Drying of Biomass, Biosolids, and Coal: For Efficient Energy Supply and Environmental Benefits provides insight into advanced technologies and knowledge of the drying of biomass, biosolids, and coal in terms of improved efficiency, economics, and environmental impact. It comprehensively covers all the important aspects of drying for a variety of biomass, biosolids and coal resources. This book covers the drying of biomass, bio-solids and coal while also providing integration of the drying process with the energy system. Important issues in the commercial drying operations are tackled, including energy and exergy efficiencies, environmental impact, and potential safety concerns. It also assesses the performance of energy production plants in integration with biomass/coal drying to provide information for plant optimization. It offers in-depth analysis and data for process understanding and design, and analyzes the drying process’s effect on economics and the environment. This book is aimed at drying professionals and researchers, chemical engineers, industrial engineers, and manufacturing engineers. It will also be of use to anyone who is interested in the utilization of biomass, organic solid wastes, algae and low-rank coals for energy.

The Science of Victorian Brown Coal provides extensive information on Victorian brown coal, which is a major fossil fuel resource by any standard and constitutes about 97% of Victoria's recoverable energy reserves. Energy from brown coal has been the mainstay of the Victorian economy, providing low-cost electricity to the state grid, briquettes as a fuel for industry and town gas prior to the discovery of natural gas. Because of the unique properties of the coal, it has been necessary to develop an in-depth scientific knowledge of the coal and its behavior, as well as innovative technologies for its effective utilization. The economic benefit brown coal has provided to Victoria is demonstrated throughout the chapters. This book aims to provide the springboard for further research and lead to a new era in the development of value-added products and the more efficient utilization of this major resource. This text is a useful reference for students or individuals conducting research on fossil fuel energy, specifically on brown coals.

Over the past decade, extensive research has been conducted on the subject of coal as one of the world's leading energy sources. The current and future status of this resource is a topic of considerable interest to the largest world economies, including the US, Japan, China and Europe. Advances in the Science of Victorian Brown Coal provides critical reviews of the information and research published over this time, giving the reader an authoritative overview of the science surrounding this important topic. - Critical review of recent research surrounding the utilization of brown coal. Key issues addressed include maximized efficiency and minimized environmental impacts - Focuses on Victorian Brown Coal within the context of biomass and bituminous coal - A critical thermodynamic overview of various advanced power generation technologies

Hydrothermal and Supercritical Water Processes presents an overview on the properties and applications of water at elevated temperatures and pressures. It combines fundamentals with production process aspects. Water is an extraordinary substance. At elevated temperatures (and pressures) its properties change dramatically due to the modifications of the molecular structure of bulk water that varies from a stable three-dimensional network, formed by hydrogen bonds at low and moderate temperatures, to an assembly of separated polar water molecules at high and supercritical temperatures. With varying pressure and temperature, water is turned from a solvent for ionic species to a solvent for polar and non-polar substances. This variability and an enhanced reactivity of water have led to many practical applications and to even more research activities, related to such areas as energy transfer, extraction of functional molecules, unique chemical reactions, biomass conversion and fuel materials processing, destruction of dangerous compounds and recycling of useful ones, growth of monolithic crystals, and preparation of metallic nanoparticles. This book provides an introduction into the wide range of activities that are possible in aqueous mixtures. It is organized to facilitate understanding of the main features, outlines the main applications, and gives access to further information - Summarizes fundamental properties of water for engineering applications - Compares process and reactor designs - Evaluates processes from thermodynamic, economic, and social impact viewpoints

This book is the 2nd edition of the Economics of the International Coal Trade. Coal is the single most important source of power on our planet and today accounts for 40% of electricity generation and 30% of primary energy. The world’s appetite for energy is still far from being met. Until 2050, an additional 6+ billion people will require accessto proper power. “Why Coal Continues to Power the World” introduces the reader to the global coal business; its importance; its source; its global demand, supply and trade; its use; its environmental impact; and its future. Despite recent price hikes, coal does not appear to be a popular subject today, which may explain the little attention it receives in the scientific community. Since writing the first edition during the commodity super cycle in 2006–2008, the world has changed. How has this impacted the global world of coal? This book is useful to energy economists, businessmen, politicians, university professors, high school teachers, students and anyone with an interest in how the world is powered. It is also helpful to anyone studying climate change and global warming. This new edition of the book includes previously not covered special sections on:* Coal analysis and sampling with a special section on moisture * A technical summary of all key coking coal characteristics in Appendix 2 * Coking coal, iron ore and the steel industry * Cement and petcoke markets * Global gas markets and the shale gas revolution in the US * Nuclear energy and the history of the oil market * Renewable energy and the German „Energiewende“ * Power plant technology and CO2 sequestration and processing * The role of CO2 and why man-made CO2 does not cause global warming Apart from giving an in-depth overview of the global coal business, in this book the author argues that coal is far from “dead”. Some of my key messages are contrary to popular beliefs: The importance of coal will further increase in absolute and likely even in relative terms for decades to come. Man-made CO2 has no effect on global temperatures and combustion of fossil fuels does not influence the weather. We cannot stop the advance of coal, we can only make this process as environmentally sustainable as humanly possible. Therefore, mankind needs to embrace coal as the “bridge” from the Oil Age to the Solar Age (through the “New Energy Revolution”). (4) Industrialized nations have to invest in coal and in all means to more efficiently burn coal in order to truly help the global environment and reduce global dust, SOX, and NOX emissions.

As we are moving ahead into the 21st century, our hunger for cost effective and environmentally friendly energy continues to grow. The Energy Information Administration of US has forecasted that only in the first two decades of the 21st century, our energy demand will increase by 60% compared to the levels at the end of the 20th century. Fossil fuels have been traditionally the major primary energy sources worldwide, and their role is expected to continue growing for the forecasted period, due to their inherent cost competitiveness compared to non-fossil fuel energy sources. However, the current fossil energy scenario is undergoing significant transformations, especially to accommodate increasingly stringent environmental challenges of contaminants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides or mercury, while still providing affordable energy. Furthermore, traditional fossil fuel utilization is inherently plagued with greenhouse gas emissions from combustion, especially carbon dioxide from stationary sources as well as from mobile sources. Should worldwide government policies dictate a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, such as proposed by the Kyoto Protocol and the implementation of carbon taxes, fossil fuels would lose their significant competitive appeal in favor of nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. However, the current non-fossil fuel energy share of the worldwide energy market is merely below 15%, and therefore, it is more likely that fossil fuel energy producers would adapt to the new requirements by developing and implementing emission control technologies, and emission trades among other strategies.

Sub- and Supercritical Hydrothermal Technology: Industrial Applications offers a practical view of a variety of industrial applications and their challenges, offering a deep understanding of the application of sub- and supercritical fluids and their techno-economic viability. This book covers a wide range of applications of hydrothermal processing that result in almost zero waste, high energy efficiency, sustainable chemical processes, and minimal impact over the life cycle. These applications include processing of hazardous waste, bioproducts, coal, lipids, heavy oil and bitumen, and carbon materials. The use of hot-compressed water instead of different organic solvents, such as methanol, acetone, and hexane, is an environmentally benign, green, and sustainable option which can help to design chemical processes that support green chemistry and engineering. This book is pertinent for researchers and professionals in the fields of chemical engineering, industrial chemistry, environmental engineering, materials engineering, and manufacturing.