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Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry
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Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 13748

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bohong Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Harbour Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China
Interests: process integration; oil and gas; energy systems analysis; supply chain management; pipeline engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Bingyuan Hong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Harbour Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation Technology/School of Petrochemical Engineering & Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China
Interests: pipeline engineering; oil and gas supply chain management; machine learning; erosion; CFD
Dr. Sin Yong Teng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Interests: process and energy modelling; circularity; process optimization; machine learning; process improvement; chemometrics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rui Qiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Oil and Gas Distribution Technology, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
Interests: oil and gas logistics; pipeline transportation; energy integration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy drives the operation of cities and industries and is the material basis of human survival and development. With a vision of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, various industrial fields continue to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, and the energy industry is faced with an urgent need to reduce the consumption of energy and materials. To accelerate the success of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and achieve sustainable development, it is particularly important to reduce the use of energy and materials in certain processes and systems through technological innovation and equipment innovation.

The focus of this Special Issue will be on innovation and development, supporting the minimization of energy and materials to ensure the sustainable development of the energy industry. This Special Issue seeks to integrate research from all sections of this field and the entire supply chain, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining, and distribution, in order to reduce our environmental footprint and achieve a low-carbon energy industry and economically feasible sustainability.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • An overview and perspective of the energy and material minimization;
  • Efficient energy extraction;
  • Efficient, safe, and clean energy transportation and conversion;
  • Sustainable energy use and consumption;
  • Renewable energy sources integration;
  • Reduction in environmental and material footprints;
  • Energy system risk analysis;
  • Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in the energy industry;
  • Sustainable practices.

Dr. Bohong Wang
Dr. Bingyuan Hong
Dr. Sin Yong Teng
Dr. Rui Qiu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • footprints
  • sustainability
  • efficiency
  • safety
  • clean energy

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 7502 KiB  
Article
Repurposing a Geothermal Exploration Well as a Deep Borehole Heat Exchanger: Understanding Long-Term Effects of Lithological Layering, Flow Direction, and Circulation Flow Rate
by Isa Kolo, Christopher S. Brown, Gioia Falcone and David Banks
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4140; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054140 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2611
Abstract
In the drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, decarbonisation of heating is essential. This can be facilitated by geothermal energy, but drilling geothermal wells is associated with high risks and costs. The use of preexisting wells (e.g., exhausted hydrocarbon wells or failed geothermal [...] Read more.
In the drive to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, decarbonisation of heating is essential. This can be facilitated by geothermal energy, but drilling geothermal wells is associated with high risks and costs. The use of preexisting wells (e.g., exhausted hydrocarbon wells or failed geothermal exploration boreholes) offsets this cost while potentially turning liabilities into assets. The Newcastle Science Central Deep Geothermal Borehole (NSCDGB) is a geothermal exploration well that was drilled to target the Carboniferous Fell Sandstone Formation at 1418.5 to 1795 m depth. However, low hydraulic conductivities prevented the development as a conventional “wet” geothermal abstraction well; therefore, new alternative methods of development are being explored. This work investigates the repurposing of the NSCDGB as a deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE), focusing on the sustainable operation of the system in the long term by employing a constant heat load designed to contribute to local buildings or a heat network. Numerical modelling was undertaken by using OpenGeoSys software to analyse the thermal and hydraulic performance of the system. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous models were developed to compare the influence of lithological layering in contrast to a homogeneous (nonstratified) subsurface geological model. Results from homogeneous simulations modelling the DBHE to a depth of 922 m show that a 50-kW heat load can be supported for a lifetime of 25 years. This corresponds to a 65-kW building load when coupled to a heat pump with a coefficient of performance of 4.33. Thus, the DBHE could meet up to 72% of the heat demand of the adjacent urban sciences building. Rather than being a purely hypothetical case study, this work considers a real existing borehole, adjacent to a building cluster which could make use of the geothermal heat. Heterogeneity, which has been considered for the first time at the NSCDGB site, exhibits a minor impact in comparison to homogeneous simulation results. Flow direction and mass flow rate also exhibited small effects on the system performance, whereas if the exploration well could be repurposed to increased depths, the heat load could be increased. This is the first study of a coaxial DBHE at the NSCDGB site considering long-term effects of mass flow rate, heterogeneity, and flow direction. The study evaluates the feasibility of repurposing an exploratory geothermal well in the UK as a DBHE that can be used as a low-carbon heat source for space heating, thus converting liabilities into potential “green energy” assets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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14 pages, 1246 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Analysis of Thin-Film Photovoltaic Thermal Systems for Different Tropical Regions
by V. Tirupati Rao, Y. Raja Sekhar, Hari Mahesh, Anantha Krishnan Muraleedharan, Derik Charles, N. I. Aljuraide, Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Ibrahim, Mahmoud Helal, Ahmed M. Galal, Rokayya Sami, Jong Wan Hu, Seon Ki Hong and Anka Trajkovska Petkoska
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14209; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114209 - 31 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2480
Abstract
Different energy solutions are required to satisfy the energy demand of the world’s ever-growing population. Photovoltaic Thermal systems (PVT) could propose resolutions to tackle real-time issues regarding power generation. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is performed to compare the environmental impact and measure the [...] Read more.
Different energy solutions are required to satisfy the energy demand of the world’s ever-growing population. Photovoltaic Thermal systems (PVT) could propose resolutions to tackle real-time issues regarding power generation. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is performed to compare the environmental impact and measure the energy across different PVT modules consisting of a-Si, CdTe, and CIS thin-film solar cells. The authors performed LCA to calculate the energy payback time (EPBT) and life-cycle CO2 emissions of residential rooftop and open-field PVT systems. The primary energy needed to produce thin-film PVT modules of 1 m2 cell area was considered in the present life cycle analysis studies operated using water as the working fluid. The annual net electrical energy savings at various Indian weather conditions, such as New Delhi, Jodhpur, and Ladakh, have been calculated. For the thin-film PVT systems, the calculated values of annual energy yield for three locations with average solar radiation levels and peak sun hours in the range of 600–1000 W/m2 and 6–8 h were reported. Results show that the CO2 emissions for rooftop installation of CdTe and CIS are around 200 and 156 kg/annually, which is lower than the open field installation of the same, where CO2 emissions were found to be 295 and 250 kg/year. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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16 pages, 1568 KiB  
Article
Carbon Neutrality Strategies for Chinese International Oil Company Based on the Rapid Development of Global Carbon Market
by Dan Wang and Juheng Yang
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11350; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811350 - 9 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2103
Abstract
A comprehensive solution for the Chinese international oil company to achieve carbon neutrality, through participation in the global carbon market, is developed. In this work, the overall landscape and operation mechanism of global carbon market is clearly and systematically illustrated by comparing the [...] Read more.
A comprehensive solution for the Chinese international oil company to achieve carbon neutrality, through participation in the global carbon market, is developed. In this work, the overall landscape and operation mechanism of global carbon market is clearly and systematically illustrated by comparing the characteristics of the cap-and-trade system and the carbon tax. The feasibility of developing a global liquidity carbon market is pointed out by finding the connections among compulsory and voluntary carbon markets around the world. Based on the profound understanding of global carbon market, three levels of carbon trading strategies are proposed to help Chinese oil companies reduce emission cost: (1) Develop low carbon projects and trade in one jurisdiction; (2) develop low carbon projects and trade in different jurisdictions; and (3) trade carbon credits or allowance with physical commodities. Three decision-making methods are provided, respectively, for the above three levels of carbon trading strategies by introducing a shadow pricing model for carbon emission rights. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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14 pages, 4885 KiB  
Article
Dimensionless Analysis of the Effects of Junction Angle on the Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow Transition and the Scaling Law of the Microbubble Generation Characteristics in Y-Junctions
by Yu Han, Xiaofei Xu, Fengxia Liu, Wei Wei and Zhijun Liu
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8592; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148592 - 13 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1910
Abstract
Gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns and gas slug hydrodynamics were experimentally studied in three Y-junctions with different junction angles of 60°, 90° and 120°. Microbubbles were generated in the sodium alginate aqueous solution with the surfactant Tween20. Four main flow patterns were observed, i.e., [...] Read more.
Gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns and gas slug hydrodynamics were experimentally studied in three Y-junctions with different junction angles of 60°, 90° and 120°. Microbubbles were generated in the sodium alginate aqueous solution with the surfactant Tween20. Four main flow patterns were observed, i.e., stratified flow, annular flow, dispersed bubble flow and slug bubble flow. The formation mechanism of the bubble flow was explained by a force analysis, which was based on the dimensionless analysis regarding Capillary number, Weber number and Euler number. The transition criteria of the gas-liquid two-phase flow patterns was set up by these three dimensionless numbers. Additionally, the characteristics of the slug bubble were investigated, which made a scaling criterion for eliminating the influence of the angle factor become possible. A new scaling law (validity range within 2.88 < Re1 < 14.38, 0.0068 < We1 < 0.1723) was proposed to predict the bubble size and it showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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21 pages, 6645 KiB  
Article
Study on the Performance of Collaborative Production Mode for Gas Wave Ejector
by Yiming Zhao, Haoran Li, Dapeng Hu, Minghao Liu and Qing Feng
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7261; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127261 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1449
Abstract
Gas wave ejector (GWE) is an efficient ejection equipment using pressure waves to extract and transfer energy. However, at present, GWE is designed only for single condition, not fully utilizing the production capacity. The collaborative production mode using one equipment to work simultaneously [...] Read more.
Gas wave ejector (GWE) is an efficient ejection equipment using pressure waves to extract and transfer energy. However, at present, GWE is designed only for single condition, not fully utilizing the production capacity. The collaborative production mode using one equipment to work simultaneously under two different conditions was proposed to resolve this issue in this study, and was analyzed by combining numerical simulation and experimental test. The research results show that the collaborative mode almost has no effects on average total efficiency compared to single mode. In the range of tests, the efficiency difference between two modes is within 4.4%. The state parameters of the stable-pressure region (where channels are closed at both ends) on one condition are the initial parameters of the functional region on the other condition in collaborative mode, accounting for the difference between single and collaborative mode. The variations of performance parameters (ejection rate and the isentropic efficiency) with the medium-port pressure in collaborative mode was similar to that of the single mode. Thus, the performance parameters difference between two modes can be predicted by the relative relationship between the medium-port pressure and the average pressure in stable-pressure region of GWE in single mode. In conclusion, the collaborative mode improves the utilization of equipment while maintaining total efficiency, which can promote the popularization and application of GWE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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18 pages, 4900 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Simulation and Experimental Study of the HDPE Double-Walled Corrugated Pipe Grouting Robot
by Yufang Li, Jiyang Xu, Feng Nan, Hongli Su and Tongxu Zhao
Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6776; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116776 - 1 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2142
Abstract
The current drainage pipeline repair methods present significant limitations, and this paper proposes a new construction technology applied to the internal collapse repair of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This study designed the hot-melt, deflection, support, monitoring, and grouting mechanisms of the grouting gun body [...] Read more.
The current drainage pipeline repair methods present significant limitations, and this paper proposes a new construction technology applied to the internal collapse repair of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This study designed the hot-melt, deflection, support, monitoring, and grouting mechanisms of the grouting gun body while deducing the mechanical formulas of the grouting, deflection lifting, support, and travel processes. The grouting gun body was tested by inserting it into soil, confirming that the pipe grouting robot could perform grouting in an actual construction environment. The hot-melt test verified that the hot-melt mechanism of the pipeline grouting robot melted and broke the HDPE double-walled corrugated pipe. The kinematics simulation was performed using the ADAMS software, verifying that the motion of the pipeline grouting robot satisfied the design requirements. In this paper, the dynamic simulation and experimental research of HDPE double-walled corrugated pipe grouting robot were carried out. Compared with existing drainage pipeline repair methods, the pipeline grouting and shaping technology was highly efficient in a construction environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy and Material Minimisation and Sustainable Development in Energy Industry)
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