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1 – 10 of over 11000Hui Quan, Yi Chai, Rennian Li, Guo-Yi Peng and Ying Guo
Having read previous literature about vortex pump, we noticed that mechanisms of circulating flow and its relationship with energy transition remain unclear yet. However, this…
Abstract
Purpose
Having read previous literature about vortex pump, we noticed that mechanisms of circulating flow and its relationship with energy transition remain unclear yet. However, this mechanism, which should be clarified, significantly influences the pump’s efficiency. To comply with the aim of investigating it, the 150WX-200-20 type pump is selected as study object in our present work.
Design/methodology/approach
Numerical simulation is conducted to formulate interactions between flow rate and geometric parameters of circulating flow with certain types of blade while experiments on inner flow are served as a witness to provide experimental confirmation of numerical results. Based on these, we coupled some parameters with the pump’s external performance to study their internal connections.
Findings
It is concluded that separatrix between circulating flow and other turbulent forms is not that clear under low flow rate. With flow increases, hydraulic losses coming of it will be dominant within the front chamber. Besides, we analogized circulating flow to vortices so as to make a quantitative analysis on its progressive evolution with changing flow, and vortices speaking for circulating flow can be divided into two groups. One is called main circulating flow vortex (hereinafter referred to as MCFV), which occurs all the time while subsidiary circulating flow vortices (hereinafter referred to as SCFV) appear in certain conditions. This context discusses the primary phase of our work with intent to follow up further with circulating flow characterized by vortices (hereinafter referred to as CFV). We confirmed that MCFV Vortex 1 (Vor1) directly influences the efficiency while SCFVs only play helping. As the flow goes to the given working condition, fluids in this pump tend to be steady with the size of CFVs getting larger and their shape being regular. Meanwhile, for MCFV Vor2 and Vor4, their geometric parameters are the key factors for efficiency. When CFVs become steady, they absorb other vortices nearby, as they have higher viscosity with the efficiency reaching its maximum.
Originality/value
The research results explore a new way to measure the circulating flow and help work out the causation of this flow pattern, which may be used to improve the vortex pump’s efficiency.
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Yu Chen, Di Jin and Changyi Zhao
Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse…
Abstract
Purpose
Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable human development. For many countries, taking China as an example, the electric power sector is the main contributor to the country’s carbon emissions, as well as a key sector for reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The low-carbon transition of the power sector is of great significance to the long-term low-carbon development of the economy. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the energy supply structure on the supply side and increase the proportion of new energy in the total power supply. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve energy utilization efficiency on the demand side and control the total primary energy consumption by improving energy efficiency, which is the most direct and effective way to reduce emissions. Improving the utilization efficiency of electric energy and realizing the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry requires synergies between the government and the market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of China’s low-carbon policy and the opening of urban high-speed railways (HSRs) on the urban electricity consumption efficiency, measured as electricity consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP).
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a panel of 289 Chinese prefecture-level cities from the years 1999–2019 as the sample and uses the time-varying difference-in-difference method to test the relationship between HSR, low-carbon pilot cities and urban electricity consumption efficiency. In addition, the instrumental variable method is adopted to make a robustness check.
Findings
Empirical results show that the low-carbon pilot policy and the HSR operation in cities would reduce the energy consumption per unit of GDP, and synergies occur in both HSR operated and low-carbon pilot cities.
Research limitations/implications
This study has limitations that would provide possible starting points for future studies. The first limitation is the choice of the proxy variable of government and market factors. The second limitation is that the existing data is only about whether the high-speed rail is opened or not and whether it is a low-carbon pilot city, and there is no more informative data to combine the two aspects.
Practical implications
The findings of this study can inform policymakers and regulators about the effects of low-carbon pilot city policies. In addition, the government should consider market-level factors in addition to policy factors. Only by combining various influencing factors can the efficient use of energy be more effectively achieved so as to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
Social implications
From the social perspective, the findings indicate that improving energy utilization is dependent on the joint efforts of the government and market.
Originality/value
The study provides quantitative evidence to assess the synergic effect between government and the market in the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry. Particularly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to comprehend the role of the city low-carbon pilot policy and the construction of HSR in improving electricity efficiency.
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Anandajit Goswami, Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay and Atul Kumar
The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of rural energy transition in cooking options in India. Although India is aiming to achieve a double-digit economic growth, a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of rural energy transition in cooking options in India. Although India is aiming to achieve a double-digit economic growth, a large share of rural households still rely on firewood for cooking which not only has serious repercussions of increasing indoor pollution but also has a concomitant adverse effect on women and child morbidity and mortality. However, transition to clean energy options like improved cookstoves for these households may not be necessarily linear. It is often driven or resisted by latent factors such as caste, trust, social capital, information flow, social positioning of clusters that are deeply embedded in the social and cultural norms and values specific to local rural contexts. This has been shown in the present case study that pertains to eight villages in the remote and deprived Purnea district of Bihar and the need for internalizing them in the macro energy policymaking has been established in the paper.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies a macro foundation research that is complemented by micro foundation tools of fuzzy cognitive mapping-based mental model framework to achieve the purpose of the study. Focused-group discussions and interviews are also conducted to establish the narrative of the paper.
Findings
Caste, socio-political position, asset structure, remoteness, culture and technology access affect rural households’ decision making capability that is related to shifting from using the traditionalmeans of firewood and biomass based traditional cookstoves for cooking to adopting improved clean cooking stoves which will enable the transition toward the use of clean rural energy in the eight villages in Bihar chosen for this study.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the paper have larger implications for the broader macro energy policymaking in the country by taking into account the non-linear, latent factors of village contexts.
Practical implications
The research will help energy policymakers in decision-making and will guide the implementation process of national- and state-level policies on rural energy transition in India.
Social implications
The findings of the paper will help the smoother implementation of national- and state-level rural energy transition policies for cooking, creating developmental dividends for rural Indian households.
Originality/value
The research is new with regard to the application of non-deterministic fuzzy cognitive mapping-based mental model approach to contribute to the country’s national- and state-level rural energy transition policies.
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Emma Sofia Hakala and Ilija Batas Bjelic
This paper aims to look at the dilemma of promoting sustainable energy transition in post-socialist countries while containing social and economic implications, focusing on the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to look at the dilemma of promoting sustainable energy transition in post-socialist countries while containing social and economic implications, focusing on the case of Serbia. The aim is to analyse Serbian energy status taking into account historical factors, to analyse barriers that are hindering transition and to identify leapfrogging potential for the sustainable energy development of the country.
Design/methodology/approach
Energy transition and leapfrogging potential have been qualified and quantified by indicators, the own calculations and policy analysis to identify barriers to sustainable energy.
Findings
The country has vast potential for leapfrogging in energy transition, yet continues the gradualist approach based on several policy barriers to the process. The analysis shows six barriers related to low energy price, high energy intensity, prioritization of energy security, inadequacy of utilization of renewable sources, lack of policy coherence and dependency on external funding. However, these barriers could be overcome with an energy policy emphasizing leapfrogging potential. As is pointed out in the conclusion, this should be based on the difference between EU-28 average indicators, discrepancy between use and availability of renewable energy, potential for regional cooperation in the energy sector and under-used skills and participation.
Originality/value
The paper discusses energy transition in its historical context, arguing that it has to be considered as comprehensively with societal implications and effects, thus creating useful knowledge for other post-socialist countries in current and future transitions.
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Jessica Wehner, Naghmeh Taghavi Nejad Deilami, Ceren Altuntas Vural and Árni Halldórsson
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework consisting of actions, processes (i.e. at the operations interface) and services (i.e. at the customer interface).
Design/methodology/approach
Following a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability managers at LSPs and the data were analysed via inductive coding. Based on the results and the literature, the authors developed a maturity model for LSPs' transitions to environmental sustainability.
Findings
LSPs' sustainable development occurs via operational processes, services at the customer interface, and actions that support those processes and services. Energy efficiency efforts are characterised by process depth that helps LSPs to align with their customers' energy efficiency improvement processes. While services related to energy efficiency connect LSPs and their customers, actions in support vary depending on the logistics activities in which LSPs participate.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to test and verify the maturity model and to clarify the interdependency of its three dimensions.
Practical implications
By categorising energy efficiency initiatives and proposing a maturity model for LSPs' sustainable development via energy efficiency, the authors have developed a tool for logistics actors to assess their progress towards improved sustainability.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by providing a three-pillar framework to understand the sustainability transitions of LSPs through energy efficiency. Developing a maturity model using this framework also contributes to the literature with an approach to assess sustainability advancement in the logistics industry.
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Higher economic growth accompanied by rising energy demand poses severe challenges to the long-term environmental sustainability of E7 economies, including Brazil, China, India…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher economic growth accompanied by rising energy demand poses severe challenges to the long-term environmental sustainability of E7 economies, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey. Thus, this paper explores the influence of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on energy diversification for E7 economies.
Design/methodology/approach
The dataset is panel data for emerging seven (E7) economies, covering the period 1992–2017. The empirical investigation relies on econometric techniques: panel cointegration test and panel autoregressive distributed lag model.
Findings
The findings reveal that energy diversification and FDI inflows are cointegrated. In the long run, higher FDI inflows encourage energy diversification, but energy efficiency improvements discourage energy diversification. In the short run, the effects of FDI inflows on energy diversification vary across E7 economies, highlighting the role of country-specific factors in determining the short-run influence of FDI inflows on energy diversification.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggested that FDI policies should encourage the adoption of nonconventional energy resources to stimulate energy diversification in E7 economies. Besides, better coordination between energy diversification and energy efficiency policies is required in the long run for a successful transition towards low-carbon economy goals.
Originality/value
This study is a unique empirical exercise that uncovers a cointegrating relationship between energy diversification and FDI inflows for E7 economies. Moreover, the analysis provides homogenous long-run and heterogeneous (country-specific) short-run coefficient estimates for the effect of FDI inflows on energy diversification.
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Joy P. Vazhayil and R. Balasubramanian
Optimization of energy planning for growth and sustainable development has become very important in the context of climate change mitigation imperatives in developing countries…
Abstract
Purpose
Optimization of energy planning for growth and sustainable development has become very important in the context of climate change mitigation imperatives in developing countries. Existing models do not capture developing country realities adequately. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualizes a framework for energy strategy optimization of the Indian energy sector, which can be applied in all emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Hierarchical multi‐objective policy optimization methodology adopts a policy‐centric approach and groups the energy strategies into multi‐level portfolios based on convergence of objectives appropriate to each level. This arrangement facilitates application of the optimality principle of dynamic programming. Synchronised optimization of strategies with respect to the common objectives at each level results in optimal policy portfolios.
Findings
The reductionist policy‐centric approach to complex energy economy modelling, facilitated by the dynamic programming methodology, is most suitable for policy optimization in the context of a developing country. Barriers to project implementation and cost risks are critical features of developing countries which are captured in the framework in the form of a comprehensive risk barrier index. Genetic algorithms are suitable for optimization of the first level objectives, while the efficiency approach, using restricted weight stochastic data envelopment analysis, is appropriate for higher levels of the objective hierarchy.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology has been designed for application to the energy sector planning for India's 12th Five Year Plan for which the objectives of faster growth, better inclusion, energy security and sustainability have been identified. The conceptual framework combines, within the policy domain, the bottom‐up and top‐down processes to form a hybrid modelling approach yielding optimal outcomes, transparent and convincing to the policy makers. The research findings have substantial implications for transition management to a sustainable energy framework.
Originality/value
The methodology is general in nature and can be employed in all sectors of the economy. It is especially suited to policy design in developing countries with the ground realities factored into the model as project barriers. It offers modularity and flexibility in implementation and can accommodate all the key strategies from diverse sectors along with multiple objectives in the policy optimization process. It enables adoption of an evidence‐based and transparent approach to policy making. The research findings have substantial value for transition management to a sustainable energy framework in developing countries.
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The issue of energy efficiency is becoming increasingly prevalent globally due to factors such as the expansion of the population, economic growth and excessive consumption that…
Abstract
Purpose
The issue of energy efficiency is becoming increasingly prevalent globally due to factors such as the expansion of the population, economic growth and excessive consumption that is not sustainable in the long run. Additionally, healthcare facilities and hospitals are facing challenges as their operational costs continue to rise. The research aim is to develop strategic frameworks for managing green hospitals, towards energy efficiency and corporate governance in hospitals and healthcare facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This research employs a qualitative case study approach, with a sample of ten hospitals examined through interviews with senior management, executives and healthcare facilities managers. Relevant data was also collected from literature and analysed through critical appraisal and content analysis. The research methodology is based on the use of grounded theory research methodologies to build theories from case studies.
Findings
The research developed three integrated conceptual strategic frameworks for managing hospitals and healthcare facilities towards energy efficiency, green hospital initiatives and corporate governance. The research also outlined the concepts of green hospitals and energy efficiency management systems and best practices based on the conclusions drawn from the investigated case studies.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to the initiatives and experiences of the healthcare facilities studied in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Originality/value
The research findings, conclusions, recommendations and proposed frameworks and concepts contribute significantly to the existing body of knowledge. This research also provides recommendations for hospital managers and policymakers on how to effectively implement and manage energy efficiency initiatives in healthcare facilities.
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Roger Andre Søraa, Håkon Fyhn and Jøran Solli
This paper aims to investigate the role of a particular energy calculator in enhancing the energy efficiency of existing homes by asking how this calculator was developed and how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the role of a particular energy calculator in enhancing the energy efficiency of existing homes by asking how this calculator was developed and how it is domesticated by craftspeople working as energy consultants.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on qualitative interviews with users and producers of the energy calculator (n = 22), as well as participation in energy consultation training.
Findings
The paper finds that, in the energy calculator, there is a striking lack of connection between the domestication and script because of lack of energy consultants’ involvement in the design and implementation process.
Practical implications
The enrolment of energy consultants as energy calculator users earlier in and throughout the design process could be valuable in making the transition to an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly building sector.
Social implications
The paper argues for recognition of the role of energy consultants, especially craftspeople, as participants in the design process for tools of governance. This is a call to acknowledge the value of particular skills and experiences possessed by craftspeople doing home consultation.
Originality/value
By understanding the intricate developer–user synchronicity in tools developed for upgrading the building sector, energy mitigation can be made more effective.
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Árni Halldórsson and Martin Svanberg
The aim of this research paper is to explain how principles of supply chain management (SCM) provide important conditions for the production, accessibility and use of energy, from…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research paper is to explain how principles of supply chain management (SCM) provide important conditions for the production, accessibility and use of energy, from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies three distinct trajectories in which the interplay between energy and SCM can release potential for research and practice.
Findings
Energy resources are vital to power industrial processes in manufacturing and logistics, while their use is also a major contributor to carbon emissions. The integrative nature of SCM provides conditions for improvement in use and accessibility of energy, and can facilitate the transition in which fossil fuels are replaced with a system of supply and conversion of renewable energy. These opportunities are highlighted by developing a set of three trajectories, which range from a true supply chain perspective on the energy sector, to an up‐stream and down‐stream perspective, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The impact of energy resources on carbon emissions makes them important units of analysis in further SCM research. Future research must acknowledge the variety in the nature of energy resources, and provide frameworks that are able to address the particular features of these.
Practical implications
Supply chain strategists must assess how energy use, efficiency, dependency and accessibility influence operations, both internally and externally in the supply chain. Logistics flows are powered by energy. As a considerable portion of carbon emissions created by supply chain operations is energy related, energy must be seen as a means towards achievement of environmental sustainability.
Social implications
Understanding the relationship between energy and SCM will help managers to address environmental sustainability.
Originality/value
This is a timely topic of a cross‐disciplinary nature that has only been addressed to a limited extent by SCM so far. The topic is relevant to a large group of problem owners: supply chain strategists of companies where energy use, efficiency, dependency and security is an issue, and where operations processes have an impact on carbon emissions; for the energy sector, that needs to sustain a steady supply of energy, and increase accessibility to renewable energy sources that can replace fossil fuel; for policy makers, where energy dependency and security at a national level is an issue.
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