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In the current study, a fixed‐bed downdraft gasifier was used, in addition to gas cleaning and treatment units, to evaluate hydrogen production from the waste from a date molasses factory. Date pits and pomace were gasified at a temperature of 800°C with oxygen‐rich air and standard air as the gasifying agents. Simulations were performed using the Cycle‐Tempo simulation tool. The impact of many process parameters (air–fuel ratio, gasification temperature, moisture content, oxygen concentration and temperature of the water–gas shift) on gas composition was investigated. The economic evaluation of hydrogen production is also discussed in this paper. Depending on the operating conditions, the results indicate that gasification of biomass in oxygen‐rich air improves hydrogen yield compared with air gasification of biomass. Over the range of operating conditions examined, the maximum hydrogen production reached 45.86% for pits and 35.81% for pomace from gasification with oxygen‐rich air while the H2 content reached 36.71 and 28.72% respectively for air gasification of pits and pomace. The cost analysis for the date waste gasification unit showed that the hydrogen production cost is $3/kg for date pits and $4/kg for pomace. The production of hydrogen from date molasses manufacturing waste helps to lessen reliance on fossil fuels and is an environmentally beneficial alternative source of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in electric grid technology have led to sustainable, modern, decentralized, bidirectional microgrids (MGs). The MGs can support energy storage, renewable energy sources (RESs), power electronics converters, and energy management systems. The MG system is less costly and creates less CO2 than traditional power systems, which have significant operational and fuel expenses. In this paper, the proposed hybrid MG adopts renewable energies, including solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines (WT), biomass gasifiers (biogasifier), batteries' storage energies, and a backup diesel generator. The energy management system of the adopted MG resources is intended to satisfy the load demand of Basra, a city in southern Iraq, considering the city's real climate and demand data. For optimal sizing of the proposed MG components, a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm (Hybrid Grey Wolf with Cuckoo Search Optimization (GWCSO)) is applied. The simulation results are compared with those achieved using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithms (GA), Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO), Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO), and Antlion Optimization (ALO) to evaluate the optimal sizing results with minimum costs. Since the adopted GWCSO has the lowest deviation, it is more robust than the other algorithms, and their optimal number of component units, annual cost, and Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) are superior to the other ones. According to the optimal annual analysis, LCOE is 0.1192 and the overall system will cost about USD 2.6918 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of renewable energy sources is increasing worldwide to achieve energy production sustainability. To reach this goal and mitigate against climate changes all energy resources must be optimally managed. In this paper, an innovative multi agent-based heuristic optimisation system is developed to address renewable energy systems' challenges associated with the management of renewables including storage devices, planning of energy distribution, and consumption flexibility. A new heuristic algorithm is developed to introduce an efficient and sustainable storage strategy of surplus energy generated by different renewable resource options. This leads to archiving optimised storage levels of energy across different located storage devices in order to face risk of production shortages due to weather conditions. In order to test the behaviour of the developed system and address its benefits, a case study in the Republic of IRAQ is developed. Twelve major cities (in order of population size) distributed in 5 main regions including North, South, East, West and Middle parts of the country are selected, and hybrid renewable power generation sources such as Wind, PV-solar and Hydro are implemented based on weather changes. The results highlight the effect of high suppliers' rate on electricity exchange and production planning from differently used renewable technologies. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to verify the behaviour of the developed model on different demand behaviour types. • This paper considers a complex renewable energy production-distribution problem. • This study proposes an agent-based model to satisfy consumers' demand of energy. • A new heuristics algorithm to provide a sustainable storage strategy of energy. • Simulation result presents optimal energy production and minimum level of shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that renewable energy resources for electricity generation are free. In hot areas, solar energy has become one of the major interests of researchers and specialists. This paper aims to experimentally investigate the maximum voltage generation of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) panel. This panel was built from many TEG modules that are connected in series and in parallel. The panel was exposed to high heat due to solar radiation during summer, either directly or through a Fresnel lens. The other side of the TEG panel was cooled using tap water that was passed through aluminum heat exchangers in an active cooling method. It was found that the maximum open-circuit voltage of this TEG panel using a Fresnel lens was 9.35 V. With no lens, it was 11.75 V at 14:00 h local time. The experiments were done during a sunny July period in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the advanced technological development in the world, this study aims to use alternative energy for generating electric energy at the lowest cost. Solar cells are devices that have special operating conditions. The most important of these conditions are the temperature of cells and the intensity of solar radiation. Sometimes the climate condition does not match the ideal conditions used for operating solar cells in many regions around the world. Although the Middle East and Iraq in particular, is considered one of the sunniest areas in the world, solar energy cannot be relied upon to generate electric energy effectively because of the problem of high temperature in solar cells in the summer as well as the problem of dust. In this paper, a simple and economical method was designed to overcome the main problems in the operation of solar cells represented by high temperature in solar cells as well as the problem of dust accumulated on the surface of solar cells which impedes the entry of sunlight into those cells. The method is conducted by immersing the solar cells in running water at a distance that should be close to the surface of the water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy has a significant role in promoting for sustainable development. Growth in power generation from wind has become a competitive and acceptable renewable energy resource. Wind energy can be shared in securing sustainable and safe energy supply. The first step of a wind energy project is the evaluation of wind speed characteristics and the condition of the site. In this paper, a small wind farm is proposed to be installed in two selected sites in the north of Iraq (Dokan 35.9496° N, 44.9621° E and Chamchamal 35.5292° N, 44.8217° E at Al- Sulimania Governorate. Ten 50 kW wind turbines are considered, and their performance is primarily evaluated. Wind energy parameters and the capacity factor are calculated for a year. The shape and scale factors for both sites (Dokan and Chamchamal) were found 2.092, 5.233, and 2.104,5.325, respectively. The net capacity factor for both sites was found 16.94% and 18.08% and the estimated cost of energy laid in the range (0.04 USD/kWh-0.06 USD/kWh) which is in good agreement with other researcher achievements. Both sites possess fair condition for installing wind turbines. An increase in the capacity factor by 5% leads to reduce the payback period by 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]