Framework for Electric Vehicles and Photovoltaic Synergies

Historically road transport has been exclusively dominated by petrol and diesel engines. Both alternatives are proved to be unsustainable due to their environmental impacts and the limited nature of their primary resources. Today’s transportation sector in the European Union (EU) accounts for 23% of CO2 emissions, 72% of which is being emitted by road transport. The European Union’s CO2 emission regulation for new cars, has come as a response to set emission performance limits for new passenger cars with the goal of establishing a road map change for automotive sector. Furthermore, the EU has set challenging targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 (relative to emissions in 1990) and for energy consumed to be generated at least with 27% from renewable sources in 2030. As regards energy efficiency, the 2030 framework also indicated that the cost-effective delivery of the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030 would require increased energy savings of the order of 27%. The renewable energy directive particularly identified: technological innovation, energy efficiency and contribution of renewable energy sources in transport sector as one of the most effective tools in reaching the expected targets in terms of sustainability and security of the supply. In such context it is obvious that reaching these challenges will be certainly depending on the rollout of Electric Vehicles (EV) as a mean of sustainable transport, higher penetration of distributed renewable energy sources. One consequential challenge will consist in accommodating such paradigm in the most cost-efficient fashion through active involvement of customer and better flexibility of the demand. This report highlights the current trends and expected evolution in the EU in term of electromobility, Photovoltaic (PV) systems and smart grids, with the aim of identifying mutual synergies aiming at enabling: energy efficiency, sustainable transport and higher share of renewable energy sources in the final energy mix. A technical conceptual architecture for integration of EV facilities and distributed generation sources in the context of smart grid is proposed to identify the predictable penetration limits of PV systems and EV users.JRC.F.3-Energy Security, Systems and Marke

Current Covid-19 Impact On Saudi Stock Market: Evidence From An ARDL Model

oai:ojs2.www.ijafame.org:article/9This paper investigates the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on stock market in KSA applying an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration approach. More especially, we analyze the relationship between the natural logarithm of trading volume of Tadawull All shares index (TASI) and the natural logarithm of daily COVID-19 confirmed cases both in the short-run and the long-run. The bounds test for cointegration is carried out for daily series over the period from March 02, 2020 till May 20, 2020.Toda-Yamamoto causality test is implemented between variables. Our findings indicate that there is a negative impact of COVID-19 on stock market only in the long-run. Causality test reveals a unidirectional causality from COVID-19 prevalence’s measure to stock market. Robustness check seems to be conclusive.This paper investigates the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on stock market in KSA applying an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration approach. More especially, we analyze the relationship between the natural logarithm of trading volume of Tadawull All shares index (TASI) and the natural logarithm of daily COVID-19 confirmed cases both in the short-run and the long-run. The bounds test for cointegration is carried out for daily series over the period from March 02, 2020 till May 20, 2020.Toda-Yamamoto causality test is implemented between variables. Our findings indicate that there is a negative impact of COVID-19 on stock market only in the long-run. Causality test reveals a unidirectional causality from COVID-19 prevalence’s measure to stock market. Robustness check seems to be conclusive

Transfert heavy metal sewage sludge as fertilizer from soil to ray grass

International audienceThe land application of sewage sludge reveals a significant increase in dray matter production of Ray Grass (Lolium perenne L.). In equivalent dose of liquid sludge, we registered a lower production of dry material. Besides, neither the dose nor type of sludge seems to have an effect on heavy metals contents in the air part plant. On the other hand, contribution of sludge under dry or liquid forms increases significantly heavy metals contents in roots with regard to witness without sludge. The comparison between the beginning and end of culture, revealed a decrease heavy metals contents in soil in particular at horizon 0-40 cm deep. Besides, this decrease Cd, Zn, Pb and Cu contents in soil is not linking to transfer from soil to air part of plant, but rather is the accumulation in roots, which play the role of a barrier

An integrated approach for understanding the high infection rates of olive viruses in Tunisia

This study was conducted to understand the high incidence of viruses previously reported in Tunisian olive groves. Forty three cultivars, native and introduced, under different cultivation regimes, were sampled in Tunisia, one of the countries with the highest levels of olive viruses. All olive-infecting viruses were tested. Total nucleic acids were extracted from 280 olive trees and their use as template for RT-PCR resulted inseveral non-specific products. Alternatively, dsRNAs were also extracted and 229 sampled trees showed dsRNAs molecules, suggesting the presence of viruses. However, RT-PCR tests using dsRNA as template, allowed to identify viruses in 209 samples. Olive mild mosaic virus (OMMV), Olive latent virus 1 (OLV-1), Olive leaf yellow associated virus (OLYaV) and Tobacco necrosis virus D (TNV-D) were detected. OLYaV was the most prevalent (63.0%), followed by OLV-1 (42.9%), TNV-D (21.80%) and OMMV (9.50%). The highest infection levels were observed in the northwest and centre east regions of Tunisia. Native cultivars presented higher virus incidences, mostly due to the most widespread cultivars in Tunisia: Chemlali (87%), Chetoui (94%), Meski (94%). Among the introduced cultivars, Picholine, Arbequina and Koroneiki presented the highest virus levels (88%, 79% and 64%, respectively). Considerable differences in virus presence were observed in samples from olive trees under different modes of management where levels were significantly (p > 0.05) higher in intensive orchards, regardless of the region and cultivar. To our knowledge, this was the first time that OMMV and TNV-D were detected in Tunisia and that such a complete analysis was performed

Commissioning and controlling variable of frequency converter by PLC

The project was conducted in the Metropolia University of Applied Science’s laboratory, and it provided hands-on experience with the Siemens S7-1200 series logic controller and Mitsubishi frequency converter. The project's scope was to design, assemble, wire, and program the system. This thesis introduces the structures of the Siemens programmable logic controller (PLC), the programming language utilized in this PLC, and its components. Additionally, it discusses some of the communication protocols, including the Mitsubishi frequency converter and the necessary parameters required to configure the inverter to reach our goal. At the end of this thesis, a detailed overview of the project's equipment to control the motor's frequency, speed, and its functions is provided. The program was successfully established during the simulation and commissioning processes. The thesis demonstrates that the programmable logic controller effectively controls the speed of the motor through the frequency converter driver

THE BALTIC POWER SYSTEM BETWEEN EAST AND WEST INTERCONNECTIONS

Due to historical and geographical reasons, the Baltic States are strongly connected to the power (electricity) transmission grids of Russia and Belarus. Current energy security and energy independence targets in the EU trigger seeking for alternative power sources for the Baltic. Knowing that, a power system model of the Baltic States has been developed and validated with the purpose of providing comparative options for a reliable and secure development of the Baltic electricity system. The analysis of horizon 2020 and 2030 showed that the dependency of Baltic States on the outside resources is fairly low, provided that the expansion of the electricity system goes as planned.JRC.F.3-Energy Security, Systems and Marke

Assessment of narghile (shisha, hookah) smokers' actual exposure to toxic chemicals requires further sound studies

Tobacco smoking is hazardous for health. However, not all forms of tobacco use entail the same risks and the latter should be studied and compared in a sound realistic way. Smoking machines for cigarettes (which are consumed in a few minutes) were early designed as a tool to evaluate the actual intake of toxic substances (‘toxicants’) by smokers. However, the yields (tar, nicotine, CO, etc.) provided by such machines poorly reflect the actual human smoking behaviour known to depend on numerous factors (anxiety, emotions, anthropological situation, etc.). In the case of narghile smoking, the problems are even more complex, particularly because of the much longer duration of a session. A recent study from the US-American University of Beirut was based on a field smoking topography and claimed consistency with a laboratory smoking machine. We offer a point by point critical analysis of such methods on which most of the ‘waterpipe’ antismoking literature since 2002 is based

Errors and misquotations in the study of shisha, blood pressure and heart rate in Jordan

Aim: This comment is based on a critical review of a study on blood pressure and heart rate in shisha (narghile, hookah) smokers in Jordan. Subjects and methods: The study was analysed against the most recent literature on this issue, in general, and against peer-reviewed biomedical publications from the Middle East, in particular. Results: Several errors and misquotations were found in the study under scrutiny. Most of them stem from misrepresentations related to the chemistry of shisha smoke, the anthropology and geography of its use, and the relevance of the literature cited by the authors (vs. the non-cited one), both from a quality and quantity viewpoint. Conclusion: A clarification is made about all these points of utmost importance and will hopefully help a new generation of researchers avoid wading too far in this field. Against the background of a world epidemic, public health interventions will gain credibility and performance