07 Alternative energy sources (others, including development, economics)

95lO3820 Batteries Warmer Bulletin, May 1995, (4.5), p. 23.

Discusses the disposal of batteries by domestic users in the USA, Ger- many, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland.

95103829 The big switch: Clean energy for the twenty-first century Gilchrist, G. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, Australia, SA16.95, 300 pp. The book discusses barriers to efficient energy use and renewable energy.

9sio3830 CO, reduction potential through non-conventional energy sources in India Gupta, N. C. et al., Energy, Jun. 1995, 20, (6), 549-553. India will require increasingly higher energy inputs for future industrial and economic development. Overall growth of energy consumption will result in substantially higher emissions of CO,. The authors present emis- sion rates of CO, based on India’s actual fuel consumption. It is estimated that use of non-conventional energ sources could reduce India’s ener y- related CO, emissions by 11.8% be ow 1988-1989 levels by the year 20 r % S- 2006.

95/03831 Commerciallsation of renewable energy technolo- gies and opportunities available In the Indian market Bakshi, P. R. Proc. Solar ‘94, AlvZSES Administrator, PO Box 124, Caulfield East, VIC.3145, Australia.

95103832 Commonwealth renewable energy initiatives Fisher, W. L. Proc. Solar ‘94, ANZSES Administrator, PO Box 124, Caulfield East, Vlc.3145, Australia. The paper reports that the Commonwealth Government is keen to see the further development and use of renewable energy technologies in Australia.

95103033 Decentralized energy supply In Installation for

R ower-heat coupling as well as use of special gases, especially ydrogen

Aly, H. and Kainer, H. Schriftenr. GDMB, 1994, 12, 231-264. (In German) Describes the use of locally available unconventional fuel gases (e.g. coke- oven gas, mine seepages, and especially H2) in powering of decentralized heat- and power-generatIon units. The units were incorporated into a gas and steam power generator and as a 4-cycle diesel engine with H, fuel gas, especially for use in iron and steel production.

95103034 Development of highly efficient co-pyrolysis of coal, biomass, and waste plastics Miura, K. et al., Kagaku Kogaku Ronbunshu, 1994, 20, (6), 918-925. (In Japanese) Co-pyrolysis of coal, biomass, and waste plastics was examined as a means to increase the total conversion and the liquid yield compared with separate pyrolysis of each substrate. First, co-pyrolysis of a coal or a cellulose product, simply mixed with waste plastics, a polyethylene-deriyed wax, Orinoco tar, or a coal liquefaction residue was performed using a Curie- point pyrolyzer. Only the combination of the cellulose material and the polyethylene-derived wax resulted in increased total conversion and liquids yield. This clarified that intimate contact at molecular level and matching of the pyrolysis rates between both substrates were essential for the co- pyrolysis to be effective.

:::::835 Devolatilization and pyrolysis of refuse derived

: Characterization and kinetic modelling by a thermogravlmetric and calorimetric approach Cozzani, V. et al., Fuel, Jun. 1995, 74, (6), 903-912. A characterization of pyrolysis behaviour of different refuse derived fuels (RDFs) under heating rates typical of conventional pyrolysis processes is presented. The results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differen- tial scanning calorimetry (d.s.c.) on different RDFs, and on some materials which have been considered ‘key components’ towards thermal degrada- tion characteristics of RDFs, are reported. The RDF weight loss curve presents two distinct weight loss atiributable, respectively, to cellulosic materials and plastic degradation. Samples from different plants and differ- ent municipal solid waste (MSW) feedstocks show the same qualitative behaviour.

95103836 Ecological1 and economically sustainable energy - An energy policy for 4 outh Australia Matthews, D. Proc. Solar ‘94, ANZSES Administrator, PO Box 124, Caulfield East,‘VIC.3145, Australia. Discusses the develooment bv the South Australian branch of ANZSES of a policy document oh renewable energy. This document was written over a period of 18 months and was launched in April 1994. The document pres- kntly consists of 7 sections and has been written in such a way that it may be periodically reviewed. The document has already acted as a catalyst for influencing policy makers and for clarifying ideas on renewable energy policy.

95103037 The economics of energy in agriculture Copalakrishnan, C. Avebury, Ashgate Publishing, Gower House, Crofr Road, Aldershot, GUll 3HR, UK, f32.50, 118 pp.

95103838 Economics of shaft power applications in rural areas of Nepal Rijal, K. et al., Int. J. Energy Rex, Jun. 1995, 19, (4), 289-308. The authors examine the economic and financial viability of low capacity (5-20 hp) shaft power application technologies utilizing various energy sources in three villages of Nepal, each from a different physiographic zone. In general, the economic and financial supply price of shaft power is sensitive to changes in variables such as capital cost, annual operating hours, diesel price, labour cost and discount rate. However, the degree of sensitvity of each variable to the supply price of shaft power delivered from different technologies varies sigmficantly, thereby changing the rela- tive attractiveness of technologies on the assumed conditions. Site specific analysis of each technology is therefore imperative for rural energy planning.

95/03839 The effect of Joule losses on the total efficiency of a thermoelectric power cycle Sisman, A. and Yavuz, H. Energy, Jun. 1995, 20, (6), 573-576. A thermoelectric power cycle (TPC) has the capability of converting a part of the Joule losses to utilizable electrical energy. The effect of this capabil- ity on the total efficiency of a TPC is examined by comparing it with conventional d.c. power cycle (DCPC). For reversible heat exchange and zero heat leakage. the total efficiencv of the TPC is alwavs nreater than that of the D&. With heat leakag;, there remains a po&eFinterval in which this same ordering holds when suitable materials are used. Efficien- cies are also compared for the maximum electrical power output.

95103040 Embodied energy - Is it worth worrying about? Bennetts, J. et al., Solar Progress, Autumn 1995, 16, (l), 20-21. The article is reprinted from ‘ASMG News’ with the permission of the Australian Sustainable Materials Group, sets out the current knowledge for Australia. The data available is still imprecise but the process of resolving apparent ‘conflicts’ is well underway.

95/03941 Energy for a sustainable world Lowe, I. Proc. Solar ‘94, ANZSES Administrator, PO Box 124, Caulfield East, VIC.3145, Australia: The author discusses the range of renewable electricity supply technologies which are now available and economically competitive with the established technologies of fossil-fuel thermal generation or nuclear power, especially when the opportunity cost of capital is considered.

;z;yit42 Fermentative production of 2,3-butanediol: A

Garg, S. K. and Jain, A. Bioresource Technol., 1995, 51, (2), 103-109. In the year 1906, Harden and Walpole investigated the microbial produc- tion of 2,3-butanediol. The commercial application of diol is not limited to the manufacture of butadiene or antifreeze. 2.3-Butanediol is a ootentiallv valuable fuel additive with a heating value oi~27198 Jg.’ which’comparei favourably with other liquid fuels such as methanol and ethanol. Further butanediol has a high octane number and can therefore be used as an octane booster for gasoline or as high-grade aviation fuel. The production of butanediol from lignocellulosic wastes has recently been considered as an alternative approach in the converison of biomass substrates to liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks. The present review provides updated infor- mation on the production of 2,3-butanediol through microbial fermentation processes.

95103843 Forestry policy and woodfuel markets In Malawl Dewees, P. A. Natural Resources Forum, May 1995, 19, (2), 143-152. Forestry and energy policies in Malawi place the blame for the country’s high rate of deforestation on the demand for woodfuel. The government has been involved in a range of questionable supply-side initiatives, as well as a number of interventions in woodfuel markets, with the objective of slowing rates of deforestation. It seeks to encourage farmers to grow wood- fuel to meet market demands, and provided subsidies to do so. The Forest Department has kept prices for firewood from its plantations low, both in order to discourage the market for wood from free resources and because of concerns about the impact of high producer prices on the urban poor. In doing so, the doing so, the government is less able to rely on the market to provide producers with the incentive to plant trees to meet market demands.

95fo3844 Government, market Incentives could spur use of alternatively fueled cars and trucks Glasser, S. Energy in the News, Winter 1994, 20-22. Discusses alternative fuels for cars, trucks, and buses in the USA.

95/03845 Industrial metabolism: Restructuring for sustaina- ble development Ayres, R. U. and Simonis, U. E. (eds.) United Nations University Press, Tokyo, 199?, 376 pp. The book discusses environmental policy.

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