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Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development
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Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 9574

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qiang Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Geology and Environment, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: geothermal resources; geo-ecological environment; geological engineering of energy storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Weiqiang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: geothermal resources; rock mechanics; geological engineering
Dr. Yuliang Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Interests: deep geothermal resources; numerical method; wave propagation; rock mechanics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Using underground spaces for energy storage and development and making full use of coal to develop and comprehensively utilize remaining resources may be a potential approach to achieving the sustainable utilization and storage of energy, which strongly supports the national dual-carbon goal and energy security strategy.

The scientific connotations of using underground spaces to produce and store renewable energy gas includes three aspects. The anaerobic underground space structure left after coal development can be fully utilized as the energy storage site for renewable energy gas, and the underground space of the mine can be fully recycled. Organic waste is used for secondary clean use; in the process of sustainable energy development, the efficient use of energy can also be achieved.

The utilization of an underground space for energy storage is mainly divided into four key contents, namely, the comprehensive geological condition analysis and evaluation of the underground space, the construction of the renewable energy gas storage geological body, the evolution of energy storage and geological body performance, and the geological structure of the full energy storage life cycle, along with its monitoring and evaluation.

Detection and evaluation of geological conditions for energy storage. The geological factors that affect energy storage in underground spaces, such as topography, geomorphology, geotechnical engineering properties, and environmental geology, are systematically studied, and the main influencing geological indicators and control factors of energy storage sites are screened out. On the basis of comprehensive consideration of the energy storage mechanism, based on technical means such as geological radar and geophysical exploration, the sealing of the mine roof, the stability of the sealing body, and the development of fissures in the rifting zone are detected.

Construction of energy storage medium geological bodies. According to the actual conditions of underground space and related parameters, a multi-scale performance evolution model of the geological body for renewable energy storage under the conditions of temperature, seepage, stress and chemical coupling is constructed. Based on the characterization model of the mesochemical reaction regarding its mechanical and permeability effects, through numerical analysis and simulation technology, an energy storage space system based on geological conditions, safety conditions and environmental conditions is finally constructed.

Multiscale performance evolution of energy storage medium geological bodies. In the process of energy storage, the migration law of geological bodies under multi-scale, three-dimensional and multi-field coupling conditions is studied to adjust and control key parameters such as reasonable energy medium physical parameters, injection volume, injection and production frequency, energy storage time and energy storage pressure. A complete system of the systematic multi-scale migration of energy storage media in geological bodies is formed.

Long-term health monitoring and dynamic assessment of the energy gas storage geological environment and energy storage geological bodies. The leakage of energy gas from the energy storage site will seriously damage the ecological balance and cause serious consequences such as the reduction in soil nutrients. Therefore, the monitoring of the energy storage space is an important part of the entire technology.

Therefore, energy storage has become a key goal in achieving the development of renewable energy. This will surely promote the development of green energy. In fact, geothermal energy is not only present in Europe or developed countries; there are several places where it can be harnessed, especially in many developing countries.

The purpose of this Special Issue is therefore to collect recent state-of-the-art research and review articles on geological engineering problems and technologies in sustainable energy development. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  1. Recycling energy storage spaces;
  2. Existing utilization methods of energy gas exploitation;
  3. The life cycle of full energy storage;
  4. Performance evolution of energy storage space geological bodies;
  5. Sustainable energy system utilization;
  6. Solving the geological engineering-related problems and technical problems in the process of renewable energy storage
  7. The current improvement of energy storage technology;
  8. Moving towards a 100% renewable energy scenario, with the development and utilization of new energy.

Dr. Qiang Sun
Dr. Weiqiang Zhang
Dr. Yuliang Zhang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • renewable energy
  • energy storage
  • sustainable utilization
  • geological indicators
  • energy system utilization
  • energy storage technology

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3394 KiB  
Article
Carbon-Free Heat Production for High-Temperature Heating Systems
by Sven Gruber, Klemen Rola, Danijela Urbancl and Darko Goričanec
Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 15063; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015063 - 19 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1199
Abstract
The article presents a new carbon-free heat production technology for district heating, which consists of a combined heat and power generation fuel cell (FC CHP) with CO2 capture and a two-stage cascade high-temperature heat pump (TCHHP). The FC generates heat and electricity, [...] Read more.
The article presents a new carbon-free heat production technology for district heating, which consists of a combined heat and power generation fuel cell (FC CHP) with CO2 capture and a two-stage cascade high-temperature heat pump (TCHHP). The FC generates heat and electricity, the latter being used to drive the compressors of the TCHHP. During the winter period, the water temperature achieved can occasionally be too low, so it would be heated up with hydrogen gas boilers. The hydrogen would be produced by reforming natural gas, synthetic methane, or biogas. The results are presented with natural gas utilization—the ratio between the obtained heat flow transferred directly to the water for district heating and the input heat flow of natural gas. In the case of a return water temperature of 60 °C and district heating temperature of 85 °C, the TCHHP, whose heat source is groundwater, achieves plant efficiency of 270.04% in relation to the higher heating value (HHV) and 241.74% in relation to the lower heating value (LHV) of natural gas. A case with a TCHHP whose heat source is low-temperature geothermal water achieves a plant efficiency of 361.36% in relation to the HHV and 323.49% in relation to the LHV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development)
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16 pages, 12727 KiB  
Article
Acoustic Emission Characteristics of the Water Weakening Effect on Cretaceous Weakly Cemented Sandstone
by Yuru Yang, Wenping Li and Qinggang Lu
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8390; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108390 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1260
Abstract
Rock mass stability is often affected by water–rock interaction in underground engineering construction. Cretaceous sandstones often have weak cementation, low strength and strong water-holding capacity, and their rock mass strength is easily weakened by these activities. In this paper, the uniaxial compressive strength [...] Read more.
Rock mass stability is often affected by water–rock interaction in underground engineering construction. Cretaceous sandstones often have weak cementation, low strength and strong water-holding capacity, and their rock mass strength is easily weakened by these activities. In this paper, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and tensile strength (TS) of weakly cemented Cretaceous sandstones from different sedimentary facies under natural and saturated conditions were tested, and the loading process was monitored by the acoustic emission (AE) technique. The results show that the existence of water obviously weakened the mechanical properties of weakly cemented sandstone. The UCS and TS of saturated braided river facies sandstone decreased to 41.24% and 35.95% of their natural states, respectively, while those of desert facies sandstone decreased to 32.90% and 26.98% of their natural states, respectively. The AE characteristics of sandstone from different sedimentary facies were similar during loading due to weakening by water, including a decrease in cumulative AE energy, b-value fluctuation and reduction in the peak frequency distribution range. Fracture in the Brazilian splitting test was mainly due to the rapid initiation and coalescence of microcracks near the peak point. However, in the uniaxial compression test, the macro fractures were caused by many microcracks that occurred continuously during loading and finally connected. The high quartz and low feldspar contents strengthened the mechanical properties of braided fluvial facies sandstone compared to those of desert facies sandstone and lessened the effect of water weakening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development)
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12 pages, 11573 KiB  
Article
Numerical Simulation of Ground Subsidence Response Conditional on Geothermal Exploitation in a Karst Reservoir Area of North China
by Yahui Yao, Shengtao Li, Xiaofeng Jia, Jian Song, Dongdong Yue, Qiuxia Zhang and Hong Xiang
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8089; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108089 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1127
Abstract
Carbonate karst geothermal resources are widely distributed and have large reserves in North China. Currently, the scale of exploitation and utilization of the carbonate karst geothermal resources is gradually increasing. In this work, a geothermal exploitation area where the karst geothermal reservoirs are [...] Read more.
Carbonate karst geothermal resources are widely distributed and have large reserves in North China. Currently, the scale of exploitation and utilization of the carbonate karst geothermal resources is gradually increasing. In this work, a geothermal exploitation area where the karst geothermal reservoirs are exploited on a large scale is selected as the study area, and methods including experiment and numerical simulation are used to study the exploitation-induced ground subsidence problems based on the long-term water level monitoring data of the geothermal reservoir. Through analyses of ground subsidence caused by water level changes in the geothermal reservoir, the following conclusions were obtained. The water level drawdown of different types of geothermal reservoirs had different effects on ground subsidence. The maximum ground subsidence of the study area caused by the water level decline of the Jxw carbonate geothermal reservoir was only 0.29 mm/a from 1983 to 2019, which is generally insignificant. In contrast, the same water level change of the Nm sandstone geothermal reservoir was predicted to cause 8.9 mm/a ground subsidence. To slow down or even prevent the ground subsidence, balanced production and reinjection are required. From the result of this work, it can be concluded that the decline of the water level of the Jxw carbonate geothermal reservoir caused by current large-scale geothermal exploitation will not cause serious ground subsidence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development)
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15 pages, 9302 KiB  
Article
A Study on The Carriers Compound Multi-Stage MBBR Biological Treatment Process for Domestic Sewage
by Miaojie Li, Yonghong Liu, Xiaode Zhou, Ning Wang and Bo Yuan
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7922; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107922 - 11 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3139
Abstract
Biocarriers are a key factor in moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) for domestic wastewater treatment and studies targeting biocarriers can be explored in more depth. In this study, two different types of biocarriers, namely anaerobic microbial carriers (AMC) and porous biogels (PBG), were [...] Read more.
Biocarriers are a key factor in moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) for domestic wastewater treatment and studies targeting biocarriers can be explored in more depth. In this study, two different types of biocarriers, namely anaerobic microbial carriers (AMC) and porous biogels (PBG), were used to treat real domestic wastewater and acted on a lab-scale tertiary MBBR system. The effects of the start-up process, water quality degradation, secondary start-up, and organic loading rate (OLR) on MBBR performance at room temperature (19–24 °C) and the same filling ratio (40%) were investigated, as well as the calculation of sludge yield. The results showed that the AMC–PBG/MBBR biological treatment process could complete the start-up process quickly in a short time and the OLR was finally determined to be 1.5 kgCOD/(m3·d). In this case, the system was able to operate stably and complete the secondary start-up relatively quickly, with 80% and 95% removal of COD and NH4+-N, respectively. The biofilm was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-throughput sequencing which revealed the changes of microorganisms in the biofilm during operation, among which the dominant phyla were Euryarchaeota and Proteobacteria. Finally, the apparent production of process sludge was monitored and calculated to be 0.043 kgMLSS/kgCOD which is a significant reduction in sludge compared to the conventional activated sludge method. These conclusions provide valuable information for the full-scale treatment of domestic wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development)
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22 pages, 11575 KiB  
Article
Influence of Different Mining Damage Types on Soil Erodibility in Coal Mining Areas of Northern Shaanxi in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River in China
by Shijie Song, Beibei Zheng, Tao Sun, Lin Du and Jiangbo Wei
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065434 - 20 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1873
Abstract
The middle reaches of the Yellow River basin are not only rich in coal resources in China, but are also a typical experimental field for studying the law and mechanism of soil erosion caused by coal mining in the area. Grasping the differences [...] Read more.
The middle reaches of the Yellow River basin are not only rich in coal resources in China, but are also a typical experimental field for studying the law and mechanism of soil erosion caused by coal mining in the area. Grasping the differences in soil’s physical and chemical properties caused by different types of mining damage and then analyzing the differences in soil erosion is conducive to achieving ecological environmental protection and high-quality development in coal mining areas, thus improving soil and water conservation efficiency and saving costs. In this study, we took the typical loess subsidence slope of Ningtiaota mine field in the northern Shaanxi coal mining area as the research object, collected the soil samples at different slope positions, and measured the soil mechanical composition and organic matter mass fraction using an MS2000 laser particle size analyzer and a total organic carbon analyzer, respectively. Based on the EPIC model, the soil erodibility K value was further calculated, the spatial variation characteristics of the soil’s mechanical composition and organic matter mass fraction were analyzed, and the soil erosion effect under different mining damage types was interpreted. The results are as follows: ① The subsidence of loess slope and the development of mining ground fissures will reduce the clay mass fraction and increase the sand mass fraction in the shallow soil on the slope. The clay mass fraction of the whole slope will decrease by 4.50–30.30%, and the soil sand mass fraction will increase by 6.83–23.67%. The shallow soil at the top and middle of the slope has obvious sandy characteristics, and the amount of sandy soil in the crack area of the same slope is obviously higher than that in the non-crack area. Slope position is the main reason to control the shallow soil sand on the slope of loess subsidence in the northern Shaanxi coal mining area. ② The subsidence of loess slope and the development of mining ground fissures will lead to a decrease in organic matter mass fraction in shallow soil in different amounts. The decrease in organic matter mass fraction in the whole slope is 12.68–35.46%, and the decrease in organic matter mass fraction in shallow soil at the top and middle of the slope is significant, and the loss of organic matter in the crack area of the same slope is obviously higher than that in the non-crack area. The greater the width of the mining ground fissures and the smaller the horizontal distance from ground fissures, the more organic matter mass fraction in shallow soil will decrease. Mining ground fissures are the main factors when it comes to controlling the loss of organic matter in the shallow soil on the loess subsidence slope in northern Shaanxi coal mining area. ③ The negative correlation coefficients of shallow soil erodibility K value with the soil clay mass fraction and organic matter mass fraction all exceeded 0.6, a significant level, and there is a high degree of consistency in the change characteristics of the slope scale. The subsidence of the loess slope and the development of the mining ground fissures will have the effect of improving the erodibility of shallow soil in all parts of the slope. The erodibility of shallow soil at the top and middle of the slope increases significantly, and the erodibility of shallow soil in the crack area of the same slope is obviously higher than that in the non-crack area. The larger the width of the mining ground fissures and the smaller the horizontal distance from the ground fissures, the higher the erodibility of the surrounding shallow soil. After calculation, it was found that the maximum boundary of the mining ground fissures developed on the loess subsidence slope in northern Shaanxi coal mining area to improve the erodibility of the surrounding shallow soil was 115 cm, and the main action range was concentrated within 90 cm. These research results can provide a scientific basis for accurate prevention and control of the soil erosion effect of mining subsidence in loess coal mining in the area of northern Shaanxi, thus saving costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geological Engineering Problems and Technologies in Sustainable Energy Development)
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