Energies

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11 pages, 1074 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ab-Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Electrolysis of Nucleobases

by Irmgard Frank and Ebrahim Nadimi

Energies 2021, 14(16), 5021; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14165021 - 16 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1406

Electrolysis is potentially a valuable tool for cleansing waste water. One might even hope that it is possible to synthesize valuable products in this way. The question is how the reaction conditions can be chosen to obtain desired compounds. In the present study [...] Read more.

Electrolysis is potentially a valuable tool for cleansing waste water. One might even hope that it is possible to synthesize valuable products in this way. The question is how the reaction conditions can be chosen to obtain desired compounds. In the present study we use Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics to simulate the reaction of nucleobases under electrolytic conditions. We use our own scheme (F. Hofbauer, I. Frank, Chem. Eur. J., 18, 277, 2012) for simulating the conditions after the electron transfer in a self-consistent field calculation. This scheme was employed previously to the electrolysis of pure water and of polluted solutions. On the picosecond timescale, we find a strongly different reaction behavior for each of the four nucleobases contained in DNA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power to Gas Energy Storage)

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21 pages, 13326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Health Cost Estimation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Assessing the Pollution Reduction Potential of Zero-Emission Vehicles in Toronto, Canada

by Hamidreza Shamsi, Mohammad Munshed, Manh-Kien Tran, Youngwoo Lee, Sean Walker, Jesse The, Kaamran Raahemifar and Michael Fowler

Energies 2021, 14(16), 4956; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14164956 - 12 Aug 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4401

Abstract

Fossil fuel vehicles, emitting air toxics into the atmosphere, impose a heavy burden on the economy through additional health care expenses and ecological degradation. Air pollution is responsible for millions of deaths and chronic and acute health problems every year, such as asthma [...] Read more.

Fossil fuel vehicles, emitting air toxics into the atmosphere, impose a heavy burden on the economy through additional health care expenses and ecological degradation. Air pollution is responsible for millions of deaths and chronic and acute health problems every year, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The fossil-fuel-based transportation system releases tons of toxic gases into the atmosphere putting human health at risk, especially in urban areas. This analysis aims to determine the economic burden of environmental and health impacts caused by Highway 401 traffic. Due to the high volume of vehicles driving on the Toronto Highway 401 corridor, there is an annual release of 3771 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e). These emissions are mainly emitted onsite through the combustion of gasoline and diesel fuel. The integration of electric and hydrogen vehicles shows maximum reductions of 405–476 g CO₂e per vehicle-kilometer. Besides these carbon dioxide emissions, there is also a large amount of hazardous air pollutants. To examine the impact of air pollution on human health, the mass and concentrations of criteria pollutants of PM_2.5 and NO_x emitted by passenger vehicles and commercial trucks on Highway 401 were determined using the MOVES2014b software. Then, an air dispersion model (AERMOD) was used to find the concentration of different pollutants at the receptor’s location. The increased risk of health issues was calculated using hazard ratios from literature. Finally, the health cost of air pollution from Highway 401 traffic was estimated to be CAD 416 million per year using the value of statistical life, which is significantly higher than the climate change costs of CAD 55 million per year due to air pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power to Gas Energy Storage)

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18 pages, 1051 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Criteria Examination of Power-to-Gas Pathways under Stochastic Preferences

by Sean Walker, Suadd Al-Zakwani, Azadeh Maroufmashat, Michael Fowler and Ali Elkamel

Energies 2020, 13(12), 3151; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13123151 - 17 Jun 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1667

Abstract

Power-to-gas is an energy storage and vector technology which can utilize off-peak power, assist in the integration of renewable power and provide needed fuel for industry and transportation. Further, power-to-gas is a useful technology for balancing surplus baseload and renewable energy generation with [...] Read more.

Power-to-gas is an energy storage and vector technology which can utilize off-peak power, assist in the integration of renewable power and provide needed fuel for industry and transportation. Further, power-to-gas is a useful technology for balancing surplus baseload and renewable energy generation with demand. There are numerous applications of power-to-gas in Europe, where renewable power is used to generate hydrogen for numerous applications. Examining each of these power-to-gas pathways across quantitative and qualitative criteria, this paper utilizes the stochastic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to determine criteria weights. These weights are then fed to a multiple criteria decision analysis tool to determine the viability of each pathway for investors and policy makers. A sensitivity analysis is carried out by reprioritizing the criteria and re-evaluating the multiple criteria analysis. The two pathways that score highest under multiple criteria rankings are power-to-gas to mobility-fuel and power-to-gas-to-power, due to their established technologies, lower costs and environmental performance. By extension, both of these power-to-gas pathways are the most appropriate ways for this technology to be implemented, due to their combination of public familiarity, emissions reductions, and developed, available technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power to Gas Energy Storage)

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