Federal Excise Taxes to Motor Fuels: Gasoline, Diesel, Aviation Jet Fuel

Federal Excise Taxes
Federal Excise Taxes placed on specific energy sources tend to reduce energy demand for these energy sources in both the short and the long run. The federal government imposes excise taxes on almost all petroleum products (including petroleum additives) and coal (see Table 1). The federal government also imposes federal excise taxes on many transportation uses of methanol, ethanol, natural gas, and propane and imposes a fee on electricity produced from nuclear power plants and nuclear power electricity. (more…)

Coal Mining Environmental Problems: Acid Mine Drainage

Historically, mining companies have extracted the earth’s resources wherever economics made it feasible, secure in their knowledge that their products were essential to society. Prior to the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act in 1977, 1.1 million acres (445,000 ha) of coal-mined land in the United States was left un-reclaimed and over 10,500 miles (16,900 km) of streams and rivers were adversely affected in the Appalachian region alone. Coal mining operations today are designed to comply with environmental regulations and to minimize adverse environmental impacts; exceptions exist, however, and serve to inspire environmental activists and conservation groups to resist and reject mining wherever it is proposed. This societal tension serves as a backdrop to the dynamics of issuing or rejecting mining permit applications. (more…)

Biomass Gasification: Electricty Conversion from Feedstock

Biomass Gasification
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 Environmental Legacy Associated with Abandoned Mines and Orphaned Mines

Currently, site reclamation is planned for during the permitting process and is incorporated into the mining operation. However, this was not always the case. Many mine sites were legally abandoned in an un-reclaimed or poorly reclaimed condition because mining was completed before environmental regulations went into effect. These abandoned mines are scars on the landscape and cause most of the water pollution attributed to mining. These old mines are considered abandoned because, in most countries, no one is legally required to reclaim the land or to treat the water. A similar problem occurs at mine sites that are or were operated by companies that have gone bankrupt. (more…)

Economics Value of Energy

We have seen that energy is basic for life and activities in nature and society. Energy is a measure of value in physical terms. However, the more complex a system or a process becomes, the less can be said by physics. Even the term ‘‘complexity’’ is problematic. There are several definitions of complexity as a quantitative concept in information theory. (more…)

CO2 Capture and Hydrogen Production Plan by ELCOGAS

The pilot plant for carbon dioxide capture and hydrogen production using combined cycle ELCOGAS Puertollano “will be the first in the world is put into operation next March.”

There is another similar initiative, CO2 capture in a power of the same technology, Buggenum (Netherlands), but construction is delayed by six months regarding the central of Puertollano, according to the company ELCOGAS in a press release. (more…)

Energy Sources Countries Location

During the twentieth century, energy has become much more easily available. Most energy comes from burning fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal). These resources are only found in certain geologic formations. (more…)

Bioenergy Life Cycles Assessment | Green House Gases Emissions

bioenergy greenhouse
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fuels with energy from waste biomass requires a complete lifecycle assessment (LCA). A systematic framework for estimating the net Green House Gases emissions from bioenergy systems and comparing them against the fossil fuel reference system that it would replace has been developed. The major considerations of the life cycle assessment approach to quantifying the greenhouse impacts of bioenergy are as follows: (more…)

Energy Consumption in the United States

energy consumption US
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…)

Fossil Fuels Research and Development

Fossil fuels, had a broader impact in current society, still oil is the one that have far reaching effect. Oil, in all its forms is the fuel that every modern means possible and draw goods and people moving around the world. After the crude oil refined products widespread use all over the world, United States, (more…)

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