The study investigates the impact of Phase Change Material (PCM) and nano Phase Change Materials (NPCM) on solar still performance. PCM and a blend of NPCM are placed within 12 copper tubes submerged in 1 mm of water to enhance productivity. Thermal performance is assessed across four major scenarios with a fixed water level of 1 mm in the basin. These scenarios include the conventional still, equipped with 12 empty copper rods and 142 g of PCM in each tube, as well as stills with NPCM Samples 1 and 2. Sample 1 contains 0.75% nanoparticle concentration plus 142 g of PCM in the first 6 tubes, while Sample 2 features 2% nanoparticle concentration plus 142 g of PCM in the subsequent 6 tubes. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles ranging in size from 20 to 30 nm are utilized, with paraffin wax (PW) serving as the latent heat storage (LHS) medium due to its 62 °C melting temperature. The experiments are conducted under the local weather conditions of Vaddeswaram, Vijayawada, India (Latitude-80.6480 °E, Longitude-16.5062 °N). A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is utilized to examine the thermal properties, including the melting point and latent heat fusion, of the NPCM compositions. Results demonstrate that the addition of nanoparticles enhances both the specific heat capacity and latent heat of fusion (LHF) in PCM through several mechanisms, including facilitating nucleation, improving energy absorption during phase change, and modifying crystallization behavior within the phase change material. Productivity and efficiency measurements reveal significant improvements: case 1 achieves 2.66 units of daily production and 46.23% efficiency, while cases 2, 3, and 4 yield 3.17, 3.58, and 4.27 units of daily production, respectively. Notably, the utilization of NPCM results in a 60.37% increase overall productivity and a 68.29% improvement in overall efficiency.

The scientific aim of the study is to propose a comprehensive review of thermal management systems (TMSs) used in electric vehicle (EV) battery packs on matters pertaining to performance enhancement, improvements in safety, and reliability. This includes the various thermal management strategies, addressing some of the problems posed by the dynamic nature of operating conditions, and evaluating emerging TMS technologies. From this aspect, the problem of this research focused on the description of a detailed insight into the efficiencies of TMSs inside an EV, pointing to the impacts of various cooling mechanisms, mostly liquid cooling, air cooling, and phase‐change materials. The research study further evaluates the integration of TMS in vehicle design and its effects on battery lifespan, charging speeds, and environmental impacts. The benefits, disadvantages, and specific applications of each method are discussed about EVs. Taking into consideration the fast charging, high‐power, and environmental effects, further discussion is made on the specific challenges that come with dynamic operating conditions of EVs. This is shown through the industry's constant pursuit to develop in this critical area through the discovery of novel technologies, including predictive control algorithms and superior thermal materials. It discusses in depth how heat management is integrated into the general vehicle design and how this impacts battery lifespan, charging speed, and range. In conclusion, it is a source of material for research scholars, engineers, and policymakers in charge of developing EVs by synthesizing what already exists, highlighting trends at current times, and outlining possible future directions in the continuum of optimizing TMS for the next generation of driving automobile transportation batteries.

The expansion of urbanisation with improved living conditions are forecast to increase energy demand. One such massive consumption of fossil fuels is the transport sector. The new vehicles registered in India have an 843% growth rate over just 66 years (1951–2017). In addition to environmental concerns, and depletion of fossil fuels, bio-fuel based alternative fuels are intended to contribute to future energy requirements. Hence, this paper mainly concentrates on the biofuel to make use in a single-cylinder, 7.35 kW, in-direct injection, diesel engine without any modifications. The pre-heated straight vegetable oil (SVO) of Schleichera Oleosa (SO) in 40°C–120°C with an increment of 20°C with exhaust gas waste heat recovery framework by a heat exchanger with an effectiveness of 72.4% was adopted to understand the engine performance, combustion, and engine-out emissions and compared with conventional diesel operation. The pre-heated SO SVO at 120°C showed better results at par with diesel operation on the selected engine; brake thermal efficiency was achieved at 27.82%. Maximum cylinder pressure of 41.42 bar was recorded with enhanced pre as well as diffusion combustion phases. NOx touched 390 ppm and the smoke of 43 HSU, CO of 0.7% by volume, and HC of 9 ppm were noticed.

Employing phase change material (PCM) as a productivity-enriching medium in solar stills is the best source of storing the heat for a longer period in recent years. Few researchers incorporated the nanoparticles into PCM to examine the effect of nanoparticles on the productivity of a solar still. The current paper reviews the characteristic features of nanoparticles and the recent developments in the usage of nano-based PCM and pure nanoparticles as a thermal storage medium in solar stills. Nano-employed PCM is also being attracted and dragging the attention to increase the main key barrier of low thermal conductivity of PCM in industrial and household applications due to its higher solidification and melting rates. Merits of using nanoparticles and PCM with nanoparticles are presented in the article from the apex of its positive properties on solar stills for their improvement in thermal performance. Further, it showcases the use of pure nanoparticles and nanoparticles integrated with PCM which helps in increasing the PCM thermal conductivity when compared to base fluids and has been chosen as the best suitable technique (Nanoparticles) for increasing still productivity. The development of this review paper focuses on the enrichment of thermal energy capabilities of PCM using nanoparticles (or) nanocomposites that would afford to attain high productivity and improved thermal performance by different comparisons for a better understanding.

Biodiesel plays an important role in the automotive sector due to the enormous demand for conventional fuels such as diesel. A significant drawback of utilizing conventional fuel in the base engine is tailpipe emissions. The addition of water into the fuel reduced the harmful pollutants emitted from the engine and improved engine performance. The palm oil was used as biodiesel and it was mixed with 5% (by volume) water content to the fuel and tween 80 and span 80 is used as a co-surfactant and surfactant. Cerium oxide was used as a nanoparticle and mixed with biodiesel water emulsion in a 30 ppm dosage using an ultrasonicator. The partially stabilized zirconium was used as a coating product, and the desired coating thickness was 500 microns (or 0.5 mm) on the piston head, inlet, and exhaust value using the plasma spray method. The tailpipe emission characteristics of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide oxides of nitrogen and smoke were decreased by 16.6%, 18.02%, 6.7%, and 29.16% for utilizing blend of palm oil nanoemulsion in the engine when correlated to diesel fuel. The thermal efficiency increased by 14.03% for palm oil nanoemulsion as compared with the neat diesel. Abbreviations: PNAE Palm oil nanoadditive emulsion HLB Hydrophile-lipophile balance PSZ Partially stabilized zirconium WWF World Wildlife Fund PONE Palm oil nanoemulsionPO100Neat palm oil POE Palm oil emulsion BTE Brake thermal efficiency HC Hydrocarbon COCarbon monoxideNO_xOxides of nitrogen HRR Heat release rate LGO Lemongrass oilIDIgnition delay WCO Waste cooking oilI CPIn-cylinder pressureLHVLatent heat of vaporization SOME Sesame oil methyl ester TC Thermal conductivity CNH Cerium nitrate hexahydrate