How Do We Manage This Precious Resource? Six questions: From where does our petroleum come? Are we using petroleum prudently? Can we access new resources? How can we postpone exhausting oil reserves by using less? Are there alternative fuels? Are there alternative energy sources?
Steps to Use Less Gasoline? No improvement in fuel economy for 30 years
Projected Fuel Economies
Projected Fuel Economies
Alternative Sources of Energy? Wind energy Solar energy Gasoline from coal Atomic energy
Wind Energy Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) Fontana di Quatro Fiumi, Piazza Navona
Wind Energy Wind energy is the lowest cost renewable energy technology, costing 4-6 c per kwh, but requires a higher initial investment. Wind energy is clean, without air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Wind turbines can be placed on farms or ranches or be installed offshore, although this is more expensive than for land sites. Major problem: efficient batteries must be used for storing part of the energy, because the wind is intermittent power plants perform poorly if they are turned on and off, or lower and higher higher degree of pollution when turning on or off
Campo de Criptana Molinos de Viento Castillia La Mancha, Spain
Don Quichotte de la Mancha
North Palm Springs Windmills
Solar Energy Reflection Devices Warm water bottle Solar cell generates electricity Catalyst splits water into H 2 and O 2
Capella Sistina Michelangelo Buonarroti
Frank von Mierlo
Burnong Mirror of Archimedes
Focusing Light for Laboratory Experiments In the background a famous experiment by Joseph Priestly: he focused sun light onto a sample of HgO and observed formation of Hg and O 2 Engraving by J. Chapman, after R. Corbould
Gemasolar, Fuentes de Andalucia, Spain
Gemasolar, Fuentes de Andalucia, Spain 2650 panels ( heliostats ) reflect up to 95% of the sunlight unto a molten salt container, heating it as high as 900 C The hot molten salt is used for steam production The steam drives a turbine which, in turn, powers a generator Because of the (insulated) storage tanks, Gemasolar can produce electricity for up to 15 hours overnight or during periods of cloud cover
Gemasolar, Fuentes de Andalucia, Spain
Rutgers University, Livingston Campus Solar cell generates electricity Fixed panels Junctions of n- and p- doped crystalline Si convert sun energy into current
Alcatel-Lucent Bell Laboratories Movable panels
Alcatel-Lucent Bell Laboratories
Rutgers University Energy Livingston Conservation Campus Construction Complete University Facilities Immovable panels
Energy Conservation Description of Solar Farm 7996 silicon based panels on a fixed mounted system. The panels are arranged in five main sub-arrays that feed into five inverters. The power is converted to 480 volts and then is stepped up to 13.8kV. The line voltage is interconnected with the university grid. The solar electric system is monitored through a web based monitoring system. University Facilities
System Size and Output Energy Conservation DC Watts (W-DC) 1,345,000 DC to AC derate factor 0.95 AC Watts (W-DC) 1,277,750 NJ Annual Capacity Factor 14.0% First Year kwh 1,567,033 Equivalent to power 145 homes 1,800s/f for a family of four University Facilities
Environmental Benefits Energy Conservation Reduce emissions by 1,216 tons of CO 2 per year Equivalent to not burning 2,955 barrels of oil per year Equivalent to not burning 660 tons of coal Equivalent to 155 vehicles off the road assuming 12,000 miles per year at 14.5 mpg University University Facilities Facilities
Alternative Sources of Energy? Wind energy Solar energy Gasoline from coal Atomic energy
Fuel from Coal City Gas Process Blowing air through a heated fuel bed (coke or coal) (insufficient air for total combustion) produces carbon monoxide (CO); adding steam to the input air enriches the fuel gas with CO and H 2 (water gas reaction); the resulting CO/H 2 is diluted with nitrogen (N 2, from air) and CO 2 (from combustion) 2 C(s) + O 2 2 CO exothermic C(s) + H 2 O 2 CO endothermic (water gas reaction) C(s) + 2 H 2 O CO 2 + 2 H 2 endothermic CO + H 2 O CO 2 + H 2 exothermic
Fuel from Coal Fischer Tropsch Process The Fischer Tropsch process is a series of chemical reactions, on transition metal catalysts (Co, Fe, Ru), carried out at 150 to 300 that produce a variety of hydrocarbon molecules of composition C n H 2n+2 ; higher T accelerate the reaction, but favor methane formation ( useless as it is gaseous at standard temperature and pressure) (2n + 1) H 2 + n CO C n H 2n+2 + n H 2 O (2n + 1) H 2 + n CO C n H 2n+2 + n H 2 O Straight-chain alkanes are major products, suitable as diesel fuel; competing reactions give small amounts of alkenes, alcohols and other oxygenated hydrocarbons.
Gasoline from coal Fischer Tropsch Process
Fischer Tropsch Process
exam scores 26 38 48 59 60 74 84 92 27 33 48 58 63 78 89 97 28 31 49 57 62 79 81 95 29 33 44 52 60 78 81 92 33 44 51 68 78 38 49 52 62 70 38 47 57 65 32 49 58 69 44 69 44 69 Low 26 Median 58 High 97
Alternative Sources of Energy? Wind energy Solar energy Gasolin from Coal Atomic Energy