable energy businesses. Based on the literature on energy entrepreneur development, it was found that the TVET electrical entrepreneur faces four challenges, namely financial, technology costs, logistics and government support. The proposed future development of renewable energy is in Mini-hydro and solar photovoltaic (PV), while wind power does not seem viable to TVET electricity entrepreneurs.

Design Analysis on Transient, Steady-State and Fault Condition of the Grid connected Renewable Energy Systems and its Correction Techniques

In the recent years, using the existing electrical resources to meet the electrical power demand is a challenging one. To address the issues, an alternative energy resources are bringing together to support the existing resources. And it is known that integrating the electrical resources together having lot more technical issues because of their unique features. So bringing them into the common platform and making them together is a wise solution. This paper also an attempt to address one of the issues on the electrical resources integration in the common DC bus structure. In the common bus, various loads with different ratings use to be connected and its recurrent changes such as ON and OFF are not in the control. Due to this the electrical stress in the common bus will increase. In order to minimize the variations a compensation mechanism must be used for avoiding the disturbance during transient, steady-state and fault conditions.

Transesterification of Pyrolysed Castor Seed Oil in the Presence of CaCu(OCH3)2 Catalyst

Energy consumption is on the rise due to rapid technological progress and a higher standard of living. The use of alternative energy resources is essential to meet the rising energy demand and mitigate the carbon emissions caused due to use of fossil-based fuels. Biodiesel produced from non-edible oils such as castor seed oil (CO) can be used in diesel engines to replace fossil diesel. However, the quality and yields for CO biodiesel is low due to the presence of ricinolic acid C18:1OH (79%). In this study, two-stage conversion techniques were used to improve the yields and properties of CO biodiesel. The catalyst CaCu(OCH3)2 was prepared from waste eggshell and synthesized with copper oxide in the presence of methanol. The castor oil was subjected to pyrolysis at 450–500 ℃ and then transesterified in the presence of modified catalyst. The reaction parameters such as methanol-to-oil ratio and catalyst and reaction time were investigated, and the optimum combination was used to produce castor biodiesel from pyrolysis castor oil. Results showed that the cetane number and oxidation stability were increased by 7% and 42% respectively. The viscosity, density, flash point, and iodine value were decreased by 52%, 3%, 5% and 6%, respectively. The calorific values remained the same. This study suggests that pyrolyzed castor seed oil followed by transesterification in the presence of a modified catalyst gave better fuel properties and yields than the conventional transesterification process for biodiesel fuel production.

A Review on Biosurfactant Applications in the Petroleum Industry

The inadequacy of worldwide fossil fuel resources, combined with increasing energy demands, encourages global attention to either using alternative energy resources or improving the recovery factor and produce larger quantities from present reservoirs. Among all enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods, surfactant injection is a well-known technique that reduces the interfacial tension (IFT) between oil and water and increases oil production. Despite numerous advantages of using surfactants, there are also a few obstacles like environmental impacts, high cost, effect on humans and other organisms due to toxicological potential, and availability from nonrenewable resources. Biosurfactants are microbial surface-active agents that decrease the surface tension (ST) of a liquid phase and the IFT of two diverse phases. They are biotechnological products of high value owing to their widespread applications, low toxicity, relatively easy preparation, and specific performance, applied in different industries like organic chemicals and fertilizers, agrochemicals, metallurgy and mining, cosmetics, foods, medical and pharmaceuticals, beverages, environmental management, and petroleum and petrochemical applications in emulsifying and demulsifying wetting agents, detergent spreading and foaming agents, and functional food ingredients. Biosurfactants are synthesized by microbes; therefore, various genetic diversities of microorganisms provide the considerable capability to produce new types of biosurfactants, which can develop EOR technology. Biosurfactants are classified into ex situ and in situ MEOR processes. The genera Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, and Actinobacteria are the foremost biosurfactant-producing bacteria. This paper reviews relevant reports and results from various presented papers by researchers and companies on applications of microorganisms and biosurfactant technology with specific emphasis on EOR and MEOR processes, based on recently published articles since 2010 until now.

Effect of Anolyte pH on the Performance of a Dual-Chambered Microbial Fuel Cell Operated with Different Biomass Feed

Finding sustainable alternative energy resources and treating wastewater are the two most important issues that need to be solved. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has demonstrated a tremendous potential in bioelectricity generation with wastewater treatment. Since wastewater can be used as a source of electrolyte for the MFC, the salient point of this study was to investigate the effect of pH on bioelectricity production using various biomass feed (wastewater and river water) as the anolyte in a dual-chambered MFC. Maximum extents of power density (1459.02 mW·m−2), current density (1288.9 mA·m−2), and voltage (1132 mV) were obtained at pH 8 by using Bhairab river water as a feedstock in the MFC. A substantial extent of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal (94%) as well as coulombic efficiency (41.7%) was also achieved in the same chamber at pH 8. The overall performance of the MFC, in terms of bioelectricity generation, COD removal, and coulombic efficiency, indicates a plausible utilization of the MFC for wastewater treatment as well as bioelectricity production.