Search Results (188)

Petroleum-based insulating liquids have traditionally been used in the electrical industry for cooling and insulation. However, their environmental drawbacks, such as non-biodegradability and ecological risks, have led to increasing regulatory restrictions. As a sustainable alternative, vegetable-based insulating liquids have gained attention due to their biodegradability, non-toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and lower carbon emissions. Adopting vegetable-based insulating liquids also aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7 and 13, which focus on cleaner energy sources and reducing carbon emissions. Despite these benefits, most commercially available vegetable-based insulating liquids are derived from edible seed oils, raising concerns about food security and the environmental footprint of large-scale agricultural production, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. In recent years, waste cooking oils (WCOs) have emerged as a promising resource for industrial applications through waste-to-value conversion processes. However, their potential as transformer insulating liquids remains largely unexplored due to limited research and available data. This review explores the feasibility of utilizing waste cooking oils as green transformer insulating liquids. It examines the conversion and purification processes required to enhance their suitability for insulation applications, evaluates their dielectric and thermal performance, and assesses their potential implementation in transformers based on existing literature. The objective is to provide a comprehensive assessment of waste cooking oil as an alternative insulating liquid, highlight key challenges associated with its adoption, and outline future research directions to optimize its properties for high-voltage transformer applications. Full article

Traditional smoking techniques, while historically valued for preservation and flavor enhancement, face limitations in aromatic diversity and safety, prompting exploration of spice-derived alternatives to meet modern culinary demands. This study explores the volatile compound profiles and aroma modulation of chicken wings smoked with four spices—cardamom, rosemary, mint, and rose—using a novel, household-friendly smoking protocol. The method combines air fryer pre-cooking (180 °C, 16 min) with electric griddle-based smoke infusion, followed by HS-SPME/GC-TOF/MS, relative odor activity value (ROAV) calculations, and metabolomic analysis. A total of 314 volatile compounds were identified across five samples. Among them, 45 compounds demonstrated odor activity values (ROAV) ≥ 1, contributing to green, woody, floral, and sweet aroma attributes. Eucalyptol displayed the highest ROAV (2543), underscoring its dominant sensory impact. Metabolomic profiling revealed a general upregulation of differential volatiles post-smoking: terpenes were enriched in wings smoked with cardamom, rosemary, and mint, while aldehydes and alcohols predominated in rose-smoked samples. An integrated screening based on ROAV and metabolomic data identified 24 key volatiles, including eucalyptol, β-myrcene, methanethiol, and α-pinene, which collectively defined the aroma signatures of spice-smoked wings. Spice-specific aroma enrichment and sensory properties were evident: rosemary intensified woody–spicy notes, mint enhanced herbal freshness, and rose amplified floral attributes. The proposed method demonstrated advantages in safety, ease of use, and flavor customization, aligning with clean-label trends and supporting innovation in home-based culinary practices. Moreover, it facilitates the tailored modulation of smoked meat flavor profiles, thereby enhancing product differentiation and broadening consumer acceptance. Full article

With the global emphasis on sustainable growth and development, the depletion of natural energy reserves due to reliance on fossil fuels and non-renewable sources remains a critical concern. Despite strides in transitioning to electrical mobility, rural and agricultural communities depend heavily on liquefied petroleum gas and firewood for cooking, lacking viable, sustainable alternatives. This study focuses on community-led efforts to advance biogas adoption, providing an eco-friendly and reliable energy alternative for rural and farming households. By designing and developing balloon-type anaerobic biodigesters, this initiative provides a robust, cost-effective, and scalable method to convert farm waste into biogas for household cooking. This approach reduces reliance on traditional fuels, mitigating deforestation and improving air quality, and generates organic biofertilizer as a byproduct, enhancing agricultural productivity through organic farming. The study focuses on optimizing critical parameters, including the input feed rate, gas production patterns, holding time, biodigester health, gas quality, and liquid manure yield. Statistical tools, such as descriptive analysis, regression analysis, and ANOVA, were employed to validate and predict biogas output data based on experimental and industrial-scale data. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were also utilized to model and predict outputs, inspired by the information processing mechanisms of biological neural systems. A comprehensive database was developed from experimental and literary data to enhance model accuracy. The results demonstrate significant improvements in cooking practices, health outcomes, economic stability, and solid waste management among beneficiaries. The integration of statistical analysis and ANN modeling validated the biodigester system’s effectiveness and scalability. This research highlights the potential to harness renewable energy to address socio-economic challenges in rural areas, paving the way for a sustainable, equitable future by fostering environmentally conscious practices, clean energy access, and enhanced agricultural productivity. Full article

Energy poverty focuses on energy affordability in developed nations but is most often used in the developing world in the context of a lack of access to electricity, clean cooking fuels, or technologies. About 1.2 billion people still lack access to electricity and nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population lacks access to clean cooking fuels. In addition, climate change mitigation strategies must be applied to a complex and diverse socio-technical landscape that varies across and within countries. Energy poverty is among the most pressing issues to be addressed within these strategies; however, due to the complexity of its causes, there is no commonly agreed upon evaluation approach or holistic set of indicators for its quantitative evaluation. In this study, a comprehensive literature review is undertaken on energy poverty measurement methods and definitions, and factors that cause energy poverty. Through this, exogenous and endogenous factors that are often overlooked in the assessment and prediction of energy poverty are identified. The need for an energy poverty prediction framework is identified, incorporating missing perspectives and elements needed to implement future energy poverty projections to enable proactive policy development. Missing perspectives included an increase in energy demand associated with the development of innovative technologies including artificial intelligence and automation, increasing fuel prices, and exogenous factors such as rising temperatures and increased acute disasters and endemic structural failures associated with climate change leading to employment impacts, all of which may be critical to the accurate prediction of energy poverty. Full article

Background: Exposure to household air pollution (HAP) is one of the primary risk factors for acute lower respiratory infection (ARI) morbidity and mortality among children in low-income settings. This study aimed to examine the relative contribution of residing in deprived neighbourhoods and exposure to HAP on the occurrence of ARI among children using data from the 2014–2015 Chad Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Methods: We applied multilevel modelling techniques to survey data of 2882 children from 372 communities to compute the odds ratio (OR) for the occurrence of ARI between children of respondents exposed to clean fuels (e.g., electricity, liquid petroleum gas, natural gas, and biogas) and respondents exposed to polluting fuel (e.g., kerosene, coal/lignite, charcoal, wood, straw/shrubs/grass, and animal dung). Results: The results showed that children exposed to household polluting fuels in Chad were 215% more likely to develop ARI than those not exposed to household air pollution (OR = 3.15; 95% CI 2.41 to 4.13). Further analysis revealed that the odds of ARI were 185% higher (OR = 2.85; 95% CI 1.73 to 4.75) among children living in rural residents and those born to teenage mothers (OR = 2.75; 95% CI 1.48 to 5.15) who were exposed to household polluting fuels compared to their counterparts who were not exposed. In summary, the results of the study show that the risk of ARI is more common among children who live in homes where household air-polluting cooking fuel is widely used, those living in rural areas, those living in socioeconomically deprived neighbourhoods and from the least wealthy households, and those born to teenage mothers in Chad. Conclusions: In this study, an independent relative contribution of variables, such as HAP from cooking fuel, neighbourhood deprivation, living in rural areas, being from a low-income household, having a mother who is a manual labourer worker, and being given birth to by a teenage mother, to the risk of ARI among children is established. Full article

With the development of society, energy application and building thermal comfort in rural residences are receiving more and more attention. The rural residences in this survey mainly cover the rural areas of 21 prefectures in Guangdong province, of which 24.7% are in the Pearl River Delta, 18.9% in western Guangdong, 13.1% in eastern Guangdong, and 43.2% in northern Guangdong. Rural household energy consumption is mainly used for lighting equipment, household appliances, and cooking equipment, where lighting equipment and household appliances mainly consume electrical energy, and cooking equipment consumes different types of energy due to the diversity of types. First, there is a wide variety and variation in rural energy consumption, with electricity and liquefied petroleum gas as the main sources of cooking energy. Hot water is mainly obtained by heating with electricity and natural gas. Secondly, for rural residents, renewable energy is too expensive to build, is also affected by the environment and weather, and is often not convenient to use. Third, rural residents generally experience a warm, humid indoor environment with adequate airflow, but poor kitchen ventilation reduces air quality satisfaction. To enhance renewable energy adoption, technological advancements and cost reductions are necessary, along with increased government efforts in awareness campaigns, policy incentives, and demonstration projects. This study analyses the rural energy structure in Guangdong, proposes the direction of rural energy optimization, and analyses rural energy use and the feasibility of renewable energy promotion, considering the population and income of rural households. Full article

To reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of efficient refrigeration and cooking equipment and other innovative technologies need to be considered in the food service sector. In quick-service restaurants (QSRs), there is a strong interaction between the structure, internal machinery, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The impact of these interactions in a UK-based QSR was modelled using EnergyPlus™ 2022 v22.2.0. The modelling examined the effects of applying carbon reduction technologies, predicted climate change impacts, and electrical grid carbon intensity (EGCI) from 2022 to 2050. The findings revealed that among the individual technologies applied, an enhanced efficiency of 20% in refrigeration and kitchen equipment gave the most favourable outcome, contributing to a 15.7% reduction in carbon emissions. The results also showed that climate change impacts on the energy consumption of the QSR were minimal. Additionally, combining technologies could achieve savings of 35.9% in carbon emissions, while predicted changes in the EGCI could potentially yield a 98% reduction in carbon emissions between 2022 and 2050. The findings highlight the significance of the early adoption of carbon reduction technologies to minimise cumulative emissions. These insights offer a foundation for developing more effective carbon reduction strategies in the food service sector. Full article

This study evaluated the physicochemical characteristics, antioxidant properties, and consumer acceptance of a traditional Korean snack nurungji blended with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The antioxidant activity of β-glucan was identified in barley using a model Maillard reaction products (MRPs) system. Nurungji samples were analyzed based on barley cultivars (waxy and hulled), barley blending ratios (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100), and cooking equipment (electric and electric pressure rice cooker). Nurungji blended with waxy barley and cooked using an electric pressure rice cooker showed a significant increase in antioxidant properties, such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activities, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and reducing power. The antioxidant activity of the model MRP solutions increased according to heating time and the addition of β-glucan. In the consumer acceptance test, nurungji blended with 50% barley showed a significantly higher acceptance rate in terms of overall evaluation, aroma, taste, texture, aftertaste, and purchase intents. Full article

People, communities, and economies in small island developing states are extremely vulnerable to climate change, disasters, and other crises. Renewable energy can play an important part in building the resilience of these communities. Three case studies were conducted in Fiji (i.e., a grid-connected secondary school with roof-top solar PV and biogas, an off-grid community with solar home systems, and a farm that uses solar PV for irrigation) to demonstrate how renewable energy initiatives build community resilience. This study used the community resilience framework, RETScreen tool, information gathered from key informants’ interviews, and secondary data sources to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses. It found that seven community assets, i.e., human, social, cultural, financial, natural, built, and political assets, are enhanced, leading to an increase in absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities for these communities. Furthermore, current research shows that human capital is one of the key instruments in the adoption of new innovative technologies. The results from this study can be used by decisionmakers to promote and implement similar technologies in communities, which not only provide clean electricity and clean cooking energy for climate change mitigation but also build community resilience. Full article

The coupling effects of electrical pulse, temperature, strain rate, and strain on the flow behavior and plasticity of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy were investigated and characterized. The isothermal tensile test and electrically assisted isothermal tensile test were performed at the same temperature, and the typical models were further embedded in ABAQUS for numerical simulation to illustrate the electroplastic effect. The results showed that electrical pulses reduced deformation resistance but greatly increased elongation. Compared with the traditional Johnson–Cook model, the proposed modified electroplasticity constitutive equations have a certain improvement in calibration accuracy for a highly nonlinear and thermoelectric coupling dynamic behavior. Moreover, combined with the electrically assisted three-point bending experiment, it was found that the springback angle decreases with the increase in current density. This is very close to the experimental result, further verifying the effectiveness of the thermoelectric coupling constitutive equation. Full article

Cooking with firewood in inefficient stoves primarily affects the rural population in poor and developing countries, usually lacking access to clean and modern energy sources. La Guajira, Colombia, is especially affected, with 40% to 60% of the departmental households relying on firewood, which increases to 80% in rural areas. In the department, only 40.4% of the population have access to natural gas, which drops to 6% in the indigenous reservations, while 68.4% have access to electricity, which reduces to 22% in indigenous reservations. Rural areas with agricultural production in the department can benefit from biomass wastes to address firewood consumption. This study quantified the agricultural biomass waste inventory in La Guajira to assess their availability for energy valorization as cooking fuel or, when possible, for electricity generation. The geolocalization of biomass wastes and rural communities was developed to overlap biomass production with the demand for firewood. Moreover, briquetting, anaerobic digestion, and direct combustion were considered small- and medium-scale options for the energy valorization of biomass wastes. Results highlighted the department’s yearly production of 292,760 to 522,696 t of agricultural biomass wastes between 2010 and 2023. These wastes could yield an estimated 381 to 521 TJ/year of electricity using direct combustion, coinciding with some 21% to 28% of the electricity demand in 2022 in La Guajira. Furthermore, this electricity potential could replace 57% to 78% of the demand for firewood in the department using electric stoves. Moreover, anaerobic digestion could produce from 8.6 to 10 million m³/year, enough to replace between 16% and 18% of the demand for firewood using biogas stoves. Finally, briquettes could replace between 28% and 49% of the firewood demand, considering the adoption of improved biomass stoves. Considering that direct combustion and anaerobic digestion technologies would be efficient on the medium scale, briquettes surfaced as the most viable approach at the small scale to take advantage of agricultural wastes to replace firewood in households in rural areas. Full article

Fully harnessing the digital economy to encourage the clean transition of household cooking fuel is essential for improving environmental conditions and enhancing human health. To this end, we developed a theoretical framework to examine how the digital economy influences household cooking fuel choices and empirically investigated these relationships using panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning 2014–2020. The results show that the digital economy accelerates household clean cooking fuel transition, particularly in the adoption of electricity. These conclusions remain consistent after addressing endogeneity and conducting robustness tests. Furthermore, the promotional effect exhibits certain heterogeneities, notably more prominent among female household heads, as well as in urban and northern regions. Mechanism analysis reveals that this promoting force is primarily driven by increased household income, expanded social networks, and heightened environmental awareness. These findings offer theoretical and empirical backing for utilizing the digital economy to facilitate household cooking fuel transition and guide policymakers in designing targeted interventions that consider household and regional diversity. Full article

Carrots, scientifically known as Daucus carota L., are among the most popular and widely consumed vegetables. They are used for cooking and juice production, both industrially and in households, resulting in large amounts of waste each year, mainly from the peel. The peels are rich in antioxidant compounds that can be used either as cosmetics or as food and feed additives. Therefore, in this work, the extraction of these compounds was optimized using green techniques (pulsed electric field and/or ultrasonication) and solvents. Response surface methodology was applied to achieve the optimization. Under optimum conditions, the total polyphenol yield was 8.26 mg gallic acid equivalents per g dry weight (dw) and the total carotenoid content was 137.44 μg β-carotene equivalents per g dw. The optimum extract reportedly showed an antioxidant capacity of 76.57 μmol ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE) per g dw by FRAP assay and 63.48 μmol AAE per g dw by DPPH assay, while the total ascorbic acid content was 2.55 mg per g dw. Furthermore, chromatographic quantification of individual bioactive compounds through a diode array detector was performed, wherein catechin yielded the highest proportion (18.6%) of the total 6.88 mg/g dw. This study addressed inquiries regarding the valorization of bioactive compounds from carrot peels, as well as several strategies for recovering their diverse bioactive components using green procedures and solvents. Full article

The objective of this study was to examine the changes in starch processed under various ohmic heating (OH) conditions in relation to the characteristics of nixtamalized maize. Ground and dehydrated nixtamalized doughs (masas) were analyzed. Samples were prepared using both OH and traditional nixtamalization methods for comparison. The OH process variables included cooking temperature (85 and 90 °C), heating time (0, 5, and 10 min), and voltage (120 and 130 V). Starch modifications were assessed through viscosity measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that viscosity in OH-treated samples was influenced by both thermal conditions (time and temperature) and the electric field (at 130 V), due to gelatinization and electroporation, evidenced by starch granule damage in SEM. DSC and X-ray diffraction revealed gelatinization and a loss of crystalline structures, along with new interactions between starch components that stabilized the system and reduced peak viscosity in the OH masa flours. Full article

Domestic electrical fires can occur for a variety of reasons, including faulty wiring and plugs, overloaded circuits, and malfunctioning electrical appliances. In this article, the circumstances of domestic electrical fire injuries between 2011 and 2022 in the county of Merseyside in Northwestern England were examined in order to inform fire prevention activities. Householder carelessness appeared to be less of a factor in electrical fire injury compared to other types of fire injury such as cooking or smoking fire injury. Faulty electricity supplies were the main cause of electrical fire injuries. Male residents were slightly more likely to sustain injury in an electrical fire in comparison to females (1.25 to 1). Those aged 75+ appeared to be more at risk of electrical fire injuries compared to other age groups. Full article