Decentralized smart energy management in hybrid microgrids: Evaluating operational modes, resources optimization, and environmental impacts

Escalating energy demands and climate change challenges necessitate the adaptation of renewable-based microgrid systems in the energy sector. The proposed work employs a robust Multi Agent System (MAS) technique to achieve efficient and automated control of the hybrid microgrid operation. The hybrid microgrid system incorporates Renewable Energy Sources (RES), a diesel generator, and a battery storage system. The operation of the hybrid microgrid consists of three distinct modes: islanded, transition to grid, and grid-oriented mode. The system’s performance is optimized by considering factors like climatic patterns, energy costs, connected source characteristics, and load demand. Different climatic scenarios are assessed for each mode of operation, where the best, extreme sunny, extreme cloudy, and worst climate conditions are considered for islanded mode; sunny and cloudy scenarios are considered for transition to grid mode as well as grid-feed and grid-tied modes are considered for grid-oriented operation of the microgrid. The simulation studies are performed using the MATLAB/Simulink R2021a environment. Furthermore, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is implemented to optimize power allocation within the microgrid and enhance its cost-effectiveness. The optimization results demonstrate efficient utilization of available energy sources along with effective energy management facilitated by the MAS control system. The results emphasize the importance of adopting a MAS approach for achieving smart energy management through comprehensive analysis and integrating decentralized energy management techniques for optimal accommodation of distributed energy resources in hybrid microgrids

Integrated nutrient management improves the nutritional quality and yield of black rice

Integrated nutrient management combining inorganic and organic fertilizers is a promising approach to sustain crop production and soil health. As a premium rice type, integrated nutrients to cultivate black rice are rarely studied in Bangladesh. So, this research was conducted to identify the best combination of inorganic fertilizer (IF) and cow dung (CD) for maximizing the yield and nutritional quality of black rice. The experiment was conducted in the field laboratory of the Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh following a Completely Randomized Design with four replications. Six treatments with single and combining IF and CD viz., 0% IF + 0% CD (IF0CD0), 100% IF + 0% CD (IF100CD0), 75% IF + 25% CD (IF75CD25), 50% IF + 50% CD (IF50CD50), 25% IF + 75% CD (IF25CD75), and 0% IF + 100% CD (IF0CD100) were applied. A significant variation was found among different treatments concerning plant growth, yield contributing characters, yield, and nutritional composition of black rice. Overall, a better performance was obtained from the application of 75% IF and 25% CD (IF75CD25) concerning most of the studied parameters with few deviations. The highest number of tillers hill-1(8.33), effective tillers hill-1 (7.33), panicle length (25.97 cm), spikelet’s panicle-1 (22.87), grains panicle-1 (129.7), grain yield (4 t ha-1), protein (9.71%), and potassium (0.58%) were found at the treatment IF75CD25. The overall results suggest that 25% cow dung combined with 75% recommended inorganic fertilizers can be applied to achieve maximum yield and nutritional quality of black rice in non-calcareous soil