Tighter control of pollutant emissions in energy generation from coal combustion is essential for the maintenance of coal as a member of the energy panel in coming years. Coal-fired power plants are the primary source of mercury emission in Europe and the second in the world. This study focuses on the development of regenerable sorbents to mercury capture avoiding the generation of new toxic wastes. The sorbents based on carbon foams impregnated with gold have been optimized to achieve the maximum mercury retention efficiency using the minimum amount of gold. Moreover, the sorbent has been designed to facilitate the recovery of the gold once the sorbent has been exhausted. Although this technology requires a higher initial investment than other alternatives, such as the injection of activated carbons, the apparent high cost of the sorbent is offset by the possibility of using the same material over several cycles. A mercury retention mechanism is proposed based on mercury amalgamation and mercury oxidation/adsorption through the double function of gold and support. The results confirm that the reactions between the mercury and gold depend on the size of the gold nanoparticles and the presence of oxygenated groups on the surface of the carbon support.

Gaseous phase mercury emissions into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion processes for energy production are a matter of serious environmental concern. Several technologies have been studied and proposed to address this problem, but none of them is mature enough from a commercial point of view. This study aims to provide new insights into the interaction between mercury and iron oxides in order to enable the design of cost-effective mercury capture technology based on regenerable sorbents. Different iron oxides supported on an activated carbon were prepared and tested for the removal of elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) under different experimental conditions. It was found that 1) maghemite promoted the removal of mercury to a greater extent than goetite/hematite achieving 100% efficiencies and 2) the mercurysorbent interaction is determined by the oxygen vacancies present in the iron oxide. The mercury retention efficiency is maintained after the sorbent is regenerated and it is not deactivated by the presence of acid gases. The results obtained with the sorbent loaded with maghemite open new perspectives for the retention of gaseous Hg 0 , combining high efficiency, good regenerability and lower price in comparison with sorbents developed to date. Once the regeneration capacity is assessed, the adsorption process will be scaled.

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The aim of SEEP2017 is to bring together the researches within the field of sustainable energy and environmental protection from all over the world.The contributed papers are grouped in 18 sessions in order to provide access to readers out of 300 contributions prepared by authors from 52 countries.We thank the distinguished plenary and keynote speakers and chairs who have kindly consented to participate at this conference. We are also grateful to all the authors for their papers and to all committee members.We believe that scientific results and professional debates shall not only be an incentive for development, but also for making new friendships and possible future scientific development projects. The footprint assessment techniques has provided a set of tools enabling the evaluation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) -including CO2, emissions and the corresponding effective flows on the world scale. From all such indicators, the energy footprint represents the area of forest that would be required to absorb the GHG emissions resulting from the energy consumption required for a certain activity, excluding the proportion absorbed by the oceans, and the area occupied by hydroelectric dams and reservoirs for hydropower.An overview of the virtual GHG flow trends in the international trade, associating the GHG and water footprints with the consumption of goods and services is performed. Several important indications have been obtained: (a) There are significant GHG gaps between producer's and consumer's emissions -US and EU have high absolute net imports GHG budget. (b) China is an exporting country and increasingly carries a load of GHG emission and virtual water export associated with consumption in the relevant importing countries. (c) International trade can reduce global environmental pressure by redirecting import to products produced with lower intensity of GHG emissions and lower water footprints, or producing them domestically.To develop self-sufficient regions based on more efficient processes by combining neighbouring countries can be a promising development. A future direction should be focused on two main areas: (1) To provide the self-sufficient regions based on more efficient processes by combining production of surrounding countries. (2) To develop the shared mechanism and market share of virtual carbon between trading partners regionally and internationally. HAKAN SERHAD SOYHAN 4 Development in energy sector, technological advancements, production and consumption amounts in the countries and environmental awareness give shape to industry of energy. When the dependency is taken into account in terms of natural resources and energy, there are many risks for countries having no fossil energy sources. Renewable and clean sources of energy and optimal use of these resources minimize environmental impacts, produce minimum secondary wastes and are sustainable based on current and future economic and social societal needs. Sun is one of the main energy sources in recent years. Light and heat of sun are used in...

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