LED Street Lighting: A Looking Ahead Perspective

Provided that LED street lighting is guided by quality principles, outdoor illumination using light-emitting diodes will have a significant global impact helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, save relevant amounts of electricity and enhance the quality of life in cities as well as in remote areas. This study summarizes recent findings providing guidelines for further progress in this crucially important technology on the common pathway to sustainable development.

Chemical Energy Conversion as Enabling Factor to Move to a Renewable Energy Economy

The role of chemical energy storage and solar fuels as key elements for the sustainable chemical and energy production is discussed in this concept paper. It is shown how chemical energy storage, with the development of drop-in carbon-based solar fuels, will play a central role in the future low-carbon economy, but it is necessary to consider its out-of-the-grid use, rather than being limited to be a tool for smart grids. Related aspects discussed are the possibility to: (i) enable a system of trading renewable energy on a world scale (out-of-the-grid), including the possibility to exploit actually unused remote resources, (ii) develop a solar-driven and low-carbon chemical production, which reduces the use of fossil fuels and (iii) create a distributed energy production, going beyond the actual limitations and dependence on the grid.

Guidelines for Integrating Solar Energy in Sicily’s Buildings

Wise utilization of today’s new solar energy technologies provides buildings with new aesthetic value which is no longer in conflict with efficiency in solar energy conversion. We outline the criteria for incorporating solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal (ST) technologies in the building design in Sicily’s built environment. Better education in solar energy and in solar architecture of architects and civil engineers, as well as better communication efforts of solar energy companies, will be instrumental to afford the long-awaited local and global boom in the adoption of building-integrated PVs.

Aspects of Non-edible Vegetable Oil-Based Bio-lubricants in the Automotive Sector

Lubricants act as anti-friction media and facilitate smooth operations, maintain machine reliability and lead to reduction in the risk of frequent failures. Around the globe, petroleum-based reserves are depleting which results in price hike, creating concern about environmental pollution. The researchers are focusing on developing and using an eco-friendly lubricant derived from renewable resources. Non-edible vegetable oil-based bio-lubricants are eco-friendly due to their biodegradability, non-toxicity and net zero greenhouse gas emission. This study presents the potential of using non-edible vegetable-based bio-lubricants in the automotive sector. The first part of the study discusses about the resources, properties, as well as advantages and application of the bio-lubricants. In the second part of this paper, the potential of non-edible oil-based bio-lubricants as alternatives are discussed. The final part includes the description about the global lubricant market and prospects for the future. Non-edible vegetable oil-based bio-lubricants have enhanced lubricity, high viscosity, good anti-wear property, high viscosity index, increased equipment service life, high load carrying ability, low evaporation rates and low emission of metal traces into the atmosphere.

Manganese Oxides in Heterogeneous (Photo)Catalysis: Possibilities and Challenges

The aim to develop active photocatalysts based on abundant elements for solar energy conversion reactions has sparked wide interest in manganese oxides as visible light-absorbing alternative to TiO

Opportunities for New Catalysts in the Present Confusing Scene in Renewable Energy

After a brief review of the conflicting statements made recently concerning the time it will take for the energy and chemical industries to prosper using only renewable sources, an account is given of three distinct new ways in which the current super-abundance of available CO