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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2019) | Viewed by 43311

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Baoshan Ge

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Guest Editor

School of Management, Jilin University, Changchun, China
Interests: energy technology; energy research; green energy; management science

Prof. Dr. Kannan Govindan

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Centre for Sustainable Supply Chain Engineering, Department of Technology and Innovation, University of Southern Denmark, M-5230 Odense, Denmark
Interests: sustainable supply chain management; green supply chain management; reverse logistics; closed-loop supply chains; CSR based supply chain management; supply chain risk management; decision analysis; multi-criteria decision-making
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Prof. Lei Xu

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School of Management, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Interests: green and sustainable supply chain management; operation management; green technology; environmental research; e-commerce
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Prof. Xiaohang Yue

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Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201 USA
Interests: supply chain management; manufacturing system design; business analytics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable energy refers to the use of natural environmental cycles to generate an infinite supply of energy that is nonpolluting. Renewable energy offers renewability and cleanliness as two advantages over conventional energy. Renewable energy includes solar energy, hydropower, wind energy, marine energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen power, and biomass energy. A number of people also call these “green energies”

Sustainable energy is renewable and low in pollution and energy consumption. In addition, it is unaffected by energy shortages. However, they are influenced by natural conditions—for example, hydraulic, wind, and solar power generation are all necessarily dependent on resource availability. In addition, investment and maintenance costs are high, and efficiency is low. Therefore, the costs of power generation are high. A number of scientists are seeking new technologies and methods for improving renewable energy. Renewable energy is certain to play an increasingly critical role as Earth’s resources are depleted.

The SI provides a practical and comprehensive forum for exchanging novel research ideas or empirical practices which bridge the latest Renewable Energy, Energy Research, Sustainable energy.

The SI encompasses theoretical, analytical, empirical research, comprehensive reviews of relevant research, conceptual frameworks and case studies of effective applications in this area.

We invite colleagues to contribute to this special issue. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Green Energy and Applications
Green energy
Sustainable energy
Energy Technology
Energy engineering
Energy development
Energy economy
Energy-Saving
Energy Management
Energy Policy
Carbon Reduction
Recycle

Prof. Baoshan Ge
Prof. Kannan Govindan
Prof. Lei Xu
Prof. Xiaohang Yue
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 170 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Green Energy and Applications

by Sang-Bing Tsai

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(15), 3088; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9153088 - 31 Jul 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1857

Abstract

Sustainable energy is increasing in importance as Earth’s resources continue to be depleted in an ascending trend year by year. The utilization of sustainable energy is influenced by many factors, such as technology, the economy, and business management. Although it is unaffected by energy shortages, it is influenced by natural conditions—for example, hydraulic, wind, and solar power generation are all necessarily dependent on resource availability. In addition, investment and maintenance costs are high, which has been becoming an important obstacle to the utilization of sustainable resources. Therefore, a number of scientists are seeking new technologies and methods for improving renewable energy, to alleviate the impact of resource shortage on the world’s economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

Research

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20 pages, 8855 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SCADA-Based Heliostat Control System with a Fuzzy Logic Controller for the Heliostat Orientation

by Eugenio Salgado-Plasencia, Roberto V. Carrillo-Serrano, Edgar A. Rivas-Araiza and Manuel Toledano-Ayala

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(15), 2966; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9152966 - 24 Jul 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5219

Abstract

In central receiver systems, there are local controls that modify the position of the heliostats, where the trend is to increase the intelligence of the local controls in order to give them greater autonomy from the central control. This document describes the design and construction of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)-based heliostat control system (HCS) with a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) for the orientation control. The HCS includes a supervisory unit with a graphical user interface, a wireless communication network, and a stand-alone remote terminal unit (RTU) implemented on a low-cost microcontroller (MCU). The MCU uses a solar position algorithm with a maximal error of 0.0027° in order to compute the position of the sun and the desired angles of the heliostat, according to a control command sent by the supervisory unit. Afterwards, the FLC orients the heliostat to the desired position. The results show that the RTU can perform all the tasks and calculations for the orientation control by using only one low-cost microcontroller with a mean squared error less than 0.1°. Besides, the FLC orients the heliostat by using the same controller parameters in both axes. Therefore, it is not necessary to tune the controller parameters, as in the traditional PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controllers. The system can be adapted in order to control other two-axis solar-tracking systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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15 pages, 2824 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Wellbore Flow for Carbon Dioxide Fracturing

by Jianwen Bai, Caiyun Xiao, Chunguo Mu and Lihui Zheng

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(9), 1864; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9091864 - 07 May 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2447

Abstract

CO₂ fracturing has unparalleled advantages in the reservoir reform which can significantly improve oil and gas recovery in unconventional oil and gas resources. The wellbore flow behavior is one of the fundamental issues of CO₂ fracturing. A model of flow and heat transfer in the wellbore is developed in this paper, and wellbore temperature and pressure are coupled using an iterative method. The model is validated by measured data from the field. Wellbore pressure, temperature, CO₂ properties, and phase state along depth are observed and a sensitivity study is conducted to analyze the controlling factors for CO₂ fracturing. Results show that displacement is the key factor affecting CO₂ flow behavior in the wellbore and injection temperature has greater influence on CO₂ flow behavior than injection pressure and geothermal gradient; however, excess injection temperature brings enormous cost in wellbore pressure. CO₂ phase state is related to working parameters and it tends to stay in liquid state under higher displacement, which is matched with field tests. This study can help optimize the working parameters of CO₂ fracturing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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16 pages, 3527 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aerodynamic Design and Off-design Performance Analysis of a Multi-Stage S-CO₂ Axial Turbine Based on Solar Power Generation System

by Dongbo Shi, Lei Zhang, Yonghui Xie and Di Zhang

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(4), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9040714 - 19 Feb 2019

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3713

Abstract

Solar energy is an inexhaustible source of clean energy. Meanwhile, supercritical carbon dioxide has excellent characteristics such as easy access to critical conditions, high density, and low viscosity, making it one of the most popular circulating working fluids in solar power generation technology. However, solar power generation systems are severely affected by geographical distribution, seasonal variations and day-night cycles. Therefore, efficient and adaptable turbine design is the key to realize supercritical carbon dioxide solar power generation technology. In this paper, the initial thermodynamic design of 10 MW S-CO₂ three-stage axial turbine is completed by self-developed thermodynamic design software, and the key thermodynamic and structural parameters are obtained. The optimal design of turbine and its aerodynamic performance at rated operating conditions are obtained by using a three-dimensional aerodynamic numerical analysis and optimization method. At last, nine off-design conditions are analyzed in detail. The results show that the designed turbine output power is 10.37 MW and the total-total efficiency is 91.60%. It can operate efficiently and steadily in the range of output power from 16.2% to 155.9%. It can adapt to the variable operating conditions of solar power generation system and meet the design requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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19 pages, 1078 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screening Contract Excitation Models Involving Closed-Loop Supply Chains Under Asymmetric Information Games: A Case Study with New Energy Vehicle Power Battery

by Xiaodong Zhu and Lingfei Yu

Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(1), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9010146 - 03 Jan 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3807

Abstract

In closed-loop supply chain systems for power battery remanufacturing, recycling and dismantling tasks will be relegated to third-party recyclers. This has significant disadvantages, inasmuch as the asymmetric exchange of information regarding the level of recycling capacity and effort after signing a contract fiscal risks to the manufacturers. The purpose of this paper is to study the “adverse selection” of recyclers and “moral hazards” hidden in their purported effort levels, based on Information Screening Models in the principal-agent theory. Our information screening model for revenue sharing will be presented, and subsequently verified using numerical simulation to demonstrate the impact of the screening contract on the expected returns of both parties. Our results show that the sharing coefficient of the remanufacturing revenue for low-capability recyclers is distorted downwards, and only truthful reporting can retain profits. High-capacity recyclers will obtain additional information while retaining profit. At the same time, as the proportion of high-capacity recyclers in the market increases, the expected return of the entrusting party increases. One critical area where this will impact the Chinese economy is in the area of new energy vehicles. We investigate a case study of our approach in new energy vehicles, which are being used to reduced CO

_{2}

emissions, but have environmentally hazardous batteries that must be recycled safely and economically. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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33 pages, 1625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) for Renewable Energy Plants Location Selection in Vietnam under a Fuzzy Environment

by Chia-Nan Wang, Ying-Fang Huang, Yu-Chien Chai and Van Thanh Nguyen

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(11), 2069; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8112069 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 69 | Viewed by 6475

Abstract

In the context of increasing energy demands in Vietnam, and as a result of the limited supply of domestic energy (oil/gas/coal reserves are exhausted), the potential for renewable energy sources in Vietnam is significant. Thus, building wind power plants in Vietnam is necessary. Access to this type of renewable energy not only contributes to society’s energy supply but also helps to save energy and reduce environmental pollution. Although some works have reviewed applications of the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model in wind power plant site selection, little research has focused on this problem in a fuzzy environment. This is the reason why a hybrid Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are developed for wind power plant site selection in Vietnam. In the first stages of this research, an FAHP model is proposed for determining the weight of each potential location for building a wind power plant, based on qualitative and quantitative factors. A TOPSIS is applied for ranking all potential alternatives in the final stage. The authors collected data from seven locations, which have good conditions for investment in a wind power plant. The results indicate that Binh Thuan (Binh Thuan Province is located on coast of South Central Vietnam) is the best place for building a wind power plant in Vietnam. The contributions of this work proposed an MCDM approach under fuzzy environments for wind power plant location selection in Vietnam. This paper also resides in the evolution of a new approach that is flexible and practical for a decision-maker. This work also provides a useful guideline for wind power plant location selection in others countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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20 pages, 7511 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on Coal Fragmentation by High-Velocity Water Jet in Drilling: Size Distributions and Fractal Characteristics

by Songqiang Xiao, Zhaolong Ge, Yiyu Lu, Zhe Zhou, Qian Li and Lei Wang

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(10), 1988; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8101988 - 19 Oct 2018

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3534

Abstract

Water jet drilling (WJD) technology is a highly efficient method to extract coalbed methane from reservoirs with low permeability. It is crucial to efficiently remove the coal fragments while drilling. In this study, to disclose coal fragmentation features and size distributions under water jet impact in drilling, the image processing method was utilized to obtain the geometric dimensions of coal fragments. The size distributions, morphologies and fractal characteristics of coal fragmentation were studied based on generalized extreme value distribution and fractal theory. The effects of the jet impact velocity and coal strength on the fragmentation features were analyzed. The results show that fine particles dominate the coal fragments in WJD for coal seams with various strengths. In experiments conducted at the Fengchun coal mine, owing to the higher coal strength of the M7 coal seam, the fragmentation degree of coal subjected to water jets during WJD is lower in the M7 coal steam than in the M8 coal seam, which results in a large dominant fragment size and small fractal dimension under the same impact energy. It was found that the higher the jet impact velocity is, the higher the quantity of fragments generated from WJD and the smaller the particle size. The NUM-based cumulative probability distribution curves of coal fragments are more intensive in the range of relatively small particle sizes and then become sparser with the increase in particle size. When the impact velocity increases, (i) the size distribution curves move toward smaller particle sizes, and the dominant fragment size decreases; (ii) the shape (major axis/minor axis) of coal fragments move toward the upper left, and the curve shape for a high impact velocity attains unity more quickly; and (iii) the fractal dimension value increases linearly. In addition, the fractal dimensions are obviously affected by the dominant fragment size; they increase with the decrease in the dominant fragment size. This study can provide a basis for further research on coal fragment transportation in WJD and parameter selection for discharging coal fragments during drilling for CBM development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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19 pages, 1850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Evolutionary Game Theoretic Analysis for Emission Reduction and Promotion in Low-Carbon Supply Chains

by Baiyun Yuan, Longfei He, Bingmei Gu and Yi Zhang

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(10), 1965; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8101965 - 17 Oct 2018

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3070

Abstract

Aiming at exploring the interplay principles of operations strategies among members of dvertising and emission reduction cost sharing contracts and coordination in low-carbon sulow-carbon supply chain, as well as their impact on system performance, we develop an evolutionary game model to capture emission reduction and low-carbon promotion actions, which are typically conducted by one manufacturer and one retailer in every two-echelon supply chain, respectively. We exploit the evolutionary game model to analyze players’ behavioral patterns of their interacting strategies, whereby we attain the evolutionary stable strategies and their associated existing preconditions under various scenarios. We acquire a number of managerial insights, and particularly find that the evolutionary stable strategies of the channel carbon reduction and promotion are remarkably influenced by incremental profits resulted from causes, such as every player’s unilateral participation in emission reduction. In addition, we investigate a player’s free-rider opportunistic practice in cooperative carbon reduction and joint participation in emission reduction. However, the magnitude of profit increment will heavily influence the result of Evolutionary Stable Strategy (ESS). Finally, the extensive computational studies enable us to verify the effectiveness of preceding models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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25 pages, 9505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of the Temperature in the Evaluation of Battery Performances During Long-Term Cycling—Characterisation and Modelling

by Odile Capron, Joris Jaguemont, Rahul Gopalakrishnan, Peter Van den Bossche, Noshin Omar and Joeri Van Mierlo

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(8), 1364; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8081364 - 13 Aug 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4064

Abstract

This paper presents the results regarding the thermal characterisation and modelling of high energy lithium-ion battery cells at both room (25 °C) and cycling (35 °C) temperatures. In this work two types of Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) batteries are studied: a fresh (or uncycled) and an aged (or cycled) battery cells. The ageing of the studied NMC battery cells is achieved by means of accelerated ageing tests (i.e., repetition of numerous charge and discharge cycles) at 35 °C cycling temperature. Temperature at the surface of the battery cells is characterised, with a set of three discharge current rates 0.3C (i.e., 6 A), 1C (i.e., 20 A) and 2C (i.e., 40 A), and the evolutions at three different locations on the surface of the battery cells namely, at the top, in the center and at the bottom regions are measured. In addition, temperature and ageing dependent electrochemical-thermal modelling of the uncycled and cycled battery cells is also successfully accomplished in case of both room and cycling temperatures. Numerical simulations were carried out in case of high 2C constant current rate, and the assessment of the modelling accuracy by comparison of the predicted battery cells voltage and temperature with respect to the experimental data is further presented. With this paper, thermal performances of battery cells prior and after long-term cycling are evaluated at the cycling temperature, next to the ambient temperature. Hence, thermal characterisation and modelling results are more closely reflecting that encountered by the battery cells in real cycling conditions, so that their performances are believed in this way to be more objectively evaluated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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19 pages, 499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differential Pricing Decision and Coordination of Green Electronic Products from the Perspective of Service Heterogeneity

by Xiaodong Zhu and Lingfei Yu

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(7), 1207; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8071207 - 23 Jul 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3800

Abstract

Consumers focus on level of service while purchasing electronic products. This study focuses on consumer buying behavior. We determine the Stackelberg outcome for a market when a durable electronic product has three different forms: new product, remanufactured product and refurbished product. Under the dynamic game model, the optimal differential pricing strategy is implemented, and the double marginal effect is coordinated through a revenue-sharing contract and two toll contracts to increase the system’s revenue capacity. Our research shows that as the degree of consumer preference increases, the service differentiation of the three products is reduced. A lower level of consumer preference affects the pricing decision of new products and significantly affects the pricing of remanufactured products and refurbished products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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15 pages, 19577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diagnostics of Hydrogen-Containing Mixture Compression by a Two-Stage Piston Compressor with Cooling Demand Prediction

by Tomáš Brestovič, Mária Čarnogurská, Miroslav Příhoda, Peter Lukáč, Marián Lázár, Natália Jasminská and Romana Dobáková

Appl. Sci. 2018, 8(4), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/app8040625 - 17 Apr 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4375

Abstract

The present article describes the diagnostics of a compressor that is compressing a mixture of H₂ and N₂ on the basis of the results that were obtained by operational measurements of the flow rates and temperatures at selected compressor sites, as well as of the acoustic pressure levels during the full loading thereof. The obtained data were subsequently used to determine the limit conditions of the compressor operations in terms of the cooling capacity. A thermodynamic analysis of the compression of the H₂/N₂ gas mixture was carried out with subsequent heat and energy flow calculation and the determination of the minimum cooling water flow rate that is required to ensure the continuous compressor operations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy and Applications)

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