UEXdo/OpenDataHub huggingface dataset:
Estimation of natural methane emissions from the largest oil sand deposits on earth
Authors: Wei, C.; Jafari Raad, S.; Hassanzadeh, H.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

AbstractWorldwide methane emission by various industrial sources is one of the important human concerns due to its serious climate and air-quality implications. This study investigates less-considered diffusive natural methane emissions from the world's largest oil sand deposits. An analytical model, considering the first-order methane degradation, in combination with Monte Carlo simulations, is used to quantitatively characterize diffusive methane emissions from Alberta's oil sands formations.
Observing network effect of shipping emissions from space: A natural experiment in the world’s busiest port
Authors: Liu, S.; Li, X.; Li, J.; Shu, L.; Fu, T.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

AbstractMaritime trade and associated emissions are dynamic in nature. Although shipping emissions contribute significantly to air quality and climate change, their trade-governed dynamics remain less explored due to the lack of observational evidence. Here, we use satellite measurements to capture the redistribution of shipping nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from Shanghai port, the world’s busiest port, during a natural experiment posted by the localized COVID-19 lockdown in 2022. Viewing the
Aircraft and satellite observations reveal historical gap between top–down and bottom–up CO2 emissions from Canadian oil sands
Authors: Wren, S.; McLinden, C.; Griffin, D.; Li, S.; Cober, S.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

AbstractMeasurement-based estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from complex industrial operations are challenging to obtain, but serve as an important, independent check on inventory-reported emissions. Such top–down estimates, while important for oil and gas (O&amp;G) emissions globally, are particularly relevant for Canadian oil sands (OS) operations, which represent the largest O&amp;G contributor to national GHG emissions. We present a multifaceted top–down approach for estimating CO2
Cementing CO2 into C-S-H: A step toward concrete carbon neutrality
Authors: Stefaniuk, D.; Hajduczek, M.; Weaver, J.; Ulm, F.; Masic, A.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Addressing the existing gap between currently available mitigation strategies for greenhouse gas emissions associated with ordinary Portland cement production and the 2050 carbon neutrality goal represents a significant challenge. In order to bridge this gap, one potential option is the direct gaseous sequestration and storage of anthropogenic CO2 in concrete through forced carbonate mineralization in both the cementing minerals and their aggregates. To better clarify the
Pelagic microplastics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: A prevalent anthropogenic component of the particulate organic carbon pool
Authors: Zhao, S.; Mincer, T.; Lebreton, L.; Egger, M.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Due to its ever-increasing ocean inputs, fossil-based microplastics (MP) comprise a considerable constituent in the particulate organic carbon (POC) pool, which is instrumental in ocean biogeochemical cycling. Their distribution within the oceanic water column and the underpinning processes, however, remain unclear. Here we show that MP prevail throughout the water column of the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, comprising 334 #/m3 (84.5% of plastic particles &amp;l
Implementation of carbon pricing in an aging world calls for targeted protection schemes
Authors: Tian, P.; Feng, K.; Zheng, H.; Hubacek, K.; Li, J.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

AbstractUnderstanding the impact of climate fiscal policies on vulnerable groups is a prerequisite for equitable climate mitigation. However, there has been a lack of attention to the impacts of such policies on the elderly, especially the low-income elderly, in existing climate policy literature. Here, we quantify and compare the distributional impacts of carbon pricing on different age–income groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan and then on different age groups in other 2
Prebiotic synthesis of mineral-bearing microdroplet from inorganic carbon photoreduction at air–water interface
Authors: Ge, Q.; Liu, Y.; You, W.; Wang, W.; Li, K.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               The origin of life on Earth is an enigmatic and intricate conundrum that has yet to be comprehensively resolved despite recent significant developments within the discipline of archaeology and geology. Chemically, metal-sulfide minerals are speculated to serve as an important medium for giving birth in early life, while yet so far direct evidence to support the hypothesis for the highly efficient conversion of inorganic carbon into praxiological biomolecules remains scarc
Near-term investments in forest management support long-term carbon sequestration capacity in forests of the United States
Authors: Coulston, J.; Domke, G.; Walker, D.; Brooks, E.; O’Dea, C.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               The forest carbon sink of the United States offsets emissions in other sectors. Recently passed US laws include important climate legislation for wildfire reduction, forest restoration, and forest planting. In this study, we examine how wildfire reduction strategies and planting might alter the forest carbon sink. Our results suggest that wildfire reduction strategies reduce carbon sequestration potential in the near term but provide a longer term benefit. Planting initia
A kirigami-enabled electrochromic wearable variable-emittance device for energy-efficient adaptive personal thermoregulation
Authors: Chen, T.; Hong, Y.; Fu, C.; Nandi, A.; Xie, W.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               For centuries, people have put effort to improve the thermal performance of clothing to adapt to varying temperatures. However, most clothing we wear today only offers a single-mode insulation. The adoption of active thermal management devices, such as resistive heaters, Peltier coolers, and water recirculation, is limited by their excessive energy consumption and form factor for long-term, continuous, and personalized thermal comfort. In this paper, we developed a wearab
Solutions to agricultural green water scarcity under climate change
Authors: He, L.; Rosa, L.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Rain-fed agricultural systems, which solely depend on green water (i.e. soil moisture from rainfall), sustain ∼60% of global food production and are particularly vulnerable to vagaries in temperature and precipitation patterns, which are intensifying due to climate change. Here, using projections of crop water demand and green water availability under warming scenarios, we assess global agricultural green water scarcity—defined when the rainfall regime is unable to meet c
Environmental problem shifting from climate change mitigation: A mapping review
Authors: Wood Hansen, O.; van den Bergh, J.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

AbstractClimate change mitigation will trigger major changes in human activity, energy systems, and material use, potentially shifting pressure from climate change to other environmental problems. We provide a comprehensive overview of such “environmental problem shifting” (EPS). While there is considerable research on this issue, studies are scattered across research fields and use a wide range of terms with blurred conceptual boundaries, such as trade-off, side effect, and spillover. We identi
Increase in grain production potential of China under climate change
Authors: Liang, Z.; Sun, L.; Tian, Z.; Fischer, G.; Yan, H.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               The rapid growth of China's demand for grains is expected to continue in the coming decades, largely as a result of the increasing feed demand to produce protein-rich food. This leads to a great concern on future supply potentials of Chinese agriculture under climate change and the extent of China's dependence on world food markets. While the existing literature in both agronomy and climate economics indicates a dominance of the adverse impacts of climate change on rice,
Scaling behavior for electric vehicle chargers and road map to addressing the infrastructure gap
Authors: Wadell, A.; Guttenberg, M.; Kempes, C.; Viswanathan, V.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Enabling widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption requires a substantial build-out of charging infrastructure in the coming decade. We formulate the charging infrastructure needs as a scaling analysis problem and use it to estimate the EV infrastructure needs of the USA at a county-level resolution. We find that gasoline and EV charging stations scale sub-linearly with their respective vehicle registrations, recovering the sub-linear scaling typical of infrastructure. Su
Multisectoral drivers of decarbonizing battery electric vehicles in China
Authors: Wang, F.; Zhang, S.; Zhao, Y.; Ma, Y.; Zhang, Y.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               China has made great progress in the electrification of passenger cars, and the sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have exceeded 10%. We applied a life-cycle assessment (LCA) method to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the past (2015), present (2020), and future (2030) BEVs, incorporating China's carbon peaking and neutrality policies, which would substantially reduce emissions from the electricity, operation efficiency, metallurgy, and battery manufac
Flying cars economically favor battery electric over fuel cell and internal combustion engine
Authors: Liu, M.; Hao, H.; Lin, Z.; He, X.; Qian, Y.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Flying cars, essentially vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), are an emerging, disruptive technology that is expected to reshape future transportation. VTOLs can be powered by battery electric, fuel cell, or internal combustion engine, which point to entirely different needs for industry expertise, research &amp; development, supply chain, and infrastructure supports. A pre-analysis of the propulsion technology competition is crucial to avoid potential wrong dire
New estimates of the storage permanence and ocean co-benefits of enhanced rock weathering
Authors: Kanzaki, Y.; Planavsky, N.; Reinhard, C.
Journal: npj Clean Energy (2023)

Abstract
               Avoiding many of the most severe consequences of anthropogenic climate change in the coming century will very likely require the development of “negative emissions technologies”—practices that lead to net carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from Earth's atmosphere. However, feedbacks within the carbon cycle place intrinsic limits on the long-term impact of CDR on atmospheric CO2 that are likely to vary across CDR technologies in ways that are poorly constrained. Here, we use an
On the contribution of work or heat in exchanged energy via interaction in open bipartite quantum systems
Authors: Ahmadi, B.; Salimi, S.; Khorashad, A.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractThe question of with what we associate work and heat in a quantum thermodynamic process has been extensively discussed, mostly for systems with time-dependent Hamiltonians. In this paper, we aim to investigate the energy exchanged between two quantum systems through interaction where the Hamiltonian of the system is time-independent. An entropy-based re-definitions of heat and work are presented for these quantum thermodynamic systems therefore an entropy-based formalism of both the firs
Transformer fault diagnosis method based on TLR-ADASYN balanced dataset
Authors: Guan, S.; Yang, H.; Wu, T.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractAs the cornerstone of transmission and distribution equipment, power transformer plays a very important role in ensuring the safe operation of power system. At present, the technology of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) has been widely used in fault diagnosis of oil-immersed transformer. However, in the actual scene, the limited number of transformer fault samples and the uneven distribution of different fault types often lead to low overall fault detection accuracy or a few types of fault m
Hybrid nanofluid flow within cooling tube of photovoltaic-thermoelectric solar unit
Authors: Khalili, Z.; Sheikholeslami, M.; Momayez, L.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractIn this work, the thermoelectric generator (TEG) layer has been combined with conventional layers of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) modules to use the waste heat and increase the efficiency. To reduce the cell temperature, there exists a cooling duct in the bottom of the PVT-TEG unit. Type of fluid within the duct and structure of duct can change the performance of the system. So, hybrid nanofluid (mixture of Fe3O4 and MWCNT with water) has been replaced instead of pure water and three vario
On the local warming potential of urban rooftop photovoltaic solar panels in cities
Authors: Khan, A.; Santamouris, M.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractUnderstanding and evaluating the implications of photovoltaic solar panels (PVSPs) deployment on urban settings, as well as the pessimistic effects of densely populated areas on PVSPs efficiency, is becoming incredibly valuable. Thus, the deployment of low-efficiency, low-cost, and widely available PVSPs may diminish total solar reflectance, raising the risks of PVSPs-based urban heating, particularly during the summertime heatwaves. This study employs and assesses physical parameterizat
The role of double-skin facade configurations in optimizing building energy performance in Erbil city
Authors: Naddaf, M.; Baper, S.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractCarefully designing a building facade is the most crucial way to save energy, and a double-skin facade is an effective strategy for achieving energy efficiency. The improvement that can be made depends on how the double-skin facade is set up and what the weather conditions are like. This study was designed to investigate the best-case scenario with an appropriate double-skin facade configuration for optimizing building energy performance. A methodology for optimizing the building's initi
Low energy consumption form of the U-shaped plan office building in the Yangtze River Delta
Authors: Ying, X.; Huangfu, F.; Tao, C.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

Abstract
                  The significance of form in green building design is well recognized, as it has a substantial impact on both energy performance and construction cost. This study investigates the impact of the U-shaped plan on the energy demand, which can be flexibly applied to irregular site forms and clustered building blocks, and is widely used in existing office buildings. Specifically, we select the U-shaped plan as the object of study and collect related case data primarily from
A big data association rule mining based approach for energy building behaviour analysis in an IoT environment
Authors: Dolores, M.; Fernandez-Basso, C.; Gómez-Romero, J.; Martin-Bautista, M.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractThe enormous amount of data generated by sensors and other data sources in modern grid management systems requires new infrastructures, such as IoT (Internet of Things) and Big Data architectures. This, in combination with Data Mining techniques, allows the management and processing of all these heterogeneous massive data in order to discover new insights that can help to reduce the energy consumption of the building. In this paper, we describe a developed methodology for an Internet of
Application of artificial intelligence in green building concept for energy auditing using drone technology under different environmental conditions
Authors: Khan, O.; Parvez, M.; Alansari, M.; Farid, M.; Devarajan, Y.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractThermal losses through weak building envelope is responsible for global current energy crises. Application of artificial intelligence and drone setups in green buildings can help in providing the sustainable solution the world is striving for years. The contemporary research incorporates a novel concept of measuring the wearing thermal resistances in the building envelope with the aid of a drone system. The above procedure conducts a throughout building analysis by considering three prim
The impact of China’s energy saving and emission reduction demonstration city policy on urban green technology innovation
Authors: Nie, C.; Li, R.; Feng, Y.; Chen, Z.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractUrban green technology innovation (UGTI) is strongly tied to environmental regulations, which can successfully balance economic and environmental benefits. Selecting the panel data for 280 Chinese cities during 2006–2019, we take the energy saving and emission reduction (ESER) demonstration city policy as a quasi-natural experiment, then employ the difference-in-differences model to examine the effect and its mechanisms of ESER policy on UGTI. Empirical results show that the ESER policy
Spatial correlation network structure of energy-environment efficiency and its driving factors: a case study of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration
Authors: Liu, S.; Yuan, J.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractImproving energy-environment efficiency is not only a requirement for constructing China’s ecological civilization but also inevitable for achieving sustainable economic and social development. Studies on energy-environment efficiency based on relational data and network perspectives are limited, which hinders the development of collaborative regional emission reduction activities. This study uses the SBM-Undesirable model to measure the energy-environment efficiency of the Yangtze River
Potential of low-enthalpy geothermal energy to degrade organic contaminants of emerging concern in urban groundwater
Authors: Pujades, E.; Jurado, A.; Scheiber, L.; Teixidó, M.; Criollo Manjarrez, R.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractLow-enthalpy geothermal energy (LEGE) is a carbon-free and renewable source to provide cooling and heating to infrastructures (e.g. buildings) by exchanging their temperature with that of the ground. The exchange of temperature modifies the groundwater temperature around LEGE installations, which may contribute to enhancing the capacity of aquifers to degrade organic contaminants of emerging concern (OCECs), whose presence is significantly increasing in urban aquifers. Here, we investiga
Analysis of renewable energy consumption and economy considering the joint optimal allocation of “renewable energy + energy storage + synchronous condenser”
Authors: Wang, Z.; Li, Q.; Kong, S.; Li, W.; Luo, J.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

Abstract
                  As renewable energy becomes increasingly dominant in the energy mix, the power system is evolving towards high proportions of renewable energy installations and power electronics-based equipment. This transition introduces significant challenges to the grid’s safe and stable operation. On the one hand, renewable energy generation equipment inherently provides weak voltage support, necessitating improvements in the voltage support capacity at renewable energy grid point
Optimizing upside variability and antifragility in renewable energy system design
Authors: Coppitters, D.; Contino, F.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractDespite the considerable uncertainty in predicting critical parameters of renewable energy systems, the uncertainty during system design is often marginally addressed and consistently underestimated. Therefore, the resulting designs are fragile, with suboptimal performances when reality deviates significantly from the predicted scenarios. To address this limitation, we propose an antifragile design optimization framework that redefines the indicator to optimize variability and introduces
Juxtaposing Sub-Sahara Africa’s energy poverty and renewable energy potential
Authors: Mukhtar, M.; Adun, H.; Cai, D.; Obiora, S.; Taiwo, M.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractRecently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a comprehensive roadmap for the global energy sector to achieve net-zero emission by 2050. Considering the sizeable share of (Sub-Sahara) Africa in the global population, the attainment of global energy sector net-zero emission is practically impossible without a commitment from African countries. Therefore, it is important to study and analyze feasible/sustainable ways to solve the energy/electricity poverty in Africa. In this pap
Integrating renewable energy devices with streetscape elements to electrify the Egyptian roads
Authors: Moussa, R.; Gurguis, M.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractThe high percentage of carbon emissions, which leads to various environmental problems such as air pollution and global warming, is one of the critical issues resulting from the growth of cities. International agreements are being established to prevent these negative effects. Non-renewable resources are also being depleted and may become extinct in future generations. Due to the extensive use of fossil fuels by automobiles, data show that the transportation sector is responsible for rou
Air-conditioning adoption and electricity demand highlight climate change mitigation–adaptation tradeoffs
Authors: Colelli, F.; Wing, I.; Cian, E.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractWe elucidate mid-century climate change impacts on electricity demand accounting for endogenous adoption of residential air-conditioning (AC) in affluent, cooler countries in Europe, and in poorer, hotter states in India. By 2050, in a high-warming scenario (SSP585) AC prevalence grows twofold in Europe and fourfold in India, reaching around 40% in both regions. We document a mitigation-adaptation tradeoff: AC expansion reduces daily heat exposures by 150 million and 3.8 billion person d
Interrelationships between urban travel demand and electricity consumption: a deep learning approach
Authors: Movahedi, A.; Parsa, A.; Rozhkov, A.; Lee, D.; Mohammadian, A.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractThe analysis of infrastructure use data in relation to other components of the infrastructure can help better understand the interrelationships between infrastructures to eventually enhance their sustainability and resilience. In this study, we focus on electricity consumption and travel demand. In short, the premise is that when people are in buildings consuming electricity, they are not generating traffic on roads, and vice versa, hence the presence of interrelationships. We use Long S
Electricity consumption in Finland influenced by climate effects of energetic particle precipitation
Authors: Juntunen, V.; Asikainen, T.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractIt is known that electricity consumption in many cold Northern countries depends greatly on prevailing outdoor temperatures especially during the winter season. On the other hand, recent research has demonstrated that solar wind driven energetic particle precipitation from space into the polar atmosphere can influence the stratospheric polar vortex and tropospheric weather patterns during winter. These changes are significant, e.g., in Northern Europe, especially in Finland. In this stud
EU climate action through an energy poverty lens
Authors: Vandyck, T.; Della Valle, N.; Temursho, U.; Weitzel, M.
Journal: Scientific Reports (2023)

AbstractCarbon pricing can steer energy choices towards low-carbon fuels and foster energy conservation efforts. Simultaneously, higher fossil fuel prices may exacerbate energy poverty. A just portfolio of climate policies therefore requires a balanced instrument mix to jointly combat climate change and energy poverty. We review recent policy developments in the EU aimed at addressing energy poverty and the social implications of the climate neutrality transition. We then operationalise an affor