Untiring Researches for Alternative Resources of Rhizoma Paridis

Rhizoma Paridis(RP,M®),a traditional Chinese medicine,is the rhizoma of Paris polyphylla var.yunnanensis(PPY)or P.polyphylla var.chinensis which are widely used as important raw materials for several Chinese patent drugs.However,the wild resources of these herbs have become less and less due to their slow-growing characteristics and previously excessive excavation.This review covers untiring investigations on alternative resources of RP by our research group over the past decades,including non-medicinal parts of PPY as well as other plants of Liliaceae and Liliflorae families.The arial parts of PPY and the whole plants of Trillium kamtschaticum might be alternative resources for RP based on the fact that they shared the same or similar saponins and bioactivities.

2015 IWA Alternative Water Resources Conference Nanjing,China(May 26-28,2015)

The IWA Alternative Water Resources（AWR）Conference is organized by the International Water Association,Hohai University,the IWA China Chapter of the AWR Cluster,and the Seawater Desalination and AWR Utilization Research Center of Hohai University.

Future of Renewable Resources in an Area Burdened by Brown Coal Mining

This contribution is focused on a possible utilization of renewable energy resources in the Podkrušnohoří?region (Chmomutov, Most, Teplice, ústí nad Labem districts) in the northern part of the Czech Republic after the end of brown coal mining in 2055. Results of the research describe current share of renewable energy resources (solar, wind, water, biogas) in the model area, and a future energy potential in order to ensure sustainable development of an anthropogenically burdened region. Aim of this contribution is to determine, which renewable energy resources would be the most suitable for energy production after the end of brown coal mining. It also describes current and possible use of geothermal power as there are registered heat flow anomalies in the area.

Sustainable Application of a Novel Water Cycle Using Seawater for Toilet Flushing

Global water security is a severe issue that threatens human health and well-being. Finding sustainable alternative water resources has become a matter of great urgency. For coastal urban areas, desalinated seawater could serve as a freshwater supply. However, since 20%-30% of the water supply is used for flushing waste from the city, seawater with simple treatment could also partly replace the use of freshwater. In this work, the freshwater saving potential and environmental impacts of the urban water system （water-wastewater closed loop） adopting seawater desalination, seawater for toilet flushing （SWTF）, or reclaimed water for toilet flushing （RWTF） are compared with those of a conventional freshwater system, through a life-cycle assessment and sensitivity analysis. The potential applications of these processes are also assessed. The results support the environmental sustainability of the SWTF approach, but its potential application depends on the coastal distance and effective population density of a city. Developed coastal cities with an effective population density exceeding 3000 persons.km-2 and located less than 30 km from the seashore （for the main pipe supplying seawater to the city） would benefit from applying SWTF, regardless of other impact parameters. By further applying the sulfate reduction, autotrophic denitrification, and nitrification integrated （SANI） process for wastewater treatment, the maximum distance from the seashore can be extended to 60 km. Considering that most modern urbanized cities fulfill these criteria, the next generation of water supply systems could consist of a freshwater supply coupled with a seawater supply for sustainable urban development.

Future of Architecture: Buildings as Power Plants

After the energy crisis in 1970s,buildings began to be used as a platform for the elements which produce energy from renewable energies to return them into energy producing power plants.This is a safe,clean and economic way to produce energy since the energy is produced where it is needed and they use renewable energy resources.So,it promises hope for the future energy production.Therefore,the aim of this study is to examine buildings which produce electricity by using renewable energy resources and to show that this is one of the safest,cleanest and most economic ways to be used to produce energy in the future.This is done by describing power plants and how buildings are used as power producing stations by the use of renewable energy resources or other energy producing materials,then by examining case studies which are constructed and already being used,case studies which are just a design that have not yet been constructed,and by making projections to the future energy producing techniques that are just a proposal in 2021.In the conclusion,buildings are proposed as the future power plants,either here on earth or on another planet like Mars.

A Study of Advanced Efficient Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Electric Propulsion and Energy Source

Recently global warming and the depletion of fuel resources have accelerated researchers’ efforts to produce more efficient and clean alternatives. This research presents a comprehensive review of the different adjustments/con figurations of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), traction motors for power systems, and wireless speed control of traction drive. Electronic installation of technology can reduce pollution efficiently and effectively. The efficient operation has always been one of the most common investigators’ objectives in the automotive industry and academic areas. There are several renewable energy resources for hybrid vehicles that will replace depleted gasoline worldwide. The purpose of this paper is the development of more efficient pure EVs, HEVs, and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) present both a challenge and a definite solution to current mobility issues. Fuel consumption in cars is a concern due to the harmful effects on the environment. Among other battery sources, fuel cells (FC), super capacitors (SC), and photovoltaic cells are studied for vehicle application. A combination of these renewable energy sources can be used for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in the next generation of transportation. With the significant progress of automobile technology, the hybrid electric vehicle has already become the main achievement of transportation electrification due to its excellent fuel-saving performance.

Pricing strategies in inelastic energy markets： can we use less if we can＇t extract more？

Limited supply of nonrenewable energy resources under growing energy demand creates a situation when a marginal change in the quantity supplied or demanded causes non-marginal swings in price levels. The situation is worsened by the fact that we are currently running out of cheap energy resources at the global scale while adaptation to climate change requires extra energy costs. It is often argued that technology and alternative energy will be a solution. However, alternative energy infrastructure also requires additional energy investments, which can further increase the gap between energy demand and supply. This paper presents an explorative model that demonstrates that a smooth transition from an oil-based economy to alternative energy sources is possible only if it is started well in advance while fossil resources are still abundant. Later the transition looks much more dramatic and it becomes risky to rely entirely on technological solutions. It becomes increasingly likely that in addition to technological solutions that can increase supply we will need to find ways to decrease demand and consumption. We further argue that market mechanisms can be just as powerful tools to curb demand as they have traditionally been for stimulating consumption. We observe that individuals who consume more energy resources benefit at the expense of those who consume less, effectively imposing price externalities on the latters. We suggest two transparent and flexible methods of pricing that attempt to eliminate price externalities on energy resources. Such pricing schemes stimulate less consumption and can smooth the transition to renewable energy.