This book provides an in-depth assessment of the modern geopolitics of hydrocarbon resources in the territorial waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighting the current conflicts and disputes in the maritime territories of Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Turkey. Further, these geopolitical aspects are analyzed within the broader context of the tensions between and competing interests of big powers such as the USA, Russia, and the European Union. To what extent can major powers influence regional actors and guide them toward rational outcomes? To what extent can economic self-interest contain nationalistic impulses? What are the most practical and sustainable ways of promoting win-win scenarios? This book focuses on such questions and presents a number of clear policy guidelines to help the conflict-laden Eastern Mediterranean region gain a more peaceful and sustainable footing for the greater benefit of the peoples living there.

This book presents high-quality research papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Advances in Communication (ICAC 2020) organized by Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, in November 2020. This book brings out the new advances and research results in the fields of theoretical, experimental, and applied signal and image processing, soft computing, networking, and antenna research. Moreover, it provides a comprehensive and systematic reference on the range of alternative conversion processes and technologies.

This book addresses the fabrication of responsive functional nanomaterials and their use in sustainable energy and environmental applications. Responsive functional nanomaterials can change their physiochemical properties to adapt to their environment. Accordingly, these novel materials are playing an increasingly important role in a diverse range of applications, such as sensors and actuators, self-healing materials, separation, drug delivery, diagnostics, tissue engineering, functional coatings and textiles. This book reports on the latest advances in responsive functional nanomaterials in a wide range of applications and will appeal to a broad readership across the fields of materials, chemistry, sustainable energy, environmental science and nanotechnology.

This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of energy, environmental and construction engineering, as presented by international researchers and engineers at the International Scientific Conference Energy, Environmental and Construction Engineering, held in St. Petersburg, Russia on November 19-20, 2019. It covers highly diverse topics, including BIM; bridges, roads and tunnels; building materials; energy efficient and green buildings; structural mechanics; fluid mechanics; measuring technologies; environmental management; power consumption management; renewable energy; smart cities; and waste management. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.

This book examines key issues in ensuring the operational reliability of energy facilities. In this regard, it analyzes mathematical models of diagnostic signals that arise during the operation of power equipment; reviews the main findings of research into their characteristics; presents diagnostics methods for selected types of electric power and heat engineering equipment; and covers a range of diagnostic and monitoring systems and devices for power equipment. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, engineers and specialists, as well as instructors and graduate students at institutions of higher learning.

This book highlights the latest advances in waste management, resource recovery and resource circulation in various countries, with a special emphasis on India. It leads the way towards a sustainable circular economy developing local economy and enhances the sustainability of the energy sector as a whole by holistically addressing waste management. Waste management is a major problem around the globe; effective waste disposal is one of the most plaguing issues faced by municipalities. Yet waste can also serve as a major source of energy rather than a disposable material. The book discusses various upstream and downstream aspects of waste management systems, e.g. conversion processes and collection methods, that are needed in order to make waste management systems into an effective industry and move closer to a circular economy. It also provides information on management tools for analysis and decision support. All chapters included here are based on high-quality research papers presented at the conference IconSWM 2018.

This book reports on cutting-edge research and technologies in the field of advanced manufacturing and materials, with a special emphasis on unconventional machining process, rapid prototyping and biomaterials. It gathers contributions to the International Conference on Manufacturing Engineering and Materials (ICMEM 2020), which was originally planned in June 2020, but will actually take place in 2021, in Novy Smokovec, Slovakia, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the challenging times, submitted contributions were peer-reviewed, and upon a careful revision, included in this book, which covers advances that are expected to increase the industry's competitiveness with regard to sustainable development and preservation of the environment and natural resources. Condition monitoring, industrial automation, and diverse fabrication processes such as welding, casting and molding, as well as tribology and bioengineering, are just a few of the topics discussed in the book's wealth of authoritative contributions. A special emphasis is given to problems connected to climate change and solution manufacturer and engineers may adopt and develop to prevent and cope with them.

Cross-Border Resource Management, Fourth Edition addresses theoretical and analytical issues relating to cross-border resource management, particularly in a changing world. The book holistically explores issues where two entities share a border, such as sovereign countries, dependent states and others, where each seeks to maximize their political and economic interests regardless of impacts on the environment. This new edition has been completely revised to reflect current issues, with new cases and videos in every chapter and expanded coverage of natural disasters, climate change and modeling. Serving as a single resource to explore the many facets of managing and utilizing natural resources when they extend across defined borders, this new edition provides environmental managers and researchers in environmental management and policy with practical solutions for cross-border cooperation in the exploitation and utilization of natural and environmental resources.

Considering the deleterious impacts of fossil fuels on the environmental and natural ecosystems, it has become imperative to make a paradigm shift toward renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials. The exhaustive everyday usage of fossil fuels and processed petrochemical products are the leading causes for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, climate changes, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, pollution of air, water, and soil as well as for the accumulation of nonbiodegradable materials in the soil and oceans. On the contrary, biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials derived from renewable wastes such as nonedible plant biomass (e.g., agricultural and forestry biomass), energy crops, microalgae, municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, and other biogenic residues seem to be carbon neutral. Therefore, the global interest in biorefining technologies, especially thermochemical and biological conversion processes, is gaining momentum in academic and industrial perspectives. Progressive Thermochemical Biorefining Technologies offers all-inclusive coverage of the most crucial topics as follows: State-of-the-art information on the production and utilization of biofuels through thermochemical biorefining technologies Conversion of waste biomass through pyrolysis, liquefaction, torrefaction, carbonization, gasification, reforming, and other clean technologies Waste-to-energy/chemical generation Fuel upgrading technologies Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of biorefining processes Specifically designed to be instantly applicable, this volume serves as a reference book for undergraduate and graduate students, scientific investigators, and research scholars working in the areas relating to energy and fuels.

This book shows how the links between energy security and national and international law and policies on green energy pose challenges to a transition towards a green energy system. Based on empirical work carried out in two very different country case studies - Great Britain and Brazil - this book attempts to foster a better understanding of the role played by energy security in constructing and deconstructing green energy policy initiatives. The broad range of views raised in national contexts leads to legal disputes in international forums when attempts are made to address the issues of this energy security/green energy interplay. As such, building on the findings of the case studies, this book then analyses the interplay between energy security and green energy development in international trade law as encapsulated in the law of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Finally, the author proposes a way forward in creating the legal space in the law of the WTO for trade restrictive measures aimed at ensuring green energy security.

This book provides a rigorous, concise guide to the current status and future prospects of the global energy system. As we move away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy solutions, the complexity of the global energy system has increased. Tagliapietra cuts through this complexity with a multidisciplinary perspective of the system, which encompasses economics, geopolitics, and basic technology. He goes on to explore the main components of the global energy system - oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy, bioenergy, hydropower, geothermal energy, wind energy, solar energy, marine energy - as well as energy consumption and energy efficiency. It then provides an in-depth analysis of the pivotal issues of climate change and of energy access in Africa.

This book provides a selection of contributions to the DIPSI workshop 2019 (Droplet Impact Phenomena & Spray Investigations) as well as recent progress of the Int. Research Training Group "DROPIT".The DIPSI workshop, which is now at its thirteenth edition, represents an important opportunity to share recent knowledge on droplets and sprays in a variety of research fields and industrial applications. The research training group "DROPIT" is focused on droplet interaction technologies where microscopic effects influence strongly macroscopic behavior. This requires the inclusion of interface kinetics and/or a detailed analysis of surface microstructures. Normally, complicated technical processes cover the underlying basic mechanisms, and therefore, progress in the overall process modelling can hardly be gained. Therefore, DROPIT focuses on the underlying basic processes. This is done by investigating different spatial and/or temporal scales of the problems and by linking them through a multi-scale approach. In addition, multi-physics are required to understand e.g. problems for droplet-wall interactions, where porous structures are involved.

This book includes selected, high-quality papers presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Energy Sustainability (ICIMES 2019) held at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malla Reddy College of Engineering & Technology (MRCET), Maisammaguda, Hyderabad, India, from 21 to 22 June 2019. It covers topics in the areas of automation, manufacturing technology and energy sustainability.

This book introduces the principle of carrying out a medium-term load forecast (MTLF) at power system level, based on the Big Data concept and Convolutionary Neural Network (CNNs). It also presents further research directions in the field of Deep Learning techniques and Big Data, as well as how these two concepts are used in power engineering. Efficient processing and accuracy of Big Data in the load forecast in power engineering leads to a significant improvement in the consumption pattern of the client and, implicitly, a better consumer awareness. At the same time, new energy services and new lines of business can be developed. The book will be of interest to electrical engineers, power engineers, and energy services professionals.

This book addresses the fundamental changes that the Italian public utilities sector has undergone in the last two decades. Since the late 1990s, liberalisation and privatisation have replaced state-owned monopolies at both the national and local level, new technologies have created a broad range of new opportunities for power generation and distribution, and a redesigned public policy agenda has brought to the fore a whole set of new priorities. In this fast-changing environment, firms have redrawn their strategies, redesigned their business architectures and models, invested in infrastructure and R&D, taken advantage of growth opportunities at home and abroad, opened up their ownership structure, revised their offerings, and developed a new approach to customers. As a result, a radically altered market structure has emerged. As the sector tackles the overriding challenge of sustainability and energy transition, the book takes stock of such past and ongoing developments through the direct testimonies of various stakeholders: the companies in the energy, water, and waste management sectors that are at the forefront of this sweeping transformation; regulators; financial partners; and management consulting firms. The diversity of perspectives and wealth of information presented make this book a valuable resource for anyone wanting to grasp the direction, intensity and causes of change, as well as the nature of the challenges that lie ahead. This work has been prepared as part of the research activities of the Observatory on Alliances and Strategies in the Pan-European Utility Market, one of Agici's Research and Advisory units.

This book presents a number of innovative uses of fly ash. Fly ash is a fine powder that is a byproduct of burning pulverized coal in thermal power plants. It is a pozzolan - a substance containing aluminous and siliceous material that when mixed with lime and water forms a compound similar to Portland cement. Though fly ash was a problem in terms of its disposal, it now has a variety of uses, such as a prime material in blocks, bricks, and PCC paving, and further applications are being investigated. As such, the recovery and reuse of fly ash wastes plays an important role in the implementation of the circular economy concept. Featuring selected, high-quality research papers presented at IconSWM 2018, the book provides valuable insights for the recycling industries, power plants, researchers, and governments.

This book presents recent advances in dynamics and control of different types of energy systems. It covers research on dynamics and control in energy systems from different aspects, namely, combustion, multiphase flow, nuclear, chemical and thermal. The chapters start from the basic concepts so that this book can be useful even for researchers with very little background in the area. A dedicated chapter provides an overview on the fundamental aspects of the dynamical systems approach. The book will be of use to researchers and professionals alike.

This proceedings book emphasizes adopting artificial intelligence-based and sustainable energy efficiency integrated with clear objectives, to involve researchers, students, and specialists in their development and implementation adequately in achieving objectives. The integration of artificial intelligence into renewable energetic systems would allow the rapid development of a knowledge-based economy suitable to the energy transition, while fully integrating the renewables into the global economy. This is how artificial intelligence has hand in by conceptualizing this transition and above all by saving time. The knowledge economy is valuated within the smart cities, which are fast becoming the favorite places where the energy transition will take place efficiently and intelligently by implementing integrated approaches to energy saving and energy supply and integrated urban approaches that go beyond individual interventions in buildings or transport modes using information and communication technologies.

This book highlights the significance of using sustainable energy to prevent the deterioration of our planet using heat pumps. Energy sustainability can be achieved through improved energy efficiency. In this regard, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative for heating and cooling. To drive the adoption of heat pumps as a key component of sustainable buildings, the authors focus on examining sustainable practices in heat pump operations and innovative system design. In view of the growing desire to use sustainable energy to meet heating and cooling demands and improve indoor air quality, this book offers a valuable reference guide to the available options in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) system design. To begin with, the authors define sustainable energy and discuss the trend of "thinking green" in building design. They then discuss sustainable practices and heat pump applications in mapping out HVAC systems. In turn, they examine the use of green operations to promote sustainable practices and, in order to highlight the importance of innovative design, discuss the configuration options and precision control aspects. In closing, the authors illustrate innovative sustainable design on the basis of several energy-efficient cases. The book's main goal is to drive the adoption of sustainable energy solutions. Heat pumps, it argues, represent the most efficient system for meeting commercial/recreational/residential heating and cooling demands. The book not only examines industrial practices in heat pump application, but also discusses advanced heat pump technologies and innovative heat pump designs.

Principles of Dielectric Logging Theory covers the theory of dielectric logging - from first principles to development of new tools - for those involved in the design, development and interpretation of dielectric logging. Dielectric logging has recently experienced a revival in the oil and gas industry and is now considered a preferred method for estimating the saturation of reservoirs. Topics covered in this book include the use of dielectric tools in different types of fields, interpretation methods, the Maxwell phenomena, and how to develop new dielectric tools for future use. Users will find this book includes enough detail that newcomers, seasoned professionals and researchers find it useful.

This is a book about the international oil market. It takes a historical perspective on how the market emerged, developed, and became what it is today-the biggest commodity market in the world. It is mature and complex, but far from perfect. Throughout most of its 150-year history, the oil market has been monopolised by companies and governments. For only a fraction of that, oil traded in a relatively free market. As a result, we had to live with 'big oil', economic shocks, high oil prices, instability and wars. Using a simple concept of market power, this book will explain the meaning of 'oil price' and how it is established while offering a valuable lesson for other commodities. Market power is the key to understanding the 'price of oil'. This book uses a simple concept of price-makers and price-takers to examine the evolution of oil markets, their structure, and prices. The early decades of the oil industry were competitive with low barriers to entry. Barely 25 years later, the Standard Oil company created a refining monopoly, buying oil at its own 'posted' price. In the following century, the cartel of major oil companies, helped by their governments, did the same at the international level. OPEC helped producing governments regain control of their own resources, but the organisation was never able to retain a similar level of control. After 1986 price collapse, OPEC abdicated the price-making function in favour of the market. While it never gave up attempts to influence prices, OPEC had to link their official prices to one of the global oil benchmarks. Modern international oil markets function because of oil benchmarks such as Brent, WTI and Dubai. This book showcases: * How oil traders played a prominent role in development of the industry * How policies of consuming nations helped oil cartels * Why and how the US price of oil was negative * How AI has changed the way markets operate and the way in which the markets are likely to change in future This book explores how oil markets grew, functioned, and have occasionally failed to do their job. The ecosystem of derivatives or 'paper barrels' trading in far greater volume than physical oil plays a very important role in mitigating risk. With this core tenant, setting the 'price of oil' is explained in detail.

This book systematically introduces readers to the operator method, which can be used in different stages of urban planning. Energy planning should ideally be accompanied by urban planning, ranging from comprehensive planning and detailed planning, to the design of individual construction projects. This book discusses a range of methods and models for defining energy planning objectives; analyzing and predicting energy demand; assessing available energy resources; optimizing integrated energy systems; analyzing the cost-effectiveness of proposals; implementation management; and post-assessment. Part one focuses on energy planning in different urban planning stages, while part two provides detailed discussions of key issues related to energy planning.

This book introduces readers to the status quo and recent advances in China's low-carbon development. From the evolution of human civilization, to the proposal of low-carbon concepts, up to the choice of China's low-carbon path, the book provides a comprehensive review of low-carbon development, while also elaborating on the core concept, goals and methods. In addition, it addresses a series of questions and issues closely tied to today's social development, such as: "Why is it so vital to pursue low-carbon development?" and "How can China implement low-carbon development?" Accordingly, readers will gain a better grasp of low-carbon development, including low-carbon production and low-carbon lifestyles.

This book presents selected peer-reviewed papers from the International Conference on Recent Advancements in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (RAAR) 2019. The focus is on current research in a very topical area of HVAC technology, which has wide-ranging applications. The topics covered include modern air conditioning and refrigeration practices, environment-friendly refrigerants, high-performance components, computer-assisted design, manufacture, operations and data management, energy-efficient buildings, and application of solar energy to heating and air conditioning. This book is useful for researchers and industry professionals working in the field of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to novel absorption heating technologies for improving the energy efficiency of heating systems. The proposed low-temperature heating systems, based on an air source absorption heat pump (ASAHP), significantly increase heating efficiency and reduce pollution emissions. As the performance of ASAHPs deteriorates at lower ambient/driving temperatures, a series of advanced cycles is used to extend their applicability, with the compression-assisted ASAHP being the most outstanding example. The book discusses the generator-absorber-heat-exchange ASAHP as a promising solution to make the best of high driving temperatures, an aspect that can be improved further via compression. Further, it addresses the ground source absorption heat pump (GSAHP), which eliminates the soil thermal imbalance of the conventional ground source electrical heat pump (GSEHP), and also reduces the number of boreholes . Various hybrid GSAHP systems are proposed to further enhance applicability, efficiency, and economy: these include a combined GSAHP and GSEHP system, as well as ASAHP and GSAHP systems that incorporate design optimizations. In closing, the book explores the merits of novel working fluids and highlights recent advances concerning waste heat and renewable energy utilization.