scholarly journals Recent Research Activities in Solid and Liquid Bioenergy from Lignocellulosic Biomass

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-41
Author(s):  
Jae-Hyuk Jang ◽  
Seung-Hwan Lee ◽  
Nam-Hun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Transportation Fuels ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Petroleum Resources

The increase in energy demand, the lack of petroleum resources, and concern over global climate change have placed great emphasis on the development of new alternative energy technologies that can be used to replace fossil transportation fuels (Himmel et al. 2007; Labbe et al. 2008; Lee et al. 2009a,b,c; Teramoto et al. 2008, 2009). In this context, many countries have initiated extensive research and development programs for bioenergy. Bioenergy can be classified into three kinds of solid, liquid, and gas bioenergy. For the effective production and utilization of these three types of bioenergy, different technologies are required (Figure 1). Lignocellulosic biomass, such as wood and agricultural residues, are widely distributed and easily accessible at relatively low costs. Of these, wood has the benefit of having a higher energy content per volume, lower ash content, and nitrogen content. In this review, recent research trends and advances in bioenergy from lignocellulosic biomass will be summarized from the author’s point of view.

Considerations Regarding the Use of Fuel Cells in Combined Heat and Power for Stationary Applications

2021 ◽  
pp. 239-275
Author(s):  
Andrei Mircea Bolboaca
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Combined Heat And Power ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion Systems ◽  
Polluting Emissions

Covering the energy demands under environmental protection and satisfying economic and social restrictions, together with decreasing polluting emissions, are impetuous necessities, considering that over half of the pollutant emissions released in the environment are the effect of the processes of electricity and heat production from the classic thermoelectric powerplant. Increasing energy efficiency and intensifying the use of alternative resources are key objectives of global policy. In this context, a range of new energy technologies has been developed, based on alternative energy conversion systems, which have recently been used more and more often for the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. An intensification of the use of combined energy production correlated with the tendency towards the use of clean energy resources can be helpful in achieving the global objectives of increasing fuel diversity and ensuring energy demand. The chapter aims at describing the fuel cell technology, in particular those of the SOFC type, used in the CHP for stationary applications.

scholarly journals Systematic improvement of isobutanol production from d-xylose in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

AMB Express ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peerada Promdonkoy ◽  
Wiparat Siripong ◽  
Joe James Downes ◽  
Sutipa Tanapongpipat ◽  
Weerawat Runguphan
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Xylose Reductase ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Advanced Biofuel ◽  
Transportation Fuels

Abstract As the importance of reducing carbon emissions as a means to limit the serious effects of global climate change becomes apparent, synthetic biologists and metabolic engineers are looking to develop renewable sources for transportation fuels and petroleum-derived chemicals. In recent years, microbial production of high-energy fuels has emerged as an attractive alternative to the traditional production of transportation fuels. In particular, the Baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a highly versatile microbial chassis, has been engineered to produce a wide array of biofuels. Nevertheless, a key limitation of S. cerevisiae is its inability to utilize xylose, the second most abundant sugar in lignocellulosic biomass, for both growth and chemical production. Therefore, the development of a robust S. cerevisiae strain that is able to use xylose is of great importance. Here, we engineered S. cerevisiae to efficiently utilize xylose as a carbon source and produce the advanced biofuel isobutanol. Specifically, we screened xylose reductase (XR) and xylose dehydrogenase (XDH) variants from different xylose-metabolizing yeast strains to identify the XR–XDH combination with the highest activity. Overexpression of the selected XR–XDH variants, a xylose-specific sugar transporter, xylulokinase, and isobutanol pathway enzymes in conjunction with the deletions of PHO13 and GRE3 resulted in an engineered strain that is capable of producing isobutanol at a titer of 48.4 ± 2.0 mg/L (yield of 7.0 mg/g d-xylose). This is a 36-fold increase from the previous report by Brat and Boles and, to our knowledge, is the highest isobutanol yield from d-xylose in a microbial system. We hope that our work will set the stage for an economic route for the production of advanced biofuel isobutanol and enable efficient utilization of lignocellulosic biomass.

Communicating about Biofuels and Climate Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Cacciatore
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
New Technology ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Biofuels are produced from biomass, which is any organic matter that can be burned or otherwise used to produce heat or energy. While not a new technology—biofuels have been around for well over 100 years—they are experiencing something of a renaissance in the United States and other countries across the globe. Today, biofuels have become the single most common alternative energy source in the U.S. transportation sector with billions of gallons of the fuel produced annually. The expansion of the bio-based economy in recent years has been intertwined with mounting concerns about environmental pollution and the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere. In the United States, for example, biofuels mandates have been championed as key to solving not only the country’s increasing energy demand problems and reliance on foreign oil, but also growing fears about global climate change. Of course, the use of biomass and biofuels to combat global climate change has been highly controversial. While proponents argue that biofuels burn cleaner than gasoline, research has suggested that any reductions in CO2 emissions are offset by land use considerations and the energy required in the biofuels-production process. How publics perceive of climate change as a problem and the use of biomass and biofuels as potential solutions will go a long way toward determining the policies that government’s implement to address this issue.

Emerging Trends in Energy Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Kumar Singh ◽  
Sunil Kumar Yadav ◽  
Bharat Raj Singh
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Management ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Local Level ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Energy Carriers ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
New Energy

Energy is the measure of the development of any nation. Booming economic growth, rapid industrialization and high standard of living of the global population demand more and more energy in different forms. Since the quantity of available energy from conventional resources is depleting day by day, development of newer or renewable energy technologies and improvement of conventional technologies become necessary to meet the energy demand in the future. The world is undergoing a period of global climate change. Growing demand for energy despite limited fossil fuel reserves and growing environmental concerns due to increased emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, well-known green house gases, is undoubtedly the major challenge of the 21st century. It is of international importance that technological solutions can be brought to bear to solve these problems as well as providing alternative sources of power and energy. To achieve a sustainable development, the origin and the use of energy have to be addressed, and advanced energy technologies for both fossil and renewable energy carriers have to be developed. There is need to think globally but act locally. The adoption of new energy sources, energy carriers and better energy management will not only affect the energy market but will also have social economic and environmental impacts. New energy technologies and particular heating and cooling technologies are decentralized and will create markets and employment essentially at a local level and, therefore, will induce a modification of individual behavior. From an economic viewpoint, new energy technologies are capital intensive sources of energy and the present period is particularly interested in the development of such technologies and systems due to relatively low cost of money and high cost of energy. The scientific community has not only to think and develop advanced energy technologies but also to contribute in improving the existing ones. Even if renewable energies and new energy carriers, such as hydrogen, are promising solutions, our society still relies on fossil fuels as primary energy for many applications.

scholarly journals Design and Tuning of Photoswitches for Solar Energy Storage

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3796
Author(s):  
Raul Losantos ◽  
Diego Sampedro
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Energy Difference ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
Improved Performance

Current energy demand makes it compulsory to explore alternative energy sources beyond fossil fuels. Molecular solar thermal (MOST) systems have been proposed as a suitable technology for the use and storage of solar energy. Compounds used for this application need to fulfil a long series of requirements, being the absorption of sunlight and the energy stored some of the most critical. In this paper, we study different families of well-known molecular photoswitches from the point of view of their potential use as MOST. Starting from basic structures, we use density functional theory (DFT) computational modelling to propose two different strategies to increase the energy difference between isomers and to tune the absorption spectrum. The inclusion of a mechanical lock in the structure, via an alkyl chain and the presence of a hydrogen bonding are shown to directly influence the energy difference and the absorption spectra. Results shown here prove that these two approaches could be relevant for the design of new compounds with improved performance for MOST applications.

Impact of climate discourse on national scientific networks in energy technologies: the case of Estonian science and industry linkages

2019 ◽  
pp. 20-45
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
National Level ◽  
Incremental Innovation ◽  
Unintended Effects ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Global Discourse ◽  
Research Agendas

This article examines how the global climate change discourse influences the implementation of national science policy in the area of energy technology, with a focus on industry and science collaborations and networks. We develop a set of theoretical propositions about how the issues in the global discourse are likely to influence research agendas and networks, the nature of industry-science linkages and the direction of innovation. The plausibility of these propositions is examined, using Estonia as a case study. We find that the global climate discourse has indeed led to the diversification of research agendas and networks, but the shifts in research strategies often tend to be rhetorical and opportunistic. The ambiguity of the global climate change discourse has also facilitated incremental innovation towards energy efficiency and the potentially sub-optimal lock-in of technologies. In sum, the Estonian case illustrates how the introduction of policy narratives from the global climate change discourse to the national level can shape the actual policy practices and also networks of actors in a complex and non-linear fashion, with unintended effects.

scholarly journals The contribution of the Italian residents in neurology to the COVID-19 crisis: admirable generosity but neurological training remains their priority

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Tassorelli ◽  
Vincenzo Silani ◽  
Alessandro Padovani ◽  
Paolo Barone ◽  
Paolo Calabresi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Training ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Healthcare Management ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Italian Regions ◽  
Training And Research

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted the Italian healthcare system, underscoring a dramatic shortage of specialized doctors in many disciplines. The situation affected the activity of the residents in neurology, who were also offered the possibility of being formally hired before their training completion. Aims (1) To showcase examples of clinical and research activity of residents in neurology during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy and (2) to illustrate the point of view of Italian residents in neurology about the possibility of being hired before the completion of their residency program. Results Real-life reports from several areas in Lombardia—one of the Italian regions more affected by COVID-19—show that residents in neurology gave an outstanding demonstration of generosity, collaboration, reliability, and adaptation to the changing environment, while continuing their clinical training and research activities. A very small minority of the residents participated in the dedicated selections for being hired before completion of their training program. The large majority of them prioritized their training over the option of earlier employment. Conclusions Italian residents in neurology generously contributed to the healthcare management of the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways, while remaining determined to pursue their training. Neurology is a rapidly evolving clinical field due to continuous diagnostic and therapeutic progress. Stakeholders need to listen to the strong message conveyed by our residents in neurology and endeavor to provide them with the most adequate training, to ensure high quality of care and excellence in research in the future.

scholarly journals Decentral Energy Generation Potential of Anaerobic Digestion of Black Water and Kitchen Refuse for Eco-District Planning

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2948
Author(s):  
Soufia Mohammadi ◽  
Pilar Monsalvete Álvarez de Uribarri ◽  
Ursula Eicker
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Organic Substrate ◽  
Mass Balances ◽  
Waste Streams ◽  
Black Water ◽  
Alternative Energy Source ◽  
Simulation Based

Biogas technology is an important alternative energy source worldwide. Blackwater and kitchen refuse represent ideal waste streams for bioenergy recovery through anaerobic co-digestion. Modeling of the biokinetics of anaerobic digestion on several aspects, such as microbial activity, substrate degradation, and methane production, from co-digestion of black water (BW) and kitchen refuse (KR) was the objective of this research. A mathematical model was developed towards a simulation based on mass balances on biomass, the organic substrate, and biogas. The model was implemented in INSEL and experimental data from the literature were used for model validation. The study shows that the simulation results fit well with the experimental data. The energy consumption and generation potential of anaerobic co-digestion of BW and KR were calculated to investigate if the produced biogas could supply the digester’s energy demand. This study can be used to pre-design anaerobic digestion systems in eco-districts.

Adapted Methodology for Evaluating EOR Reserves and Resources, Incorporated and Applied at an Oil and Gas Company

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilibeth Chiquinquira Perdomo ◽  
Carlos Alvarez ◽  
Maria Edith Gracia ◽  
Guillermo Danilo Salomone ◽  
Gilberto Ventuirini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Oil Reserves ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Petroleum Resources

Abstract As other companies registered in the US stock market, the company reports oil and gas reserves, in compliance with the definitions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition, it complies internally with the guidelines established by the Petroleum Resources Management System to certify its resources. The PRMS focuses on supporting consistent evaluation of oil resources based on technically sound industry practices, providing fundamental principles for the assessment and classification of oil reserves and resources, but does not provide specific guidance for the classification and categorization of quantities associated with IOR projects. Recently, the company has implemented EOR pilot projects, and their results seem to show commerciality for future development or expansion to new areas, displaying multiple opportunities and proposals to incorporate reserves and resources. So far, the pilot projects and their expansions have been addressed only from the point of view of incremental projects, as an improvement over the previous secondary recovery. The company does not have sufficient track record in booking reserves or resources from EOR projects, their quantities have been incorporated following bibliographic references and results of EOR projects with proven commerciality around the world. For this reason, the need arose to have a tool that provides the company with methodological criteria to evaluate the resources and reserves inherent in this type of project, that incorporate the "best practices" of the industry and that respect the guidelines and definitions of PRMS for incremental projects. That was how, the need to meet this challenging goal led company to develop its "EOR Resources and Reserves Assessment Guide" with the advice of a renowned consulting company. Although the Guide is not intended to be a review of the large body of existing IOR literature, it contains several useful references that serve as a starting point for understanding the IOR project for assessment process of resources and reserves. This document shows the process of development and implementation of the EOR guide, complementing the existing guides within the corporation and providing the company with a positive result within the internal processes of Audit, reserves and resources for this type of projects.

FOOD SECURITY IN RUSSIA IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Maria Polozhikhina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Crimean Peninsula ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Crimean Peninsula

Climate conditions remain one of the main risk factors for domestic agriculture, and the consequences of global climate change are ambiguous in terms of prospects for agricultural production in Russia. This paper analyzes the impact of climate change on the country’s food security from the point of view of its self-sufficiency in grain primarily. Specific conditions prevailing on the Crimean peninsula are also considered.

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