A survey of commercial and industrial demand response flexibility with energy storage systems and renewable energy
- Yasmin, Roksana, Amin, B.M. Ruhul, Shah, Rakibuzzaman, Barton, Andrew
- Authors: Yasmin, Roksana , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Shah, Rakibuzzaman , Barton, Andrew
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p.
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- Reviewed:
- Description: The transition from traditional fuel-dependent energy systems to renewable energy-based systems has been extensively embraced worldwide. Demand-side flexibility is essential to support the power grid with carbon-free generation (e.g., solar, wind.) in an intermittent nature. As extensive energy consumers, commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers can play a key role by extending their flexibility and participating in demand response. Onsite renewable generation by consumers can reduce the consumption from the grid, while energy storage systems (ESSs) can support variable generation and shift demand by storing energy for later use. Both technologies can increase the flexibility and benefit by integrating with the demand response. However, a lack of knowledge about the applicability of increasing flexibility hinders the active participation of C&I consumers in demand response programs. This survey paper provides an overview of demand response and energy storage systems in this context following a methodology of a step-by-step literature review covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The literature review focuses on the application of energy storage systems and onsite renewable generation integrated with demand response for C&I consumers and is presented with an extensive analysis. This survey also examines the demand response participation and potential of wastewater treatment plants. The extended research on the wastewater treatment plant identifies the potential opportunities of coupling biogas with PV, extracting the thermal energy and onsite hydrogen production. Finally, the survey analysis is summarised, followed by critical recommendations for future research. © 2024 by the authors.
- Authors: Yasmin, Roksana , Amin, B.M. Ruhul , Shah, Rakibuzzaman , Barton, Andrew
- Date: 2024
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 16, no. 2 (2024), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The transition from traditional fuel-dependent energy systems to renewable energy-based systems has been extensively embraced worldwide. Demand-side flexibility is essential to support the power grid with carbon-free generation (e.g., solar, wind.) in an intermittent nature. As extensive energy consumers, commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers can play a key role by extending their flexibility and participating in demand response. Onsite renewable generation by consumers can reduce the consumption from the grid, while energy storage systems (ESSs) can support variable generation and shift demand by storing energy for later use. Both technologies can increase the flexibility and benefit by integrating with the demand response. However, a lack of knowledge about the applicability of increasing flexibility hinders the active participation of C&I consumers in demand response programs. This survey paper provides an overview of demand response and energy storage systems in this context following a methodology of a step-by-step literature review covering the period from 2013 to 2023. The literature review focuses on the application of energy storage systems and onsite renewable generation integrated with demand response for C&I consumers and is presented with an extensive analysis. This survey also examines the demand response participation and potential of wastewater treatment plants. The extended research on the wastewater treatment plant identifies the potential opportunities of coupling biogas with PV, extracting the thermal energy and onsite hydrogen production. Finally, the survey analysis is summarised, followed by critical recommendations for future research. © 2024 by the authors.
Order of intermittent rock fractured surfaces
- Aligholi, Saeed, Khandelwal, Manoj
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Khandelwal, Manoj
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: According to chaos theory, some underlying patterns can disclose the order of disordered systems. Here, it has been discussed that intermittency of rough rock fractured surfaces is an orderable disorder at intermediate length scales. However, this kind of disorder is more complicated than simple fractal or even multi-scaling behaviours. It is planned to deal with some multifractal spectra that systematically change as a function of the analysed domain. Accordingly, some parameters are introduced that can perfectly take into account such systematic behaviour and quantify the intermittency of the studied surfaces. This framework can be used to quantify and model the roughness of fractured surfaces as a prerequisite factor for the analysis of fluid flow in rock media as well as the shear strength of rock joints. Ultimately, the presented framework can be used for analysing the intermittency of time series and developing new models for predicting, for instance, seismic or flood events in a short time with higher accuracy. © 2022 by the authors.
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Khandelwal, Manoj
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: According to chaos theory, some underlying patterns can disclose the order of disordered systems. Here, it has been discussed that intermittency of rough rock fractured surfaces is an orderable disorder at intermediate length scales. However, this kind of disorder is more complicated than simple fractal or even multi-scaling behaviours. It is planned to deal with some multifractal spectra that systematically change as a function of the analysed domain. Accordingly, some parameters are introduced that can perfectly take into account such systematic behaviour and quantify the intermittency of the studied surfaces. This framework can be used to quantify and model the roughness of fractured surfaces as a prerequisite factor for the analysis of fluid flow in rock media as well as the shear strength of rock joints. Ultimately, the presented framework can be used for analysing the intermittency of time series and developing new models for predicting, for instance, seismic or flood events in a short time with higher accuracy. © 2022 by the authors.
Sustainability of a rainfed wheat production system in relation to water and nitrogen dynamics in the soil in the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
- Phogat, Vinod, Šimůnek, Jirka, Petrie, Paul, Pitt, Tim, Filipović, Vilim
- Authors: Phogat, Vinod , Šimůnek, Jirka , Petrie, Paul , Pitt, Tim , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 18 (2023), p.
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- Description: Rainfed wheat production systems are usually characterized by low-fertility soils and frequent droughts, creating an unfavorable environment for sustainable crop production. In this study, we used a processed-based biophysical numerical model to evaluate the water balance and nitrogen (N) dynamics in soils under rainfed wheat cultivation at low (219 mm, Pygery) and medium rainfall (392 mm, Yeelanna) sites in south Australia over the two seasons. Estimated evapotranspiration components and N partitioning data were used to calibrate and validate the model and to compute wheat’s water and N use efficiency. There was a large disparity in the estimated water balance components at the two sites. Plant water uptake accounted for 40–50% of rainfall, more at the low rainfall site. In contrast, leaching losses of up to 25% of seasonal rainfall at the medium rainfall site (Yeelanna) indicate a significant amount of water evading the root zone. The model-predicted N partitioning revealed that ammonia–nitrogen (NH4–N) contributed little to plant N nutrition, and its concentration in the soil remained below 2 ppm throughout the crop season except immediately after the NH4–N-based fertilizer application. Nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N) contributed to most N uptake during both seasons at both locations. The N losses from the soil at the medium rainfall site (3.5–20.5 kg ha
- Authors: Phogat, Vinod , Šimůnek, Jirka , Petrie, Paul , Pitt, Tim , Filipović, Vilim
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 15, no. 18 (2023), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Rainfed wheat production systems are usually characterized by low-fertility soils and frequent droughts, creating an unfavorable environment for sustainable crop production. In this study, we used a processed-based biophysical numerical model to evaluate the water balance and nitrogen (N) dynamics in soils under rainfed wheat cultivation at low (219 mm, Pygery) and medium rainfall (392 mm, Yeelanna) sites in south Australia over the two seasons. Estimated evapotranspiration components and N partitioning data were used to calibrate and validate the model and to compute wheat’s water and N use efficiency. There was a large disparity in the estimated water balance components at the two sites. Plant water uptake accounted for 40–50% of rainfall, more at the low rainfall site. In contrast, leaching losses of up to 25% of seasonal rainfall at the medium rainfall site (Yeelanna) indicate a significant amount of water evading the root zone. The model-predicted N partitioning revealed that ammonia–nitrogen (NH4–N) contributed little to plant N nutrition, and its concentration in the soil remained below 2 ppm throughout the crop season except immediately after the NH4–N-based fertilizer application. Nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N) contributed to most N uptake during both seasons at both locations. The N losses from the soil at the medium rainfall site (3.5–20.5 kg ha
A literature review of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on sustainable HRM
- Liang, Xiaoyan, Zhang, Xiwei, Paulet, Renee, Zheng, Leven
- Authors: Liang, Xiaoyan , Zhang, Xiwei , Paulet, Renee , Zheng, Leven
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 5 (2022), p.
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- Description: The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emerge across all facets of the world of work, including the field of human resource management (HRM). Sustainable HRM, drawing on the triple bottom line elements of the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability, provides an ideal basis from which to understand the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and HRM. In this systematic literature review, we analyze peer reviewed articles published in the nexus of the pandemic and sustainable HRM, identifying the dimensions and extent of research in this topical area of study. Our CEDEL model—complicator–exposer–disruptor–enabler– legitimizer—conceptualizes our understanding of the role of COVID-19 in sustainable HRM. This paper provides a framework from which future studies can benefit when investigating the impacts of COVID-19, and a comprehensive identification of future research avenues. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Liang, Xiaoyan , Zhang, Xiwei , Paulet, Renee , Zheng, Leven
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 5 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emerge across all facets of the world of work, including the field of human resource management (HRM). Sustainable HRM, drawing on the triple bottom line elements of the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainability, provides an ideal basis from which to understand the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and HRM. In this systematic literature review, we analyze peer reviewed articles published in the nexus of the pandemic and sustainable HRM, identifying the dimensions and extent of research in this topical area of study. Our CEDEL model—complicator–exposer–disruptor–enabler– legitimizer—conceptualizes our understanding of the role of COVID-19 in sustainable HRM. This paper provides a framework from which future studies can benefit when investigating the impacts of COVID-19, and a comprehensive identification of future research avenues. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Investigating the relationship between human activity and the urban heat island effect in Melbourne and four other international cities impacted by COVID-19
- Wai, Cheuk, Muttil, Nitin, Tariq, Muhammad, Paresi, Prudvireddy, Nnachi, R, Ng, A. W. M.
- Authors: Wai, Cheuk , Muttil, Nitin , Tariq, Muhammad , Paresi, Prudvireddy , Nnachi, R , Ng, A. W. M.
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 1 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times, even before the onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. One of the main contributors to climate change is greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are mostly caused by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. As the lockdown due to the pandemic has minimised human activity in major cities, GHG emissions have been reduced. This, in turn, is expected to lead to a reduction in the urban heat island (UHI) effect in the cities. The aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between human activity and the UHI intensity and to provide recommendations towards developing a sustainable approach to minimise the UHI effect and improve urban resilience. In this study, historical records of the monthly mean of daily maximum surface air temperatures collected from official weather stations in Melbourne, New York City, Tokyo, Dublin, and Oslo were used to estimate the UHI intensity in these cities. The results showed that factors such as global climate and geographic features could dominate the overall temperature. However, a direct relationship between COVID-19 lockdown timelines and the UHI intensity was observed, which suggests that a reduction in human activity can diminish the UHI intensity. As lockdowns due to COVID-19 are only temporary events, this study also provides recommendations to urban planners towards long-term measures to mitigate the UHI effect, which can be implemented when human activity returns to normal. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Wai, Cheuk , Muttil, Nitin , Tariq, Muhammad , Paresi, Prudvireddy , Nnachi, R , Ng, A. W. M.
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 1 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times, even before the onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. One of the main contributors to climate change is greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are mostly caused by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. As the lockdown due to the pandemic has minimised human activity in major cities, GHG emissions have been reduced. This, in turn, is expected to lead to a reduction in the urban heat island (UHI) effect in the cities. The aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between human activity and the UHI intensity and to provide recommendations towards developing a sustainable approach to minimise the UHI effect and improve urban resilience. In this study, historical records of the monthly mean of daily maximum surface air temperatures collected from official weather stations in Melbourne, New York City, Tokyo, Dublin, and Oslo were used to estimate the UHI intensity in these cities. The results showed that factors such as global climate and geographic features could dominate the overall temperature. However, a direct relationship between COVID-19 lockdown timelines and the UHI intensity was observed, which suggests that a reduction in human activity can diminish the UHI intensity. As lockdowns due to COVID-19 are only temporary events, this study also provides recommendations to urban planners towards long-term measures to mitigate the UHI effect, which can be implemented when human activity returns to normal. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Mineral texture identification using local binary patterns equipped with a Classification and Recognition Updating System (CARUS)
- Aligholi, Saeed, Khajavi, Reza, Khandelwal, Manoj, Armaghani, Danial
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Khajavi, Reza , Khandelwal, Manoj , Armaghani, Danial
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 18 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this paper, a rotation-invariant local binary pattern operator equipped with a local contrast measure (riLBPc) is employed to characterize the type of mineral twinning by inspecting the texture properties of crystals. The proposed method uses photomicrographs of minerals and produces LBP histograms, which might be compared with those included in a predefined database using the Kullback–Leibler divergence-based metric. The paper proposes a new LBP-based scheme for concurrent classification and recognition tasks, followed by a novel online updating routine to enhance the locally developed mineral LBP database. The discriminatory power of the proposed Classification and Recognition Updating System (CARUS) for texture identification scheme is verified for plagioclase, orthoclase, microcline, and quartz minerals with sensitivity (TPR) near 99.9%, 87%, 99.9%, and 96%, and accuracy (ACC) equal to about 99%, 97%, 99%, and 99%, respectively. According to the results, the introduced CARUS system is a promising approach that can be applied in a variety of different fields dealing with classification and feature recognition tasks. © 2022 by the authors.
- Authors: Aligholi, Saeed , Khajavi, Reza , Khandelwal, Manoj , Armaghani, Danial
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 18 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this paper, a rotation-invariant local binary pattern operator equipped with a local contrast measure (riLBPc) is employed to characterize the type of mineral twinning by inspecting the texture properties of crystals. The proposed method uses photomicrographs of minerals and produces LBP histograms, which might be compared with those included in a predefined database using the Kullback–Leibler divergence-based metric. The paper proposes a new LBP-based scheme for concurrent classification and recognition tasks, followed by a novel online updating routine to enhance the locally developed mineral LBP database. The discriminatory power of the proposed Classification and Recognition Updating System (CARUS) for texture identification scheme is verified for plagioclase, orthoclase, microcline, and quartz minerals with sensitivity (TPR) near 99.9%, 87%, 99.9%, and 96%, and accuracy (ACC) equal to about 99%, 97%, 99%, and 99%, respectively. According to the results, the introduced CARUS system is a promising approach that can be applied in a variety of different fields dealing with classification and feature recognition tasks. © 2022 by the authors.
Roles of selective agriculture practices in sustainable agricultural performance : a systematic review
- Ali, Basharat, Dahlhaus, Peter
- Authors: Ali, Basharat , Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 6 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
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- Description: Feeding the growing global population while improving the Earth’s economic, environmental, and social values is a challenge recognised in both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Sustaining global agricultural performance requires regular revision of current farming models, attitudes, and practices. In systematically reviewing the international literature through the lens of the sustainability framework, this paper specifically identifies precision conservation agriculture (PCA), digital agriculture (DA), and resilient agriculture (RA) practices as being of value in meeting future challenges. Each of these adaptations carries significantly positive relationships with sustaining agricultural performance, as well as positively mediating and/or moderating each other. While it is clear from the literature that adopting PCA, DA, and RA would substantially improve the sustainability of agricultural performance, the uptake of these adaptations generally lags. More in-depth social science research is required to understand the value propositions that would encourage uptake of these adaptations and the barriers that prevent them. Recommendations are made to explore the specific knowledge gap that needs to be understood to motivate agriculture practitioners to adopt these changes in practice. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Authors: Ali, Basharat , Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol. 14, no. 6 (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Feeding the growing global population while improving the Earth’s economic, environmental, and social values is a challenge recognised in both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Sustaining global agricultural performance requires regular revision of current farming models, attitudes, and practices. In systematically reviewing the international literature through the lens of the sustainability framework, this paper specifically identifies precision conservation agriculture (PCA), digital agriculture (DA), and resilient agriculture (RA) practices as being of value in meeting future challenges. Each of these adaptations carries significantly positive relationships with sustaining agricultural performance, as well as positively mediating and/or moderating each other. While it is clear from the literature that adopting PCA, DA, and RA would substantially improve the sustainability of agricultural performance, the uptake of these adaptations generally lags. More in-depth social science research is required to understand the value propositions that would encourage uptake of these adaptations and the barriers that prevent them. Recommendations are made to explore the specific knowledge gap that needs to be understood to motivate agriculture practitioners to adopt these changes in practice. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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