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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2022) | Viewed by 30011

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Dr. Dmitrii O. Glushkov

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Research School of High-Energy Physics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russian
Interests: fuels; combustion chemistry; waste to energy; thermal power engineering; environmental performance
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are currently two main priorities in Power Engineering: 1) Developing and introducing new technologies involving renewable energy sources; 2) Modernizing widely used power generation technologies by enhancing the efficiency of industrial equipment and optimizing its operation conditions. Despite recent advancements in the development of alternative energy technologies, fossil fuels still dominate in the production of heat and electricity by steam boilers, steam and gas turbines, etc. in industrial-scale volumes. Thus, Power Engineering represents an extensive field for the elaboration and implementation of solutions aimed at improving the technological, environmental, and economic performance of technological cycles. In recent years, environmental and energy security issues have become especially important. Therefore, it is vital nowadays that we take care of nature. In the coming decades, scientific teams in different countries will face a challenge of developing sustainable and safe technologies for using fuels in the energy sector.

In this special issue, we will try to provide readers with the results of applied and fundamental research and reviews in the field of environmentally friendly technologies in Power Engineering for the reduction of anthropogenic emissions. We are pleased to invite researchers to contribute to the creation of a special issue dedicated to various aspects of sustainable use of fossil fuels, biomass, waste-derived fuels, and alternative energy sources.

Dr. Dmitrii O. Glushkov

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Keywords

Thermal power engineering
Steam boilers
Steam turbines
Gas turbines
Green technologies
Operating mode optimization
Thermal power plant modernization
Fossil fuels
Waste-derived fuels
Coal-water slurry
Properties of fossil fuels, combustible wastes and biomass
New technologies of fuel combustion
Gas emissions
Reduction of green-house gases
Numerical simulation

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 169 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Special Issue on Environmentally Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering

by Dmitrii Glushkov

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(18), 9043; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189043 - 08 Sep 2022

Viewed by 705

Abstract

At present, the field of thermal power engineering is dominated by the following two main areas of development: (1) the development and implementation of new technologies using renewable energy sources; and (2) upgrading commonly used power-generation technologies by improving the efficiency of industrial [...] Read more.

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

Research

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12 pages, 1513 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Conversion of Waste Biomass into Activated Carbon and Evaluation of Environmental Consequences Using Life Cycle Assessment

by Muhammad Amin, Hamad Hussain Shah, Amjad Iqbal, Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi, Marek Krawczuk and Adeel Zia

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 5741; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12115741 - 05 Jun 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2234

Abstract

In this article, activated carbon was produced from Lantana camara and olive trees by H₃PO₄ chemical activation. The prepared activated carbons were analyzed by characterizations such as scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. H₃PO₄ is used as an activator agent to create an abundant pore structure. According to EDX analysis, the crystalline structure destroys and increases the carbon content of the olive tree and Lantana camara by 77.51 and 76.16%, respectively. SEM images reveal a porous structure formed as a result of H₃PO₄ activation. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of the olive tree and Lantana camara activated carbon was 611.21 m²/g and 167.47 m²/g, respectively. The TGA analysis of both activated carbons shows their thermal degradation starts at 230 °C but fully degrades at temperatures above 450 °C. To quantify the potential environmental implications related to the production process of the activated carbon (AC) from olive trees, the life cycle assessment (LCA) environmental methodology was employed. For most of the tested indicators, chemical activation using H₃PO₄ showed the greatest ecological impacts: the ozone layer depletion potential (42.27%), the acidification potential (55.31%), human toxicity (57.00%), freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity (85.01%), terrestrial ecotoxicity (86.17%), and eutrophication (92.20%). The global warming potential (5.210 kg CO₂ eq), which was evenly weighted between the phases, was shown to be one of the most significant impacts. The total energy demand of the olive tree’s AC producing process was 70.521 MJ per Kg. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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21 pages, 3112 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Joint Use of Wood and Other Renewable Energy Sources in the Baikal Region

by Oleg Marchenko, Sergei Solomin, Vitaly Shamanskiy and Igor Donskoy

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1254; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031254 - 25 Jan 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1962

Abstract

This paper addresses the assessment of woody biomass resources in Russia and the Baikal region. The analysis of the literature demonstrates that the Baikal region has considerable amounts of waste from the logging, timber processing, and pulp and paper industries (up to 220 PJ). A review of utilization technologies for woody biomass demonstrates that the existing technologies based on biomass gasification are promising for energy purposes. The gasification of biomass for small-capacity power plants has some advantages compared to its combustion. This paper considers an autonomous power system that consists of photovoltaic converters, wind turbines, storage batteries, a biomass gasification power plant, and a diesel power plant. A mathematical model used to optimize the system’s structure finds the minimum of the total discounted costs for the creation and operation of the system with some constraints met. Based on mathematical modeling, the cost-effectiveness of such a power supply system is assessed for different climatic zones of the Baikal region and the coastal area of Lake Baikal. The findings indicate that the optimal solution is the integration of various renewable energy sources in hybrid power systems. The proportion of energy sources of different types in the installed capacities is found. The study demonstrates that the optimal structure of the power system can provide significant savings (the total discounted costs are reduced by almost 2.5 times compared to the option using a diesel power plant alone). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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23 pages, 6957 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Analysis of the Rod-Fastened Rotor Considering the Characteristics of Circumferential Tie Rods

by Haoliang Xu, Lihua Yang and Tengfei Xu

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 3829; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093829 - 23 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2025

Abstract

The research on the dynamic performance of the rod-fastened rotor (RFR) has always been a hotspot. However, the structural complexity of RFR has brought significant challenges to the dynamic study of the RFR. The tie rods provide preload for the rotor shaft segment, while the coordinate deformation of the tie rods will occur during the process of vibration. In addition, the tie rods and the rotor shaft segments are structurally connected in parallel. These factors all will influence the dynamic performance of the RFR. In this paper, for a RFR system, the vibration equation of the RFR considering all factors of the tie rods is deduced in detail. The influence of various factors on the dynamic performance of the rotor is investigated. Results show that the preload directly affects the dynamic performance of the RFR system. When the preload is small, the tie rod has a larger influence on the natural frequencies of the rotor. However, when the preload force reaches a certain value, the influence of the tie rod on the natural frequencies of the rotor is almost negligible. The research results provide a theoretical reference for the understanding of and further research on RFR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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18 pages, 17776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Additives to Coal-Based Fuel Pellets for the Intensification of Combustion and Reduction in Anthropogenic Gas Emissions

by Dmitriy Klepikov, Tereza Kudelova, Kristina Paushkina and Pavel Strizhak

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(19), 6689; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10196689 - 24 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3144

Abstract

Cylinder-shaped fuel pellets that were 3 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height, with a mass of 20 mg, were produced by compressing dry coal processing waste under the pressure of 5 MPa. The first group of pellets from coal dust with a particle size less than 140 µm did not contain any additives. The pellets of the second group of fuel compositions contained an oil-impregnated porous polymer material particle with a size of 0.5 mm in the central part of the experimental sample. The particle was surrounded by coal dust from all sides. The ratio of components was 90:10% for coal dust: polymer particle. The latter value almost completely corresponds to the fraction of oil in the fuel composition, since the mass of a porous polymer material particle is negligible. The third group of compositions was a 70:30% mixture of coal dust with wood sawdust with a particle size less than 45 µm, or 45–100, 100–200 and 200–500 µm. The ignition and combustion of single fuel pellets were studied under radiant heating in an air medium while varying the temperature from 800 to 1000 °C. The processes during the fuel combustion were recorded by a high-speed video camera, and the concentrations of the main anthropogenic emissions in flue gases were measured by a gas analyzer. The main characteristics were established—ignition delay times (2–8 s) and duration of burnout (40–90 s)—at different heating temperatures. A difference was established in the combustion mechanisms of the pellets, when adding various components to the fuel mixture composition. This has a direct influence on the induction period duration and combustion time, other conditions being equal, as well as on the concentration of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in the flue gases. Adding an oil-impregnated porous polymer particle to the fuel composition intensifies ignition and combustion, since the times of ignition delay and complete burnout of fuel pellets under threshold conditions decrease by 70%, whereas adding wood sawdust reduces the content of nitrogen and sulfur oxides in the flue gases by 30% and 25%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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22 pages, 3418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Different Photovoltaic Models on the Design of a Combined Solar Array and Pumped Hydro Storage System

by Hussein M. K. Al-Masri, Sharaf K. Magableh, Ahmad Abuelrub, Osama Saadeh and Mehrdad Ehsani

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(10), 3650; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103650 - 25 May 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4500

Abstract

The impact of different photovoltaic models for a combined solar array and pumped hydro storage system was investigated. Al-Wehda dam located in Harta city in the northern of Jordan was used to validate the approach. The two-diode (TD), single-diode (SD), and ideal single-diode (ISD) solar models were evaluated in terms of the solar array size, reliability, and ecological effects. The impoundment of Al-Wehda dam was taken as the upper reservoir of the pumped hydro facility of the proposed renewable energy system. It was found that the PV power is more accurately modelled by considering the recombination loss in the TD solar model. This leads to a more realistic sizing and precise system evaluation. Results were obtained using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the whale optimization algorithm (WOA) for validation purposes. For instance, the PSO results showed that the realistic TD model is reliable, with an index of reliability of 98.558%. Further, it is the most ecological solution with an annual emissions reduction of 21.5198 Gg. The optimized values are 44,840 solar panels and 65.052 M.m³ of the lower reservoir volume for the TD model. The number of PV panels are reduced by 16.67% and 7.93%, respectively, with the ISD and SD relative to the TD model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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11 pages, 2607 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on a Correlation-Based Anti-Islanding Method under Wider Frequency Trip Settings for Distributed Generation

by Byunggyu Yu

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(10), 3626; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103626 - 24 May 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1721

Abstract

Islanding phenomenon of distributed generation (DG), such as photovoltaic (PV) generation, is undesirable because it causes safety issues for utility service personnel and power system equipment. Many anti-islanding methods have been studied since DG appeared in electric power systems (EPSs). Most anti-islanding methods focus on disconnecting DG from the grid using functionality to detect islanding under narrow frequency trip settings, because safety issues have a higher priority. However, as DG plays a key part of an EPS, a significant loss of DG due to a short disturbance could result in a reliability issue for the EPS. Corresponding to this matter, new international standards, such as IEEE standard 1547–2018, require more sophisticated and complex functionalities for grid-connected DGs by adopting ride-through technologies and wider voltage/frequency trip settings. Since most anti-islanding functions of inverter-based DG have been based on the frequency of the inverter voltage, it is more difficult to detect islanding under wider frequency trip settings. This paper presents a correlation-based anti-islanding method (AIM) without depending on the frequency trip of inverter-based DGs. Simulation results are provided to verify the performance of the correlation-based anti-islanding method. As a result, the proposed method detects islanding at 0.116 s under wider frequency trip setting by the IEEE Std. 1547–2018 test condition, while the popular active frequency drift method with positive feedback does not detect islanding using the same current disturbance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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11 pages, 831 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Allothermal Gasification of Peat and Lignite by a Focused Light Flow

by Alexandr S. Zaitsev, Roman I. Taburchinov, Irina P. Ozerova, Amaro O. Pereira, Jr. and Roman I. Egorov

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 2640; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082640 - 11 Apr 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1898

Abstract

Gasification of peat and lignite under a focused light flow was observed in a wide range of fuel moisture (up to 65 wt.%). The initial water content in the fuels under study had a different influence on the chemical composition of the synthesis gas (syngas). At the same time, the effect of light intensity was more predictable: in general, the production of gases grew with it. It was shown that the gasification of peat accelerated greatly when light intensity exceeded 100 W/cm². Moreover, the conversion of peat and lignite required an order of magnitude lower intensity of the light flow than was necessary for the conversion of bituminous coal processing waste. The dynamics of the sample weight changes demonstrated that contrary to bituminous coals, the process was not purely allothermal for both peat and lignite. However, the fuel smoldering was not self-sustainable and stopped shortly after the pumping light was turned off. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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21 pages, 2787 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Criteria Efficiency Analysis of Using Waste-Based Fuel Mixtures in the Power Industries of China, Japan, and Russia

by Ksenia Vershinina, Vadim Dorokhov, Daniil Romanov, Galina Nyashina and Geniy Kuznetsov

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2460; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072460 - 03 Apr 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2003

Abstract

This paper presents the results of analyzing the efficiency of the following five fuel types: dry coal, wet coal processing waste, coal–water slurry, and two waste-derived slurries. In the calculations, we employed 16 criteria related to the energy industry, economy, social aspects, safety at plants, and environmental protection. We used the experimental data, obtained from the combustion of the fuels under study at three heating temperatures (700 °C, 800 °C, and 900 °C). Three countries were analyzed, where all of them have a high share of using fossil fuels in the energy industry: Japan, China, and Russia. The total performance indicator was calculated using three multiple-criteria decision analysis techniques (weighted sum method, weighted product method, and analytic hierarchy process). The choice of weight coefficients was confirmed for each method. We found that coal and coal–water slurry had the lowest integral efficiency indicators (0.016–0.535 and 0.045–0.566, respectively). The maximum effect was achieved when using waste-derived slurry with used turbine oil (0.190–0.800) and coal processing waste (0.535–0.907). There were, on average, 3%–60% differences in the integral efficiency indicator for the same fuel in different countries. The difference in the efficiency indicator of the same fuel in different countries was on average 3%–60%; with changes in temperature, the difference in efficiency was 5%–20%; and when changing the calculation procedure, the difference was 10%–90%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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17 pages, 3466 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Relative Environmental, Economic, and Energy Performance Indicators of Fuel Compositions with Biomass

by Dmitrii Glushkov, Galina Nyashina, Valeriy Medvedev and Kseniya Vershinina

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(6), 2092; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10062092 - 19 Mar 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2202

Abstract

The present study deals with the experimental research findings for the characteristics of ignition (ignition delay times, minimum ignition temperature) and combustion (maximum combustion temperature, concentration of anthropogenic emission), as well as theoretical calculations of integral environmental, economic, and energy performance indicators of fuel compositions based on coal processing waste with the most typical types of biomass (sawdust, leaves, straw, oil-containing waste, and rapeseed oil). Based on the results of the experiments, involving the co-combustion of biomass (10% mass) with coal processing waste (90% mass) as part of slurry fuels, we establish differences in the concentrations of NO_x and SO_x in the gaseous combustion products. They make up from 36 to 218 ppm when analyzing the flue gases of coal and fuel slurries. Additionally, the values of relative environmental, economic, and energy performance indicators were calculated for a group of biomass-containing fuel compositions. The calculation results for equal weight coefficients are presented. It was shown that the efficiency of slurry fuels with biomass is 10%–24% better than that of coal and 2%–8% better than that of filter-cake without additives. Much lower anthropogenic emissions (NO_x by 25%–62% and SO_x by 61%–88%) are confirmed when solid fossil fuels are partly or completely replaced with slurry fuels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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Review

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13 pages, 2016 KiB

Open AccessReview

Green Gas for Grid as an Eco-Friendly Alternative Insulation Gas to SF₆: A Review

by Baofeng Pan, Guoming Wang, Huimin Shi, Jiahua Shen, Hong-Keun Ji and Gyung-Suk Kil

Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2526; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072526 - 07 Apr 2020

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6159

Abstract

This paper deals with a review of the state-of-the-art performance investigations of green gas for grid (g3) gas, which is an emerging eco-friendly alternative insulation gas for sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) that will be used in gas-insulated power facilities for reducing environmental concerns. The required physical and chemical properties of insulation gas for high-voltage applications are discussed, including dielectric strength, arc-quenching capability, heat dissipation, boiling point, vapor pressure, compatibility, and environmental and safety requirements. Current studies and results on AC, DC, and lightning impulse breakdown voltage, as well as the partial discharge of g3 gas, are provided, which indicate an equivalent dielectric strength of g3 gas with SF₆ after a proper design change or an increase in gas pressure. The switching bus-transfer current test, temperature rise test, and liquefaction temperature calculation also verify the possibility of replacing SF₆ with g3 gas. In addition, the use of g3 gas significantly reduces theabovementioned environmental concerns in terms of global warming potential and atmosphere lifetime. In recent years, g3 gas-insulated power facilities, including switchgear, transmission line, circuit breaker, and transformer, have been commercially available in the electric power industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Friendly Technologies in Power Engineering)

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