The Age of Empire was driven by coal, and the Middle East—as an idea—was made by coal. Coal’s imperial infrastructure presaged the geopolitics of oil that wreaks carnage today, as carbonization threatens our very climate. Powering Empire argues that we cannot promote worldwide decarbonization without first understanding the history of the globalization of carbon energy. How did this black rock come to have such long-lasting power over the world economy? Focusing on the flow of British carbon energy to the Middle East, On Barak excavates the historic nexus between coal and empire to reveal the political and military motives behind what is conventionally seen as a technological innovation. He provocatively recounts the carbon-intensive entanglements of Western and non-Western powers and reveals unfamiliar resources—such as Islamic risk-aversion and Gandhian vegetarianism—for a climate justice that relies on more diverse and ethical solutions worldwide.

The demand for secure, affordable and clean energy is a priority call to humanity. Challenges associated with conventional energy resources, such as depletion of fossil fuels, high costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions, have stimulated interests in renewable energy resources. For instance, there have been clear gaps and rushed thoughts about replacing fossil-fuel driven engines with electric vehicles without long-term plans for energy security and recycling approaches. This book aims to provide a clear vision to scientists, industrialists and policy makers on renewable energy resources, predicted challenges and emerging applications. It can be used to help produce new technologies for sustainable, connected and harvested energy. A clear response to economic growth and clean environment demands is also illustrated.

Introduction to Carbon Science deals with various aspects of carbon science, from polymer science and prosthetics to crystallography, carbonization, spectroscopy, and surface science. Topics covered include the mechanisms of formation of isotropic and anisotropic carbons, physical properties of pitch relevant to the fabrication of carbon materials; kinetics and catalysis of carbon gasification; and porosity in carbons and graphites. Carbon fibers, cokes and composites, and coal to coke transformations are also discussed. This book is comprised of nine chapters and begins with an overview of the basic structural features of carbon materials, along with definitions of the various carbon forms encountered in carbon science. The principal techniques for studying the structure of solid carbons are also considered. The reader is then introduced to the mechanisms underlying the formation of isotropic and anisotropic carbons; the physicochemical changes that take place when pitch is pyrolyzed to carbon; and kinetics and catalysis of carbon gasification reactions. The following chapters explore various types of porosity in carbons and graphites; manufacture, properties, structure, and applications of carbon fibers; and mechanical properties of cokes and composites. This text concludes by describing the conversion of coal to coke. This monograph will be of interest to carbon scientists, technologists, and engineers, as well as those entering the field of carbon science for the first time.

Carbon materials are exceptionally diverse in their preparation, structure, texture, and applications. In Advanced Materials Science and Engineering of Carbon, noted carbon scientist Michio Inagaki and his coauthors cover the most recent advances in carbon materials, including new techniques and processes, carbon materials synthesis, and up-to-date descriptions of current carbon-based materials, trends and applications. Beginning with the synthesis and preparation of nanocarbons, carbon nanotubes, and graphenes, the book then reviews recently developed carbonization techniques, such as templating, electrospinning, foaming, stress graphitization, and the formation of glass-like carbon. The last third of the book is devoted to applications, featuring coverage of carbon materials for energy storage, electrochemical capacitors, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, and adsorptive storage of hydrogen and methane for environmental protection, photocatalysis, spilled oil recovery, and nuclear applications of isotropic high-density graphite.