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Inventions
Special Issues
Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability
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Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability

A special issue of Inventions (ISSN 2411-5134). This special issue belongs to the section "Inventions and Innovation in Energy and Thermal/Fluidic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 20342

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Umberto Lucia

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento Energia “Galileo Ferraris”, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: irreversible thermodynamics; quantum thermodynamics; thermodynamics of biosystems; exergoeconomics; econophysics; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Debora Fino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienza Applicata e Tecnologia, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: circular economy; carbon capture; green chemistry; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giulia Grisolia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Ambiente, del Territorio e delle Infrastrutture, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
Interests: irreversible thermodynamics; thermodynamics of biosystems; exergoeconomics; thermoeconomics; life cycle assessment; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability and sustainable development represent a present topic of investigation, with particular regards to their link to pollution, carbon dioxide emission and human well-being.

Sustainable development has been introduced in natural and environmental sciences, with the aim of attracting the interest of political and business stakeholders, in order to meet the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future ones.

Business activities play a fundamental role in the control of every stage of the value creation and production chain, and, consequently, of their impacts on the use of resources, and on the natural  environment, but, on the other hand, just business activities can represent one of the most powerful instruments to achieve sustainability.

In recent decades, research on sustainability has continuously been growing in number, with a great variety of interest: they are multidisciplinary topics of investigation.

In relation to sustainability, the air, water and soil pollution represents an actual problem of industrialized societies. So, this Special Issue wishes to focus on the fundamental topics of sustainability (environment, economy and society), with particular regards to the thermodynamic analysis of the biofuels and bioplastics production, in order to respond to the previous problems of pollution.

Prof. Dr. Umberto Lucia
Prof. Dr. Debora Fino
Dr. Giulia Grisolia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Inventions is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainability
  • Biofuels
  • Bioplastics
  • Bioeconomy
  • Circular economy
  • Waste as a resource
  • Thermoeconomy
  • Exergoeconomy
  • Measurement of sustainability
  • Sustainable industrial processes

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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6 pages, 225 KiB  
Article
To the Theory of Unsteady Thermal Conductivity Caused by the Hot Core of the Earth
by Sergey O. Gladkov
Inventions 2021, 6(4), 90; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6040090 - 19 Nov 2021
Viewed by 1776
Abstract
A solution is given to the spatial-temporary distribution of temperature in the volume of the Earth, due to the specified power of the thermal radiation of the hot core. An estimate is made of the maximum possible cooling time of the core. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
13 pages, 2505 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of a Tilt Single Slope Solar Still Integrated with Aluminum Condensate Plate
by Naseer T. Alwan, Milia H. Majeed, Sergey E. Shcheklein, Obed M. Ali and Seepana PraveenKumar
Inventions 2021, 6(4), 77; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6040077 - 01 Nov 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2845
Abstract
The low freshwater productivity of a conventional solar still is considered a challenge for researchers due to the high temperature of the glass cover or basin water depth. In current work, a newly designed solar still was suggested according to the climatic conditions [...] Read more.
The low freshwater productivity of a conventional solar still is considered a challenge for researchers due to the high temperature of the glass cover or basin water depth. In current work, a newly designed solar still was suggested according to the climatic conditions of Yekaterinburg/Russia, which included an enhanced condensation and evaporation process by spraying a thin water film on a hot absorber plate and then passing the generated water vapor by free convection over the aluminum plate (low temperature). The distillation system under study was tested during July 2020 and 29 July was chosen as a typical day from 08:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The results showed that the largest amount of water vapor condenses on the aluminum plate (about 46%), and the rest condenses on the glass cover. This means that the aluminum plate effectively improved productivity due to the flow of humid air naturally (free convection) on the aluminum plate (its surface temperature was lower than that of the glass cover). The cost analytical calculations showed that the cost of producing one liter of distilled water from the suggested solar still was 0.063$. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
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21 pages, 3440 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on Performance Enhancement of a Photovoltaic Module Using a Combination of Phase Change Material and Aluminum Fins—Exergy, Energy and Economic (3E) Analysis
by Ephraim Bonah Agyekum, Seepana PraveenKumar, Naseer T. Alwan, Vladimir Ivanovich Velkin and Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo
Inventions 2021, 6(4), 69; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6040069 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 2617
Abstract
The electrical performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is hugely affected by its temperature. This study proposed a passive cooling mechanism for the cooling of a PV panel. The proposed cooling system is made up of a combination of aluminum fins and paraffin [...] Read more.
The electrical performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is hugely affected by its temperature. This study proposed a passive cooling mechanism for the cooling of a PV panel. The proposed cooling system is made up of a combination of aluminum fins and paraffin wax integrated at the PV panel’s rear side. The average temperature for the cooled panel for the entire period of the experiment is 36.62 °C against 48.75 °C for the referenced PV module. This represents an average reduction of 12.13 °C for the cooled panel. The average power for the cooled panel is 12.19 W against 10.95 W for the referenced module which is 11.33% improvement. The electrical efficiencies for the cooled panel and the referenced modules are 14.30% and 13.60%, respectively, representing an improvement of 5.15% in the electrical efficiency. The cooled solar PV module had an average exergy efficiency of 7.99% compared to 5.61% for the referenced module. In terms of the economics, the results from the computations show that LCOE of the cooled panel can range between 0.198 and 0.603 $/kWh, while that of the referenced module ranges from 0.221–0.671 $/kWh depending on the number of days it operates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
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16 pages, 4663 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Combination of Active and Passive Cooling Mechanism on the Thermal Characteristics and Efficiency of Solar PV Module
by Ephraim Bonah Agyekum, Seepana PraveenKumar, Naseer T. Alwan, Vladimir Ivanovich Velkin, Sergey E. Shcheklein and Salam J. Yaqoob
Inventions 2021, 6(4), 63; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6040063 - 01 Oct 2021
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 3167
Abstract
A photovoltaic (PV) module’s electrical efficiency depends on the operating temperature of the cell. Electrical efficiency reduces with increasing PV module temperature which is one of the drawbacks of this technology. This is due to the negative temperature coefficient of a PV module [...] Read more.
A photovoltaic (PV) module’s electrical efficiency depends on the operating temperature of the cell. Electrical efficiency reduces with increasing PV module temperature which is one of the drawbacks of this technology. This is due to the negative temperature coefficient of a PV module which decreases its voltage significantly while the current increases slightly. This study combines both active and passive cooling mechanisms to improve the electrical output of a PV module. A heat sink made up of aluminum fins and an ultrasonic humidifier were used to cool the panel. The ultrasonic humidifier was used to generate a humid environment at the rear side of the PV module. The cooling process in the study was able to reduce the temperature of the panel averagely by 14.61 °C. This reduction led to a 6.8% improvement in the electrical efficiency of the module. The average power of 12.23 W was recorded for the cooled panel against 10.87 W for the referenced module. In terms of water consumption, a total of 1.5 L was approximately consumed during the whole experimental process due to evaporation. In effect, the proposed cooling approach was demonstrated as effective. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
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17 pages, 7634 KiB  
Article
Portable Molecular Diagnostics Device for Identification of Asini Corii Colla by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification
by Shyangchwen Sheu, Chungyu Huang and Jyhjian Chen
Inventions 2021, 6(3), 51; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6030051 - 14 Jul 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2247
Abstract
Asini Corii Colla (ACC; donkey-hide glue) is one of the most valuable tonic traditional Chinese medicines. Because of the large demand for gelatinous Chinese medicines, bovine or swine skin was sometimes used to make adulterated gelatine in recent decades. Food chemicals can greatly [...] Read more.
Asini Corii Colla (ACC; donkey-hide glue) is one of the most valuable tonic traditional Chinese medicines. Because of the large demand for gelatinous Chinese medicines, bovine or swine skin was sometimes used to make adulterated gelatine in recent decades. Food chemicals can greatly harm people’s health, and detecting chemicals in foods is extremely important. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) device with smartphone detection is demonstrated in this study for detecting the DNA of Asini Corii Colla. The complete system is composed of a hand-held box equipped with a smartphone, a cartridge heater, an ultraviolet LED, a disposable reaction tube, and a homemade thermal module. All the processes are powered by a set of rechargeable batteries. Comprehensive experiments of measuring temperature profiles are presented, which showed the accuracy of temperature under thermal control is less than 0.5 °C. By implementing one heating module with an ATmega328p-au microcontroller in the device, the DNA mixture is heated directly up to the reaction temperature within 5 min. Next, a DNA segment of Asini Corii Colla is utilized to evaluate the sensitivity of the DNA amplification in the portable device. A limit of detection to a concentration of 10−4 ng/μL is achieved. Real-time detection of Asini Corii Colla by a smartphone camera can be achieved using this portable device. The unique architecture utilized in this device is ideal for a low-cost DNA analysis system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
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Review

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17 pages, 3525 KiB  
Review
Advanced Power Generation Using a Nitrogen Turbine Engine Instead of a Conventional Injection Steam Turbine Engine
by Wenich Vattanapuripakorn, Khomson Khannam, Sathapon Sonsupap, Prachakon Kaewkhiaw, Umakorn Tongsantia, Jiradanai Sarasamkan and Bopit Bubphachot
Inventions 2021, 6(4), 62; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/inventions6040062 - 29 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6646
Abstract
An ever-increasing demand for electrical power and soaring levels of energy consumption around the world have led to an energy crisis. Thus, this paper aims to review the conventional technologies against those of newer developments in electrical power generation such as using nitrogen [...] Read more.
An ever-increasing demand for electrical power and soaring levels of energy consumption around the world have led to an energy crisis. Thus, this paper aims to review the conventional technologies against those of newer developments in electrical power generation such as using nitrogen generators. The nitrogen generator method is most appealing as it is a seemingly free energy already existing in nature. A nitrogen generator with a 5000 (Nm3/h) capacity has the potential to be used to analyze gas composition and the results are compared with the gas composition of a conventional steam turbine, which is used to pressurize 6000 (kWh) injection steam turbines. The magnetic bearing must be installed in both systems to modify all centrifuged systems which reduces all energy consumption in all systems by more than 50%. Artificial intelligence is used with the machine to analyze and control nitrogen gas flow to provide a more precise evaluation resulting in a more efficient technology. It should further be noted that the nitrogen turbine is superior to the steam turbine because it does not require the burning of fossil fuel to generate power. Hence, it is crucial to modify conventional technologies to improve energy sustainability and begin the long task of tackling environmental issues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic and Technical Analysis for Sustainability)
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