- ISBN: 9780471790532 | 0471790532
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 1/9/2008
This important new book presents a comprehensive review of practical alternative energy choices for the twenty-first century. It addresses three critical energy-related topics that are causing great confusion in public debate-global warming, the hydrogen economy, and nuclear power-and gives readers an opportunity to form a grounded, factually correct foundation for understanding the energy challenge and develop their own informed and actionable opinion.
Griffin Burgh, ALA, LEED, is a practicing architect with a long background in solar architecture and sustainable design. His interest in alternate energy has included the design of a low-speed electric car and a current consulting project on the Fisher Coachworks Advanced Technology Hybrid Bus. Griffin is also an adjunct research fellow at the University of Michigan Chemical Engineering Department, working with novel titanium dioxide nanomaterials that have applications in energy storage and solar energy.
| Preface | p. xiii |
| Acknowledgment | p. xvii |
| Introduction: Rising Energy Costs | p. xix |
| A Trilogy of Popular Misconceptions | p. 1 |
| Global Warming | p. 3 |
| Conventional Wisdom | p. 4 |
| CO[subscript 2] and the Carbon Cycle | p. 7 |
| The Greenhouse Effect | p. 10 |
| Recent Climate Changes | p. 11 |
| Carbon Dioxide | p. 13 |
| Other Global Warming "Forcing Agents" | p. 15 |
| Water Vapor | p. 15 |
| Methane | p. 20 |
| Nitrous Oxide | p. 21 |
| Ozone | p. 22 |
| Sulfur | p. 24 |
| Other Pollutants | p. 24 |
| Carbon-Based and Other Particulates | p. 26 |
| Solar Influences-Insolation and Irradiance | p. 26 |
| Global Net Primary Productivity (NPP) | p. 30 |
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | p. 32 |
| IPCC Report Conclusions | p. 34 |
| Footnote on the IPCC | p. 35 |
| Dealing with Global Warming | p. 36 |
| Can Anything Be Done? | p. 37 |
| The Kyoto Protocol | p. 38 |
| The Hydrogen Economy (Aka, the Impossible Dream) | p. 41 |
| The Promise of Hydrogen | p. 42 |
| The Scale of the Task-Why Replace Gasoline? | p. 42 |
| Replacing Fuels Other than Gasoline | p. 43 |
| Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel | p. 44 |
| Hydrogen Production Methods | p. 44 |
| Water-Splitting Processes-Overview | p. 47 |
| Hydrogen from Electrolysis | p. 48 |
| Electrolytic Hydrogen Production | p. 49 |
| Oxygen By-products | p. 49 |
| Energy Consumption and Electrolyzer Efficiency | p. 50 |
| Electrolysis: Emissions | p. 53 |
| Electrolysis: Economics | p. 53 |
| Hydrogen from Hydrocarbons | p. 54 |
| Thermal and Catalytic Reforming from Natural Gas | p. 54 |
| Catalytic Thermochemical Reforming | p. 55 |
| Scaling Issues-Up and Down | p. 56 |
| Combustion CO[subscript 2] from Reforming | p. 57 |
| Hydrogen Production Costs | p. 59 |
| Natural Gas Reserves and Hydrogen | p. 61 |
| Natural Gas and Hydrogen Manufacture | p. 62 |
| Other Hydrogen Production Methods | p. 62 |
| Photoelectrolysis | p. 63 |
| Biomass Conversion to Hydrogen | p. 64 |
| Hydrogen Production-Summary | p. 65 |
| Safety Considerations | p. 66 |
| Transporting and Distributing Hydrogen | p. 67 |
| Compressing Hydrogen | p. 68 |
| Liquid Hydrogen | p. 69 |
| Pipelining Hydrogen | p. 70 |
| Pipeline Leakage Losses | p. 73 |
| Road Tanker Transportation of Hydrogen | p. 73 |
| Hydrogen Leakage Losses | p. 74 |
| Transportation and Distribution Alternatives | p. 75 |
| Distributed Manufacturing of Hydrogen | p. 75 |
| By Electrolysis | p. 75 |
| By Reforming | p. 76 |
| Hydrogen Reformer Reliability | p. 76 |
| Hydrogen Reformer Safety | p. 76 |
| Onboard Manufacture of Hydrogen | p. 77 |
| Hydrogen Storage | p. 77 |
| Hydrogen Storage Approaches | p. 78 |
| Compressed Hydrogen Gas: Containment Technologies for 5000-10,000 psig | p. 78 |
| Liquid Hydrogen: Cryogenic Containment | p. 80 |
| Storage in Metals and Metal Hydrides | p. 84 |
| Background on Metal Hydrides | p. 86 |
| Complex Hydrides | p. 89 |
| Catalyzed Hydrogen Adsorption and/or Desorption | p. 91 |
| Feasibility of Metal Hydrides as Storage Media | p. 92 |
| Hydrogen Adsorption/Desorption: "Chemical Hydrides" | p. 92 |
| Hydride Slurries for Hydrogen Storage and Transportation | p. 93 |
| Possible Nonmetal Hydrides/Hydrogen Carriers | p. 95 |
| Hydrocarbons via Partial Dehydrogenation | p. 96 |
| Carbon-Based Adsorption Systems | p. 97 |
| Graphite | p. 97 |
| Graphitic Nanotubes | p. 98 |
| Zeolites | p. 99 |
| Novel Hydrogen Storage Methods | p. 99 |
| Hydrogen Carriers | p. 101 |
| Ammonia | p. 101 |
| Methanol | p. 103 |
| Hydrogen Storage and DOE Criteria | p. 103 |
| Storage Implications for Light-Duty Vehicles | p. 104 |
| Hydrogen Storage with No Gravimetric or Volumetric Capacity Constraints | p. 112 |
| Hydrogen Storage Assessment | p. 112 |
| Hydrogen Safety | p. 114 |
| Some Additional Safety Issues | p. 115 |
| Summary of Hydrogen Issues | p. 116 |
| Nuclear Energy and the Plutonium Economy | p. 117 |
| The Influence of Nuclear Energy | p. 117 |
| Evolution of Reactor Designs | p. 122 |
| Generation IV Reactors | p. 123 |
| Fuel Recycling and Mixed Oxide Fuel | p. 125 |
| Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) Use in Light-Water Reactors | p. 125 |
| Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) Production and Processing | p. 126 |
| Fast-Breeder Reactors | p. 127 |
| Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) | p. 128 |
| Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) | p. 128 |
| Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) | p. 129 |
| Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR) | p. 131 |
| Very High-Temperature Reactor (VHTR) | p. 133 |
| Radioactive Waste Disposal | p. 134 |
| Nuclear Facility Decommissioning | p. 137 |
| Decommissioning Examples | p. 139 |
| Transmutation of Nuclear Wastes | p. 140 |
| Uranium Supply Concerns | p. 142 |
| Supply Projections | p. 146 |
| Uranium from Seawater | p. 150 |
| Uncertainty about Safe and Sustainable Reactor Technology | p. 151 |
| The Problem in Ontario, Canada | p. 152 |
| Fusion Power | p. 153 |
| The Future is Dimming on Nuclear Power | p. 153 |
| Energy Options for the Future | p. 155 |
| Conventional Oil and Oil Reserves | p. 157 |
| Oil Reserves | p. 158 |
| Conventional Natural Gas | p. 164 |
| "Unconventional" Oil | p. 167 |
| "Unconventional" Gas | p. 168 |
| Coal-Bed Methane (CBM) | p. 169 |
| "Tight" Gas | p. 170 |
| Stranded or Orphaned Gas | p. 170 |
| A Short (Age) Summary | p. 171 |
| Who Really Sets Oil Prices? | p. 171 |
| Future Supply, Demand, and Pricing | p. 172 |
| Oil | p. 172 |
| Natural Gas and Synthetics | p. 175 |
| Coal and Bituminous Reserves | p. 178 |
| Coal | p. 179 |
| The Lurgi Process (Coal to Syngas or High BTU Fuel Gas) | p. 182 |
| The Hygas Process (Coal to SNG) | p. 183 |
| The Bi-Gas Process (Coal to SNG) | p. 183 |
| The CO[subscript 2] Acceptor Process | p. 183 |
| Other Coal Processes | p. 186 |
| Underground Processing of Coal | p. 186 |
| Other Important Alternative Energy Sources | p. 187 |
| Municipal Waste | p. 188 |
| Biomass and Ethanol | p. 189 |
| Current Availability | p. 189 |
| Biomass Conversion Technologies | p. 191 |
| Prepreparation | p. 191 |
| Conversion | p. 191 |
| Enzymatic Saccharification of Cellulose | p. 192 |
| Steam Explosion | p. 192 |
| Saccharification and Fermentation | p. 192 |
| Conversion Products and By-Products | p. 193 |
| Sugars | p. 193 |
| Value-Added Products (e.g., Ethanol, Polymers) | p. 193 |
| By-Products | p. 193 |
| Animal Feed | p. 193 |
| Lignin and Lignin Derivatives | p. 194 |
| Cellulose Derivatives | p. 194 |
| Other Raw Materials for Biomass | p. 194 |
| Large-Scale, High-Value End Products from Non-Corn Biomass Conversion | p. 195 |
| Chemicals from Corn | p. 195 |
| Available Technologies for Chemicals Production from Biomass | p. 196 |
| Acid Hydrolysis of Biomass Cellulose | p. 196 |
| Countercurrent Hydrolysis | p. 197 |
| Enzymatic Hydrolysis | p. 197 |
| Commercialization | p. 198 |
| Cost Implications of Biomass Use | p. 198 |
| Net Energy Balances | p. 199 |
| Manufacturing Efficiency | p. 200 |
| The Thermodynamics of Growing Corn | p. 201 |
| The Thermodynamics of Processing Corn into Ethanol | p. 202 |
| Ethanol Production Efficiencies | p. 206 |
| Corn Production in the United States | p. 207 |
| Federal Subsidies for Ethanol | p. 208 |
| Longer Term Ethanol Prospects | p. 208 |
| Final Ethanol Observations | p. 209 |
| Methanol | p. 211 |
| Possible Fossil Sources of Syngas | p. 214 |
| Methanol as an Energy Carrier | p. 215 |
| Methanol Manufacturing and Applications | p. 216 |
| Diesel and Biodiesel | p. 219 |
| "Clean Diesel" Fuel and Diesel Fuel Substitutes | p. 219 |
| The Diesel Market: The Future of Diesel Engines and Diesel Fuels | p. 219 |
| Diesel Engine Emissions | p. 222 |
| Biodiesel | p. 223 |
| What is Biodiesel? | p. 224 |
| Advantages of Biodiesel | p. 227 |
| Disadvantages of Biodiesel | p. 233 |
| Oxidative and Hydrolytic Stability | p. 234 |
| Use in Diesel Hybrids | p. 236 |
| Alternatives to Vegetable Oil-Based Biodiesel for Diesel Substitution | p. 236 |
| Other Alcohols in Petroleum Diesel | p. 236 |
| Other Oxygenated Additives in Petroleum Diesel | p. 237 |
| Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) or Biomass-to-Liquid (BTL) Products as Diesel Substitutes | p. 238 |
| Diesel Fuels and Fuel Substitutes-Summary and Discussion | p. 241 |
| Diesel Fuel Conclusions | p. 243 |
| Solar Energy and Photovoltaics | p. 245 |
| Solar Radiation | p. 245 |
| Scattered, Beam, and Albedo Radiation | p. 246 |
| Solar Insolation | p. 247 |
| Direct Solar Energy | p. 248 |
| Passive and Active Solar Heating | p. 248 |
| Solar Photovoltaic Systems | p. 250 |
| General Operation of PV Cells | p. 251 |
| PV Types | p. 253 |
| Amorphous Silicon | p. 253 |
| Single-Crystalline Silicon | p. 254 |
| Polycrystalline Silicon | p. 255 |
| Polycrystalline Thin Films | p. 255 |
| Polycrystalline Thin-Film Materials | p. 255 |
| Multijunction PV Cells | p. 257 |
| Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells | p. 257 |
| Organic Solar Cells (OSC) | p. 258 |
| Grid-Connected Solar Energy | p. 259 |
| PV Solar Energy Prices | p. 259 |
| PV Manufacturing Giants | p. 260 |
| Future Outlook | p. 261 |
| Fuel Cells for Stationary and Mobile Use | p. 263 |
| Fuel Cell Principles | p. 264 |
| Types of Fuel Cell | p. 264 |
| The Importance of FC Operating Temperatures | p. 265 |
| Polymer Electrolyte Membrane/Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) | p. 266 |
| Regenerative PEM Cells | p. 269 |
| The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell | p. 269 |
| Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) | p. 271 |
| Hybrid Power Systems Incorporating SOFCs | p. 272 |
| Other Important Fuel Cells | p. 273 |
| The Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC) | p. 273 |
| The Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) | p. 273 |
| The Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) | p. 273 |
| Fuels for Fuel Cells | p. 274 |
| Hydrogen-A Bad Choice for Fuel Cells | p. 274 |
| Real-World Fuel Cell Efficiencies | p. 276 |
| User Expectations | p. 278 |
| Onboard Fuel Storage Requirements | p. 279 |
| Realistic DOE Objectives | p. 280 |
| Current Status | p. 281 |
| FAQ on Energy and Hydrogen | p. 285 |
| Introduction | p. 285 |
| Questions on Basic Facts | p. 285 |
| Terms and Definitions | p. 325 |
| Selected Terms and Conditions Courtsy H.S.D.Q.E. | p. 325 |
| Index | p. 373 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
What is included with this book?
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Please wait while the item is added to your bag...
×
Digital License
You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.
More details can be found here.