The quality and specific energy consumption (SEC) of the biomass pellets produced depend upon pelleting process conditions. The present study includes understanding the effect of feedstock moisture in the range of 28–38% (wet basis [w.b.]) and preheating in the range of 30–110°C at two die speeds of 40 and 60 Hz on the physical properties and SEC. A flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm…
We report on the fabrication, integration, and simulation, both optical and optoelectrical, of two-dimensional photonic nanostructures for advanced light trapping in thin crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. The photonic nanostructures are fabricated by the combination of various lithography (nanoimprint, laser interference, and hole mask colloidal) and etching (dry plasma and wet chemical) …
The research on novel, suitable materials for phosphorconverted light-emitting diodes (pc-LEDs) has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, due to their dramatically increased energy effi ciency compared to conventional light sources. The replacement of conventional sources, such as incandescent lamps, is considered a fundamental step toward reducing worldwide electrical energy consumpti…
The applications of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and laser micro-Raman techniques in an examination of the dissolution, transformation,and gasification of pure cellulose and models for biomass residue under hydrothermal conditions in a diamond-anvil cell are reported. The results contribute to the measurement of in situ time-resolved profiles of biomass reactions, catalyst stabi…
Reducing wafer thickness while increasing power conversion efficiency is the most effective way to reduce cost per Watt of a silicon photovoltaic module. Within the European project 20 percent efficiency on less than 100-mm-thick, industrially feasible crystalline silicon solar cells (“20plms”), we study the whole process chain for thin wafers, from wafering to module integration and life-c…
Three-dimensional (3-D) computational code was implemented to solve conservation equations based on finite volume method as to simulate 1.8 L Ford diesel engine. Velocity and pressure of each computational cell is achieved by SIMPLE (semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations) algorithm. For the exergetic aspect, the initial condition is set at 0.1 MPa and 300 K. The engine modeling is…
The zooplankton Daphnia magna has been widely used as a test organism to assess the toxicity of chemical substances because of its important position in aquatic ecology and its ease of handling. Among the various endpoints for toxicity evaluation, growth rate is one of the most critical and many studies have been conducted. However, measurement of growth rate was time-consuming and not an idea…
Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) layers are deposited by a direct solution coating of metal salts dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)and thiourea as sulphur source. An intentional Sn-rich precursor is used and the influence of reactive and inert atmosphere on the layer morphology is investigated during high temperature sintering. Larger grain growth is observed when annealing the precursor in inert N2 atmos…
New corrole sensitizers having a triphenylamine moiety at the –meso position and a carboxylic anchoring group at the pyrroleb position, in both free-base and copper complex forms, have been designed, synthesized, and tried as sensitizers in dyesensitized solar cells. All the substituted carboxy-corroles were completely characterized from structural, optical and electrochemical points of view.…
In this study, the focus is on understanding organic thin-film transistor fabrication based on application-relevant processing techniques like inkjet printing for deposition of the semiconductor and patterning of top-contacts using conventional photolithography and etching. A clear relation between the morphology of the semiconductor film resulting from the printing process and the measured dev…
Detection of blade root moment sensor failures is an important problem for fault-tolerant individual pitch control, which plays a key role in reduction of uneven blade loads of large wind turbines. A new method for detection of blade root moment sensor failures which is based on variations induced by a vertical wind shear is described in this paper. The detection is associated with monitoring …
Two-dimensional glass model experiments are used to investigate the residual trapping mechanism of CO2 stored in saline aquifers. For this purpose, two proxy fluids are chosen to simulate the CO2-brine behavior under reservoir conditions. The first set of experiments is carried out by flooding n-heptane in a mixture of glycerol and water inside a glass bead porous media. Fluids and porous mate…
With strong optical absorptivity and a widely tunable bandgap,graphene is an attractive material for optical and optoelectronic devices. [ 1,2 ] Recently, emerging graphene quantum dots (GQDs), single- or few-layer graphene only several nanometers in size, have been implemented in bandgap engineering due to quantum confi nement [ 3,4 ] and edge effects, [ 5 ] which potentially can be exploited …
The effi cient photon management in nanowires coupled with tunable absorption can provide a signifi cant advancement in the current solar cell technology. Adding a shell on the nanowire (NW) offers an extra degree of freedom for tailoring the NW absorption. Calculations are performed to study the shell-induced changes in the core absorption of an ideal Si nanocylinder after enclosing it with co…
Fusion energy, based on the use of broadly available inexhaustible resources as lithium and deuterium and with minimal impact to the environment, aims at a change in the energy supply paradigm: instead of its current dependence on natural resources and environmental impact, energy would become a technology-dependent resource with unlimited adaptive availability and whose unit cost should decre…
Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a cytotoxin produced by different cyanobacterial species, increasingly detected in water reservoirs worldwide. There is very little information available concerning the effects of the toxin on fish immune cells.The aim of the study was to elucidate the potential impact of cylindrospermopsin on the selected parameters of a common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) leucocyte c…
A simultaneously “nuclear”, permanent, and in-time solution to mankind’s energy-related problems would require the relatively rapid manufacture of 10,000–30,000 genuinely sustainable, full-sized (~1 GWe) reactors. This “nuclear renaissance” would have to be implemented with breeder reactors because today’s commercial nuclear fuel cycle is unsustainable and based upon a fuel (235U…
Flexible supercapacitors, a state-of-the-art material, have emerged with the potential to enable major advances in for cutting-edge electronic applications.Flexible supercapacitors are governed by the fundamentals standard for the conventional capacitors but provide high flexibility, high charge storage and low tance of electro active materials to achieve high capacitance performance. Conductin…
We examined pilot-scale bioethanol production from rice straw using sodium carbonate pulping as the alkaline pulping method and enzymatic saccharification. The yield of prewashed rice straw after the crushing and prewashing stage decreased with an increase in the input in rice straw. The pulp yield after alkaline cooking was 66–68% at kappa number ranging from 32 to 36, which was comparative…
The lack of a dipolar second-order susceptibility (χ (2) ) in silicon due to the centrosymmetry of its diamond lattice usually inhibits effi cient second-order nonlinear optical processes in the silicon bulk. Recently, the deposition of stressed silicon nitride layers and the corresponding inhomogeneous strain in silicon lead to the demonstration of second harmonic generation and electrooptic…
FeMn/Co thin-films, a purely metallic exchange-bias system,were prepared on (100)-oriented MgO single crystals. The layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The crystalline and magnetic properties could be tuned by using sputtered Pt buffer layers deposited at variable temperatures. A transition of the crystalline orientation from (111)-terminated layers at lower deposition temperat…
The ever growing demand for wireless data communications is driving a need for new technologies to augment the existing radio frequency approaches (such as WiFi). Visible light communications (VLC) offers a means to do this, using the unlicensed visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communications, where hundreds of terahertz of bandwidth are available. The adoption of l…
In this study, we investigate the formation of Mo(S,Se)2 layers in the interface region between the absorber and the back contact in electrodeposited CuIn(S,Se)2 (CISSe) solar cells, and its influence on the resulting devices. Mo(S,Se)2 layers are formed spontaneously in the Mo/CI(S,Se) interface during the annealing of the absorber, but have a serious impact on the solar cell performance, bein…
As a result of changes in the energy marketplace, the role of energy audits has greatly expanded. There is an increasing need in business and industry to more effectively man age energy use. Reducing utility costs is still one of the most effective and achievable strategies for lowering the operating costs. Today, many large energy consumers are contracting with energy service providers…
Gold nanocrystals and nanoassemblies have attracted extensive attention for various applications, including chemical and biological sensing, solar energy harvesting, and plasmon-enhanced spectroscopies, due to their unique plasmonic properties. It is of great importance to prepare shape-controlled Au nanocrystals with high monodispersity over a large range of sizes. In this work, Au nanosphere…
A project has been initiated in South Africa to design, model, build, and evaluate an easy to install solar fueled combined heat and power (micro-CHP) system to supply off-grid rural villages and eco-estate communities. This study describes the design of a model that offers a combined 3 kW peak electrical,12 kW peak thermal, stand-alone solar power technology solution with microgrid storage to…
A project has been initiated in South Africa to design, model, build, and evaluate an easy to install solar fueled combined heat and power (micro-CHP) system to supply off-grid rural villages and eco-estate communities. This study describes the design of a model that offers a combined 3 kW peak electrical,12 kW peak thermal, stand-alone solar power technology solution with microgrid storage to…
In order to improve the short-circuit current and the efficiency of silicon heterojunction solar cells, Ag grid/ITO/(p)a-Si:H/(i) a-Si:H/(n)c-Si/(i)a-Si:H/(nþ)a-Si:H/Al, ZnO nanostructured (NS) array films are deposited by electrochemical method on the front side of the solar cells. Aqueous solutions of ZnCl2 and KCl at temperature of 80 8C were used as electrolyte, employing a three-electrode…
In this work the processing sequence for an integrated interconnection concept for crystalline silicon thin-films (c-Si TF) is introduced. This concept is designed to reduce cost in the production of large-area crystalline silicon thin-film modules. Combining the advantages of classical thin-film and wafer technologies, a soldering-free interconnection of cells in the module is realized. In or…
High carrier mobility and tunability in graphene enable fundamental studies for plasmonics and various applications. Despite its versatility, however,single-layer graphene (SLG) suffers from poor coupling effi ciency to electromagnetic waves, presenting a major challenge for photonic applications.Compared with visible or infrared radiation, terahertz (THz) waves exhibit higher absorption in SL…
Quebec’s large solar power potential markedly contrasts with its poor achievements in using solar energy in this large and wealthy region of the world. Reviewing recent developments and putting discussion in the socioeconomic context, we provide arguments that justify our viewpoint that solar energy will soon be a relevant source of power in this Province of Canada. The rapid fall in price o…
We investigate the value of solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the Italian wholesale electricity market (IPEX). A model is developed and applied to simulate and predict the monthly average electricity prices in peak hours, as well as to simulate scenarios without PV generation. The computed merit-order effect of the PV generation in Italy, around 2.9 €/MWh per each additional GWh of PV produc…
This study presents comprehensive thermoeconomic and thermoenvironomic modeling and analysis of selected gas turbine power plants in Nigeria using the first and second laws of thermodynamics (exergy) concept. Exergetic analysis was conducted using operating data obtained from the power plants to determine the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of each major component of the gas turbine i…
An effi cient tandem organic light-emitting diode is realized by employing a novel light out-coupling structure with deterministic quasi-periodic nanocone arrays. The enhancement of color spatial uniformity and operational stability is simultaneously realized along with the remarkable effi ciency improvement in tandem devices by integrating multi-photon emission and light out-coupling techniqu…
This article presents an overview of the fabrication methods of black silicon,their resulting morphologies, and a quantitative comparison of their optoelectronic properties. To perform this quantitative comparison, different groups working on black silicon solar cells have cooperated for this study. The optical absorption and the minority carrier lifetime are used as benchmark parameters.The d…
In recent times, hybrid renewable energy systems are increasingly being utilized to provide electricity in remote areas especially where the grid extension is considered too expensive. This study presents the results of techno-economic analysis of hybrid system comprising of solar and wind energy for powering a specific remote mobile base transceiver station (BTS) in Nigeria. All the necessary …
ZnO nanorod arrays placed within the architecture of the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell present promising concepts to maximize photoconversion by optical and electrical enhancement. Three different Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell architectures utilizing ZnO nanorods are introduced. New technological insights are given for electrodeposited ZnO nanorod anti-reflection coatings,examining the reflectance of devi…
The energy supply characteristic of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell for houses is strongly influenced in a hydrogen supply unit. Therefore, a bioethanol reforming system (FBSR) with a sunlight heat source is developed as a potential fuel supply system for distributed fuel cells. However, the temperature distribution of a catalyst layer in the reactor is not stable under conditions of unst…
In this article, we present performance results and analysis of a novel rotary lobe expander device. This is part of a larger research effort into the analysis and design of a small-scale solar system that would compete with available distributed technologies for heat and electricity generation. To choose an appropriate working fluid and components for a distributed concentrating solar combined…
The aim of this study was to estimate the reference level of cadmium in rice as the benchmark doses (BMD) and their 95% lower confidence limits (BMDL) for various renal effects by applying an updated hybrid approach. The participants were 1120 men and 1274 women aged 50 years or older who lived in the environmentally exposed Kakehashi river basin for at least 30 years. As indicators of renal d…
Organometal hybrid perovskites exhibit tunable absorption and photoluminescence spectra that originate from the adjustable excitons of the self-assembled quantum-well structures. The aggregation-induced emission (AIE) features of (RNH 3 ) 2 PbI 4 (R = alkyl, C n H 2 n +1 , n = 4, 12, 16, 18) as well as their reversible photoluminescence response to pH value are demonstrated.This interesting p…
A new irradiance adjustment system for the light source named “Programmable Reference cell system for Irradiance adjustment by Spectral Measurement (PRISM)” has been developed for photovoltaics evaluation. It can be applied for various kinds of solar cells and illumination conditions without the preparation of conventional reference cells. This system consists of a device for absolute spec…
Epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) is associated with vascular-based disorders. To investigate the effect of DE on blood–brain barrier (BBB) function and integrity, 8-week-old BALB/c mice were randomized to DE in a cyclical treatment regimen over a 2-week period. Functional integrity of BBB was determined by considering brain parenchymal abundance of IgG wi…
Lignocellulosic feedstock has tremendous potential to sustain the renewable production of biofuels such as ethanol and butanol. Although lignocellulosic biomass is a storehouse of energy in the form of cellulose and hemicellulose, yet lignin acts as a barrier against their hydrolysis. A dilute acid pretreatment disintegrates the biomass complex and allows cellulolytic enzymes to hydrolyze cell…
ABSTRACT: The most potent chemicals potentially causing adverse effects on fish species are estrogens in human waste. Sewage is a source of these estrogens and it is difficult to reduce. In particular, although the bioactivity of estrone is estimated to be about half of that of estradiol, multiple studies report that more than 100 ng l–1 of estrone can be detected in urban rivers, including …
The rapid ascent of nanoscience has garnered signifi cant attention in recent years. Much of the interest generated has dealt with the integration of nanoparticles in various applications ranging from automotive and textiles to bioimaging and nanomedicine. In order for the realization of this potential,their synthesis and chemistry need to be thoroughly understood. One particularly interesting…
We investigate the stabilized performance of encapsulated hydrogenated amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules depending on the deposition speed. The module products are degraded differently depending on the light-soaking environment. The modules deposited at a high speed demonstrate significant degradation in an outdoor exposure test, despite moderate degradation during indoor light soaking. H…
Few-layer MoSe2 granular films were prepared using rapid thermal processing (RTP) of stacked elemental layers (SELs) deposited using electron beam evaporation in the sequence of Mo/Se/Mo. RTP was carried out at various temperatures ranging from 550 to 750 8C, and durations ranging from 90 to 150 s. Morphology and microstructure of granular thin films were characterized by atomic force microsc…
Photonic crystals are metamaterials designed to display a periodic modulation of the refractive index. [ 1,2 ] For light wavelengths that match the Bragg condition, such materials display a photonic gap. For suffi cient refractive index contrast, a complete band gap emerges, the density of states in the gap is zero,transmission vanishes and incident light is specularly refl ected.The concept wa…
The periodic nanostructuring of inner part of semiconductors can be successfully accomplished by the infrared ultrashort pulse laser with a double pulse configuration. Self-organized nanostructures inside semiconductor could be induced empirically only if it is indirect band gap semiconductor.The strained silicon regions with a width of about 100 nm are self-aligned parallel to the polarization…