This book presents a holistic view on localized energy transition while addressing current challenges associated with the production of biofuels, introducing new materials to produce solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and digital systems for sustainable energy monitoring on a small scale, carbon capture, and sequestration. Also, each chapter of the book addresses specific aspects of the renewable and sustainable energy space while focusing more on energy improvement and storage technologies that are practical focused. Features: Offers useful information on new forms of renewable energy generation with reference to Industry 4.0. Illustrates practical approaches to energy transition. Provides guidance on renewable energy sources and energy storage systems. Discusses the application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)-related approaches to emerging energy storage technologies. Includes studies that reveal approaches to realizing productivity, profitability, and increased return on investment (ROI). This book is aimed at graduate students and researchers in mechanical, chemical, and mechatronics engineering and renewable energy systems.

The objective of this textbook is to introduce students and professionals to fundamental principles and techniques and emerging technologies in energy informatics and the digitalization of power markets and systems. The book covers such areas as smart grids and artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT), with a focus on information and communication technologies (ICT) deployed to modernize the electric energy infrastructure. It also provides an overview of the smart grid and its main components: smart grid applications at transmission, distribution, and customer level, network requirements with communications technologies, and standards and protocols. In addition, the book addresses emerging technologies and trends in next-generation power systems, i.e., energy informatics, such as digital green shift, energy cyber-physical-social systems (E-CPSS), energy IoT, energy blockchain, and advanced optimization. Future aspects of digitalized power markets and systems will be discussed with real-world energy informatics projects. The book is designed to be a core text in upper-undergraduate and graduate courses such as Introduction to Smart Grids, Digitalization of Power Systems, and Advanced Power System Topics in Energy Informatics.

This book delves into diverse local food systems and critically assesses their ecological and societal benefits and trade-offs, their limits and opportunities for improving sustainability of food production, and framework conditions which either hinder or promote their development. More and more people with gradually meat heavier diets will demand growth in food production, whilst our increasingly industrialized and globalized agri-food system has already caused serious sustainability problems in the past. This calls for a change in the way we produce, distribute and consume food. A re-emerging debate on food security and food sovereignty seems to support this quest. But what are the promising alternatives to mainstream developments? Such a discussion regarding sustainability of local food systems requires a sound systemic understanding and thus invites a socio-metabolic reading of local cases by analyzing the nexus between material and energy flows as well as land and time use. This approach is needed to complement the so far mostly qualitatively-based local food studies. Applying socio-metabolic approaches to local food systems fosters a better understanding of promises and pitfalls for sustainable pathways in the future.

The economic future of Latin America and the Caribbean is intrinsically linked to climate change. In the context of a 21st century that will be marked by climate change and the global fight against it, the status quo is unlikely to help Latin American economies leap forward economically, which calls for a major rethinking of trade and investment strategies in the region. Across the region there is growing evidence of climate change - precipitation patterns are shifting, temperatures are rising, and some areas are experiencing changes in the frequency and severity of weather extremes such as floods and droughts. By 2050, it is estimated that climate change damage could cost USD 100 billion annually to the region. The impact of climate change, which will be more devastating in Latin America than in most parts of the world, also influences the region’s ability to trade and its long-term export prospects. A Latin American Green Deal, based on regional coordination to exploit existing synergies and economies of scale, could be the way forward.

The era of the fourth industrial revolution has fundamentally transformed the manufacturing landscape. Products are getting increasingly complex and customers expect a higher level of customization and quality. Manufacturing in the Era of 4th Industrial Revolution explores three technologies that are the building blocks of the next-generation advanced manufacturing.The first technology covered in Volume 1 is Additive Manufacturing (AM). AM has emerged as a very popular manufacturing process. The most common form of AM is referred to as 'three-dimensional (3D) printing'. Overall, the revolution of additive manufacturing has led to many opportunities in fabricating complex, customized, and novel products. As the number of printable materials increases and AM processes evolve, manufacturing capabilities for future engineering systems will expand rapidly, resulting in a completely new paradigm for solving a myriad of global problems.The second technology is industrial robots, which is covered in Volume 2 on Robotics. Traditionally, industrial robots have been used on mass production lines, where the same manufacturing operation is repeated many times. Recent advances in human-safe industrial robots present an opportunity for creating hybrid work cells, where humans and robots can collaborate in close physical proximities. This Cobots, or collaborative robots, has opened up to opportunity for humans and robots to work more closely together. Recent advances in artificial intelligence are striving to make industrial robots more agile, with the ability to adapt to changing environments and tasks. Additionally, recent advances in force and tactile sensing enable robots to be used in complex manufacturing tasks. These new capabilities are expanding the role of robotics in manufacturing operations and leading to significant growth in the industrial robotics area.The third technology covered in Volume 3 is augmented and virtual reality. Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies are being leveraged by the manufacturing community to improve operations in a wide variety of ways. Traditional applications have included operator training and design visualization, with more recent applications including interactive design and manufacturing planning, human and robot interactions, ergonomic analysis, information and knowledge capture, and manufacturing simulation. The advent of low-cost solutions in these areas is accepted to accelerate the rate of adoption of these technologies in the manufacturing and related sectors.Consisting of chapters by leading experts in the world, Manufacturing in the Era of 4th Industrial Revolution provides a reference set for supporting graduate programs in the advanced manufacturing area.

Two powerful forces measure their strength by acting upon globalization. One of them pushes globalization forward, while the other hinders its advance and promotes its decline.In which of those directions should Latin America move? Uncertainty hinders the region's strategic vision. If the future entails re-launching of globalization, it seems obvious that Latin America should follow along its lines. However, if globalization were to embark on a declining phase and an endangered future, the region would need to look at other options. Latin America, therefore, faces not only a dramatic uncertainty as a result of forces beyond its control, but also needs to anticipate unforeseen events to the best of its abilities, and react to or act upon them. Strategic reflection becomes imperative to manage both uncertainty and the possibility of rapid change.This exercise in strategic reflection implies an immersion in fraught international surroundings, analyzing the forces that push for and against globalization, trying to measure their respective strength, convergence capacity, and potential impact. At the same time, it requires looking into the flaws, weaknesses and contradictions of such forces. With these elements in hand, it will be easier to envisage where the trends are leading to, and by extension, where Latin America may end up standing and which goals it should follow.

This volume takes an ecofeminist perspective in analysing societal changes related to energy transition, with a focus on Upper Silesia in Europe, following the closure of coal-mining industries in the region. It provides both a macro and micro view of how energy transition in societies built around an energy industry can lead to major shifts in societal and familial dynamics, and how women locate themselves in this transition period affecting the economy as well as social and environmental structures and values. Densely populated Upper Silesia in southern Poland, with one of the longest histories of industrialization, extractivism and environmental degradation in Europe, can be considered as a microcosm of regions that have undergone such changes due to energy transition. The traces of telling socio-economic changes, as well as the tangle of modernity and conservatism, are both clearly visible in the local region and society. The book documents the Silesian changes and highlights the female perspective: their culture, identities, as well as empowerment and the agency. The paradigm of feminist and masculinity studies helps in presenting the complexity and the challenges of the just energy transition. This is a topical volume, given that many regions of the world are undergoing similar changes, and is an interesting read for decision-makers, policy experts, environmentalists, as well social scientists who study issues related to sustainability and environmental/societal challenges in energy transition. Chapter 1 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book examines East Asia's approach to 'Developmental Environmentalism'. Embracing this, East Asian governments are establishing their countries as leaders in green energy. This book conains analysis of national strategies policymakers using economic policy for their green ambitions. They conclude by examining these lessons for other countries.

3D Printing of Foods “p>Explore the fascinating realm of 3D food printing and its applications In 3D Printing of Foods, a team of distinguished researchers delivers a comprehensive and eye-opening exploration of the rapidly developing field of 3D food printing. In the book, the authors offer readers an examination of “food printability,” the foundation of 3D food printing. They discuss the enormous research gap in the subject that remains to be addressed and envisage a robust discipline in which food processing techniques, combined with 3D food printing, gives rise to a range of synergistic applications. In addition to treatments of safety challenges and research requirements, the book tackles food industry market trends and consumer preferences, as well as the globalization of printed foods and consumer perception of 3D printed foods. 3D Printing of Foods also explores the integration of electrohydrodynamic processes and encapsulation with 3D food printing. Readers will also find: Thorough introductions to 3D printing technology, 3D printing approaches, and food components and their printability In-depth examinations of the factors affecting the printability of foods, printability and techniques, and natively printable foods Practical discussions of pre-processing of non-printable foods and alternative ingredients used in food printing Comprehensive explorations of 4D printing technology and the applications of 3D food printing technology Perfect for 3D printing professionals and enthusiasts, as well as food scientists, 3D Printing of Foods is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in a one-stop resource addressing this cutting-edge technology with nearly limitless potential.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.