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Energy Use, Storage and Emission Analysis for Industrial Decarbonization

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 3266

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Interests: thermal energy storage; renewable energy; thermodynamics; emission control
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: energy system; dynamic simulation; model predictive control; disturbance rejection control
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is widely recognized that emerging technologies are needed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to moderate the significant impact of climate change. The industrial sector all over the world is a substantial energy end-use sector and emitter of GHGs. However, it attracts less attention in decarbonization and emission control than conventional fossil fuel power generation. Based on the study of EIA, the worldwide industrial sector energy consumed 54% of total delivered energy in 2016, more than any other end-use sector. The total energy consumption of the industrial sector is also projected to increase by 1.2%/year from 2012 to 2040. Fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas and other carbon liquid fuels, provide a large proportion of this energy, as well as massive GHG emissions. With the common goal worldwide to achieve a de-carbonized society, it is critical to find low-cost solutions which can be implemented at large-scale in the industrial sector. Renewable energy utilization and integration in energy systems of the industrial sector is also an important aspect to investigate for decarbonization. For instance, industrial process heat could be provided by solar thermal, geothermal or biomass resources to substitute conventional fossil fuel energy sources to eliminate GHG emissions. However, more research is needed regarding feasibility, reliability and cost.

This Special Issue focuses on recent research and development related to advanced technologies in the industrial sector to use, save and store energy to improve system efficiency and reduce GHG emissions in near-term emission control and long-term industrial decarbonization. Research and technological development related to all types of energy systems applied to the industrial sector from the perspectives of fundamental science, promising materials, as well as component- and system-level design are all welcomed. The specific areas of interest for this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

  • Advanced emission control technology;
  • Advanced component and energy system design;
  • Analysis comparing promising decarbonization technologies in the industrial sector;
  • System-level modeling;
  • Renewable energy applications in the industrial sector;
  • Energy storage systems in the industrial sector;
  • Low- or zero-carbon fuels;
  • Life-cycle analysis and technical and economic analysis on the above technologies.

We look forward to receiving contributions from the energy research community to address the ongoing climate change issue for a de-carbonized future.

Dr. Xingchao Wang
Dr. Fan Zhang
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

  • industrial decarbonization
  • industrial emission control
  • low- and zero-carbon fuel
  • renewable energy integration
  • system modeling and analysis
  • energy storage

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 6406 KiB  
Article
Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact Evaluation of CCU Technology Schemes in Steel Plants
by Chaoke Yu, Yingnan Li, Lulin Wang, Yifan Jiang, Siyi Wang, Tao Du and Yisong Wang
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10207; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310207 (registering DOI) - 22 Nov 2024
Viewed by 225
Abstract
Greenhouse gas emissions are significant contributors to global warming, and steel enterprises need to find more efficient and environmentally friendly solutions to reduce CO2 emissions while maintaining high process efficiency and low production costs. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is a promising [...] Read more.
Greenhouse gas emissions are significant contributors to global warming, and steel enterprises need to find more efficient and environmentally friendly solutions to reduce CO2 emissions while maintaining high process efficiency and low production costs. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is a promising approach which can convert captured CO2 into valuable chemicals, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and mitigating climate change. This study uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental impacts of BF-BOF steel plants with and without CCU. When evaluating seven scenarios, including three carbon capture and two carbon utilization technologies, against a baseline, the results demonstrate significant environmental benefits from implementing CCU technologies. Although the activated carbon TSA route for CO2-based methanol production showed good environmental performance, its toxicity risks highlight the advantages of combining TSA with steel slag carbonation as a better non-toxic solution. Full article
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24 pages, 4203 KiB  
Article
Shaping Sustainable Futures: Public Policies and Renewable Energy Insights Based on Global Bibliometric Analysis
by Armenia Androniceanu, Cristina Veith, Ștefan Alexandru Ionescu, Paul Marinescu, Alexandra Georgiana Sima and Alexandru Paru
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 4957; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16124957 - 10 Jun 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2590
Abstract
The paradigm of sustainable energy is gaining ground at the historical juncture of the present worldwide push for sustainable development. This is being driven by the latest technological advancements and by a maturing process of public policy evolution toward support for a sustainable [...] Read more.
The paradigm of sustainable energy is gaining ground at the historical juncture of the present worldwide push for sustainable development. This is being driven by the latest technological advancements and by a maturing process of public policy evolution toward support for a sustainable energy transition. This paper analyzes, with the support of bibliometric analysis, the specialized literature in order to capture the main themes of interest, as well as their evolution, thus offering a panoramic view of research trends and the significance of implementing correct environmental measures and policies. Covering the period from 1991 to 2024, our exploration filters 2990 articles from the Web of Science database using a query that intersects “sustainable energy”, “renewable energy”, and “sustainable development”, with a nuanced consideration of the political landscape that shapes these domains. Using the advanced capabilities of the R program, the methodology employed facilitates a nuanced workflow of extraction and analysis, allowing for a detailed examination of the proliferation of research over the decades. This paper provides significant results, demonstrating the increasing impact of research through international collaborations, the importance of high-impact journals on sustainability policies, and the growing focus on “renewable energy” and “CO2 emissions”. The analysis of the relevance of term groups in environmental policy development and the correlation between economic growth and CO2 emissions confirms emerging trends. Furthermore, critical directions for future research and the necessity for formulating and implementing coherent sustainability policies are highlighted. Full article
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