Sustainable Development in Chemical Engineering: Innovative Technologies

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. 

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors xiii Preface xv 1. Sustainable Development Strategies: An Overview 1 Vincenzo Piemonte, Marcello De Falco, and Angelo Basile 1.1 Renewable Energies: State of the Art and Diffusion 1 1.2 Process Intensification 4 1.3 Concept and Potentialities of Bio-based Platforms for Biomolecule Production 8 1.4 Soil and Water Remediation 13 Acknowledgement 18 References 18 2. Innovative Solar Technology: CSP Plants for Combined Production of Hydrogen and Electricity 25 Marcello De Falco 2.1 Principles 25 2.2 Plant Configurations 28 2.3 Mathematical Models 33 2.4 Plant Simulations 39 2.5 Conclusions 46 Nomenclature 47 References 48 3. Strategies for Increasing Electrical Energy Production from Intermittent Renewables 51 Alessandro Franco 3.1 Introduction 51 3.2 Penetration of Renewable Energies into the Electricity Market and Issues Related to Their Development: Some Interesting Cases 55 3.3 An Approach to Expansion of RES and Efficiency Policy in an Integrated Energy System 57 3.4 Analysis of Possible Interesting Scenarios for Increasing Penetration of RES 62 3.5 Analysis of a Meaningful Case Study: The Italian Scenario 66 3.6 Analysis and Discussion 74 3.7 Conclusions 75 Nomenclature and Abbreviations 76 References 77 4. The Smart Grid as a Response to Spread the Concept of Distributed Generation 81 Yi Ding, Jacob Østergaard, Salvador Pineda Morente, and Qiuwei Wu 4.1 Introduction 81 4.2 Present Electric Power Generation Systems 82 4.3 A Future Electrical Power Generation System with a High Penetration of Distributed Generation and Renewable Energy Resources 83 4.4 Integration of DGs into Smart Grids for Balancing Power 86 4.5 The Bornholm System – A “Fast Track” for Smart Grids 91 4.6 Conclusions 92 References 93 5. Process Intensification in the Chemical Industry: A Review 95 Stefano Curcio 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 Different Approaches to Process Intensification 96 5.3 Process Intensification as a Valuable Tool for the Chemical Industry 97 5.4 PI Exploitation in the Chemical Industry 100 5.5 Conclusions 113 References 113 6. Process Intensification in the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry 119 Angelo Basile, Adolfo Iulianelli, and Simona Liguori 6.1 Introduction 119 6.2 Process Intensification 120 6.3 The Membrane Role 122 6.4 Membrane Reactor 124 6.5 Applications of Membrane Reactors in the Petrochemical Industry 128 6.6 Process Intensification in Chemical Industry 139 6.7 Future Trends 141 6.8 Conclusion 142 Nomenclature 143 References 143 7. Production of Bio-Based Fuels: Bioethanol and Biodiesel 153 Sudip Chakraborty, Ranjana Das Mondal, Debolina Mukherjee, and Chiranjib Bhattacharjee 7.1 Introduction 153 7.2 Production of Bioethanol 155 7.3 Biodiesel and Renewable Diesels from Biomass 166 7.4 Perspective 172 List of Acronyms 172 References 173 8. Inside the Bioplastics World: An Alternative to Petroleum-based Plastics 181 Vincenzo Piemonte 8.1 Bioplastic Concept 181 8.2 Bioplastic Production Processes 183 8.3 Bioplastic Environmental Impact: Strengths and Weaknesses 186 8.4 Conclusions 195 Acknowledgements 196 References 196 9. Biosurfactants 199 Maria Giovanna Martinotti, Gianna Allegrone, Massimo Cavallo, and Letizia Fracchia 9.1 Introduction 199 9.2 State of the Art 200 9.3 Production Technologies 205 9.4 Recovery of Biosurfactants 212 9.5 Application Fields 213 9.6 Future Prospects 225 References 225 10. Bioremediation of Water: A Sustainable Approach 241 Sudip Chakraborty, Jaya Sikder, Debolina Mukherjee, Mrinal Kanti Mandal, and D. Lawrence Arockiasamy 10.1 Introduction 241 10.2 State-of-the-Art: Recent Development 242 10.3 Water Management 247 10.4 Overview of Bioremediation in Wastewater Treatment and Ground Water Contamination 250 10.5 Membrane Separation in Bioremediation 252 10.6 Case Studies 256 10.7 Conclusions 260 List of Acronyms 261 References 262 11. Effective Remediation of Contaminated Soils by Eco-Compatible Physical, Biological, and Chemical Practices 267 Filomena Sannino and Alessandro Piccolo 11.1 Introduction 267 11.2 Biological Methods (Microorganisms, Plants, Compost, and Biochar) 269 11.3 Physicochemical Methods 277 11.4 Chemical Methods 280 11.5 Conclusions 286 List of Symbols and Acronyms 288 Acknowledgments 289 References 289 12. Nanoparticles as a Smart Technology for Remediation 297 Giuseppe Chidichimo, Daniela Cupelli, Giovanni De Filpo, Patrizia Formoso, and Fiore Pasquale Nicoletta 12.1 Introduction 297 12.2 Silica Nanoparticles for Wastewater Treatment 298 12.3 Magnetic Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications 305 12.4 Titania Nanoparticles in Environmental Photo-Catalysis 317 12.5 Future Prospects: Is Nano Really Good for the Environment? 326 12.6 Conclusions 328 List of Abbreviations 328 References 329 Index 349

About the Author :
Vincenzo Piemonte, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy Marcello De Falco, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Italy Angelo Basile ITM-CNR, Rende (CS), Italy