ALBERT

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sebastian Iwaszenko, Natalia Howaniec, Adam Smoliński〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Gasification technologies represent the most viable options of thermochemical processing of solid fuels. They are also characterized by lower emissions and higher efficiency when compared to conventional combustion systems. Particular attention has been paid to underground coal gasification offering the possibility of utilization for energy purposes coal resources otherwise inaccessible for economic or safety reasons. The disadvantage of this process is, however, the difficult control both in terms of technological and environmental aspects. The underground coal gasification process requires investigation of numerous heterogeneous reactions and transport processes, influenced by various process parameters, such as the temperature, type and flow rate of a gasification agent and geological conditions of the georeactor. In the paper a new, alternative way of the determination of kinetics of coal gasification by the Random Pore Model application is proposed. The procedure for determination of model parameters is presented. The structural parameter was estimated on the basis of measurements of char porous structure parameters. The reactivity measurements made for selected Polish coals were applied in determination of kinetic constants. The results of gasification process simulations for determined parameters and Random Pore Model are also given.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Joel Krupa, Rahmatallah Poudineh, L.D. Danny Harvey〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Although renewables in the resource-rich countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are inconsequential contributors to regional total primary energy supply, recent project developments and overt support from a range of influential regional actors suggest a general trend towards a more environmentally sustainable electricity supply. This trend is driven just as much by economics as other factors, as rapidly falling renewable energy capital costs are complementing favourable policy environments, technical suitability, and concerns around the impacts of anthropogenic climate change and local pollution. Finance is an especially important consideration in this transition, yet it receives insufficient coverage. This paper seeks to remedy this deficiency of academic inquiry by highlighting the case of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to draw out broader implications for the region. We outline the factors that affect the financeability of projects, review the latest developments in renewable energy finance in the region, and present policy recommendations going forward.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360544218320966-egi10GRBN8M09N.jpg" width="289" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 10 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 296〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saheed Bukola, Stephen E. Creager〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Transmission rates for protons and deuterons across single-layer graphene embedded in Nafion | graphene | Nafion sandwich structures are measured as a function of temperature in electrochemical hydrogen pump cells. Rates of ion transmission through graphene are obtained in the form of area-normalized ion-transfer resistances, and are interpreted in terms of ion-exchange current densities and standard heterogeneous ion-transfer rate constants. An encounter pre-equilibrium model for the ion-transfer step is then used to provide rate constants for the fundamental microscopic step of ion (proton or deuteron) transmission across graphene. Application of this rate model to interpret variable-temperature data on proton and deuteron transmission rates provides values for the activation energy and pre-exponential factor for the fundamental ion transmission step across graphene. Activation energies obtained from the Arrhenius plots for proton and deuteron transmission are as follows; for proton, E〈sub〉act〈/sub〉 = 48 ± 2 kJ/mole (0.50 ± 0.02 eV) and for deuteron, E〈sub〉act〈/sub〉 = 53 ± 5 kJ/mole (0.55 ± 0.05 eV). The difference between these two values of approximately 5 kJ/mole is in good agreement with the expected difference in vibrational zero-point energies for O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H and O-D bonds, albeit with some uncertainty given the uncertainties in the activation energy values. Pre-exponential frequency factor values of 8.3 ± 0.4 × 10〈sup〉13〈/sup〉 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and is 4.7 ± 0.5 × 10〈sup〉13〈/sup〉 s〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 were obtained for proton and deuteron transmission respectively across graphene. These pre-factor values are both quite large, on the order of the values predicted from the Eyring – Polanyi equation with a transmission coefficient near one. The ratio of 1.8 for the rate pre-factors (H/D) is in reasonable agreement with the value of 1.3 for the ratio of bond vibrational frequencies for O〈img src="https://sdfestaticassets-eu-west-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/16/entities/sbnd"〉H and O-D stretching, respectively. Taken together, these data support a model in which proton and deuteron transmission across graphene are largely adiabatic processes for which the differences in transmission rate at room temperature are due largely to differences in activation energies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hongxia Zhao, Tianpeng Yuan, Jia Gao, Xinli Wang, Jia Yan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Both conventional and advanced exergy analysis methods were adopted to compare parallel and series compression-ejection hybrid refrigeration system for a two-temperature R290 refrigerator. The calculation was performed through Matlab and CoolProp. The results over typical design conditions showed that the exergy efficiency of the series system is 5.17% higher than the parallel system, and the exergy destructions of the compressor (30.59% for parallel and 31.22% for series) and the ejector (19.36% for parallel and 22.65% for series) are the biggest of the total system. Results from advanced exergy analysis showed that the compressor possesses highest improvement priority as its avoidable exergy destruction rate is the biggest, 42.76% of the total for parallel system and 41.28% for series system. The endogenous avoidable exergy destruction rates of the compressor and the ejector are larger than their exogenous parts in both systems, indicating it is most important to improve their own efficiency. However, the condenser’s endogenous avoidable exergy destruction rates are smaller than their exogenous part, so it is more effective by improving other system components rather than itself. The influence of the interactions among the components on the system performance was also evaluated based on their mexogenous exergy destruction.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yikai Jia, Sha Yin, Binghe Liu, Hui Zhao, Huili Yu, Jie Li, Jun Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Dynamic mechanical loading, e.g. impact, is one of the major catastrophic factors that trigger short-circuit, thermal runaway, or even fire/explosion consequences of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). In this study, the mechanical integrity and electrical coupling behaviors of lithium-ion pouch cells under dynamical loading were investigated. Two types of experiments, namely compression and drop-weight tests, are designed and conducted. The state-of-charge (SOC) and loading rate dependencies of batteries, as well as their coupling effect, are examined. Furthermore, the interaction between force response and electrical behavior of battery is investigated through real-time monitoring of voltage change during loading. Experiments on LiCoO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 lithium-ion pouch cells show that the higher SOC and loading rates increases battery structure stiffness. In addition, loading rate intensifies battery structure stiffening with the SOC effect. Results indicate that the deformation and material failure of battery component together determine the electrical behavior of battery. Higher loading rate leads to faster voltage drop and more severe internal short-circuit. This short-circuit discharging process in turn affects the force response in dynamic loading. Results may provide useful insights into the fundamental understanding of electrical and mechanical coupled integrity of LIBs and lay a solid basis for their crash safety design.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tao Yu, Guoqing Guan, Abuliti Abudula, Akihiro Yoshida, Dayong Wang, Yongchen Song〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The 2013/2017 Nankai Trough (Japan) and 2017 Shenhu Area (China) offshore methane hydrate production tests showed the world the possibility and feasibility of the oceanic methane hydrate production by depressurization. However, the relatively low gas production rate still remained as one of the critical bottlenecks for the economical utilization. This study chose the Nankai Trough as a target area, and aimed at the gas recovery enhancement from the methane hydrate reservoir using vertical wells. A traditional single-vertical-well system and a new dual-vertical-well system were proposed, and special production strategies of the aggressive depressurization and permeability improvement were applied to these two systems for the effectiveness verification. Based on the 15-year simulation results, it was found that the middle low-permeability silt-dominated layers in the reservoir held the key to the gas recovery enhancement, and for the single-vertical-well system, the permeability improvement in this sublayer seemed more reliable and feasible than the aggressive depressurization. On the other hand, the dual-vertical-well system significantly exceeded the single-vertical-well system due to the synergistic effect of the two wellbores, and could raise the average gas production rate (9.5 × 10〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day) by one order of magnitude (to 7.9 × 10〈sup〉4〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day). Moreover, if this new system was combined with the aggressive depressurization, the average gas production rate could be further raised by one order of magnitude (to 3.4 × 10〈sup〉5〈/sup〉 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/day).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kaili Jin, Man Zhou, Hong Zhao, Shixiong Zhai, Fengyan Ge, Yaping Zhao, Zaisheng Cai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉With the large theoretical capacity and environmental benignity, copper sulfide (CuS) becomes a prospective candidate electrode material for supercapacitors. In this work, electroconductive mesoporous carbonized clothes (Cc) was obtained by carbonizing the waste cotton fabrics. Then the CuS was galvanostatic electrodeposited on 〈em〉Cc〈/em〉 to prepare the binder-free 〈em〉g〈/em〉-CuS/Cc electrode. In the galvanostatic electrodeposition process, CuS grew along the crystal surface to form regular nanosheets, and a part of Cu〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 were reduced to Cu〈sup〉1.1+〈/sup〉. In addition, on account of the synergistic effect of electrochemical double layer capacitance with pseudocapacitance and the high specific surface area (450.76 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉), the 〈em〉g〈/em〉-CuS/Cc composite displayed not only outstanding areal specific capacitance (4676 mF cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 at 2 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉) but also excellent cycling performance (89.8% retention after 10000 cycles). Meanwhile, the symmetrical flexible supercapacitor (SC) based on 〈em〉g〈/em〉-CuS/Cc electrodes with PVA-KOH gel electrolyte (〈em〉g〈/em〉-CuS/Cc-SC) accomplished a high specific capacitance of 1333 mF cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 at 2 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 as well as ultrahigh energy density of 0.96 Wh cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 at the power density of 4.36 W cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉. Therefore, 〈em〉g〈/em〉-CuS/Cc shows a great potential for applications in the next generation of flexible energy storage devices.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0013468618324447-fx1.jpg" width="384" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kang Li, Zhanwei Xu, Xuetao Shen, Kai Yao, Jianshe Zhao, Ronglan Zhang, Jun Zhang, Li Wang, Jianfeng Zhu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Commercial lithium/thionyl chloride (Li/SOCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) batteries cannot meet the 3.15 V platform required for most instruments. A 〈em〉hovenia acerba〈/em〉-like assembly constructed with cobalt tetrapyridinoporphyrazine of thickness of 5–15 nm is anchored on acid-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CoTAP/MWCNTs), which were prepared using an 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 solid synthesis process. The discharge time of Li/SOCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 batteries with a voltage greater than 3.15 V catalyzed by CoTAP/MWCNTs is found to be 11 min longer than batteries without catalysts and 4 min longer than those catalyzed by CoTAP alone. The energy of Li/SOCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 batteries with a voltage greater than 3.15 V catalyzed by CoTAP/MWCNTs is discovered to be 11.44-times higher than batteries with AF-MWCNTs and 6.17-times higher than those catalyzed by bulk CoTAP. This is due to the fact that more CoTAP ultrafine nanoparticulates are anchored on the AF-MWCNTs. These nanoparticulates provide more active sites for the catalytic reaction of SOCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The assemblies are shown to have an adsorption-coordination effect on Li ions and to delay the deposition of lithium chloride passive films enhancing battery voltage platforms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A 〈em〉hovenia acerba〈/em〉-like assembly constructed with cobalt tetrapyridinoporphyrazine of thickness of 5–15 nm is anchored on acid-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CoTAP/MWCNTs), which were prepared using an 〈em〉in situ〈/em〉 solid synthesis process. The discharge time of Li/SOCl〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 batteries with a voltage greater than 3.15 V catalyzed by CoTAP/MWCNTs is found to be 11 min longer than batteries without catalysts and 4 min longer than those catalyzed by CoTAP alone.〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0013468618324319-fx1.jpg" width="270" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xinjiang Hu, Weixuan Wang, Guangyu Xie, Hui Wang, Xiaofei Tan, Qi Jin, Daixi Zhou, Yunlin Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel ternary composite of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉)/graphene oxide (GO) sheets/BiFeO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (CNGB) with highly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity toward Cr(VI) photoreduction is prepared and characterized. The characterization and photocatalysis experiments corroborate its reasonable band gap, efficient charge separation and transfer, widened visible-light adsorption, easy solid-liquid separation, good stability and superior catalytic activity of CNGB. Three CNGB samples with different ratios of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 and BiFeO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 (CNGB-1, -2, -3 with 2:4, 3:3, and 4:2, respectively), though possessing different adsorption ability, eventually remove all Cr(VI) ions via photocatalysis within 90 min. The catalytic efficiency of the composite is the highest at pH 2; increases in pH decrease the catalytic ability. The inorganic anions such as SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, Cl〈sup〉−〈/sup〉, and NO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 only slightly affects the photocatalytic process. The matching of the band structure between BiFeO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 and g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 generates efficient photogenerated electron migration from the conduction band of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 to that of BiFeO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, which is also facilitated by the electron bridging and collecting effects of GO, and holes transfer from the valence band of BiFeO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 to that of g-C〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, yielding the efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and the subsequent enhancement of photocatalytic activity. The research provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the development of photocatalytic technologies for effective application in wastewater treatment and Cr-contaminated water restoration.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): F. Faghihzadeh, N.M. Anaya, H. Hadjeres, T.B. Boving, V. Oyanedel-Craver〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉This study present assessed the effect of UV pulsed light (PL) on microbial and organic pollutants using two spiral lamps were used, i.e., PL1 and PL2 lamps, with wavelength cut-offs of 190 and 240 nm, respectively. Overall, our study demonstrated that pulsed UV light impacts several microbial biomolecules and degrades polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aqueous solution. In microbial inactivation by PL2, temporary changes of bacterial cellular components, specifically proteins, were observed, but the compositional changes of bacteria that were exposed to PL1 were permanent due to ozonolysis. PL1 irradiation caused greater deactivation of the bacteria than PL2 irradiation due to the generation of ozone. The higher efficacy of PL1 in terms of membrane disruption, reduction of respiration rate, and reduction of growth rate was due to the production of ozone during the irradiation period. The bacteria that were irradiated with both PL lamps regrew due to photoreactivation, such as an enzymatic DNA-repair mechanism.〈/p〉 〈p〉The PAH degradation kinetics indicate that higher molecular weights degraded faster than those with lower molecular weights. For both lamps, the degradation of naphthalene and fluorene was first order, whereas second order for pyrene and anthracene. Any effect of ozonolysis on the PAH degradation rates was not apparent, which indicated that photolysis was the primary degradation pathway. PAH solutions treated with both pulsed UV lamps did not result in a toxicity effect on the bacteria.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yaquan Liu, Xinyue Pang, Jiarui Song, Xinhe Liu, Juanjuan Song, Yongna Yuan, Chunyan Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) is widely used in industry as an alternative to the decabromodiphenyl ether (BDEs). The large-scale use of DBDPE could lead to rapid growth of the human accumulation level of DBDPE. However, the biophysics of accumulation of DBDPE in cell membranes, as one of determinants of DBDPE metabolism is not clear. In the present study, detailed observations of cell lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels measurements proved that the DBDPE exposure to cell could result in significant cell membrane damage by concentration-dependent manners. The fluorescence anisotropy analysis supported the evidence that high concentration DBDPE bound decreased membrane fluidity significantly. Besides it, a detailed molecular dynamic (MD) simulation was approached to investigate the effects of DBDPE on the DPPC (dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine) phospholipid bilayer, which was constructed as the model of cell membrane. The molecular dynamic simulation revealed that DBDPE molecules can easily enter the membrane from the aqueous phase. Under the concentration of a threshold, the DBDPE molecules tended to aggregate inside the DPPC bilayer and caused pore formation. The bound of high concentration of DBDPE could result in significant variations in DPPC bilayer with a less dense, more disorder and rougher layer. The knowledge about DBDPEs interactions with lipid membranes is fundamentally essential to understand the in vivo process of DBDPE and the physical basis for the toxicity of DBDPE in cell membranes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320010-fx1.jpg" width="457" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yangke Long, Sifan Bu, Yixuan Huang, Yueqi Shao, Ling Xiao, Xiaowen Shi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Metal-free carbo-catalyst has recently emerged as a promising candidate as a substituent for tradition-metal based heterogeneous catalyst for catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). However, most reported carbo-catalysts suffer from low catalytic efficiency and poor stability, thus a high-performance catalyst is urgently desired. In this study, a novel carbo-catalyst (NHPC-800), prepared by using tannic acid and dicyandiamide as renewable carbon/nitrogen feedstocks via a simple pyrolysis route, is reported as an activator of PMS with highly efficient catalytic ability and stability. The as-prepared NHPC-800 possesses as high as 22.4 atom% of nitrogen dopants and a hierarchically porous structure with abundant meso/macropores, accompanied by the abundant edges and wrinkles, which supply sufficient exposed catalytically active centers and fast electrons/mass transportations. Using rhodamine B as a model pollutant, the NHPC-800 shows a highly efficient catalytic ability which is superior to most reported carbo-catalysts and even some state-of-the-art metal catalysts. Based on competitive quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results, a non-radical pathway involving the generation of 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 is responsible for the degradation of pollutants. Given that the NHPC-800 shows good recycling performance and strong resistance to adventitious interference such as anions and natural organic matters, we believe NHPC-800 can be a promising candidate for practical applications, and this study can provide inspirations for the further development of highly efficient carbo-catalysts.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320460-fx1.jpg" width="343" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dustin McLarty, Nadia Panossian, Faryar Jabbari, Alberto Traverso〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Economic dispatch for micro-grids and district energy systems presents a highly constrained non-linear, mixed-integer optimization problem that scales exponentially with the number of systems. Energy storage technologies compound the mixed-integer or unit-commitment problem by necessitating simultaneous optimization over the applicable time horizon of the energy storage. The dispatch problem must be solved repeatedly and reliably to effectively minimize costs in real-world operation. This paper outlines a method that greatly reduces, and under some conditions eliminates, the mixed-integer aspect of the problem using complementary convex quadratic optimizations. The generalized method applies to grid-connected or islanded district energy systems comprised of any variety of electric or combined heat and power generators, electric chillers, heaters, and all varieties of energy storage systems. It incorporates constraints for generator operating bounds, ramping limitations, and energy storage inefficiencies. An open-source platform, EAGERS, implements and investigates this optimization method. Results demonstrate a 〉99% reduction in computational effort when comparing the newly minted optimization strategy against a benchmark commercial mixed-integer solver applied to the same combined cooling, heating, and power problem.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): F. Giacalone, C. Olkis, G. Santori, A. Cipollina, S. Brandani, G. Micale〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Closed-loop Reverse Electrodialysis is a novel technology to directly convert low-grade heat into electricity. It consists of a reverse electrodialysis (RED) unit where electricity is produced exploiting the salinity gradient between two salt-water solutions, coupled with a regeneration unit where waste-heat is used to treat the solutions exiting from the RED unit and restore their initial composition. One of the most important advantages of closed-loop systems compared to the open systems is the possibility to select ad-hoc salt solutions to achieve high efficiencies. Therefore, the properties of the salt solutions are essential to assess the performance of the energy generation and solution regeneration processes. The aim of this study is to analyse the influence of thermodynamic properties of non-conventional salt solutions (i.e. other than NaCl-aqueous solutions) and their influence on the operation of the closed-loop RED. New data for caesium and potassium acetate salts, i.e. osmotic and activity coefficients in aqueous solutions, at temperature between 20 and 90 °C are reported as a function of molality. The data are correlated using Pitzer's model, which is then used to assess the theoretical performance of the whole closed-loop RED system considering both single and multi-stage regeneration units. Results indicate that KAc, CsAc and LiCl are the most promising salts among those screened.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Giacomo Butera, Søren Højgaard Jensen, Lasse Røngaard Clausen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The ongoing reduction of greenhouse gas emissions entails increased use of intermittent renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar. This raises the need for cost-effective and efficient electricity storage. In particular seasonal variations in supply and demand will require tremendous storage capacity. In this paper we present a truly large-scale electricity storage system which uses pressurized reversible solid oxide cells combined with catalytic reactors to store electricity as synthetic natural gas. By storing the produced gas in existing natural gas grids the system can create a strong and efficient link between the electricity and gas markets. In addition, the system is able to operate reversibly using gas from the grid to satisfy the electric power demand.〈/p〉 〈p〉The system performance is analyzed with a component-based thermodynamic modeling tool which shows that electricity can be stored as synthetic natural gas with an energy efficiency of 89%. The gas to electricity efficiency is equally high, resulting in a round-trip storage efficiency of 80% (DC-to-DC).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yi Liang, Dongxiao Niu, Wei-Chiang Hong〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Along with the deregulation of electric power market as well as aggregation of renewable resources, short term load forecasting (STLF) has become more and more momentous. However, it is a hard task due to various influential factors that leads to volatility and instability of the series. Therefore, this paper proposes a hybrid model which combines empirical mode decomposition (EMD), minimal redundancy maximal relevance (mRMR), general regression neural network (GRNN) with fruit fly optimization algorithm (FOA), namely EMD-mRMR-FOA-GRNN. The original load series is firstly decomposed into a quantity of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residue with different frequency so as to weaken the volatility of the series influenced by complicated factors. Then, mRMR is employed to obtain the best feature set through the correlation analysis between each IMF and the features including day types, temperature, meteorology conditions and so on. Finally, FOA is utilized to optimize the smoothing factor in GRNN. The ultimate forecasted load can be derived from the summation of the predicted results for all IMFs. To validate the proposed technique, load data in Langfang, China are provided. The results demonstrate that EMD-mRMR-FOA-GRNN is a promising approach in terms of STLF.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yalian Yang, Huanxin Pei, Xiaosong Hu, Yonggang Liu, Cong Hou, Dongpu Cao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Fuel economy of hybrid vehicles is affected by their powertrain configurations, powertrain parameters, and energy management strategies. It is most beneficial to optimizing all the three factors simultaneously. However, when the design search space is large, an exhaustive, optimal control strategy, such as dynamic programming (DP), is too computationally expensive. Hence, a faster optimization method with higher computational efficiency and acceptable accuracy is required. Based on the DP approach, an approximate optimization method, called rapid dynamic programming (Rapid-DP), is developed and discussed in this paper. This method effectively reduces the decision-making time (the time can be reduced by a factor of 700, compared to the DP approach) for optimal control. The optimization processes and results are described and then compared with the original DP and PEARS + methods under two different driving cycles: FTP72 and HWFET. In conjunction with particle swarm optimization (PSO), the rapid-DP is leveraged, for the first time, to optimize key powertrain parameters for power split hybrid electric vehicles. Based on two power-split hybrids: Toyota Prius and Prius++, the joint optimization approach is exploited to examine vehicular fuel savings attributed to synergistic parameters optimization and operating-mode increase. The multi-mode configuration with optimal component parameters is demonstrated to be most fuel-efficient, with 6.56% and 3.15% fuel reductions under FTP72 and HWFET cycles, respectively, with respect to the original Prius 2010.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Julian David Hunt, Edward Byers, Antonio Santos Sánchez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In tropical climates, the energy consumed by ventilation and air conditioning can exceed 50% of the total consumption of a building. Demand for cooling is rising steadily, driven mainly by growing incomes in developing economies, and is expected to also increase with climate change. Tropical, coastal areas with narrow continental shelves are good sites for the implementation of Seawater Air Conditioning (SWAC), a renewable and low CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emission cooling process. This paper presents the existing SWAC projects around the world and gives details on the technology. Data on ocean temperature profiles, ocean bathymetry and world surface temperature are processed with the intent of estimating the world potential of SWAC. The results present the required distance from coast to reach seawater with a temperature of 5 °C or less. This is combined with the potential demand for air conditioning, taking into account surface air temperature and a set SWAC design for cooling from 30 to 20 °C. The pipeline length, seawater depth and capacity factor are then used to estimate the costs of SWAC projects around the world. It is concluded that the locations with the highest potential for SWAC are intertropical islands and some continental locations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sreten Davidov, Miloš Pantoš〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper presents a significantly improved optimization model for the planning of the charging infrastructure for electric-drive vehicles, where the optimization objective function is the minimization of overall (installation, maintenance, operation) placement costs of charging stations with regards to a charging technology. The constraints involve the electric power system reliability check, ensuring charging reliability and the required quality of service of the charging infrastructure. In ensuring the charging reliability, at least one candidate location must be selected within the driving range of electric vehicles and suitable charging technologies placed to accommodate the disposable charging times of electric vehicle users for the requested quality of service. The proposed optimization model presents an upgrade of an existing optimization formulation since it includes a power system reliability check based on a DC power flow model. To show the general applicability and significance of the model, a test 10 × 10 grid road network and a standard six-bus test power system are considered. Numeric results illustrate the optimal charging stations placement layout and overall costs placement for different driving ranges and the required quality of service level by including a power system reliability check, to serve both the charging infrastructure investors and electric power system operators.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hongbin Ren, Yuzhuang Zhao, Sizhong Chen, Taipeng Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉the power delivery performance of series and parallel strings connected battery modules or packs is restricted by the worst cells in the string. Each cell has a slightly different capacity and terminal voltage due to manufacturing tolerances and operating conditions. The cell strings tend to loss balance during charging and discharging process. The motivation of this paper is to develop a battery management system (BMS) to monitor and control the temperature, state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) et al. and to increase the efficiency of rechargeable batteries. An active energy balancing system for Lithium-ion battery pack is designed based on the online SOC and SOH estimation. The remainder capacity of the battery is estimated by measuring the terminal voltage for each cell, and the balance system will be triggered when the difference between the SOC of one cell and the average SOC is more or less than a predefined threshold in order to minimize the output voltage ripple. The simulation results indicate that the designed BMS can precisely synchronize the SOC while minimizing the output voltage ripple.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Oliver Ruhnau, Sergej Bannik, Sydney Otten, Aaron Praktiknjo, Martin Robinius〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Energy scenarios provide guidance to energy policy, not least by presenting decarbonisation pathways for climate change mitigation. We review such scenarios for the example of Germany 2050, with a focus on the decarbonisation of heat generation and road transport. In this context, we characterize the role of renewable electricity and contrast two rivalling narratives: direct and indirect electrification. On the one hand, electricity directly provides heat and transport, using electric heat pumps, electric heaters, and battery electric vehicles. On the other hand, electricity, heat, and transport are indirectly linked, using gas heat pumps, gas heaters, fuel cell electric vehicles, and internal combustion engine vehicles, in combination with power-to-gas and power-to-liquid processes. To reach climate policy targets, our findings imply that energy stakeholders must (1) plan for the significant additional demand for renewable electricity for heat and road transport, (2) pave the way for system-friendly direct heat electrification, (3) be aware of technological uncertainties in the transport sector, (4) clarify the vision for decarbonisation, particularly for road transport, and (5) use holistic and more comparable scenario frameworks.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nan Zhang, Hongjuan Hou, Gang Yu, Eric Hu, Liqiang Duan, Jin Zhao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Solar aided (coal-fired) power generation (SAPG) system has been proved to be an efficient way to utilize the solar energy for power generation. Due to the instability of the solar radiation, a SAPG system generally operates under transient working conditions. In this paper, performance simulation sub-models of main components in a SAPG plant are established based on the lumped parameter assumption. A 330 MW SAPG power plant as a case study is simulated. The variations of the performances, main parameters of the plant with the solar field heat output and the dynamic responses under a typical day are analyzed. The results show that when the heat output of the solar field changes from 0 kJ/h to 2.13 × 10〈sup〉8〈/sup〉 kJ/h, the coal saving rate will increase to 6.4%, and the solar power generation share (the proportion of the power from the solar energy to the total power from the SAPG plant) will increase to 7.74%. During the analysis process, in order to optimize the solar field, the concept of the solar field equivalent efficiency (SFEE) is proposed and the optimal velocity of heat transfer fluid (HTF) in absorber tube is obtained.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhendong Zhang, Xiangdong Kong, Yuejiu Zheng, Long Zhou, Xin Lai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The fast diagnosis of micro-short circuit cells is crucial for the safety of battery packs. Based on the difference between the “median cell” and other cells in a battery pack, we propose a method that can identify micro-short circuit cells under dynamic conditions in real time. We model cell differences and analyze the model from the perspective of its low frequency variation characteristics. We find that approximate open-circuit voltage differences can be obtained when terminal voltage differences are passed through low-pass filters. Then approximate electric quantity differences can be obtained by utilizing the open-circuit voltage differences and the data smoothing function of low-pass filters. For onboard applications of diagnosis method, the recursive least square is adopted to estimate micro-short circuit currents and resistances utilizing the change of electric quantity differences. We verify and analyze the feasibility of the diagnosis method by using simulation data when the cells in a battery pack have temperature, state of charge, capacity, and internal resistance inconsistency, respectively. Finally, the effectiveness of the diagnosis method is further verified by the triggering experiments of micro-short circuits for real battery packs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Upendra Rajak, Prerana Nashine, Tikendra Nath Verma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present work encompasses combustion, performance, and emission parameters of experimental investigations of a single cylinder, four stroke, water cooled, direct injection (DI), naturally aspirated compression ignition (CI) engine with a rated power output of 3.7 kW at constant engine speed (1500 rpm) using diesel and different blends of microalgae 〈em〉spirulina〈/em〉. The microalgae 〈em〉spirulina〈/em〉 blend of ratio with diesel (BYY) where YY indicates blending percentage (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% volume basis with diesel respectively) with different engine loading condition (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) were compared with diesel at CR17.5:1. The output illustrates that the most optimum value is B20% when compared with diesel. The result depicts firstly that there is a reduction in brake thermal efficiency by 0.98%, exhaust gas temperature by 1.7%, hydrocarbon (HC) by 16.3%, carbon monoxide (CO) by 3.6%, NO〈sub〉X〈/sub〉 emission by of 6.8%, and smoke emission by 12.35% respectively. Secondly, there is an increase in specific fuel consumption by up to 5.2% and CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emission by 2.8% for 〈em〉spirulina〈/em〉 blend ratio (B20%) as compared to diesel (B0%) at full load condition engine with constant engine speed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Isabel Soares, Paula Ferreira, Henrik Lund〈/p〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): K. Kontu, S. Rinne, S. Junnila〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉District heating companies have ambitious targets for lowering carbon emissions in production. Large heat pumps offer an interesting alternative for district heating production allowing utilization of various heat sources. The primary objective of this study is to examine the viability of large heat pumps in existing district heating systems. The study uses three types of systems to simulate how increasing the share of heat pump production influences district heating systems when optimized for the lowest production costs. The second objective of this study is to understand the district heating companies’ perspective on increasing amounts of heat pumps in their systems. Based on the simulations, the largest potential for heat pumps is in small district heating systems, where they reduce the use of fossil fuels. In medium and large systems with economical combined heat and power production, the potential of heat pumps is smaller. The findings of the simulations together with insights from the interviews imply that the viable amount of heat pump based heat production in DH systems would be around 10–25% in Finland, which is much higher than the current 3%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): A.E. Teo, M.S. Chiong, M. Yang, A. Romagnoli, R.F. Martinez-Botas, S. Rajoo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper presents an equivalent comparison of waste heat recovery method on an internal combustion engine using low-pressure turbine (LPT), turbo compound (TC) & air-Brayton cycle (ABC). A 5.9 L, six cylinders turbocharged diesel engine is used for this case study. All recovery methods are simulated on AVL BOOST where the engine model, turbocharger and heat exchanger are validated with experimental data. It is found that all three methods cannot work effectively without at least reducing the turbocharger turbine size to amplify the compressor surplus power. It is done by using a commercially available turbocharger turbine with smaller area over radius (A/R) volute, hence ensuring the least possible engine hardware change. In all the cases, the engine is ensured to deliver its baseline brake power. It is shown that LPT can recover the most exhaust waste heat (up to 5.40 kW), followed by TC (up to 1.75 kW) and ABC (up to 0.64 kW).〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mohamed L. Elsayed, Osama Mesalhy, Ramy H. Mohammed, Louis C. Chow〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, exergy analysis of four different feed configurations of a multi-effect desalination with mechanical vapor compressor (MED-MVC) system is initially studied to identify the area of exergy destruction within system components and followed by an exergo-economic study. The feed configurations considered are forward feed (FF), backward feed (BF), parallel feed (PF) and parallel/cross feed (PCF). From the 1st law energy analysis, the PCF and FF configurations require less work to achieve equal distillate production compared to other two configurations. For instance, the specific power consumption (SPC) values are 30.1, 13.7, 23 and 13.9 kWh/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 for the BF, FF, PF and PCF configurations, respectively. Changing the feed arrangement from BF to FF and PF to PCF at a constant compression ratio, the total fixed cost for the MED-MVC plant can be reduced by ∼30% and 17%, respectively. Second law efficiency (〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈msub〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉η〈/mtext〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉II〈/mtext〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈/mrow〉〈/msub〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉) calculations show that the PCF (2.9%) has the highest value followed by the FF (2.7%), while the BF (2.4%) exhibits the lowest value among all configurations. The highest exergy destruction (35–50%) occurs within the MVC unit. This can be reduced by limiting the design plant operation to a lower temperature range or increasing the number of effects. Increasing the number of effects for PCF from 1 to 6 results in a 39% reduction in the SPC and a 70% increase in the second law efficiency. Operating at lower steam temperature results in an increase in the 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.gif" overflow="scroll"〉〈mrow〉〈msub〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉η〈/mtext〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mtext〉II〈/mtext〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈/mrow〉〈/msub〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉 and a decrease in the SPC and total water price (TWP) of the MED-MVC system. Reducing the exergy destruction in the preheaters and the MVC unit is cost-effective for the entire system even with an increase in capital investment costs. Three different cost models are used to estimate the average TWPs for the BF, FF, PF and PCF configurations, and the TWPs are found to be 3.0, 1.7, 2.4 and 1.7 $/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉, respectively.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 165, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Farhad Billimoria, Olumide Adisa, Robert L. Gordon〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Australia's east coast gas market has faced transformational shifts in demand with the commencement of three Liquefied Natural Gas facilities in Queensland. Faced with risks of high domestic prices and potential gas shortages, political intervention has been considered as a possible solution. This paper investigates the impact of network interconnectivity on domestic gas prices by employing a long-term planning model underpinned by mathematical optimisation. At optimal system cost, improved network interconnectivity can provide material and sustained price reductions for the gas market with potential flow-on reductions to the electricity market. Increased connectivity is shown to deliver reductions of over $2/GJ in average gas prices across the eastern seaboard, with a subsequent reduction in electricity prices across all mainland National Electricity Market (NEM) regions. The results also highlight the need to unlock new supply as new transmission projects, though having the potential to reduce gas prices through market connectivity, rely on adequate supply to meet long term demand, and sustain market balance.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 165, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chong Li, Dequn Zhou, Yuan Zheng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this paper is to evaluate and compare the techno-economic performance of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power systems for a rooftop solar PV building containing 14 families in five climate zones in China. The techno-economic performance of grid-connected PV system in the five regions was evaluated using the HOMER software. Monthly average electric production, economic and environmental considerations, and sensitivity analyses were all considered. The results show that the pollutants from grid-only, grid/PV, and grid/PV/battery systems come mainly in the form of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. In addition, this study concludes that grid/PV systems are technically, economically and environmentally feasible for all five climate zones. The excess electricity, NPC, and COE values of the grid/PV systems for all five climate zones increased with PV penetration increased, whereas the CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions for these climate zones decreased due to the increasing PV sizes. For the grid/PV systems of five climate zones, Kunming is the most economical with the least NPC ($113,382) and COE ($0.073/kWh). The lowest CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (38,975 kg/yr), SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (35.4 kg/yr), and NO〈sub〉x〈/sub〉 (165 kg/yr) emissions of grid/PV systems occurred in Kunming. From an economic and environmental perspective, Kunming, with its mild climate conditions, may be especially suitable for grid/PV power generation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jinran Wu, Zhesen Cui, Yanyan Chen, Demeng Kong, You-Gan Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Short-term electrical load forecasting is an important part in the management of electrical power because electrical load is an extreme, complex non-linear system. To obtain parameter values that provide better performances with high precision, this paper proposes a new hybrid electrical load forecasting model, which combines ensemble empirical mode decomposition, extreme learning machine, and grasshopper optimization algorithm for short-term load forecasting. The most important difference that distinguishes this electrical load forecasting model from other models is that grasshopper optimization can search suitable parameters (weight values and threshold values) of extreme learning machine, while traditional parameters are selected randomly. It is applied in Australia electrical load prediction to show its superiority and applicability. The simulation studies are carried out using a data set collected from five main states (New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria) in Australia from February 1 to February 27, 2018. Compared with all considered basic models, the proposed hybrid model has the best performance in predicting electrical load.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360544218320668-fx1.jpg" width="427" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): X.Y. Chen, R.R. Chen, X. Ding, H.Z. Fang, X.Z. Li, H.S. Ding, Y.Q. Su, J.J. Guo, H.Z. Fu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In order to improve hydrogen storage properties of Ti〈sub〉23〈/sub〉V〈sub〉40〈/sub〉Mn〈sub〉37〈/sub〉 alloy with the two-phase mixture of BCC and C14 Laves, the alloys with different Zr (〈em〉x〈/em〉 = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, at.%) partly substituting for Ti have been produced. The results show that the primary (dendrite) BCC phase decreases and C14 Laves phase increases with increasing Zr. The secondary (blocky) BCC phase appears when Zr content is more than 6 at.%. The hydrogen absorption rate increases after completely activated because the Zr improves the formation of C14 Laves phase. Meanwhile, the reversible hydrogen capacity of Zr-substituted alloys is higher than that of Zr-free alloy. The effective hydrogen storage capacity reaches the maximum when the composition is Ti〈sub〉21〈/sub〉Zr〈sub〉2〈/sub〉V〈sub〉40〈/sub〉Mn〈sub〉37〈/sub〉, with a value of 1.85 wt.% at 293 K. Two desorption plateaus appear when Zr content is more than 6 at.%, and the width of the higher plateau increases with increasing of Zr. The higher plateau results from the fast diffusion of H atom in the smaller secondary BCC phase. With increasing the Zr content, the hysteresis and plateau slope factor increase, which can be attributed to the increasing strain energy of interstitial sites and the affinity of interstitial sites with H.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yonghong Jiang, Cheng Jiang, He Nie, Bin Mo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉We study the dynamic relationship between the global oil market and China's commodity market at the industry level by using a DCC-GJR-GARCH model. Results of this study reveal strong return spillovers and the long-term time-varying linkages in volatility between the global oil market and China's commodity sectors. We find evidence that the diversified portfolios can help us reduce risks effectively, and the performances of portfolio diversification strategies vary across different time periods. Our empirical results highlight that the oil-commodity sectors nexus can help investors minimize risks to build optimal portfolios.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 December 2018〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 165, Part B〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Murat Kadir Yesilyurt, Tanzer Eryilmaz, Mevlüt Arslan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, engine performance, exhaust emissions and combustion behaviors of a single-cylinder, four-stroke, direct-injection diesel engine running on biodiesel/diesel/1-butanol and biodiesel/diesel/n-pentanol fuel blends were investigated and compared with diesel fuel under different engine speeds and full load operating conditions. Test fuels were prepared with 5 and 10 vol% 1-butanol and n-pentanol. Engine test results indicated that brake powers and torques decreased as the amount of alcohol increased, while BSFC increased between 0.77% and 8.07%. Alcohol blended fuels acquired lower EGT and CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, while observing higher O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emission due to high oxygen content of alcohol compared to diesel fuel. Alcohol treated blends also diminished NO〈sub〉X〈/sub〉 by 0.56–2.65%, CO by 6.90–32.40%, and smoke by 10.47–44.43%. Moreover, n-pentanol blended fuels showed better performance and emission results than 1-butanol blends. Maximum in-cylinder pressure of higher alcohol blended fuels found between 94.55 and 95.82 bar at 371-372〈sup〉o〈/sup〉CA for 1400 rpm, and between 78.19 and 82.19 bar at 375-376〈sup〉o〈/sup〉CA for 2600 rpm. Alcohol addition into the blends increased maximum in-cylinder pressure up to 1.38% at low speed, whereas it decreased up to 3.75% at high speed. Furthermore, higher HRR values up to 8.5% were observed with the alcohol mixed fuels. Consequently, higher alcohols (n-pentanol and 1-butanol) can be utilized as alternative additives in biodiesel/diesel blends for diesel engines to improve emissions, although they adversely influence engine performance.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaolin Tang, Dejiu Zhang, Teng Liu, Amir Khajepour, Haisheng Yu, Hong Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, motor torque control methods are proposed to suppress the vibration of a dual-motor hybrid powertrain during start-stop operation. Firstly, a co-simulation ADAMS and MATLAB/SIMULINK model is built to study the dynamic characteristics of the hybrid vehicle during modes switching process. Secondly, a torque compensation control method of electric motors is established to compensate the vibration energy source. Thirdly, a vibration transfer path control is built to change the dynamic properties during the engine start-stop process. The results show that the proposed methods can reduce the longitudinal acceleration amplitude of the vehicle to less than 0.4 m/s〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, which is only about 30% of the uncontrolled system, during the engine start process. While in the engine stop process, the longitudinal acceleration amplitude of the vehicle is reduced to less than 0.3 m/s〈sup〉2〈/sup〉, and the vibration amplitude is only about 20% of the unchanged system. The established methods are effective for suppressing the vehicle vibration and controlling the energy during the modes switching.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 15 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 167〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tianbiao He, Zuming Liu, Yonglin Ju, Ashak Mahmud Parvez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper aims to offer some criterions on selecting liquefaction process for small-scale mobile LNG plant. To this end, a comprehensive optimization and comparison was presented to show quantitive results on modified mixed refrigerant liquefaction process (MSMR) and parallel nitrogen expansion liquefaction process (PNEC) from the perspectives of specific energy consumption, exergy efficiency, techno-economy and operational flexibility. First, the MSMR and PNEC were optimized by using two different objective functions, namely minimizing specific energy consumption and total investment. The results showed that the minimum specific energy consumption of MSMR and PNEC were 0.411 kWh/kg and 0.618 kWh/kg, respectively. Then, the exergy efficiency comparison demonstrated that the exergy efficiency of MSMR reached 49.96%, while that of PNEC was only 33.19%. Furthermore, the techno-economic comparison was investigated on the small-scale mobile LNG plant by using total investment (TI) model in 20 years life cycle. The total investiment of MSMR was $6,126,133, while that of PNEC was $8,379,177. The total investiment of MSMR was 26.88% lower than that of PNEC, which indicated that MSMR had a better techno-economic performance than PNEC. Finally, the flexibility study was adopted to compare the capability of handling different feed gas conditions for liquefaction. The comparison results showed that MSMR had a lower specific energy consumption, higher exergy efficiency, lower total investment, and higher flexibility than PNEC. In conclusion, MSMR is a better choice for small-scale mobile LNG plant from the four perspectives.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tanmay Jain, Pratik N. Sheth〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Biomass is a major source of fuel in many developing countries and used in cook stoves. The water boiling test or its variants are used to evaluate the performance. The evaluation is on an average basis throughout the test and does not provide the dynamics of the energy transfer process. To provide a better insight on this transfer process, the present study demonstrates energy utilization test, which enables analysis of the performance parameters with respect to time. The WBT experimental set up is modified to measure the variation of biomass fuel consumption and water evaporation separately with time by incorporating the separate top mounted weighing balance. The new variable, weight of the water pot, variation with time is also observed along with other standard WBT variables. This new test is validated by performing several experiments. It provides insights on the time-dependent behavior of thermal efficiency and other parameters when performed at different air flow rates. Based on the test results, a new air flow recipe is developed which provides better performance and outlines the significance of energy utilization test. With the formulated recipe, the runtime has improved to nearly 85 min which is an increase of more than 30%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Touria Moudakkar, Z. El Hallaoui, S. Vaudreuil, T. Bounahmidi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The use of a parabolic collector trough (PTC) array to supply the heat requirement of a phosphate flash dryer is investigated. To evaluate the thermal performances of a PTC array operating between 200 and 550 °C, new heat transfer models were developed. These models, considering either a uniform or a non-uniform distribution of the solar flux, were adapted from basic models by including more accurate correlations while considering longitudinal variations of the convective term. Simulations of the PTC array were conducted for various solar loops, using different heat transfer fluids (HTF). Simulated results from both models are in good agreement with experimental data, with the uniform model predicting HTF outlet temperature at a maximum uncertainty of 0.3 °C. This value jumps to 1.7 °C when gas is used as HTF or when the solar loop exceeds 700 m in length. From a Fisher test standpoint, these results can be considered as comparable to those obtained from more complicated models. Using these new models, the output of a PTC prototype was estimated and served as the basis to predict the yield of a coupled bench scale flash dryer unit.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Olumide Olumayegun, Meihong Wang, Eni Oko〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Power generation from coal-fired power plants represents a major source of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emission into the atmosphere. Efficiency improvement and integration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities have been recommended for reducing the amount of CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 emissions. The focus of this work was to evaluate the thermodynamic performance of s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 Brayton cycles coupled to coal-fired furnace and integrated with 90% post-combustion CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 capture. The modification of the s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 power plant for effective utilisation of the sensible heat in the flue gas was examined. Three bottoming s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 cycle layouts were investigated, which included a newly proposed single recuperator recompression cycle. The performances of the coal-fired s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 power plant with and without carbon capture were compared. Results for a 290 bar and 593 °C power cycle without CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 capture showed that the configuration with single recuperator recompression cycle as bottoming cycle has the highest plant net efficiency of 42.96% (Higher Heating Value). Without CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 capture, the efficiencies of the coal-fired s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 cycle plants were about 3.34–3.86% higher than the steam plant and about 0.68–1.31% higher with CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 capture. The findings so far underscored the promising potential of cascaded s-CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 power cycles for coal-fired power plant application.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360544218321236-egi10322KNZS13.jpg" width="338" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): L. Yu, Y.P. Li, G.H. Huang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Rapidly increased coal consumption has caused dramatically pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) emissions, such that utilizing renewable energy to substitute high pollutant and carbon fuels is crucial to fulfill sustainable development. In this study, an interval possibilistic-stochastic programming (IPSP) method that is capable of dealing with multiple uncertainties existed in the real-world mixed energy system (MES) is developed. Then, the IPSP method is applied to planning MES in the City of Qingdao (China) that aims to encourage developing renewable energies based on subsidy policy. Solutions under varied subsidies for stimulating renewable energies in association with different probabilities and 〈em〉α〈/em〉 levels have been generated, which can help determine the optimized electricity generation and supply that could hedge appropriately against system violation risk. Compared to the results without subsidy, renewable energies with subsidy policy can increase by [2.4, 3.2] % and the share of renewable energies would raise to 17.5% at the end of planning horizon. The findings can provide useful information for the other municipal-scale MES planning issues to facilitate policy enactment of renewable energy, improvement of energy supply security, as well as accomplishment of planning environmental and sustainable MES.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Neil Evans, Calvin Jones, Max Munday, Meng Song〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The paper examines the potential regional economic benefits of the development of unconventional gas. Wales (UK) represents an interesting lens through which to examine the expected effects of unconventional gas developments. In spite of significant resource endowments the region has found it difficult to internalise the economic benefits from prior energy developments. We examine whether possible commercial exploitation of unconventional gas in Wales will be any different from recent rounds of resource and energy investment. We address the challenges for resource peripheries in embedding economic activity linked to unconventional gas and show that there are dangers in generalising economic impact evidence from other states.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuxing Wu, Hengzhi Guo, Kwan San Hui, Kwun Nam Hui〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Rational electrode architectural design, favorable electrode composition, and versatile synthesis approach play a significant role in developing advanced electrodes for high-performance supercapacitor. In this work, we report a facile approach for fabricating 1D hierarchical CuO@Co〈sub〉〈em〉x〈/em〉〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉〈em〉1−x〈/em〉〈/sub〉(OH)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanowire arrays grown on 3D highly conductive copper foam. The optimized CuO@Co〈sub〉0.2〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉0.8〈/sub〉(OH)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 electrode delivers an ultrahigh specific capacity of 374.7 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 2 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 with exceptional rate capability (301.7 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 50 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) and remarkable cycling stability (95.9% after 10 000 cycles at 50 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉). A flexible asymmetric solid-state supercapacitor (ASC) is fabricated using the optimized CuO@Co〈sub〉0.2〈/sub〉Ni〈sub〉0.8〈/sub〉(OH)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 as the positive electrode, activated carbon-coated nickel foam as the negative electrode, and polyvinyl alcohol/KOH gel as electrolyte. The flexible ASC operating with a potential window of 0–1.6 V delivers an energy density of 46.5 Wh kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 with a power density of 526.9 W kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The ASC also exhibits excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 84.3% after 10 000 cycles at a current density of 7 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0013468618324459-fx1.jpg" width="325" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Krishnan Shanmugam Anuratha, Hsiao-Shan Peng, Yaoming Xiao, Tzu-Sen Su, Tzu-Chien Wei, Jeng-Yu Lin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this current work, a bifunctional TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 thin film with reduced pin-hole effect and enhanced light trapping capability was successfully fabricated by using a facile galvanostatic anodic deposition route in the presence of Brij-58 soft template (ST). The surface morphology of electrodeposited TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 thin film using ST confirmed the formation of nano-sized TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 particles with improved porous nature than that of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 thin film electrodeposited in the absence of ST. Compared with the conventional scaffold porous layer (PL) fabricated from commercial mesoporous TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 composed of ∼30 nm nanoparticles, the electrodeposited TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 film using ST demonstrated the reduced pinhole effect and improved light trapping feature. Owing to the bifunctional behavior of electrodeposited TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 using ST, the cell efficiency of the perovskite solar cell was achieved up to 17.06% which was ca.10% higher than those with commercial TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Q. Chen, M. Kum Ja, Y. Li, K.J. Chua〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Integrating thermal desalination systems with vapor compression is an effective way to improve the energy efficiency. This paper investigates a spray-assisted low-temperature desalination system that is integrated with a thermal vapor compression system (SLTD-TVC). A detailed thermodynamic model is judiciously developed based on the principles of heat and mass transfer, heat balance, mass balance, and exergy balance. Applying the model, the energy efficiency of the combined SLTD-TVC process is first evaluated. The production ratio of the combined system is found to be 10–35% higher than that of the conventional SLTD process. Accordingly, an exergy analysis is conducted to quantify the sources of irreversibility within the system. The steam jet ejector is found to be the major source of thermodynamic irreversibility, accounting for more than 40% of the exergy destruction. The overall system efficiency is improved at a lower motive steam pressure, a higher number of operating stages and a medium cooling water flowrate. Finally an economic analysis is carried out, which reveals that the changes of both initial plant cost and operation cost are marginal after the integration of the thermal vapor compression system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nicole S.M. Vieira, Joana C. Bastos, Luís P.N. Rebelo, Ana Matias, João M.M. Araújo, Ana B. Pereiro〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The use of fluorinated ionic liquids (FILs) as novel materials in biological and pharmaceutical applications is an emerging research field. The knowledge of their cytotoxicity and that of 1-octanol/water partition coefficients are essential to assess their environmental risks, to estimate their toxicity and activity, or the hydrophilic/lipophilic balance, as well as to explore their properties as solvents in extraction processes or for successful drug design. The study of the cytotoxicity in four different human cell lines and the experimental measurement of the partition coefficient between 1-octanol and water (P〈sub〉〈em〉o/w〈/em〉〈/sub〉), using the slow-stirring method, were carried out for several FILs. In both studies, the effect of the cation ([C〈sub〉2〈/sub〉C〈sub〉1〈/sub〉Im]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, [C〈sub〉2〈/sub〉C〈sub〉1〈/sub〉py]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, [C〈sub〉4〈/sub〉C〈sub〉1〈/sub〉pyr]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, [N〈sub〉1112(OH)〈/sub〉]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, or [N〈sub〉4444〈/sub〉]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉), the cationic alkyl side-chain length ([C〈sub〉n〈/sub〉C〈sub〉1〈/sub〉Im]〈sup〉+〈/sup〉, with n = 2, 6, 8 or 12), and the anionic fluorinated chain length/anionic fluorinated domain size ([C〈sub〉4〈/sub〉F〈sub〉9〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉]¯, [C〈sub〉8〈/sub〉F〈sub〉17〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉]¯, or [N(C〈sub〉4〈/sub〉F〈sub〉9〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉)〈sub〉2〈/sub〉]¯) were analysed. The results reveal that both toxicity and partition properties are mainly influenced by the size of the cationic hydrogenated alkyl side-chain and that of the anionic fluorinated domain. The intrinsic tuneability of the FILs allows for their selection according to the lipophilic or hydrophilic character of the target biological system under consideration. The toxicity studies corroborate the biocompatible nature of some FILs tested in this work. Along, for all the FILs under study P〈sub〉〈em〉o/w〈/em〉〈/sub〉 〈 1.00. Accordingly, a decadic logarithm of the bioconcentration factor in fish of 0.5 would be estimated, which is below the regulatory endpoint used by regulatory agencies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320204-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yasir Aziz, Ghulam Abbas Shah, Muhammad Imtiaz Rashid〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Recently, there is a growing interest among agriculturists to use nanotechnology for the development of nutrient-use efficient fertilizers. However, its sustainable use for the synthesis of mineral or organic nano-fertilizers requires a thoughtful of the mechanism as well as the fate of nutrients and their interaction with soil-plant systems. Therefore, the aim of current study was to investigate the mixing of three different application rates of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZNPs: 1.4, 2.8 and 3.6 mg kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 soil) as well as zeolite (141, 282 and 423 mg kg〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 soil) with biogas slurry (AS) on soil nutrient availability and herbage nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn) uptake in a standard pot experiment. We found that both ZNPs and zeolite significantly increased mineral N content in soil compared to AS alone (P 〈 0.05). On the other hand, plant available phosphorus or potassium and microbial biomass carbon (C) in the soil were neither significantly affected by any application rate of ZNPs nor zeolite mixed AS. Soil microbial biomass N was significantly higher in second and third application rates of both ZNPs and zeolite amended AS treatments compared to AS alone. However, this increment in mineral N did not influence shoot uptake and herbage apparent recovery of this nutrient from AS. Similarly, co-mixing of both ZNPs and zeolite in AS did not influence shoot N uptake but Zn uptake was significantly higher in this treatment compared to AS alone. Therefore, this combination would be considered for improving crop Zn uptake under such fertilizer management regimes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518319805-fx1.jpg" width="357" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Roya Nazari, Ljiljana Rajić, Ali Ciblak, Sebastián Hernández, Ibrahim E. Mousa, Wei Zhou, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Akram N. Alshawabkeh〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study investigates the effect of palladium (Pd) form on the electrochemical degradation of chlorobenzene in groundwater by palladium-catalyzed electro-Fenton (EF) reaction. In batch and flow-through column reactors, EF was initiated via in-situ electrochemical formation of hydrogen peroxide (H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) supported by Pd on alumina powder or by palladized polyacrylic acid (PAA) in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Pd-PVDF/PAA). In a mixed batch reactor containing 10 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, 2 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of catalyst in powder form (1% Pd, 20 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of Pd) and an initial pH of 3, chlorobenzene was degraded under 120 mA current following a first-order decay rate showing 96% removal within 60 min. Under the same conditions, a rotating Pd-PVDF/PAA disk produced 88% of chlorobenzene degradation. In the column experiment with automatic pH adjustment, 71% of chlorobenzene was removed within 120 min with 10 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, and 2 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 catalyst in pellet form (0.5% Pd, 10 mg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of Pd) under 60 mA. The EF reaction can be achieved under flow, without external pH adjustment and H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 addition, and can be applied for in-situ groundwater treatment. Furthermore, the rotating PVDF-PAA membrane with immobilized Pd-catalyst showed an effective and low maintenance option for employing Pd catalyst for water treatment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320046-fx1.jpg" width="341" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bingzheng Dou, Michele Guala, Liping Lei, Pan Zeng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The wake of upstream wind turbines is known to affect the operation of downstream turbines and the efficiency of the wind farm. In this study, a systematic experimentation on performance and wake spatial evolution was carried out using a wind turbine model varying tip speed ratio, pitch and yaw angles. The change of pitch angle was observed to induce a greater effect on the wake velocity as compared to the tip speed ratio. This is interpreted in terms of “force viewpoint”, which describes more quantitatively the relationship between the turbine performance and the wake, as compared to the “power viewpoint”, based on the sole energy conversion. The turbine yaw angle is observed to cause not only a decrease in power and thrust, but also an offset and an asymmetry in the wake. The offset, quantified using the spatial distribution of the velocity minima, is modeled analytically. Comparisons of model estimations with the experimental measurements show that the proposed model can acceptably predict the wake offset of a yawed turbine. The observed dependencies of the mean velocity deficit and wake turbulence on power, thrust, and yaw angle, may suggest new derating strategies for wind farm optimization.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chang Liu, Yujie Wang, Zonghai Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lithium-ion battery/ultracapacitor hybrid energy storage system is capable of extending the cycle life and power capability of battery, which has attracted growing attention. To fulfill the goal of long cycle life, accurate assessment for degradation of lithium-ion battery is necessary in hybrid energy management. This paper proposes an improved degradation model of lithium-ion battery based on the electrochemical mechanism of capacity fade, in which the influence of cycling current is taken into consideration. Moreover, genetic algorithm is applied to identify the initial values of model parameters. A particle filter based data driven framework is also designed to track the variation of model parameters and states during the cycling process. Short-term and long-term degradation prediction methods are then developed, to forecast the essential indicators of battery health. Datasets of battery cycling tests under both constant cycling current and dynamic cycling current are used for verification. The root mean square error results for state of health prediction (less than 18 cycles) and remaining useful life prediction are below 8% and 40 cycles, respectively, showing the accuracy and applicability of the proposed methods. Additionally, the baseline degradation prediction for case with cycling current information unknown is also illustrated.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhang Kun, Demin He, Jun Guan, Qiumin Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A poly-generation system integrating coal pyrolysis and chemical looping gasification (CLG) is proposed to realize the multi-generation of value-added chemicals, synthetic gas fuels and heat/electricity. In this system, the models including coal pyrolysis, coal drying, air reactor (AR) and fuel reactor (FR) are employed to simulate the coupled system using Aspen Plus software. Especially, the FR model is used to produce syngas, which is the main target product, on the basis of Gibbs free energy minimization approach. According to the thermodynamic data obtained from the simulation, chemical exergy and physical exergy are determined for process streams and thermal efficiency is discussed as well. The overall energy efficiency of the new system can achieve values of 43.12%, with the drying unit causing the highest energy destruction. The results indicate that the coupled system shows a better performance compared with its original individual processes in consideration of the thermodynamic efficiency and effects on the environment, though the additional mechanical energy consumption occurs in the new system. Moreover, being used as the gasification agent in the FR, phenol wastewater has been greatly reduced, which reduces levels of environmental pollution. Hence, this new system will be of great potential in industrial application due to its high energy utilization efficiency and low pollution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Mengmeng Liu, Min Zhang, Rongjie Hao, Tingting Du, Tong Li, Yao Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Graphene oxide (GO) is a structural analog of graphene and contains numerous O-containing functional groups. As rapidly increasing production and usage of GO, it is inevitable to flow into the water and wastewater treatment system and finally oxidized by disinfectants to form DBPs. Meanwhile, as GO is a nano sized carbon material, it may also break the human digestion system when it was absorbed by human body. This study explored the DBP formation when only GO was present. Effects of Br〈sup〉−〈/sup〉 were also considered during the DBP formation. Both trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) were formed during the chlorination and chloramination procedure, but the total concentration of THMs was at least three times higher than that of HAAs. Irradiation can significantly enhance the DBP formation via the formation of radicals. The wrinkled appearance and decomposition of aromatic ring may both be effective on the DBP formation via chlorination or bromination. The findings of this study advance knowledge on the DBP formation of GO in water treatment systems and provide insight on the toxic effects of the transformation products of GO.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bo Liu, Jing Wu, Cheng Cheng, Jiukai Tang, Muhammad Farooq Saleem Khan, Jian Shen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract:〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Identifying the causes of water body pollution is critical because of the serious water contamination in developing countries. The textile industry is a major contributor to severe water pollution due to its high discharge of wastewater with high concentrations of organic and inorganic pollutants. In this study, fluorescence excitation emission matrix–parallel factor (EEM-PARAFAC) analysis was applied to characterize textile industry wastewater and trace its presence in water bodies. The EEM spectra of textile wastewater samples collected from 12 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) revealed two characteristic peaks: Peak T1 (tryptophan-like region) and Peak B (tyrosine-like region). Two protein-like components (C1 and C2) were identified in the textile wastewater by PARAFAC analysis. The components identified from different textile WWTPs were considered identical (similarity 〉0.95). C1 and C2 were not sensitive to changes in pH, ionic strength, or low humic acid concentration (TOC 〈 4 mg/L). Therefore, C1 combined with C2 was proposed as a source-specific indicator of textile wastewater, which was further demonstrated by conducting high-performance size exclusion chromatography analysis. These results suggested that EEM-PARAFAC analysis is a reliable means of identifying textile wastewater pollution in water bodies and may also enable the identification of other industrial wastewater.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320162-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bo Chen, Sijiang Chen, Huinan Zhao, Yang Liu, Fengxia Long, Xuejun Pan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ascribing to their significant differences in physicochemical properties, it is extremely challenging to treat complex wastewater containing more than one class of pollutants via one-step treatment. Here, we focused on disposal of complex wastewater bearing organic dye and heavy metal by using adsorptive method. Thus, by combining the advantages of polyethyleneimine (PEI), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as well as Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 magnetic nanoparticles, a versatile β-CD and PEI bi-functionalized magnetic nanoadsorbent (Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉-PEI/β-CD) with spatially separated sorption sites was successfully constructed for simultaneous capture of methyl orange (MO) and Pb(II) in complex wastewater. In this setting, β-CD cavities and positively charged N-containing groups of PEI were mainly responsible for removal of MO via host-guest inclusion and electrostatic attraction, respectively, and oxygen-bearing groups on the edge of β-CD as well as the free amino moieties in PEI acted as the active sites for Pb(II) uptake. In their individual mono-pollutant system, the adsorption processes can be better described via applying pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. Interestingly, presence of MO in Pb(II)-MO binary system significantly promoted the uptake of Pb(II). But the coexisting Pb(II) had almost no effects on MO uptake. Such results demonstrated that both MO and Pb(II) could be simultaneously and synergistically removed by Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉-PEI/β-CD through multiple mechanisms (such as electrostatic attraction, host-guest inclusion, chelating, etc.). Particularly, the excellent regeneration and stability make Fe〈sub〉3〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉-PEI/β-CD an ideal integrative adsorbent for purification of actual wastewater contaminated by MO and Pb(II). Thus, this study provides some insights into designing a well-performed and easily recyclable adsorbent for simultaneous and synergetic capture of both organic and inorganic contaminants in complex wastewater.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A versatile β-CD and PEI bi-functionalized magnetic nanoadsorbent with spatially separated sorption sites (denoted as Fe3O4-PEI/β-CD) was successfully constructed for simultaneous removal of methyl orange (MO) and Pb(II) from complex wastewater through multiple mechanisms (such as electrostatic attraction, host-guest inclusion, chelating, etc.).〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320198-fx1.jpg" width="444" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xian Cao, Shuai Zhang, Hui Wang, Xianning Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In general, refractory organics were hardly used as co-substrate in bioelectrochemical system. This study established a coupled bioelectrochemical system composed of a biofilm electrode reactor and a microbial fuel cell for using the azo dye X-3B as part of co-substrate. The two units degraded the azo dye X-3B stepwise while using it as part of co-substrate. Our results indicated that the removal efficiency of X-3B increased 28.5% using the coupled system compared with a control system. Moreover, the addition of the co-substrate glucose, which was necessary for MFC electricity generation, was reduced on the premise of stable removal efficiency in the coupled system to prevent resource waste due to using X-3B as part of co-substrate. The intermediate products of X-3B degradation were further explored using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and a X-3B degradation pathway was proposed at the same time. Microbial communities were analyzed, illustrating that the mechanism of X-3B degradation was dependent on bioelectrochemistry rather than on microbial degradation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Nikita Bakanov, Matthias V. Wieczorek, Ralf Schulz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Understanding fate and transport of plant protection products (PPPs) that enter vegetated streams from agricultural fields is important for both exposure assessment and risk attenuation, yet limited knowledge is available. The present laboratory study investigated sorption processes governing mass transfer of three common PPPs between water and aquatic plant phases at flow-through exposure conditions (transient aqueous-phase PPP-peak of 4 h 25 min) using three temperature regimes. The exposure produced rapid sorption of PPPs to plants, followed by a gradual depuration from plants. Dynamic sorption kinetics depended on temperature, plant species, and physicochemical properties of the PPPs. Sorption to plants contributed to a 10% reduction of the water-phase peak concentrations of the PPPs. However, being reversible, the attenuation effect was limited to the residence time of the PPPs in the systems. Results of the present study highlight that effectivity of aquatic plants in the attenuation of PPP loads may vary greatly depending on hydrodynamic properties of aquatic systems.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Huihui Wang, Hui Ma, Min Zhang, Tingting Du, Rongjie Hao, Mengmeng Liu, Yao Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) can be formed from many different kinds of carbon- and nitrogen-based organic materials. This study investigated DBP formation in the presence of two types of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 47) and 2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′-decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209). The effects of PBDEs on the formation of DBPs upon the chlorination (or chloramination) of Suwannee River humic acid (SRHA) were also evaluated. Results indicated that the chlorination of BDE 47 and BDE 209 resulted in the formation of DBPs, with 1,1,1-trichloro-2-propanone (1,1,1-TCP) being the major DBP type formed. When PBDEs were present in the SRHA solution, a lower amount of CHCl〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 was formed, and more 1,1,1-TCP was produced. However, the effects of PBDEs on the formation of DBPs in the real surface water were insignificant because of the complicated water chemistry.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jiena Yun, Chang Zhu, Qian Wang, Qiaoli Hu, Gang Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sulfur dioxide (SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) ranks as a major air pollutant and is likely to generate acid rain. When molecular oxygen is the oxygen source, the regular surfaces of gibbsite (one of the most abundant mineral dusts) show no reactivity for SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 conversions to H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, while the partially dehydrated (100) surface with coordination-unsaturated Al sites becomes catalytically effective. Because of the easy availability of molecular oxygen, results manifest that acid rain can form under all atmospheric conditions and may account for the high conversion ratio of atmospheric SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. The (100) and (001) surfaces show divergent catalytic effects, and hydrolysis is always the rate-limiting step. Path A (hydrolysis and then oxidation) is preferred for (100) surface, whereas a third path with obviously lower activation barriers is presented for (001) surface, which is non-existent for (100) surface. Atomic oxygen originating from the dissociation of molecular oxygen is catalytically active for (100) surface, while the active site of (001) surface fails to be recovered, suggesting that SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 conversions over gibbsite surfaces are facet-controlled. This work also offers an environmentally friendly route for production of H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 (one of the essential compounds in chemical industry), directly using molecular oxygen as the oxygen source.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320769-fx1.jpg" width="326" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Guanghui Wang, Wenzhe Fan, Qin Li, Nansheng Deng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, aspartic acid-β-cyclodextrin (ACD) was synthesized by the reaction of β-cyclodextrin with aspartic acid and epichlorohydrin, and graphene oxide-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 (GO-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉) composite catalyst was prepared by a hydrothermal method. The complexation of ACD with New Coccine (NC) and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 was characterized with FT-IR and XPS, respectively, the results show that ACD can simultaneously complex NC and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉. XRD analysis and SEM images of GO-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 show that TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 platelets are well distributed on both sides of the graphene oxide sheets, and display a similar XRD pattern to the pure TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles with the typical diffraction peak of anatase phase. The effects of ACD on the photocatalytic degradation of NC and photocatalytic reduction of Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 were investigated in the single pollution system, and the synergistic effects on the simultaneous photocatalytic NC degradation and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 reduction in the presence of ACD were also evaluated. The results showed that the presence of ACD was favorable to the acceleration of photocatalytic oxidation of NC and photocatalytic reduction of Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 in the single pollution system, and the photocatalytic reaction rate constants of NC and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 in the presence of ACD increased 58% and 42%, respectively. For the combined pollution system, the synergistic effects on the simultaneous conversion of NC and Pb〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 in aqueous solutions were also further enhanced. ACD enhanced photocatalytic activity was attributed to the improvement of the electron transfer and mass transfer at the GO-TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 interface.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xinbo Wang, Hong Cheng, Peiying Hong, Xixiang Zhang, Zhiping Lai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Despite advanced materials and techniques to reduce the fouling issue of membranes, 10–30% of the cost of ultrafiltration (UF) processes have been spent on membrane cleaning. Particularly in water treatment, the traditional heavy metal-based method is challenged due to its environmental pollution risk and increasing public health awareness. Here, we report the synthesis of a metal-free contact-active antifouling and antimicrobial membrane by covalently functionalizing a commercial polyacrylonitrile (PAN) UF membrane with 2,4-diamino-1,3,5-triazine (DAT) via a one-step catalyst-free hydrothermal [4 + 2] cyclization of dicyandiamide reaction. The proposed mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of the DAT-functionalized membrane is through strong attraction between the DAT groups and the microbial membrane protein via strong hydrogen bonding, leading to microbial membrane disruption and thus microbe death. A high water flux and good reusability of the membrane against protein in a UF experiment were achieved. The low cost, easy availability of the compounds, as well as the facile reaction offer a high potential of the membrane for real applications in ultrafiltration.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jalil Jaafari, Kamyar Yaghmaeian〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, the interaction of the initial metal concentration, time of reaction and 〈em〉Chlorella coloniales〈/em〉 algae dose were taken for the biosorption of Cr, Cd, Co, Fe and As from aqueous solutions using the Box–Behnken design. The regression equation coefficients were calculated and the data confirmed the validity of second-order polynomial equation for the removal of Cr, Cd, Co, Fe and As with 〈em〉Chlorella coloniales〈/em〉 algae. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a high coefficient of determination value (R〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) for Cr, Cd, Co, Fe, and As, being respectively 0.998, 0.998, 0.995, 0.998 and 0.994. Heavy metal biosorption increased with the increase in time of reaction from 30 h to 100 h then smoothly steadily decreased. The biosorption capacity of 〈em〉Chlorella coloniales〈/em〉 increased when initial Cd concentration was increased from 5 to 12 mg/L, and then no change was seen with further increasing in initial Cd concentration. At low concentrations of heavy metal, 〈em〉Chlorella coloniales〈/em〉 showed its effectiveness for Cr, Co, Fe and As bioaccumulation, but at high concentrations of heavy metal bioaccumulation efficiency decreased Under optimal value of process parameters, maximum efficiencies for the removal of Cr, Cd, Co, Fe, and As were 97.8, 97.05, 95.15, 98.6 and 96.5% respectively. The results of the present study suggest that use of 〈em〉C. Coloniales〈/em〉 algae can be a good alternative to the current expensive methods of removing heavy metals from aqueous solution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Hesham F. Alharby, Reiazul Rehman〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The effect of lead (Pb)-induced oxidative stress was investigated in 〈em〉Fagopyrum kashmirianum〈/em〉. The seedlings absorbed the Pb readily by showing time (15 and 30 days) and concentration (0, 100, 200 and 300 μM) dependent effects. Pb caused reduction in both root and shoot lengths but its accumulation was more in roots (22.32 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 DW) than shoots (8.86 mg g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 DW) at the highest concentration (300 μM) resulting in translocation factor (TF) 〈 1 at all concentrations. Thus the uptake and translocation of Pb between roots and shoots showed a positive correlation indicating the plant as root accumulator. Amongst the photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll content showed a decline while the carotenoid and anthocyanin levels were elevated. The fresh mass and biomass showed a non-significant decrease at both the sampling times. The osmolyte and antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX. POD, GR and GST) were positively correlated with Pb treatments except proline and CAT, which showed decline in 30-day-old plants. The alleviation of Pb-stress is an indication for existence of strong detoxification mechanism in 〈em〉F. kashmirianum, which〈/em〉 suggest that it could be cultivated in Pb-contaminated soils.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Celestina E. Sobral – Souza, Ana R.P. Silva, Nadghia F. Leite, Janaina E. Rocha, Amanda K. Sousa, José G.M. Costa, Irwin R.A. Menezes, Francisco A.B. Cunha, Larissa A. Rolim, Henrique D.M. Coutinho〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The present study had as its objective to verify the 〈em〉Psidium guajava〈/em〉 var. Pomifera L. chelating, antioxidant and cytoprotective effects against mercury and aluminum. The ethanolic extract, tannic and flavonoid fractions were subjected to LC-MS analysis. The Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and ferric ion reduction demonstrated a present antioxidant activity. The fungicidal and bactericidal activity of these metals were established. After determining the sub-allelopathic doses, germination tests using 〈em〉Lactuca sativa〈/em〉 were performed. Quercetin and its derivatives were the main compounds identified in the extract and the fractions. Mercury chloride significantly reduced the bactericidal effect of the flavonoid fraction (p 〈 0.001). None of the fractions were cytoprotective against mercury or aluminum in the fungal model assays. Using a sub-allelopathic concentration (64 μg/mL), the ethanolic extract, flavonoid and tannic fractions were found to be cytoprotective against aluminum for radicles, however only the tannic fraction was cytoprotective for caulicles. These data suggest that natural 〈em〉P. guajava〈/em〉 products are promising cytoprotective compound sources. This activity may be related to the antioxidant effect of secondary metabolites, mainly flavonoids. Our results point to a potential for environmental intervention product and technique development aimed at mitigating contamination by toxic metals such as mercury and aluminum.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jie Luo, Xinli Xing, Shihua Qi, Jian Wu, X.W. Sophie Gu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hyperaccumulators can mobilize all metals in soil through secreting exudates to form soluble compounds but only hyperaccumulate part of them. Metals that cannot be accumulated are defined as non-hyperaccumulated metals and can increase the leaching risk in phytoremediation. Cd and Zn hyperaccumulator 〈em〉Noccaea caerulescens〈/em〉 (formerly 〈em〉Thlaspi caerulescens〈/em〉) was utilized to remediate multi-metal polluted soil in the present study, and the leaching risk of non-hyperaccumulated metals including Cu and Pb was investigated during the phytoremediation process. Comparing with 〈em〉Thlaspi arvense〈/em〉, a non-hyperaccumulator, 〈em〉N. caerulescens〈/em〉 significantly decreased the concentrations of Cd and Zn in leachate gathered from precipitation simulation experiments without electric field, but meanwhile dramatically increased the concentrations of Cu and Pb in soil solution. Electric field with low (2 V) and moderate (4 V) voltages increased the biomass yield and metal uptake capacity of 〈em〉N. caerulescens〈/em〉 simultaneously and therefore further reduced the concentrations of Cd and Zn in the leachate. Although the volume of leachate decreased significantly in pots with electric field, the leaching risk of Pb and Cu was deteriorated. Thus, decontaminating multi-metal polluted soil with electric field and hyperaccumulator should be conducted with caution due to potential secondary environmental risk caused by activated non-hyperaccumulated metals.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320320-egi10NH7JS1ZHN.jpg" width="286" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Haitao Shen, Weiwei Li, Stephen E. Graham, James M. Starr〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Ingestion of soils and house dusts is an important pathway for children's exposure to sorbed organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). To reduce the uncertainty of the exposure estimates, it is important to understand the extent to which chemicals desorb and become bioaccessible following ingestion. In this study we use a three compartment in vitro digestive system to model the role of soil and house dust physicochemical properties on the post ingestion bioaccessibility of PCBs. Matched pairs (n = 37) of soil and dust were characterized for percent carbon and nitrogen, pH, moisture content, and particle size distribution. They were then fortified with a mixture of 18 PCBs and processed through the assay. The percent bioaccessibility of each PCB was calculated, then modeled using individual PCB log K〈sub〉ow〈/sub〉 values and the soil and dust properties. The bioaccessibility of the PCBs in soil (x̄ = 65 ± 16%) was greater (p 〈 0.001) than that of the PCBs in house dust (x̄ = 36 ± 14%). In the soil model, carbon was the sole statistically significant predictive (p ≤ 0.05) variable, while in house dust, both carbon and clay content were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) predictors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320666-fx1.jpg" width="355" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xue Wu, Zheng Bo Zhu, Jia Hui Chen, Yi Fan Huang, Zi Li Liu, Jian Wen Zou, Ya Hua Chen, Na Na Su, Jin Cui〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Hydrogen-rich water (HRW) has been widely used in research on plant resistance to Cd. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of HRW in ameliorating cadmium stress in vegetables is largely unknown. In this study, the RNA-sequencing analyses were used to characterize the role of HRW in the alleviation of Cd toxicity in Chinese cabbage seedlings. Based on the obtained results, two genes encoding metal ionic transporters, 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 were ultimately selected out. Then, a systematic validation of the metal ion transport function of these two ZIP-encoding genes of pak choi were performed via a yeast transformation system. The results showed that 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 increased the sensitivity of different yeast mutant strains to relative metal ionic stresses and facilitated the accumulation of metal ions (Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Mn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Zn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, and Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉) in yeast; thus, it suggests that 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 probably have the ability to transport Cd〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Mn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉, Zn〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 in pak choi. The time-course and concentration-dependent expression profiles of 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 showed that as time with HRW increased, the effectiveness of the repression on the expression of 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 increased, and as the seedlings were exposed to increased Cd concentrations, the inhibition of 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉 by HRW was also increased. Over all, these findings provide new insights into the genome-wide transcriptome profiles in pak choi and show that HRW reduced Cd uptake probably through inhibiting the expression of transporters related to Cd absorption, 〈em〉BcIRT1〈/em〉 and 〈em〉BcZIP2〈/em〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Peter Butcherine, Kirsten Benkendorff, Brendan Kelaher, Bronwyn J. Barkla〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Widespread agricultural use of systemic neonicotinoid insecticides has resulted in the unintended contamination of aquatic environments. Water quality surveys regularly detect neonicotinoids in rivers and waterways at concentrations that could impact aquaculture stock. The toxicity of neonicotinoids to non-target aquatic insect and crustacean species has been recognised, however, there is a paucity of information on their effect on commercial shrimp aquaculture. Here, we show that commercially produced shrimp are likely to be exposed to dietary, sediment and waterborne sources of neonicotinoids; increasing the risks of disease and accidental human consumption. This review examines indicators of sublethal neonicotinoid exposure in non-target species and analyses their potential usefulness for ecotoxicology assessment in shrimp. The identification of rapid, reliable responses to neonicotinoid exposure in shrimp will result in better decision making in aquaculture management.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Maqusood Ahamed, Mohd Javed Akhtar, M.A. Majeed Khan, Salman A. Alrokayan, Hisham A. Alhadlaq〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bismuth oxide nanoparticles (Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs) have shown great potential for several applications including cosmetics and biomedicine. However, there is paucity of research on toxicity of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs. In this study, we first examined dose-dependent cytotoxicity and apoptosis response of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs in human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells. We further explored the potential mechanisms of cytotoxicity of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs through oxidative stress. Physicochemical study demonstrated that Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs have crystalline structure and spherical shape with mean size of 97 nm. Toxicity studies have shown that Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs reduce cell viability and induce membrane damage dose-dependently in the concentration range of 50–300 μg/ml. Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs also disturbed cell cycle of MCF-7 cells. Oxidative stress response of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs was evident by generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), higher lipid peroxidation, reduction of glutathione (GSH) and low superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity. Interestingly, supplementation of external antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine almost negated the effect of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs induced oxidative stress and cell death. We also found that exposure of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs induced apoptotic response in MCF-7 cells suggested by impaired regulation of Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 genes. Altogether, we found that Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs induced cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells through modulating the redox homeostasis 〈em〉via〈/em〉 Bax/Bcl-2 pathway. This study warranted further research to delineate the underlying mechanism of Bi〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 NPs induced toxicity at 〈em〉in vivo〈/em〉 level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320897-fx1.jpg" width="492" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xingdong Wang, Qiaoqiao Chi, Xuejiao Liu, Yin Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A novel approach was used to prepare sewage sludge (SS)-derived biochar via coupling of hydrothermal pretreatment with pyrolysis (HTP) process at 300–700 °C. The influence of the pyrolysis temperature on the characteristics and environmental risk of heavy metals (HMs) in biochar derived from SS were investigated. The HTP process at higher pyrolysis temperature (≥500 °C) resulting in a higher quality of SS-derived biochar and in HMs of lower toxicity and environmental risk, compared with direct SS pyrolysis. Surface characterization and micromorphology analysis indicate that the N〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 adsorption capacity and BET surface area in biochar (SRC〈sub〉220〈/sub〉-500) obtained from hydrothermally treated SS at 220 °C (SR〈sub〉220〈/sub〉) pyrolysis at 500 °C, significantly increased the BET surface area and achieved its maximum value (47.04 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉/g). Moreover, the HTP process can promote the HMs in SS be transformed from bioavailable fractions to more stable fractions. This increases with the pyrolysis temperature, resulting in a remarkable reduction in the potential environmental risk of HMs from the biochar obtained from the HTP process.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320605-fx1.jpg" width="340" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yan Wang, Qiaonan Zhang, Yuwei Zhang, Hongxia Zhao, Feng Tan, Xiaowei Wu, Jingwen Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Concentrations and temporal variations of priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the air from a suburban area of Dalian, China were investigated for a 1-year period to assess their sources and potential correlations with six criteria air pollutants and meteorological parameters. The total concentrations of PAHs were in the range of 4.32–112.2 ng/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 (Mean = 52.37 ± 23.99 ng/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉). Seasonality was discovered with the PAHs following an order of winter 〉 spring 〉 summer 〉 autumn. The impacts of meteorological parameters on PAH levels were season-dependent. High temperature may increase the air concentrations of 4-ring PAHs during the non-heating period, whereas high relative humidity may raise the concentrations of 3- and 4-ring PAHs during the heating period. Correlations of PAHs with criteria air pollutants, such as SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, indicated that both fossil fuel combustion and photochemical oxidation influenced the air concentrations of PAHs. According to the source apportionment by diagnostic ratios and PMF model, coal combustion and traffic emission were estimated to be the main sources of PAHs in Dalian, followed by petroleum release and biomass burning. It was worth noting that the contribution of coal combustion to the PAH burdens increased from 26% to 45% due to the emission from domestic heating in winter. This extra emission needs a continuous concern in the future.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320551-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Min Liu, Shenglan Jia, Ting Dong, Yuan Han, Jingchuan Xue, Elvy Riani Wanjaya, Mingliang Fang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bisphenol A diglycidy ether (BADGE) and its derivatives are epoxy resins and widely used as emerging plasticizers in food packages and material coating. Though known as endocrine disruptors, little information is available on their occurrence, exposure routes and toxicity. Besides, the analysis of BADGE and its derivatives has always been a challenge due to their reactive chemical properties and the background contamination. Therefore, we firstly developed a novel water-free method to analyze BADGE and its derivatives in dust samples together with other two typical plasticizers bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS). In order to investigate the levels in paired dust and urine samples, 33 paired samples were collected from Singapore. In both dust and urine samples, the predominant compounds were BPA, BADGE-2H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O and BPS. A significantly positive correlation of BPA levels in paired dust and urine samples was observed in this small-scale study. To tentatively explore the human health effect from exposure to these bisphenol plasticizers, we assessed the correlation between the urinary concentrations of these compounds and oxo-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), an oxidative stress biomarker. The result showed that 8-OHdG levels in urine samples was positively correlated with urinary BPA level and body mass index (BMI), suggesting that elevated oxidative stress might be associated with BPA exposure and obesity. In the future, a larger scale study is warranted due to the limited sample size in this study.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518319453-fx1.jpg" width="300" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tao Cui, Chenyang Shen, Anlin Xu, Weiqing Han, Jiansheng Li, Xiuyun Sun, Jinyou Shen, Lianjun Wang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this work, a novel coupled-oxidation tubular reactor (COTR)/non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (NTP-DBD) catalytic plasma in a synergistic electro-catalysis system was investigated for odorous mercaptans decomposition. In order to enhance the degradation efficiency of electro-oxidation, a novel enhanced Ti/PbO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 electro-catalytic tubular reactor prepared by using flow dynamic electrodeposition was designed and applied as pretreatment process for CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SNa wastewater. The results indicated that the optimal condition was 7 mA cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 of current density, 10 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of initial concentration of CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SNa, 9.0 of pH and 5.0 g L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of electrolyte concentration. Addition of Fe〈sup〉2+〈/sup〉 and H〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and mechanism of COTR system were first put forward. The target species CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SNa were removed over 90% by this process. In order to treat the CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SH effusion which was co-produced with CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SNa aqueous solution, the technology of NTP-DBD catalytic plasma reactor followed by a chemical absorption has been developed. MSH could be removed over 95% under the condition of 2 s of residence time, 15 kV of output voltage with oxygen concentration of 9%. Moreover, the synthetic Ni-doped AC catalyst had the best performance under 0.7 mmol g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 of nickel loading. The conclusion was the energetic electrons generated in the DBD reactor played a key role on the removal of MSH, and the major decomposition products of MSH were detected as CH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉SSCH〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, SO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and NO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉. Moreover, the gaseous products in the plasma exhaust could be absorbed and fixed by the subsequent aqueous NaOH solution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320411-fx1.jpg" width="359" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Changlong Wei, Xin Song, Qing Wang, Yun Liu, Na Lin〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (trade name F-53B), a perfluorooctane sulfonate alternative used as a mist suppressant in the chromium plating industry, is environmentally persistent and bioaccumulative. In this study, the kinetic and equilibrium data of F-53B sorption onto soils were obtained to investigate the relationship between sorption parameters and soil attributes. The effects of potential coexisting Cu(II), anionic Cr(VI) and sulfate on F-53B sorption by soils were explored. This is the first report of the effects of F-53B sorption behavior on soils with coexisting contaminants of Cu(II) and Cr(VI). The results showed that sorption kinetics of F-53B on soils could be well-fitted by the pseudo-second-order model. The maximum F-53B sorption capacity ranged from 22.71 to 92.36 mg/kg on six different soils, and the correlation analysis indicated a positive relationship between the maximum sorption capacity and the soil organic content, Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, and Fe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. The desorption percentages of F-53B in this study, defined as the proportion of sorbed F-53B on soils that was recovered upon desorption, were lower than 8.2%. Moreover, F-53B sorption capacities generally decreased in the presence of Cu(II), Cr(VI), and sulfate, indicating that these ions can facilitate the F-53B mobility in the subsurface. Taken together, these findings suggest that electrostatic interaction, hydrophobic interaction, ligand exchange, and surface complexation contributed to the F-53B sorption on soils.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shaobo Xie, Xiaosong Hu, Teng Liu, Shanwei Qi, Kun Lang, Huiling Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper presents a new integrated model predictive control (IMPC) method that combines power management and adaptive velocity control during vehicle-following scenarios in reality, for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Innovatively, the IMPC is able to plan the battery state of charge (SOC) and vehicular velocity trajectories, in order to improve fue economy and driving safety. To assess the performance of the IMPC, a comparison is performed with common charge-depleting and charge-sustaining (CDCS) and DP-based energy management strategies, where an improved full velocity difference model (IFVDM) is incorporated to simulate vehicle-following behavior. These solutions are examined using a real-world driving cycle. The results reveal an enormous potential of flexibly tuning the inter-vehicle distance to increase fuel economy. This is distinct from the rigid vehicle-following behavior of the IFVDM just for driving safety. Moreover, the proposed IMPC can ensure the battery charge depletion at the end of the trip. The quantitative results witness that the total cost of the IMPC with a preview horizon of 3s can be reduced by 17.9% and 36.1% for a 70 km city-bus route, compared to IFVDM-based DP and CDCS counterparts, respectively. In addition, the effect of the preview-horizon length on both fuel economy and computational time is examined.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Danial Baghernezhad, Majid Siavashi, Ali Nakhaee〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a commonly used thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method in heavy oil reservoirs. Scenario optimizations are conducted with different optimization techniques to determine the optimal steam injection rate and temperature strategies. The performance of standard artificial bee colony (SABC), directed ABC (DABC), generalized pattern search (GPS) and mesh-adaptive direct search (MADS) algorithms were investigated. Also, the effect of initial guess and polling type on the performance of GPS and MADS were analyzed. DABC approaches the global optimum better than other employed algorithms, with a huge number of function evaluations. While, GPS is the fastest algorithm, likely to be trapped in local extrema. To eliminate this issue, the novel multi-region pattern search (MRPS) algorithm is proposed, in which the search space is divided into smaller subregions, each one is searched independently. Hence, search space is more efficiently explored and initial guess dependency is reduced. MRPS algorithm provided similar results to the DABC algorithm while lowering the computational costs up to 93%. MRPS algorithm is successfully applied for a 5-year SAGD scenario optimization. Furthermore, by scenario optimization, SAGD operation could be reduced for 1-year, providing the same NPV as that of the reference case operating for 4-years.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): A.V. Chistyakov, S.A. Nikolaev, P.A. Zharova, M.V. Tsodikov, F. Manenti〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, Cu/Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 catalysts with different metal loadings was applied for the direct ethanol conversion into linear α-alcohols in the supercritical regime. 5% Cu/Al〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉 catalyst was found to provide ethanol conversion into 1-butanol, 1-hexanol and 1-octanol with 80.2% selectivity of 1-butanol or total selectivity of linear α-alcohols of 95.5 at 33.5% conversion of ethanol. The supercritical conditions allow to increase catalysts productivity in comparison with subcritical regime. Kinetic features of the reaction and the effect of water content in the feed mixture were investigated.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bing Gong, Xiaochen Zheng, Qing Guo, Joaquín Ordieres-Meré〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉This paper explores the effects of enforced Chinese policies regarding environmental matters at the provincial level. The paper proposes several features and explores datasets from the last four Five-Year Plans, which extensively covered the period from 1995 to 2015.〈/p〉 〈p〉As the datasets are multidimensional, dimensional reduction is applied with a control of information loss described by data variance preservation. A data-based clustering algorithm is applied to identify the similarities, and characteristics are explored in relation to the specific features.〈/p〉 〈p〉The use of this method makes it possible to identify the changes in the relevance of the features in the most recent Five-Year Plan, in which decarbonization is relevant instead of productivity. This method also makes it possible to identify specific efforts several provinces have made to introduce cleaner energy production.〈/p〉 〈p〉Following the analysis, it is concluded that the proposed features enable the proposed method to be considered a tool for analyzing the real-world effects of the adopted policies.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Qiang Wang, Kun Luo, Renyu Yuan, Sanxia Zhang, Jianren Fan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉To ameliorate the efficiency of wind farms, except assessing the wake effect between the wind turbines, the wake interference between the wind farms must be considered. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, the overall performance and power output characteristics, and wake interference effects between the adjacent wind farms in Hami region of Xinjiang province under real terrain and atmospheric conditions were investigated. The wind turbine drag parameterization (WTDP) scheme was elaborated. The results show that the wake of the whole field generally recovers at downstream 16.5 km under prevailing wind direction and annual average wind speed, and the frequency of power output around the rated power is up to 30%. Moreover, the disturbance induced by the wake effect of a large-scale wind farm on its downstream adjacent farm was quantitatively evaluated. Due to the impact of the upstream farm, the wake distance of the downstream wind farm is doubled. The influence on the power output presented a regularity of day-night alternation, with a higher frequency of great loss at night, dawn and evening. The average relative loss ratio reached 5.8%. This study is expected to provide a theoretical basis and engineering guidance for micrositing of wind farms.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Pieter Billen, Enrica Leccisi, Subham Dastidar, Siming Li, Liliana Lobaton, Sabrina Spatari, Aaron T. Fafarman, Vasilis M. Fthenakis, Jason B. Baxter〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lead halide perovskites (LHP) are an emerging class of photovoltaic (PV) materials that have drawn intense interest due to their power conversion efficiencies above 23% and their potential for low-cost fabrication. However, the toxicity of lead causes concern about its use in LHP-PV at large scales. Here, we quantified lead intensity and toxicity potential of LHP-PV in potential commercial production. Lead intensity in LHP-PV life cycles can be 4 times lower and potential toxic emissions can be 20 times lower than those in representative U.S. electricity mixes, assuming that PV operational lifetimes reach 20 years. We introduce the metric “toxicity potential payback time”, accounting for toxic emissions in the life cycle of energy cycles, and showed that it is 〈 2 years for perovskite PVs produced by and displacing the same grid mix. The toxicity potential associated with the energy of manufacturing a PV system dominates that associated with release of embodied lead. Therefore, the use of lead should not preclude commercialization of LHP-PVs. Instead, effort should focus on development of low-energy manufacturing processes and long service lifetimes. Additional detailed investigations are needed to quantify the full life cycle of commercial production of perovskites and to minimize potential emissions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360544218321364-fx1.jpg" width="290" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 10 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 296〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kadir Tuna, Arnd Kilian, Thorsten Ressler〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Electroless plating of tin layers with thicknesses of more than 3 μm is becoming an important process in the production of circuit boards and semiconductor. Phosphonates constitute promising complexing agents for autocatalytic tin electrolytes. However, detailed time-resolved investigations or electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements of tin deposition in this system are lacking. Here, deposition of tin was investigated by electrochemical quartz microbalance (EQCM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. EQCM investigations showed a strong drop in deposition rate within the first ten minutes. Bath parameters had a significant effect on the drop of deposition rate. The results indicated an inhibitive pyrophosphate adsorption on the tin electrode surface which caused the observed drop of deposition rate. Impedance measurements confirmed this assumption. The equivalent circuit applied for the analysis of EIS data, included an increasing adsorbate resistance Rp, which can be related to the thickness of an adsorbed permeable pyrophosphate layer. Impedance measurements at selected frequencies revealed a linear relation between deposition rate and conductance 1/Rp. Subsequently, gluconate substituting for pyrophosphate was tested as complexing agent. Combined EQCM and EIS measurements during deposition using a gluconate containing electrolyte showed a stable rate with an invariant conductance.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Tao Liu, Xiaolin Sun, Shimei Sun, Quanhai Niu, Hui Liu, Wei Song, Fengting Cao, Xichao Li, Takeo Ohsaka, Jianfei Wu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lithium-sulfur batteries were investigated as promising next-generation energy storage devices owing to their high capacity in comparison to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the serious shuttle effect and sluggish redox kinetics originated from dissolution of polysulfides and insulating property of sulfur and lithium sulfide, restricted their practical applications. To overcome these stubborn problems, a robust and environment-friendly biomass carbon fiber interlayer anchored with uniformly-distributed SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 nanoparticles was demonstrated. Benefiting from the excellent conductivity of carbon fiber, together with the stable chemical adsorption of SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 for soluble polysulfides, this low-cost and lightweight interlayer could not only remarkably enhance sulfur utilization, but also efficiently capture the polysulfides by chemical entrapment strategies. With this biomass carbon fiber@SiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 interlayer, the batteries delivered a high reversible capacity of 1352.8 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 at 0.1 C and enhanced capacity of 618.4 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 after 500 cycles at 1.0 C. Even up to 4.2 mg cm〈sup〉−2〈/sup〉 sulfur loading, high cycling stability was also achieved by this interlayer. We believe this robust and low-cost interlayer has a great potential for practical applications of Li–S batteries.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rasmus Østergaard Gadsbøll, Lasse Røngaard Clausen, Tobias Pape Thomsen, Jesper Ahrenfeldt, Ulrik Birk Henriksen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉As increasing amounts of wind and solar are integrated into the energy system, there is a growing need for the development of flexible and efficient biomass-based energy plants. Currently, a Polygeneration concept is being investigated: a system based on thermal biomass gasification and solid oxide cells that can either produce power or biofuels depending on the electricity prices. This study investigates gasifier design opportunities for large-scale and fuel flexible TwoStage concepts that only applies partial oxidation for tar conversion. Thermodynamic modeling is carried out for a total of 12 gasifier cases, featuring 3 main systems that each can process wood/straw and use air/oxygen. It was found that despite the varying operation conditions, process parameters remained relatively stable and that partial oxidation could be effectively applied as the only tar reducing measure. The systems all achieved high cold gas efficiencies of 84–88% and were found to be significantly more effective than competing technologies, while also obtaining higher fuel flexibility.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jaime Rodríguez-Estival, Marta I. Sánchez, Cristina Ramo, Nico Varo, Juan A. Amat, Juan Garrido-Fernández, Dámaso Hornero-Méndez, Manuel E. Ortiz-Santaliestra, Mark A. Taggart, Mónica Martinez-Haro, Andy J. Green, Rafael Mateo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉European populations of black-necked grebes (〈em〉Podiceps nigricollis〈/em〉) congregate every year to moult at the salt ponds of the Odiel Marshes (SW Spain). However, the Odiel Marshes are part of one of the most metal-polluted coastal estuaries in the world, which may pose risks to wildlife. We assessed the exposure of grebes to metal pollution during the critical moulting period in the Odiel Marshes and its potential to cause adverse health effects. Levels of metals in red blood pellet (as a biomarker of exposure), plasma carotenoids, eye redness, and body condition (as biomarkers of effects) were studied. Metal content was also analyzed in the brine shrimp 〈em〉Artemia parthenogenetica〈/em〉, the most important food for grebes in this hypersaline ecosystem during the moulting period. Results showed that, in comparison to toxicity thresholds, grebes had relatively high blood levels of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg) and zinc (Zn). The high loads found in 〈em〉Artemia〈/em〉 and the way blood levels vary during the moulting period indicate that shrimp consumption may be the main route of metal exposure for grebes. Plasma carotenoids and body condition showed a positive association with exposure to As, while the relationship of lutein-like carotenoids with Hg accumulation was negative at the beginning of the moulting period to become positive afterwards. Moreover, eye redness was negatively affected by As accumulation. Factors including food resource availability, seasonal fluctuations in physiological status, and interannual variations in the degree of environmental contamination should be considered in monitoring efforts when using moult migrant waterbirds as sentinel species.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S004565351832006X-egi108SW54GQSP.jpg" width="355" alt="Image" title="Image"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hong Wang, Zhiqiu Gao, Jingzheng Ren, Yibo Liu, Lisa Tzu-Chi Chang, Kevin Cheung, Yun Feng, Yubin Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study investigates the urban-rural and sex differences in the increased risks of the ten most common cancers in China related to high PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 concentration in the southeastern side of Hu line. Pearson correlation coefficient is estimated to reveal how the cancers closely associated with PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 long-term exposure. Then linear regression is conducted to evaluate sex- and area-specific increased risks of those cancers from high level PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 long-term exposure. The major finding is with the increase of every 10 μg/m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 of annual mean PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 concentration, the increase of relative risks for lung cancer incidence and mortality are 15% and 23% for males, and 22% and 24% for females in rural area. For urban area, the increase of relative risk for ovarian cancer incidence is 9% for females, while that for prostatic cancer increases 17% for males. For leukemia, the increase of relative risks for incidence and mortality are 22% and 19% for females in rural area, while in urban area the increase of relative risk for mortality is 9% for males and for incidence is 6% for females. It is also found that with increased PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 exposure, the risks for ovarian and prostatic cancer rise significantly in urban area, while risks for lung cancer and leukemia rise significantly in rural area. The results demonstrate the higher risks for lung cancer and leukemia with increased PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 exposure are more significant for female. This study also suggests that the carcinogenic effects of PM〈sub〉2.5〈/sub〉 have obvious sex and urban-rural differences.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yanju Liu, Jianhua Du, Zhaomin Dong, Mohammad Mahmudur Rahman, Yongchao Gao, Kaihong Yan, Ravi Naidu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉There is increasing concern about the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated timber due to the possible leaching of toxic metals or metalloids. CCA-treated timber waste are currently stockpiled across Australia with limited information about their risks to the environment or human health. In this study, the treatment and utilisation of CCA-treated timber waste as garden mulch, garden retaining walls, and soil additive were investigated. Iron materials were used as immobilising agents. The bioavailability of Cr, Cu and As to 〈em〉Spinacia oleracea〈/em〉 from CCA-treated timber, before and after treatment, was determined in the context of human health risk assessment. The results showed that the iron-based treatments resulted in significant decreases in the concentrations of Cu and As in spinach grown in CCA-treated timber in soil. Analyses of CCA derived Cu and As in spinach showed that they accumulated in the roots rather than in the leaves. The risks of toxicity to humans varied for different utilisation scenarios and the immobilisation amendments were shown to reduce carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. The information obtained in this study can inform development of utilisation options for CCA-treated timber wastes.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320022-fx1.jpg" width="307" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Han Chen, Tao Lin, Wei Chen, Hui Tao, Hang Xu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The variations of disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors and DBPs-associated toxic potencies were evaluated by ozonation, followed by a up-flow biological activated carbon (O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UBAC) filter treating two reconstituted water samples, featuring either high bromide (105.3 μg/L) or dissolved organic nitrogen (0.73 mg N/L) concentration, respectively. Ozonation contributed to ∼20% decrease in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration at a dosage of 0.7 mg of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/mg of DOC, but no further reduction in DOC level was observed with an increased dose of 1.0 mg of O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/mg of DOC. When chlorine or preformed monochloramine was used as a disinfectant, UBAC process led to ∼40% reduction in the sum of detected DBP formation potential (FP) due to the removal of precursors at a feasible empty bed contact time of 15 min. The integrated effect of ozonation and UBAC biofiltration decreased the sum of DBP FP by ∼50% including halonitromethanes (THNMs), N-nitrosamines (NAs), and bromate, which increased in the effluent of ozonation. Chloramination produced less DBPs by weight as well as DBPs-associated additive toxic potencies than chlorination. The reduction in additive toxic potencies was generally lower than the removal efficiency of DBP FP after chlor(am)ination of treated waters by O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉/UBAC, indicating that the removal of DBPs-associated additive toxic potencies should be focused to better understand on the residual risk to public health in controlling DBP precursors.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518319064-fx1.jpg" width="273" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Brooke K. Mayer, Carlan Johnson, Yu Yang, Nicole Wellenstein, Emily Maher, Patrick J. McNamara〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study evaluated strategies targeting macro- and micro-organic contaminant mitigation using low-energy titanium dioxide photocatalysis. Energy inputs of 1, 2, and 5 kWh m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 resulted in incomplete oxidation of macro-organic natural organic matter, signified by greater reductions of UV〈sub〉254〈/sub〉 and specific ultraviolet UV absorbance (SUVA) in comparison to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The rate of UV〈sub〉254〈/sub〉 removal was 3 orders of magnitude greater than the rate of DOC degradation. Incomplete oxidation improved operation of downstream filtration processes. Photocatalysis at 2 kWh m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 increased the bed life of downstream granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration by 340% relative to direct filtration pretreatment. Likewise, photocatalysis operated ahead of microfiltration decreased fouling, resulting in longer filter run times. Using 2 kWh m〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 photocatalysis increased filter run time by 36 times in comparison to direct filtration. Furthermore, levels of DOC and UV〈sub〉254〈/sub〉 in the membrane permeate improved (with no change in removal across the membrane) using low-energy photocatalysis pretreatments. While high-energy UV inputs provided high levels of removal of the estrogenic micro-organics estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynlestradiol (EE2), low-energy photocatalysis did not enhance removal of estrogens beyond levels achieved by photolysis alone. In the cases of E1 and E3, the addition of TiO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 as a photocatalyst reduced degradation rates of estrogens compared to UV photolysis. Overall, process electrical energy per order magnitude reductions (EEOs) greatly improved using photocatalysis, versus photolysis, for the macro-organics DOC, UV〈sub〉254〈/sub〉, and SUVA; however, energy required for removal of estrogens was similar between photolysis and photocatalysis.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320885-fx1.jpg" width="500" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rahat Riaz, Usman Ali, Jun Li, Gan Zhang, Khan Alam, Andrew James Sweetman, Kevin C. Jones, Riffat Naseem Malik〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Lesser Himalayan Region (LHR) is an important mountain ecosystem which supports a wide range of biodiversity for native flora and fauna. Human population in this region is largely dependent upon local sources for their livelihood. Surface soil (n = 32) and sediment (n = 32) were collected from four different altitudinal ranges of LHR and analyzed for priority Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) recommended by USEPA. Level, sources and distribution pattern of PAHs were assessed in soil and sediments samples collected from four altitudinal zones in LHR. Total PAHs concentration level of PAHs in soil and sediments ranged from 62.79 to 1080 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 and 14.54–437.43 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, respectively. Compositional profile of PAHs in both soil and sediment were dominated by low and medium molecular weight PAHs, ranged from 18.02 to 402.18 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉in soil and 0.32–96.34 ng g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉in sediments. In the context of spatial distribution trend, highest mean concentrations of PAHs in soil were recorded in zone D (sites from the rural region) and for sediments highest concentrations were detected at zone A, which includes dam sites. In all four zones, no altitudinal trend of PAHs in soil and sediments was observed. Source apportionment through receptor modelling by positive matrix factorization (PMF) revealed that local sources such as biomass combustion and vehicular emissions are important sources of PAHs in this region. The prevalence of monsoon atmospheric circulation system in LHR implicated that this region is also influenced by medium and long range atmospheric transportation of PAHs from neighboring countries where potential sources and high level of PAHs has been reported.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320009-fx1.jpg" width="357" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Xiaohui Zhang, Song Tang, Mao Wang, Weimin Sun, Yuwei Xie, Hui Peng, Aimin Zhong, Hongling Liu, Xiaowei Zhang, Hongxia Yu, John P. Giesy, Markus Hecker〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the most hazardous byproducts of some types of mining. However, research on how AMD affects the bacterial community structure of downstream riverine ecosystems and the distribution of metal resistance genes (MRGs) along pollution gradient is limited. Comprehensive geochemical and high-throughput next-generation sequencing analyses can be integrated to characterize spatial distributions and MRG profiles of sediment bacteria communities along the AMD-contaminated Hengshi River. We found that (1) diversities of bacterial communities significantly and gradually increased along the river with decreasing contamination, suggesting community composition reflected changes in geochemical conditions; (2) relative abundances of phyla 〈em〉Proteobacteria〈/em〉 and genus 〈em〉Halomonas〈/em〉 and 〈em〉Planococcaceae〈/em〉 that function in metal reduction decreased along the AMD gradient; (3) low levels of sediment salinity, sulfate, aquatic lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) were negatively correlated with bacterial diversity despite pH was in a positive manner with diversity; and (4) arsenic (As) and copper (Cu) resistance genes corresponded to sediment concentrations of As and Cu, respectively. Altogether, our findings offer initial insight into the distribution patterns of sediment bacterial community structure, diversity and MRGs along a lotic ecosystem contaminated by AMD, and the factors that affect them.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S004565351832085X-fx1.jpg" width="437" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Kenneth Brezinski, Beata Gorczyca〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Natural organic matter (NOM) constitutes the terrestrial and aquatic sources of organic plant like material found in water bodies. As of recently, an ever-increasing amount of effort is being put towards developing better ways of unraveling the heterogeneous nature of NOM. This is important as NOM is responsible for a wide variety of both direct and indirect effects: ranging from aesthetic concerns related to taste and odor, to issues related to disinfection by-product formation and metal mobility. A better understanding of NOM can also provide a better appreciation for treatment design; lending a further understanding of potable water treatment impacts on specific fractions and constituents of NOM. The use of high performance size-exclusion chromatography has shown a growing promise in its various applications for NOM characterization, through the ability to partition ultraviolet absorbing moieties into ill-defined groups of humic acids, hydrolysates of humics, and low molecular weight acids. HPSEC also has the ability of simultaneously measuring absorbance in the UV–visible range (200–350 nm); further providing a spectroscopic fingerprint that is simply unavailable using surrogate measurements of NOM, such as total organic carbon (TOC), ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV〈sub〉254〈/sub〉), excitation-emission matrices (EEM), and specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA〈sub〉254〈/sub〉). This review mainly focuses on the use of HPSEC in the characterization of NOM in a potable water setting, with an additional focus on strong-base ion-exchangers specifically targeted for NOM constituents.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518318824-fx1.jpg" width="474" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): John Pierce Wise, James T.F. Wise, Catherine F. Wise, Sandra S. Wise, Cairong Zhu, Cynthia L. Browning, Tongzhang Zheng, Christopher Perkins, Christy Gianios, Hong Xie, John Pierce Wise〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉One Environmental Health has emerged as an important area of research that considers the interconnectedness of human, animal and ecosystem health with a focus on toxicology. The great whales in the Gulf of Maine are important species for ecosystem health, for the economies of the Eastern seaboard of the United States, and as sentinels for human health. The Gulf of Maine is an area with heavy coastal development, industry, and marine traffic, all of which contribute chronic exposures to environmental chemicals that can bioaccumulate in tissues and may gradually diminish an individual whale's or a population's fitness. We biopsied whales for three seasons (2010–2012) and measured the levels of 25 metals and selenium in skin biopsies collected from three species: humpback whales (〈em〉Megaptera novaeangliae〈/em〉), fin whales (〈em〉Balaenoptera physalus〈/em〉), and a minke whale (〈em〉Balaenoptera acutorostrata〈/em〉). We established baseline levels for humpback and fin whales. Comparisons with similar species from other regions indicate humpback whales have elevated levels of aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, nickel and zinc. Contextualizing the data with a One Environmental Health approach finds these levels to be of potential concern for whale health. While much remains to understand what threats these metal levels may pose to the fitness and survival of these whale populations, these data serve as a useful and pertinent start to understanding the threat of pollution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 216〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Han Wang, Guangjing Xu, Zheng Qiu, Yan Zhou, Yu Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The high energy consumption associated with biological treatment of municipal wastewater is posing a serious impact and challenge on the current global wastewater industry and is also inevitably linked to the issue of global climate change. To tackle such an emerging situation, this study aimed to develop strategies to effectively suppress nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in pilot-scale mainstream nitritation-denitritation system coupled with MBR for municipal wastewater treatment. The results showed that stable nitrite shunt was achieved, while more than 90% of COD and NH〈sub〉4〈/sub〉〈sup〉+〈/sup〉-N removal were obtained via nitritation-denitritation in the pilot plant fed with real municipal wastewater. Through adjusting aeration intensity in MBR in combination with the integrated control of dissolved oxygen (DO), sludge retention time (SRT) and sludge return ratio, NOB was successfully suppressed with a nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) of more than 80%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dong Chen, Zhong-wen Meng, Yi-ping Chen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Large quantities of molybdenum (Mo) slag are generated as a by-product during mining and smelting, which not only occupy huge stretches of arable land and natural habitats but also threaten the local ecosystem and environment. How to recycle this Mo slag is becoming an urgent issue. Here, we reported the toxicity assessment of Mo slag as a mineral fertilizer for slag recycling in agricultural practices. The results showed the following: (1) Lower rates of slag (1.0%, 2.5%, and 5.0%) fertilization, especially 5.0% slag, increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase), the contents of chlorophyll, and both the maximum quantum yield and quantum efficiency of photosystem II; decreased the content of malondialdehyde and the non-photochemical quenching of photosystem II; and eventually increased the height, leaf area, and biomass of pakchoi seedlings; (2) Higher rates (7.5% and 10.0%) of Mo slag application resulted in a reduction in the aforementioned physiological and morphological parameters (except for peroxidase activity) of pakchoi seedlings; and (3) Although fertilization with 5.0% slag increased the accumulation of the non-essential elements arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in pakchoi seedlings, their contents were still lower than the maximum levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, European Union, and standards of China. From the perspectives of plant nutrition and food safety, our results showed that Mo slag fertilization at rates lower than 5.0% can be applied as a mineral fertilizer for pakchoi grown on calcareous soils.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320915-fx1.jpg" width="399" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Rui Qu, Shu-Shen Liu, Tong Li, Hai-Ling Liu〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In the field of computational toxicology, predicting toxicological interaction or hormesis effect of a mixture from individuals is still a challenge. The two most frequently used model concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) also cannot solve these challenges perfectly. In this paper, we used IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉 (an interpolation method based on the Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi tessellation as well as the training set of direct equipartition ray design (EquRay) mixtures) to predict the toxicities of binary mixtures composed of hormetic ionic liquids (ILs). One of the purposes is to verify the predictive ability of IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉. The other one is to improve the risk assessment of ILs mixtures especial hormetic ILs, because the toxicity reports of ILs mixtures are rarely reported in particular the toxicity of the hormetic ILs mixtures. Hence, we determined time-dependent toxicities of four ILs and their binary mixtures (designed by EquRay) to 〈em〉Vibrio qinghaiensis〈/em〉 sp.-Q67 at first. Then, mixture toxicities were predicted and compared using the IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉 and CA. The results show that, the accuracy of IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉 is higher than the accuracy of CA. And, more important, to some mixtures out of the CA application, IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉 also can predict the mixture effects accurately. It showed that IDV〈sub〉equ〈/sub〉 can be applied to predict the toxicity of any binary mixture regardless of the type of concentration-response curve of the components. These toxicity data provided useful information for researching the prediction of hormesis or toxicological interaction of the mixture and toxicities of ILs mixtures.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Chemosphere, Volume 217〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gaël Le Croizier, Camille Lacroix, Sébastien Artigaud, Stéphane Le Floch, Jean-Marie Munaron, Jean Raffray, Virginie Penicaud, Marie-Laure Rouget, Raymond Laë, Luis Tito De Morais〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Subcellular cadmium (Cd) partitioning was investigated in the liver of two marine fish species, the European sea bass 〈em〉Dicentrarchus labrax〈/em〉 and the Senegalese sole 〈em〉Solea senegalensis〈/em〉, dietary exposed to an environmentally realistic Cd dose for two months followed by a two-month depuration. The two species displayed different handling strategies during the depuration period. Cd was largely bound to detoxifying fractions such as heat stable proteins (HSP) including metallothioneins (MT) in sea bass, while Cd was more linked to sensitive fractions such as organelles in sole. Whole liver concentrations and subcellular partitioning were also determined for essential elements. The greatest impairment of essential metal homeostasis due to Cd exposure was found in sole. These elements followed the Cd partitioning pattern, suggesting that they are involved in antioxidant responses against Cd toxicity. Cd consumption diminished sole growth in terms of body weight, probably due to lipid storage impairment. The contrasting partitioning patterns showed by the two species might imply different pathways for Cd elimination from the liver. In sea bass, MT-bound Cd would be excreted through bile or released into blood, crossing the cell membrane via a protein transporter. In sole, MRG-bound Cd would be sequestered by organelles before being released into the blood via vesicular exocytosis. These distinct strategies in cellular Cd handling in the liver might account for differential sensitivity to Cd toxicity and differential Cd excretion pathways between the two marine fish species.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045653518320873-fx1.jpg" width="496" alt="Image 1" title="Image 1"〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 February 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Electrochimica Acta, Volume 295〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lei Lu, Xinyan Jiao, Jiawei Fan, Wu Lei, Yu Ouyang, Xifeng Xia, Zhixin Xue, Qingli Hao〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and Lithium storage both play the key roles in energy conversion and storage devices. Here, we report a honeycomb-like nitrogen-doped carbon derived from enteromorpha algae (N-EA), using a one-step pyrolysis process at only 600 °C to simultaneously achieve doping, carbonization and activation. After anchoring CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 on N-EA, CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/N-EA, not only inherits the high surface area, porous structure, active nitrogen species from N-EA, but also benefits from the active sites and high theoretical specific capacity of Li storage from CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉. The synergistic effect makes CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/N-EA an alternative catalyst to commercial Pt/C for ORR with superior activity and stability. Moreover, CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/N-EA exhibits a remarkable cycle performance with a 100% capacity retention (∼900 mAh g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉) after 500 cycles at 0.5 A g〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. Green preparation, waste utilization, good ORR performance and Li storage property of CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/N-EA could make it a promising candidate for fuel cells and LIBs.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): E. Medina-López, A. Moñino, R.J. Bergillos, M. Clavero, M. Ortega-Sánchez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper presents a complete methodology for an integrated simulation of the influence of seabed morphology on the performance of Oscillating Water Column wave energy converters. Different wave characteristics are tested, particularly storm and post-storm conditions. The simulation domain is set in ANSYS Fluent〈sup〉®〈/sup〉, where the changes in seabed under different wave conditions are implemented. The turbine is simulated in terms of pressure drop and pneumatic performance by an Actuator Disk Model (ADM). Results show that the efficiency in energy extraction in the OWC is directly influenced by the equilibrium states of the seabed linked to the storm evolution.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Magnus Dahl, Adam Brun, Gorm B. Andresen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Goals to reduce carbon emissions and changing electricity prices due to increasing penetrations of wind power generation affect the planning and operation of district heating production systems. Through extensive multivariate sensitivity analysis, this study estimates the robustness of future cost-optimal heat production systems under changing electricity prices, fuel cost and investment cost. Optimal production capacities are installed choosing from a range of well-established production and storage technologies including boilers, combined heat and power (CHP) units, power-to-heat technologies and heat storages. The optimal heat production system is characterized in three different electricity pricing scenarios: Historical, wind power dominated and demand dominated. Coal CHP, large heat pumps and heat storages dominate the optimal system if fossil fuels are allowed. Heat pumps and storages take over if fossil fuels are excluded. The capacity allocation between CHP and heat pumps is highly dependent on cost assumptions in the fossil fuel scenario, but the optimal capacities become much more robust if fossil fuels are not included. System cost becomes less robust in a fossil free scenario. If the electricity pricing is dominated by wind power generation or by the electricity demand, heat pumps become more favorable compared to cogeneration units. The need for heat storage more than doubles, if fossil fuels are not included, as the heating system becomes more closely coupled to the electricity system.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yingxian Xue, Mingyang Yang, Ricardo F. Martinez-Botas, Alessandro Romagnoli, Kangyao Deng〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper investigates performance and loss mechanism of a nozzled twin-entry mix-flow turbine at different admissions. Two sets of partial admissions and unequal admissions are analysed via experimentally validated numerical method. Results show that discrepancies of turbine efficiency between symmetrical unequal admissions (swopping inlet pressure on two entries) increase when unequal admissions approach to partial admissions, although their swallowing capacity is similar. Loss breakdown of turbine shows that loss is higher in nozzle but lower in rotor when the majority of flow is fed from upper part of the component (near shroud). Opposite phenomenon happens when the majority is fed from lower part (near hub). The reason for loss characteristic of nozzle is front-sweep configuration of the nozzle vane which results in evident flow separation when the flow is fed near the shroud. The reason for loss characteristic of rotor is the tornado-shaped vortex when the flow is fed from the hub. The tornado vortex is initiated by large incidence angle near hub and developed by the combination of Coriolis force, pressure gradient and centrifugal force. The study unveils loss mechanism among different admissions for a twin-entry turbine, which may enlighten the design methodology of the turbine with twin-entry volute.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Description: 〈p〉Publication date: 1 January 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy, Volume 166〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Eren Sevinchan, Ibrahim Dincer, Haoxiang Lang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, energy and exergy analyses of a biogas driven multigeneration system is conducted for performance assessment and evaluation. In this regard, the multigeneration system with a biomass digestion process is developed for this purpose. Multigeneration system consists of different subsystems, such as two-stage biomass digester, open-type Brayton cycle, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), single-effect absorption chiller, heat recovery, water separation unit. This multigeneration system aims to generate electrical power for at least 300 houses, heating power for five greenhouses, cooling power and product water from flue gas for agricultural consumption in greenhouses. The results indicate that the overall energy efficiencies of the proposed system is 72.5% with 1078 kW electrical, 198 kW heating, and 87.54 kW cooling power, and daily around 40 kg water production. However, the maximum exergy efficiency of the multigeneration system is obtained as 30.44%, with 65% of the highest exergy destruction rate in combustion chamber.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉