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Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies
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Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A: Sustainable Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 12760

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kevin McDonnell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1 School of Agriculture & Food Science, University College Dublin, Agriculture Building, UCD Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
2 School of Biosystems & Food Engineering, University College Dublin, Agriculture Building, UCD, Belfeild Dublin 4, Ireland
Interests: life cycle assessment; sustainable energy; green technology; bioeconomy; energy systems; sensors; precision agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Production of clean, sustainable energy is on the rise around the world. With a market of more than a few hundred trillion dollars, the energy market is complex. It employs millions of people, supports most industries, and supports economic growth. Global warming, climate change, and pollution are just a few of the top reasons there is an international push towards renewable energy sources. However, even though the technology to harness power from natural sources has existed for more than a few decades, it is only recently that it has advanced to the level where it is viable to depend on it to produce electricity and fuel for consumption. However, there are still significant challenges with respect to the development and optimization of renewable energy resource exploitation, the efficiency in energy generation and utilization pathways (including energy conservation), and the mitigation of environmental impacts. These challenges provide opportunities for emerging research and development as well as for business innovation and job creation in renewable energy systems technology development, plant biotechnology, and entrepreneurship. Advances in micro-energy grids and renewable energy technologies could dramatically accelerate change in communities’ access to renewable energy. The deployment of distributed networks would help to connect homes, businesses, and schools to small-scale solar power projects to deliver cheap, sustainable electricity that can help to power local economic growth.

Today, new technology frontiers, new business models, and our knowledge of alternatives energies have the potential be able to develop a new roadmap to end the energy access problem for 1 billion people across the globe.

Prof. Dr. Kevin McDonnell
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable energy
  • renewable technology
  • green technology
  • smart grids
  • energy management

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 4268 KiB  
Article
Bacteria Energy Recovery System Using Natural Soil Bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cells
by Nathaniel Brochu, Benjamin Belanger-Huot, Dmytro Humeniuk, Lingling Gong, Mehran Abbaszadeh Amirdehi, Jesse Greener and Amine Miled
Energies 2021, 14(15), 4393; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14154393 - 21 Jul 2021
Viewed by 1915
Abstract
This paper describes a two-cycle bacteria energy recovery system (BERS) to power two embedded sensors: an ultra-low portable pH sensor and a sound sensor. The designed unit can handle up to seven microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to charge a super-capacitor. This allows the [...] Read more.
This paper describes a two-cycle bacteria energy recovery system (BERS) to power two embedded sensors: an ultra-low portable pH sensor and a sound sensor. The designed unit can handle up to seven microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to charge a super-capacitor. This allows the BERS to provide a constant 0.14 mW without further electrical components for signal conditioning. The two cycles were driven with a 100 kΩ load and a 10 Hz frequency. The BERS is also self-powered with an integrated start-up unit to be self-activated when the MFCs charge the energy-storing unit after three days. The BERS powered pH sensor has an error below 5% at 25 ∘C and is able to work continuously while being activated for 4 h. The performances of the pH and sound sensors were determined based on a compromise between accuracy and power consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies)
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17 pages, 2491 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Polyethylene Mulching and Sugarcane Cultivar on Energy Inputs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Ethanol Production in a Temperate Climate
by Takahiro Nakashima, Keiichiro Ueno, Eisuke Fujita and Shoko Ishikawa
Energies 2020, 13(17), 4369; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174369 - 24 Aug 2020
Viewed by 2290
Abstract
Fossil energy inputs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the cultivation and transport of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) for bioethanol production in Tanegashima, Japan, were estimated by life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim was to understand the effects of combined systems [...] Read more.
Fossil energy inputs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the cultivation and transport of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) for bioethanol production in Tanegashima, Japan, were estimated by life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim was to understand the effects of combined systems of polyethylene mulching treatment (mulching at planting and every ratooning, MM; mulching only at planting, MU; and untreated, i.e., no mulching at all, UU) and cultivar (a cold-tolerant genotype, NiTn18, and a conventional variety, NiF8). The mulch treatments and cultivars were combined to create six cultivation systems that were used to conduct a comparative assessment of cradle-to-gate energy inputs and emissions for bioethanol production. The LCA results showed that the energy inputs and GHG emissions resulting from the MM/NiF8 system were 6.29 MJ L−1 and 0.500 kg CO2e L−1, which were 14% and 23% lower, respectively, than the corresponding values in the UU/NiF8 system. In contrast, the MU/NiF8 system increased the environmental loads slightly. The use of NiTn18 improved sugarcane performance and ethanol yields substantially as compared with NiF8, reducing energy inputs to 5.38, 5.24, and 5.55 MJ L−1 and GHG emissions to 0.473, 0.450, and 0.441 kg CO2e L−1 for the UU, MU, and MM treatments, respectively. The energy inputs and GHG emissions were similar among the systems, indicating that more flexible mulching treatments might be acceptable in the NiTn18 systems than in the NiF8 systems. The energy inputs and GHG emissions resulting from the UU/NiTn18 system were 14% and 5% lower, respectively, than those of the MM/NiF8 system, suggesting that it may be possible to overcome the handicap of sugarcane production in cold conditions by breeding cold-tolerant cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies)
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12 pages, 5859 KiB  
Article
Development and Performance Investigation of an Inflatable Solar Drying Technology for Oyster Mushroom
by Nguyen Van Hung, Lei Anne Fuertes, Carlito Balingbing, Ampy Paulo Roxas, Marvin Tala and Martin Gummert
Energies 2020, 13(16), 4122; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13164122 - 10 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3878
Abstract
We developed an inflatable solar dryer for mushroom drying, which was adapted from the Solar Bubble DryerTM originally designed for paddy drying. The improved dryer with an added perforated elevated floor ensured the quality without any requirement of mixing or turning of [...] Read more.
We developed an inflatable solar dryer for mushroom drying, which was adapted from the Solar Bubble DryerTM originally designed for paddy drying. The improved dryer with an added perforated elevated floor ensured the quality without any requirement of mixing or turning of the mushrooms during drying. Its drying performance and economic feasibility were evaluated through determination of the drying parameters including moisture content (MC) reduction, mushroom quality, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost-benefits ratio. Mushroom MC was reduced from 90% down to 40–60% within 2–4 h, corresponding to the drying rate at this stage of 10–20% h−1. At the next stage, it took about 4–6 h corresponding to a drying rate of 2–10% h−1 to reach the required product MC of 8–10%. The color of the dried mushrooms still remained white-cream. The drying process required 4.57 MJ, emitted 0.33 kg CO2e, and required an input cost of 1.86 $US kg of dry product. For the specific case in the Philippines, this can generate a net profit of 468–1468 $US−1 year−1 and the investment will break even in 1.3–4.0 years corresponding to the selling price of dry mushroom of 10–12 $US kg−1. The study developed a solution to improve the solar bubble dryer and verified its drying process for mushroom drying at farm scale. It would add a significant value to farmers’ income as well as a diversified source of nutrient-rich food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies)
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21 pages, 660 KiB  
Article
Biogas Production in the Russian Federation: Current Status, Potential, and Barriers
by Tatiana Nevzorova
Energies 2020, 13(14), 3620; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13143620 - 14 Jul 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4185
Abstract
Russia has signed the Paris Agreement and recently approved its ratification. However, the Russian Government does not consider abandoning the production and use of hydrocarbons to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the goals of the Agreement, Russia must find new innovative solutions. [...] Read more.
Russia has signed the Paris Agreement and recently approved its ratification. However, the Russian Government does not consider abandoning the production and use of hydrocarbons to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To meet the goals of the Agreement, Russia must find new innovative solutions. This study demonstrates that biogas is one of the most necessary renewable sources in Russia. Despite this, the deployment of biogas technologies is currently extremely slow. In this regard, to assess their subsequent impact on the Russian energy sector as a whole, it is important to identify the factors that hinder the wider implementation of biogas technologies. Based on the findings, the most critical barriers were identified and discussed in detail. In the light of the results, some policy-related recommendations are also proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Technologies—Green Technologies)
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