This book presents novel findings concerning the systems, materials and processes used in solar energy conversion in communities. It begins with the core resource - solar radiation - and discusses the restrictions on the wide-scale implementation of conversion systems imposed by the built environment, as well as potential solutions. The book also describes efficient solar energy conversion in detail, focusing on heat and electricity production in communities and water reuse. Lastly, it analyzes the concept of sustainable communities, presenting examples from around the globe, along with novel approaches to improving their feasibility and affordability. Though chiefly intended for professionals working in the field of sustainability at the community level, the book will also be of interest to researchers, academics and doctoral students.

This book discusses advanced technologies for applications in renewable energy and power systems. The topics covered include neural network applications in power electronics, deep learning applications in power systems, design and simulation of multilevel inverters, solid state transformers, neural network applications for fault detection in power electronics, etc. The book also discusses the important role of artificial intelligence in power systems, and machine learning for renewable energy. This book will be of interest to researchers, professionals, and technocrats looking at power systems, power distribution, and grid operations.

Solar Energy Engineering and Applications gives a general and concise presentation of solar energy from a practical engineering perspective. The book provides readers with a comprehensive, accessible, and intuitive introduction to proven methods and tools for the design, implementation, and monitoring of solar energy systems and associated auxiliary technologies without covering detailed in-depth physics. Coverage includes key aspects of solar energy such as photovoltaic solar cells and systems, battery technologies, solar concentrators, and hybrid photovoltaic/thermal systems. Application areas such as homes, buildings, solar farms, street lighting, vehicles, and dryers are discussed. The methods for connecting solar farms and other photovoltaic installations to power distribution systems are explored in the context of smart grid technologies that are available to facilitate such connections. The book will be a valuable professional reference for practicing engineers and researchers involved in the applications of solar energy.

This book is devoted to CO2 capture and utilization (CCU) from a green, biotechnological and economic perspective, and presents the potential of, and the bottlenecks and breakthroughs in converting a stable molecule such as CO2 into specialty chemicals and materials or energy-rich compounds. The use of renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, hydro) and non-fossil hydrogen is a must for converting large volumes of CO2 into energy products, and as such, the authors explore and compare the availability of hydrogen from water using these sources with that using oil or methane. Divided into 13 chapters, the book offers an analysis of the conditions under which CO2 utilization is possible, and discusses CO2 capture from concentrated sources and the atmosphere. It also analyzes the technological (non-chemical) uses of CO2, carbonation of basic minerals and industrial sludge, and the microbial-catalytic-electrochemical-photoelectrochemical-plasma conversion of CO2 into chemicals and energy products. Further, the book provides examples of advanced bioelectrochemical syntheses and RuBisCO engineering, as well as a techno-energetic and economic analysis of CCU. Written by leading international experts, this book offers a unique perspective on the potential of the various technologies discussed, and a vision for a sustainable future. Intended for graduates with a good understanding of chemistry, catalysis, biotechnology, electrochemistry and photochemistry, it particularly appeals to researchers (in academia and industry) and university teachers.

Advances in Eco-fuels for Sustainable Environment presents the most recent developments in the field of environmentally friendly eco-fuels. Dr. Kalad Azad and his team of contributors analyze the latest bio-energy technologies and emission control strategies, while also considering other important factors, such as environmental sustainability and energy efficiency improvement. Coverage includes biofuel extraction and conversion technologies, the implementation of biotechnologies and system improvement methods in the process industries. This book will help readers develop a deeper understanding of the relevant concepts and solutions to global sustainability issues with the goal of achieving cleaner, more efficient energy. Energy industry practitioners, energy policymakers and government organizations, renewables researchers and academics will find this book extremely useful.

Solar Hydrogen Production: Processes, Systems and Technologies presents the most recent developments in solar-driven hydrogen generation methods. The book covers different hydrogen production routes, from renewable sources, to solar harvesting technologies. Sections focus on solar energy, presenting the main thermal and electrical technologies suitable for possible integration into solar-based hydrogen production systems and present a thorough examination of solar hydrogen technologies, ranging from solar-driven water electrolysis and solar thermal methods, to photo-catalytic and biological processes. All hydrogen-based technologies are covered, including data regarding the state-of-the art of each process in terms of costs, efficiency, measured parameters, experimental analyses, and demonstration projects. In the last part of the book, the role of hydrogen in the integration of renewable sources in electric grids, transportation sector, and end-user applications is assessed, considering their current status and future perspectives. The book includes performance data, tables, models and references to available standards. It is thus a key-resource for engineering researchers and scientists, in both academic and industrial contexts, involved in designing, planning and developing solar hydrogen systems.

This book focuses on the technologies developed for the conversion of all three biomass components, i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and their constituents, to fuels and high-value products. Both biochemical and thermochemical approaches are reviewed. Additionally, the developed technologies are described in detail and their potential applications as well as their commercial status are discussed. The early attempts to produce fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass feedstock focused solely on the biological conversion of cellulose because the only organism that had been used successfully for commercial production of ethanol, i.e. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, could only ferment glucose, which was obtained from the hydrolysis of cellulose. Hemicellulose and lignin were considered as wastes in these processes and were normally removed in pretreatment processes to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of the remaining cellulose. However, this approach was not economically feasible and as a result, the biorefinery concept was developed. In a biorefinery, in addition to ethanol, various higher-value products are produced from hemicellulose and lignin, which were previously not considered. Consequently, technologies were developed for the fractionation of biomass and conversion of hemicellulose and lignin to fuels and high-value products to improve the economic feasibility. Written and edited by a team of investigators with many years of experience in biomass processing research and development, this book is an informative resource for postgraduate students and researchers interested in biorefinery and biofuel technologies both in academia- and commercial laboratories.

This book focuses on building air conditioning demand response and power storage batteries as the resources that make up the virtual power plant. The research and its outcomes presented in this book provide an overview of virtual power plant technology. The contents focus on both fundamentals and advanced topics such as role of central power supply control office, battery charge and discharge control system, power system simulation, system design for practical application, etc. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing insight to students, engineers, and researchers in the field of power systems

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book offers a concise, practice-oriented reference-guide to the field of ocean wave energy. The ten chapters highlight the key rules of thumb, address all the main technical engineering aspects and describe in detail all the key aspects to be considered in the techno-economic assessment of wave energy converters. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book answers questions relevant to readers of different backgrounds, from developers, private and public investors, to students and researchers. It is thereby a valuable resource for both newcomers and experienced practitioners in the wave energy sector.

Bioethanol Production from Food Crops: Sustainable Sources, Interventions and Challenges comprehensively covers the global scenario of ethanol production from both food and non-food crops and other sources. The book guides readers through the balancing of the debate on food vs. fuel, giving important insights into resource management and the environmental and economic impact of this balance between demands. Sections cover Global Bioethanol from Food Crops and Forest Resource, Bioethanol from Bagasse and Lignocellulosic wastes, Bioethanol from algae, and Economics and Challenges, presenting a multidisciplinary approach to this complex topic. As biofuels continue to grow as a vital alternative energy source, it is imperative that the proper balance is reached between resource protection and human survival. This book provides important insights into achieving that balance.

Wind Turbines and Aerodynamics Energy Harvesters not only presents the most research-focused resource on aerodynamic energy harvesters, but also provides a detailed review on aeroacoustics characteristics. The book considers all developing aspects of 3D printed miniature and large-size Savonious wind harvesters, while also introducing and discussing bladeless and aeroelastic harvesters. Following with a review of Off-shore wind turbine aerodynamics modeling and measurements, the book continues the discussion by comparing the numerical codes for floating offshore wind turbines. Each chapter contains a detailed analysis and numerical and experimental case studies that consider recent research design, developments, and their application in practice. Written by an experienced, international team in this cross-disciplinary field, the book is an invaluable reference for wind power engineers, technicians and manufacturers, as well as researchers examining one of the most promising and efficient sources of renewable energy.

This book is an outcome of the 33rd International Conference EnviroInfo 2019, held at the University of Kassel, Germany. It presents a selection of papers that describe innovative scientific approaches and ongoing research in environmental informatics and the emerging field of computational sustainability. The respective articles cover a broad range of scientific aspects including advances in core technologies such as earth observation, environmental modelling, big data and machine learning, as well as applications of ICT solutions intended to support societal transformation processes toward the more sustainable management of resource use, transportation and the energy supply. Given its scope, the book is essential reading for scientists, experts and students in these fields of research.

This book provides a holistic, interdisciplinary overview of offshore wind energy, and is a must-read for advanced researchers. Topics, from the design and analysis of future turbines, to the decommissioning of wind farms, are covered. The scope of the work ranges from analytical, numerical and experimental advancements in structural and fluid mechanics, to novel developments in risk, safety & reliability engineering for offshore wind.The core objective of the current work is to make offshore wind energy more competitive, by improving the reliability, and operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies of wind turbines. The research was carried out under the auspices of the EU-funded project, MARE-WINT. The project provided a unique opportunity for a group of researchers to work closely together, undergo multidisciplinary doctoral training, and conduct research in the area of offshore wind energy generation. Contributions from expert, external authors are also included, and the complete work seeks to bridge the gap between research and a rapidly-evolving industry.

This book which is the second part of two volumes on ''Control of Electrical and Electronic Systems" presents a compilation of selected contributions to the 1st International Conference on Electrical Systems & Automation. The book provides rigorous discussions, the state of the art, and recent developments in the modelling, simulation and control of power electronics, industrial systems, and embedded systems. The book will be a valuable reference for beginners, researchers, and professionals interested in control of electrical and electronic systems.

The Role of Bioenergy in the Bioeconomy: Resources, Technologies, Sustainability and Policy provides the reader with a complete understanding on how bioenergy technologies fit into the new bioeconomy paradigm. Sections focus on the main resources and technologies for bioenergy and its integration in energy systems and biorefining chains, analyze the available methodologies for assessing the sustainability of bioenergy, and address and the propose approaches that are demonstrated through concrete case studies. Additionally, the implications of bioenergy in the water-energy and land nexus is presented, along with new challenges and opportunities. This book's strong focus on sustainability of bioenergy, both as a standalone, and in the larger context of a bio-based economy, makes it a useful resource for researchers, professionals and students in the bioenergy field who need tactics to assess the lifecycle and sustainability of bioenergy technologies and their integration into existing systems.

This thesis outlines the investigation of various electrode materials for Li-ion battery (LIB) applications. Li-ion batteries are widely used in various portable electronic devices owing to their compactness, light weight, longer life, design flexibility and environment friendliness. This work describes the detailed synthesis and structural studies of various novel phosphate based cathode materials and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites as anode materials. Their electrochemical characterization as electrode for LIBs has been investigated in detail. The thesis also includes a comprehensive introduction for non-specialists in this field. The research could benefit and will appeal to scientists, especially new researchers working in the field of energy storage.

Science and Engineering of Hydrogen-Based Energy Technologies explores the generation of energy using hydrogen and hydrogen-rich fuels in fuel cells from the perspective of its integration into renewable energy systems using the most sound and current scientific knowledge. The book first examines the evolution of energy utilization and the role expected to be played by hydrogen energy technologies in the world's energy mix, not just for energy generation, but also for carbon capture, storage and utilization. It provides a general overview of the most common and promising types of fuel cells, such as PEMFCs, SOFCs and direct alcohol fuel cells. The co-production of chemical and electrolysis cells, as well as the available and future materials for fuel cells production are discussed. It then delves into the production of hydrogen from biomass, including waste materials, and from excess electricity produced by other renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal. The main technological approaches to hydrogen storage are presented, along with several possible hydrogen energy engineering applications. Science and Engineering of Hydrogen-Based Energy Technologies's unique approach to hydrogen energy systems makes it useful for energy engineering researchers, professionals and graduate students in this field. Policy makers, energy planning and management professionals, and energy analysts can also benefit from the comprehensive overview that it provides.

This book investigates in detail the concepts and principles of green chemistry and related methodologies, including green synthesis, green activation methods, green catalysis, green solvents, and green design to achieve process intensification while at the same time ensuring process safety and promoting ecological civilization and environmental protection. Moreover, it incorporates elements of chemical management and chemical education, highlighting chemists' responsibility to protect humankind and foster green and sustainable development in chemistry. Combining Chinese and Belarus wisdom, this book is intended for those working in the chemical industry who are interested in environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in green chemistry and related technologies.

This book examines the visions, fantasies, frames, discourses, imaginaries, and expectations associated with six state-of-the-art energy systems-nuclear power, hydrogen fuel cells, shale gas, clean coal, smart meters, and electric vehicles-playing a key role in current deliberations about low-carbon energy supply and use. Visions of Energy Futures: Imagining and Innovating Low-Carbon Transitions unveils what the future of energy systems could look like, and how their meanings are produced, often alongside moments of contestation. Theoretically, it analyzes these technological case studies with emerging concepts from various disciplines: utopianism (history of technology), symbolic convergence (communication studies), technological frames (social construction of technology), discursive coalitions (discourse analysis and linguistics), sociotechnical imaginaries (science and technology studies), and the sociology of expectations (innovation studies, future studies). It draws from these cases to create a synthetic set of dichotomies and frameworks for energy futures based on original data collected across two global epistemic communities- nuclear physicists and hydrogen engineers-and experts in Eastern Europe and the Nordic region, stakeholders in South Africa, and newspapers in the United Kingdom. This book is motivated by the premise that tackling climate change via low-carbon energy systems and practices is one of the most significant challenges of the twenty-first century, and that success will require not only new energy technologies, but also new ways of understanding language, visions, and discursive politics. The discursive creation of the energy systems of tomorrow are propagated in polity, hoping to be realized as the material fact of the future, but processed in conflicting ways with underlying tensions as to how contemporary societies ought to be ordered. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of energy policy, energy and environment, and technology assessment.

With the agricultural sector pledging to improve its sustainability, there is an urgent need to move away from linear food production models which rely on significant raw material inputs and generate large amounts of residual waste. Developing circular agricultural production systems reviews the emergence of circular agriculture as an approach to improving the sustainability of the agricultural sector. The book addresses recent advances in understanding and developing closed-loop systems to optimise crop nutrient cycles and resource use, as well as ways agricultural wastes can be recycled back into agricultural production or used as feedstock to produce a range of bio-based materials. With its comprehensive coverage, the book showcases how to develop circular agricultural production systems, from using crop residues as livestock feed and developing new bio-based fertilizers, to producing biogas from livestock manure and manufacturing bio-plastics from agricultural waste.

Fundamentals of Ocean Renewable Energy: Generating Electricity from the Sea presents the basic concepts of mechanics and introduces the various technical aspects of ocean renewable energy. Contents follow a logical sequence, starting with hydrodynamics and then separately examining each conversion technology, with special focus on tidal energy, offshore wind and wave energy, as well as current and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). The authors explore key topics for resource characterization and optimization, such as monitoring and measurement methods and ocean modeling. They also discuss the sustainability, planning, integration and distribution challenges for the implementation of these technologies, including co-location with other systems. Finally, case studies of ocean energy sites and devices allow for a better understanding of how ocean energy conversion works in real-world settings. This book is an invaluable resource for students at graduate and senior undergraduate level engineering (ocean, mechanical, and civil) and oceanography with prior knowledge of fluid mechanics and mechanics of materials.

Operation of Distributed Energy Resources in Smart Distribution Networks defines the barriers and challenges of smart distribution networks, ultimately proposing optimal solutions for addressing them. The book considers their use as an important part of future electrical power systems and their ability to improve the local flexibility and reliability of electrical systems. It carefully defines the concept as a radial network with a cluster of distributed energy generations, various types of loads, and energy storage systems. In addition, the book details how the huge penetration of distributed energy resources and the intermittent nature of renewable generations may cause system problems. Readers will find this to be an important resource that analyzes and introduces the features and problems of smart distribution networks from different aspects.

This book explores key parameters, properties and fundamental concepts of electrocatalysis. It also discusses the engineering strategies, current applications in fuel-cells, water-splitting, metal-ion batteries, and fuel generation. This book elucidates entire category viewpoints together with industrial applications. Therefore, all the sections of this book emphasize the recent advances of different types of electrocatalysts, current challenges, and state-of-the-art studies through detailed reviews. This book is the result of commitments by numerous experts in the field from various backgrounds and expertise and appeals to industrialists, researchers, scientists and in addition understudies from various teaches.

This book focuses on understanding the characteristics of the marine environment; overall characteristic of the marine resources (especially the marine new energy) and their current utilization; important routes, channels, and ports; and the Maritime Silk Road from the perspective of international law. It also discusses the significance and opportunities of the Maritime Silk Road initiative, analyzes the challenges involved in the construction of the Maritime Silk Road and provides corresponding countermeasures. Based on the above research, this book also proposes to construct a comprehensive application platform for the Maritime Silk Road that will be a practical tool for decision-making. This book is one of the series publications on the 21st century Maritime Silk Road (shortened as "Maritime Silk Road"). This series publications cover the characteristics of the marine environment and marine new energy, remote islands and reefs construction, climate change, early warning of wave disasters, legal escort, marine environment and energy big data construction, etc. contributing to the safe and efficient construction of the Maritime Silk Road. It aims to improve our knowledge of the ocean, thus to improve the capacity for marine construction, enhance the viability of remote islands and reefs, ease the energy crisis and protect the ecological environment, improve the quality of life of residents along the Maritime Silk Road, and protect the rights, interests of the countries and regions participating in the construction of the Maritime Silk Road. It will be a valuable reference for decision-makers, researchers, and marine engineers working in the related fields.