Contamination caused by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in aquifers and soil is an important challenge that requires effective remediation techniques. One potential approach is through the use of CO₂ foams to displace NAPLs from permeable media. CO₂ foams generated only by surfactants are not stable enough for the efficient removal of NAPLs contamination. This shortcoming may be alleviated via the use of nanoparticles (NPs)-surfactant mixtures as a stabilizing agent. This work focuses on the evaluation of the optimum concentration of fly ash nanoparticles for stabilizing CO₂ foam with the combined action of the surfactant. The performance of this foam is evaluated in remediating a contaminated 41 mm × 36 mm surrogate permeable medium in a microfluidic device. Mixtures of fly ash, a by-product of coal-burning power plants, and alpha-olefin sulfonate (AOS) and lauramidopropyl betaine (LAPB) surfactants are used to generate stable foams. The results show that a 1000 mg/L AOS-LAPB surfactant solution along with 1000 mg/L of fly ash NPs produces the best performance. Formation of deposits in the matrix is observed. These deposits, which are more prominent at higher NP concentrations, appear to adversely affect displacement, displacement efficiency and remediation of the medium. This study demonstrates that using fly ash nanoparticles and optimizing their concentration can effectively stabilize CO₂ foams and improve the displacement efficiency for aquifer and soil remediation.

Cleaner power production, distributed renewable generation, building-vehicle integration, hydrogen storage and associated infrastructures are promising for transformation towards a carbon–neutral community, whereas the academia provides limited information through integrated solutions, like intermittent renewable integration, hydrogen sharing network, smart operation on electrolyzer and fuel cell, seasonal hydrogen storage and advanced heat recovery. This study proposes a hybrid electricity-hydrogen sharing system in California, United States, with synergistic electric, thermal and hydrogen interactions, including low-rise houses, rooftop photovoltaic panels, hydrogen vehicles, a hydrogen station, micro and utility power grid and hydrogen pipelines. Advanced energy management strategies were proposed to enhance energy flexibility and grid stability. Besides, simulation-based optimizations on smart power flows of vehicle-to-grid interaction and electrolyzer are conducted for further seasonal grid stability and annual cost saving. The obtained results indicate that, the green renewable-to-hydrogen can effectively reduce reliance on pipelines delivered hydrogen, and the hydrogen station is effective to address security concerns of high-pressure hydrogen and improve participators’ acceptance. Microgrid peer-to-peer sharing can improve hydrogen system efficiency under idling modes. Furthermore, the integrated system can reduce the annual net hydrogen consumption in transportation from 127.0 to 1.2 kg/vehicle. The smart operation (minimum input power of electrolyzer and fuel cell at 65 and 80 kW) can reduce the maximum mean hourly grid power to 78.2 kW by 24.2% and the annual energy cost to 1228.5 $/household by 38.9%. The proposed district hydrogen-based community framework can provide cutting-edge techno-economic guidelines for carbon-neutral transition with district peer-to-peer energy sharing, zero-energy buildings, hydrogen-based transportations together with smart strategies for high energy flexibility.