This book covers in a textbook-like fashion the basics or organic solar cells, addressing the limits of photovoltaic energy conversion and giving a well-illustrated introduction to molecular electronics with focus on the working principle and characterization of organic solar cells. Further chapters based on the author's dissertation focus on the electrical processes in organic solar cells by presenting a detailed drift-diffusion approach to describe exciton separation and charge-carrier transport and extraction. The results, although elaborated on small-molecule solar cells and with focus on the zinc phthalocyanine: C60 material system, are of general nature. They propose and demonstrate experimental approaches for getting a deeper understanding of the dominating processes in amorphous thin-film based solar cells in general. The main focus is on the interpretation of the current-voltage characteristics (J-V curve). This very standard measurement technique for a solar cell reflects the electrical processes in the device. Comparing experimental to simulation data, the author discusses the reasons for S-Shaped J-V curves, the role of charge carrier mobilities and energy barriers at interfaces, the dominating recombination mechanisms, the charge carrier generation profile, and other efficiency-limiting processes in organic solar cells. The book concludes with an illustrative guideline on how to identify reasons for changes in the J-V curve. This book is a suitable introduction for students in engineering, physics, material science, and chemistry starting in the field of organic or hybrid thin-film photovoltaics. It is just as valuable for professionals and experimentalists who analyze solar cell devices.

This book describes methods for adaptive control of distributed-collector solar fields: plants that collect solar energy and deliver it in thermal form. Controller design methods are presented that can overcome difficulties found in these type of plants: they are distributed-parameter systems, i.e., systems with dynamics that depend on space as well as time; their dynamics is nonlinear, with a bilinear structure; there is a significant level of uncertainty in plant knowledge. Adaptive methods form the focus of the text because of the degree of uncertainty in the knowledge of plant dynamics. Parts of the text are devoted to design methods that assume only a very limited knowledge about the plant. Other parts detail methods that rely on knowledge of the dominant plant structure. These methods are more plant specific, but allow the improvement of performance. Adaptive Control of Solar Energy Collector Systems demonstrates the dynamics of solar fields to be rich enough to present a challenge to the control designer while, at the same time, simple enough to allow analytic work to be done, providing case studies on dynamics and nonlinear control design in a simple and revealing, but nontrivial way. The control approaches treated in this monograph can be generalized to apply to other plants modelled by hyperbolic partial differential equations, especially process plants in which transport phenomena occur, plants like dryers, steam super-heaters and even highway traffic. An important example, used repeatedly throughout the text, is a distributed-collector solar field installed at Plataforma Solar de Almeria, located in southern Spain. The control algorithms laid out in the text are illustrated with experimental results generated from this plant. Although the primary focus of this monograph is solar energy collector, the range of other systems which can benefit from the methods described will make it of interest to control engineers working in many industries as well as to academic control researchers interested in adaptive control and its applications.

This book provides a detailed introduction to organic radical polymers and open-shell macromolecules. Functional macromolecules have led to marked increases in a wide range of technologies, and one of the fastest growing of these fields is that of organic electronic materials and devices. To date, synthetic and organic electronic device efforts have focused almost exclusively on closed-shell polymers despite the promise of open-shell macromolecules in myriad applications. This text represents the first comprehensive review of the design, synthesis, characterization, and device applications of open-shell polymers. In particular, it will summarize the impressive synthetic and device performance efforts that have been achieved with respect to energy storage, energy conversion, magnetic, and spintronic applications. By combining comprehensive reviews with a wealth of informative figures, the text provides the reader with a complete "molecules-to-modules" understanding of the state of the art in open-shell macromolecules. Moreover, the monograph highlights future directions for open-shell polymers in order to allow the reader to be part of the community that continues to build the field. In this way, the reader will gain a rapid understanding of the field and will have a clear pathway to utilize these materials in next-generation applications.

This book presents an innovative methodology for identifying optimum investment strategies in the power industry. To do so, it examines results including, among others, the impact of oxy-fuel technology on CO2 emissions prices, and the specific cost of electricity production. The technical and economic analysis presented here extend the available knowledge in the field of investment optimization in energy engineering, while also enabling investors to make decisions involving its application. Individual chapters explore the potential impacts of different factors like environmental charges on costs connected with investments in the power sector, as well as discussing the available technologies for heat and power generation. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers, market analysts, decision makers, power engineers and students alike.

Have you ever wondered by how much CO2 emissions can be reduced by running cars electrically or with hydrogen as fuel? This Brief provides a quantitative answer to this question using the example of the combined road traffic in Spain. The authors calculate the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the production of hydrogen gas or the required electricity and installing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure. In this way, they can compare with the GHG emissions in the present situation of oil fueled cars. Using different scenarios, they obtain an assessment how much 'greener' the electric or hydrogen cars can get.The method described in this Brief is scalable and readily adaptable to other countries. It can thus be used for investigating sensible approaches and developing recommendations for a conversion. As expected, the results depend strongly on the production scenarios for hydrogen or electricity production. The wrong choice can even result in increased GHG emissions. A proper choice of the roadmap toward a more sustainable and greener future is of greatest importance - the results described in this Brief can serve as a valuable and useful guide on our way.

First published in 1908, this book was originally intended to assist electrical engineers by explaining the fundamental principles behind all electric machinery. The text is illustrated with a number of diagrams to illustrate key points. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of science education.

This book covers system-level design optimization and implementation of hybrid energy storage systems. The author introduces various techniques to improve the performance of hybrid energy storage systems, in the context of design optimization and automation. Various energy storage techniques are discussed, each with its own advantages and drawbacks, offering viable, hybrid approaches to building a high performance, low cost energy storage system. Novel design optimization techniques and energy-efficient operation schemes are introduced. The author also describes the technical details of an actual prototype implementation of a 300 W scale hybrid energy storage system.

This book contains a novel combination of experimental and model-based investigations, elucidating the complex processes inside zinc air batteries. The work presented helps to answer which battery composition and which air-composition should be adjusted to maintain stable and efficient charge/discharge cycling. In detail, electrochemical investigations and X-ray transmission tomography are applied on button cell zinc air batteries and in-house set-ups. Moreover, model-based investigations of the battery anode and the impact of relative humidity, active operation, carbon dioxide and oxygen on zinc air battery operation are presented. The techniques used in this work complement each other well and yield an unprecedented understanding of zinc air batteries. The methods applied are adaptable and can potentially be applied to gain further understanding of other metal air batteries.

Gaining public attention due, in part,  to their potential application as energy storage devices in cars, Lithium-ion batteries have encountered widespread demand, however, the understanding of lithium-ion technology has often lagged behind production. This book defines the most commonly encountered challenges from the perspective of a high-end lithium-ion manufacturer with two decades of experience with lithium-ion batteries and over six decades of experience with batteries of other chemistries. Authors with years of experience in the applied science and engineering of lithium-ion batteries gather to share their view on where lithium-ion technology stands now, what are the main challenges, and their possible solutions. The book contains real-life examples of how a subtle change in cell components can have a considerable effect on cell’s performance. Examples are supported with approachable basic science commentaries. Providing a unique combination of practical know-how with an in-depth perspective, this book will appeal to graduate students, young faculty members, or others interested in the current research and development trends in lithium-ion technology.

This book describes recent breakthroughs that promise major cost reductions in solar energy production in a clear and highly accessible manner. The author addresses the three key areas that have commonly resulted in criticism of solar energy in the past: cost, availability, and variability. Coverage includes cutting-edge information on recently developed 40 efficient solar cells, which can produce double the power of currently available commercial cells. The discussion also highlights the potentially transformative emergence of opportunities for integration of solar energy storage and natural gas combined heat and power systems. Solar energy production in the evening hours is also given fresh consideration via the convergence of low cost access to space and the growing number of large terrestrial solar electric power fields around the world. Dr. Fraas has been active in the development of Solar Cells and Solar Electric Power Systems for space and terrestrial applications since 1975. His research team at Boeing demonstrated the first GaAs/GaSb tandem concentrator solar cell in 1989 with a world record energy conversion efficiency of 35 , garnering awards from Boeing and NASA. He has over 30 years of experience at Hughes Research Labs, Chevron Research Co, and the Boeing High Technology Center working with advanced semiconductor devices. In a pioneering paper, he proposed the InGaP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction solar cell predicting a cell terrestrial conversion efficiency of 40 at 300 suns concentration. Having become today's predominant cell for space satellites, that cell is now entering high volume production for terrestrial Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Since joining JX Crystals, Dr. Fraas has pioneered the development of various thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems based on the new GaSb infrared sensitive PV cell. Dr. Fraas holds degrees from Caltech (B.Sc. Physics), Harvard (M. A. Applied Physics), and USC (Ph.D. EE).

Fuel cells are one of the most promising clean energy conversion devices that can solve the environmental and energy problems in our society. However, the high platinum loading of fuel cells - and thus their high cost - prevents their commercialization. Non- or low- platinum electrocatalysts are needed to lower the fuel cell cost. Electrocatalysis in Fuel Cells: A Non and Low Platinum Approach is a comprehensive book summarizing recent advances of electrocatalysis in oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation, with a particular focus on non- and low-Pt electrocatalysts. All twenty four chapters were written by worldwide experts in their fields. The fundamentals and applications of novel electrocatalysts are discussed thoroughly in the book. The book is geared toward researchers in the field, postgraduate students and lecturers, and scientists and engineers at fuel cell and automotive companies. It can even be a reference book for those who are interested in this area.

The authors present a new formal framework for finding the long-run competitive market equilibrium through short-run equilibria by exploiting the operating policies and plant valuations. This "short-run approach" develops ideas of Boiteux and Koopmans. Applied to the peak-load pricing of electricity generated by thermal, hydro and pumped-storage plants, it gives a sound and practical method of valuing the fixed assets-in this case, the river flows and the geological sites suitable for reservoirs. Its main mathematical basis is the producer's short-run profit maximization programme and its dual; their solutions have relatively simple forms that can greatly ease the fixed-point problem of solving for the general equilibrium. Since the optimal values (profit and cost functions) are usually nondifferentiable-this is so when there are joint costs of production such as capacity constraints-nonsmooth calculus is employed to resolve long-standing discrepancies between textbook theory and industrial reality by giving subdifferential extensions of basic results of microeconomics, including the Wong-Viner Envelope Theorem.

Our energy-hungry world increasingly relies on new methods to store and convert energy for portable electronics, as well as environmentally friendly modes of transportation and electrical energy generation. The development of high-performance power sources are intimately linked to the availability of advanced materials. Designing batteries and capacitors with higher specific energy and power, longer cycle life and rapid charge/discharge rates requires a deeper understanding of the relationship between materials properties and performance. Fuel cells, which offer the potential for clean, efficient conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy, are hampered by high cost and performance problems which can be resolved by new materials and processing techniques. Advanced batteries such as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride offer the potential for improved performance if low-cost materials can be developed. This book shares research and highlights the importance of materials in energy conversion technologies. Topics include: rechargeable batteries; lithium-ion rechargeable batteries - modelling; fuel cells; lithium-ion rechargeable batteries - cathode materials; battery electrolytes, interfaces and passive films; lithium-ion rechargeable batteries - anode materials and supercapacitors.

Cisterns: Sustainable Development, Architecture and Energy was written on beliefs that based on historical evidence and actual findings, Iran is most probably the country where cisterns, or "Aub-anbars" in Farsi, were first developed and built. Therefore, it is quite natural for the author to name cisterns in the text Aub-anbars, as it has been called for centuries in this country, the translation of the same name having been used in other countries too. Although in some books, journals and papers published out of Iran by foreign and Iranian scholars, the names Cistern or Water Reservoir have been used. The word Aub-anbar is a compound noun in Farsi; Aub means water and Anbar means tank/reservoir. Putting them together gives the noun Aub-anbarand it should be used as one word.People of the region wanting reserved cool water whether in cities or in different locations across the harsh desert during their travel. Queen Zubeida, the wife of Khalifa Haroon Al-Rasheed in 750 AD built one of these cistern closer to the town of Hiyal in Saudi Arabia so that the Pilgrims? Caravans going to Mecca will have cool, fresh water. This book consists of 11-chapters with full analysis, illustrations and photographs. It makes interesting readings to those interested into vernacular architecture, traditional buildings and creative thinking.

This book introduces the basic concepts, synthesis techniques, and applications of vertically-oriented graphene. The authors detail emerging applications of vertically-oriented graphene such as field emitters, atmospheric nanoscale corona discharges, gas sensors and biosensors, supercapacitors, lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells (catalyst supports) and electrochemical transducers. They offer a perspective on current challenges to enabling commercial applications of vertically-oriented graphene.

Wind-Turbine Aerodynamics is a self-contained textbook which shows how to come from the basics of fluid mechanics to modern wind turbine blade design. It presents a fundamentals of fluid dynamics and inflow conditions, and gives a extensive introduction into theories describing the aerodynamics of wind turbines. After introducing experiments the book applies the knowledge to explore the impact on blade design.The book is an introduction for professionals and students of very varying levels.

This book delivers a comprehensive evaluation of organic and hybrid solar cells and identifies their fundamental principles and numerous applications. Great attention is given to the charge transport mechanism, donor and acceptor materials, interfacial materials, alternative electrodes, device engineering and physics, and device stability. The authors provide an industrial perspective on the future of photovoltaic technologies.

Li-Co-Mn-Ni oxides have been of extreme interest as potential positive electrode materials for next generation Li-ion batteries.  Though many promising materials have been discovered and studied extensively, much debate remains in the literature about the structures of these materials. There is no consensus as to whether the lithium-rich layered materials are single-phase or form a layered-layered composite on the few nanometer length-scales. Much of this debate came about because no phase diagrams existed to describe these systems under the synthesis conditions used to make electrode materials.  Detailed in this thesis are the complete Li-Co-Mn-O and Li-Mn-Ni-O phase diagrams generated by way of the combinatorial synthesis of mg-scale samples at over five hundred compositions characterized with X-ray diffraction. Selected bulk samples were used to confirm that the findings are relevant to synthesis conditions used commercially. The results help resolve a number of points of confusion and contradiction in the literature. Amongst other important findings, the compositions and synthesis conditions giving rise to layered-layered nano-composites are presented and electrochemical results are used to show how better electrode materials can be achieved by making samples in the single phase-layered regions.

Liberating Energy from Carbon analyzes energy options in a carbon-constrained world. Major strategies and pathways to decarbonizing the carbon-intensive economy are laid out with a special emphasis on the prospects of achieving low-risk atmospheric CO2 levels. The opportunities and challenges in developing and bringing to market novel low and zero-carbon technologies are highlighted from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints. This book takes a unique approach by treating carbon in a holistic manner-tracking its complete transformation chain from fossil fuel sources to the unique properties of the CO2 molecule, to carbon capture and storage and finally, to CO2 industrial utilization and its conversion to value-added products and fuels. This concise but comprehensive sourcebook guides readers through recent scientific and technological developments as well as commercial projects that aim for the decarbonization of the fossil fuel-based economy and CO2 utilization that will play an increasingly important role in the near- and mid-term future. This book is intended for researchers, engineers, and students working and studying in practically all areas of energy technology and alternative energy sources and fuels.

This book shows how severe plastic deformation techniques could be used to enhance the hydrogen storage properties of metal hybrides. The mechanochemical techniques of ball-milling (BM), Cold Rolling (CR), Equal Chanel Angular Pressing (ECAP) and High Pressure Torsion (HPT) are covered. Each technique is described and critically assessed with respect to its usefulness to process metal hybrides at an industrial scale.

Here, the authors provide a unified concept for understanding multi-electron processes in electrochemical systems such as molten salts, ionic liquids, or ionic solutions. A major advantage of this concept is its independence of assumptions like one-step many-electron transfers or 'discrete' discharge of complex species. Therefore this monograph is a unique resource for basic electrochemical research but also for many important applications such as electrodeposition, electrorefining, or electrowinning of polyvalent metals from molten salts and other ionic media.

Power Conversion of Renewable Energy Systems presents an introduction to conventional energy conversion components and systems, as well as those related to renewable energy. This volume introduces systems first, and then in subsequent chapters describes the components of energy systems in detail. Readers will find examples of renewable and conventional energy and power systems, including energy conversion, variable-speed drives and power electronics, in addition to magnetic devices such as transformers and rotating machines. Applications of PSpice, MATLAB, and Mathematica are also included, along with solutions to over 100 application examples. Power Conversion of Renewable Energy Systems aims to instruct readers how to actively apply the theories discussed within. It would be an ideal volume for researchers, students and engineers working with energy systems and renewable energy.

This book presents a detailed technical overview of short- and long-term materials and design challenges to zinc/bromine flow battery advancement, the need for energy storage in the electrical grid and how these may be met with the Zn/Br system. Practical interdisciplinary pathways forward are identified via cross-comparison and comprehensive review of significant findings from more than 300 published works, with clear in-depth explanations spanning initial RFB development to state-of-the-art research in related systems. Promising strategies described include the use of modern electrochemical techniques to study and optimize physical processes occurring within the system during operation, improving zinc electroplating quality during the charge phase through the strategic use of organic additives, as well as identifying suitable catalysts to optimize the bromine/bromide redox couple. The primary focus is on research and development of novel materials in the areas of electrolyte formulation and multifunctional "smart" electrode surfaces to achieve a higher degree of control over processes at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The strategies suggested in this book are also highly adaptable for use in other similar flow battery systems, while the unique cross-comparative approach makes it a useful reference and source of new ideas for both new and established researchers in the field of energy storage and battery technology.

This thesis focuses on porous monolithic materials that are not in the forms of particles, fibers, or films. In particular, the synthetic strategy of porous monolithic materials via the sol-gel method accompanied by phase separation, which is characterized as the non-templating method for tailoring well-defined macropores, is described from the basics to actual synthesis. Porous materials are attracting more and more attention in various fields such as electronics, energy storage, catalysis, sensing, adsorbents, biomedical science, and separation science. To date, many efforts have been made to synthesize porous materials in various chemical compositions-organics, inorganics including metals, glasses and ceramics, and organic-inorganic hybrids. Also demonstrated in this thesis are the potential applications of synthesized porous monolithic materials to separation media as well as to electrodes for electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) and Li-ion batteries (LIBs). This work is ideal for graduate students in materials science and is also useful to engineers or scientists seeking basic knowledge of porous monolithic materials.

Computational studies on fuel cell-related issues are increasingly common. These studies range from engineering level models of fuel cell systems and stacks to molecular level, electronic structure calculations on the behavior of membranes and catalysts, and everything in between. This volume explores this range. It is appropriate to ask what, if anything, does this work tell us that we cannot deduce intuitively? Does the emperor have any clothes? In answering this question resolutely in the affirmative, I will also take the liberty to comment a bit on what makes the effort worthwhile to both the perpetrator(s) of the computational study (hereafter I will use the blanket terms modeler and model for both engineering and chemical physics contexts) and to the rest of the world. The requirements of utility are different in the two spheres. As with any activity, there is a range of quality of work within the modeling community. So what constitutes a useful model? What are the best practices, serving both the needs of the promulgator and consumer? Some of the key com- nents are covered below. First, let me provide a word on my 'credentials' for such commentary. I have participated in, and sometimes initiated, a c- tinuous series of such efforts devoted to studies of PEMFC components and cells over the past 17 years. All that participation was from the experim- tal, qualitative side of the effort.