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Graduates of engineering programs have to be enabled to create hardware products by having easy access to methods for designing, manufacturing, distributing and learning. Such capabilities can be hosted in makerspaces. The makerspace approach remains immature in many developing economies, such as Jordan. Academia in Jordan is considered mostly research-oriented, while the industry is concerned purely with commercial returns. However, higher education institutions in Jordan have realized that linking industry and academia is crucial for maximizing the value of research, as seen through the lens of commercial development. This study aims to establish a roadmap and framework model for developing engineering programs in Jordanian universities by establishing a makerspace to introduce hands-on teaching. Several steps must be conducted sequentially to achieve the objectives of the study, which will ultimately enhance higher education institutions in the field of engineering. The study focuses on establishing a makerspace to receive the necessary equipment to improve teaching methods and the modernization of some engineering courses. Therefore, it will help improve the quality of higher education and enhance its relevance to the labor market and society. Additionally, this trend will gain potential in the future with higher employability.

The conversion of organic waste and energy crops into fuel would help society by producing clean fuel from the regenerative feedstock. Industrial biofuels may be non-polluting and sustainable if properly linked with natural ecological cycles. A common method of producing heat and power from bioenergy is biomass gasification. Furthermore, pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization are promising thermochemical processes for converting biomass into liquefied fuels and chemicals. Anaerobic digestion is another well-established method that successfully transforms organic waste matter into biogas. The purpose of the study is to review current bio-energy conversion technologies and to provide quantitative data and interpretation of the heating value, proximate and elemental analysis, and product yields specific to bioenergy recovery from some selected biomass materials such as olive mill waste and cotton stalks. Moreover, some products from the conversion (e.g. biochar from pyrolysis) can be used as a soil additive to recover nutrients and carbon in the soil. The latter can additionally act as water storage. Therefore, utilizing biomass has the potential to be a significant source of energy and an opportunity to reduce environmental issues and financial costs. This study contributes to the needed understanding of energy derived from thermal and biological conversion products of biomass. In this context, according to the characteristics of different kinds of biomass, appropriate utilization methods should be applied to produce bioenergy to realize environmental, economic and energy benefits. The study concluded with some comments on the future potential of these processes.

Renewable energy sources are crucial for addressing the energy crisis and global warming, but their intermittent nature necessitates storage. Metal–air batteries, such as Li–air batteries, offer high specific capacity and environmental friendliness but face issues like poor reaction kinetics and high overpotential during charging and discharging. To address these issues, noble metal-based catalysts have been utilized, which require the replacement of such precious and scarce resources with affordable and commercially accessible materials. Biomass, a renewable resource, plays a critical role in preparing carbon-based electrocatalysts and porous cathodes with excellent performance due to its rich heteroatom and pore structure, and potential doping and co-doping with transition metals and their oxides. Metal-free biomass carbon nanostructured bifunctional electrocatalysts have been identified as potential alternatives for the next generation of oxygen reduction and evolution reactions. These catalysts have comparable catalytic activity and improved stability compared to the current state-of-the-art Pt-based catalysts, making them essential for the commercialization of lithium–air batteries. Thus, this paper reviews the most recent advances in biomass-derived metal-free heteroatom-doped nanostructured carbon electrocatalysts for rechargeable lithium–air batteries and discusses how different biomass sources affect the cathode's composition, morphology, and structure–activity relationship. It gives a reasonable approach to doping methodologies, which may guide non-noble electrocatalyst and electrode designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the techno-economic feasibility of, both off-grid and on-grid, hybrid renewable energy systems for remote rural electrification in Thala City, located in the highest region of Tunisia, using wind and biomass resources. Employing Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources based on different scenarios includes grid-connected and stand-alone configurations with pumped storage hydropower and lead acid battery storage while minimizing the levelized cost of energy, the net present cost, and greenhouse gas emissions. The optimal configuration wind/biomass/pumped-hydro storage/Converter grid-connected, minimizes the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC), resulting in a cost of 501,540 US$ and LCOE of 0.042 US$/kWh. Notably, 7% of electricity is generated from olive mill waste, 69% from wind turbines, and 24% is purchased from the grid. This hybrid system emits 342 tons/year of CO2, 76% less than a grid-alone system, contributing to an annual CO2 reduction of 1000 tons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal cracking of cotton stalks (CS) via pyrolysis was performed using a laboratory scale batch pyrolysis reactor. The effects of the final pyrolysis temperature varying from 300 to 800°C on the pyrolysis products distribution has been investigated. The maximum biochar yield of 46.5% was obtained at 400°C. As the pyrolysis process temperature increased, the solid char product yield decreased. The lowest biochar yield of 28% was obtained at 800°C. The largest higher heating value (HHV, 25.845 MJ kg-1) was obtained at 600°C. All biochar samples produced between 500 and 700°C had an energy densification ratio of 1.41, indicating a higher mass-energy density than the initial feedstock. A larger share of syngas and bio-oil were produced at higher temperatures, as estimated. Preferential selection of a char based on the energy yield would lead to a selection of the 400°C product, while selection based on the energy densification ratio would be for a product obtained between 500 to 700°C.

Carbon materials and cotton fibers (CFs) are eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions for water purification. However, enhancing the filtration efficiency of these materials remains challenging. In this study, the capacity of heat-treated sorbents (CFs and low-temperature graphite intercalation compounds (LT-GICs)) to improve the efficiency of wastewater purification from heavy metals and petroleum compounds, was investigated. The properties of the thermally modified CFs were studied in order to obtain a material which is highly efficient in purifying wastewater from heavy metal ions (HMIs). The duration of sorption equilibrium and the optimal ratio of heat-treated cotton fibers (HTCFs) and wastewater were determined. The adsorption capacities of CFs for iodine and methylene blue were determined before and after the heat treatment. Experimental results indicated that thermal treatment of CFs resulted in increased numbers of micropores and mesopores, indicating a high sorption capacity for petroleum products (PPs) in wastewater (A = 11.5 g/g) with an efficiency score of 90%. Furthermore, LT-GIC/CF composite filters were optimized for efficient purification. The results indicated that a filter with a composition of 1 g LT-GIC + 3 g CF had the highest sorption capacity for HMIs (28.7 mg/g) and PPs (80.6%) due to its looser surface structure. The X-ray phase analysis of the sintered composite filters showed the presence of carbon in the amorphous phase, which had a similar structure to the activated carbon from black coal. In summary, the high sorption capacities and simple preparation processes of LT-GIC/CF composites make them potential candidates for wastewater purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biogas production potential of different mixtures of cow manure (CM) and three-phase olive mill solid waste (3POMSW) at 37°C was evaluated. Results showed that 3POMSW produced more methane yield than CM. In the anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) methane yield increased with increasing of 3POMSW content, the maximum methane yield was observed at 3POMSW:CM ratio of 3:1. Addition of an enzyme mixture (Celluclast, Pulpzyme HC, Sherazyme, Novozym 342, and Resinase A 2X) to the 1:1 mixture increased the quantity and quality of biogas production and reduced the retention time required to achieve a high rate of biodegradation. Therefore, AcoD with enzymes was an effective way to improve the methane yield of 3POMSW and CM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years Green to Green Energy Systems have gain tremendous interest because they are pollution free systems. In this frame, the present paper aims at investigating a Green to Green system coupling Photovoltaic, Wind and Fuel Cell. Furthermore, an analysis procedure is developed allowing to find the optimal configuration of coupling by assessing the output power in terms of the system parameters. Moreover, a case study on Lebanon is considered where three different regions that are Dahr El-Baidar, Klaiaat Akkar and Rayak Bekaa are studied. Results shows the flexibility and strength of the suggested procedure. Indeed, it has been shown that for Dahr El-Baidar it is suggested to adopt WFC system whereas for Klaiaat Akkar hybrid PVWFC is the optimal solution and PVFC is better for Rayak Bekaa. Furthermore, an economic based optimization is carried out. It was surprisingly found that from an economic standpoint and for a land area larger than 3000 m2 Rayak Bekaa is the optimal location for WFC hybrid system. • The work is performed within the frame of Green to Green (G2G) concept that combines green source to green storage. • Green sources are PV and Wind Turbine whereas the green storage system is fuel cell. • The developed model is applied to three different regions in Lebanon in order to find the best configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]