Green Technology and Sustainable Development of Renewable Energy

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, which cause global warming, have become a major worldwide concern with ten global ‘mega’ challenges that are currently impacting the planet in particular climate change, water, energy, and material resource scarcity. Increase in urbanization rate will continue to increase its need for natural resources, building materials, power and electricity, water, etc. that leads to bio-capacity deficit with a sharp increase in generation of ecological footprints. Power-generating plants running on fossil fuels have been identified as the main source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Approximately, 80% of the world primary energy consumption is still dependent on fossil fuels; thus, the substitution by renewable energy sources, in conjunction with other clean energy sources, appears to be the best and necessary alternative. There are many other sources of renewable energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal, but biomass have been receiving a lot of attention lately. Biomass has gained increased attention in the past decade because it does not only provide an effective option for the provision of energy services from a technical point of view, but also based on resources that can be utilized on a sustainable basis all around the globe. Another benefit of biomass utilization is that this resource can be converted to C3-C4 hydrocarbons and/or synthetic gas (H2 and CO).Statistics shows that the urban areas with industrial, residential and commercial activities are the large energy “deficit zonesâ€. Thus, the transfer of biomass energy sources from the “surplus zonesâ€, which are those surrounding rural / plantation areas to the major urban cities, can be a solution that bring numerous benefits to the regions: (i) Environmental – minimization of CO2 emissions and other gases of the greenhouse effect (ii) Energy - improvement in the regional energy balance, reinforcement of energy independence, and (iii) Economical – maximization of the utilization of local energy sources and adding the value to the “wasteâ€.There is a great potential for exploitation of local energy sources from wastes but the strength of policy support and stimulation measures are far from sufficient. At this moment, there is lack of studies about the integration of different types of wastes and the application of green technology approach, in addition to proper supply chain analysis and synthesis for waste-to-energy (WTE) system. These missing studies are crucial for solving both energy and environmental problems especially in the urban area. Further innovative and cost effective process needs to be developed to ensure the competitiveness of green industry. Producing biodiesel from non-edible feedstock is one of the solutions to reduce the import volume. Furthermore, public awareness and acceptance on the utilization of green fuels needs to be promoted and increased. Knowledge dissemination on the advantages of the biofuel utilization in the transportation sectors could be achieved through outreach initiatives to young minds and public.Increasing demand of transportation fuel has made utilizing biofuels more attractive since it helps to reduce CO2 to 78.45% compared to if purely fossil fuel based is utilized. The sector which emits the most CO2 is the transportation sector. Energy for transportation is projected to be the fastest growing sector during the next five years, expanding at an annual rate of 5.3%. Non-edible resources as fuel are thus important to avoid food vs fuel crisis and reduce dependency on fossil fuel. Furthermore, world population is projected to grow from 6.5 billion in 2005 to nearly 9.2 billion by 2050. To feed a population of more than 9 billion, global food production must be doubled by 2050. Additionally, reliance on a single source of feedstock for biodiesel production has its setback. Thus, diversification of the feedstock towards non-edible materials with a minimal retrofit to existing production facilities will help to overcome the situation. Sustainable development of the energy sector is one of the key factors to maintain economic competitiveness and progress.The initiative of the Green Technology promotes minimization growth of energy consumptions while enhancing economic development. In addition, it will increase national capability, capacity and awareness for innovation in Green Technology. Overall, the policies and incentives on renewable energy are important to promote low carbon economy and society in future. Citation: Yusup, S. (2016). Green Technology and Sustainable Development of Renewable Energy. Trends in Renewable Energy, 2(3), 83-84. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2016.2.3.002

Effect of temperature and steam to biomass ratio on NO and SO2 formation in palm kernel shell catalytic steam gasification with in-situ CO2 adsorption

No abstract available

Economic analysis and optimization for bio-hydrogen production from oil palm waste via steam gasification

Biomass steam gasification with in-situ carbon dioxide capture using CaO exhibits good prospects for the production of hydrogen rich gas. In Malaysia, due to abundance of palm waste, it is a good candidate to be used as a feedstock for hydrogen production. The present work focuses on the mathematical modeling of detailed economic analysis and cost minimization of the flowsheet design for hydrogen production from palm waste using MATLAB. The influence of the operating parameters on the economics is performed. It is predicted that hydrogen cost decreasing by increasing both temperature and steam/biomass ratio. Meanwhile, the hydrogen cost increases when increasing sorbent/biomass ratio. Cost minimization solves to give optimum cost of 1.9105 USD/kg with hydrogen purity, hydrogen yield, hydrogen efficiency and thermodynamic efficiency are 79.9 mol%, 17.97 g/hr, 81.47% and 79.85% respectively. The results indicate that this system has the potential to offer low production cost for hydrogen production from palm waste

Optimization for development of carbon nanotubes using Taguchi method at constant temperature

In this study, an optimization of floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) using Taguchi method is done in developing multiwall nanotubes (MWNTs) at constant temperature. The reaction is run at the temperature of 850°C in atmospheric pressure with ferrocene as the catalyst precursor and benzene as the carbon feedstock. By applying Taguchi’s method as the design of experiment, three parameters: namely reaction time, hydrogen flow rate and catalyst weight have been varied during the optimization of the experiment. The results show that the BET specific surface area increases as the reaction time increases, the degree of graphitization reduces as the mass of the catalyst increases and the relative value of amorphous carbon to graphite carbon decreases as the hydrogen flow rate increases

Parametric study on the heating values of products as via steam gasification of palm waste using CaO as sorbent material

In Malaysia, due to abundance of oil palm waste, it is a good candidate to be used as a feedstock for syngas and hydrogen production. Biomass steam gasification is one of the promising methods for syngas production. This work focuses on the steam gasification with in-situ CO2 capture using CaO as absorbent materials for hydrogen production from palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB). Three parameters (temperature, steam/biomass ratio and sorbent/biomass ratio) has been studied on the lower heating value (LHV) and higher heating value (HHV) of product gas. The results shows that the current study gives higher value of LHV at lower temperature of 823K. The higher value of LHV is obtained due to the lower concentration of CO2 caused by using CaO as sorbent material. Furthermore, CaO materials enhanced the concentration of concentration of the CO, H2 and CH4 in the product gas. The results are also compared against published data as well

Effect of aqueous pretreatment on pyrolysis characteristics of Napier grass

Effect of non-catalytic aqueous pretretment on pyrolysis characteristics of Napier grass was investigated using thermogravimetric analyser. Increasing pretreatment severity (0.0-2.0) improved pyrolysis process. The residual mass at the end of pyrolysis for the pretreated sample was about 50% less compared to the untreated sample. Kinetics of the process was evaluated using order based model and both pretreated and untreated samples followed first order reaction. The activation energy of the pretreated samples was similar and higher than that of the raw sample which was attributed to faster rate of decomposition due removal of hetromaterials (ash, extractives and some hemicellulose) in the pretreatment stage. Finally, this pretreatment method has demonstrated effectiveness for the removal of pyrolysis retardants and will improve the quantity and quality of bio-oil yield

Assessment of energy flows in integrated catalytic adsorption (ICA) steam gasification for hydrogen production

Biomass has a potential to produce sustainable and renewable hydrogen due to its low sulphur and nitrogen content (low NOx and SOx emissions) and contributes towards net CO2 cycle. Biomass steam gasification is found to be most promising among thermal conservation processes for renewable hydrogen production. The energy required for gasification using steam is high compared to other gasification agents e.g. air or pure oxygen. The integrated catalytic adsorption (ICA) utilizes catalyst and CO2 adsorbent together in the single fluidized bed gasifier. The present study investigates the energy flows to optimize the gasification energy requirement with respect to hydrogen concentration and yield in the ICA process at 600, 650 and 750 °C. The overall gasification energy required increased with increasing gasification temperature from 675 to 750 °C. However, a slight reduction in required energy was observed from 600 °C to 675 °C which might be due to strong CO2 adsorption, an exothermic reaction, and contributes to the energy requirements of the process. This was further verified with zero CO2 and highest hydrogen compositions (82 vol%) at 675 °C. However, ICA steam gasification is found to be a high energy consuming process and heat integration has to be considered for an economical hydrogen generation process

Green Composites from Ionic Liquid-Assisted Processing of Sustainable Resources: A Brief Overview

The massive use of synthetic, petroleum-based polymeric composites has disturbed the fragile environmental equilibrium of our planet. Composites made solely from polysaccharides can offer unique intrinsic properties such as renewability, biodegradability, easy availability, eco-friendliness, facile processing, flexibility, and exciting physico-mechanical characteristics. The development of green processing of lignocellulosic materials and bio-based polymers such as cellulose, starch, chitin, and chitosan, the most abundant biorenewable materials on earth, is urgent from the perspectives of both environmental protection and sustainability in materials industries. Recently, the enormous potential of ionic liquids (ILs) as an alternative to ecologically harmful conventional organic solvents has been well recognized. Presently, a wide range of pronounced approaches have been explored to further improve the performance of ionic liquid-based processing of polysaccharides for green composite manufacturing. This review presents recent technological developments in which the advantages of ionic liquids as a dissolution medium for polysaccharides for production of plethora of green composites have been gradually realized

A Mini Review of Biochar Synthesis, Characterization, and Related Standardization and Legislation

The abundance of biomass in Malaysia creates an avenue for growth of bio-economic sector through the research and development (R&D) activities on the biochar production. Biochar that is described as a carbonaceous material derived from the thermochemical process at temperature of usually lower than 700°C is promising due to its applicability in wider range of applications, such as in soil amendment (fertilizer) and as a low-cost adsorbent for the pollution remediation, apart from minimizing the solid waste disposal problems. Therefore, this chapter discusses the current trends on various production techniques of biochar from both the lignocellulosic (plantation based waste materials) and non-lignocellulosic sources, as well as the physiochemical characteristics of the resulting biochar. In addition, overview of the biochar industry in Malaysia is presented in this chapter. Lastly, recap of standardization and legislation particularly related to the biochar utilization as a soil amendment agent is included to grasp readers’ attention prior to the large scale applications

Bio-Based Oil Drilling Fluid Improvements through Carbon- Based Nanoparticle Additives

Performance issues of vegetable oil or bio-based oil drilling fluids are generally inferior as compared to synthetic based drilling fluids. This chapter focuses largely on thermal conductivity and rheological properties of bio-based oil drilling fluid as its core issues. Unstable drilling fluids do not only incur in downtime for maintenance, but it indirectly affects production capacity as well. To overcome these issues, nanoparticles acts as additives to improve the thermo-physical traits of bio-based oil drilling fluid. The scope of this chapter focuses on dispersion of graphene oxide at very low concentration, namely 25, 50 and 100 ppm, to improve the thermal conductivity and rheological properties of bio-based oil drilling fluid. The data obtained from thermal conductivity and rheological experimental works were validated with various thermal conductivity and rheological models