Energy from solar radiation, fixated by self-assembling plant structures, creates biomass that is converted to energy carriers fit for application in today's and tomorrow's energy-generating equipment. The central theme of this book is the development of the current largest renewable energy source for efficient applications in modern and developing society-biomass. The book is presented in an easy-to-understand manner for non-experts, nevertheless revealing the true challenges of this extremely broad area. Through this book, passionate pioneers and (ex-)EU officials tell the interesting history of the use of biomass by mankind in general and how the future of its modern use was shaped by active support of the European Union. The book mainly emphasizes specific technologies, both biological and thermo-chemical, from simple to extremely complex. Recognized experts explain these technologies in a clear way along with their future prospects. Climb on the shoulders of all 35 authors of the book and look into the close and distant future where interaction with other renewable sources will occur, and discover a renewable energy future in which an important role will be played by the oldest one-bioenergy.

This Brief provides a concise review of the potential use of microalgae for biofuel production. The following topics are highlighted: the advantages of microalgae over conventional biofuel-producing crops; technological processes for energy production using microalgae; microalgal biomass production systems, production rates and costs; algae cultivation strategies and main culture parameters; biomass harvesting technologies and cell disruption; CO2 sequestration; life cycle analysis; and algal biorefinery strategies. The conclusions section discusses the contribution of the technologies described to environmental sustainability and future prospects.

As the need to control process emissions has increased, so have the number of FGD treatment and control strategies. The effectiveness of these treatments vary greatly, depending the types and levels of the materials, as well as the size of the facility. Profiles in Flue Gas Desulfurization will help engineers and managers identify the technologies that best fit their plant and/or processes. It's a quick and easy reference to all "tail-end" SO2 control processes currently in commercial use or "on the brink," providing an effective "snapshot" of where this technology stands in industry today. The technologies are divided into waste producing processes, where the end product is a "clean waste," and byproduct processes, where the end product has market value. Each technology profile includes a schematic depicting its major equipment components and arrangement, laid out side-by-side with descriptive text on how the process works, where and how it is currently being utilized, its operational requirements, advantages and limitations for typical applications, and a brief list of principal suppliers.

Propellants contain considerable chemical energy that can be used in rocket propulsion. Bringing together information on both the theoretical and practical aspects of solid rocket propellants for the first time, this book will find a unique place on the readers' shelf providing the overall picture of solid rocket propulsion technology. Aimed at students, engineers and researchers in the area, the authors have applied their wealth of knowledge regarding formulation, processing and evaluation to provide an up to date and clear text on the subject.

Coal-Fired Electricity and Emissions Control: Efficiency and Effectiveness discusses the relationship between efficiency and emissions management, providing methods for reducing emissions in newer and older plants as coal-fired powered plants are facing increasing new emission control standards. The book presents the environmental forces driving technology development for coal-fired electricity generation, then covers other topics, such as cyclone firing, supercritical boilers, fabric filter technology, acid gas control technology and clean coal technologies. The book relates efficiency and environmental considerations, particularly from a technology development perspective.

The first strand involves a critical overview of the design of experimental methods used for examining the thermal behaviour of solid fuels [pyrolysis, liquefaction and gasification], while the second will emphasise chemical structures and molecular mass distributions of coal derived tars, extracts and pitches, petroleum-derived asphaltenes, and biomass derived heavy hydrocarbon liquids.
Two major, interdependent strands in the study of fossil and renewable fuel utilisation are focused on within this text:
(i) Thermal characterisation of solid fuels including various ranks of coals, biomass and waste, and,
(ii) The analytical characterisation of heavy hydrocarbon liquids, covering coal, petroleum and biomass derived heavy fractions.
Two major, interdependent strands in the study of fossil and renewable fuel utilisation are focused on within this text:
(i) Thermal characterisation of solid fuels including various ranks of coals, biomass and waste, and,
(ii) The analytical characterisation of heavy hydrocarbon liquids, covering coal, petroleum and biomass derived heavy fractions.

Research in environmental justice reveals that low-income and minority neighbourhoods in our nation's cities are often the preferred sites for landfills, power plants, and polluting factories. Those who live in these sacrifice zones are forced to shoulder the burden of harmful environmental effects so that others can prosper. Mountains of Injustice broadens the discussion from the city to the country by focusing on the legacy of disproportionate environmental health impacts on communities in the Appalachian region, where the costs of cheap energy and cheap goods are actually quite high.
Through compelling stories and interviews with people who are fighting for environmental justice, Mountains of Injustice contributes to the ongoing debate over how to equitably distribute the long-term environmental costs and consequences of economic development.

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion to fuel is the only sustainable way to meet the current and future energy demands, at least in displacing a substantial amount of liquid transportation fuel, and curb detrimental effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Various routes and processes to convert lignocellulosic biomass to fuels, chemicals, and bio-based materials have been developed in the last couple of decades. This book contains eleven chapters that intend to provide readers with updates on these various processes and routes to produce fuels and chemicals using lignocellulosic biomass. In addition, it covers the past and current developments on biomass logistics, analytical tools applied to characterise lignocellulosic biomass, environmental aspects and engine performance of various fuels, as well as techno-economical aspects of lignocellulosic biomass refinery. The following list summarises the topics covered in this book: The past and current developments on biomass valorisation in biochemical platforms; Developments in thermochemical conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals including gasification, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal treatment; Heterogeneous catalysts application in low to high temperature conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals; Pathways of lignin valorisation to fuels and chemicals; Production methods and the physicochemical properties of nanocelluloses; The environmental impacts and engine performances of various bio-fuels; Biomass logistics and their impact on bioenergy applications; Anaerobic conversion of biomass to biogas and impacts of co-digestion on biogas yields and quality.

In this book, the authors present current research in the study of bioenergy systems and their biological sources and environmental impact. Topics discussed include the assessment of sustainability of bioenergy systems; soil loss as a forgotten aspect of biofuel production; effective biocatalysts for lignocellulosic biofuel by a proteomics study of fungal secretome; enhancing the interface between agricultural production, and tree biomass/bioenergy systems to improve farm-scale productivity in Western Australia; hydrogen and ethanol comparison as fuels for internal combustion engines; and hydrogen production by mixed cultures.

In order to reduce the cost of running blast furnaces (BFs), injected pulverized coal is used rather than coke to fire BFs. As a result of this, unburned fine materials are blown with the gas into the bosh and dead man areas with possible detrimental effects on gas flow and permeability of the coke column. The capacity of the furnace to consume these particles by solution loss is probably one of the limitations to coal injection. It is, therefore, important to understand the physicochemical and aerodynamic behaviour of fines including the change of in-furnace phenomena.

The Committee of Pulverized Coal Combustion and In-Furnace Reaction in BF was set up in 1993 as a cooperative research of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Iron and Steel Institute (ISIJ) to evaluate research initiative into this problem.

This book reports on the JSPS/ISIJ Committee's activities and describes the interpretation of findings drawn from combustion experiments and the results of live furnace applications, and furnace performance.