Original Article
T. Oyegoke; E. Obadiah; Y. S. Sardauna MOHAMMED; O. Alao BAMIGBALA; O. A. Oluwarotimi OWOLABI; T. Tongshuwar GEOFFREY; A. Oyegoke; A. Onadeji
Abstract
Increasing energy demand and fossil fuel dependency have increased interest in bioethanol production in recent years. The use of conventional saccharine and starchy materials for ethanol production is prohibitive as it is a threat to food security. As such, rice husk poses to be of great value, providing ...
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Increasing energy demand and fossil fuel dependency have increased interest in bioethanol production in recent years. The use of conventional saccharine and starchy materials for ethanol production is prohibitive as it is a threat to food security. As such, rice husk poses to be of great value, providing a means to utilize waste. This study assessed the economic viability of bioethanol production from rice husk waste, which entails capital and manufacturing cost estimation, and profitability of this process. Further cost optimization studies were carried to determine the material cost, government subsidy, and tax potential to maximize the overall financial benefit (i.e., ROI and net profit) of the bioethanol production. Findings from this study indicated that transforming rice husk into bioethanol would not be economically feasible due to negative net profit (i.e., a loss on investment) obtained from its profitability analysis. Further studies indicated that the project was susceptible to the raw material cost, subsidy, and tax rate. Result obtained from the optimization studies indicates that if the rice husk sales as low as 1.38 US$/kg, and Government introduced 25% subsidy and tax-free policy on bioethanol production, the project would yield a net worth of US$ 5 million per annum, payback period of 5.5 years, and a return on investment of 16.1%. Therefore, this study recommends introducing a subsidy and tax-waiver policy for biofuels production to encourage investors and promote cleaner fuels in emerging nations.
Original Article
R. Alayi; Syed R. Seydnouri; M. Jahangeri; A. Maarif
Abstract
Given the decline of non-renewable energy sources, trying to find new technologies and ways to supply energy and reduce fuel consumption is one of the top priorities of the world. One of the new technologies is fuel cell technology, which has received very little attention in Iran so far, and there is ...
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Given the decline of non-renewable energy sources, trying to find new technologies and ways to supply energy and reduce fuel consumption is one of the top priorities of the world. One of the new technologies is fuel cell technology, which has received very little attention in Iran so far, and there is a need to study this technology more and more carefully, especially in combination with renewable energy sources in order to help energy decision-makers. Therefore, in the present work, for the first time, a hybrid wind-solar-fuel cell system for residential use in Yazd, located in the hot and dry climate of Iran, has been simulated using HOMER software. The aim is to find an optimal economic system to supply 15 kWh of electricity per day and to assess the impact of uncertainties, sensitivity analysis was performed on the intensity of solar radiation and wind speed. The simulation results show that the most economical system consists of a fuel cell, is based on wind turbine and solar cell, and has a total NPC, LCOE and LCOH of $ 23,674, $ 0.824 per kilowatt-hour, and $ 254.4 per kilogram, respectively. Also, not using the battery will lead to a 33.6 percent increase in the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. For wind speeds of more than 8 meters per second, the results show that the optimal system with a fuel cell only includes wind turbines, and therefore increasing the intensity of solar radiation has no effect on the results.
Original Article
F. Salek; M. Rahnama; H. Eshghi; Meisam Babaie; M. M. Naserian
Abstract
In this study, a solar driven alkaline electrolyzer producer of hydroxy gas is proposed which is integrated with photovoltaic panels with single-axis north-south solar tracking system. The main novelty of this work is providing transient analysis of integration of alkaline electrolyzer to the PV panels ...
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In this study, a solar driven alkaline electrolyzer producer of hydroxy gas is proposed which is integrated with photovoltaic panels with single-axis north-south solar tracking system. The main novelty of this work is providing transient analysis of integration of alkaline electrolyzer to the PV panels equipped with solar tracking system. Furthermore, the transient model of the alkaline electrolyzer is employed to calculate its operating temperature, hydroxy production rate and the other operational parameters at various hours of the day. The electrolyzer and PV panels with tracking system are modelled in EES software. It is assumed that the system is installed in Shahrood city, therefore, the geographical data this city is used for seasonal analysis. The effective area of electrolyzer electrodes and PV panels is also assumed to be fixed at 0.25m2 and 50m2, respectively, in this study. Based on the results, employment of solar tracking system resulted in significant increment of PV panels power absorption rate resulting in power increment up to 4.2kW in summer. On the other hand, the transient analysis of the proposed alkaline electrolyzer showed that the maximum operating temperature of which reaches 80oC at around 12 AM in the summer cause of achieving maximum electrical current peak in summer. Therefore, an efficient cooling system should be employed in summer for decrement of alkaline electrolyzer temperature. The proposed system is capable of producing 7.6m3/day, 10.4m3/day, 7.2m3/day and 4.1m3/day hydroxy gas in spring, summer, fall, and winter, consecutively.
Original Article
Electricity Generation by Green Energy Sources
Prathmesh Rajendra Jagadale; Alpesh Bhimji Chawdhary; Swaroop Sanjay Jadhav
Abstract
During past decades, increasing energy demand across the world fueled energy production significantly, which lead to environmental impacts such as Global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, it also endangered the Species. Hence, the whole world started shifting towards green energy generation, eliminating ...
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During past decades, increasing energy demand across the world fueled energy production significantly, which lead to environmental impacts such as Global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, it also endangered the Species. Hence, the whole world started shifting towards green energy generation, eliminating all the negative Impacts on the environment. Solar power is the most efficient source of energy among other renewable energy sources. This article analyzes the simulated performance of a 250 kWp grid-connected Si-poly photovoltaic Plant. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance and feasibility of a Solar PV plant for Pune, India Location. Each Module has a rating of 310 Wp are connected in 65 strings with 12 panels per string. 42 String Inverters are utilized. The simulation is carried out in PVsyst 7.2 software and Meteonorm8.0 data is used. The simulation is carried out to get maximum energy production, this experiment was performed in 2 phases, one with a fixed angle throughout the year and another by adjusting the tilt angle for every month. Multiple trials were conducted to get the best angle for maximum production of electricity. And compared their parameters such as incident radiation, Performance ratio, Energy into the grid, energy output at array and losses. The optimum angles were chosen based on input Energy at the grid.
Original Article
Wind Energy
Sharul Sham Dol; Abdullah Khamis; Mohanad Tarek Abdallftah; Mohammed Fares; Salman Shahid Pervaiz
Abstract
The current research illustrates the optimization of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) blades with implementation of added winglets displaying improved self-starting capabilities. The application of improved design is to be utilized in a university campus located in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order ...
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The current research illustrates the optimization of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) blades with implementation of added winglets displaying improved self-starting capabilities. The application of improved design is to be utilized in a university campus located in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in order to reduce its margin of consumed electrical energy by 15%. The study is conducted over a mean wind speed value of 5 m/s achieved in a one-year period at a specific altitude of 50 m in the UAE. Two aerodynamic simulation software were adopted, namely ANSYS FLUENT CFD and QBlade, with designs being modelled using AutoCAD. The analytical analysis included some aerodynamic characteristic such as power, lift, and drag coefficients. Through 2D-computational fluid dynamics (CFD), simulation study tested 20 different symmetrical as well as asymmetrical airfoils including the cambered S-0146 with 26.83% higher power output and lower noise amongst the test subjects. Turbine torque for added winglet design results in 4.1% higher compared to the benchmark. The modified design aims to produce at least 2% more power and have an improvement in self-starting of at least 20%. VAWTs tend to have higher potential and sensitivity towards wind direction (no yawing mechanism required) illustrating them as more cost-effective. Future scope includes utilizing wind lens technology to increase the free-stream velocity.
Original Article
Wind Energy
Akbar Maleki; Sharare Mohammadi; Omolbanin Shakouri; Ramin Ehsani
Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the possibility of using wind energy in some regions of Zanjan province. The current research concentrates on computing the wind energy potential and wind power density. Furthermore, some features related to wind for two locations in Zanjan province have been obtained. ...
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The present study aims to investigate the possibility of using wind energy in some regions of Zanjan province. The current research concentrates on computing the wind energy potential and wind power density. Furthermore, some features related to wind for two locations in Zanjan province have been obtained. Feasibility study of wind energy utilization and computing of wind power density and wind power potential has been widely (Extensively-comprehensively) conducted for Zanjan province. First, two locations in Zanjan province have been considered to analyze the data at a reasonable level of province and to avoid over-focusing on one area. Thereafter, the statistics about wind speed were achieved from the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran in ten-minute intervals and included wind speeds at the heights of 30,10, and 40 m and wind directions at heights of 30 and 37.5 m. Finally, various wind features have been investigated for given locations in Zanjan province. The results demonstrate that the annual wind speed for Soltanieh and Tarom in the height of 40 m were 4.81 m/s and 3.93 m / s, respectively. The highest value U_me and U_mp is calculated, It was observed at a height of 40 m at Soltanie, It is 11.35 m / s and 1.27 m / s, respectively. Also, the performance of several wind turbines in the mentioned areas has been investigated. Finally, a suitable wind turbine has been identified.