Sharif Digital Repository

Today, regarding the limitation and environmental side effects of fossil fuel resources, solar hydrogen production is one of the main interests in the energy research area. The development of visible light sensitized semiconductors based on non-toxic components, low cost and available bio-species is an ongoing approach for H2 generation based on water splitting reactions. Here, two different morphologies of TiO2 photoanodes, nanoparticulated and nanotubular, have been modified with simply extracted bacteriorhodopsin (bR) without any linker. Achieving a significant enhancement in photoconversion efficiency of TiO2 photoanodes, η% was increased from 2.9 to 16.5 by bR addition to the TiO2... 

Despite a substantial potential of renewable energy sources, the current energy supply system in Iran relies almost entirely on fossil fuel resources. It has imposed significant financial burden on the country and has led to considerable GHG emissions. Moreover, the country is confronting several challenges for harnessing alternative clean energy sources and promoting rational energy policies over the recent decades. To probe the root cause of these problems, this paper first provides an overview on the previous energy planning attempts in Iran. It shows that adequate commitment to a long-term energy planning could have meaningfully prevented these serious challenges. However, the previous... 

Extensive dependence of the national economy on wasteful fossil fuel use as well as limited access to the international financial markets and the best available techniques over the strict economic sanctions period have hindered Iran from developing a sustainable energy system. By considering the reversal order, the present study investigated the least-cost options for improving energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions in the energy supply sector. The essential purpose of this research work is to increase the evidence base necessary to inform policy and strategy discussions within Iran and related communities concerning the choice of GHG emissions reduction. Applying ARDL approach to... 

The objective of the present study is the development of an optimization model for identifying the best configuration of renewable-based integrated energy systems. The system includes a combination of renewable energy systems such as wind, solar, hydropower and hydrogen production, storage facilities and conventional fossil-fuel generators. The developed tool consists of various modules where water heating assumes the utilization of waste energy as an option. Furthermore, the application, which is demonstrated for a case study in Tehran, has been considered. The power exchange with the distribution network and injection of hydrogen produced from excess renewable sources into gas network are... 

In this paper, special focus is paid to the long-term adoption of renewable electricity technologies and their implications for emissions reductions in Iran. MESSAGE, as a bottom-up energy supply optimization model, is used to assess the lowest-cost technology options. The potential impacts of transitioning to a renewable electricity supply are quantified, and the investment requirement to achieve a low-carbon generation mix is estimated. Alternative scenarios are defined to evaluate the impact of fossil fuel prices, the carbon tax and government incentives on the utilization of renewable resources, national renewable targets, and emissions reductions. The prioritization of non-hydro... 

This study presents a comprehensive framework for evaluating renewable and non-renewable power plants' performance using the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and emergy analysis. The emergy analysis is used to consider the free ecosystem services in the sustainability of the systems as a supplement to the LCA. The results indicate that the wind and photovoltaic power plants have the best performance in terms of the LCA analysis, while the wind and combined cycle power plants have the highest emergy sustainability index. The best scenario is chosen under a two-objective optimization problem, including the single score and emergy sustainability as objective functions. Here, the wind power plant is... 

This study presents a comprehensive framework for evaluating renewable and non-renewable power plants' performance using the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and emergy analysis. The emergy analysis is used to consider the free ecosystem services in the sustainability of the systems as a supplement to the LCA. The results indicate that the wind and photovoltaic power plants have the best performance in terms of the LCA analysis, while the wind and combined cycle power plants have the highest emergy sustainability index. The best scenario is chosen under a two-objective optimization problem, including the single score and emergy sustainability as objective functions. Here, the wind power plant is... 

In recent years, declining fossil fuel reserves and increasing environmental concerns led to higher utilization of renewable energy source (RES). One of the RES is Solar energy which is abundantly found in different areas of the globe, particularly in Iran. The aim of this research is to select a suitable site for constructing a solar power plant to generate electricity-hydrogen in southern Iran, Kerman province. For this purpose, a new hybrid Multi criteria decision making method is used. The Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA)method is used to weigh the criteria and the Measurement of alternatives and ranking according to Compromise solution (MARCOS)method is used to rank... 

Due to the limited resources of fossil fuels, energy supply–demand management and planning especially in the supply-side of the energy system have increasingly become very important. This article assesses Iran’s energy system in order to find the main causes of the considerably high energy intensity in the country compared with similar economies in size and production. Accordingly, fundamental policies and strategies are proposed in order to manage the recognized bottlenecks. The conclusions suggest strongly that not only the fossil-based energy system, but also incompatible patterns of production and consumption in the reference energy system as well as the use of conventional technologies... 

Growth of the world population, increasing demand for fossil fuel consumption and consequently increasing threat of global warming, has extended the need for production and use of clean fuels and normal hydrogen is an important utility in the production of clean fuels. In this paper, a mathematical optimization method is applied which is based on non-linear programming of superstructure for minimizing the consumption of hydrogen. The method considers all the pressure constraints and is suited for revamping industrial systems. The optimum placement of new equipments like purification unit has been also considered. It is tried to verify the method adopted, in addition, an industrial case study... 

In this paper, the effect of wind power generation on power system reliability is investigated. Furthermore, reliability improvement of power system using integrated battery energy storage system and wind farm will be evaluated. Growing demand for electrical energy, gradual diminishing of fossil fuel resources and environmental pollution due to continuous exploitation of them, have led to inevitable change of energy sources in power generation. Due to the random nature of wind speed, the power output of a wind farm is fluctuating; as a result, it does not have a proper control capability. The growing penetration of wind power generation in power system could cause various problems in... 

In this paper, the effect of different parameters of power plants, such as height above sea level, performance, ambient temperature, fuel type on emissions in Iran's power plants is investigated. Based on that, a general strategy for selecting the type of power plant, fuel that fit with the geographical situation in the Middle East is presented. Results taken from this scientific study shows that using natural gas to generate power in the region should be a priority. As well as expected, the value of various emission factors decrease by increasing power produce. Also the emission factors of combined cycle power plants are the lowest as compared to other types of power plants  

Nowadays, fossil fuel limitations and environmental concerns push researchers to find clean and renewable energy resources. Solar hydrogen production via water splitting reactions in electrochemical and/or photo-electrochemical systems has been accepted as a promising route and efficient electrocatalysts are involved in both. Here, cobalt nanoflakes with an oxide/hydroxide surface and a conductive metallic core are grown on commercially available steel mesh modified with carbon based nanocomposites as a support layer. The portion of reduced graphene oxide sheets was changed from 0 to 100 wt% and the correlation of this concentration with the surface morphology and electro-catalytic activity... 

Greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources are believed to be the main cause of global warming and climate change. Furthermore, fossil fuels are forecasted to remain the dominant source of energy in the near future. Therefore, capture and sequestration of greenhouse gases and in particular carbon dioxide is likely to be a major pathway toward environmental protection and energy sustainability. Such clarity has stimulated an intense and diverse range of research into various capture and mitigation technologies, which race with global warming in real-time. Quantification of the performance improvement rates of these technologies can inform decision-makers' long-term investment... 

The Iranian government has set a target of a 20% share of non-fossil fuel electricity generation by 2030, whose main result is reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions (about 182 million tonnes in 2017) to achieve the targets pledged under the Paris Climate Accord. So, this paper presents a comprehensive model on the expansion of non-fossil technology to evaluate the impact of increasing their share in Iran’s electricity supply system. This analytical approach is based on system dynamics (SD) that was developed based on dynamic behavior of electricity market, with an emphasis on the expansion of non-fossil fuels (solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, expansion turbines, and hydro power) in the... 

Due to the devastating ecological effects and constrained reserves of fossil fuels, renewable energies are now globally accepted as viable alternative sources of energy. Among renewable energy sources, wind energy has become globally popular, primarily because wind farms can be rapidly built and easily maintained at a relatively low cost. Wind-powered hydrogen production is an effective solution for storing the excess energy output of wind farms. The hydrogen produced in this way can be used not only in fuel cells but also in cooling, oil, gas, and petrochemical fields. As a country devastated by war and instability, Afghanistan has major energy generation challenges and a substantially... 

Catalytic reduction of nitrobenzene is the leading technological step in aniline production. The hydrogen required for this stage, is dominantly produced from fossil fuels through reforming processes, which take much energy and emit large amounts of CO2. Biomass-derived glycerol steam reforming is an attractive alternative to traditional reforming to reduce the dependence on hydrocarbon resources and mitigate climate change. This research aims to analyze a mass- and heat-integrated multi-tubular membrane reactor, containing nitrobenzene hydrogenation (exothermic-side) and glycerol steam reforming (endothermic-side) for co-production of aniline and syngas. In this process, hydrogenation... 

With over 8 million inhabitants and 4 million motor vehicles on the streets, Tehran is one of the most crowded and polluted cities in the Middle East. Frequent exceedances of national daily PM2.5 limit have been reported in this city during the last decade, yet, the chemical composition and sources of fine particles are poorly determined. In the present study, 24-hour PM2.5 samples were collected at two urban sites during two separate campaigns, a one-year period from 2014 to 2015 and another three-month period at the beginning of 2017. Concentrations of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, trace metals and specific organic molecular markers were measured by chemical...