Book provides lessons learned and feasible technology solutions for sustainably producing biofuels on a global scale
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Dennis Stamires and Stephen Ritter in their collaborative work titled "Toward Success in Biomass Conversion to Affordable Clean Energy" (published by Archway Publishing), offer a comprehensive study that addresses environmental and natural resource management issues while also providing an outline with scientific and engineering details for how to solve the greatest technical challenge that the world is facing today: meeting growing energy demand with population growth.
The book builds on prior research and development to provide historical perspective and insights on government oversight of transportation fuels, development of refinery catalyst technology, and criteria for developing affordable, sustainable, and environmentally acceptable commercial-scale biomass-to-fuels technologies capable of replacing fossil-fuel derived products. Here, the authors use the startup bioenergy company, KiOR, as a case study. It was a company with a lot of promise, but after spending more than $1 billion it still failed, for a number of reasons. The authors share from inside experience managerial mistakes that impeded progress and led to the company's bankruptcy. Combining their decades of experience in petroleum refinery operations, environmental sustainability, and natural resource management, they also share feasible solutions to help prevent such managerial mistakes in future biomass-to-energy efforts. These solutions build upon using both new raw materials and waste materials including agricultural and forest residues, plastics, and glass to address not just biofuel and biobased chemical production but also the need for green hydrogen production and reducing emissions to help mitigate water, land, and air pollution; ozone layer depletion; and global warming with its corresponding catastrophic climate change events.
"By presenting this story in an engagingly written way, we want readers to understand that sustainable, low cost, large scale, and environmentally acceptable biofuels and biobased chemicals are possible with a zero or negative carbon footprint," the authors state. "Why is this important? We want to express a new awakening message about climate change to our fellow global citizens, encouraging all to join the fight to save our planet by reversing pollution of the air, water, and land using effective, environmentally clean energy by converting sustainable waste biomass to energy, in combination with other renewable sources including wind, solar, hydroelectric power, and sustainable hydrogen fuel."
"Toward Success in Biomass Conversion to Affordable Clean Energy" is geared toward science and engineering researchers as well as business leaders, investors, government officials, and the general global public. To get a copy, visit https://www.archwaypublishing.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/848103-toward-success-in-biomass-conversion-to-affordable-clean-energy.
"Toward Success in Biomass Conversion to Affordable Clean Energy: The Story of KiOR and the Merits and Perils of Developing Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Biofuels to Chase Down Global Warming and Limit Destructive Climate Change"
By Dennis N. Stamires & Stephen K. Ritter
Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 190 pages | ISBN 9781665743211
Softcover | 6 x 9in | 190 pages | ISBN 9781665743204
E-Book | 190 pages | ISBN 9781665743228
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Authors
Dennis N. Stamires (born in Greece, 1932) is an American scientist and expert in heterogeneous catalysis and solid-state physics who throughout his 60+ year career has collaborated with global leading scientists and engineers in developing catalysts for a range of applications with societal benefits. He received a B.Sc. in chemistry from the University of Leeds in 1953, an M.S. in physical chemistry at Canisius College in 1958, and a doctorate degree in chemical physics from Princeton University in 1962. Stamires began his career at Union Carbide's Linde Division and played a leading role in development of metal-ion-exchanged synthetic faujasite-type zeolites that are used for converting petroleum to transportation fuels and specialty chemicals. Subsequently, he worked at Filtrol/Kaiser Aluminum & Chemicals Corp, AkzoNobel, and Albemarle on further petroleum refining catalyst developments, including preparing low-sulfur fuels. Stamires was tapped to work at the Douglass Advanced Research Laboratory to study atmospheric ozone destruction, and elsewhere contributed to research to capture and recycle methane leaking from landfills. Stamires joined new start-up company BIOeCON in the Netherlands as a consultant with the purpose of developing catalytic cracking processes for converting waste biomass to transportation fuels, and moved to newly formed Houston-based KiOR in 2007, which used BIOeCON technology. His achievements are described in 630 patents and patent applications, 126 research publications, and 94 public scientific presentations.
Stephen K. Ritter (born in North Carolina, USA, in 1963) received a B.S. in industrial chemistry (1986), B.A. in technical writing and editing (1989), and M.S. in nuclear chemistry with a focus on radon assessment (1990), all from Western Carolina University. Following military service in the U.S. Marine Corps, he received a Ph.D. degree in inorganic chemistry at Wake Forest University in 1993 and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Idaho, applying main-group fluorine chemistry to the development of new inorganic and organometallic polymeric materials. Ritter started his independent career at the American Chemical Society in 1994 as an assistant editor at Chemical & Engineering News. Over the years, his roles evolved as an expert on topics of inorganic chemistry, energy, and environmental science, with broad coverage of green chemistry, biomass conversion, natural resource management, and sustainability science, rising to become senior editor with more than 1,400 published articles to his credit. In January 2018, he joined ACS Global Journals Development as Managing Editor for core inorganic and organic journals.
Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.
Media Contact
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SOURCE ArchwayPublishing
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