IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2022i1p537-d1018085.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cooling and Power from Waste and Agriculture Residue as a Sustainable Strategy for Small Islands—A Case Study of Tonga

Author

Listed:
  • Moslem Yousefzadeh

    (School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia)

  • Manfred Lenzen

    (School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia)

  • Muhammad Arsalan Tariq

    (Independent Researcher, Karachi 75400, Pakistan)

Abstract

Identifying local energy sources and devising a circular economy could improve self-sufficiency in many Pacific Islands. On the islands with significant agriculture, the residue from the cultivation of plants has promising energy potential. The waste stream is another potential source of energy that otherwise should undergo proper treatment. Additionally, cold-storage capacity improves the preservation of crops and increases the agricultural exports of these islands. This study proposes a combined cooling and power (CCP) system driven by biomass from agriculture residue and waste streams as fuel for different districts in Tonga. The units supply a fraction of the districts’ electricity demand and provide sufficient cold-storage capacity to preserve the prospective yield of a fraction of fallow lands. The technical and economic performance of the CCP units was analysed for different fractions of electricity demand and fallow land exploitation in each district during a year of operation. The results show that the optimum combination of the CCP units supplies 38% of the total electricity demand of Tonga and prevents the annual consumption of 7.4 million litres of diesel and emission of 20 kilotonnes of CO 2 . In addition, it provides 3700 m 2 of cold-storage area, which is sufficient for preserving the prospective yield of the exploitation of 27% of the total fallow land of Tonga. Annual export revenue of about AU$10 million is expected from such a cold-storage capacity for Tongan farmers. Furthermore, the units consume 10,000 tonnes of annual waste, significantly reducing waste management costs. This study presents an example of a comprehensive circular-economy solution for a remote island state that improves its socioeconomic and environmental condition by supplying the community’s local needs from its available and abundant resources under a viable business model. The solution presented in this study can be adapted to many island communities with significant agriculture in the economy and crucial energy and cooling needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Moslem Yousefzadeh & Manfred Lenzen & Muhammad Arsalan Tariq, 2022. "Cooling and Power from Waste and Agriculture Residue as a Sustainable Strategy for Small Islands—A Case Study of Tonga," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:537-:d:1018085
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/537/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/537/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barigozzi, G. & Perdichizzi, A. & Ravelli, S., 2014. "Performance prediction and optimization of a waste-to-energy cogeneration plant with combined wet and dry cooling system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 65-74.
    2. Jafar, M, 2000. "Renewable energy in the South Pacific—options and constraints," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 305-309.
    3. Miranda, Marie Lynn & Hale, Brack, 2005. "Paradise recovered: energy production and waste management in island environments," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(13), pages 1691-1702, September.
    4. Pirotta, F.J.C. & Ferreira, E.C. & Bernardo, C.A., 2013. "Energy recovery and impact on land use of Maltese municipal solid waste incineration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-11.
    5. Quoilin, Sylvain & Aumann, Richard & Grill, Andreas & Schuster, Andreas & Lemort, Vincent & Spliethoff, Hartmut, 2011. "Dynamic modeling and optimal control strategy of waste heat recovery Organic Rankine Cycles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2183-2190, June.
    6. Chen, M.C. & Ruijs, A. & Wesseler, J., 2005. "Solid waste management on small islands: the case of Green Island, Taiwan," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 31-47.
    7. Miranda, Marie Lynn & Hale, Brack, 1997. "Waste not, want not: the private and social costs of waste-to-energy production," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 587-600, May.
    8. Liu, Changwei & Gao, Tieyu, 2019. "Off-design performance analysis of basic ORC, ORC using zeotropic mixtures and composition-adjustable ORC under optimal control strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 95-108.
    9. Yousefzadeh, Moslem & Uzgoren, Eray, 2015. "Mass-conserving dynamic organic Rankine cycle model to investigate the link between mass distribution and system state," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 1128-1139.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cai, Jinwen & Shu, Gequn & Tian, Hua & Wang, Xuan & Wang, Rui & Shi, Xiaolei, 2020. "Validation and analysis of organic Rankine cycle dynamic model using zeotropic mixture," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Shi, Yao & Zhang, Zhiming & Xie, Lei & Wu, Xialai & Liu, Xueqin Amy & Lu, Shan & Su, Hongye, 2022. "Modified hierarchical strategy for transient performance improvement of the ORC based waste heat recovery system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PA).
    3. Michael Chukwuemeka Ekwonu & Mirae Kim & Binqi Chen & Muhammad Tauseef Nasir & Kyung Chun Kim, 2023. "Dynamic Simulation of Partial Load Operation of an Organic Rankine Cycle with Two Parallel Expanders," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Gleinser, Moritz & Wieland, Christoph & Spliethoff, Hartmut, 2018. "Batch evaporation power cycle: Influence of thermal inertia and residence time," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 1090-1101.
    5. Fabio Fatigati & Marco Di Bartolomeo & Davide Di Battista & Roberto Cipollone, 2019. "Experimental and Numerical Characterization of the Sliding Rotary Vane Expander Intake Pressure in Order to Develop a Novel Control-Diagnostic Procedure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Imran, Muhammad & Pili, Roberto & Usman, Muhammad & Haglind, Fredrik, 2020. "Dynamic modeling and control strategies of organic Rankine cycle systems: Methods and challenges," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    7. Cheng, Ziyang & Wang, Jiangfeng & Yang, Peijun & Wang, Yaxiong & Chen, Gang & Zhao, Pan & Dai, Yiping, 2022. "Comparison of control strategies and dynamic behaviour analysis of a Kalina cycle driven by a low-grade heat source," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    8. Li, Deming & Fan, Chengcheng & Zhang, Chengbin & Chen, Yongping, 2022. "Control strategy of load following for ocean thermal energy conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 595-607.
    9. Xuan Wang & Hua Tian & Gequn Shu, 2016. "Part-Load Performance Prediction and Operation Strategy Design of Organic Rankine Cycles with a Medium Cycle Used for Recovering Waste Heat from Gaseous Fuel Engines," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-21, July.
    10. Rezaei, Mahdi & Ghobadian, Barat & Samadi, Seyed Hashem & Karimi, Samira, 2018. "Electric power generation from municipal solid waste: A techno-economical assessment under different scenarios in Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 46-56.
    11. Xu, Bin & Rathod, Dhruvang & Kulkarni, Shreyas & Yebi, Adamu & Filipi, Zoran & Onori, Simona & Hoffman, Mark, 2017. "Transient dynamic modeling and validation of an organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery system for heavy duty diesel engine applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 260-279.
    12. George Halkos & Kleoniki Natalia Petrou, 2019. "Analysing the Energy Efficiency of EU Member States: The Potential of Energy Recovery from Waste in the Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-32, September.
    13. Fan, Chengcheng & Wu, Zhe & Wang, Jiadian & Chen, Yongping & Zhang, Chengbin, 2023. "Thermodynamic process control of ocean thermal energy conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 810-821.
    14. Gradus, Raymond H.J.M. & Nillesen, Paul H.L. & Dijkgraaf, Elbert & van Koppen, Rick J., 2017. "A Cost-effectiveness Analysis for Incineration or Recycling of Dutch Household Plastic Waste," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 22-28.
    15. Vélez, Fredy & Segovia, José J. & Martín, M. Carmen & Antolín, Gregorio & Chejne, Farid & Quijano, Ana, 2012. "A technical, economical and market review of organic Rankine cycles for the conversion of low-grade heat for power generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 4175-4189.
    16. Roberto Pili & Hartmut Spliethoff & Christoph Wieland, 2017. "Dynamic Simulation of an Organic Rankine Cycle—Detailed Model of a Kettle Boiler," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-28, April.
    17. José María Martín Martín & José Antonio Rodriguez Martín & Karla Aída Zermeño Mejía & José Antonio Salinas Fernández, 2018. "Effects of Vacation Rental Websites on the Concentration of Tourists—Potential Environmental Impacts. An Application to the Balearic Islands in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, February.
    18. Pili, Roberto & Romagnoli, Alessandro & Jiménez-Arreola, Manuel & Spliethoff, Hartmut & Wieland, Christoph, 2019. "Simulation of Organic Rankine Cycle – Quasi-steady state vs dynamic approach for optimal economic performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 619-640.
    19. Buonomano, Annamaria & Calise, Francesco & Palombo, Adolfo & Vicidomini, Maria, 2015. "Energy and economic analysis of geothermal–solar trigeneration systems: A case study for a hotel building in Ischia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 224-241.
    20. Wang, Chenfang & Li, Qingshan & Wang, Chunmei & Zhang, Yangjun & Zhuge, Weilin, 2021. "Thermodynamic analysis of a hydrogen fuel cell waste heat recovery system based on a zeotropic organic Rankine cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:537-:d:1018085. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.