Sustainable Development in Chemical Engineering E-Book

Vincenzo Piemonte

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 697

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Sustainable development is an area that has world-wide appeal, from developed industrialized countries to the developing world. Development of innovative technologies to achieve sustainability is being addressed by many European countries, the USA and also China and India. The need for chemical processes to be safe, compact, flexible, energy efficient, and environmentally benign and conducive to the rapid commercialization of new products poses new challenges for chemical engineers.
This book examines the newest technologies for sustainable development in chemical engineering, through careful analysis of the technical aspects, and discussion of the possible fields of industrial development.

The book is broad in its coverage, and is divided into four sections:

• Energy Production, covering renewable energies, innovative solar technologies, cogeneration plants, and smart grids
• Process Intensification, describing why it is important in the chemical and petrochemical industry, the engineering approach, and nanoparticles as a smart technology for bioremediation
• Bio-based Platform Chemicals, including the production of bioethanol and biodiesel, bioplastics production and biodegradability, and biosurfactants
• Soil and Water Remediation, covering water management and re-use, and soil remediation technologies

Throughout the book there are case studies and examples of industrial processes in practice. 

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

List of Contributors

Preface

Chapter 1: Sustainable Development Strategies: An Overview

1.1 Renewable Energies: State of the Art and Diffusion

1.2 Process Intensification

1.3 Concept and Potentialities of Bio-based Platforms for Biomolecule Production

1.4 Soil and Water Remediation

Acknowledgement

References

Chapter 2: Innovative Solar Technology: CSP Plants for Combined Production of Hydrogen and Electricity

2.1 Principles

2.2 Plant Configurations

2.3 Mathematical Models

2.4 Plant Simulations

2.5 Conclusions

Nomenclature

References

Chapter 3: Strategies for Increasing Electrical Energy Production from Intermittent Renewables

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Penetration of Renewable Energies into the Electricity Market and Issues Related to Their Development: Some Interesting Cases

3.3 An Approach to Expansion of RES and Efficiency Policy in an Integrated Energy System

3.4 Analysis of Possible Interesting Scenarios for Increasing Penetration of RES

3.5 Analysis of a Meaningful Case Study: The Italian Scenario

3.6 Analysis and Discussion

3.7 Conclusions

Nomenclature and Abbreviations

References

Chapter 4: The Smart Grid as a Response to Spread the Concept of Distributed Generation

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Present Electric Power Generation Systems

4.3 A Future Electrical Power Generation System with a High Penetration of Distributed Generation and Renewable Energy Resources

4.4 Integration of DGs into Smart Grids for Balancing Power

4.5 The Bornholm System—A “Fast Track” for Smart Grids

4.6 Conclusions

References

Chapter 5: Process Intensification in the Chemical Industry: A Review

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Different Approaches to Process Intensification

5.3 Process Intensification as a Valuable Tool for the Chemical Industry

5.4 PI Exploitation in the Chemical Industry

5.5 Conclusions

References

Chapter 6: Process Intensification in the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Process Intensification

6.3 The Membrane Role

6.4 Membrane Reactor

6.5 Applications of Membrane Reactors in the Petrochemical Industry

6.7 Future Trends

6.8 Conclusion

Nomenclature

References

Chapter 7: Production of Bio-Based Fuels: Bioethanol and Biodiesel

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Production of Bioethanol

7.3 Biodiesel and Renewable Diesels from Biomass

7.4 Perspective

List of Acronyms

References

Chapter 8: Inside the Bioplastics World: An Alternative to Petroleum-based Plastics

8.1 Bioplastic Concept

8.2 Bioplastic Production Processes

8.3 Bioplastic Environmental Impact: Strengths and Weaknesses

8.4 Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 9: Biosurfactants

9.1 Introduction

9.2 State of the Art

9.3 Production Technologies

9.4 Recovery of Biosurfactants

9.5 Application Fields

9.6 Future Prospects

References

Chapter 10: Bioremediation of Water: A Sustainable Approach

10.1 Introduction

10.2 State-of-the-Art: Recent Development

10.3 Water Management

10.4 Overview of Bioremediation in Wastewater Treatment and Ground Water Contamination

10.5 Membrane Separation in Bioremediation

10.7 Conclusions

List of Acronyms

References

Chapter 11: Effective Remediation of Contaminated Soils by Eco-Compatible Physical, Biological, and Chemical Practices

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Biological Methods (Microorganisms, Plants, Compost, and Biochar)

11.3 Physicochemical Methods

11.4 Chemical Methods

11.5 Conclusions

List of Symbols and Acronyms

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 12: Nanoparticles as a Smart Technology for Remediation

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Silica Nanoparticles for Wastewater Treatment

12.3 Magnetic Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications

12.4 Titania Nanoparticles in Environmental Photo-Catalysis

12.5 Future Prospects: Is Nano Really Good for the Environment?

12.6 Conclusions

List of Abbreviations

References

Index

This edition first published 2013

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ISBN: 978-1-119-95352-4

List of Contributors

Gianna Allegrone, Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DiSCAFF), Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Italy

D. Lawrence Arockiasamy, King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

Angelo Basile, Institute of Membrane Technology, Italian National Research Council (ITM-CNR), c/o University of Calabria, Italy

Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, India

Massimo Cavallo, Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DiSCAFF), Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Italy

Sudip Chakraborty, Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, West Bengal, India and Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials, CNR-ITM, University of Calabria, Italy

Giuseppe Chidichimo, Department of Chemistry, University of Calabria, Italy

Daniela Cupelli, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy

Stefano Curcio, Department of Engineering Modeling, University of Calabria, Italy

Ranjana Das Mondal, Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, India

Professor Yi Ding, Centre for Electric Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Marcello de Falco, Faculty of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy

Giovanni De Filpo, Department of Chemistry, University of Calabria, Italy

Patrizia Formoso, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy

Letizia Fracchia, Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DiSCAFF), Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Italy

Alessandro Franco, Department of Energy and System Engineering (DESE), Università di Pisa, Italy

Adolfo Iulianelli, Institute of Membrane Technology, Italian National Research Council (ITM-CNR), c/o University of Calabria, Italy

Simona Liguori, Institute of Membrane Technology, Italian National Research Council (ITM-CNR), c/o University of Calabria, Italy

Mrinal Kanti Mandal, Chemical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology Durgapur, India

Maria Giovanna Martinotti, Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences (DiSCAFF), Università del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro”, Italy

Salvador Pineda Morente, Centre for Electric Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Debolina Mukherjee, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy

Fiore Pasquale Nicoletta, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Calabria, Italy

Jacob Østergaard, Centre for Electric Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Alessandro Piccolo, Dipartimento di Science del Suolo, della Pianta dell'Ambiente e delle Produzioni Animali, Università di Napoli Federico II, Italy

Vincenzo Piemonte

Preface

This book aims to examine the newest technologies for sustainable development, through a careful analysis not only of the technical aspects but also on the possible fields of industrial development. In other words, the book aims to shed light, giving a broad but very detailed view on the latest technologies aimed at sustainable development, through a point of view typical of an industrial engineer.

The book is divided in four sections (Energy, Process Intensification, Bio-Based Platform for Biomolecule Production and Soil and Water Remediaton) in order to provide a powerful and organic tool to the readers.

The first chapter (by Piemonte, Basile, De Falco) is devoted to an overview of the main arguments in the book and to provide a useful key lecture to the reader for a more easy understanding of the topics analysed in further chapters.

In the second chapter (De Falco), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology is presented and a particular application, that is, the cogenerative production of electricity and pure hydrogen by means of a steam reforming reactor is studied in depth and assessed in order to make clear the huge potentialities of CSP plants in the industrial sector.

The third chapter (Franco) analyses some aspects in connection with the problem of new renewable energy penetration. The case of Italian energy production is considered as a meaningful reference due to its characteristic size and the complexity. The various energy scenarios are evaluated with the aid of multipurpose software, taking into account the interconnections between different energy uses.

The last chapter (Ding, Østergaard, Morente, and Wu) in the Energy section discusses the smart grid as response for integrating Distributed Generation to provide a balancing capacity for mitigating the high volatility of renewable energy resources in the future.

The second section opens with a chapter on Process Intensification (PI) in the chemical industry. In this chapter (Curcio) a description of some process units designed on the basis of PI concepts has been presented, pointing out their major features, the advantages determined by the exploitation of these PI units and, in some cases, on the existing barriers that are currently limiting their spread on an industrial scale.

The sixth chapter (Basile, Iulianelli, Liguori) is devoted to summarizing the importance of PI in the chemical and petrochemical industries focusing on the membrane reactor (MR) role as a new technology. In particular, it illustrates how integration of MRs in the industrial field could constitutes a good solution to the reduction of the reaction/separation/purification steps, thus allowing a reduction in plant size and improving overall process performance.

The first chapter (Chakraborty, Das Mondal, Mukherjee, Bhattacharjee) in the section on the bio-based platform for biomolecule production deals with a wide and detailed review of the science and technology for sustainable biofuel production. In particular, the production processes of bioethanol and biodiesel are analysed deeply, paying attention also to the sustainability of biofuel use issue.

The eighth chapter (Piemonte) depicts the complex world of bioplastics through the analysis of the bioplastics concept and the description of the most important production processes of bioplastics. Particular attention has been paid to the bioplastic footprint on the environment by analysing the environmental impact of two of the most important bioplastics in the world (PLA and Mater-Bi) in comparison with some petroleum-based plastics (PET and PE) in order to answer, if possible, the most important reader's question: how green are bioplastics?

The ninth chapter (Martinotti, Allegrone, Cavallo, and Fracchia) focuses on the most recent results obtained in the field of production, optimization, recovery, and applications of biosurfactants. The chapter spans environmental to biomedical applications of biosurfactants, covering agricultural, biotechnological and nanotechnological applications.

The first chapter (Chakraborty, Sikder, Mukherjee, Mandal, and Arockiasamy) of the soil and water remediaton section presents a state-of-the-art report on the past and existing knowledge of water remediation technologies for the environmentalist who evaluates the quality of environment, implements and evaluates the remediation alternatives at a given contaminated site. The chapter provides a basic understanding of the bioremediation technologies for water recycling to the reader.

The fourth section continues with a chapter (Sannino and Piccolo) on soil remediation, which reviews innovative sustainable strategies that can be applied to remediate soil contaminated by organic pollutants and based on biological, physical and advanced chemical processes. These approaches are illustrated together with the related technical, environmental and economic aspects which should be considered when selecting the most useful remediation method for given soil conditions.

The book concludes with the last chapter (Chidichimo, Cupelli, De Filpo, Formoso, and Fiore) in the soil and water remediaton section, which reports on recent progress in remediation by nanomaterials, describing synthesis and properties of different classes of nanoparticles. The main physico-chemical principles and advantages of using nanoparticles in remediation of wastewaters contaminated by dyes, heavy metals and organic pollutants are discussed. Special attention is given to the modification of nanoparticle surface properties in order to increase efficiency and selectivity. Advances in some particular nanosystems, and perspectives on environment and health impacts by massive use of nanodevices are also reported.

Finally, let us conclude this preface by thanking all the authors who have contributed to the realization of this book, without whom this project would never have been born. We wish to thank them for their participation and patience during the preparation of this book. We are also grateful that they have entrusted us with editing their contributions as per the requirements of each chapter. We hope that readers will find this book useful.

Powerpoint slides of figures in this book for teaching purposes can be downloaded from http://booksupport.wiley.com by entering the book title, author or ISBN.

Vincenzo Piemonte Marcello De Falco Angelo Basile

Italy December 2012

Chapter 1

Sustainable Development Strategies: An Overview

Vincenzo Piemonte1,*, Marcello De Falco1, and Angelo Basile2

1Faculty of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, 00128 Rome, Italy

2CNR-ITM, c/o University of Calabria87030 Rende (CS), Italy

1.1 Renewable Energies: State of the Art and Diffusion

Energy is a crucial challenge that scientific and technological communities face with more to come in the future. The environmental impact of fossil fuels, their cost fluctuations due both to economical/political reasons and their reducing availability boost research toward the development of new processes and technologies, which are more sustainable and renewable, such as solar energy, wind, biomass and geothermal.

Governments have facilitated renewable energy production diffusion by means of incentive schemes as the feed-in tariff (FIT) and Green Certificates (GCs), achieving unforeseeable success. In fact, the change in the world energy politics is substantially modifying the energy production network. The European Union target to increase the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in its gross final consumption of energy to 20% by 2020 from the 9.2% in 2006, which seemed unlikely up until recently, is now almost there thanks mainly to the strong increase of wind power, photovoltaics and plant biomass installations, together with the implementation of more efficient energy-consuming technologies in domestic, industrial and transport sectors, able to reduce global energy consumption.

The following charts in Figures 1.1-1.3 report wind power, photovoltaic and biomass-fired power station (by wood, municipal solid wastes and bio-gas) electrical energy production trends in recent years in EU-27 (Ruska and Kiviluoma, 2011): it is a worthy assessment that the diffusion of such technologies follows an exponential profile. The total renewable installed capacity (hydropower, wind, biomass-fired power stations, geothermal plants, photovoltaics) was 200 GW in 2008 and it is continuously increasing.

Figure 1.1 Wind energy production in EU-27 (2000–2008)

Figure 1.2 PV energy production in EU-27 (2000–2008)

Figure 1.3 Biomass plant energy production in EU-27 (2000–2008)

The International Energy Outlook (Bloomberg, 2009) estimates that more than 42% of the new electrical power capacity to be installed up to 2020 will be based on renewable energies, with an average annual growth rates of 4.1%. By 2020 it is foreseen that US$150 bn will be invested worldwide on renewable energies. In Europe, €35 bn has been devoted to clean energy investment in 2008 (http://www.newenergyfinance.com, 2019–2013), and capital expenditure needed to achieve the EU objectives will be approximately €70 bn per year until 2020 in order to reach the 20% target.

From all these data, it is clear how the renewable energy market is becoming mainstream both from technical and financial points of view. Surely, public incentives must be one of the main reasons for renewable penetration in the energy sector, since they have allowed convenient investment when the technologies were not competitive. The increase of investors' interest on this market has pushed industrial production, with the effect of a strong reduction in prices. Taking the PV sector as an example, polycrystalline modules had a cost of about 3000 €/kW in 2009, while now the average price is 700–800 €/kW in 2011 thanks to the development of numerous modular manufacturing industries in Europe and China.

But, concerning the perspectives of renewable energies market in the next years, two crucial aspects have to be considered:

The economic crisis is stimulating a debate about renewable energy public incentives, which have an increasing effect on the energy bills. The next target is the ‘grid parity’, that is, the point at which generating electricity from alternative energy produces power at a levelled cost equal to or less than the price of purchasing power from the grid.

The penetration of renewable energy and the increase in its contribution to total electricity input in the grid lead to the problem of electricity network overload due to clean energy production fluctuations. PV and wind energy production depends on environmental conditions: during sunny and windy days renewable production could invoke serious problems for the grid. This problem stimulates the development of smart grid technologies, able to control and manage grid overloading and electricity storage systems.

Solving both these problems, which have the potential stop renewable energy use, is the main scientific and technological challenge for the future. In this context, proposing, developing and implementing new technologies able to reduce installation costs reaching grid parity and managing energy production is absolutely necessary in order to assure a clean energy future and further enhance its share in energy total production.

The EU assists innovative technology research and development process by allocating many resources to renewable energy projects funding. Figure 1.4 summarizes the organization of the RES financing programmes within the EU (ECOFYS project, 2011) for a total funding amount devoted to energy projects equal to about €4 bn for the next two years.

Figure 1.4 Financial organization of renewable energy in Europe

Thanks to EU support and to the expertise and creativity of worldwide scientific community, the next issues of renewable energy sector can be suitably overcome, allowing the implementation of a 100% clean energy system and achieving the objective of total decarbonation of economies and industries.