While prior reviews have addressed single temperature ranges or isolated applications, this work provides the first unified cross-sectoral benchmarking framework spanning the full cryogenic-to-comfort spectrum (-160°C to +35°C) with charging strategies utilizing off-peak electricity, renewable sources, and waste cold recovery, integrated with techno-economic analysis. This review introduces a PCM Selection Index (PSI) with domain-specific criteria weighting across six sectors, and quantifies the conductivity energy-density trade-off (10-50x enhancement at 15-25% latent heat penalty) that governs all composite designs, the first framework of its kind to make this trade-off explicit and comparable across application domains. Analysis of 294 sources exposes a 15-35% laboratory-to-field performance gap for mature applications and identifies cycling durability beyond 10,000 cycles as the critical unvalidated barrier for building deployment, findings that reframe durability, not material discovery, as the field's principal bottleneck. Across field-validated deployments, PCM-CTES delivers domain-specific performance gains, 15-30% for HVAC load-shifting, up to 56% for envelope integration, 71-91% operating cost reduction in cold-chain transport, and 8-15°C peak temperature reduction in electronics cooling, though no single PCM class performs optimally across domains, underscoring the need for the domain-differentiated selection framework developed here. Future priorities include accelerated-aging protocol standardization with Arrhenius-based lifetime modeling, comprehensive lifecycle assessment, and grid-interactive demand-responsive systems that monetize peak-shaving via time-of-use tariffs.
Buton rock asphalt (RA) majority composed of a mixture of calcite and petroleum-like material that is abundantly available in Buton, Indonesia. Direct pyrolysis of RA reveals the catalytic role of calcite in efficiently transforming the fused aromatic rings of asphaltene in RA into diesel-range hydrocarbons. Pyrolysis at 400 degrees C for 180 min produced a 74% liquid product yield, significantly higher than that obtained from pyrolysis of decalcified RA (22.9%), or decalcified RA using commercial CaCO3 (34.2%). The resulting liquid hydrocarbon contains 70.30% diesel fraction, 25.72% heavy oil, and 3.98% gasoline, and exhibits a higher cetane number (69) than commercial diesel fuel. These findings highlight the importance of strong calcite/asphaltene interactions for efficient heat transfer during hydro-dearomatization of aromatic rings. Furthermore, the high thermal stability and strong basicity of calcite catalyze the cracking process into diesel-range hydrocarbons. This study offers a roadmap for the efficient conversion of low-quality Buton rock asphalt into high-quality diesel fuel through direct pyrolysis at 400 degrees C.
The improper management of plastic waste remains a critical global environmental issue, posing severe risks to marine ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. Plastic, due to its long decomposition period spanning hundreds of years, causes persistent ecological damage. Despite growing awareness, inadequate handling of plastic waste is still prevalent, particularly in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, where rapid urbanization, industrial growth, and population increase exacerbate the problem. This review highlights the potential of recycled plastic composites in advancing sustainable solutions. Incorporating recycled plastic into composites offers multiple advantages, including reduced environmental impact, economic viability, and enhanced material performance. The article comprehensively explores the manufacturing of recycled plastic composites reinforced with fibers, nanoparticles, and their hybrids, emphasizing recent advances and challenges. From this review, (i) Mechanical and chemical recycling remain the most technically mature and industrially established strategies for converting waste plastics into functional composite matrices. (ii) Natural fiber and nanoparticle reinforcements significantly enhance the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of recycled plastics, enabling their use in structural and functional applications. (iii) Hybrid reinforcement systems, combining fibers and nanoparticles, offer synergistic improvements in stability, conductivity, and long-term durability compared to single-filler composites. (iv) Emerging surface modification, compatibilization, and green processing techniques are key to improving interfacial adhesion and recyclability. (v) Future research trends focus on developing circular design strategies, integrating life cycle assessment (LCA), and engineering next-generation high-value composites for sustainable manufacturing.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is extensively implemented in photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production. However, the rapid recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in TiO2 limits the potential to catalyze H2 photogeneration. In this study, we rationally designed nickel/nickel selenide@nitrogen-doped carbon/TiO2 (Ni/NiSex@NC/TiO2) heterostructures via impregnation assisted by ultrasonication to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in H2 production. This strategy yields a high interfacial contact between TiO2 and Ni/NiSex@NC, which reduces the band gap energy and enhances the surface area. This combination yields a type-II heterojunction, as evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of used Ni/NiSex@NC/TiO2 and OH radical trapping via fluorescence analysis, with high conductive features due to the presence of NC. The presence of Ni metal provides additional sites for H2 photogeneration. Such features significantly enhance the transfer and separation of electrons, as evidenced by a series of electrochemical analyses. Consequently, the photocatalytic H2 generation of Ni/NiSex@NC/TiO2 nanocomposites is enhanced compared with TiO2, NiSe/TiO2, and Ni/NiSex@NC. Moreover, the highest H2 production rate is achieved by incorporating 3 wt
This study presents a sustainable electrochemical system for treating RDF-combustion wastewater. The process uses recycled aluminium cans as sacrificial anodes with conductor electrodes (Ti/Pt, graphite, and Ti/Pt/graphite) powered by solar PV energy. The effects of current density, conductor electrodes, and PV integration on pollutant degradation were examined using TSS, COD, and TOC. The process used recycled cans with over 90
