Cleaner energy for cleaner production: modelling, simulation, optimisation and waste management

Abstract Energy supply and its efficient use in production are key to ensuring the healthy functioning of the world economies. Based on that, to ensure sustainability, the supply and use of energy have to apply the principle of minimising negative environmental impacts and even improving the environment through net-regenerative development. In this context, ensuring cleaner energy is the cornerstone for cleaner production, especially for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, which are directly related to the types and loads of the energy sources used. This introductory article presents a review of the main lessons recently learned in the area of more efficient energy use, cleaner fuels and biofuels, cleaner production, CO 2 capture, optimisation and waste management. This article provides the readers with ideas and technologies that can be incorporated into real world solutions and can serve as the foundations for future research. With firm realisation of the importance of these issues, the 17th conference “Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction – PRES” was held in Prague, Czech Republic, to provide a platform for discussing ideas and devising solutions for cleaner energy supplies that are used more effectively and efficiently. This was followed by comprehensive research that resulted in several high quality scientific contributions published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The wide topical coverage and the high quality provided excellent directions for future collaborative research of the PRES family – including process level emission minimisation, self-sufficient regions, and industrial symbiosis for optimizing usage of waste heat and waste material flows.