This book explores the perplexing question of how to increase sustainable energy technology use in the developing world, and specifically focuses on two megacities within Latin America. Renewable Energy Uptake in Urban Latin America examines the market and uptake of two sustainable energy technologies (solar water heaters and biogas to produce electricity) in two locations, Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil in the 2000s. Drawing from three systems-based analytical frameworks - including one developed by the author for the purpose of this study - the book examines the varying factors affecting the implementation of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in urban Latin America. These frameworks emphasize the importance of examining socio-political dimensions; rather than conventional explanations that focus on technical and economic aspects only. By doing so, the research improves explanations about renewable energy technology (RET) adoption in the global South. These findings are useful for scholars, policy makers and practitioners working on RET adoption; resulting in a book which helps to inform wider debates regarding innovation, decarbonization, sustainability transitions and energy system change. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy transitions, energy policy, development studies and science and technology studies.

This book explores the relationship between oil pollution laws and environmental justice by comparing and contrasting the United States and Nigeria. Critically, this book not only examines the fluidity of oil pollutions laws but also how effective or ineffective enforcement can be when viewed through the lens of environmental justice. Using Nigeria as a case study and drawing upon examples from the United States, it examines the legal and institutional challenges impacting upon the effective enforcement of laws and provides a contrasting view of developed and developing countries. Focusing on the oil and gas industry, the book discusses the laws and international acceptable standards (IAS) in these industries, the principles behind their application, the existing barriers to their effective implementation, and how to overcome those barriers. Utilising an environmental justice framework, the book demonstrates the synergy between policy-making, human rights, and justice in oil-producing regions as well as addressing the importance of protecting the rights of minorities. Through a comparative analysis of the United States and Nigeria, this book draws out enforcement approaches and mechanisms for tackling oil-related pollution with a view to reducing environmental injustice in developing countries. Examining the role of NGOs in pursuing environmental justice matters, the book showed the regional courts as one avenue of overcoming the enforcement challenges faced by the developing countries. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, environmental justice, minorities' rights, business and human rights, energy law, and natural resource governance.

This volume focuses on the social, cultural, and ecological consequences of a political economy of energy. A political economy of energy holds that an enduring hallmark of the current context is a reorganization of human society toward energy extraction and production. Limits to Terrestrial Extraction looks at the construction of society itself as an energy-harvesting "megamachine," the ecomodernist project of the latter half of the twentieth century and its disastrous environmental record, and mining Near Earth Objects to extract extraterrestrial resources. Each chapter explores a limit to terrestrial extraction - spatially, economically, or socially - finding that business as usual cannot yield a different world. The authors eschew easy answers of natural resource management or discourses of wise use, instead offering critiques of market society and its constitutive drive to produce and waste energy. Overall, this volume establishes the existential stakes and scope of change that will be required to build a better world. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental political theory, as well as social scientists and humanities scholars who study the intersection of energy and society.

Updating content from the author's 2001 book Coal Desulfurization, this new title focuses on CO2 sequestration and utilization. It includes information on the theory and practical approaches to CO2 capture and recent advances in the use of sequestered CO2. Avoiding these pollutants requires either forgetting about the 250 billion tons of coal reserves the United States possesses or capturing and utilizing the pollutants in a profitable and environmentally responsible fashion. The book covers postcombustion and precombustion capture approaches for coal, and postcombustion capture can be generalized to many other fuels. Recent practical implementations at full-scale power facilities around the world are discussed. The book covers sequestering CO2 via underground, oceanic, biological, and other long-term CO2 storage methods. It also includes recent advances in utilizing CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, advances in storage with depleted oil and gas reservoirs and deep saline aquifers, and additional topics. The book also examines specific applications of pure CO2 and covers chemical conversion of CO2 to useful compounds. It answers questions like "Can we create methanol from coal?" or "Can we create ethanol from coal?" It is found that methanol and ethanol cannot be sustainably produced from coal power alone. However, oxalic acid can be created at a much lower energy cost than methanol or ethanol. Oxalic acid can be used to extract rare earths, which are not currently produced anywhere in the United States, but are typically concentrated in coal ash. Aimed at researchers and industry professionals in chemical, environmental, and energy engineering, this book provides insight and inspiration into capturing CO2 not merely as a response to regulatory pressure and climate change but as an inherently profitable and valuable venture.

Bioremediation: A Sustainable Approach to Preserving Earth's Water discusses the latest research in green chemistry practices and principles that are involved in water remediation and the quality improvement of water. The presence of heavy metals, dyes, fluoride, dissolved solids and many other pollutants are responsible for water pollution and poor water quality. The removal of these pollutants in water resources is necessary, yet challenging. Water preservation is of great importance globally and researchers are making significant progress in ensuring this precious commodity is safe and potable. This volume illustrates how bioremediation in particular is a promising green technique globally. Features: Addresses bioremediation of all the major water pollutants Approaches the chemistry of water and the concept of water as a renewable resource from a green chemistry aspect Discusses environmental chemistry and the practice of industrial ecology Explains the global concern of adequate high quality water supplies, and how bioremediation can resolve this Explores sustainable development through green engineering

Sustainable Bioprocessing for a Clean and Green Environment: Concepts and Applications highlights the importance of waste to health in which waste is safely converted to value-added products via bioprocess technologies. Providing fundamental concepts and applications, this book also offers readers the methodology behind the operation of a variety of biological processes used in developing valuable products from waste. Features: Discusses synthesis and use of environmentally friendly biobased materials, such as biopolymer films and biobased plasticizers Highlights nanotechnology applications in the treatment of pollution and emphasizes the synthesis of biogenic nanomaterials for environmental remediation Describes the use of biosurfactants and emerging algal technologies, such as applications of microalgae in nutraceuticals and biofuel production Details delignification for lignocellulosic biomass This interdisciplinary book offers researchers and practitioners in chemical engineering, environmental engineering, and related fields a broad perspective on fundamentals, technologies, and environmental applications of sustainable bioprocessing.

Drying processes are among the most energy-consuming operations in industry. Flame spray drying (FSD) is a novel approach to reduce the energy supply needed for the spray drying process. Flame Spray Drying: Equipment, Mechanism, and Perspectives describes FSD technology and current developments in flame techniques and evaluates potential industrial implementation. Details advantages of FSD in terms of energy consumption and reduced drying time Promotes applications of biofuels for the drying process Analyzes the FSD method from CFD modelling to product quality Evaluates potential safety and product degradation risks Provides examples of potential applications of the FSD technique in drying of different materials This book describes an important new technique that is useful to chemical and process engineering researchers, professionals, and students working with drying technologies.

This book highlights selected papers presented during the bi-annual World Renewable Energy Network's 2019 Med Green Forum. This international forum highlights the importance of growing renewable energy applications in two main sectors: Electricity Generation and Sustainable Building. The papers highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs illustrating the viability of using renewable energy to satisfy energy needs. Coverage includes a broad range of renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors - electricity production, heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water desalination, industrial applications, and transport. Presents leading-edge research in green building, sustainable architecture, and renewable energy; Covers a broad range of renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors; Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies presented.

This book is a compilation of chapters on scientific work in novel and innovative reference that compiles interdisciplinary perspectives about diverse issues related with Industry 4.0 and smart cities in different ways, i.e., intelligent optimisation, industrial applications in the real world, social applications and technology applications with a different perspective about existing solutions. Chapters review research in improving optimisation in smart manufacturing, logistics of products and services, optimisation of different elements in the time and location, social applications to enjoy our life of a better way and applications that increase daily life quality. This book covers applications of Industry 4.0; applications to improve the life of the citizens in a smart city; and finally, welfare of the working-age population and their expectations in their jobs correlated with the welfare-work relationship.

Value-Added Biocomposites: Technology, Innovation, and Opportunity explores advances in research, processing, manufacturing, and novel applications of biocomposites. It describes the current market situation, commercial competition, and societal and economic impacts and advantages of substituting biocomposites for conventional composites, including natural fibers and bioplastics. FEATURES Discusses manufacturing and processing procedures that focus on improving physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical, and biological properties and achieving required specifications of downstream industries and customers Analyzes the wide range of available base materials and fillers of biocomposites and bioplastics in terms of the strength and weaknesses of materials and economic potential in the market Displays special and unique properties of biocomposites in different market sectors Showcases the insight of expert scientists and engineers with first-hand experience working with biocomposites across various industries Covers environmental factors, life cycle assessment, and waste recovery Combining technical, economic, and environmental topics, this work provides researchers, advanced students, and industry professionals a holistic overview of the value that biocomposites add across a variety of engineering applications and how to balance research and development with practical results.

This book encompasses the most updated and recent account of research and implementation of Microbial Electrochemical Technologies (METs) from pioneers and experienced researchers in the field who have been working on the interface between electrochemistry and microbiology/biotechnology for many years. It provides a holistic view of the METs, detailing the functional mechanisms, operational configurations, influencing factors governing the reaction process and integration strategies. The book not only provides historical perspectives of the technology and its evolution over the years but also the most recent examples of up-scaling and near future commercialization, making it a must-read for researchers, students, industry practitioners and science enthusiasts. Key Features: Introduces novel technologies that can impact the future infrastructure at the water-energy nexus. Outlines methodologies development and application of microbial electrochemical technologies and details out the illustrations of microbial and electrochemical concepts. Reviews applications across a wide variety of scales, from power generation in the laboratory to approaches. Discusses techniques such as molecular biology and mathematical modeling; the future development of this promising technology; and the role of the system components for the implementation of bioelectrochemical technologies for practical utility. Explores key challenges for implementing these systems and compares them to similar renewable energy technologies, including their efficiency, scalability, system lifetimes, and reliability.

This is the second volume of a 3-volume history of solar power generating systems covering the approximately 50 years of research and development surrounding the energy crisis of 1973. Volume 1 covered solar-thermal systems. The present volume covers photovoltaic systems in the 20th century. Volume 3 will cover photovoltaic developments from the start of the 21st century. The history is based upon keynote lectures given by international specialists at the Sede Boqer Symposia on Solar Electric Power Production, a series that commenced in 1986. The lectures document many technical details that have become hard to find, including some pertaining to technologies that were successfully demonstrated but subsequently discontinued owing to their not having been deemed to be cost-effective at the time. However, in the event that different economic considerations may ensue, these volumes can provide a valuable starting point, including references, for the re-investigation of some of those once abandoned ideas.

Nanomaterials in Bionanotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications offers a comprehensive treatment of nanomaterials in biotechnology from fundamentals to applications, along with their prospects. This book explains the basics of nanomaterial properties, synthesis, biological synthesis, and chemistry and demonstrates how to use nanomaterials to overcome problems in agricultural, environmental, and biomedical applications. Features Covers nanomaterials for environmental analysis and monitoring for heavy metals, chemical toxins, and water pollutant detection Describes nanomaterials-based biosensors and instrumentation and use in disease diagnosis and therapeutics Discusses nanomaterials for food processing and packaging and agricultural waste management Identifies challenges in nanomaterials-based technology and how to solve them This work serves as a reference for industry professionals, advanced students, and researchers working in the discipline of bionanotechnology.

This book focuses on latent heat storage, which is one of the most efficient ways of storing thermal energy. Unlike the sensible heat storage method, the latent heat storage method provides much higher storage density with a smaller difference between storing and releasing temperatures. Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials is structured into four chapters that cover many aspects of thermal energy storage and their practical applications. Chapter 1 reviews selection, performance, and applications of phase change materials. Chapter 2 investigates mathematical analyses of phase change processes. Chapters 3 and 4 present passive and active applications for energy saving, peak load shifting, and price-based control heating using phase change materials. These chapters explore the hot topic of energy saving in an overarching way, and so they are relevant to all courses. This book is an ideal research reference for students at the postgraduate level. It also serves as a useful reference for electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineers and students throughout their work. FEATURES Explains the technical principles of thermal energy storage, including materials and applications in different classifications Provides fundamental calculations of heat transfer with phase change Discusses the benefits and limitations of different types of phase change materials (PCM) in both micro- and macroencapsulations Reviews the mechanisms and applications of available thermal energy storage systems Introduces innovative solutions in hot and cold storage applications

This book addresses some of the controversies and uncertainties associated with reducing the extensive exploitation of fossil fuels due to their role in global warming. Elisabeth Marta Tommerbakk explores why a transition towards a post-carbon society is so difficult to accomplish by examining how the relationship between petroleum production and climate change is politically framed and negotiated in contested cases. This question is approached through a process-oriented comparative case study of Lofoten, located in the Norwegian Sea above the Arctic Circle, and Yasuni-ITT (Ishpingo, Tambococha, and Tiputini) located in the Ecuadorian Amazon: regions that both belong to oil-exporting countries with highly oil-dependent economies. Tommerbakk draws on rich empirical data that includes qualitative interviews with subjects in both countries and applies an Actor-Network Theory framework to show that oil and climate are intricately entangled in knowledge and policy practices. Overall, Assembling Petroleum Production and Climate Change in Ecuador and Norway provides an in-depth examination of how climate science and petroleum extraction are negotiated, adapted, assembled, and coordinated with other national policies and political aims. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of petroleum production, climate change, environmental policy, and environmental sociology.

This book comprises of chapters based on design of various advanced nano-catalysts and offers a development of novel solutions for a better sustainable energy future. The book includes all aspects of physical chemistry, chemical engineering and material science. The advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology help to find cost-effective and environmentally sound methods of converting naturally inspired resources into fuels, chemicals and energy. The book leads the scientific community to the most significant development in the focus research area. It provides a broad and in-depth coverage of design and development advanced nano-catalyst for various energy applications.

This book aims to develop a framework for the assessment of population 'preferences in climate change mitigation policies by applying a Willingness to Pay (WTP) approach and presents the results from several case studies in Lithuania on renewable energy generation and renovation in different households. These analyses of climate change mitigation policies and measures, based on the assessment of their effectiveness, provide recommendations for developing innovative measures in other countries. Since public preferences are variable, climate change mitigation policies can change these preferences and allow to form new ones. Features: Analyses social benefits of climate change mitigation measures and their integration methods based on assessment of public preferences. Presents several practical case studies on energy needs where the Willingness to Pay framework was applied. Discusses climate change mitigation barriers in energy sector and the effectiveness of climate change mitigation policies to overcome them. Provides a novel approach for climate change mitigation policies development in households. Includes useful information for evaluating and planning policies related to renewable energy investment. This book is a useful reference for those in the academic, research, and business communities, policy makers, graduate students, and professionals involved with climate change mitigation projects.

This edited collection brings together a selection of expert authors and draws on a wide range of case studies, geographies, and perspectives to explore the links between forced migration and energy access. This book addresses the paucity of academic study on how energy is delivered to the millions of people currently forcibly displaced. The contributions throughout assess the current energy governance regimes, models of delivery, and innovative solutions that are dictating how energy is - and can be - provided to those who have been forced to move away from their homes. By bringing together author-teams of practitioners, academics, businesses, and policy makers, this collection encourages interdisciplinary dialogue about the best way of approaching energy provision for the forcibly displaced. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy access and policy, environmental justice and equity, and migration and refugee studies.

Ammonia holds great promise as a carbon-neutral liquid fuel for storing intermittent renewable energy sources and power generation due to its high energy density and hydrogen content. Photo-Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis: Nanocatalyst Discovery, Reactor Design, and Advanced Spectroscopy covers the synthesis of novel hybrid plasmonic nanomaterials and their application in photo-electrochemical systems to convert low energy molecules to high value-added molecules and looks specifically at photo-electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) for ammonia synthesis as an attractive alternative to the long-lasting thermochemical process. Provides an integrated scientific framework, combining materials chemistry, photo-electrochemistry, and spectroscopy to overcome the challenges associated with renewable energy storage and transport Reviews materials chemistry for the synthesis of a range of heterogeneous (photo) electrocatalysts including plasmonic and hybrid plasmonic-semiconductor nanostructures for selective and efficient conversion of N2 to NH3 Covers novel reactor design to study the redox processes in the photo-electrochemical energy conversion system and to benchmark nanocatalysts' selectivity and activity toward NRR Discusses the use of advanced spectroscopic techniques to probe the reaction mechanism for ammonia synthesis Offers techno-economic analysis and presents performance targets for the scale-up and commercialization of electrochemical ammonia synthesis This book is of value to researchers, advanced students, and industry professionals working in sustainable energy storage and conversion across the disciplines of Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and related areas.

Handbook of Green Engineering Technologies for Sustainable Smart Cities focuses on the complete exploration and presentation of green smart city applications, techniques, and architectural frameworks. It provides detailed coverage of urban sustainability spanning across various engineering disciplines. The book discusses and explores green engineering technologies for smart cities and covers various engineering disciplines and environmental science. It emphasizes techniques, application frameworks, tools, and case studies. All chapters play a part in the evolution of sustainable green smart cities and present how to solve environmental issues by applying modern industrial IoT solutions. This book will benefit researchers, smart city practitioners, academicians, university students, and policy makers.

This book examines the development of bilateral energy relations between China and the two oil-rich countries, Kazakhstan and Russia. Challenging conventional assumptions about energy politics and China's global quest for oil, this book examines the interplay of politics and sociocultural contexts. It shows how energy resources become ideas and how these ideas are mobilized in the realm of international relations. China's relations with Kazakhstan and Russia are simultaneously enabled and constrained by the discursive politics of oil. It is argued that to build collaborative and constructive energy relations with China, its partners in Kazakhstan, Russia, and elsewhere must consider not only the material realities of China's energy industry and the institutional settings of China's energy policy but also the multiple symbolic meanings that energy resources and, particularly, oil acquire in China. China's Energy Security and Relations with Petrostates offers a nuanced understanding of China's bilateral energy relations with Kazakhstan and Russia, raising essential questions about the social logic of international energy politics. It will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, energy security, Chinese and post-Soviet studies, along with researchers working in the fields of energy policy and environmental sustainability.

This book advances the use of biodiesel-more environmentally friendly than traditional fossil fuels-by showing how it can be synthesized at a lower cost, with greater efficiency and as a more pure and stable product. It presents methods based on fluorescence spectroscopy, which are less time-consuming than the traditional Rancimat analysis for monitoring stability, and are therefore less prone to allowing oxidative decay in the biofuel. Biodiesel exploits a variety of raw materials, from freshly harvested cottonseed to recycled cooking oil. These are cheap to produce and generate fuel lower in polluting sulphur and aromatic compounds than its petroleum-based equivalent. Beginning by addressing different protocols for synthesis based on fatty acids, methyl and ethyl esters, it then describes chemical analyses essential to establishing the purity of the biodiesel. It highlights in detail the use of multifunctional and synthetic antioxidants, and investigates the impact of synthetic chalcones and their derivatives on the oxidative stability of biodiesel. The author goes on to explain how to ameliorate various influences - UV irradiation and metal contaminants for example - which increase the hazards of oxidation, such as degradation and instability. New pre-treatment procedures performed using ultrasonic energies, thermostatic bath and vortex stirring are not only more environmentally friendly, but cut down on the time-consuming process of determining metal content, and allow for the use of more environmentally friendly aqueous reagents. The book investigates and demonstrates these techniques on the basis of real-world results. Further, it suggests the practical uses of byproducts of biodiesel production, for example, using glycerol as a source of energy and high valuable chemicals. These useful techniques aid any researcher exploring the production process of biodiesel and its stabilization and characteristics.

This textbook covers essential electrochemistry and materials science content and provides an extensive collection of examples in order to bridge the gap between engineering students' basic knowledge and the concrete skills they need to handle practical problems in fuel cells. The book starts with an introduction to the basic thermodynamics and electrochemistry principles and techniques in fuel cells. It subsequently discusses fuel cell operation principles, electrocatalysts, electrode materials, cell and system configuration and technologies in low-temperature fuel cells such as alkaline fuel cells and proton exchange membrane fuel cells, and in high-temperature fuel cells including solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cells. Other energy conversion and storage technologies such as supercapacitors, batteries and electrolysis are also covered. A special chapter on laboratory experiments with fuel cells is also included, which can be conducted in conjunction with classroom teaching. Each chapter includes problems and exercises. The book provides students with an engineering background essential information on the basic thermodynamics, electrochemistry and materials of fuel cells, the most efficient and environmentally friend energy conversion technologies, all in a single book.

This book highlights topics ranging from green chemistry and engineering to bioremediation, smart technologies, and sustainable business practices. The common threads running through this volume are the need for urgent action, a vision for a sustainable future, and the awareness that solutions must be widely accessible and advance the welfare of all nations, especially in the face of climate change. The authors delineate how we can protect and restore natural ecosystem potential to achieve environmental sustainability. They provide a clear idea of today's environmental challenges and solutions, focus on energy use patterns and the reduction of energy consumption, advocate for increased environmental awareness, and discuss environmental monitoring systems. The book contains many domestic and international case studies and showcases visionary ideas in action to illustrate sustainability principles. This volume provides an in-depth reference for stakeholders from academia, government, and industry on the latest research in environmental sustainability solutions. Inspired by the common wisdom that we do not inherit this Earth from our ancestors but instead borrow it from our children, the authors offer solutions to emergent problems. This research comprises an important contribution to the global effort to build a more sustainable tomorrow.