As is widely known, the issue of freshwater scarcity affects practically all people, and all are looking for innovative and workable ways to attempt to solve this issue. In this work, a novel method of desalination is proposed. The proposed system consists of a solar collector (PTSC), evacuated pipe (EP), condenser (CU), and separation unit (SU). The working principle of the system is heating the feed saline water using the PTSC and EP and controlling the water flow rate to control the output conditions of the EP. The produced vapor is therefore separated from salty water using the SU. In addition, the generated steam is condensed into the CU to produce a freshwater distillate. Consequently, the effect of solar radiation on the affecting temperatures was tested. In addition, the effect of using different water flow rates (6, 7.5, 10, 20, 40, and 60 L/h) inside the EP on the system productivity was investigated. The primary findings of this work may be highlighted in relation to the experiments conducted. At midday, when ultraviolet irradiance reached its highest, the EP’s water flow entrance and outflow had the largest temperature differential. In addition, the lower the water flow rate inside the EP, the higher the water temperature, the higher the evaporation rate of the system, and the greater the freshwater productivity of the system. At 6 L/h, the water’s highest temperature was 92 °C. Moreover, the best performance of the system was obtained at 7.5 L/h, where the freshwater production and average daily effectiveness of the distillate process were 44.7 L/daytime and 59.6%, respectively. As well, the productivity of EP was augmented by around 11.86% when using graphite nanoparticles. Additionally, the distilled freshwater from the system operating at the flow rate of 7.5 L/h costs 0.0085 $/L.

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are devices that convert heat into electricity. This paper is about the design of a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) technique for a TEG module. The module is built using 204 TEGs connected in series. It is connected to the load through a DC/DC boost converter. The MPPT technique used in this work is the Interval Type 2 Fuzzy Logic Controller (IT2FLC). To verify its performance, the IT2FLC is compared with a traditional Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm in the case of power and voltage response at steady state, load switching, and through various ranges of temperature differences (ΔT). The TEG module is modeled and the whole system is simulated successfully using MATLAB SIMULINK R2017a.

The outcome of this paper is to suggest an efficient energy-management strategy (EMS) for a direct-current (DC) microgrid (MG). The typical MG is composed of two renewable energy sources [photovoltaic (PV) systems and fuel cells (FCs)] and two energy-storage elements (lithium-ion battery and supercapacitor). An EMS was proposed to ensure optimal bus voltage with a power-sharing arrangement between the load and the sources. As a result, in the suggested DC MG, non-linear flatness control theory was used instead of the traditional proportional-integral control approach. The suggested EMS is intended to supply high power quality to the load under varying load conditions with fluctuating solar irradiation while considering the FC status. To validate and prove the effectiveness of the proposed EMS, a MATLAB® environment was used. In addition, the output power of the PV system was maximized using the particle swarm optimization algorithm as a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique to track the MPP of the 3000-W PV system under different irradiance conditions. The results show that the suggested EMS delivers a stable and smooth DC bus voltage with minimum overshoot value (0.1%) and improved ripple content (0.1%). As a result, the performance of the DC MG was enhanced by employing the flatness control theory, which provides higher power quality by stabilizing the bus voltage.

Multilevel inverters (MLI) consist of a wide range of power converters. They have many designs and have been introduced with different circuit topologies such as neutral point clamped, diode clamped, cascaded H-bridges, and flying capacitors. Some of these MLIs have disadvantages, including design complexity, size, and losses due to the large number of switching devices required when they produce many output voltage levels. They are also bulky in size and may require several DC power sources. This paper presents a review of the various topologies of single-phase T-Type MLIs (T-MLIs). These MLIs are used to convert DC power from renewable energy sources (RES)” into AC with a near-sine waveform and low total harmonic distortion (THD). Simple and complex MLI designs are discussed. The major types of modulation techniques are discussed, including sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM), selective harmonic elimination (SHE), and preprogrammed PWM. Various methods of output voltage control are taken into consideration as well. The aim of this comprehensive survey is to identify T-MLIs for researchers and those interested in the power conversion field, as well as to discuss the many topologies, identifying designs with superior characteristics that can be efficiently implemented with RESs to obtain better AC voltage with enhanced power quality.

This paper offers a discussion on the social dimensions of the barriers to nuclear power generation in the country. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature by identifying the barriers to nuclear power generation in the Philippines and offering perspectives on the social relevance of potentially adding nuclear sources to the country’s energy mix. Given the contemporary relevance of the energy transitions globally, this work builds on the available sources over the past decade concerning nuclear energy technology in the Philippines and provides further discussions on the diverse barriers to the country’s energy transition pathway. Findings present barriers related to politics, policy, infrastructure, technical capacities, environment and information. The differences in priorities and values concerning nuclear energy reflect that the barriers to nuclear energy generation in the Philippines are social as much as technical. Based on the findings and descriptions of the current discussions on Philippine energy generation, this work provides some key points for consideration in order to deploy nuclear power plants in the country. These recommendations, however, are not definitive measures and are still subject to local conditions that may arise. This study hopes to be instructive to other countries in terms of further reflecting on the social dimensions of the barriers to nuclear energy generation.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an energy management strategy (EMS) based on flatness control method for a standalone hybrid photovoltaic-battery system. The goal of the proposed method is to use non-linear flatness theory to develop an efficient EMS in order to provide a stable DC bus voltage and an optimal power sharing process between the solar array and the battery. The suggested EMS is responsible for balancing the power reference for the PV system and the battery while keeping the DC bus voltage steady and performing at its reference value. In order to maximize the PV’s power, a perturb and observe with a variable step size (VSSP and P&O) based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method with a DC/DC boost converter was used. In addition, a DC/DC bidirectional converter was developed to control the charging and discharging process of the battery. Moreover, the proposed EMS strategy was verified in a MATLAB®/Simulink-based simulation environment by subjecting it to a variety of scenarios, including those with varying degrees of irradiation and sudden changes in load. The obtained results show that the presented EMS method was able to keep the bus voltage stable despite changes in load or solar radiation. Furthermore, the EMS By minimizing bus voltage spikes, the technique also ensured excellent power quality which helped the battery’s operation in terms of lifetime and efficiency. Finally, the suggested strategy has a minimum overshoot rate in the bus voltage and higher tracking efficiency compared with the classical load following (LF) strategy under various load conditions.