Alternative Fuels in Future Energy System

Dear Colleagues,

Progressive climate changes caused, among others, by emissions of carbon dioxide and by the drastically decreasing resources of fossil fuels make it necessary to look for other, renewable energy sources, including alternative fuels and environmentally friendly methods of their use. Technologies for the production of advanced alternative fuels are at research stages with various levels of their development and haven’t found widespread industrial use yet. Therefore, it is important to conduct research and publish their results in terms of the possibility of waste-free use of waste materials, including industrial ones (in BtL and WtL processes). In terms of searching for universal energy carriers, there are two views. One of which concerns the recognition of hydrogen as such a carrier, and the other – the treatment of synthesis gas as such a carrier. For this reason, it is important to research on the development of technologies for obtaining hydrogen from various sources with the limitation of energy-consuming water electrolysis processes as well as limiting the use of water as a scarce resource. In the field of synthesis gas production, it is necessary to work on the development of new, low-energy and catalysed gasification processes of various waste substances, as well as work on methods for further processing of synthesis gas to alternative fuel components, biofuels, including fermentation processes of this gas. The use of alternative fuels in prospective energy systems has direct mean in transport sector and indirect mean in case of industrial processes, also for the production of heat and cold. In each of these prospective applications, it is necessary to consider the environmental added value resulting from the LCA analysis and to demonstrate the positive values ​​of the EROEI indicator ("energy returned on energy invested"). The vision of the development of alternative fuels and their use in prospective energy systems should take into account the combined environmental, technical and technological, economic and social conditions.

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Biernat
Guest Editor

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