Environmental Management Of Energy From Biofuels And Biofeedstocks

Biomass is a renewable resource, whose utilization has received great attention due to environmental considerations and the increasing demands of energy worldwide. Since the energy crises of the 1970s, many countries have become interested in biomass as a fuel source to expand the development of domestic and renewable energy sources, reduce the environmental impacts of energy production provide rural prosperity for its poor farmers and bolster a flat agricultural sector. Biomass energy (bioenergy) can be an important alternative in the future and a more sustainable energy. In fact, for large portions of the rural populations of developing countries, and for the poorest sections of urban populations, biomass is often the only available and affordable source of energy for satisfying basic needs as cooking and heating.

The focus of this book is to present a historical overview, country perspectives, the use of biomass to produce biofuels, the current and upcoming sources of biofuels, technologies and processes for biofuel production, the various types of biofuels and, specifically, the ways and means to make biofuel production sustainable, economically feasible, minimize environmental damage and to deliver on its many promises.

James G. Speight is a senior fuel consultant and Visiting Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago and Adjunct Professor of Chemical and Fuels Engineering at the University of Utah, USA. He is recognized internationally as an expert in the characterization, properties, and processing of conventional and synthetic fuels. He is the author of numerous books and papers, the editor of two journals in energy, and has won numerous awards and distinctions.

Kamel Singh is currently Design and Lead Project Manager at Energy Dynamics Ltd (EDL). He has over twenty years of industrial experience in the design and construction of process plants, pressure vessels, storage tanks, pipelines, and offshore production facilities as well as in welding engineering, quality control, and maintenance management. He has coauthored over ten scholarly papers and contributed to three books.