Le Zhang, Yunfeng Liang, Arata Kioka, Takeshi Tsuji
{"title":"Economically viable geological CO<sub>2</sub> storage from direct air capture has critical threshold of 70% CO<sub>2</sub> concentration.","authors":"Le Zhang, Yunfeng Liang, Arata Kioka, Takeshi Tsuji","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00468-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00468-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Direct Air Capture (DAC), a key component of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), has been widely studied. However, its large-scale deployment is hindered by the high energy cost of purifying captured CO<sub>2</sub>. Using impure CO<sub>2</sub> can reduce energy consumption and overall costs, but it also lowers storage efficiency. This work employs molecular dynamics simulations to examine storage efficiency by analyzing the impurity systems' density across a wide temperature and pressure range. The results indicate a strong similarity between the density changes at the macroscopic level and the Van der Waals interaction changes at the molecular level. Additionally, the Normalized Storage Efficiency caused by Impurities (NSEI) is proposed, which can be used for storage potential and cost evaluation. A detailed NSEI analysis suggests that CO<sub>2</sub> concentration should reach at least 70% to achieve economically viable storage. This finding provides practical guidance for DAC capture system design and impurity CCS project planning.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12264126/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144644271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Operation optimisation of direct current microgrids toward stability and economy: a model-data co-driven framework.","authors":"Yuxin Zhu, Fei Wang, Zhengyu Lin, James Fleming","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00466-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00466-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Direct current microgrids are widely regarded as a promising clean power system technique. However, the microgrid stability is challenged by routine operations and unplanned faults, especially when the operation optimisation overly pursues economy at the expense of stability. This paper proposes a stability-constrained operation optimisation to balance the stability and economy of islanded direct current microgrids. The proposed stability-constrained operation optimisation is formulated as a nonlinear optimisation model and a model-data co-driven solution algorithm is developed. The proposed method strictly guarantees the stability requirements. Furthermore, the proposed method consists of local convex approximations and a small amount of stability evaluation, thus exhibiting high efficiency. Case study illustrates that the proposed method is not affected by prediction errors and avoids the violation of stability constraints. In some tests, the proposed method keeps the solution time within seconds compared to the model-driven method that may take up to the minute level.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"125"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12259914/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144638829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aris Tsirigotis, George Sarantoglou, Stavros Deligiannidis, Erica Sánchez, David Sanchez, Ana Gutierrez, Adonis Bogris, Jose Capmany, Charis Mesaritakis
{"title":"Author Correction: Photonic neuromorphic accelerator for convolutional neural networks based on an integrated reconfigurable mesh.","authors":"Aris Tsirigotis, George Sarantoglou, Stavros Deligiannidis, Erica Sánchez, David Sanchez, Ana Gutierrez, Adonis Bogris, Jose Capmany, Charis Mesaritakis","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00463-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00463-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12246481/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144610460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophia Long, Lisa Lopez, Bethan Ford, François Balembois, Riccardo Montis, Wern Ng, Daan M Arroo, Neil McN Alford, Hamdi Torun, Juna Sathian
{"title":"LED-pumped room-temperature solid-state maser.","authors":"Sophia Long, Lisa Lopez, Bethan Ford, François Balembois, Riccardo Montis, Wern Ng, Daan M Arroo, Neil McN Alford, Hamdi Torun, Juna Sathian","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00455-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00455-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Room-temperature MASERs (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) amplify electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies with minimal noise. We demonstrate a cost-effective LED-pumped maser using pentacene-doped para-terphenyl as the gain medium. Here, we show that LED light, which is brightness-enhanced and guided via a cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet luminescent concentrator, achieves persistent maser emission at 1.45 GHz with a duration of 200 µs and a microwave output power of 0.014 mW, surpassing previous non-laser pumped systems. Operating at low voltage, the LED-pumped maser ensures safety, reduced costs, and simple integration. Potential applications include sensitive magnetic resonance imaging, portable atomic clocks, quantum technologies, and enhanced deep-space radio astronomy.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"122"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12241473/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144602422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ultrasonographic-guided robotic-assisted percutaneous nephrolithotomy.","authors":"Stefano Bazzani, Stefano Puliatti, Stefania Ferretti, Giampaolo Bianchi, Cristian Secchi, Federica Ferraguti","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00451-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00451-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is considered the gold standard for treating kidney stones larger than 20 mm. However, the procedure requires high expertise and technical skills, especially for precise and accurate percutaneous access. This paper presents a robotic system designed to enable accurate kidney access by combining 3D anatomical modeling with real-time ultrasound guidance, thereby allowing novice surgeons to gain confidence in performing the initial puncture. A comprehensive validation campaign was conducted in a controlled clinical simulation environment, with experiments performed by both experienced urologists and urology residents. The proposed system improves surgical performance, reduces human error, and makes the procedure more accessible to less experienced clinicians.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"120"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12238414/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144593059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaodi Li, Lu Wang, Mianfeng Zhang, Bo Wang, Wei Zeng, Yongzhen Peng
{"title":"Combined strategies for promoting short-chain fatty acids production from waste activated sludge in anaerobic fermentation.","authors":"Xiaodi Li, Lu Wang, Mianfeng Zhang, Bo Wang, Wei Zeng, Yongzhen Peng","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00436-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00436-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Carbon-neutral strategies are transforming wastewater treatment from pollution removal to resource recovery. Anaerobic fermentation stands out as a promising method for the recovery of short-chain fatty acids from waste activated sludge. However, short chain fatty acid yield is usually unsatisfactory due to the slow hydrolysis rate of organic substances during sludge fermentation, requiring external interventions. Different physical, chemical and biological approaches are available to enhance fermentation. This study systematically reviews the research progress in combining these physical, chemical and biological processes to facilitate short chain fatty acid production via the fermentation of waste activated sludge. The prospects for combined strategies are comprehensively discussed and the feasibility and challenges of applying combined strategies in practical wastewater treatment plants are assessed. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for future research on sludge reutilization.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12238423/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144593058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A high-precision 1 × 15 infrared temperature measurement linear array based on thermopile sensors.","authors":"Jindong Bai, Wenhang Yang, Shouzheng Zhu, Haijun Jin, Yuchen Zhang, Ke Jin, Xiaoshuai Liu, Chunlai Li, Jianyu Wang, Hongxing Qi, Shijie Liu","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00456-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00456-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In applications such as those in the semiconductor industry, precise temperature measurements with low power consumption are crucial. This article presents a novel noncontact temperature measurement method with low power consumption and high precision, and a thermopile sensor-based linear array for surface temperature measurements is used in semiconductor manufacturing and temperature calibration applications. The array consists of 15 thermopile sensors, a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor, an FPGA control board with a fiber optic interface, and a motion module. Moreover, the total power consumption of the board is less than 1.5 W. On the FPGA control board, a multiparameter temperature compensation algorithm is used to address intrinsic temperature differences and consistency errors among the sensors. Compared with the traditional two-point calibration method, the temperature measurement accuracy of the proposed method reaches 26 mK in the temperature range of 293-303 K, the maximum repeatability error of the sensor is less than 5.5 mK, and the non-uniformity error between 15 sensors is less than 11.9 mK. The array and its replicas were subjected to more than 6 h of rigorous testing, demonstrating their high stability, with the reduction in accuracy not exceeding 1.5 mK.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"119"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12234851/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144585757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stavros Orfanoudakis, Valentin Robu, E Mauricio Salazar, Peter Palensky, Pedro P Vergara
{"title":"Scalable reinforcement learning for large-scale coordination of electric vehicles using graph neural networks.","authors":"Stavros Orfanoudakis, Valentin Robu, E Mauricio Salazar, Peter Palensky, Pedro P Vergara","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00457-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00457-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) accelerates, addressing the challenges of large-scale, city-wide optimization becomes critical in ensuring efficient use of charging infrastructure and maintaining electrical grid stability. This study introduces EV-GNN, a novel graph-based solution that addresses scalability challenges and captures uncertainties in EV behavior from a Charging Point Operator's (CPO) perspective. We prove that EV-GNN enhances classic Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms' scalability and sample efficiency by combining an end-to-end Graph Neural Network (GNN) architecture with RL and employing a branch pruning technique. We further demonstrate that the proposed architecture's flexibility allows it to be combined with most state-of-the-art deep RL algorithms to solve a wide range of problems, including those with continuous, multi-discrete, and discrete action spaces. Extensive experimental evaluations show that EV-GNN significantly outperforms state-of-the-art RL algorithms in scalability and generalization across diverse EV charging scenarios, delivering notable improvements in both small- and large-scale problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12216737/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Triple-chord trussed submerged floating tunnels: hybrid construction concept, feasibility and design.","authors":"Fa-Cheng Wang, Tao Zhuge, Zheng-Qing Cheng, Lin-Hai Han, Jian-Min Zhang, Leroy Gardner","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00454-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00454-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Submerged floating tunnels (SFT) offer a promising solution for deep-water crossings and intercontinental transportation. However, current SFT designs struggle to meet the high structural performance demands associated with the harsh service environments while remaining economically viable, thus limiting their implementation in practice. Here, we propose a conceptual SFT design using a triple-chord trussed concrete-filled double-skin tubular (CFDST) hybrid structure, featuring CFDST chords and hollow steel tubular braces. This design is highly adaptable and allows the steel tubes and sandwiched concrete to work synergistically, achieving efficiency in withstanding multiple loading conditions including lateral flow, internal fire, fatigue and impact loading. We further develop a multi-scale structural analysis methodology that integrates three-dimensional solid finite element (3-D FE) and simplified fibre modelling for the efficient evaluation of global deformations, fire performance and joint behaviour. The results demonstrate that the proposed design leads to considerably enhanced resistance against lateral flow loading, vibrations and internal fire, and is more adaptable and cost-effective than existing solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12217642/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On the limitations of closed-loop geothermal systems for electricity generation outside high-geothermal gradient fields.","authors":"Sri Kalyan Tangirala, Víctor Vilarrasa","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00458-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00458-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Closed-Loop Geothermal Systems (CLGS) involve connecting the injection and production wells through several borehole-sized parallel laterals instead of circulating a working fluid through a fracture network. Companies have garnered millions of dollars in investments on the claim that CLGS is truly scalable for both heating and electricity generation purposes. We show that high flow rates in the laterals lead to a steep drop in production temperatures because of a rapid cooling of the rock matrix surrounding the wells. Overcoming this physical limitation of CLGS demands an expensive task of drilling several multilaterals to reduce the lateral flow rate. Yet, simulation results indicate that, for a reservoir temperature of 180 °C, the total revenue of these systems fail to recover the lifetime costs incurred, even with 30 multilaterals and a production rate of 75 kg/s, which clearly indicates that CLGS are not scalable for solely electricity generation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12219759/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144546323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}