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This scientific paper highlights the critical significance of energy in driving sustainable development and explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in shaping the future of energy systems. As the world faces mounting challenges in meeting growing energy demands while minimizing environmental impact, there is a pressing need for innovative solutions that can optimize energy generation, distribution, and consumption. AI tools, with their ability to analyse vast amounts of data and make intelligent decisions, have emerged as a promising avenue for advancing energy systems towards greater efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. This paper underscores the importance of energy in sustainable development and investigates how AI tools can catalyse the next phase of human civilization. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the Collaborative Energy Optimization Platform (CEOP), an innovative model that utilizes AI algorithms in an integrated manner. The review of the CEOP model is based on an in-depth analysis of existing literature, research papers, and industry reports. The methodology encompasses a systematic review of the model's key features, including collaboration, data-sharing, and AI algorithm integration. The conducted research demonstrates the effectiveness of applying MCDM methods, specifically fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS, in evaluating and ranking the performance of five Collaborative Energy Optimization Platforms (CEOP models) across 20 sub-criteria. The findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive and holistic approach in assessing AI-based energy optimization systems. The research provides valuable insights for decision-makers and researchers in the field, fostering the development and implementation of more efficient and sustainable AI-powered energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is directly linked to a broad array of changes because of disorganized activities within the economic system and human intervention. Climate change affects the well-being status of both non-living and living things. Relevant policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change conditions concentrate on solutions that intend to use renewable energy instead of fossil fuels or other conventional energy sources. This study aims to process a review focused on how renewables advance environmental quality and create relevant benefits within severe economic activities. This study elaborates on the case of China for two main reasons. First, China has a pivotal role in the economic system worldwide. Second, China is making serious attempts to transition into a low-carbon economy. An integrative review was processed to receive selected publications. The advantage of this process is that it considers empirical and non-empirical studies, policy papers, and conceptual frameworks. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to retrieve the final number of publications. Review results from 39 well-acknowledged Journals provided 180 selected publications categorized into seven study groups: data analyses, model optimization studies, market issues, renewable energy technology publications, nuclear energy publications, ocean energy publications, and policy-related studies. Policy implications concern China's efforts to accelerate the integration of renewables in the energy mix. Hence, the country should increase energy efficiency in consumption and process investment plans based on robust research and development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reasonable matching design is a current and difficult point in electric vehicle research. This paper presents a parameter optimization method for the power system of a medium-sized bus based on the combination of the orthogonal test and the secondary development of ADVISOR software. According to vehicle theoretical knowledge and the requirements of the vehicle power performance index, the parameters of the vehicle power system were matched and designed. With the help of the secondary development of MATLAB/Simulink and ADVISOR software, the modeling of the key parts of the vehicle was carried out. Considering the influence of the number of battery packs, motor power model, wheel rolling resistance coefficient, and wind resistance coefficient on the design of the power system, an L9 (34)-type orthogonal table was selected to design the orthogonal test. The dynamic performance and driving range of the whole vehicle were simulated using different design schemes, and the accuracy of the simulation results was verified by comparing and analyzing the simulation images. The results demonstrated that in the environment where the wind resistance coefficient was 0.6 and the wheel rolling resistance coefficient was 0.009, with 240 sets of lithium batteries (battery energy, 264 kW h; battery capacity, 100 Ah) as the power source, the pure electric medium-sized bus equipped with the PM165 permanent magnet motor (rated power, 60 kW; rated torque, 825 N m) could obtain the best power performance and economic performance. The research content of this paper provides a certain reference for the design of shuttle buses for Nantong's bus system, effectively reduces the testing costs of the vehicle development process, and provides a new idea for the power system design of pure electric buses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Striving towards a resource efficient society requires an adjustment of energy systems towards renewable options. It is also of high importance to make use of products and materials to a higher degree. Biogas production has the potential to recover nutrients and energy from organic by-products, as well as to substitute fossil fuels in the energy system. Resource efficiency relates to the economic, energy and environmental performance of the system studied. A comprehensive research design for assessment of the resource efficiency of biogas production systems is described in this paper. The research design includes the following parts: identification of cases, defining scenarios, system development, evaluation perspectives and systems analysis. The analysis is performed from three perspectives; economy, energy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the existing widely applied impartial and open dispatching models, operation fairness was mainly emphasized, which severely restricted the optimization space of the economy of the overall system operation and affected the economic benefits. To solve the above problems, a scheduling model based on Gini coefficient under impartial and open dispatching principle is proposed in this paper, which can consider the balance between the fairness and economy of system operation. In the proposed model, the Gini coefficient is introduced to describe the fairness of electric energy completion rate among different generation units in the form of constraint conditions. Because the electricity production schedule can reflect the economic income of the electric power enterprise, and the Gini coefficient is used as an economic statistical indicator to evaluate the fairness in the overall distribution of income in social statistics, it is more appropriate to be used to measure the fairness of the power generation dispatching. The objective of the proposed model is to minimize the total operation costs. In the model, the balance between the system operation economy and fairness can be realized by adjusting the Gini coefficient value. The simulation results show that the proposed model is an extension of the traditional model. Compared with the traditional economic dispatching model and normal "impartial and open dispatching" model, the proposed model can better coordinate the relationship between fairness and economy. It could provide more choices for power generation dispatchers. It could also provide a reference for regulatory departments to formulate relevant policies by adjusting the threshold value of the Gini coefficient. Case studies show that the power dispatching decisions according to the proposed model can provide a scientific and fair reference basis for dispatching schemes, and could reduce the generation costs and also achieve optimal allocation of resources on the basis of ensuring fair dispatching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry plays a crucial role in achieving global carbon neutrality. The purpose of this study is to explore the application of photovoltaic curtain walls in building models and analyze their impact on carbon emissions in order to find the best adaptation method that combines economy and carbon reduction. Through a carbon emissions calculation and economic analysis of replacing photovoltaic curtain walls on a large public building in Zhenjiang, China, the results showed that after replacing glass curtain walls with photovoltaic curtain walls, the carbon emissions during the construction operation stage decreased by 30.74%, but the carbon emissions during the production and transportation stage of building materials increased by 10.48%. The carbon emissions throughout the entire life cycle of the building have been reduced by 20.99%. This indicates that photovoltaic curtain wall technology has the potential to reduce building carbon emissions. Further promoting the development of production technology and sales routes for photovoltaic curtain walls and accelerating the improvement of carbon trading systems can further improve the carbon emission reduction effect of buildings. This study provides practical reference for public buildings in similar areas and guidance for reducing carbon emissions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the technological and economic analysis of mine water treatment systems before their discharge into the environment. The following analysis enabled us to determine the profitability of the investment, taking into account the TSS (total suspended solids) concentration in mine water. The simulation results showed that it is economically profitable to apply a water treatment system if natural sedimentation carried out in underground mine water passages, or in sedimentation tanks located on the ground, is ineffective for TSS removal. Economic and financial parameters allow us to conclude that all analyzed variants of the application of a pre-treatment system are characterized by high economic effectiveness. This mainly results from the high profitability of an analyzed investment, comparatively low capital expenditure, and present low market percentage rates. The most profitable variant (TSS concentration is 1000 mg/dm3) brings significant economic indicators, i.e., high NPV–Net Present Value (100 319 270.28 PLN), a high NPVR–Net Present Value Ratio (8.96 PLN/PLN), and a short discount payback period (1 year 236.6 days). A high internal rate of return (157.8%) for this variant reduces the risk of losing profitability in a situation of growing capital costs in the monetary market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogas production from organic by-products is a way to recover energy and nutrients. However, biogas production is not the only possible conversion alternative for these by-products, and hence there is interest in studying how organic by-products are treated today and which alternatives for conversion are the most resource efficient from a systems perspective. This paper investigates if biogas production is a resource efficient alternative, compared to business as usual, to treat food industry by-products, and if so, under what circumstances. Five different cases of food industries were studied, all with different prerequisites. For all cases, three different scenarios were analysed. The first scenario is the business as usual (Scenario BAU), where the by-products currently are either incinerated, used as animal feed or compost. The second and third scenarios are potential biogas scenarios where biogas is either used as vehicle fuel (Scenario Vehicle) or to produce heat and power (Scenario CHP). All scenarios, and consequently, all cases have been analysed from three different perspectives: Economy, energy, and environment. The environmental perspective was divided into Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), and Eutrophication Potential (EP). The results show, in almost all the systems, that it would be more resource efficient to change the treatment method from Scenario BAU to one of the biogas scenarios. This paper concludes that both the perspective in focus and the case at hand are vital for deciding whether biogas production is the best option to treat industrial organic by-products. The results suggest that the food industry should not be the only actor involved in deciding how to treat its by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents theoretical and practical contributions to the environmental dimension of enterprises' corporate social responsibility (CSR) in sustainable development. Interest in the environment is related to CSR through environmental cost optimization and energy-efficiency management. The practical stage of the research, obtained using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method, allowed for presenting case studies of the best practices used by international enterprises operating in Poland. This study describes the practical tools and advice companies can use to improve efficiency and environmental responsibility. The article is an in-depth study of the growing role of enterprises in shaping sustainable and socially responsible businesses and aims to assess the extent to which these companies prioritize energy efficiency as a part of their CSR initiatives. The authors highlight the role of energy efficiency in achieving broader corporate environmental responsibility. This research aims to encourage businesses to adopt responsible environmental strategies for a greener and more sustainable future. The implementation of this goal helped develop and indicate conclusions regarding the development of environmental tools related to corporate responsibility in sustainable development, encouraging scientific debates and promoting responsible monitoring of the implementation of this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our modern world, energy keeps the global economy running, and economic growth concerns are profoundly interrelated with environmental quality issues. Interestingly, scientists engage with empirical research to identify the impacts and causalities at the interface of economic activities, energy supply, and demand. The importance of the present study lies in a discussion of all contemporary research efforts bridging two strands of empirical literature in environmental economics: developments in energy growth nexus discussion and the environmental Kuznets curve. Furthermore, it highlights the inclusion of untested explanatory variables and the impacts on environmental degradation levels. In the context of the EKC hypothesis, the most popular indicators are greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and carbon dioxide emissions in conceptualizing environmental degradation. A review of relevant empirical studies disclosed additional research opportunities that can consider currently untested and less visible proxies of economic growth. For both strands in the literature, results differ based on the group of countries investigated, the econometric models adopted, the format of data, e.g., time series or panel analyses, the time frames due to data availability, and the proxies used to conceptualize energy, environmental degradation, and economic growth. Practical implications indicate that environmental degradation can be avoided or significantly limited within sustainable economic growth to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase the use of renewables in the energy mix. Furthermore, one particular implication is the concept of energy efficiency to reduce relevant demand to produce the same outcome or task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing access to power, enhancing clean cooking fuels, decreasing wasteful energy subsidies, and limiting fatal air pollution are just a few of the sustainable development goals that all revolve around energy (E). Energy-specific sustainable development objectives were a turning point in the global shift towards a more sustainable and just system. By understanding energy resources, markets, regulations, and scientific studies, the country can progress more quickly towards a sustainable economy (SE). Investment in renewable energy industries is hampered by institutional obstacles such as market-controlled procedures and inconsistent supporting policies. Power plant building is currently incompatible with existing transmission and distribution networks, posing significant risks to investors. Deep neural networks (DNN) are specifically investigated in this article for energy demand forecasting at the individual building level. Other relevant information is supplied into fully connected layers along with the convolutional output. A single customer's power usage data were used and analyzed for the final fuel and electricity consumption by various energy sources and consumer groups to test the DNN-SE technique. The energy intensity and labor productivity indexes for several economic sectors are displayed. A wide range of economic activities are examined to determine their impact on environmental pollution indicators, greenhouse gas emissions, and other air pollutants. A more effective and comprehensive energy efficiency strategy should be implemented to lower emission levels at lower prices. Research-based conclusions must be enhanced to help policymaking. The results of the experiment using the proposed method show that it is possible to predict 98.1%, grow at 96.8%, meet 98.5% of electricity demand, use 97.6% of power, and have a renewable energy ratio of 96.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a multi-objective load dispatch algorithm based on economic predictive control to solve the real-time multi-objective load dispatch problem of biomass heat and power cogeneration. According to the energy conservation law and production process, a real-time multi-objective load dispatch optimization model for heat and power units is established. Then, the concept of multi-objective utopia points is introduced, and the multi-objective load comprehensive objective function is defined to coordinate the conflict between the economic performance and pollutant emission performance of the units. Furthermore, using the online receding optimization characteristics of economic predictive control, the comprehensive objective function of multi-objective load dispatching is optimized online. Then, the fuel rate satisfying the economic performance and pollutant emission performance of the units is calculated to realize the economic performance and environmental protection operation of biomass heat and power cogeneration. Finally, the proposed multi-objective load dispatch control method is compared to traditional dispatch strategies by using industrial data. The results show that the method presented here can well balance the production cost and pollutant emission objective under the fluctuation of the thermoelectric load demand, and provides a feasible scheme for real-time dispatching of the multi-objective load dispatch problem of biomass heat and power cogeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has committed to ambitious targets to reduce its carbon emissions in the next decades, in order to combat climate change and improve the environment. The realization of the targets depends on the fair and effective mitigation plans of all provinces. However, with varying ecological and environmental conditions and social-economic development, it is a critical issue to quantify the provinces' efforts equally. This paper proposed a comprehensive fE index in coordinating ecology, equity and economy, by accounting for carbon emissions and sinks to characterize provincial carbon emission status in China, from 2000 to 2017, which shows a spatial pattern of "boundary high, central low". The provinces with higher fE value (>1.5) in boundary areas can be seen as "relative equality" provinces with good ecology circulation, equity and economic efficiency. The provinces with lower fE value (<0.7) in central areas around Bohai Bay are regarded as "severe inequality" provinces, and are identified as the hot-spot provinces, which have emitted more CO2 than their equity share by occupying the carbon emission space of other provinces in recent decades. These results could provide a reference for a provincial guide for carbon reduction and sustainable development of the low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil's utilization as a renewable energy (RE) source has led the government to intervene by introducing emission reduction projects. Carbon trading projects are part of the strategic direction adopted within the climate mitigation plan and sustainability drive in the palm oil industry. The perquisites and opportunities encountered within emissions trading are expected to aid palm oil producers economically, environmentally, and socially. This study addresses and analyses how the carbon trading projects' targets in Malaysia can be achieved, the problematic, and pressing issues around their implementation and whether these projects are sustainable and create a positive impact. This paper is based on literature reviews and semi-structured interviews with expert palm oil producers in Malaysia. The findings have revealed that carbon trading implementation in Malaysia has delivered new insights towards the international climate policy approach on the feasibility and impact of long-term sustainability goals. However, the impact of the implementation needs support from the government for further development. In conclusion, the major contribution of this study is that the carbon trading implementation in Malaysia complies with the objectives and principles of sustainable development and creates a significant influx in investment for Malaysia's economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria's oil industry encounters crude oil theft in commercial quantities, which is often exported to neighbouring countries. This has occasioned a loss of revenue and has caused environmental pollution due to oil spillages. There is a need for a stringent legal framework to combat the menace caused by incessant crude oil thefts, pipeline vandalisation by militants, and inadequate maintenance of existing crude oil refineries. The study adopts doctrinal legal research methods and a conceptual approach with the consideration of primary and secondary sources of law, for instance, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI Act 2007, International Conventions, law textbooks and peer-reviewed journals. The justification for using the method was to establish the trustworthiness of the findings on illicit crude oil refineries. The findings reveal that the Nigerian government has lost more than 150,000 barrels of crude oil daily valued at USD six billion as a result of crude oil theft. This has reduced oil revenues, which ought to have added to the national treasury. The Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage Act) 2007, which proscribes disruption of petroleum products in Nigeria, has not been diligently enforced. There is also an absence of a specific oil and gas legal framework criminalising crude oil theft. Section 3(e)(f)(iv) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Act only offers pipeline security as one of the functions of the corps, without distinctly stating the penalties to be imposed on those damaging crude oil pipelines. The study designs a hybrid model for the renovation of the country's crude oil refineries. It also advocates the need to redefine legal regimes on illegal oil refineries by amending the Petroleum Industry Act to include specifically illegal oil refineries provision and to effectively criminalise crude oil theft. The implications of the main results are as follows: criminalising crude oil theft and pipeline vandalisation with vigorous punishments will serve as deterrence to others in the sector, increase revenues for the government and reduce environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has reviewed the international research on the interactions between the Economy, Energy, and Environment (3E) in the 21st century. For this purpose, a bibliometric and cluster analysis by fractional accounting has been carried out based on the two most important databases: Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. The research found and studied 2230 documents from the WoS Core Collection and 3,149 from Scopus. The results show a continuous increase in the number of articles that were published and citations during the whole period. They also showed that China and the United States (U.S.) were the most productive countries and there was a predominance of Asian organizations supporting and fostering researches. The main contribution of this article is the analysis of keywords from 2001 to 2018. The trends show that the main common elements are sustainable development and sustainability and they also include CO2 emissions and consumption. Future research in this field should address the energy transition issue in the area of sustainable development by adapting it to the restrictions of this economic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined data on fuel consumption and costs for the years 1950 through 2013, along with economic and population data, to determine the percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) spent each year on fuels, including fossil fuels and nuclear ore, and the growth of the economy. We found that these variables are inversely correlated. This suggests that the availability and cost of energy is a significant determinant of economic performance. We believe this relation is consistent with analyses based on the energy return on investment (EROI) concept in that increasingly scarce, and hence expensive, fuels are a drag on economic growth. The best-fitting linear equation relating the percent of GDP (energy cost share) and year-over-year (YoY) GDP change variables suggests that a threshold exists in the vicinity of 4%; if the percent of GDP spent on fuels is greater than this, poorer economic performance has been likely. Currently, about 5% of GDP is spent on fuels; most of this is for liquids. Continued weak economic performance appears likely unless improvements in energy efficiency, on the order of a factor of 3 for liquid fuels, and/or a more rapid adoption of renewable or nuclear energy sources can be achieved, provided that the EROI of these new sources proves to be sufficiently high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compound energy management strategy is proposed to improve the fuel cell's durability and the economy of fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEV). A control strategy that combines fuzzy control and switching control is proposed, taking into account factors that affect the fuel cell's durability and the supercapacitor park's safety. To smooth the output power of fuel cells under frequent variable load conditions, a moving average filtering algorithm has been added. Finally, co-simulation using Advisor and Matlab/Simulink under the World Light Vehicle Test Cycle (WLTC) compares the proposed strategy with fuzzy control and power following strategies. The experimental results show that the proposed strategy ensures the safety of the supercapacitor park and improves the durability of the fuel cell while improving the economy of the whole vehicle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to present the complexity of social mechanisms related to the systemic energy transformation from the perspective of the classical social exchange theory. Considering the direction of actions taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere as obvious, the author of the article analyses the issue through the prism of social and economic dilemmas of the process, focusing on the mechanisms of energy transition in relation to Peter Blau's exchange theory. The dilemmas of the systemic energy transition are presented in relation to the diverse games of interest that mark the social playing field around the analysed issue. The article outlines the social playing field of energy transition using the example of an economically strong country seeking to strengthen its position and a developing country interested in gaining energy independence. The analysis of the systemic conditions and the political activities carried out made it possible to define possible strategies of action for both countries with reference to the constitutive conditions of power defined by Peter Blau. Contrary to programme declarations of a "just transition", the analysis made it possible to define the privileged position of economically powerful players and to point to the mechanisms blocking the implementation of the strategy of a developing country. Reference to the classical exchange theory, on the other hand, made it possible to identify the mechanisms indicating the presence in the energy transformation project of both overt and covert projects related to the pursuit of advantage in influencing the shape of the global energy economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear energy is an option that enables a significant reduction of greenhouse gases emissions at the national and European Union (EU) level. However, it is also an option that is mostly influenced by public opinion and an option that has strong cross-border impact. Croatia does not consider nuclear options, but a possible future turn to nuclear might have an influence on other EU countries. The possibility for such a turn is analyzed, taking into account public opinion as well as historical and economic factors. Based on the results of a public opinion survey, it can be deduced that the Croatian public is not inclined to nuclear energy and considers it a risky option, although nuclear power plants in neighboring countries are not perceived as a high-risk threat. Trust in government as an information source is very low. Despite historical aspects that suggest scientific and expert knowledge capable of handling nuclear build, public opinion and the low economic framework indicate that a turn a to nuclear in Croatia is highly unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing energy demand in buildings with a 40% global share and 30% greenhouse gas emissions has accounted for climate change and a consequent crisis encouraging improvement of building energy efficiency to achieve the combined benefit of energy, economy, and environment. For an efficient system, the optimization of different design control strategies such as building space load, occupancy, lighting, and HVAC becomes inevitable. Therefore, interdisciplinary teamwork of developers, designers, architects, and consumers to deliver a high-performance building becomes essential. This review aims to endorse the importance of Building Performance Simulation in the pre-design phase along with the challenges faced during its adaptation to implementation. A morphology chart is structured to showcase the improvement in Building Energy Efficiency by implementing Building Performance Simulation for different building energy systems and by implementing various energy efficiency strategies to achieve the 3E benefit. As a developing nation, India still lacks mass application of Building Performance Simulation tools for improving Building Energy Efficiency due to improper channelizing or implementation; thus, this framework will enable the designers, architects, researchers to contemplate variable building energy optimization scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain commercial product of required quantitative and qualitative parameters, hard coal must be subjected to a number of processing operations. Preliminary stone removal from run-of-mine is one of them. Methods of such removal, including the method of selective crushing are described. Design solutions for a KOMAG-type device for dry stone removal of run-of-mine are presented. The results of laboratory tests for selective crushing susceptibility of steam coal and coke are presented, and a comparative analysis of the tested types of coal is made. Possibilities of increasing the production of commercial products by using a Bradford drum crusher is analyzed from the economical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all areas of socio-economic life around the world. Its impact concerns not only the health system and the health of the population, but also the economy. Tourism is one of the sectors hardest hit by the restrictions imposed by governments in the wake of the pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in restrictions and limitations on movement and travel, covering both domestic and international tourism, which raises the question of have these restrictions imposed on tourist activities also caused an environmental impact? The aim of this article is to examine what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the environmental issues within the tourism sector in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. The research task is to investigate whether this impact has changed in the pandemic era compared to previous years, and whether it has been positive or negative. The research method is multiple regression analysis. The results of the study indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from tourism in all CEE countries. Such decreases are both relative to 2019 and the estimated level of emissions that would be achieved if the countries surveyed achieved economic growth in 2020 consistent with the European Commission's projections for that year. The scale of the impact varies from country to country, while the relationship between tourism development and pollution levels is positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing ecological standards force the implementation of solutions that will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the atmosphere. This is particularly important in Poland, whose energy system is almost 80% based on coal. In the interest of low carbon development it is worth considering the optimization of existing old coal-based power plants. The main goal of the research was to present the benefits of modernization of existing boiler equipment and to analyze the combustion process of various types of coal sorts that have a significant impact on the optimization of the production processes of energy media. An analysis of the processes occurring in boiler devices during the combustion of fuel was carried out, which had a significant impact on the quality of generated heat and electricity. The conducted research defined technological solutions for boiler structures that have a significant impact on improving the efficiency of the technological process in heating plants and the characteristics of coal as energy fuel. Practical technical and modernization solutions have been proposed that contribute to the optimization of coal combustion processes, resulting in increased energy efficiency of the heating plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current EU policy calls for decreased emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by i.e., replacing fossil fuel in the transportation sector with sustainable biofuels. To avoid indirect land use change (iLUC), the EU at the same time strives to limit the use of crops and to increase the use of residues. In this study we compare climate impact and production cost for biogas and ethanol based on wheat grain and straw, respectively, in a Swedish context. The economic competitiveness for ethanol from straw vs. grain is evaluated based on the mandatory emission reduction for fossil vehicle fuels implemented since July 2018 in Sweden. The result of this study clearly shows that biogas and ethanol from straw have the lowest GHG emissions regardless of the calculation method used, although biofuels from grain also fulfill EU GHG reduction criteria even when suggested iLUC factors are included. It was also shown that the cost of producing straw-based biofuels was higher, thus there is a trade-off between climate impact and costs. The GHG reduction mandate adopted in Sweden partly compensates for this, but is not enough to make ethanol from straw competitive from an economic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]