Evaluating energy consumption, indoor air quality, and student productivity

Smart energy conservation research is gaining traction in a variety of industries throughout the world. The current research is projected to cut energy consumption in the construction sector, which has already reached 49% globally and is expected to rise by 2% annually, costing millions of dollars per month. Balancing energy savings with thermal satisfaction is a current difficulty, as most researchers have concentrated on attaining energy savings without reaching the thermal contentment of the occupant, which could pose a health risk to both young and old occupants. To address the problem, we conducted empirical studies with 193 participants in the Northern part of Nigeria, where they were exposed to an indoor temperature of 22°C to determine their thermal environment, choice and comfort votes, viewed and favored control, and overall thermal satisfaction, which will help calculate and define the unused thermal satisfaction thermostat and later.

Review of Recent Offshore Wind Turbine Research and Optimization Methodologies in Their Design

As international efforts to address climate change grow, an increasing number of countries and companies have put forward a clear “net zero” goal through accelerated renewable-energy development. As a renewable energy source, offshore wind energy has received particular attention from many countries and is a highly active research area. However, the design of offshore wind turbine structures faces challenges due to the large and complex design parameter space as well as different operational requirements and environmental conditions. Advanced optimization technology must be employed to address these challenges. Using an efficient optimization algorithm, it is possible to obtain optimized parameters for offshore wind turbine structures, balancing energy generation performance and the life of the floating wind turbine. This paper presents a review of the types and fundamental principles of several critical optimization technologies along with their application in the design process, with a focus on offshore wind turbine structures. It concludes with a discussion of the future prospects of optimization technology in offshore wind research.

Copper Extraction from Low-Grade Chalcopyrite in a Bioleaching Column Assisted by Bioelectrochemical System

Low-grade ores, tailings and solid wastes contain small amounts of valuable heavy metals. Improper disposal of these results in the waste of resources and contamination of soil or groundwater. Accordingly, the treatment and recycling of low-grade ores, tailings and solid wastes attracted much attention recently. Bioelectrochemical system, an innovative technology for the removal and recovery of heavy metals, has been further developed and applied in recent years. In current study, the low-grade chalcopyrite was bioleached with the assistance of microbial fuel cells. Copper extraction along with electricity generation from the low-grade chalcopyrite were achieved in the column bioleaching process assisted by MFCs. Results showed that after 197 days bioleaching of low-grade chalcopyrite, 423.9 mg copper was extracted from 200 g low-grade chalcopyrite and the average coulomb production reached 1.75 C/d. The introduction of MFCs into bioleaching processes promoted the copper extraction efficiency by 2.7 times (3.62% vs. 1.33%), mainly via promoting ferrous oxidation, reducing ORP and stimulating bacterial growth. This work provides a feasible method for the treatment and recycling of low-grade ores, tailings and solid wastes. But balancing energy consumption of aeration and circulation frequency and chemicals consumption of acid to improve the copper extraction efficiency need further investigation.

Manual Frequency Restoration Reserve Activation Clearing Model

The integration of the European markets has started with the successful coupling of spot markets (day-ahead and intra-day) and is expected to continue with the coupling of balancing markets. In this paper, the optimization model for the activation of manual frequency restoration reserve (mFRR) is presented. The model incorporates all order types agreed among the European transmission system operators (TSOs) to be included in the Manually Activated Reserves Initiative (MARI) project. Additionally, the model incorporates the buying curve (demand) of mFRR with the possible tolerance band defined by the TSOs, order clearing constraints and the cross-zonal capacity (CZC) constraints, forming a mixed integer linear programming model. The methodology employs two distinct steps: In the first step, an order conversion process is employed for the markets applying the central-scheduling scheme, and in the second step, the mFRR activation process is executed by solving the presented model. The whole process is tested using a case, including twenty-five European control areas. The attained clearing results indicate that price convergence is achieved among the involved control areas, along with a reduction in the overall balancing costs mainly due to the imbalance netting that is implicitly performed during the joint mFRR balancing energy (BE) clearing process and due to the cross-border exchange of mFRR BE.

Evaluation of the Simultaneous Operation of the Mechanisms for Cross-Border Interchange and Activation of the Regulating Reserves

This article examines the mechanisms for cross-border interchange of the regulating reserves (RRs), i.e., the imbalance-netting process (INP) and the cross-border activation of the RRs (CBRR). Both mechanisms are an additional service of frequency restoration reserves in the power system and connect different control areas (CAs) via virtual tie-lines to release RRs and reduce balancing energy. The primary objective of the INP is to net the demand for RRs between the cooperating CAs with different signs of interchange power variation. In contrast, the primary objective of the CBRR is to activate the RRs in the cooperating CAs with matching signs of interchange power variation. In this way, the ancillary services market and the European balancing system should be improved. However, both the INP and CBRR include a frequency term and thus impact the frequency response of the cooperating CAs. Therefore, the impact of the simultaneous operation of the INP and CBRR on the load-frequency control (LFC) and performance is comprehensively evaluated with dynamic simulations of a three-CA testing system, which no previous studies investigated before. In addition, a function for correction power adjustment is proposed to prevent the undesirable simultaneous activation of the INP and CBRR. In this way, area control error (ACE) and scheduled control power are decreased since undesired correction is prevented. The dynamic simulations confirmed that the simultaneous operation of the INP and CBRR reduced the balancing energy and decreased the unintended exchange of energy. Consequently, the LFC and performance were improved in this way. However, the impact of the INP and CBRR on the frequency quality has no unambiguous conclusions.

The Thermodynamic Consequences of Parkinson's Disease

Several lines of evidence point to a pervasive disturbance of energy balance in Parkinson's disease (PD). Weight loss, common and multifactorial, is the most observable sign of this. Bradykinesia may be best understood as an underinvestment of energy in voluntary movement. This accords with rodent experiments that emphasise the importance of dopamine in allocating motor energy expenditure. Oxygen consumption studies in PD suggest that, when activities are standardised for work performed, these inappropriate energy thrift settings are actually wasteful. That the dopaminergic deficit of PD creates a problem with energy efficiency highlights the role played by the basal ganglia, and by dopamine, in thermodynamic governance. This involves more than balancing energy, since living things maintain their internal order by controlling transformations of energy, resisting probabilistic trends to more random states. This review will also look at recent research in PD on the analysis of entropy—an information theory metric of predictability in a message—in recordings from the basal ganglia. Close relationships between energy and information converge around the concept of entropy. This is especially relevant to the motor system, which regulates energy exchange with the outside world through its flow of information. The malignant syndrome in PD, a counterpart of neuroleptic malignant syndrome, demonstrates how much thermodynamic disruption can result from breakdown of motor signalling in an extreme hypodopaminergic state. The macroenergetic disturbances of PD are consistent with a unifying hypothesis of dopamine's neurotransmitter actions—to adapt energy expenditure to prevailing economic circumstances.