Techno-economic optimization of a sustainable system to cogenerate power and water for remote areas

In this study,a new water and power cogeneration plant,employing photovoltaic(PV)and photovoltaic-thermal(PVT)panels simultaneously,is designed and optimized for a village struggling to provide energy and potable water in Iran.The system includes a solar energy unit to generate clean electricity and heat,and a reverse osmosis unit to produce drinking water.Techno-economic optimization is performed by implementing a genetic algorithm,and a comprehensive water and energy management strategy is designed and presented in detail,expandable for future works.A new method,the logarithmic model,is used to calculate the depth of discharge(DOD)of lithium-ion batteries,which was previously a fixed and predetermined value in previous papers.Various indices,the constraints of the optimization process,are also introduced to measure the reliabilities of different units.The effects of the system components on total cost are investigated and a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is performed to find the best solution to increase the penetration of renewable-energy systems.The results reveal that considering the depth of discharge of batteries and water storage tank capacity as decision variables reduces the system’s life-cycle cost(by 5.1%for changeable DODs).Furthermore,the simultaneous use of PV and PVT panels decreases the life-cycle cost considerably by≤19%compared with the use of only PVT panels.Additionally,the cost of the battery causes a decrease in the cost of electricity storage and the cost of producing and storing fresh water.

Genetic variation in coronavirus disease 2019:a literature review

Background:The first Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak occurred in Wuhan,Hubei Province,China,in December 2019.It originated from a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).As of 12 November 2021,above 251,788,329 people have been infected and 5,077,907 deaths deaths have been reported globally.The new COVID-19 belongs to the genus Coronavirus with its high mutation rate in the Coronaviridae.The present study aimed to investigate the problems caused by the mutation and its effects on the immune system.Methods:We used Google Scholar,Web of science,Scopus,and PubMed for searching the literature regarding genetic variation in Coronavirus.Results:The publicly available literature in this area was reviewed to summarize the information about the genetic variation of this virus,phylogeny and genome structure,its relationship with the ABO blood group,genome variation,mutations in hotspots,and spike surface glycoprotein.Conclusion:Finally,it was concluded that COVID-19 can mutate;therefore,health authorities are required to remain cautious and completely prepared.

Experimental and DFT insights into nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanotubes for effective desulfurization of liquid phases:Equilibrium&kinetic study

Herein,nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon nanotubes(NS-CNT)adsorbents were synthesized via the chemical vapor deposition technique at 1000°C by employing the camphor,urea and sulfur trioxide pyridine.In this study,desulfurization of two types of mercaptans(dibenzothiophene(DBT)and tertiary butyl mercaptan(TBM)as nonlinear and linear forms of mercaptan)was studied.In this regard,a maximum capacity of NS-CNT was obtained as 106.9 and 79.4 mg/g and also the removal efficiencies of 98.6%and 88.3%were achieved after 4 h at 298K and 0.9 g of NS-CNT for DBT and TBM,respectively.Characterization of the NS-CNTs was carried out through exploiting scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),and elemental analysis(CHN).The isotherm equilibrium data could be ascribed to the Freundlich nonlinear regression form and the kinetic data was fitted by nonlinear form of the pseudo second order model.The negative values of ΔS^(0),ΔH^(0) and ΔG^(0) specify that the adsorption of both types of mercaptans was a natural exothermic process with a reduced entropy.Maintenance of more than 96%of the adsorption capacity even after nine cycles suggest the NS-CNT as a superior adsorbent for mercaptans removal in the industry.Density functional theory(DFT)calculations were also performed to peruse the effects of S/N co-doping and carbon monovacancy defects in CNTs toward the adsorption of DBT and TBM.