Wind energy in Tunisia: opportunities for integration of storage technologies

Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a Université Libre de TunisThis thesis has been conducted to couple hourly wind data of six different measurement station in Tunisia provided from Tunisian meteorological stations to the electricity consumption in a timeline fashion. The idea is to evaluate the wind potential for a few locations around Tunisia using Weibull distribution and Meteorological methods. The latent of wind power was statistically investigated including the average wind velocity and wind direction frequency data for 25 years (1990-2015) in 25 places in Tunisia. Using the two methodologies, 6 stations have been selected and considered as the most potent locations in term of wind energy, where the hourly average velocity is more than 4m/s and wind direction frequency exceeds 15%. The data was analyzed using MATLAB software in order to find out the generation of wind power. Weibull distribution was followed to calculate speed distribution in all the six areas chosen. A 3.2 MW wind turbine as been selected according to the findings of the hourly wind power potential. Results shows that Thala is the best area in Tunisia in term of wind energy. During September the energy production using 3.2 MW wind turbine exceeds 12 GWh in Thala. The last part of this project, is to compare hourly energy production and hourly energy consumption during January, March, July and September. The purpose of this comparison is to study the overproduction of power produced by the selected wind turbine and see if complementary storage energy devices are needed.Ce projet, consiste à coupler les informations horaires du vent fourmis des stations de météorologie de Tunis avec l’électricité consommé pendant la même durée du temps. L’idée de cette étude est de caractériser le champ de vent dans une zone et voir si des dispositifs d’énergie de stockage complémentaires sont nécessaires. Ce projet a conduit à examiner six sites différents en Tunisie en termes de potentiel éolien, en utilisant des informations issues de l'Institut National de Météorologie de Tunisie et à l'aide du logiciel MATLAB. Les critères utilisés afin de sélectionner les six sites à étudier est la valeur moyenne de la vitesse de vent et la fréquence de distribution de vent. Après l’analyse des données c’était avérer que Thala, Nabeul, Tozeur, Kibili, Gafsa et Bizert sont les sites les plus puissants en termes d’énergie disponible dans le vent, où la vitesse moyenne dépasse 4 m/s et la fréquence de distribution de vent est plus que 15%. Pour chacun de ces sites, une distribution de Weibull a été tracée et une comparaison de la vitesse du vent a été effectuée. Dans une deuxième étape, une simulation avec une éolienne de 3.2 MW de puissance. A partir des courbes de puissance, tracés en utilisant MATLAB, le résultat au niveau de Thala était le plus intéressant, une production de plus que 12 GWh au mois de septembre. Afin d’intégrer une technologie de stockage d’électricité, une comparaison entre la consommation et la production d’électricité doit être effectuer. Le choix de technologie de stockage doit être basé la capacité de stockage et le temps de décharge

A case study of Al-Karak, Jordan

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (under PhD scholarship of Yasmine Ayed [UI/BD/150894/2021]. The authors would like to thank the Institute of Chemical and Energy Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences for providing the HOMER licence. Funding Information: This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (under PhD scholarship of Yasmine Ayed [ UI/BD/150894/2021 ]. The authors would like to thank the Institute of Chemical and Energy Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences for providing the HOMER licence. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The AuthorsThe aim of this research is to examine the techno-economic viability of both off-grid and on-grid hybrid renewable energy systems for Jordan's Al-Karak governorate. Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) Pro software was used in this article to evaluate the carry feasibility to maximize the renewable energy (RE) integration in hybrid energy systems based on different configurations, grid-connected and stand-alone systems of the wind turbine, biogas plant, photovoltaic (PV) panels, flywheel, and batteries while minimizing the net present cost, the Levelized cost of energy and CO2 emissions mitigation. The results showed that the PV/Wind system, connected to the grid with batteries for storage is the optimal configuration for sustainable Al-Karak governorate electrification whilst achieving environmental benefits and guaranteeing reliable and continuous energy access with the lowest net present cost and the Levelized cost, 298,359 USD$and 0.024 USD$/kWh respectively, and high RE share, 71.8% of electricity is generated from wind and 28.2% is purchased from the grid and emits 220 tons of CO2 per year, 53% less than a grid alone system. Such a system would provide advantages in terms of energy independence and improved environmental quality.publishersversionpublishe

Indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase gene expression and kynurenine to tryptophan ratio correlation with nasopharyngeal carcinoma progression and survival

Abstract Introduction Indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) is an immunosuppressive tryptophan‐depleting enzyme expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tissue. However, IDO has not been reported in the peripheral blood of NPC patients. The aim of this study was to analyze, IDO1 and IDO2 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression, the kynurenine (Kyn) and tryptophan (Trp) plasma levels, their clinical values and their relationship with cytokine levels in NPC. Methods We evaluated IDO1 and IDO2 mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by quantitative real‐time PCR, plasma Trp and Kyn levels by HPLC, and cytokine levels by ELISA in 75 NPC patients and 51 healthy controls. Results Compared to controls, IDO1 mRNA expression was significantly upregulated and IDO2 mRNA expression was significantly downregulated in PBMC of patients. Also compared to controls, plasma Kyn levels and Kyn/Trp ratio were significantly higher in patients. At the time of diagnosis, the plasma Kyn/Trp ratio was associated with advanced cancer status and was an independent prognostic factor for worse disease‐specific survival. According to cancer stages, IDO1 mRNA expression was positively correlated with plasma Kyn/Trp ratio in patients with earlier stages (I–II–III) but negatively correlated in patients with the late‐stage cancer (IV). Tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐10 levels were significantly higher in patients compared to controls. Moreover, and despite treatment, patients simultaneously carrying high plasma Kyn/Trp ratio and high plasma IL‐6 and IL‐10 levels at diagnosis died approximately 1 year after first diagnosis. Conclusion Measuring blood IDO mRNA expression and Kyn/Trp ratio at diagnosis could be a potential marker to evaluate NPC progression and predict survival outcome

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with paediatric cancer in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Paediatric cancer is a leading cause of death for children. Children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) were four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries (HICs). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the delivery of healthcare services worldwide, and exacerbated the disparity in paediatric cancer outcomes between LMICs and HICs. DESIGN: A multicentre, international, collaborative cohort study. SETTING: 91 hospitals and cancer centres in 39 countries providing cancer treatment to paediatric patients between March and December 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were included if they were under the age of 18 years, and newly diagnosed with or undergoing active cancer treatment for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms' tumour, sarcoma, retinoblastoma, gliomas, medulloblastomas or neuroblastomas, in keeping with the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All-cause mortality at 30 days and 90 days. RESULTS: 1660 patients were recruited. 219 children had changes to their treatment due to the pandemic. Patients in LMICs were primarily affected (n=182/219, 83.1%). Relative to patients with paediatric cancer in HICs, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 12.1 (95% CI 2.93 to 50.3) and 7.9 (95% CI 3.2 to 19.7) times the odds of death at 30 days and 90 days, respectively, after presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, patients with paediatric cancer in LMICs had 15.6 (95% CI 3.7 to 65.8) times the odds of death at 30 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected paediatric oncology service provision. It has disproportionately affected patients in LMICs, highlighting and compounding existing disparities in healthcare systems globally that need addressing urgently. However, many patients with paediatric cancer continued to receive their normal standard of care. This speaks to the adaptability and resilience of healthcare systems and healthcare workers globally

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality