Identifying and addressing barriers to renewable energy development in Pakistan

To ensure a sustainable energy future for Pakistan, it is necessary that the energy sector be accorded a high priority. Pakistan remains predominantly reliant on fossil fuels as its primary source of energy. Efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels through increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy supply systems have met with little success so far. The barriers to development of renewable energy can be broadly classified as policy and regulatory barriers, institutional barriers, fiscal and financial barriers, market-related barriers, technological barriers and information and social barriers. In this article, an effort has been made to identify the barriers that limit the use of renewable energy technologies in general and with specific reference to Pakistan, and outline the measures to address these barriers.     

A vision for hydrogen economy in Pakistan

Fossil fuels possess very useful properties not shared by non-conventional energy sources that have made them popular during the last century but unfortunately they are not renewable. Since the oil crisis of 1973, considerable progress has been made in the search for alternative energy sources. Among the candidates, hydrogen holds a pre-eminent position because of its high energy content, environmental compatibility and ease of storage and distribution. Hydrogen can be produced in a variety of ways. Water electrolysis is one of the most utilized industrial processes for hydrogen production. This article discusses advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen energy. Besides, barriers and challenges to hydrogen economy have been summarized. The current energy situation in Pakistan is presented followed by a road map to hydrogen economy in Pakistan. It is concluded that a combination of fuel cells and a hydrogen infrastructure is a way forward to combat the long-term challenges of climate change and energy security for Pakistan. The hydrogen economy potentially offers the possibility to deliver a range of benefits for the country; however, significant challenges exist and these are unlikely to be overcome without serious efforts.     

Microstructural characterization of short glass fiber and PAN based carbon fiber reinforced nylon 6 polymer composites

Microstructural characterization of nylon 6/short glass fiber (SGF) and nylon 6/polyacrolonitrile based carbon fibers (PAN‐CFs) of 10 to 40 wt% has been performed by positron lifetime technique (PLT). The positron lifetime parameters viz., o‐Ps lifetime (τ₃), o‐Ps intensity (I₃), and fractional free volume (F_v) of nylon 6/SGF and nylon 6/PAN‐CF composites are correlated with the mechanical properties viz., tensile strength and Young's modulus. The F_v shows negative deviation with the reinforcement of 10 to 40 wt% of PAN‐CF and show positive deviation in nylon 6/SGF from the linear additivity relation. The negative deviation in nylon 6/PAN‐CF composite suggests the induced molecular packing due to the chemical interaction between the polymeric chains of nylon 6 and PAN‐CF. The positive deviation in nylon 6/SGF composite indicates the formation of interface between the polymeric chains of nylon 6 and SGF. The increased crystallinity of nylon 6/SGF and nylon 6/PAN‐CF composites shows the improved mechanical properties of the composites. The hydrodynamic interaction parameter (h), which shows more negative values in nylon 6/SGF than nylon 6/PAN‐CF composites. However, the extent of chemical interaction in nylon 6/SGF is less compare to nylon 6/PAN‐CF composites. This is evident from Fourier transform infrared spectrometry studies. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1428–1437, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Structural and free-hole volume characterization of high-density polyethylene-chitosan composites plasticized with palm oil

A series of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) – chitosan (CS) composites with varying concentrations of chitosan have been prepared using a peroxide-initiated melt mixing process with maleic anhydride as compatibilizer. Palm oil has been added as a plasticizer to the optimized HDPE/CS5 composite. The variation in the free hole volume, microstructure, and crystallinity of the prepared composites has been studied using Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) respectively. The interaction between HDPE and chitosan is evidenced from the FTIR spectroscopic studies. The addition of palm oil to optimized HDPE-CS composite increased the crystallinity upto 41.3%. A shift as well as a decrease in loss modulus was obtained for 5 wt% chitosan added HDPE sample which can be ascribed to the better crosslinking observed in the composite. The increased amorphization of HDPE-chitosan composites with a higher concentration of chitosan beyond the optimized concentration is observed from the tan delta values. Free-hole value is reduced by 20 ų with the addition of 5 wt% palm oil to HDPE/CS5 composite system. The microstructural analysis shows evidence of efficient interaction of HDPE-chitosan system that can be used for further applications in medical field and food packaging industry.     

Thermally induced microstructural changes and its influence on electrical conductivity of a polymer‐based bakelite RPC detector material: A positron lifetime study

Annealing studies have been carried out to understand the temperature induced microstructural changes in Bakelite (P‐120 NEMA LI‐1989 Grade XXX) Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) detector material using Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and XRD. The variation of positron lifetime parameters viz., ortho‐Positronium lifetime (τ₃) and free volume size (V_f) increases marginally above glass transition temperature T_g as a result of structural changes due to segmental mobility. The drastic increase of free volume parameters above 240°C attributed to the reduction in strength of C—H bond of the aliphatic bridges and cleavage of methylene bridges of the polymer network, which is supported by the FTIR results. The XRD results show the reduction in crystallinity and average crystallite size of Bakelite on annealing correlates well with the free volume and electrical conductivity. The temperature induced electrical conductivity and activation energy is also correlated with the positron lifetime parameters. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 793‐800, 2013     

Wind energy development in Pakistan

Pakistan has a very limited fossil fuel resource base. The poor economy does not allow the import of fossil fuels, particularly oil, on a large scale. Moreover, too much reliance on imported oil is critical from energy security point of view. A large fraction of the population lives in remote areas and is still waiting to be connected to the national electricity grid. To help these remote communities in particular, and to overcome energy shortages in general, Pakistan needs to develop its indigenous energy resources like hydropower, solar and wind. More than 1000 km long coastline in south and some places in northern mountainous areas provide an excellent resource of wind energy. This vast potential can be exploited to produce electricity on both community and wind farm scales. Applications other than electricity production, such as water pumping, also have vast applications. This article discusses the past, the present and the future of wind energy use in Pakistan. The efforts for the utilization of wind energy in the country are presented as well, along with barriers to its development. It is concluded that the potential exists, but significant efforts are needed to effectively make use of this cheap renewable energy source.     

Potential contribution of ethanol fuel to the transport sector of Pakistan

Pakistan is an energy-deficient country. The indigenous reserves of oil and gas are limited and the country is heavily dependent on the import of oil. The oil import bill is a serious strain on the country's economy and has been deteriorating the balance of payments situation. The country has become increasingly more dependent on fossil fuels and its energy security hangs on the fragile supply of imported oil that is subject to disruptions and price volatility. The transport sector has a 28% share in the total commercial energy consumption in Pakistan. About 1.15 million tonnes of gasoline was consumed by this sector during 2005–2006. The gasoline consumption in the transport sector is also a major source of environmental degradation especially in urban areas. Consequently, Pakistan needs to develop indigenous, environment-friendly energy resources, such as ethanol, to meet its transport sector's energy needs. Pakistan produces about 54 million tonnes of sugarcane every year. The estimated production potential of ethanol from molasses is about 500 million liters per annum. Ethanol can be used in the transport sector after blending with gasoline, in order to minimize the gasoline consumption and associated economical and environmental impacts. This paper presents the assessment of the potential contribution of ethanol in the transport sector of Pakistan. It is concluded that 5–10% of the annual gasoline consumption in transport sector could be met from ethanol by the year 2030 under different scenarios. About US$200–400 million per annum could be saved along with other environmental and health benefits by using gasol in the transport sector.     

Assessment of centralized grid connected wind power cost in coastal area of Pakistan

This work presents an assessment of per unit cost of electricity generated from 15 MW wind farm at 40 locations in the coastal areas of Pakistan using the method of net present value analysis. The Nordex N43/600 wind turbine has been selected and used as reference wind turbine. Wind duration curves were developed and utilized to calculate per unit cost of electricity generated from chosen wind turbine. In Sindh province, the minimum cost of electricity generated was found to be 4.2 ¢/kWh at Jamshoro, while the corresponding maximum was 7.4 ¢/kWh at Kadhan site. In Balochistan, the minimum cost of electricity generated was found to be 6.3 ¢/kWh at Aghore, while the corresponding maximum was 21.0 ¢/kWh at Mand site. The study concludes that at most of the locations especially in Sindh province, wind power is competitive to conventional grid connected thermal power even without considering the externalities.     

Investigation on the effect of Fe impurity pickups during ball milling and Ni dispersion on the microwave absorption performance of ball milled Fe impurities-Ni/SiC composites

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - The development of microwave absorbers to mitigate the problem of electromagnetic pollution has become a necessity in today’s...     

Magnetite/graphene/polyaniline composite for removal of aqueous hexavalent chromium

Here, we report the synthesis of Fe₃O₄/G/PANI composite containing magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄), graphene sheets (G), and polyaniline (PANI) via chemical route for removal of toxic Cr (VI) from water. TEM image shows the formation of uniformly distributed magnetite nanoparticles on graphene/PANI composite. HRTEM images shows the formation of crystalline magnetite nanoparticles showing lattice fringes with inter‐planner distance 0.21 nm. The magnetic measurement shows magnetization 22 emu/g and ferromagnetic property of the adsorbent. The equilibrium adsorptions were well‐described by the Langmuir isotherm model and shows maximum adsorption capacity 153.54 mg/g at pH 6.5 and temperature 30 °C. The kinetics data well fitted by pseudo‐second‐order model and around 86% Cr (VI) removal completed within 20 min. The Cr (VI) removal capacitive decreases with increase in pH and ionic strength. The adsorbent shows leaching of iron nanoparticles at pH 1 whereas stable in solution having pH 2 and more. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44002.