This book provides a practical description of the technology of pellet production on the basis of renewable sources as well as the utilization of pellets. The author explains what kinds of biomass are usable in addition to wood, how to produce pellets and how to use pellets to produce energy. Starting with the basics of combustion, gasification and the pelletizing process, several different technologies are described. The design, planning, construction and economic efficiency are discussed as well. The appendix gives useful advice about plant concepts, calculations, addresses, conversion tables and formulas.

For the first time a book has been written on the technological and scientific knowledge, acquired during, buiding , operation and even dismantling of the Superphenix plant. This reactor remains today the most powerful sodium fast breeder reactor operated in the world.(1200 MWe). The last fast breeder reactor operated in the world is BN 800 in Russia that reached his nominal power (800 MWe) in 2016. Joel Guidez began his career in the field of sodium-cooled fast reactors after leaving Ecole Centrale-Paris, in 1973. He has held various positions at Cadarache, Phenix and Superphenix, including as the head of the thermal hydraulic laboratory conducting tests for Phenix, Superphenix and the EFR European Fast Reactor project. He was also head of the OSIRIS research reactor, located at SACLAY, and of the HFR European Commission reactor, located in the Netherlands and spent two years as nuclear attache at the French embassy in Berlin. His 2012 book "Phenix: the experience feedback" was translated into English and republished in 2013, and this new book on Superphenix is in the same spirit of thematic analysis of a reactor experience feedback. Gerard Prele graduated from the Ecole Centrale-Lyon and entered EDF and the field of sodium-cooled fast reactors in 1983. In 1985 he joined Superphenix, where he was a duty engineer and was later in charge of safety. He has held various positions at Superphenix and Phenix and was a fast neutron reactor (SFR) engineer at the EDF Centre Lyonnais d'Ingenierie (CLI). He worked as Safety Security Environment and Radiation Protection Mission head in Superphenix at the beginning of dismantling and then in the field of PWR for two years. Since 2006 he has been involved in the Gen IV and the SFR/Astrid projects. Today, as an SFR/system and operations expert, one of his major roles is assisting the CEA in the preliminary design of the ASTRID reactor.

This book attempts to explain what went wrong in California's restructured energy markets and what must be done to restore California's economy and build new electricity systems. The intention here is to reconcile the principles of competition and regulation. California had a severe electricity crisis for about thirteen months beginning in May of 2000. The economic consequences and political fallout that arose from this crisis persist. California's economy continues to suffer and the state's treasury is deeply in debt. The state's three investor-owned utilities were nearly financially decimated. San Diego Gas & Electric has recovered to a greater degree than the other two only because its retail prices are about three times the national average and, for a time, well above the other two IOUs in California. Southern California Edison has recently been restored to investment grade and was granted a rate increase. Pacific Gas & Electric is emerging from bankruptcy. This book discusses all of this in greater detail. The problems and consequences arising from California's ill-fated foray into electricity market restructuring could damage the state for years to come. Challenges of this nature are not new to the Golden State. In the past, as we explain here, pragmatic, not entrenched, approaches have worked best in California. If California is to relatively quickly restore its previous enviable economic vitality and recover from the damage done to tarnish its luster, pragmatic approaches must again be used.

This book makes Hazardous or Electrical Area Classification simple. In plants processing flammable materials, every effort is made to avoid the escape of such materials and in addition, stringent measures are taken to exclude sources of ignition. A complex array of standards surround this topic which has lead to an overly conservative approach being taken. This type of approach means that much more expensive electrical apparatus than is necessary is installed.
To avoid this unnecessary expenditure, Dr Groh clearly explains the relevant standards, so that accurate assessment of the risks associated with hazardous areas is possible. He also identifies possible ignition sources and methods of designing apparatus which do not cause sparks thereby maintaining safety.
* Covers must-have information regarding IEC/CENELEC standards in electrical or hazardous area classification
* Provides a clear overview of a complex area

This book addresses the fundamental issues underlying the debate over electric power regulation and deregulation. After decades of the presumption that the electric power industry was a natural monopoly, recent times have seen a trend of deregulation followed by panicked re-regulation. This important book critically analyses this controversial area from a legal and economic perspective.

In the modern semiconductor industry, there is a growing need to understand and combat potential radiation damage problems. Space applications are an obvious case, but, beyond that, today's device and circuit fabrication rely on increasing numbers of processing steps that involve an aggressive environment where inadvertant radiation damage can occur. This book is both aimed at post-graduate researchers seeking an overview of the field, and will also be immensely useful for nuclear and space engineers and even process engineers. A background knowledge of semiconductor and device physics is assumed, but the basic concepts are all briefly summarized. Finally the book outlines the shortcomings of present experimental and modeling techniques and gives an outlook on future developments.

Concerns about energy security, uncertainty about oil prices, declining oil reserves, and global climate change are fueling a shift towards bioenergy as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Public policies and private investments around the globe are aiming to increase local capacity to produce biofuels. A key constraint to the expansion of biofuel production is the limited amount of land available to meet the needs for fuel, feed, and food in the coming decades. Large-scale biofuel production raises concerns about food versus fuel tradeoffs, about demands for natural resources such as water, and about potential impacts on environmental quality. The book is organized into five parts. The introductory part provides a context for the emerging economic and policy challenges related to bioenergy and the motivations for biofuels as an energy source. The second part of the handbook includes chapters that examine the implications of expanded production of first generation biofuels for the allocation of land between food and fuel and for food/feed prices and trade in biofuels as well as the potential for technology improvements to mitigate the food vs. fuel competition for land. Chapters in the third part examine the infrastructural and logistical challenges posed by large scale biofuel production and the factors that will influence the location of biorefineries and the mix of feedstocks they use. The fourth part includes chapters that examine the environmental implications of biofuels, their implications for the design of policies and the unintended environmental consequences of existing biofuel policies. The final part presents economic analysis of the market, social welfare, and distributional effects of biofuel policies.

This book reports the latest work on green technologies in palm oil milling processes, including new processes and various optimisation techniques. It covers the latest developments on palm oil milling process with new technologies, alternative solvent design, residual oil recovery, palm oil mill effluent treatment, palm biomass supply chain, as well as ecoindustrial park concept. The book is intended for industrial practitioners and academics interested in green technologies for palm oil milling processes.

The demand for high-performance submarine power cables is increasing as more and more offshore wind parks are installed, and the national electric grids are interconnected. Submarine power cables are installed for the highest voltages and power to transport electric energy under the sea between islands, countries and even continents. The installation and operation of submarine power cables is much different from land cables. Still, in most textbooks on electrical power systems, information on submarine cables is scarce. This book is closing the gap. Different species of submarine power cables and their application are explained. Students and electric engineers learn on the electric and mechanic properties of submarine cables. Project developers and utility managers will gain useful information on the necessary marine activities such as pre-laying survey, cable lay vessels, guard boats etc., for the submarine cable installation and repair. Investors and decision makers will find an overview on environmental aspects of submarine power cables. A comprehensive reference list is given for those who want further reading.

TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications is the first book to provide an overview of this rapidly growing field. Vertically oriented, highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays are unique and easily fabricated materials with an architecture that demonstrates remarkable charge transfer as well as photocatalytic properties. This volume includes an introduction to TiO2 nanotube arrays, as well as a description of the material properties and distillation of the current research. Applications considered include gas sensing, heterojunction solar cells, water photoelectrolysis, photocatalytic CO2 reduction, as well as several biomedical applications. Written by leading researchers in the field, TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications is a valuable reference for chemists, materials scientists and engineers involved with renewable energy sources, biomedical engineering, and catalysis, to cite but a few examples.

Jackups, semisubmersibles and drillships are the marine vessels used to drill offshore wells and are referred to collectively as mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). MODUs are supplied through newbuild construction and operate throughout the world in highly competitive regional markets. The Offshore Drilling Industry and Rig Construction Market in the Gulf of Mexico examines the global MODU service and construction industry and describes the economic impacts of rig construction in the United States. The industrial organization and major players in the contract drilling and construction markets are described and categorized. Dayrates in the contract drilling market are evaluated and hypotheses regarding dayrate factors are tested. Models of contractor decision-making are developed, including a net-present value model of newbuilding investment and stacking decisions, and market capitalization models are derived. Jackup construction shipyards and processes are reviewed along with estimates of labor, equipment, and material cost in U.S. construction. Derivation of newbuild and replacement cost functions completes the treatise. The comprehensive and authoritative coverage of The Offshore Drilling Industry and Rig Construction Market in the Gulf of Mexico makes it an ideal reference for engineers, industry professionals, policy analysts, government regulators, academics and other readers wanting to learn more about this important and fascinating industry.

Bridges the knowledge gap between engineering and economics in a complex and evolving deregulated electricity industry, enabling readers to understand, operate, plan and design a modern power system

With an accessible and progressive style written in straight-forward language, this book covers everything an engineer or economist needs to know to understand, operate within, plan and design an effective liberalized electricity industry, thus serving as both a useful teaching text and a valuable reference. The book focuses on principles and theory which are independent of any one market design. It outlines where the theory is not implemented in practice, perhaps due to other over-riding concerns. The book covers the basic modelling of electricity markets, including the impact of uncertainty (an integral part of generation investment decisions and transmission cost-benefit analysis). It draws out the parallels to the Nordpool market (an important point of reference for Europe). Written from the perspective of the policy-maker, the first part provides the introductory background knowledge required. This includes an understanding of basic economics concepts such as supply and demand, monopoly, market power and marginal cost. The second part of the book asks how a set of generation, load, and transmission resources should be efficiently operated, and the third part focuses on the generation investment decision. Part 4 addresses the question of the management of risk and Part 5 discusses the question of market power. Any power system must be operated at all times in a manner which can accommodate the next potential contingency. This demands responses by generators and loads on a very short timeframe. Part 6 of the book addresses the question of dispatch in the very short run, introducing the distinction between preventive and corrective actions and why preventive actions are sometimes required. The seventh part deals with pricing issues that arise under a regionally-priced market, such as the Australian NEM. This section introduces the notion of regions and interconnectors and how to formulate constraints for the correct pricing outcomes (the issue of "constraint orientation"). Part 8 addresses the fundamental and difficult issue of efficient transmission investment, and finally Part 9 covers issues that arise in the retail market.

- Bridges the gap between engineering and economics in electricity, covering both the economics and engineering knowledge needed to accurately understand, plan and develop the electricity market- Comprehensive coverage of all the key topics in the economics of electricity markets- Covers the latest research and policy issues as well as description of the fundamental concepts and principles that can be applied across all markets globally- Numerous worked examples and end-of-chapter problems Companion website holding solutions to problems set out in the book, also the relevant simulation (GAMS) codes

The blackout of 2003 illuminated just how dependent America is on electricity. It was not just that some 50 million people in eight states and Ontario were cut off from their televisions, microwaves, ATMs, and email. Without the electrical juice to keep their sockets alive, factory managers were forced to close production lines, city managers shut down water deliveries, grocery store clerks watched their frozen inventory slowly melt away. Economists estimated that the blackout cost Americans $5 billion even as energy analysts were predicting that a similar blackout could happen again. The catastrophe forced us to marvel at the unusual ability of sub-microscopic particles to move like waves inside a wire and cause bulbs to glow. It highlighted the complex requirements for managing the massive generators, transformers, transmission lines, and switch boxes needed to tap and deliver flowing electrons. It encouraged us to recognize the profound impact of electricity on all aspects of commerce and culture. Such events as the blackout, the Enron debacle, and the California "brownouts" also reveal the cracks in a 100-year-old industry structure that have been building ever since Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and their contemporaries first managed to harness electricity and make it available to the masses, and tycoons, such as Sam Insull and George Norris, began to concentrate financial control and political influence. From Edison to Enron traces the controversial history of this $210 billion industry--the nation's largest--showcasing the key individuals, technological innovations, corporate machinations, and political battles that have been waged over its domination. Munson maintains thattoday's technological and regulatory infrastructure, as a function of its history, is a relic that has long outlived its usefulness; he points out that two-thirds of the fuel burned to generate electricity is lost, that Americans pay roughly $100 billion too much each year for heat and power, and that environmentally unfriendly generators are the nation's largest polluters. Meanwhile, innovations in technology and business models are being blocked by entrenched monopolies. Ultimately, Munson argues that current policies and practices, including those favored by the Bush Administration, are preventing entrepreneurs from producing more efficient, healthy, and sustainable power supplies. Moreover, he presents an agenda for business and policy reforms that will stimulate economic development in the United States and around the world.

"International Energy Forum 1999" was held in Washington D.C. during November 5-6, 1999 in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City. Once again the main topic was Nuclear Energy. Various papers presented contained pros and cons of Nuclear Energy for generating electricity. We were aiming to clarify the often discussed subject matter of the virtues of Nuclear Energy with regard to Global Warming as compared to using fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. The latter is also currently the only way to operate our means of transportation like automobiles, planes etc. Therefore emission into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases constitutes the main source of Global Warming, which is absent in the case of Nuclear Energy. These arguments are often put forward to promote the use of Nuclear Energy. However not all is well with the Nuclear Energy. There are the questions of the waste problem so far unsolved, safety of Nuclear Reactors is not guaranteed to the extent that they are inherently safe. If we aim to construct inherently safe reactors, then the economics of a Nuclear Reactor makes it unacceptable.

Due to the characteristics of electricity, power markets rank among the most complex markets operated at present. The requirements of an environmentally sustainable, economically efficient, and secure energy supply have resulted in the emergence of several interrelated markets that have to be carefully engineered in order to ensure efficient market outcomes.

This book presents an agent-based simulation model that facilitates electricity market research. Simulation outcomes from this model are validated against price data from German power markets. The results significantly contribute to existing research in agent-based simulation and electricity market modeling, and provide insights into the impact of the market structure and market design on electricity prices.

The book addresses researchers, lecturers and students who are interested in applying agent-based simulation to power markets. It provides a thorough discussion of the methodology and helpful details for model implementation.

Near the turn of the twentieth century, "Pine King" Justus S. Stearns was Michigan's largest producer of manufactured lumber and the owner of a prosperous coal mining operation headquartered in Stearns, Kentucky, a town he founded. Over the course of his career, Stearns would own at least thirty manufacturing businesses-making everything from finished lumber to kitchen utensils, game boards, and motors-as well as hotels, a railroad, and a power company. He was also an active member of the Republican Party who served one term as Michigan's secretary of state and a philanthropist who gave a great deal of his wealth to causes in both Michigan and Kentucky. In Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845-1933, author Michael W. Nagle details Stearn's astounding range of accomplishments and explores the influence of both paternalism and Social Darwinism in his business practices. Nagle begins by addressing key events in the first few decades of Stearns's life and his initial foray into the lumber industry. Subsequent chapters explore Stearns's political career, his timber operations in Wisconsin, and his coal, lumber, and railroad operations in Kentucky and Tennessee. Nagle also details the ancillary businesses that Stearns founded or purchased in the early twentieth century, even as his Stearns Salt & Lumber Company served as the anchor of his Michigan holdings, while Stearns Coal & Lumber did the same for his operations in Kentucky. The final chapter offers an overview and analysis of Stearns's lifetime of accomplishments, including his impact on the town of Ludington, Michigan, where he maintained a residence for over fifty years. Nagle makes extensive use of primary source material from several historical archives as well as contemporary newspaper accounts, court documents, company records, and other primary sources. American history scholars, as well as general readers interested in Michigan's lumbering era and Kentucky's mining history, will enjoy this biography of an exceptionally influential businessman.

This work is the only economic history of Venezuela written in English. In it, Salazar-Carrillo provides estimates that have not been published previously on the Venezuelan economy in general, and the oil component in particular. Evolution of the oil industry in Venezuela is covered in detail and the concept of the retained value of oil expenditures and tnvestment is developed. Recent government policies and the performance of the Venezuelan economy are evaluated, and export-oriented strategies are considered. The appropriateness of these plans in fostering economic development is discussed.

From Oil to Gas and Beyond chronicles the history of the petroleum industry in Trinidad and Tobago and appraises major policy decisions impacting its economy. The book details the macroeconomic, commercial, and technical challenges faced by Trinidad and Tobago in the monetization of its oil and gas resources over the past one hundred years. The contributors cover several topics including local content, national participation, sustainability, communication, leadership, energy diplomacy, environmental law and macroeconomic policy.

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field finding newer and newer areas of application that remained unexplored previously. In the area of civil infrastructure systems such as buildings, roads, and bridges, there is a drive towards understanding the behavior of component materials and their interactions at the molecular or nano-level to manipulate and effect macro-level changes to engineer designer or smart materials. Nano-engineering and nano-modification of concrete and bituminous materials have far-reaching implications allowing the development of cost-effective, high-performance, and long-lasting products and processes for civil infrastructure within the ideals of sustainable development. This book focuses on the latest advances made in the development and characterization of nanotechnology based civil engineering materials, structures, and systems. Specific topics discussed in this book include nanoscience modeling to understand the atomic structure of C-S-H, the effect of nanomaterials on cement hydration and reinforcement, multifunctional concrete and Carbon Nanotube (CNT) reinforced cementitious systems, nano-optimized construction materials by nano-seeding, moisture damage characterization of asphalt materials using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation, nanoclay-modified asphalt binder systems, etc.

Jens HETLAND & Teimuraz GOCHITASHVILI In contrast to oil, natural gas is usually routed through pipeline systems stretched from the wellhead to the end-user - although liquefied natural gas (LNG) is gaining increased interest; the commercialisation of natural gas fields is inherently linked to rigid transportation systems that require huge investments in tangible assets fixed to specific locations; the supply of natural gas is constrained by the transportation system, and requires access to appropriate infrastructure for transport and distribution; the trading of natural gas is traditionally associated with long-term contracts, albeit the duration per se of gas transport contracts appears to be less important after the deregulation of the energy markets. As diversification is strategically important to modern societies, the security of energy supplies becomes an inherent issue. In order to avoid situations of shortage, and to keep the price level stable, industrial nations are paying attention to the security of energy supplies. In brief terms this means that having more than one supplier of natural gas and more than one transport route would be strategically important. This also affects political issues and international law and regulations, economics, science and technology. The purpose of this book is to address opportunities extended from science and research pertaining to the exploitation and international trading of natural gas that involves transit countries. This especially relates to the transport and handling of gas from remote regions and pipelines that are

"This book investigates the business strategies chosen by oil and gas service companies operating in China, Singapore and Malaysia. It provides an analytical view of the reliability of strategic theoretical frameworks based on Western business practice but applied in a non-Western business environment like Asia"--Provided by publisher.

Despite prices of around $70 a barrel, the world is experiencing the fastest growth in oil demand in more than twenty-five years. The Institute for Management Development organized a research conference entitled "Energy Futures" in November 2005. Eighteen international energy researchers, policy makers and executives discussed specific aspects of today's energy industry and its likely evolution. This volume is based on this conference and brings together energy experts of rather different analytical views, doctrinal convictions and stakeholder affiliation to discuss the implications and growth of the oil industry.