Understanding the influence of water adsorption on gas transport properties is critical for optimizing coalbed methane (CBM) extraction. This study investigates the influence of adsorbed water on methane diffusion and apparent permeability in three coals representing sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite ranks. The samples were selected as geologically representative end-members from major coalbed methane basins in China. Adsorbed water was introduced via humidity equilibration at 97% relative humidity, simulating residual moisture conditions typical of partially dewatered reservoirs. Pressure decay experiments show that under dry conditions, apparent permeability exhibits a non-monotonic variation with coal rank, with the medium-rank coal displaying the highest value among the three tested samples. Upon exposure to adsorbed water, apparent permeability decreases by 39% to 70% across all ranks, with greater suppression observed in low-rank and high-rank coals compared to the medium-rank sample. This rank-dependent response is attributed to differences in pore structure and water distribution associated with coalification history. While the findings are based on single samples per rank and reflect a simplified moisture condition, they provide mechanistic insight into how coal maturity modulates the sensitivity of gas transport to adsorbed water, offering implications for permeability modeling during the dewatering phase of coalbed methane recovery.
Martin Bellmann, Berhane Darsene Dimd, Anne‐Karin Søiland
et al.
In the ICARUS project, European partners collaborate to develop and scale innovative technologies for recovering and refining secondary raw materials from silicon photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing. The production of photovoltaic modules generates significant quantities of waste, particularly silicon kerf, graphite, and silica residues from ingot and wafer manufacturing. ICARUS aims to transform these waste streams into high‐value secondary materials suitable for reintegration into the PV value chain and other industrial applications. Four industrial pilot‐scale processes are developed, targeting the purification and reuse of these materials. Results from the pilots demonstrate both the technical feasibility and economic potential of substituting these recovered materials for virgin and critical raw materials. This work provides a viable pathway toward a more resource‐efficient and circular PV manufacturing industry.
Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering, Renewable energy sources
This study investigates the isolation and application of a Klason-lignin-based biosorbent derived from sugar palm fruit shell (SPFS) waste for the adsorption of Pb(II) and Cd(II) from toxic wastewater. The SPFS waste, rich in lignocellulose, underwent pretreatment to extract lignin-containing functional groups suitable for metal ion adsorption. The biosorbent's morphology before and after adsorption was analyzed. Adsorption effectiveness was evaluated through isotherm and kinetic models, with optimal conditions determined using Box-Behnken Design and Response Surface Methodology. Maximum adsorption capacities of 31.35 mg/g for Pb(II) and 12.5 mg/g for Cd(II) were achieved. Optimal conditions, based on Box-Behnken design, were 116.535 mins, 60 mg/L concentration, and 0.5 g adsorbent mass, resulting in adsorption efficiencies of 94.48 % and 60.98 % for Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively. This research demonstrates the potential of Klason lignin from sugar palm fruit shell (KLSPFS) as an effective biosorbent for Pb(II) and Cd(II) removal, contributing to sustainable development goals 3, 6, and 12 by promoting efficient recycling technologies for improved health, water quality, and waste reduction.
Phillip Ormeño Vásquez, Naysha Rojas Villa, Cristian Rojas Villa
Tourism and hospitality education in Peru is evolving to incorporate a stronger focus on environmental conservation. In this context, this study aims to assess environmental conservation attitudes of students enrolled in tourism and hospitality programs offered by Peruvian universities. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out among students pursuing a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at the National University of Cañete, in Lima, Peru. The research focused on the period from July to December 2018. The final report was completed in 2020. A sample of 45 students was taken from a total population of 281, based on specific selection criteria. The demographic variables considered for this study were: age group, gender, and class shift, alongside the following dimensions: cognitive, affective and reactive. The majority of participants were female (73.3%), within the 20- to 22-year-old group (80.0%), and attended morning classes (64.4%). The highest level of agreement among students was observed for the statement that local hotels should implement appropriate waste management systems (item 2). Furthermore, 86.7% of respondents strongly agreed that plants and animals have the same right to life as human beings (item 20). Similarly, 60.0% of them indicated they would be willing to mobilize others in support of public space conservation (item 26). Overall, the findings suggest that students possess sound cognitive and affective attitudes towards environmental conservation. However, a lower reactive performance requires strategies to foster a deep emotional connection.
The sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from waste carbon sources holds significant promise for reducing our dependence on fossil resources. Here, the authors demonstrate renewable formate production from biomass wastes and CO2 powered by solar energy.
* Global Health Organization Leadership, * Regional Leaders in Health
Dear COP 28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber,
This year, world leaders gathering in the UAE to take stock of their climate commitments will for the first time engage in official programming focused on health. We, the signatories of this letter, support your leadership in bringing health front and center at COP28.
As global health leaders, we are committed to achieving health and well-being for all; this is not possible without a safe and stable climate. The Paris Agreement enshrined the “right to health” as a core obligation for climate action. Yet, communities, health workers, and health systems around the world already face the alarming impacts of a changing climate. Climate change-induced extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe; many countries are grappling with the health consequences of extreme heat, unprecedented storms, floods, food and water insecurity, wildfires, and displacement. For COP28 to truly be a “health COP,” it must address the root cause of the climate crisis: the continued extraction and use of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and gas. We call on the COP28 Presidency and the leaders of all countries to commit to an accelerated, just, and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels as the decisive path to health for all.
Ending our dangerous dependency on fossil fuels will improve the health prospects of future generations and will save lives. Keeping the global temperature increase within the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement is essential to ensure good health and economic prosperity for all. This will only be possible if we rapidly phase out fossil fuels. Fossil fuel phase-out will limit global warming, thereby protecting health from the devastating impacts of extreme weather, and preventing further ecological degradation and biodiversity loss. Failing to do so will lead to overwhelming health consequences, as well as the loss of key natural resources and ecosystem services that are critical to both human and non-human species health, 1 there by undermining One Health and planetary health.
In addition to climate-related health impacts, air pollution caused in part by burning fossil fuels causes 7 million premature deaths annually. 2 The economic costs 3 of air pollution-related health impacts amounted to over US$8.1 trillion, or 6.1% of global GDP, in 2019. By improving air quality, governments can reduce the burden of disease from multiple cancers, heart disease, neurological conditions including stroke, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Investments in clean energy sources will save hundreds of billions of dollars in health care costs associated with air pollution every year, while reducing economic losses from extreme weather events with damages worth US$253 billion (in 2021). 4
A full and rapid phase-out of fossil fuels is the most significant way to provide the clean air, water, and environment that are foundational to good health. We cannot rely on unreliable and inadequate solutions, like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which extend the use of fossil fuels but do not generate the real and immediate health improvements which a renewable energy transition provides. False solutions like CCS risk making harmful emissions worse, straining the health of overburdened communities, and delaying our progress toward meaningful climate progress.
The energy transition must be just and equitable for all. In transitioning to a clean energy future, there is an opportunity to undo the injustices of the fossil fuel-dependent system, taking a systemic approach and emphasizing health, care and community well-being, leaving no one behind. Global leaders must ensure everyone, including fragile states and the most remote and excluded communities, has access to non-polluting, affordable, reliable, accessible, and resilient clean energy, as well as to emerging technologies that make the best use of this energy. A just transition offers the opportunity to reduce health inequities faced by minority and marginalized communities, especially with respect to the health effects of ongoing fossil fuel use and dependence.
Unlocking finance is essential to deliver a healthy and just transition. Achieving climate and health goals will only be feasible if we stop investing in fossil fuels and invest instead in proven climate and health solutions. Each year, countries spend hundreds of billions of dollars subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, money that could be spent investing in a healthy future. High-income countries, development finance institutions, and the private sector must dramatically increase and fulfill their commitments to drive investments in clean energy, clean air, and economic development for the communities most harmed by climate change and fossil fuel pollution.
Fossil fuel interests have no place at climate negotiations. The fossil fuel industry cannot be allowed to continue its decades-long campaign of obstructing climate action at the UNFCCC negotiations and beyond. Just as the tobacco industry is not allowed to participate in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is imperative to safeguard global collaboration on climate progress from the lobbying, disinformation, and delays in favor of industry interests.
Without ambitious climate action, the burden on health care systems and health care workers will be insurmountable. Health gains made in recent decades will be in vain and we will see the harmful impacts of climate change ruin our chances for a safe, equitable and just future.
In this extraordinary year, with health for the first time on the COP agenda, we urge you to deliver real climate progress: commit to an accelerated, just, and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels and invest in a renewable energy transition as the decisive path to health for all.
Sincerely,
Global Health Organization Leadership (Alphabetical by organization)
• Githinji Gitahi, CEO, Amref Health Africa
• Pam Cipriano, President, International Council of Nurses
• Salman Khan, Liaison Officer for Public Health Issues, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations
• Naveen Thacker, President, International Pediatric Association
• Dr Christos Christou, International President, Médecins Sans Frontières
• María del Carmen Calle Dávila, Executive Secretary, Organismo Andino du Salud (Andean Health Organization)
• Luis Eugenio de Souza, President, World Federation for Public Health Associations
• Lujain Alqodmani, President, World Medical Association
Regional Leaders in Health (Alphabetical by surname)
• Mary T. Bassett, Director, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
• Fiona Godlee, Former Editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal
• (Dr.) Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco Surgery and Lung Transplantation, Medanta Hospital, India
• Dame Parveen Kumar, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Education, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
• Lwando Maki, Secretary, Public Health Association of South Africa
• Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director, Sunway Center for Planetary Health - Malaysia
• Kari C. Nadeau, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard School of Public Health
• (Dr.) K Srinath Reddy, Past President of Public Health Foundation of India
This letter is supported and endorsed by:
National Health Organization Leadership (Alphabetical by organization)
• Rosana Teresa Onocko Campos, President, Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva (Brazil)
• Katie Huffling, DNP, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (US)
• Dr Latifa Patel, Representative Body Chair, British Medical Association
• Kamran Abassi, Editor-in-Chief, British Medical Journal (UK)
• Frances Peart, President & Board Chair, Climate and Health Alliance (Australia)
• Kate Wylie, Executive Director, Doctors for the Environment Australia
• Agonafer Tekalenge, President, Ethiopian Public Health Association
• Diederik Aarendonk, Forum Coordinator Global Health Organization Leadership, European Forum for Primary Care
• Kevin Fenton, President, Faculty of Public Health (UK)
• Ansgar Gerhardus, Board Chair, German Public Health Association
• Vital Ribeiro, Chair, Associação Civil Projeto Hospitais Saudáveis (Healthy Hospitals Project)
• Sheila Sobrany, President, Royal College of Nursing
• The Board of the Public Health Association of South Africa
• Diana Zeballos, Executive Secretary, Sustainable Health Equity Movement (SHEM)
• Adeline Kimambo, Executive Secretary, Tanzania Public Health Association
• Richard Smith, Chair, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Yacouba Telly, Xuezhi Liu, Tadagbe Roger Sylvanus Gbenou
Despite its immense natural resources, Angola struggles to significantly improve its economy to reduce poverty. Carbon emissions have been increasing over the years, even though the country plans to reduce them by 35% by 2030. This paper attempts to assess the carbon emissions of several sectors (industries, transport, services, and residences) on economic growth, intending to find a balance between environmental protection that requires carbon emissions reduction and economic development that may add to environmental degradation. The study employed time series data on GDP, CO<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and N<sub>2</sub>O covering 1971 to 2021 and ARDL and ECM models. This is the first study at the state level in Angola on the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability considering methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Additionally, the paper assesses the responses of GDP to deviation shock of GDP, CO<sub>2</sub>, CH<sub>4</sub>, and N<sub>2</sub>O by 2032. Phillip Perron and Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests showed that all the data are stationary at the first difference, favoring the application of the ARDL model to explore the short and long-run relationships. The result reveals that methane from agricultural activities and carbon emissions from the building sector and public services contribute to economic growth, whereas carbon emissions from industrial heat systems, non-renewable electricity production, and manufacturing industries harm economic growth. However, no relationship exists between nitrous oxide emissions and economic development. In addition, impulse response function estimates show that appropriate investments can sustain economic development over the years. Therefore, the country should diversify its economy and avoid polluting fuel sources, such as coal. Raising renewable energy’s proportion in the total energy mix can support growth while considering the environmental quality. Investments in skills training, academic projects in renewable energy technologies development, agriculture mechanization, and sustainable job creation are recommended. Additionally, investing in quality seeds adapted to climate realities might help lessen climate change’s adverse effects and promote growth. Manure manufacturing processes must be improved to reduce agriculture and livestock’s methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The country’s leaders are encouraged to promote raw material processing industries while insisting on reducing carbon emissions.
Agnieszka Brelik, Wojciech Lewicki, Milena Bera
et al.
In recent years, the development of renewable energy sources has become one of the key demands in the European Union's policy. In Poland, the idea emerged that the energy potential of domestic agriculture may be an opportunity for broader use of the available agricultural biomass. Given that agricultural biogas has long been seen as one of the most promising directions for energy transition, the goal of the article was to assess the potential of the agricultural biogas market in Poland. The research methodology was based on statistical measures related to analysing the structure and changes over time in individual years. The structure analysis was carried out for selected Polish provinces, for which empirical distributions were built and selected descriptive parameters were calculated. A similar study was made in relation to selected EU countries. In addition, according to the National Action Plan for Renewable Energy, at least one agricultural biogas plant should be established in each Polish municipality. On this basis, the article assesses the ecological effect of the project on agricultural biogas in Marcinkowice, in the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship. The presented simulations allowed us to conclude that an agricultural biogas plant can be an ecological potential in the form of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels by reducing emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere while reducing fossil fuel consumption. It was important for the practice to confirm that investing in renewable energy sources, including the use of biogas, is part of the goals and directions of development related to the sustainable management of environmental resources and the development of renewable energy sources.
Bushing is an indispensable component in high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project. As the main insulating material possesses poor thermal conductivity and negative temperature coefficient (NTC) electrical resistivity, HVDC bushing suffers from the distortion of electro-thermal-coupled fields. Therefore, it is urgent to reveal the influence of electrical resistivity-temperature characteristic and thermal conductivity on the DC electric field distribution within bushing insulation, guiding the design and application advanced insulating materials. Here, the simulation of temperature and DC electric field distribution within a 400 kV bushing are carried out. The results show that the optimization of NTC effect and thermal conductivity of an insulating material is able to obtain a more uniform electric field distribution through homogenizing the electric resistivity distribution within bushing insulation. The activation energy of the insulating material has a similar variation trend with the maximum electric field within bushing insulation, which has a potential to represent the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of insulating materials. It also shows that the reduction of DC electric field by increasing the thermal conductivity has a saturation feature. As a result, the suppression of the NTC effect should be considered together to obtain a smaller electric field within HVDC bushing. The research study provides a new idea to regulate the DC electric field distribution, which is beneficial to the design of advanced insulating materials.
Due to the success of single microgrids, the coming years are likely to see a transformation of the current electric power system to a multiple microgrid network. Despite its obvious promise, however, this paradigm still faces many challenges, particularly when it comes to the control and coordination of energy exchanges between subsystems. In view of that, in this paper we propose an optimal stochastic control strategy in which microgrids are modeled as stochastic hybrid dynamic systems. The optimal control is based on the jump linear theory and is used as a means to maximize energy storage and the utilization of renewable energy sources in islanded microgrid clusters. Once the gain matrices are obtained, the concept of <i>ε</i>-suboptimality is applied to determine appropriate levels of power exchange between microgrids for any given interconnection pattern. It is shown that this approach can be efficiently applied to large-scale systems and guarantees their connective stability. Simulation results for a three microgrid cluster are provided as proof of concept.
Aili Amupolo, Sofia Nambundunga, Daniel S. P. Chowdhury
et al.
This paper examines different off-grid renewable energy-based electrification schemes for an informal settlement in Windhoek, Namibia. It presents a techno-economic comparison between the deployment of solar home systems to each residence and the supplying power from either a centralized roof-mounted or ground-mounted hybrid microgrid. The objective is to find a feasible energy system that satisfies technical and user constraints at a minimum levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC). Sensitivity analyses are performed on the ground-mounted microgrid to evaluate the impact of varying diesel fuel price, load demand, and solar photovoltaic module cost on system costs. HOMER Pro software is used for system sizing and optimization. The results show that a hybrid system comprising a solar photovoltaic, a diesel generator, and batteries offers the lowest NPC and LCOE for both electrification schemes. The LCOE for the smallest residential load of 1.7 kWh/day and the largest microgrid load of 5.5 MWh/day is USD 0.443/kWh and USD 0.380/kWh, respectively. Respective NPCs are USD 4738 and USD 90.8 million. A sensitivity analysis reveals that variation in the fuel price and load demand changes linearly with system costs and capacities. However, reducing the PV module price in an energy system that includes wind and diesel power sources does not offer significant benefits. Furthermore, deploying an energy system that relies on fossil fuels to each residence in an informal settlement is not environmentally responsible. Unintended negative environmental impacts may result from the mass and simultaneous use of diesel generators. Therefore, a microgrid is recommended for its ability to control the dispatch of diesel generation, and its scalability, reliability of supply, and property security. A roof-mounted microgrid can be considered for piloting due to its lower initial investment. The electricity tariff also needs to be subsidized to make it affordable to end-users. Equally, government and community involvement should be prioritized to achieve long-term economic sustainability of the microgrid.
Abstract To satisfy the grid operation scheduling requirements for wind power forecasting model accuracy, the measured wind speed near the height of the wind turbine hub is added to the wind power combined forecasting model. First, the relationship between the numerical weather prediction wind speed and the measured wind speed at different heights are analysed, and the correlation between each wind speed and the wind power is compared. Second, the random forest algorithm combined with the cumulative contribution rate is used to select several meteorological types of numerical weather prediction data as the input of the long short‐term memory network to predict wind speed. Third, while inputting the meteorological data provided by numerical weather prediction, which is highly related to wind power, the wind power prediction network also uses the predicted wind speed of the upper network as input to predict wind power. Finally, the entropy method is used to dynamically determine the combined weights of each forecasting model and improve the adaptability of the model. Research and analysis using measured data from two wind farms located in northeast China have verified the effectiveness of the method.
In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), power consumption is an important aspect when designing routing protocols. When compared to other components of a sensor node, the power required by radio transmitters is responsible for most of the consumption. One way to optimize energy consumption is by using energy-aware protocols. Such protocols take into consideration the residual energy information (i.e., remaining battery power) when making decisions, providing energy efficiency through the careful management of energy consumption. In this work, we go further and propose a new routing protocol that uses not only the residual energy information, but also the available renewable energy information from renewable energy sources such as solar cells. We then present the Renewable Energy-Based Routing (REBORN) algorithm, an energy-aware geographic routing algorithm, capable of managing both the residual and the available energy. Our results clearly show the advantages and the efficiency achieved by our REBORN algorithm when compared to other proposed energy-aware approaches.
G Harish Kumar Varma, Venugopal Reddy Barry, Rohit Kumar Jain
et al.
Abstract Partial shading is a severe impediment to the effective use of photovoltaic systems. It will lead to performance degradation in the photovoltaic system. This work proposes a maximum–minimum tier equalisation swapping reconfiguration algorithm for total‐cross‐tied connection under shading conditions. The proposed reconfiguration algorithm uses a switch matrix to alter the interconnection of modules in a photovoltaic array. The switch matrix dynamically modifies the connections based on the equalisation of tier irradiance. This algorithm applies to the symmetrical and asymmetrical photovoltaic array. Further, simulation studies show the efficacy of the proposed algorithm by minimising the multiple peaks and enhancing the output power compared with the traditional total‐cross‐tied configuration. The performance of experimental tests ascertains the feasibility of the proposed method.
Shakerin Mohammad, Eikeskog Vilde, Li Yantong
et al.
Technological advancements in the utilization of renewable energy sources have unveiled potentials for increasing building energy efficiency. Integrating heat pump-based energy systems with thermal storages is a suitable option to meet the thermal requirements of modern buildings and exploiting the available renewable energy sources. However, how to size the main components of a heat pump-based energy system with the integration of short- and long-term storages is not yet well explored. Therefore, this study focused on the design and performance analyses of an integrated heating and cooling system consist of a heat pump, borehole long-term thermal storage, and hot water tank short-term thermal. Heat pump models were introduced as parametric models based on the producer data. The dynamic thermal model of the energy system was developed and analysed in MATLAB. Different combinations of heating and cooling loads were tested. Integration of cooling and heating systems was discussed through different operation strategies and challenges were addressed. The results of the parametric analysis identified the key parameters affecting the design of components and efficiency of the system. Moreover, the results showed that lower cooling to heating load ratio leads to an excessive reduction of the ground temperature and overall efficiency over the long-term operation.
Saverio Teodosio Nilo, Domenico Cimini, Francesco Di Paola
et al.
The occurrence of fog often causes errors in the prediction of the incident solar radiation and the power produced by photovoltaic cells. An accurate fog forecast would benefit solar energy producers and grid operators, who could take coordinated actions to reduce the impact of discontinuity, the main drawback of renewable energy sources. Considering that information on discontinuity is crucial to optimize power production estimation and plant management efficiency, in this work, a fog forecast method based on the output of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical model is presented. The areal extension and temporal duration of a fog event are not easy to predict. In fact, there are many physical processes and boundary conditions that cause fog development, such as the synoptic situation, air stability, wind speed, season, aerosol load, orographic influence, humidity and temperature. These make fog formation a complex and rather localized event. Thus, the results of a fog forecast method based on the output variables of the high spatial resolution WRF model strongly depend on the specific site under investigation. In this work, the thresholds are site-specifically designed so that the implemented method can be generalized to other sites after a preliminary meteorological and climatological study. The proposed method is able to predict fog in the 6–30 h interval after the model run start time; it has been evaluated against METeorological Aerodrome Report data relative to seven selected sites, obtaining an average accuracy of 0.96, probability of detection of 0.83, probability of false detection equal to 0.03 and probability of false alarm of 0.18. The output of the proposed fog forecast method can activate (or not) a specific fog postprocessing layer designed to correct the global horizontal irradiance forecasted by the WRF model in order to optimize the forecast of the irradiance reaching the photovoltaic panels surface.