Vol. 2 No. 4 (2024)

In today’s era of rapid technological advancements and growing emphasis on sustainability, innovative solutions across various fields are reshaping industries and addressing pressing global challenges. From the recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries to advancements in solar energy utilization, latent thermal energy storage, and chip material processing, these technologies not only tackle critical issues such as resource conservation, efficient energy use, and emission reduction but also pave the way for sustainable development by fostering technological innovation and enhancing energy system efficiency.

This paper describes 5 steps on the move to cost-effective green villages, powered mainly by Solar, Wind and Hydrogen. In Britain, there are around 6000 villages comprising almost half the total population. These village dwellers wish to reduce their expensive energy bills, achievable by profitably going green with local Wind and Solar generation of electricity plus Hydrogen energy storage. The first step is to measure the total energy usage in the village. This defines the size of the required renewable private wire energy installations. The second step calculates savings on grid bills for electricity, natural gas and petroleum transport products, to ensure rapid payback for the renewables to be installed. A third concern is the planning permission for Wind/Solar installations that may take months to approve. Perhaps the most important requirement is to attract investment in the fourth step. Finally, the fifth step is to procure and commission the equipment needed in the village to prove that local energy can beat the present centralized grid energy systems, using Hydrogen as the vital energy storage molecule to fill gaps in Wind/Solar supply.

Thermal and mechanical responses of a typical Laser-Electricity Converter (LEC) used in laser power beaming to continuous wave (CW) Laser, as well as the damage behavior of key sensor illuminated by laser have been investigated to evaluate the reliability of the converter. Firstly, temperature elevation and thermal stress arising in the whole LEC are calculated and analyzed to find out the vulnerable parts, i.e., the infrared detectors for optical path alignment during wireless power transfer. Then, the parameter dependence of thermo-mechanical behaviors of the detector is revealed with a group of numerical simulations. Finally, the typical experimental tests are carried through to verify the theoretical analysis.

Stationary tornadoes will be produced by having warm humid air enter the bottom of a hollow tower tangentially. A large atmospheric vortex engine (AVE) could generate 2 GW of electricity. 2000 AVE’s could provide current world electricity needs. The tower would look like a 200 m high natural draft cooling tower. The vortex is started by heating the air with steam or fuel. Subsequently, the vortex is sustained by warm humid surface air, warm sea water spray, or waste heat. Mechanical energy would be produced by expanding air into the low pressure at the base of the vortex via peripheral turbo-generators located at grade and not by harnessing the kinetic energy of the swirling tornado wind. The intensity and size of the vortex can be controlled because the energy is produced by the expansion of surface air which is in a metastable state. Vortex diameter could be 10 m to 100 m. Vortex height could be up to 15 km. The Singapore Science Center fire whirl producer demonstrates that tangential air entries plus a heat source can produce vortices. The technology needs scaling up. Waterspouts demonstrate that low temperature heat sources can produce stable vortices.

Low-temperature plasma polishing technology, by virtue of the plasma’s highly ionized characteristics, can accurately remove tiny defects and impurities on the surface of chip materials, improve the flatness and finish of chip materials, reduce mechanical damage and subsurface damage, and has a high material removal rate. This paper reviews the application status, advantages and limitations of plasma polishing technologies in the field of chip material processing. The principles and applications of plasma-assisted polishing, plasma chemical vaporization machining, plasma electrolytic processing-mechanical polishing and plasma assisted selective etching are specifically discussed, and their advantages and limitations are analyzed. Finally, the development of plasma chip-polishing technology is prospected, aiming to provide a useful reference for the continuous improvement of chip manufacturing processes and the future development of the microelectronics industry.

Latent thermal energy storage (LTES) is an important energy storage technology to mitigate the discrepancy between energy source and energy supply, and it has great application prospects in many areas, such as solar energy utilization, geothermal energy utilization and electricity storage. However, LTES systems suffer from the low thermal conductivity of most phase-change materials (PCMs), threatening their large-scale commercial applications. To tackle this challenge, heat transfer enhancement for LTES systems is critically important and has been widely investigated worldwide. Convectional heat transfer enhancement techniques, including fins, nanoparticles and multiple PCMs, can significantly improve the charging and discharging rates of an LTES system. Recently, rotation-based methods have emerged to provide new routes for the heat transfer enhancement of LTES systems, and many achievements have been obtained by researchers around the world. This study conducted a short review of the mechanisms and applications of three rotation-based heat transfer enhancement methods, aiming to provide deep insights into these novel heat transfer enhancement methods and propel their future development and applications.

In this paper, a spectroscopic technology based on a trough-type parabolic condenser is proposed, which effectively utilizes the full spectrum of solar energy for light transmission through optical fibers. The technology comprises four parts, which are concentration, transmission, splitting, and detection, and its application in the field of clean energy was explored. A one-way glass is introduced into the installation as a device for light transmission restriction. The one-way transmittance of one-way glass effectively ensures the transmission direction of sunlight. According to the light simulation results from TracePro software, after the light was transmitted through the one-way glass reflection device, light intensity was guaranteed to meet usage requirements. After being focused by collimating lens and Fresnel lens, the light is introduced into a Roland circle spectroscopic system through an optical fiber. After splitting, various types of light passing through the detection system are introduced into their respective optical fibers for long-distance transmission and use. From the experiments, it was found that through reasonable splitting and the targeted use of different wavelength bands, the effective utilization of the full spectrum of solar energy significantly improved, verifying the feasibility of the device design idea.

Decarbonization in food production systems is one of the greatest challenges today. Solar drying is one of the processes that can help this energy transition and improve food production systems. This research presents the results of the development of a new solar drying technology with applicability in the food production system. A technoeconomic assessment was carried out. The best configuration for an integral drying system for various applications was obtained. The developed solar drying technology is portable, efficient, modular, versatile, continuous processing, with minimal degradation in the dehydrated product. According to the annualized cost method calculations, the cost of drying products with this technology is much lower than when using conventional energies and has a short payback period of 1–2 years. This research is the first part of the ongoing project. Improved equipment and various applications are in progress.

The rapid expansion and increasing adoption of electric vehicles have significantly amplified the demand for power batteries, making the recycling and treatment of spent power lithium-ion batteries a critical issue for environmental protection and resource conservation. Actively pursuing the development of eco-friendly recycling technologies and enhancing the regulatory frameworks governing the disposal of spent power lithium-ion batteries are concerns worldwide. This paper places a particular emphasis on the role of intellectual property protection in the advancement of spent power lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. By classifying the key technologies in the recycling process, reviewing recent policies and regulations, and conducting a comprehensive analysis of patent applications related to these technologies, this study applies intellectual property analysis to systematically investigate the global trends in technology development, the main technological players, and the key fields of innovation in spent power lithium-ion battery recycling over the past two decades. The findings underscore the crucial influence of intellectual property protection on fostering technological innovation and driving the global advancement of recycling technologies. Finally, the paper summarizes the technical characteristics, focal areas, challenges, and future prospects of spent power lithium-ion battery recycling technologies in the context of global energy transformation and sustainable development, providing strategic guidance for future industrialization, technological innovation, and research directions in this critical field.

Value chain analysis is an important tool for optimizing operations and decision-making in enterprises. As the concept of sustainable development gains recognition worldwide, research on value chains is increasingly focused on sustainability. Traditionally, energy management and value management have operated in parallel with limited intersections. However, after the 2015 Paris Agreement set the goal of achieving net-zero emissions, carbon management has become integral to national strategies, necessitating a re-evaluation of traditional value chains. In this paper, the “energy value chain” is introduced, a novel concept that integrates energy consumption with value creation and carbon emissions, emphasizing the coupling relationships among “energy flow”, “value flow”, and “carbon flow.” From a review of current value chains in the power, steel, petroleum, and transportation industries, the specific energy value chain for each industry is defined and its rationale and effectiveness are discussed. This integrated analytical method provides a strategic tool for industries or enterprises to optimize energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance competitive advantage.