This book describes innovative agricultural methods using thermal and non-thermal microwave or plasma energies. Humans that were nomadic in the past can now stably obtain food by developing agriculture. Cities were formed as a result of remarkable development. Later, chemicals were introduced to agriculture to stabilize the food supply further. Natural products were initially used, but various artificial compounds have been developed for agriculture since the 1900s. To further improve crop productivity and diversification, gene recombination (genetic engineering) using biotechnology has progressed in recent years and continues to develop further. However, these technologies contain pesticide residues and pose safety risks. The innovative new agriculture explained in this book is based on the use of microwaves and plasma that do not rely on chemicals and genetic modification. This is one of the first books focusing on the agricultural usage of microwaves. In addition, it is a technical book that incorporates plasma into agriculture from this perspective. The book covers microwaves and plasmas, which are completely different fields. Thus, it will be attractive to many readers who want to acquaint themselves with these alternative technologies and implement them. This book will be useful to a broad audience including researchers and technicians at Universities and practitioners in industries. It is made accessible to readers across different fields by including abundant figures and by limiting the use of equations to the possible extent.

Processing of Food Products and Wastes with High Voltage Electrical Discharges presents basic knowledge on HVED technology, focusing on the mechanisms, related phenomena and effects, equipment design, methods and examples of application. Divided in three parts, the book covers the advantages and restrictions of HVED technology for the treatment of numerous specific food products, by-products and wastes, such as grape, oilseed, citrus by-products and wastes, lignocellulosic and algal biomass, meat and bacterias. This book act as a comprehensive resource for researchers to be able to use the data for the dimensioning of HVED and processing equipment and finding the optimal treatment parameters. - Presents basic knowledge about the mechanisms of this treatment in direct and indirect modes - Contains equipment specifications, process parameters and types of the products - Brings numerous examples of applications classified by types of food and products treated by HVED - Presents optimal HVED regimes to enhance food and biomass processing

Energy storage plays an important role in supporting power-hungry devices and achieving stable power supply by optimally balancing supply and demand with ever-increasing requirement for computing power and the intermittent nature of renewable resources. Emerging Trends in Energy Storage Systems and Industrial Applications focuses on emerging trends in energy storage systems, applicable to various types of applications including heat and power generation, electrical and hybrid transportation. With performance limitations in current energy storage devices, such as limited energy density, power density, and cycle life, major challenges in the complex and dynamic environments of energy storage applications are examined in this reference. High-performance components, proper system configuration, effective modelling and control are keys to achieving seamlessly integrated and functional energy storage systems are also addressed, in order to provide guidance to achieving more reliable and efficient systems. Outcomes from this book serve as a resource for industrialists, academia and researchers working in the domain of advance energy storage technologies and their applications, giving them an overview of energy storage options, availability and technological trends enabling them to make longer-term, safe storage system decisions. - Presents a better understanding of the smart energy storage technologies: system, management, and implementation - Explores all energy storage system: integration, power quality, and operation - Offers an interdisciplinary look across electrical, electronics, energy, mechanical, civil, and chemical engineering aspects of energy storage

This book introduces the latest methods for the controlled growth of nanomaterial systems. The coverage includes simple and complex nanomaterial systems, ordered nanostructures and complex nanostructure arrays, and the essential conditions for the controlled growth of nanostructures with different morphologies, sizes, compositions, and microstructures. The book also discusses the dynamics of controlled growth and thermodynamic characteristics of two-dimensional nanorestricted systems. The authors introduce various novel synthesis methods for nanomaterials and nanostructures, such as hierarchical growth, heterostructures growth, doping growth and some developing template synthesis methods. In addition to discussing applications, the book reviews developing trends in nanomaterials and nanostructures.

This book offers comprehensive coverage of the design, analysis, and operational aspects of biomass gasification, the key technology enabling the production of biofuels from all viable sources--some examples being sugar cane and switchgrass. This versatile resource not only explains the basic principles of energy conversion systems, but also provides valuable insight into the design of biomass gasifiers. The author provides many worked out design problems, step-by-step design procedures and real data on commercially operating systems. After fossil fuels, biomass is the most widely used fuel in the world. Biomass resources show a considerable potential in the long term if residues are properly handled and dedicated energy crops are grown. Includes step-by-step design procedures and case studies for Biomass GasificationProvides worked process flow diagrams for gasifier design. Covers integration with other technologies (e.g. gas turbine, engine, fuel cells)

This book provides up-to-date knowledge of the promising field of Nanobiotechnology with emphasis on the mitigation approaches to combat plant abiotic stress factors, including drought, salinity, waterlog, temperature extremes, mineral nutrients, and heavy metals. These factors adversely affect the growth as well as yield of crop plants worldwide, especially under the global climate change. Nanobiotechnology is viewed to revolutionize crop productivity in future. The chapters discuss the status and prospects of this cutting-edge technology toward understanding tolerance mechanisms, including signaling molecules and enzymes regulation in addition to the applications of Nanobiotechnology to combat individual abiotic stress factors.