Besides their effect on climate change regarding GHG emissions, the limited availability of fossil fuels motivates research and developmental efforts in the alternative energy sector. Replacement of conventional fuels in the transport sector is a major challenge, as any alternative fuel should provide comparable energy density. Drop-in-fuels like renewable diesel (also known as green diesel/hydrotreated vegetable oil) are particularly suited for the purpose as they offer significant advantages over other alternative fuels, which necessitate modification of existing fleet of internal combustion engines (especially if large-scale substitution is envisaged). This chapter reviews the energy crises, especially in the transport sector, and the impacts of conventional energy sources on climate change regarding GHG emissions. This chapter also deliberates on renewable diesel’s techno-economic, environmental and strategic advantages and global production capacity. The past few years have witnessed a global expansion of the renewable diesel industry. To overcome the challenges faced by conventional fossil fuels and to provide a clean and sustainable alternative, renewable diesel is an attractive option and has potential for the future market.

Development of reliable energy storage technologies is the key for the consistent energy supply based on alternate energy sources. Among energy storage systems, the electrochemical storage devices are the most robust. Consistent energy storage systems such as lithium ion (Li ion) based energy storage has become an ultimate system utilized for both domestic and industrial scales due to its advantages over the other energy storage systems. Considering the factors related to Li ion-based energy storage system, in the present review, we discuss various electrode fabrication techniques including electrodeposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), stereolithography, pressing, roll to roll, dip coating, doctor blade, drop casting, nanorod growing, brush coating, stamping, inkjet printing (IJP), fused deposition modelling (FDM) and direct ink writing (DIW). Additionally, we analyze the statistics of publications on these fabrication techniques and outline challenges and future prospects for the Li ion battery market.

We report the fabrication and characterization of solution-route CeO2 thin films with a tunable porosity and microstructure. Films were deposited by means of inkjet printing technique using 0.2 M, 0.4 M and 0.6 M concentration inks prepared from Ce(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O precursor. Printing was performed at two different temperatures of 60 degrees C and 300 degrees C to study the variation in structure. Printing parameters were adjusted for the consecutive deposition of layers, resulting in approximate to 140 nm and approximate to 185 nm thick single layers for 60 degrees C and 300 degrees C printing temperatures, respectively. We compared the microstructure of printed films for different concentrations, printing temperatures, solvents and substrates. The formation of the cubic fluorite structure of the printed films was confirmed via XRD characterization. We suggest this technique as an advanced method for high-quality film fabrication with a controlled microstructure and with a minimal waste of materials. Through adjusting printing parameters, both dense and porous films can be produced for use in different applications.

In the present study, experimental analyses were conducted by using biodiesel derived from second-generation feedstock. In terms of cost and accessibility, second-generation feedstock has gained more attention due to its environmental approach. Waste-cooking-oil-derived methyl ester was produced through a transesterification reaction in the presence of a synthesized magnesium zirconate (Mg2Zr5O12) heterogeneous catalyst. This trans-esterified waste cooking oil (WCO) was used as biodiesel and was blended with diesel in 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by volume ratio for further analysis. The fuel properties of pure and blended biodiesel were investigated in terms of flash point, density, kinematic viscosity, and lower heating value as per the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D-6751 standards. For each blended fuel, the engine performance and gaseous emissions trend with engine loads of 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 kg were measured on a Kirloskar TV1 IC engine. The results indicated that the 40% blended biodiesel has the maximum brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of 19.13% and exhaust gas temperature (EGT) of 6.98% increment, also showing an increase with respect to engine load. On the other hand, brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) was highest for 40% blending as 36.48% increase, and that decreases with the increase in engine loads. Significant reductions in carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions were observed for 40% blended fuel and were 34.78% and 38.1% reduction, respectively. CO and HC emissions decreased with respect to the engine load. Meanwhile, reverse trends for carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) have been observed as 14.57% and 27.85% increases for 100% biodiesel. CO2 and NOx increased with increase in engine load. The mass balance and environmental factor of crude and purified biodiesel were studied to show the environmental suitability of synthesized product. Overall, the results showed that the blended biodiesel can be used as a substitute and has an advantage over diesel fuel. The main contribution derived from this work is to improve engine performance and gaseous emission by using blended biodiesel derived from a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst and waste-cooking-oil feedstock.

Photocatalysts for water purification and energy production belong to the class of materials for which there is an urgent need for more environmentally friendly manufacturing. Here we report a high throughput method for inkjet printing of nanostructured photocatalytically active TiO2 films and a detailed analysis of their properties and photocatalytic performance. We show that the inkjet dispersion of TiO2 particles is highly reproducible which leads to a close to linear relation between the number of printed single layers and the thickness of the films. The films here obtained have uniform surfaces and the interfaces with the substrates are free from defects such as grain boundaries, ripples, or discontinuities. This contrasts with films obtained with the traditional doctor blade method. The inkjet printed films have higher photocatalytic performance than the doctor blade films which results in higher catalytic activity per mass of material used. Lifetime tests with wet and dry cycles show that the inkjet films subjected to 10 photocatalytic cycles of 100 minutes each have a loss of performance of only 7 %, while the films made via the doctor blade method have a performance loss of 66 %. These tests revealed additionally that the mechanical stability of the inkjet films is higher than that of the films manufactured via the traditional casting method. This set of results shows that inkjet printing can be an efficient method for the large-scale production of TiO2 photocatalysts. 

A heterogeneous catalyst, magnesium zirconate (Mg2Zr5O12) was synthesized by co-precipitation and was used for biodiesel production via transesterification. Kusum oil was used as a feedstock. Catalyst characterization was accomplished by TGA, XRD, ATR FTIR, SEM, and EDX. The parameters viz. particle size, zeta potential, BET surface area and basicity of the catalyst were also determined. Characterization of catalyst supports the formation of single phase Mg2Zr5O12 and the catalyst was able to catalyse the transesterification reaction for economically viable biodiesel production. Various reaction parameters such as molar ratio (methanol: oil), catalyst concentration and reaction time were optimized in presence of Mg2Zr5O12 by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design. The catalyst was reusable up to seven runs with ∼75% conversion in the seventh run. Maximum conversion of 97.98% FAME was obtained at 18:1 M ratio (methanol: oil), 2.5 wt% of catalyst at 65 °C temperature for 150 min. Physicochemical properties of FAME were also studied as per ASTM standard method.