Global energy consumption in the last half century has increased very rapidly and is expected to continue to grow over the next 50 years. However, we expect to see significant differences between the last 50 years and the next. The past increase was stimulated by relatively “cheap” fossil fuels and increased rates of industrialization in North America, Europe, and Japan; yet while energy consumption in these countries continues to increase, additional factors are making the picture for the next 50 years more complex. These additional complicating factors include the very rapid increase fuel economy in energy use in China and India (countries representing about a third of the world’s population); the expected depletion of oil resources in the not-too-distant future; and the effect of human activities on global climate change. (more…)
The relationship of gross national product per capita to energy consumption per capita for most countries of the world correlat ...
The long-term prospects for the U.K. economy are inevitably uncertain, and the most recent Department of Energy long-term proje ...
Transportation is another sector that has increased its relative share of primary energy use. This sector has serious concerns ...
The development of the ‘‘new’’ wind and solar technologies is of great importance for the future contribution of RESs to energy sup ...
To determine the effects of past climate trends on global energy consumption, the econometric equations providing the degree day el ...
Reductions in carbon intensity, C/E, the carbon emitted per unit of energy generated, reflect the degree to which societies decarbonize their energy sources. The long-term trend has been a shift from coal to oil to natural gas––hydrocarbons with decreasing C/H ratios emitting progressively less CO2 per joule. However, the increasing use of clean low-carbon fuels is not sustainable without somehow disposing of excess carbon because it opposes the trend in the abundance of fossil fuels, with coal resources being the most abundant followed by oil and gas. (more…)
The global cycling of carbon involves both biological and physical processes. Only the biological components are discussed here. Pl ...
The flux of carbon among terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric pools is at least partially controlled by photosynthetic process ...
It is of interest to examine potential sources of greenhouse gases sources or atmospheric CO2 by analysis of the global distrib ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
The global carbon cycle involves both biological and physical processes. Only the biological components are discussed here. Pla ...
Approximately 40% of Earth’s population is ‘‘off the grid,’’ mainly in developing countries. Wireless power transmission envisioned by Nikola Tesla a century ago is feasible today. Microwave beams can propagate power efficiently along lines-of-sight over long distances. Orbiting microwave reflectors could form the basis of a global electric grid.
An advanced technology path to electrification is the solar power satellite (SPS) proposed by Peter Glaser. Solar flux is about 10 times higher in space outside Earth’s shadow cone than the long- term average at the surface of spinning, cloudy Earth, and power from space can be beamed by microwave efficiently through cloudy skies to the surface where it is needed. (more…)
Advanced technology global electrical grids may be more promising for renewables energy. With current transmission lines, even if c ...
So you're finally tired of those exorbitant electricity bills, or, you're catching onto a "greener" way of life. Either way, solar ...
In today's tough economic times and with the increasing prices of gas and oil, finding alternative sources of energy should be ...
So-called thin-film photovoltaic devices are usually based on mixtures of elements other than silicon — most notably copper ind ...
The Home Solar Power System made its debut about two decades ago and has since flourished with the many advertisements touting ...
Gasification is a thermo chemical process that has been exploited for more than a century for converting solid feedstocks to gaseous energy carriers. The first gasifier patent was issued in England at the end of the 18th century and producer gas from coal gasification was mainly used as lighting fuel throughout the 19th century. At the turn of the 20th century, the main use of producer gas, obtained essentially from coal, switched to electricity generation and automotive applications via internal combustion engines. The use of producer gas was gradually supplanted by the use of higher energy density liquid fuels and as a result confined to areas with expensive or unreliable supplies of petroleum fuels. (more…)
The product gas can be burned in boilers to generate heat and raise steam, in internal combustion engines to generate electricity a ...
Thermo chemical processing of biomass yields gaseous, liquid, and solid products and offers a means of producing useful gaseous ...
Biomass Storage Biomass storage is required to ensure the continuous operation of the facility. To limit the space required for ...
Estimation of the future technical potential of biomass as an energy source is dependent on assumptions with respect to land av ...
The moisture content of the feedstock affects the gas composition and the energy balance of the process since gasification is an en ...
At present, in the United States and worldwide, motor vehicles are fueled almost exclusively by petroleum based gasoline (or reformulated gasoline) and diesel fuels. Since the first oil price shock in 1973, efforts have been made to seek alternative fuels to displace gasoline and diesel fuels and achieve energy and environmental benefits. Some of the alternative fuels that have been researched and used are liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol (MeOH), dimethyl ether (DME), Fischer– Tropsch diesel (FTD), hydrogen (H 2 ), ethanol (EtOH), biodiesel, and electricity. Production processes associated with gasoline, diesel, and each of these alternative fuels differ. (more…)
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential ...
Gasoline is used mainly by cars, motorcycles, and light trucks; diesel is used mainly by heavier trucks, buses, and trains. Togethe ...
The energy efficiencies of various fuel production pathways from well to pump. The efficiencies shown are defined as the energy ...
The United States depends heavily on imported oil to fuel its transportation infrastructure. The use of alternative fuel derive ...
Most alternative fuel vehicles on the road today were originally designed for gasoline, but converted for use with an alternative f ...
Fuel cells are typically classified according to type of electrolyte. While many varieties of fuel cells have been demonstrated in the laboratory, five major types are seeing development for commercial applications:
* Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) cells use a plastic (polymer) membrane that becomes electrically conducting when hydrated (saturated with water); they operate near 1001C.
* Alkaline fuel cells use a caustic electrolyte such as potassium hydroxide (KOH); they also operate near 1001C. (more…)
Transport applications tend to demand rapid start-up and instant dynamic response from fuel cell systems, so a high-temperature ...
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells have high-power density, rapid startup, and low-temperature operation (around 80 to 120 C), and ...
Alkaline fuel cell, often known as the Bacon fuel cell following the British inventor’ name. It has become the most created fue ...
The fuel cell can trace its roots back to the 1800s when a Welsh-born, Oxford-educated barrister, Sir William Robert Grove, realize ...
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity, heat and water to produce. ...
The energy that people use every day comes from many different sources. The resources are divided into two main groups: renewable energy and nonrenewable energy. Renewable energy sources are those that can be used again and again. Renewable energy resources have unlimited supply. (more…)
In Europe, modern renewable energy sources technologies were explored thoroughly for the first time after the oil embargo/ price cr ...
During the US Presidential Election 2008 Campaign, the renewable portfolio standard was one of the main agendas for Presidentia ...
The broad range of home solar energy systems are mostly known as Photovoltaic Systems (PV) or Thin Film Solar Technology. The s ...
The hydrogen can come from various sources including fossil fuels, wind, solar, biomass, nuclear, solar thermo-chemical reactio ...
Renewable energy sources cannot run out and causes so little damage to the environment that its use does not need to be restric ...
Nuclear energy has some distinct advantages in strengthening the external dimension of energy supply security. These include:
• Nuclear power plants produce electricity domestically. Their capital and labor inputs are also provided domestically. With more than 90% of its inputs in terms of value sourced domestically, it can be considered a largely domestic source of energy and electricity.
• Of course, a majority of OECD countries import part or all of their requirements of uranium plutonium. (more…)
Nuclear fission and fusion Research and Development continues to account for nearly half of the total spending by IEA countries, al ...
The continuous availability and affordability of energy and, in particular, electricity supply is an indispensable condition fo ...
Geopolitical risk refers almost always to primary energy carriers (oil, gas, coal, uranium or renewable energy) since their loc ...
Within the coming years, fossil fuel will be failed back its main role as the ultimate main energy sources. Fossil fuels has kn ...
Following the recent completion of three nuclear power plants, there is now some 9.6 GW of nuclear capacity in the United Kingd ...
Do we have the resources? Rudolf Diesel developed the diesel engine which ran on biodiesel vegetable oil in the late 1800s. At the time, he speculated that his discovery seemed insignificant, but later could prove to be as important as mankind’s uncovering of future energy uses for petroleum and coal tar. Given the U.S.’ rapid expansion into biofuels, it would appear his vision was correct due to the drawbacks of biofuels. But widespread adoption of biomass-based fuels is not a foregone conclusion. Two questions haunt its progress. First, will it truly reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels? And second, is there enough farmland to accommodate widespread production, without jeopardizing food supplies? (more…)
Biofuels are made from living matter, plant or animal, and are strongly favored by agricultural interests because of the large ...
We had expressed our disagreement with Biofuels and tell them also that the European Union also wants to distance themselves from t ...
At present, in the United States and worldwide, motor vehicles are fueled almost exclusively by petroleum based gasoline (or re ...
One of the main benefits from future use of biofuels would be the reduction of greenhouse gases compared to the use of fossil f ...
Transportation is another sector that has increased its relative share of primary energy use. This sector has serious concerns ...
The gradual change in the energy consumption pattern of the United States from 1860 to 1990. In the mid-1800s, biomass, principally woody biomass, supplied over 90% of U.S. energy and fuel needs, after which energy biomass consumption began to decrease as fossil fuels became the preferred energy resources. For many years, a safe illuminant had been sought as a less expensive substitute for whale oils. (more…)
The relationship of gross national product per capita to energy consumption per capita for most countries of the world correlat ...
The most widespread and practical process for capture solar radiation as organic fuels is the growth of virgin biomass. Extreme ...
The hydrogen can come from various sources including fossil fuels, wind, solar, biomass, nuclear, solar thermo-chemical reactio ...
Power consumption from electricity is an essential element of the U.S. economy since the beginning of the century. Coal power plant ...
Natural gas and oil are common source energy used to give electricity. How efficient is coal if we compare to these other source of ...