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Metaheuristic algorithms (MHAs) occupy considerable attention among researchers because of their high performance and robustness in optimizing several engineering problems. Random walk (RW) techniques showed a significant role in improving the performance of these algorithms. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive review of the role of three substantial random-walk (RW) strategies in enhancing the performance of MHAs. These strategies are the Gaussian, Levy Flight and Quantum random walks. The PRISMA methodology is applied through the articles obtained from four famous scientific databases. The study provides the integration mechanisms as well as the best controlling parameters’ values while integrating these RW strategies into Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to produce the Gaussian PSO (GPSO), Levy Flight PSO (LFPSO) and Quantum PSO (QPSO). An experimental study has been conducted to assess the performances of these algorithms in addition to the standard PSO on 23 unimodal, multimodal and fixed-dimension multimodal benchmark functions. Statistical measures have been calculated based on 30-run optimization processes. The comparisons showed that the QPSO, LFPSO, GPSO and PSO have successfully reached the optimal values of 23 standard benchmark functions with average percentages of 65%, 31%, 13% and 11%, respectively. Accordingly, the QPSO has gained the outstanding rank, especially for unimodal and multimodal functions followed by the LFPSO while the standard PSO comes in the last position preceded by the GPSO. From the results, it can be concluded that integrating random walk strategies into existing or new metaheuristic algorithms is capable of enhancing the optimization process and hence provides reliable results when applied to engineering applications.

Because of the harsh environmental impacts of fossil fuels, price fluctuation, and resource limitation, renewable energy resources (RERs) are considered the ultimate solution to overcome these challenges. RERs are also abundant and environmentally friendly. It has been reported that the growth rates in renewable energy installations have increased by 8–9% annually since 2010, reaching a cumulative capacity of 2.9 TW by 2020 and exceeding the growth rate for fossil resources. In this work, the different RERs have been critically discussed in terms of their operation principles, advantages, disadvantages, and associated environmental impacts, focusing on wind and solar energies as the most deployed RERs. Barriers to the full deployment of RERs to replace fossil resources are discussed. Based on the discussion presented on RERs, the contribution of deploying RERs towards the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is also critically discussed. A total of 80 indicators have been identified for RERs' contribution toward the achievement of SDGs.

By 2035, Egypt pursues to generate 22% of the total electricity from photovoltaic power plants to meet the national spreading demand for electricity. The Egyptian government has implemented feed-in tariffs (FiT) support program to provide the economic incentives to invest in the PV power plants. The present study is carried out to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic (LS GCPV) of the Benban Solar Park with a total capacity of 1600 MW AC producing annual electricity of 3.8 TWh. The characteristics of PV panels considering the meteorological data of Benban Solar Park are evaluated. Additionally, the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to constructing Benban Solar Park is assessed. As well, the influences of annual operation and maintenance cost and the interest rate on the electricity cost and the payback period are evaluated. The results indicate that the electricity cost is about 8.1 US¢/kWh with 10.1 years payback period, which is indeed economically feasible with an interest rate of 12%. Furthermore, the Benban Solar Park will avoid annually almost 1.2 million tons of greenhouse gas. Finally, based on the techno-economic analysis, the improvement directions for the feasibility analysis based on agrivoltaic systems are proposed.

In the present study, cooling of a photovoltaic (PV) panel using a phase change material (PCM) of paraffin wax RT-42 attached to a panel back surface is experimentally investigated. Two identical PV panels having a maximum electrical generated power of 40 W are employed to perform the outdoor experiments: a reference PV panel (PVr) and another integrated with PCM (PV-PCM). The current implementation is conducted with different thicknesses of PCM (1, 2, and 3 cm) varying the tilt angle of PV panels at 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°. The infrared thermal camera is used to record the temperature distribution over the front surface of the PVr and PV-PCM panels. Results indicate that the highest temperature distribution appeared at the upper portion of the PV panels, whereas the lower part of the PV panels shows the lowest temperature distribution. At a tilt angle of 15ᴼ, the temperature at the panel's top side is higher than that of the bottom side by 17.1%, 15.7%, and 13.2% for PCM thickness of 1, 2, and, 3 cm, respectively. There is also enhancement in the electrical power output of 15.8% for the PV-PCM panel with a 3 cm PCM thickness over the reference panel (PVr) at a tilt angle of 30°. Relatedly, elevating the tilt angle from 15° to 30° improves the electrical efficiency of PV-PCM with a 3 cm thickness of the PCM by 7.4%. Finally, using PCM with a thickness of 3 cm enhances the electrical efficiency of the PV-PCM panel by 14.4% compared to that for the PVr at a tilt angle of 30°.

The pulp and paper industry is a power-intensive technology so great attention to reducing its own energy consumption and declining the waste of available energy should be devoted. In the current investigation, the energy-exergy approach of a pulp and paper company integrated with a chemical recovery of black liquor (BL) and soda is studied actually for one year. The chemical BL recovery system that has the primary benefits to avoid environmental pollution by burning organic waste and recycling the soda is also comprehensively investigated. Natural gas (NG) and BL are utilized in power boiler (PB) and recovery boiler (RB), respectively. Moreover, in the present implementation, the chemical reactions of NG and BL are presented. The obtained results show that the percentages of energy losses in the condenser, RB, evaporators, and PB are 49.16, 19.28, 14.22, and 3.96%, respectively. The average values of exergy destruction percentages in RB and PB around the year are 41.63 and 33.5%, respectively. The maximum system overall exergy efficiency is 32.09% at an environment temperature of 290 K, whereas the energy efficiency of the system is 53.7%.

Nowadays the World faces critical issues, such as increasing population, power costs, and global warming. In this respect, scientists are trying to improve the efficiency of the energy harvesting. The enhancement of power generation sectors is focused on the waste heat recovery systems based on thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that have demonstrated the capacity to transfer thermal energy directly into electric energy via the Seebeck effect. TEG uses the available waste heat sources in different applications to produce power, thus it considered as an eco-friendly power source. In the present study, the integration of thermoelectric systems with other technologies for green power production is introduced. This work introduces a background about the common materials used in the fabrication of the TEG devices. Furthermore, the application of the TEG to harvest waste heat from different sources, i.e., fuel cells, heat exchangers, photovoltaics, internal combustion engine, electric vehicles, and hybrid waste heat recovery systems have been summarized. The characteristics of thermoelectric generators are discussed, considering the different operating and design parameters. Finally, the barriers and challenges facing the applications of the thermoelectric generators for waste heat recovery are also discussed.

Nowadays heat pipes are considered to be popular passive heat transfer technologies due to their high thermal performance. The heat pipe is a superior heat transfer apparatus in which latent heat of vaporization is employed to transfer heat for an extended distance under a limited operating temperature difference. Numerical simulation of heat transfer devices is a principal step before implementing in real-life applications as many parameters can be tested in cost-and time-effective behaviors. The present study provides a review of the numerical simulations of various heat pipes in different applications such as cooling of electronic components, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), nuclear reactors, solar energy systems, electric vehicles, waste heat recovery systems, cryogenic, etc. Firstly, this work introduces a background about the main components of heat pipes such as an evacuated tube, wick, and working fluid. The fluid flow and thermal performance characteristics of heat pips are discussed, considering the optimum parameters. Finally, the critical challenges and recommendations for future work encountering the broad application of heat pipes are thoroughly studied.

Metaheuristic optimization algorithms (MHA) play a significant role in obtaining the best (optimal) values of the system’s parameters to improve its performance. This role is significantly apparent when dealing with systems where the classical analytical methods fail. Fractional-order (FO) systems have not yet shown an easy procedure to deal with the determination of their optimal parameters through traditional methods. In this paper, a recent, systematic. And comprehensive review is presented to highlight the role of MHA in obtaining the best set of gains and orders for FO controllers. The systematic review starts by exploring the most relevant publications related to the MHA and the FO controllers. The study is focused on the most popular controllers such as the FO-PI, FO-PID, FO Type-1 fuzzy-PID, and FO Type-2 fuzzy-PID. The time domain is restricted in the articles published through the last decade (2014:2023) in the most reputed databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. The identified number of papers, from the entire databases, has reached 850 articles. A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was applied to the initial set of articles to be screened and filtered to end up with a final list that contains 82 articles. Then, a thorough and comprehensive study was applied to the final list. The results showed that Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is the most attractive optimizer to the researchers to be used in the optimal parameters identification of the FO controllers as it attains about 25% of the published papers. In addition, the papers that used PSO as an optimizer have gained a high citation number despite the fact that the Chaotic Atom Search Optimization (ChASO) is the highest one, but it is used only once. Furthermore, the Integral of the Time-Weighted Absolute Error (ITAE) is the best nominated cost function. Based on our comprehensive literature review, this appears to be the first review paper that systematically and comprehensively addresses the optimization of the parameters of the fractional-order PI, PID, Type-1, and Type-2 fuzzy controllers with the use of MHAs. Therefore, the work in this paper can be used as a guide for researchers who are interested in working in this field.

In recent years, attention has been drawn to battery thermal safety issues due to the importance of personal safety and vehicle service security. The latest advancements in battery thermal management (BTM) are conducted to face the expected challenges to ensure battery safety. The BTM technology enhances battery safety with a heat transfer intensifying method, which guarantees the battery operation performance based on the battery's thermokinetic, electrochemical, and mechanical characteristics at normal and abnormal operating conditions. Preventing overheating and providing an ideal working temperature for safe operation are also important. Therefore, developing a BTM system that is both safe and reliable has a vital research goal. A comprehensive review of BTM with enhanced safety is presented in this article. The present study introduces the advances in the applications of BTM with cyclic stability served, high energy density, and electrification of automobiles. A summary of relevant research is also provided to improve thermo-safe design innovation and cooperative optimization to meet the needs of green-energy vehicle commercialization. The current work discusses the applications of air, liquid, nanofluids, phase change material, heat pipe, and combinations of these technics for BTM. Finally, the current study describes the challenges and prospects for utilizing different types of BTM to distribute its technology for diverse applications. The present study shows that proper thermal management system (TMS) is required to increase the batteries' efficiency and lifetime. However, each TMS has its characteristics that differ from one to one. Therefore, the proposed TMS's configuration and optimum performance must be examined before real application.

Recently, water desalination (WD) has been required for the supply of drinking water in a number of countries. Various technologies of WD utilize considerable thermal and/or electrical energies for removing undesirable salts. Desalination systems now rely on renewable energy resources (RERs) such as geothermal, solar, tidal, wind power, etc. The intermittent nature and changeable intensity constrain the wide applications of renewable energy, so the combination of energy storage systems (ESSs) with WD in many locations has been introduced. Thermal energy storage (TES) needs a convenient medium for storing and hence reuses energy. The present work provides a good background on the methods and technologies of WD. Furthermore, the concepts of both thermal and electrical energy storage are presented. In addition, a detailed review of employing ESSs in various WD processes driven by RERs is presented. The integration of energy storage with water desalination systems (WDSs) based on renewable energy has a much better capability, economically and environmentally, compared with conventional desalination systems. The ESSs are required to guarantee a constant supply of fresh water over the day.

Living organisms' energy conversion is considered as an essential and sustainable green energy source and future bio-hybrid technologies. Recently, plants were used after harvesting as biomass in bio-fermentation as an energy source. In bio-electrochemical systems, microorganisms work with plants to generate electricity, hydrogen, or methane. This work discusses the simultaneous pollutant removal and electricity generation in plant-based bio-electrochemical systems (P-BES). Factors affecting the P-BES performance and the removal efficiencies of the different organic and inorganic pollutants were illustrated. Furthermore, the plant-based bioelectrochemical systems' role in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) was discussed. The SDGs contribution of plant-based bioelectrochemical systems were presented and discussed to evaluate such systems' ability to achieve the three pillars of sustainable development, i.e., economic, environmental, and social.

The proliferation of eco-friendly electric vehicles is becoming an irresistible trend. As governments worldwide tighten regulations on fuel efficiency and exhaust gas, the position of electric vehicles is expected to become more and more solid. The essence of this study is to cover the main components of the EV, the needed infrastructure, and investigate the impacts of the high insertion in the power systems. Moreover, this work presents an evaluation for the electric vehicles in energy distribution networks with a focus on adapting the capacity of charging stations. It was possible to process the data to confine the impact of the demand increase in distribution generators. The study allows evaluating the effect of random variables related to the distances previously traveled by vehicles and the instant of their connection to the electricity grid. These effects were compared considering these variables in deterministic terms and allowed to conclude the importance of using these more realistic methods to calculate the capacity of distributed generators to supply this new demand.

In this paper, a modified bald eagle search optimization algorithm was applied for the first time to determine the parameters of the triple diode model (TDM) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Two experimental datasets are considered; the first is measured I–V points for a PSC at standard conditions. The second consists of the measured I–V points for a modified PSC. In contrast, the cost function to be minimized is the root mean square error (RMSE) between the experimental dataset and the calculated one. To prove the superiority of modified bald eagle search optimization (mBES), a comparison with the original bald eagle search optimization (BES), particle swarm optimizer (PSO), Hunger games search (HGS), and recent Coronavirus Disease Optimization Algorithm (COVIDOA) was implemented. Furthermore, statistical analysis of ANOVA and Tukey tests was performed. The results demonstrate the lead of the recommended mBES in identifying the parameters of the TDM for PSCs, where the RMSE achieved the least value among the used optimization algorithms in this study.

The use of solar thermal systems (STSs) has recently reached a significant edge. The increasing research on developing an alternative power supply for limiting fossil fuel usage and climate change are the driving forces of STSs. The current work explores the recent progress in STSs’ applications, including PV/T or “photovoltaic/thermal” systems, zero-energy buildings, greenhouse solar thermal applications, solar thermal for pumping water, solar thermal refrigerators, solar chimneys, water desalination, and solar collectors, along with the benefits and challenges of these applications. Then, the potential contribution of STSs in achieving the various SDGs or “Sustainable development goals”, including barriers and research gaps, are elaborated. In brief, STSs significantly contribute to the seventeen SDGs’ achievement directly and indirectly. Recent developments in the engineering applications of STSs are strongly based on the materials of construction, as well as their design, process optimisation, and integration with multidisciplinary sciences and technologies such as modelling, nanoscience/nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

The sudden increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere due to the high dependency on fossil products has created the need for an urgent solution to mitigate this challenge. Global warming, which is a direct result of excessive CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, is one major issue that the world is trying to curb, especially in the 21st Century where most energy generation mediums operate using fossil products. This investigation considered a number of materials ideal for the capturing of CO2 in the post-combustion process. The application of aqueous ammonia, amine solutions, ionic liquids, and activated carbons is thoroughly discussed. Notable challenges are impeding their advancement, which are clearly expatiated in the report. Some merits and demerits of these technologies are also presented. Future research directions for each of these technologies are also analyzed and explained in detail. Furthermore, the impact of post-combustion CO2 capture on the circular economy is also presented.

Fuel cells (FCs) have received huge attention for development from lab and pilot scales to full commercial scale. This is mainly due to their inherent advantage of direct conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy as a high-quality energy supply and, hence, higher conversion efficiency. Additionally, FCs have been produced at a wide range of capacities with high flexibility due to modularity characteristics. Using the right materials and efficient manufacturing processes is directly proportional to the total production cost. This work explored the different components of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and their manufacturing processes. The challenges associated with these manufacturing processes were critically analyzed, and possible mitigation strategies were proposed. The PEMFC is a relatively new and developing technology so there is a need for a thorough analysis to comprehend the current state of fuel cell operational characteristics and discover new areas for development. It is hoped that the view discussed in this paper will be a means for improved fuel cell development.

Heat exchangers are widely utilized in different thermal systems for diverse industrial aspects. The selection of HEx depends on the thermal efficiency, operating load, size, flexibility in operation, compatibility with working fluids, better temperature and flow controls, and comparatively low capital and maintenance costs. Heat transfer intensification of heat exchangers can be fulfilled using passive, active, or combined approaches. Utilizing nanofluids as working fluids for heat exchangers have evolved recently. The performance of heat exchangers employed different nanofluids depends mainly on the characteristics and improvement of thermophysical properties. Regarding the unique behavior of different nanofluids, researchers have attended noteworthy progress. The current study reviews and summarizes the recent implementations carried out on utilizing nanofluids in different types of heat exchangers, including plate heat exchangers, double-pipe heat exchangers, shell and tube heat exchangers, and cross-flow heat exchangers. The results showed that nanofluids with enhanced thermal conductivity, although accompanied by a considerable decrease in the heat capacity and raising viscosity, has resulted in performance enhancement of different heat exchangers types. So, the performance evaluation criterion that combines the thermal enhancement and increases the pumping power for any type of heat exchangers is requisite to evaluate the overall performance properly. The challenges and opportunities for future work of heat transfer and fluid flow for different types of heat exchangers utilizing nanofluids are discussed and presented.

Heat transfer operations are very common in the process industry to transfer a huge amount of thermal energy, i.e., heat, from one fluid to another for different purposes. Many fluids are used as heat transfer fluid (HTF), in which water is the most common HTF due to its high specific heat, availability, and affordability. However, conventional HTFs, including water, have a lower thermal conductivity, which is the most critical thermophysical property, hence decreased heat transfer efficiency. The addition of solid particles of highly thermally conductive material, specifically at nano-size, i.e., nanoparticles NPs, result in nanofluid NF, which has evolved over the last two decades as efficient HTF and have been investigated in a wide range of applications. Among NPs, graphene (Gr) based materials have shown very high potential as NF due to the very high thermal conductivity up to 5,000 W/m.K, hence higher thermal conductivity NF. This work aims to thoroughly discuss the thermophysical properties of Gr-based NFs, including thermal conductivity, heat capacity, density, and viscosity. The discussion focus on the thermophysical properties as it is the ultimate determinator of the heat transfer characteristics of the HTF, such as the convective and the overall heat transfer coefficient as well as the heat transfer capacity of the NF. The discussion expands to the relative enhancement in such thermophysical properties reaching up to a 40% increase in thermal conductivity, as the most critical thermophysical property. The discussion shows that Gr-based NF has a much higher thermal conductivity relative to widely studied metal oxide NF and at much lower content, and lower density and viscosity increase, which is critical for determining the pumping power requirements. Critical challenges facing the application of Gr-based NFs such as cost, stability, increased density and viscosity, and environmental impacts are thoroughly discussed with mitigation recommendations given.

Advances in building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems for residential and commercial purposes are set to minimize overall energy requirements and associated greenhouse gas emissions. The BIPV design considerations entail energy infrastructure, pertinent renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency provisions. In this work, the performance of roof/façade-based BIPV systems and the affecting parameters on cooling/heating loads of buildings are reviewed. Moreover, this work provides an overview of different categories of BIPV, presenting the recent developments and sufficient references, and supporting more successful implementations of BIPV for various globe zones. A number of available technologies decide the best selections, and make easy configuration of the BIPV, avoiding any difficulties, and allowing flexibility of design in order to adapt to local environmental conditions, and are adequate to important considerations, such as building codes, building structures and loads, architectural components, replacement and maintenance, energy resources, and all associated expenditure. The passive and active effects of both air-based and water-based BIPV systems have great effects on the cooling and heating loads and thermal comfort and, hence, on the electricity consumption.

A computational study of cooling in-line array of heated obstacles simulating electronic components by jet impingement in cross-flow (JICF) has been investigated using RNG k-ε turbulence model. The jet position has been changed to impinge each obstacle consecutively at different jet-to-channel Reynolds number ratios, Rej/Rec = 1, 2, and 4. The main flow structure, the static pressure, local and average Nusselt numbers as well as the thermal enhancement factor have been investigated. The results show that there is a significant variation between the flow structures around an obstacle when subjected to JICF or CF. The friction factor for JICF is greater than that for cross-flow only (CF) by 88% at the first jet position and Rej/Rec = 4. The irregular distribution of local Nusselt number (Nu) on the impinged obstacle is moderated by increasing the Reynolds number ratios. Increasing Reynolds number ratio increases the average Nusselt number (Nu‾) of the downstream obstacles and decreases it for the upstream obstacles. The increment of Nu‾ for whole array for JICF than CF is about 26% at JP3 and Rej/Rec = 4. Moreover, the highest value of thermal enhancement factor is attained at JP3 and it equals 12% for Rej/Rec = 4.

A low cost bipolar plate materials with a high fuel cell performance is important for the establishment of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM ) fuel cells into the competitive world market. In this research, the effect of different bipolar plates material such as Aluminum (Al), Copper (Cu), and Stainless Steel (SS) of a single stack of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells was investigated both numerically and experimentally. Firstly, a three dimensional (3D) PEM fuel cell model was developed, and simulations were conducted using commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) ANSYS FLUENT to examine the effect of each bipolar plate materials on cell performance. Along with cell performance, significant parameters distributions like temperature, pressure, a mass fraction of hydrogen, oxygen, and water is presented. Then, an experimental study of a single cell of Al, Cu, and SS bipolar plate material was used in the verification of the numerical investigation. Finally, polarization curves of numerical and experimental results was compared for validation, and the result shows that Al serpentine bipolar plate material performed better than Cu and SS materials. The outcome of the investigation was in tandem to the fact that due to adsorption on metal surfaces, hydrogen molecules is more stable on Al surface than Cu and SS surfaces.