Themed collection SDG12: Sustainable production of energy materials
Bioproducts from high-protein algal biomass: an economic and environmental sustainability review and risk analysis
High-protein algae bioproduct system boundaries for environmental sustainability risk analysis.
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022,6, 2398-2422
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SE01230D
Lattice oxygen redox chemistry in solid-state electrocatalysts for water oxidation
Lattice oxygen redox chemistry in solid-state electrocatalysts rationalizes the remarkable OER activity by lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism. Here we elucidate the fundamental principle of this mechanism and summarize recently related developments.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 4647-4671
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE01277K
Power-to-methanol process: a review of electrolysis, methanol catalysts, kinetics, reactor designs and modelling, process integration, optimisation, and techno-economics
This review evaluated power-to-methanol and its key technologies with detailed analysis from a process system engineering perspective. It offers a holistic view and highlights key gaps and opportunities for improvements.
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2021,5, 3490-3569
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SE00635E
Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and net energy assessment of large-scale hydrogen production via electrolysis and solar PV
Environmental impacts and net-energy of hydrogen production via solar-electrolysis are highly sensitive to operating constraints and context specific variances.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 5113-5131
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE01288F
Can sustainable ammonia synthesis pathways compete with fossil-fuel based Haber–Bosch processes?
This analysis presents system level analysis of three stages along the transition towards sustainable synthesis of ammonia.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 2535-2548
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EE03808C
Thermal cyclodimerization of isoprene for the production of high-performance sustainable aviation fuel
Isoprene is converted to cycloalkanes by thermal dimerization followed by hydrogenation. The resulting blend exhibits outstanding jet fuel properties.
Energy Adv., 2022,1, 338-343
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2YA00017B
Direct and mild non-hydroxide activation of biomass to carbons with enhanced CO2 storage capacity
Direct activation of biomass, via a simple and lower cost one-step process, with potassium oxalate as a mild and less corrosive agent, yields activated carbon with properties and CO2 uptake comparable or superior to conventionally prepared activated carbons.
Energy Adv., 2022,1, 216-224
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1YA00085C
Type-II BiVO4/Ni3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 heterojunction photoanodes for effective photoelectrochemical reaction
M3(hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 (M = Ni, Co, Cu; hexahydroxytriphenylene (HHTP)) was uniformly coated onto BiVO4 thin films via a facile solvothermal process, and the photoelectrochemical performance of the BiVO4/M3(HHTP)2 photoanodes was investigated.
Energy Adv., 2022,1, 197-204
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2YA00008C
Enzymatic ethanolysis of high free fatty acid jatropha oil using Eversa Transform
A reduction of the cost of enzymatic biodiesel is crucial to make it competitive with known technologies. A single-step process for the conversion of high free fatty acid oils into fatty acid ethyl esters using a low-cost lipase was developed.
Energy Adv., 2022,1, 159-168
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1YA00057H
Surface Diels–Alder adducts on multilayer graphene for the generation of edge-enriched single-atom FeN4 sites for ORR and OER electrocatalysis
The resulting electrocatalyst by low temperature and solvent-free mechanochemical synthesis displays an appropriate bifunctional performance.
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022,6, 1603-1615
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SE00004K
Regulating the *OCCHO intermediate pathway towards highly selective photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CH3CHO over locally crystallized carbon nitride
Locally crystallized PCN is prone to form *OCCHO groups rather than *CH2O groups, regulating the endoergic C–C coupling step to a simultaneous exoergic reaction and changing the reaction pathway towards CH3CHO (selectivity of 98.3%) instead of HCHO.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2022,15, 225-233
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE02073K
Electrocatalytic water splitting with unprecedentedly low overpotentials by nickel sulfide nanowires stuffed into carbon nitride scabbards
The unprecedentedly low overpotential of 32 mV for oxygen evolution was attained by forming a unique motif of NiSx nanowires stuffed into C3N4 scabbards. With this system, electrocatalytic water splitting was demonstrated at the lowest overall overpotential of 72 mV.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2021,14, 5358-5365
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE00509J
Synthesis of tailored oxymethylene ether (OME) fuels via transacetalization reactions
Oxymethylene ethers (OME) as environmentally benign fuels: progress in the design of compounds with tailored properties.
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2021,5, 4311-4326
https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SE00631B
Techno-economic viability of islanded green ammonia as a carbon-free energy vector and as a substitute for conventional production
Evaluation of islanded green ammonia production's economic viability at 534 locations worldwide showing competitiveness by 2030.
Energy Environ. Sci., 2020,13, 2957-2966
https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EE01707H
About this collection
Worldwide consumption and production rest on the use of the natural environment and resources in a way that has destructive impacts on the planet. Sustainable consumption and production promotes resource and energy efficiency, and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies. This collection showcases some of the latest research in Royal Society of Chemistry journals on the sustainable production of energy materials. We hope you enjoy reading the papers in this collection and we welcome you to submit your next paper on this theme to our journals.