Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kaihao Hou, Xi Luo, Muxiang Liang, Xiaoming Liu, Qi Xu, Jing Chen, Xiejuan Lu, Xiaohui Wu, Feixiang Zan
Summary: Waste activated sludge pretreatment with sulfite and heat can effectively improve sludge hydrolysis rate and methane production. By combining sulfite and heat pretreatment, soluble substances and methane production can be significantly enhanced. The HESP method shows promise in enhancing methane production and promoting methanogenic metabolism, but further experimentation is needed for specific conditions.
PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kang Song, Zhouyang Li, Xu Zhou, Guojun Xie, Lu Li, Shengyan Pu
Summary: The study investigated the potential of improving methane production from algal sludge anaerobic digestion by peroxydisulfate (PDS) pretreatment. Results showed that PDS dosage at 0.02 g PDS/g algal sludge TSS led to the highest accumulative methane production after 60 days fermentation. The addition of PDS inhibited microbial activities but improved short chain fatty acids production.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Huan Liu, Xuan Li, Ting Zhou, Zehao Zhang, Long D. Nghiem, Li Gao, Qilin Wang
Summary: This study comprehensively evaluated the impact of free ammonia (FA) pretreatment on the performance of anaerobic primary sludge (PS) digestion using semi-continuous systems. FA pretreatment improved the removal of volatile solids, chemical oxygen demand, and methane production. It also increased the biomass-specific hydrolysis rate of digesters. Model-based analysis revealed that the enhanced performance is due to the increased apparent hydrolysis rate and degradability extent of PS caused by FA pretreatment. Additionally, dewaterability of digested sludge and removals of fecal coliform and E. coli were enhanced by FA pretreatment.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Tianwei Hao, Zheng Liu, Muxiang Liang, Xiaoming Liu, Jing Chen, Xiaohui Wu, Sunita Varjani, Feixiang Zan
Summary: This study demonstrates the significant impact of sulfite pretreatment on the solubilization and substrate release of PS, as well as the reduction of methane production from PS. Additionally, sulfite pretreatment affects the functional groups and degradation extent of PS.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Gi-Beom Kim, Roent Dune A. Cayetano, Jungsu Park, Yura Jo, Seong Yeob Jeong, Myung Yeol Lee, Sang-Hyoun Kim
Summary: Low-thermal pretreatment of undigested and dewatered sludge at 10% total solids improved net energy production, sludge treatment efficiency, and digestion stability in a lab-scale anaerobic bioreactor. The highest biomethane yield and production rate were achieved at an SRT of 16 days, with a shift in methanogenic population from hydrogenotrophic to acetoclastic. This strategy could be a feasible approach for managing sludge from small wastewater treatment plants.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Haixiao Guo, Yufen Wang, Lixin Tian, Wei Wei, Tingting Zhu, Yiwen Liu
Summary: This study proposed a novel POM-based pretreatment technology to improve methane production from waste activated sludge for the first time, which increased methane production by 43.7%. The mechanism analysis revealed that POM pretreatment promoted WAS disintegration and improved the biodegradability of the released organics, resulting in positive impacts on the activity of enzymes associated with hydrolysis/acidification/methanogenesis. The microbial community analysis showed a shift towards increase hydrolytic and acidification-associated microbes and enriched the abundance of Methanosaeta sp.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Bing Guo, Jiawei Hu, Jingsi Zhang, Zhigen Wu, Zhuo Li
Summary: The combined pretreatment of potassium ferrate and ultrasound showed a positive synergy in enhancing methane yield from sludge. It efficiently promoted sludge disintegration and increased the biodegradability of sludge organics. Additionally, the microbial community involved in anaerobic digestion of sludge was enriched by this pretreatment.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Huan Liu, Xuan Li, Zehao Zhang, Long D. Nghiem, Li Gao, Damien J. Batstone, Qilin Wang
Summary: Population growth has led to an increase in waste activated sludge (WAS) production, causing an urgent need for expanding sludge treatment capacity in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study demonstrated that free ammonia (FA) pretreatment can expand the treatment capacity of anaerobic digesters by up to 50% through reducing sludge retention time (SRT). The FA pretreatment improved the removal of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes, making it a promising approach for WWTPs.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qiuxiang Xu, Tian-Yi Luo, Ruo-Lan Wu, Wei Wei, Jing Sun, Xiaohu Dai, Bing-Jie Ni
Summary: The study demonstrates that rhamnolipid (RL) pretreatment has a promoting effect on methane production in two-phase anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge, although methane production may be inhibited in the presence of RL during the acidogenic phase. Further analysis shows that the addition of RL can increase methane production throughout the entire two-phase anaerobic digestion process.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ying Xu, Hui Geng, Renjie Chen, Rui Liu, Xiaohu Dai
Summary: The study revealed that the efficiency of methane generation from waste activated sludge (WAS) can be significantly enhanced through pretreatment with isoelectric-point (pI), which improves the hydrophobic attractions at the solid-liquid interface and promotes electron transfer efficiency. The pI pretreatment also led to an increase in the relative abundances of main functional microbes related to hydrolysis, acidification, and methanation, contributing to an overall boost in methane production.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Huan Liu, Xuan Li, Zehao Zhang, Long D. Nghiem, Qilin Wang
Summary: Urine pretreatment is an effective strategy to improve methane production in anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge, with significant increases in methane production, degradation extent, and hydrolysis rate.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Shuohui Shi, Meng Cao, Ying Zhang, Xing Fan, Shihu Liu, Jiahao Chen, Jian Zhou
Summary: A thermal-alkali-biofilm pretreatment (TAB) was established to improve the anaerobic digestion of high-solid and low-organic-content sludge. TAB significantly enhanced WAS reduction, hydrolysis/acidogenesis efficiency, and biochemical methane potential by stimulating proteolysis and solubilizing WAS. In addition, biofilm assistance accelerated the elimination of autochthonous bacteria and promoted the enrichment of specialized fermentative microorganisms and relevant functional genes, contributing to enhanced hydrolysis/acidogenesis in TAB.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Qian Jiang, He Liu, Yan Zhang, Min-hua Cui, Bo Fu, Hong-bo Liu
Summary: The study found that adding granular activated carbon (GAC) can shorten the lag phase of methanogenesis, reduce the content of inhibitory substances, but also lead to a decrease in methane production. The non-selective adsorption of GAC on methane production can be mitigated through thermal pretreatment and increased temperature.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhen Li, Shuo Chen, Bingchuan Liu, Jiakuan Yang, Sha Liang, Keke Xiao, Jingping Hu, Huijie Hou
Summary: This study investigated a novel pretreatment strategy using SIC-H2O2 to enhance methane production in anaerobic digestion process. The results showed that SIC-H2O2 pretreatment enhanced sludge biodegradability by disintegrating sludge flocs and increasing SCOD. EEM-PARAFAC analysis revealed enhanced dissociation of TB-EPS fractions, while EPR results demonstrated the catalysis of H2O2 for generating center dot OH and high-valent (Por)FeIV(O) intermediates, promoting EPS disintegration.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shu-Lin Wu, Wei Wei, Bing-Jie Ni
Summary: A novel sludge pretreatment technology using calcium hypochlorite (Ca(ClO)2) to enhance methane production from waste activated sludge (WAS) anaerobic digestion was reported. The results showed that appropriate doses of Ca(ClO)2 significantly increased the solubilization of WAS and methane production, while negatively affecting the microbial community composition and inhibiting microbial processes related to methane production.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shitong Fang, Houfan Du, Tao Yan, Keyu Chen, Zhiyuan Li, Xiaoqing Ma, Zhihui Lai, Shengxi Zhou
Summary: This paper proposes a new type of nonlinear VIV energy harvester (ANVEH) that compensates for the decrease in peak energy output at low wind speeds by introducing an auxiliary structure. Theoretical and experimental results show that ANVEH performs better than traditional nonlinear VIV energy harvesters under various system parameter variations.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wei Jiang, Shuo Zhang, Teng Wang, Yufei Zhang, Aimin Sha, Jingjing Xiao, Dongdong Yuan
Summary: A standardized method was developed to evaluate the availability of solar energy resources in road areas, which combined the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Geographic Information System (GIS). By analyzing critical factors and using a multi-indicator evaluation method, the method accurately evaluated the utilization of solar energy resources and guided the optimal location selection for road photovoltaic (PV) projects. The results provided guidance for the application of road PV projects and site selection for route corridors worldwide, promoting the integration of transportation and energy.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Chang Liu, Jacob A. Wrubel, Elliot Padgett, Guido Bender
Summary: The study investigates the effects of coating defects on the performance of the anode porous transport layer (PTL) in water electrolyzers. The results show that an increasing fraction of uncoated regions on the PTL leads to decreased cell performance, with continuous uncoated regions having a more severe impact compared to multiple thin uncoated strips.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Marcos Tostado-Veliz, Xiaolong Jin, Rohit Bhakar, Francisco Jurado
Summary: In this paper, a coordinated charging price mechanism for clusters of parking lots is proposed. The research shows that enabling vehicle-to-grid characteristics can bring significant economic benefits for users and the cluster coordinator, and vehicle-to-grid impacts noticeably on the risk-averse character of the uncertainty-aware strategies. The developed pricing mechanism can reduce the cost for users, avoiding to directly translate the energy cost to charging points.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Duan Kang
Summary: Building an energy superpower is a key strategy for China and a long-term goal for other countries. This study proposes an evaluation system and index for measuring energy superpower, and finds that China has significantly improved its ranking over the past 21 years, surpassing other countries.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Fucheng Deng, Yifei Wang, Xiaosen Li, Gang Li, Yi Wang, Bin Huang
Summary: This study investigated the synergistic blockage mechanism of sand and hydrate in gravel filling layer and the evolution of permeability in the layer. Experimental models and modified permeability models were established to analyze the effects of sand particles and hydrate formation on permeability. The study provided valuable insights for the safe and efficient exploitation of hydrate reservoirs.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hao Wang, Xiwen Chen, Natan Vital, Edward Duffy, Abolfazl Razi
Summary: This study proposes a HVAC energy optimization model based on deep reinforcement learning algorithm. It achieves 37% energy savings and ensures thermal comfort for open office buildings. The model has a low complexity, uses a few controllable factors, and has a short training time with good generalizability.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Moyue Cong, Yongzhuo Gao, Weidong Wang, Long He, Xiwang Mao, Yi Long, Wei Dong
Summary: This study introduces a multi-strategy ultra-wideband energy harvesting device that achieves high power output without the need for external power input. By utilizing asymmetry, stagger array, magnetic coupling, and nonlinearity strategies, the device maintains a stable output voltage and high power density output at non-resonant frequencies. Temperature and humidity monitoring are performed using Bluetooth sensors to adaptively assess the device.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Tianshu Dong, Xiudong Duan, Yuanyuan Huang, Danji Huang, Yingdong Luo, Ziyu Liu, Xiaomeng Ai, Jiakun Fang, Chaolong Song
Summary: Electrochemical water splitting is crucial for hydrogen production, and improving the hydrogen separation rate from the electrode is essential for enhancing water electrolyzer performance. However, issues such as air bubble adhesion to the electrode plate hinder the process. Therefore, a methodology to investigate the two-phase flow within the electrolyzer is in high demand. This study proposes using a microfluidic system as a simulator for the electrolyzer and optimizing the two-phase flow by manipulating the micro-structure of the flow.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shuo Han, Yifan Yuan, Mengjiao He, Ziwen Zhao, Beibei Xu, Diyi Chen, Jakub Jurasz
Summary: Giving full play to the flexibility of hydropower and integrating more variable renewable energy is of great significance for accelerating the transformation of China's power energy system. This study proposes a novel day-ahead scheduling model that considers the flexibility limited by irregular vibration zones (VZs) and the probability of flexibility shortage in a hydropower-variable renewable energy hybrid generation system. The model is applied to a real hydropower station and effectively improves the flexibility supply capacity of hydropower, especially during heavy load demand in flood season.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Zhen Wang, Kangqi Fan, Shizhong Zhao, Shuxin Wu, Xuan Zhang, Kangjia Zhai, Zhiqi Li, Hua He
Summary: This study developed a high-performance rotary energy harvester (AI-REH) inspired by archery, which efficiently accumulates and releases ultralow-frequency vibration energy. By utilizing a magnetic coupling strategy and an accumulator spring, the AI-REH achieves significantly accelerated rotor speeds and enhanced electric outputs.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yi Yang, Qianyi Xing, Kang Wang, Caihong Li, Jianzhou Wang, Xiaojia Huang
Summary: In this study, a novel hybrid Quantile Regression (QR) model is proposed for Probabilistic Load Forecasting (PLF). The model integrates causal dilated convolution, residual connection, and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) for multi-scale feature extraction. In addition, a Combined Probabilistic Load Forecasting System (CPLFS) is proposed to overcome the inherent flaws of relying on a single model. Simulation results show that the hybrid QR outperforms traditional models and CPLFS exceeds the best benchmarks in terms of prediction accuracy and stability.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wen-Jiang Zou, Young-Bae Kim, Seunghun Jung
Summary: This paper proposes a dynamic prediction model for capacity fade in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The model accurately predicts changes in electrolyte volume and capacity fade, enhancing the competitiveness of VRFBs in energy storage applications.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yuechao Ma, Shengtie Wang, Guangchen Liu, Guizhen Tian, Jianwei Zhang, Ruiming Liu
Summary: This paper focuses on the balance of state of charge (SOC) among multiple battery energy storage units (MBESUs) and bus voltage balance in an islanded bipolar DC microgrid. A SOC automatic balancing strategy is proposed considering the energy flow relationship and utilizing the adaptive virtual resistance algorithm. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in achieving SOC balancing and decreasing bus voltage unbalance.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Raad Z. Homod, Basil Sh. Munahi, Hayder Ibrahim Mohammed, Musatafa Abbas Abbood Albadr, Aissa Abderrahmane, Jasim M. Mahdi, Mohamed Bechir Ben Hamida, Bilal Naji Alhasnawi, A. S. Albahri, Hussein Togun, Umar F. Alqsair, Zaher Mundher Yaseen
Summary: In this study, the control problem of the multiple-boiler system (MBS) is formulated as a dynamic Markov decision process and a deep clustering reinforcement learning approach is applied to obtain the optimal control policy. The proposed strategy, based on bang-bang action, shows superior response and achieves more than 32% energy saving compared to conventional fixed parameter controllers under dynamic indoor/outdoor actual conditions.
