Application of the Renewable Energy Sources at District Scale—A Case Study of the Suburban Area

The protection of the natural environment and countering global warming are crucial worldwide issues. The residential sector has a significant impact on overall energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is extremely important to focus on all of the activities that can result in more energy efficient and sustainable city scale areas, preventing global warming. The highest improvement in the energy efficiency of existing buildings is possible by combining their deep refurbishment and the use of renewable energy sources (RES), where solar energy appears to be the best for application in buildings. Modernizations that provide full electrification seem to be a trend towards providing modern, energy efficient and environmentally friendly, smart buildings. Moreover, switching from an analysis at the single building level to the district scale allows us to develop more sustainable neighborhoods, following the urban energy modelling (UEM) paradigm. Then, it is possible to use the energy cluster (EC) concept, focusing on energy-, environmental- and economic-related aspects of an examined region. In this paper, an actual Polish suburban district is examined using the home-developed TEAC software. The software is briefly described and compared with other computer codes applied for UEM. In this study, the examined suburban area is modernized, assuming buildings’ deep retrofitting, the application of RES and energy storage systems, as well as usage of smart metering techniques. The proposed modernizations assumed full electrification of the cluster. Moreover, the examined scenarios show potential electricity savings up to approximately 60%, as well as GHG emission reduction by 90% on average. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is a valid method to estimate various energy- and environment-related issues of modernization for actual residential clusters.

Amine-Ionic Liquid Blends in CO2 Capture Process for Sustainable Energy and Environment

In the present work, an experiment for CO2 capture process were performed by absorption using various aqueous solvent blends of amine and ionic liquids. The solvent blends were prepared for various compositions by mixing TetraButylAmmonium Acetate [TBA][OAC] and TetraButylAmmonium Bromide [TBA][Br] ionic liquids with Monoethanolamine (MEA). The obtained results were compared with baseline MEA. It was observed that capture efficiency of CO2, absorption rate of CO2 and CO2 diffusion coefficient of MEA-[TBA][OAC] and MEA-[TBA][Br] solvent blends were comparatively higher than baseline 30%MEA. Moreover, the parameters such as density, viscosity, pH, carbon loading and surface tension of all the solvent blends were measured for before and after absorption process. The carbon loading of solvent blends MEA-[TBA][Br] (0.405 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) and MEA-[TBA][OAC](0.459 mole of CO2/mole of solvent) was slightly lower than baseline MEA (0.494 mole of CO2/mole of solvent). However, the viscosity of MEA-[TBA][Br] blends were remarkably lower than MEA-[TBA][OAC] blend and baseline MEA. This might be an important key factor in solvent recovery process with lesser energy demand for sustainable energy and environment.

Mesocrystal TiO2 films: In-situ Topotactic Transformation and Application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Thin film ceramics and semiconductors play an important role in energy- and environment- related areas such as photovoltaics, energy storage and water purification. The morphology and structure of materials significantly...

Feedstock: A Solution to Energy and Environment Sustainability

Background: Scarcity of resources, the energy crisis, environmental pollution and climate change are the central challenges that people will have to face in the years to come. Nowadays, agricultural, food and industrial waste is generated in large quantities, which poses a serious problem in its management and disposal. Objective: Feedstocks play a vital role in solving energy and environmental problems. All renewable, biological substances that are used directly as fuel or converted into another form of energy or fuel products are referred to as feedstocks. Biomass is also a clean and renewable feedstock option; also be an excellent alternative to conventional fuels. Method: Renewable fuels are cleaner than traditional coal and petroleum, which reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Various methods could be used to achieve sustainable development methods that not only lead to better waste management. Nevertheless, they could also generate industrially important materials, chemicals, fuels and valuable end products from waste. Results: This review provides an overview of the global scenario for the feedstock. In addition, this paper examines the role of feedstocks in solving energy and environmental issues. Conclusion: This paper sheds light on the issue of environmental impact in order to achieve overall sustainability. Finally, the merits of the feedstock technology prospects were addressed.

The nexus of energy resources and the environment

Currently, every country is striving to realize development for its people. Thus, to achieve this there is a need for ensuring access to reliable energy at all levels. The world is currently relying on the use of non-renewable energy such as fuels, and coal. However, these sources are not environmental friendly. Thus, renewable energy sources such as hydropower, solar energy, geothermal, and biofuels must be emphasized to replace the use of non-renewable energies. People need to understand well the relationship between energy resources and the environment. This paper, therefore, aims at providing the nexus of energy resources and the environment. To achieve this, the author has explained well the concept of energy and energy resources; energy uses and energy efficiency and energy security. Moreover, the author has discussed the impact of energy resources on the environment. Finally, energy savings and practices to best energy use; use of technologies to reduce the pollutant emissions in the atmosphere; and investment in renewable technologies are needed for attaining sustainable energy and environment.

MAKING CITIES INTEROPERABLE IN TURKEY

The population of cities is increasing rapidly day by day, and it is predicted that this increase will continue in the following years. Accordingly, population growth creates a significant pressure in many different domains of cities such as infrastructure, traffic, energy, and environment. Smart cities come forward as a useful option to struggle with the pressure on cities caused by overwhelming population growth and to make cities liveable and sustainable. Smart city approach creates gains in the fields of sustainable development, competitiveness and environmental sustainability with its ability to transform information into economic, social and environmental benefits. However, smart city services and applications are mostly designed as independent and unrelated units so this approach causes isolated and heterogeneous data and technology islands. As the result, data flow problem occurs between vertical applications and service suppliers, and this interoperability problem causes emergence of independent silos in smart cities. Such silos hinders data integration, prevent citizens and public administrations benefit fully from smart cities, and cause vendor lock-in. In order to use the full potential of smart city approach, it’s vital to secure interoperability systems and applications of smart cities. In this study, interoperability terms and their necessity for smart city ecosystem will be addressed. Afterwards, Smart City Interoperability Model’s (SCIM) contributions to semantic, technical and operational interoperability will be discussed.