Bioenergy for Power Generation, Transportation and Climate Change Mitigation

Understanding bioenergy and climate change mitigation requires knowledge of several disciplines, from thermodynamics in the study of power generation to biochemistry and policy in the case of biofuels and energy trade. This book is a reference text for graduate researchers, academics and climate change scientists who must be informed of developments in the use of bioenergy for power generation and transportation. Due to the essential role of renewable energy in climate change mitigation, this book is also of interest to energy practitioners and decision-makers in the energy industry and government sector.

The approach adopted within this book is both didactic and informative in nature. The book introduces each theme with first principles and finishes by reviewing new and cutting-edge developments in the field. The first three parts provide the scientific and technical background for the production and use of bioenergy. They consider the chemistry, biochemistry and physics of the production and use of solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels. The fourth part focuses on the human dimensions of global energy use. It describes the political forces that drive and deter renewable energy production on the global scale, and demonstrates how global politics and economics combine with climate change policy to produce the revolutionary change in energy use known as the energy transition. The global challenges confronting the world are discussed, and suggestions are made for a new approach to their solution that is based on an integrated development framework.