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Energy and the Environment is a six-volume set that examines the history, technology, science, and environmental and social implications (including issues of Environmental justice) associated with the acquisition and production of energy. Designed to complement science curricula, each volume describes comprehensively one or more sources of energy and the technology needed to make it useful. The books emphasize the science on which such technology is based, the limitations of each technology, the environmental effects of its use, questions of availability and cost, and the way that government policies and energy markets interact. Each Volume contains more than 40 color photographs and four-color line illustrations, sidebars, a chronology, a list of acronyms, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Internet resources, and an index. Energy and the Environment is essential for high school students, teachers, and general readers who wish to learn about the effects on society of large-scale energy production and consumption.
Volume 1: Biofules
Biofuels describes the principal fuels derived from recently decayed biological material, the methods by which they are produced, and their uses in transportation and in electricity production. The book also discusses the implications of large-scale biofuel use on the environment and on the economy, with special consideration given to its effects on the price of food. The book features an exclusive interview with economist Dr. Amani Elobeid, a widely respected expert on ethanol, food security, trade policy, and the international sugar markets, who shares her thoughts on these subjects. The volume includes information on
biodiesel biomass combustion electricity production environmental protection ethanol the nature and history of biofuels policy, research, and legislation
Contents: Preface • Acknowledgments • Introduction • Part I The Nature and History of Biofuels • First Fuels • What Are Biofuels? • A Brief History of Fire and Wood • Early Conservation Efforts • Ancient Forests, Modern Humans • The Nature of Fuel • The Energy Content of Biofuels • Availability and Cost • Sinks, Sources, and the Greenhouse Effect • Big and Small Environmental and Economic Effects • The Chemistry of Combustion • Theoretical Combustion • Combustion: Some Practical Concerns • Efficient Engines • Sustainability • Part II Some Important Biofuel Technologies • Ethanol • The Mechanics of Ethanol Production • Ethanol in Brazil • The Net Energy Balance • The United States Ethanol Market • Biodiesel • Some Properties of Biodiesel • The Biodiesel Market: Demand and Supply • Biodiesel from Algae • Electricity Production • Electricity Production and the Electricity Markets • Biofuel-Fired Power Plants • A Case Study: Power Generation versus the Environment • Part III Environmental and Policy Considerations • Large-Scale Use of Biomass • Biomass as a Form of Solar Energy • How Much Land for How Much Fuel? • Siting Biorefineries • Alternative Reasons for the Consumption of Biofuels • A Form of Environmental Protection • The Pulp and Paper Industry • Gasification Technology in the Pulp and Paper Industry • Fire Suppression • Policy, Research, and Biofuels • Overcoming Inertia • Switchgrass: a Future Fuel • Legislating a Market for Ethanol • Science, Commerce, and Biofuels • Conclusion • Afterword: An Interview with Dr. Amani Elobeid on the Economics of Ethanol ISBN - 9788130915654
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Pages : 1732
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