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Energy Development for Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 67945

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Guest Editor
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: bioenergy; hydrogen energy; clean energy; thermoelectric generation; environmental engineering; AI & machine leaning for energy
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Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering Department, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, 0922, Manila, Philippines
Interests: Life cycle assessment; bioenergy systems; industrial ecology; energy systems modeling, microalgae

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 0922, Philippines
Interests: biorefinery; bioenergy; process optimization; systems integration; microalgal processes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Chemical Engineering, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, Centre for Photonics and Advanced Materials Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kajang 43000, Selangor, Malaysia
Interests: catalysis; bioenergy; biomass; kinetics and reactions; supercritical process
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy development provides for the generation of sustainable energy from conventional, alternative, and renewable energy sources aiming to satisfy societal demands. It also covers technologies and approaches in the recovery of energy losses which in turn enhances the energy efficiency of the system. However, it remains a persistent challenge to produce the needed energy while significantly reducing the environmental effects, such as the emission of greenhouse gases, which lead to climate change. Moreover, technological and economic limitations may also hinder energy development for sustainability. Motivated by this fact, studies on renewable, alternative, and clean energy have recently been explored. As examples, works on bioenergy, solar photovoltaics, wind, hybrids, and coal technology have been extensively researched.

Recently, energy development has received significant attention through the promising results of technology development, experimentation, computational modeling, and validation. However, several challenging topics remain with energy development approaches. Thus, the aim of this Special Issue is to collect and publish the latest developments in various aspects of energy development for sustainability.

The list of possible topics includes, but is not limited to:

  • Hydropower;
  • Solar energy;
  • Wind energy;
  • Bioenergy;
  • Biofuels;
  • Geothermal energy;
  • Oceanic energy;
  • Hybrids;
  • Energy storage;
  • Energy saving;
  • Carbon capture.

This Special Issue focuses on various energy developments which enable sustainable energy production.

Prof. Dr. Wei-Hsin Chen
Prof. Dr. Alvin B. Culaba
Prof. Dr. Aristotle T. Ubando
Assist. Prof. Steven Lim
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • alternative energy
  • renewable energy
  • clean energy
  • hybrid energy
  • energy storage
  • carbon capture

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Published Papers (16 papers)

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19 pages, 3757 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Sonocatalytic Performance of Non-Metal Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)/Coconut Shell Husk Derived-Carbon Composite
by Yean Ling Pang, Aaron Zhen Yao Koe, Yin Yin Chan, Steven Lim and Woon Chan Chong
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3244; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063244 - 10 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2485
Abstract
This study focused on the modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) using carbon which was obtained from the pyrolysis of coconut shell husk. The sonocatalytic performance of the synthesized samples was then studied through the degradation of malachite green. [...] Read more.
This study focused on the modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) using carbon which was obtained from the pyrolysis of coconut shell husk. The sonocatalytic performance of the synthesized samples was then studied through the degradation of malachite green. In this work, pure g-C3N4, pure carbon and carbon/g-C3N4 composites (C/g-C3N4) at different weight percentages were prepared and characterized by using XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR, TGA and surface analysis. The effect of carbon amount in the C/g-C3N4 composites on the sonocatalytic performance was studied and 10 wt% C/g-C3N4 showed the best catalytic activity. The optimization study was conducted by using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design (CCD) model. Three experimental parameters were selected in RSM including initial dye concentration (20 to 25 ppm), initial catalyst loading (0.3 to 0.5 g/L), and solution pH (4 to 8). The model obtained was found to be significant and reliable with R2 value (0.9862) close to unity. The degradation efficiency of malachite green was optimized at 97.11% under the conditions with initial dye concentration = 20 ppm, initial catalyst loading = 0.5 g/L, solution pH = 8 after 10 min. The reusability study revealed the high stability of 10 wt% C/g-C3N4 as sonocatalyst. In short, 10 wt% C/g-C3N4 has a high potential for industrial application since it is cost effective, reusable, sustainable, and provides good sonocatalytic performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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17 pages, 3650 KiB  
Article
Investigation on the Potential of Various Biomass Waste for the Synthesis of Carbon Material for Energy Storage Application
by Brenda Ai-Lian Lim, Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Siew Hoong Shuit, Kam Huei Wong and Jong Boon Ooi
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2919; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052919 - 2 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3265
Abstract
The metal–air battery (MAB) has been a promising technology to store energy, with its outstanding energy density, as well as safety features. Yet, the current material used as air cathode is costly and not easily available. This study investigated a few biomass wastes [...] Read more.
The metal–air battery (MAB) has been a promising technology to store energy, with its outstanding energy density, as well as safety features. Yet, the current material used as air cathode is costly and not easily available. This study investigated a few biomass wastes with good potential, including the oil palm empty fruit bunch and garlic peel, as well as the oil palm frond, to determine a sufficiently environmentally-safe, yet efficient, precursor to produce carbon material as an electro-catalyst for MAB. The precursors were carbonized at different temperatures (450, 600, and 700 °C) and time (30, 45, and 60 min) followed by chemical (KOH) activation to synthesize the carbon material. The synthesized materials were subsequently studied through chemical, as well as physical characterization. It was found that PF presented superior tunability that can improve electrical conductivity, due to its ability to produce amorphous carbon particles with a smaller size, consisting of hierarchical porous structure, along with a higher specific surface area of up to 777.62 m2g−1, when carbonized at 600 °C for 60 min. This paper identified that PF has the potential as a sustainable and cost-efficient alternative to carbon nanotube (CNT) as an electro-catalyst for energy storage application, such as MAB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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22 pages, 5236 KiB  
Article
Thermal-Energy Performance of Bulk Insulation Coupled with High-Albedo Roof Tiles in Urban Pitched Residential Roof Assemblies in the Hot, Humid Climate
by Mohammed Dahim, Syed Ahmad Farhan, Nasir Shafiq, Hashem Al-Mattarneh and Rabah Ismail
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2867; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052867 - 1 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2440
Abstract
The high rate of heat transfer through the residential roof assembly aggravates the condition of indoor thermal discomfort. Bulk insulation can be installed in the assembly to improve thermal performance. However, although it can efficiently reduce diurnal heat transfer from the outdoor environment [...] Read more.
The high rate of heat transfer through the residential roof assembly aggravates the condition of indoor thermal discomfort. Bulk insulation can be installed in the assembly to improve thermal performance. However, although it can efficiently reduce diurnal heat transfer from the outdoor environment into the indoor space through the roof assembly, it can also suppress nocturnal heat transfer in the opposite direction. Alternatively, high-albedo roof tiles employ cool colors to reflect heat at the roof surface, whereas bulk insulation hinders the conduction of heat through the roof assembly. In light of the potential of high-albedo roof tiles and bulk insulation in reducing heat transfer, thermal-energy performance of an urban pitched residential roof assembly, which adopted varying configurations of high-albedo roof tiles and bulk insulation under a hot, humid climate, was evaluated. Energy savings were generated, which were 15.13% when the change from a conventional to a high-albedo roof surface was performed, and 17.00% when the installation of bulk insulation was performed on the high-albedo roof assembly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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12 pages, 2860 KiB  
Article
Solvent-Free Synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) for CO2 Gas Adsorption: The Effect of Metal Precursor and Molar Ratio
by Kok Chung Chong, Pui San Ho, Soon Onn Lai, Sze Shin Lee, Woei Jye Lau, Shih-Yuan Lu and Boon Seng Ooi
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031152 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3616
Abstract
MIL-101(Cr), a subclass of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), is a promising adsorbent for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal due to its large pore volume and high surface area. Solvent-free synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) was employed in this work to offer a green alternative to [...] Read more.
MIL-101(Cr), a subclass of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), is a promising adsorbent for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal due to its large pore volume and high surface area. Solvent-free synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) was employed in this work to offer a green alternative to the current approach of synthesizing MIL-101(Cr) using a hazardous solvent. Characterization techniques including XRD, SEM, and FTIR were employed to confirm the formation of pure MIL-101(Cr) synthesized using a solvent-free method. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that MIL-101(Cr) shows high thermal stability up to 350 °C. Among the materials synthesized, MIL-101(Cr) at the molar ratio of chromium precursor to terephthalic organic acid of 1:1 possesses the highest surface area and greatest pore volume. Its BET surface area and total pore volume are 1110 m2/g and 0.5 cm3/g, respectively. Correspondingly, its CO2 adsorption capacity at room temperature is the highest (18.8 mmol/g), suggesting it is a superior adsorbent for CO2 removal. The textural properties significantly affect the CO2 adsorption capacity, in which large pore volume and high surface area are favorable for the adsorption mechanism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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16 pages, 3593 KiB  
Article
Effects of Organic Solvents on the Organosolv Pretreatment of Degraded Empty Fruit Bunch for Fractionation and Lignin Removal
by Danny Wei Kit Chin, Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Chun Hsion Lim, Siew Hoong Shuit, Kiat Moon Lee and Cheng Tung Chong
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6757; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126757 - 15 Jun 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3349
Abstract
Empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is one of the primary agricultural wastes generated from the palm oil plantation, is generally discharged into the open environment or ends up in landfills. The utilization of this EFB waste for other value-added applications such as activated [...] Read more.
Empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is one of the primary agricultural wastes generated from the palm oil plantation, is generally discharged into the open environment or ends up in landfills. The utilization of this EFB waste for other value-added applications such as activated carbon and biofuels remain low, despite extensive research efforts. One of the reasons is that the EFB is highly vulnerable to microbial and fungi degradation under natural environment owning to its inherent characteristic of high organic matter and moisture content. This can rapidly deteriorate its quality and results in poor performance when processed into other products. However, the lignocellulosic components in degraded EFB (DEFB) still largely remain intact. Consequently, it could become a promising feedstock for production of bio-products after suitable pretreatment with organic solvents. In this study, DEFB was subjected to five different types of organic solvents for the pretreatment, including ethanol, ethylene glycol, 2-propanol, acetic acid and acetone. The effects of temperature and residence time were also investigated during the pretreatment. Organosolv pretreatment in ethylene glycol (50 v/v%) with the addition of NaOH (3 v/v%) as an alkaline catalyst successfully detached 81.5 wt.% hemicellulose and 75.1 wt.% lignin. As high as 90.4 wt.% cellulose was also successfully retrieved at mild temperature (80 °C) and short duration (45 min), while the purity of cellulose in treated DEFB was recorded at 84.3%. High-purity lignin was successfully recovered from the pretreatment liquor by using sulfuric acid for precipitation. The amount of recovered lignin from alkaline ethylene glycol liquor was 74.6% at pH 2.0. The high recovery of cellulose and lignin in DEFB by using organosolv pretreatment rendered it as one of the suitable feedstocks to be applied in downstream biorefinery processes. This can be further investigated in more detailed studies in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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18 pages, 4669 KiB  
Article
Modeling Traffic Flow, Energy Use, and Emissions Using Google Maps and Google Street View: The Case of EDSA, Philippines
by Joshua Ezekiel Rito, Neil Stephen Lopez and Jose Bienvenido Manuel Biona
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6682; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126682 - 11 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 9539
Abstract
The general framework of the bottom-up approach for modeling mobile emissions and energy use involves the following major components: (1) quantifying traffic flow and (2) calculating emission and energy consumption factors. In most cases, researchers deal with complex and arduous tasks, especially when [...] Read more.
The general framework of the bottom-up approach for modeling mobile emissions and energy use involves the following major components: (1) quantifying traffic flow and (2) calculating emission and energy consumption factors. In most cases, researchers deal with complex and arduous tasks, especially when conducting actual surveys in order to calculate traffic flow. In this regard, the authors are introducing a novel method in estimating mobile emissions and energy use from road traffic flow utilizing crowdsourced data from Google Maps. The method was applied on a major highway in the Philippines commonly known as EDSA. Results showed that a total of 370,855 vehicles traveled along EDSA on average per day in June 2019. In comparison to a government survey, only an 8.63% error was found with respect to the total vehicle count. However, the approximation error can be further reduced to 4.63% if cars and utility vehicles are combined into one vehicle category. The study concludes by providing the limitations and opportunities for future work of the proposed methodology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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17 pages, 3815 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Driving Forces to Increasing Traffic Flow and Transport Emissions in Philippine Regions: A Spatial Decomposition Study
by Geoffrey Udoka Nnadiri, Anthony S. F. Chiu, Jose Bienvenido Manuel Biona and Neil Stephen Lopez
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6500; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116500 - 7 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6190
Abstract
The warming of the climate system has raised a lot of concerns for decades, and this is traceable to human activities and energy use. Conspicuously, the transportation sector is a great contributor to global emissions. This is largely due to increasing dependence on [...] Read more.
The warming of the climate system has raised a lot of concerns for decades, and this is traceable to human activities and energy use. Conspicuously, the transportation sector is a great contributor to global emissions. This is largely due to increasing dependence on private vehicles and a poorly planned public transportation system. In addition to economic impacts, this also has significant environmental and sustainability implications. This study demonstrates a novel approach using spatial logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) to analyze drivers of traffic flow and its corresponding CO2 emissions in regions through an illustrative case study in the Philippines. Population growth is revealed as the main driver to traffic flow in most regions with the exception of a few regions and the national capital which are driven by economic activity. The economic activity effect shows positive trends contributing positively to traffic flow which is greatly linked to income level rise and increase in vehicle ownership. Concerning the impacts, results revealed that an increase in economic activity generally causes traffic intensity to decrease, and switching to more sustainable modes is not a guarantee to reduce carbon emissions. The authors recommend increasing equity on the appropriation of transport infrastructure projects across regions, quality improvement of public transport services and promoting mixed-use development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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15 pages, 1302 KiB  
Article
Environmental and Health Co-Benefits of Coal Regulation under the Carbon Neutral Target: A Case Study in Anhui Province, China
by Wu Xie, Wenzhe Guo, Wenbin Shao, Fangyi Li and Zhipeng Tang
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6498; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116498 - 7 Jun 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3385
Abstract
Coal regulation has been implemented throughout China. However, the potential benefits of pollution abatement and the co-benefits of residents’ health were rarely assessed. In this study, based on the analysis of historical coal consumption and multiple coal regulation measures in Anhui Province, China, [...] Read more.
Coal regulation has been implemented throughout China. However, the potential benefits of pollution abatement and the co-benefits of residents’ health were rarely assessed. In this study, based on the analysis of historical coal consumption and multiple coal regulation measures in Anhui Province, China, four scenarios (Business as Usual (BU), Structure Optimization (SO), Gross Consumption Control (GC), and Comprehensive Measures (CM)) were constructed to indicate four different paths from 2020 to 2060, which is a vital period for realizing carbon neutrality. The results show that reductions of SO2, PM10, and PM2.5 emissions in the SO scenario are higher than those in the GC scenario, while the reduction of NOx emission is higher in the GC scenario. Compared with the BU scenario, residents’ health benefits from 2020 to 2060 are 8.3, 4.8, and 4.5 billion USD in the CM, GC, and SO scenarios, respectively, indicating that the achievements of coal regulation are significant for health promotion. Therefore, the optimization and implementation of coal regulation in the future is not only essential for the carbon neutrality target, but also a significant method to yield environmental and health co-benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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16 pages, 9990 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Power Generation for Solar Photovoltaic Module with Various Internal Cell Spacing
by June Raymond L. Mariano, Yun-Chuan Lin, Mingyu Liao and Herchang Ay
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6364; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116364 - 3 Jun 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2908
Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) systems directly convert solar energy into electricity and researchers are taking into consideration the design of photovoltaic cell interconnections to form a photovoltaic module that maximizes solar irradiance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cell spacing effect of [...] Read more.
Photovoltaic (PV) systems directly convert solar energy into electricity and researchers are taking into consideration the design of photovoltaic cell interconnections to form a photovoltaic module that maximizes solar irradiance. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the cell spacing effect of light diffusion on output power. In this work, the light absorption of solar PV cells in a module with three different cell spacings was studied. An optical engineering software program was used to analyze the reflecting light on the backsheet of the solar PV module towards the solar cell with varied internal cell spacing of 2 mm, 5 mm, and 8 mm. Then, assessments were performed under standard test conditions to investigate the power output of the PV modules. The results of the study show that the module with an internal cell spacing of 8 mm generated more power than 5 mm and 2 mm. Conversely, internal cell spacing from 2 mm to 5 mm revealed a greater increase of power output on the solar PV module compared to 5 mm to 8 mm. Furthermore, based on the simulation and experiment, internal cell spacing variation showed that the power output of a solar PV module can increase its potential to produce more power from the diffuse reflectance of light. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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21 pages, 1585 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Comparison of Drivers to CO2 Emissions in ASEAN: A Decomposition Study
by Edwin Bernard F. Lisaba, Jr. and Neil Stephen A. Lopez
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6183; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116183 - 31 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2817
Abstract
The Southeast Asian region is one of the most vulnerable to climate change given its geographical location and economic situation. This study aims to conduct a combination of spatial and temporal analyses in order to understand differences between member nations in terms of [...] Read more.
The Southeast Asian region is one of the most vulnerable to climate change given its geographical location and economic situation. This study aims to conduct a combination of spatial and temporal analyses in order to understand differences between member nations in terms of driving factors to changing emissions. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was used in order to estimate carbon dioxide emissions due to population, economic activity, economic structure, and energy intensity effects from the year 1990 to 2018. In conducting the study, spatial analysis showed that Singapore was the only country to effectively lessen carbon emissions, due to population and energy intensity, in comparison to the others. Additionally, temporal analysis showed that the ASEAN initially developed at the same rate, before countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, started becoming more economically active, as shown by their economic activity. Finally, results have shown that some countries, especially the Philippines and Indonesia, have undergone significant changes in economic structure, which significantly affected carbon emissions. The results also highlight the increasing per capita emissions as income levels rise. The paper concludes by presenting a summary of the findings and some policy recommendations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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15 pages, 4146 KiB  
Article
Torrefaction Thermogravimetric Analysis and Kinetics of Sorghum Distilled Residue for Sustainable Fuel Production
by Shih-Wei Yen, Wei-Hsin Chen, Jo-Shu Chang, Chun-Fong Eng, Salman Raza Naqvi and Pau Loke Show
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4246; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084246 - 11 Apr 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2481
Abstract
This study investigated the kinetics of isothermal torrefaction of sorghum distilled residue (SDR), the main byproduct of the sorghum liquor-making process. The samples chosen were torrefied isothermally at five different temperatures under a nitrogen atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer. Afterward, two different kinetic [...] Read more.
This study investigated the kinetics of isothermal torrefaction of sorghum distilled residue (SDR), the main byproduct of the sorghum liquor-making process. The samples chosen were torrefied isothermally at five different temperatures under a nitrogen atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer. Afterward, two different kinetic methods, the traditional model-free approach, and a two-step parallel reaction (TPR) kinetic model, were used to obtain the torrefaction kinetics of SDR. With the acquired 92–97% fit quality, which is the degree of similarity between calculated and real torrefaction curves, the traditional method approached using the Arrhenius equation showed a poor ability on kinetics prediction, whereas the TPR kinetic model optimized by the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm showed that all the fit qualities are as high as 99%. The results suggest that PSO can simulate the actual torrefaction kinetics more accurately than the traditional kinetics approach. Moreover, the PSO method can be further employed for simulating the weight changes of reaction intermediates throughout the process. This computational method could be used as a powerful tool for industrial design and optimization in the biochar manufacturing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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15 pages, 4582 KiB  
Article
Effects of a Battery Energy Storage System on the Operating Schedule of a Renewable Energy-Based Time-of-Use Rate Industrial User under the Demand Bidding Mechanism of Taipower
by Cheng-Ta Tsai, Yu-Shan Cheng, Kuen-Huei Lin and Chun-Lung Chen
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3576; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063576 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2580
Abstract
Due to the increased development of the smart grid, it is becoming crucial to have an efficient energy management system for a time-of-use (TOU) rate industrial user in Taiwan. In this paper, an extension of the direct search method (DSM) is developed to [...] Read more.
Due to the increased development of the smart grid, it is becoming crucial to have an efficient energy management system for a time-of-use (TOU) rate industrial user in Taiwan. In this paper, an extension of the direct search method (DSM) is developed to deal with the operating schedule of a TOU rate industrial user under the demand bidding mechanism of Taipower. To maximize the total incentive obtained from the Taiwan Power Company (TPC, namely Taipower), several operational strategies using a battery energy storage system (BESS) are evaluated in the study to perform peak shaving and realize energy conservation. The effectiveness of the proposed DSM algorithm is validated with the TOU rate industrial user of the TPC. Numerical experiments are carried out to provide a favorable indication of whether to invest in a BESS for the renewable energy-based TOU rate industrial user in order to execute the demand bidding program (DBP). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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26 pages, 3494 KiB  
Article
Core Competitiveness Evaluation of Clean Energy Incubators Based on Matter-Element Extension Combined with TOPSIS and KPCA-NSGA-II-LSSVM
by Guangqi Liang, Dongxiao Niu and Yi Liang
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9570; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229570 - 17 Nov 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1961
Abstract
Scientific and accurate core competitiveness evaluation of clean energy incubators is of great significance for improving their burgeoning development. Hence, this paper proposes a hybrid model on the basis of matter-element extension integrated with TOPSIS and KPCA-NSGA-II-LSSVM. The core competitiveness evaluation index system [...] Read more.
Scientific and accurate core competitiveness evaluation of clean energy incubators is of great significance for improving their burgeoning development. Hence, this paper proposes a hybrid model on the basis of matter-element extension integrated with TOPSIS and KPCA-NSGA-II-LSSVM. The core competitiveness evaluation index system of clean energy incubators is established from five aspects, namely strategic positioning ability, seed selection ability, intelligent transplantation ability, growth catalytic ability and service value-added ability. Then matter-element extension and TOPSIS based on entropy weight is applied to index weighting and comprehensive evaluation. For the purpose of feature dimension reduction, kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) is used to extract momentous information among variables as the input. The evaluation results can be obtained by least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) optimized by NSGA-II. The experiment study validates the precision and applicability of this novel approach, which is conducive to comprehensive evaluation of the core competitiveness for clean energy incubators and decision-making for more reasonable operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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19 pages, 1927 KiB  
Article
Biofuel from Microalgae: Sustainable Pathways
by Alvin B. Culaba, Aristotle T. Ubando, Phoebe Mae L. Ching, Wei-Hsin Chen and Jo-Shu Chang
Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 8009; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198009 - 28 Sep 2020
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 9724
Abstract
As the demand for biofuels increases globally, microalgae offer a viable biomass feedstock to produce biofuel. With abundant sources of biomass in rural communities, these materials could be converted to biodiesel. Efforts are being done in order to pursue commercialization. However, its main [...] Read more.
As the demand for biofuels increases globally, microalgae offer a viable biomass feedstock to produce biofuel. With abundant sources of biomass in rural communities, these materials could be converted to biodiesel. Efforts are being done in order to pursue commercialization. However, its main usage is for other applications such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and aquaculture, which has a high return of investment. In the last 5 decades of algal research, cultivation to genetically engineered algae have been pursued in order to push algal biofuel commercialization. This will be beneficial to society, especially if coupled with a good government policy of algal biofuels and other by-products. Algal technology is a disruptive but complementary technology that will provide sustainability with regard to the world’s current issues. Commercialization of algal fuel is still a bottleneck and a challenge. Having a large production is technical feasible, but it is not economical as of now. Efforts for the cultivation and production of bio-oil are still ongoing and will continue to develop over time. The life cycle assessment methodology allows for a sustainable evaluation of the production of microalgae biomass to biodiesel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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22 pages, 2576 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Optimization of an Integrated Algal and Sludge-Based Bioenergy Park and Wastewater Treatment System
by Jayne Lois San Juan, Carlo James Caligan, Maria Mikayla Garcia, Jericho Mitra, Andres Philip Mayol, Charlle Sy, Aristotle Ubando and Alvin Culaba
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7793; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187793 - 21 Sep 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3281
Abstract
Given increasing energy demand and global warming potential, the advancements in bioenergy production have become a key factor in combating these issues. Biorefineries have been effective in converting biomass into energy and valuable products with the added benefits of treating wastewater used as [...] Read more.
Given increasing energy demand and global warming potential, the advancements in bioenergy production have become a key factor in combating these issues. Biorefineries have been effective in converting biomass into energy and valuable products with the added benefits of treating wastewater used as a cultivation medium. Recent developments enable relationships between sewage sludge and microalgae that could lead to higher biomass and energy yields. This study proposes a multi-objective optimization model that would assist stakeholders in designing an integrated system consisting of wastewater treatment systems, an algal-based bioenergy park, and a sludge-based bioenergy park that would decide which processes to use in treating wastewater and sludge while minimizing cost and carbon emissions. The baseline run of the model showed that the three plants were utilized in treating both sludge and water for the optimal answer. Running the model with no storage prioritizes water disposal, while having storage can help produce more energy. Sensitivity analysis was performed on storage costs and demand. Results show that decreasing the demand is directly proportional to the total costs while increasing it can help reduce expected costs through storage and utilizing process capacities. Costs of storage do not cause a huge overall difference in costs and directly follow the change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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Review

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19 pages, 3721 KiB  
Review
The Influence of COVID-19 on Global CO2 Emissions and Climate Change: A Perspective from Malaysia
by Chung Hong Tan, Mei Yin Ong, Saifuddin M. Nomanbhay, Abd Halim Shamsuddin and Pau Loke Show
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8461; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158461 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5031
Abstract
The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in early 2020 prompted a global lockdown from March to July 2020. Due to strict lockdown measures, many countries experienced economic downturns, negatively affecting many industries including energy, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, healthcare, food, education, tourism, [...] Read more.
The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in early 2020 prompted a global lockdown from March to July 2020. Due to strict lockdown measures, many countries experienced economic downturns, negatively affecting many industries including energy, manufacturing, agriculture, finance, healthcare, food, education, tourism, and sports. Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a rare opportunity to observe the impacts of worldwide lockdown on global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and climate change. Being the main greenhouse gas responsible for rising global surface temperature, CO2 is released to the atmosphere primarily by burning fossil fuels. Compared to 2019, CO2 emissions for the world and Malaysia decreased significantly by 4.02% (−1365.83 MtCO2) and 9.7% (−225.97 MtCO2) in 2020. However, this is insufficient to cause long-term impacts on global CO2 levels and climate change. Therefore, in this review, we explored the effects of worldwide lockdown on global CO2 levels, the impacts of national lockdown on Malaysia’s CO2 emissions, and the influence of climate change in Malaysia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Development for Sustainability)
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