Energy systems and sustainability / edited by Godfrey Boyle, Bob Everett and Janet Ramage.

CONTENIDO
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
1.1 Introduction 3
Why sustainable energy matte 3
1.2 Definitions: energy, sustainability and the future 6
1.3 Present energy sources and sustainability 7
Fossil fuels 7
Nuclear energy 16
Bioenergy 19
Hydroelectricity 21
Summary 23
1.4 Renewable energy sources 23
Solar energy 23
Indirect use of solar energy 28
Non-solar renewables 31
Sustainability of renewable energy sources 34
1.5 Energy services and efficiency improvement 34
Energy services 34
Energy efficiency improvements 36
The rebound effect 46
1.6 Energy in a sustainable future 47
Changing patterns of energy use 47
Long-term energy scenarios 49
References 54
CHAPTER 2 PRIMARY ENERGY
2.1 World primary energy consumption 57
What is primary energy? 57
What is energy consumption? 57
'Energy arithmetic' 58
Watts 59
Kilowatt-hours 59
2.2 Quantities of energy 61
Units based on oil 61
Units based on coal 63
The BTU and related units 63
The calorie and related units 63
2.3 Interpreting the data 64
Definitions 64
Conversions 64
Conventions 64
2.4 World energy sources 66
International comparisons 69
2.5 Primary energy in the UK 70
Britain's changing energy scene 72
Renewables in the UK 74
2.6 Primary energy in Denmark 75
Renewables in Denmark 78
2.7 Primary energy in the USA 79
Renewables in the USA 82
Review 83
2.8 Primary energy in France 83
2.9 Primary energy in India 85
Renewables in India 86
2.10 Summary 88
References 89
CHAPTER 3 WHAT DO WE USE ENERGY FOR?
3.1 Primary, delivered and useful energy 93
3.2 The expanding uses of energy 95
Food 96
Fertilizers 97
Domestic energy 100
Industry 104
Transport 107
Services 108
3.3 Energy uses today 109
The energy balance for the UK 109
International comparisons 118
Comparisons of delivered energy 121
3.4 Conclusions 125
References and data sources 127
Further reading 128
CHAPTER 4 FORMS OF ENERGY
4.1 Introduction 130
4.2 Kinetic and potential energy 131
4.3 Heat 136
4.4 Electrical energy 136
Electrons 138
4.5 Electromagnetic radiation 140
4.6 Chemical energy 145
The nuclear atom 147
4.7 Nuclear energy 148
Protons and neutrons 148
Isotopes 149
The nuclear force 149
Radioactivity and fission 150
4.8 Energy and mass 151
4.9 Summary 152
References 153
Further reading 153
CHAPTER 5 COAL
5.1 The fossil fuels 157
5.2 From wood to coal 158
The early years 158
The Industrial Revolution 160
The nineteenth century 162
5.3 The resource and its use 163
Types of coal 163
Reserves and production 166
The uses of coal 170
5.4 Coal combustion 171
The composition of coal 171
The combustion process 172
Proximate analysis 173
Combustion products 174
5.5 Fires, furnaces and boilers 176
Power station boilers 177
Flue gases 181
5.6 Summary 183
References 184
CHAPTER 6 HEAT TO MOTIVE POWER
6.1 Introduction 187
6.2 Steam engines 188
The Early Years 188
Savery and Newcomen 190
James Watt 194
6.3 The principles of heat engines 197
Carnot's law 198
The Carnot engine 198
Atoms in motion 200
Heat flow 202
6.4 The age of steam 202
Improving the efficiency 203
Mobile power 205
6.5 Steam turbines 209
Steam, speed and rpm 209
Parsons' turbo-generator 211
6.6 Power station turbines 215
The turbines 216
A 660-MW turbine 218
6.7 Futures 222
References 223
CHAPTER 7 OIL AND GAS
Part 1 Oil and gas as primary fuels 227
7.1 Introduction 227
7.2 The origins and geology of petroleum 228
7.3 The origins of the oil and gas industry 230
Petroleum for illumination 231
Petroleum for transport 234
The natural gas industry 235
7.4 Finding petroleum 236
How do we get it? 238
Where do we get it? 240
7.5 Refining and products 245
Introduction 245
The fractions 246
Getting more of what you want 247
The many products - a summary 248
7.6 UK demand for oil products: past, present and future 250
Introduction 250
Time comparison, 1967 and 2000 250
7.7 UK demand for gas: past, present and future 254
Measurement 254
Demand by sector 254
7.8 Why so special? 258
Cheap and readily available 258
Indigenous production/security of supply 258
Convenience and ease of use 258
Clean to burn 259
Ease of distribution/storage/portability 260
Energy density 260
7.9 Substitutes for oil and gas? 261
Part 2 Oil and gas as secondary fuels 262
7.10 Introduction 262
7.11 Obstacles to coal conversion 262
Technology 262
Environment 262
Conversion efficiencies 263
Cost and price 263
Capital cost 264
Summary 265
7.12 Gas from oil 265
7.13 Oil from gas 266
7.14 Gas from coal 267
A little history 267
Gas from coal - the future 270
7.15 Oil from coal 273
Oil from coal - the future 277
7.16 Non-conventional sources of petroleum 278
Introduction 278
Oil shale 278
Tar sands 280
Heavy oil deposits 281
Summary 282
7.17 The wider future 282
Introduction 282
Lesson from America 284
First America... now the world 286
Beyond Hubbert's peak 290
References 291
CHAPTER 8 OIL AND GAS ENGINES
8.1 Introduction 295
8.2 The petrol or spark ignition engine 295
The birth of the car engine 298
The motorization of the US 302
Aircraft petrol engines 303
Compression ratio and octane number 304
Lead additives 304
8.3 The diesel engine 305
Diesel power for ships 306
Diesel engines for road, rail and air 307
8.4 Petrol and diesel engines - reducing pollution 309
Emissions from petrol engines 311
Obtaining best efficiency 314
8.5 The gas turbine 314
The German jet engine 315
The British jet engine 316
Post-war developments 318
Modern jet engines 319
Industrial gas turbines 321
Improving power and efficiency 321
Gas turbines for cars 321
8.6 The Stirling engine 322
Principles 323
The Philips engine 324
The quest for the Stirling car engine 325
8.7 Conclusion 327
References and sources 329
Further Reading 329
CHAPTER 9 ELECTRICITY
9.1 Introduction 333
9.2 Making electricity in the nineteenth century 334
Batteries and chemical electricity 334
Magnetism and generators 335
The rise of electric lighting 337
AC or DC? 339
High voltage or low voltage? 343
Metering and tariffs 347
9.3 The continuing development of electric lighting 348
Gas fights back 348
Improving the incandescent light bulb 348
The fluorescent lamp 349
The light emitting diode (LED) 352
9.4 Electric traction 353
Electric trams and trains 353
Battery electric vehicles 355
Electric transmissions and hybrid electric drives 357
9.5 Expanding uses 358
Telecommunications and information technology 358
Cooking and heating 361
Refrigeration 362
Electric motors everywhere 364
Where electricity is used today 365
9.6 Large scale generation 365
Thermal power stations 365
Hydroelectricity 369
Combined heat and power generation 369
9.7 Transmission and distribution 371
The National Grid 371
Coal by wire 373
The Channel link 374
The grid today 374
9.8 Running the system 375
What exactly is being optimized? 376
Ownership of the system 377
Balancing supply and demand 377
Peak demands and pumped storage 379
The privatized UK system 380
9.9 The dash far gas 381
9.10 Electricity around the world 384
United Kingdom: a summary 385
United States of America 385
France 386
Denmark 387
India 388
9.11 Conclusion 390
References and sources 390
Further reading 392
CHAPTER 10 NUCLEAR POWER
10.1 Introduction 395
10.2 Radioactivity 396
Alpha particles 397
Beta particles 397
Gamma particles 399
Radioactive decay and half-life 399
An effect without a cause 400
10.3 Nuclear fission 402
Experiments with neutrons 402
Fission 402
10.4 1939-1945: reactors and bombs 405
The first reactor 405
New elements 408
Atomic bombs 410
'Swords into ploughshares' 410
10.5 Thermal fission reactors 411
The reactor core 414
Structures 414
Safety 414
Types of thermal fission reactor 416
10.6 Nuclear fuel cycles 422
Mining and extraction 422
Enrichment and fuel fabrication 423
Spent fuel 423
10.7 Fast reactors 427
The liquid-metal fast breeder reactor 428
10.8 Power from fusion 429
Approaches to a fusion reactor 431
References 433
Further reading 434
Useful web sites 434
CHAPTER 11 THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER
11.1 Introduction 437
11.2 Reasons for decline 438
Nuclear accidents 439
Nuclear economics 442
Nuclear decline worldwide 446
11.3 Nuclear power: a long-term answer to climate change? 447
Nuclear wastes 449
Uranium reserves 450
Stretching reserves: the fast breeder reactor 454
Nuclear fusion: the ultimate answer? 455
11.4 New nuclear developments 456
Safer nuclear power 457
Waste management and reprocessing 460
Cheaper nuclear power 464
Development issues and proliferation 466
11.5 The future: conflicting views 468
11.6 Conclusion 470
References 471
CHAPTER 12 COSTING ENERGY
12.1 Introduction 477
12.2 Energy prices today 478
Petrol and diesel fuel 478
Domestic energy prices 479
Industrial energy prices 480
12.3 Inflation, real prices and affordability 482
The value of money 482
Affordability and fuel poverty 487
12.4 Investing in energy 489
Price and cost 489
Balancing investment against cash flow 490
Discounted cash flow analysis 493
12.5 Real world complications 509
Security and diversity of supply 509
Externality costs of pollution and disaster 511
New technologies, economies of scale and 'market washing' 511
12.6 Conclusions 512
References 514
Statistical data sources 515
Further reading 516
CHAPTER 13 PENALTIES: ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS OF ENERGY USE
13.1 Introduction 519
13.2 Classifying the impacts of energy use 519
Classification by source 519
Classification by pollutant 520
Classification by scale 522
13.3 Household-scale impacts 523
Wood burning in developing countries 523
13.4 Workplace-scale impacts 525
Biomass harvesting and forestry 525
Hydro and wind power 525
Coal, oil and gas 525
Nuclear power 527
13.5 Community-scale impacts 531
Urban air pollution in developed countries 532
Urban air pollution in developing countries 536
Community impacts of hydroelectricity 536
13.6 Regional-scale impacts 537
Acid deposition 537
Public impacts of nuclear power 537
13.7 Global-scale impacts 539
Global climate change 539
13.8 Accidents and risk 545
13.9 Comparing the impacts of electricity generating systems 553
13.10 Comparing the external costs of electricity generating systems 561
13.11 Summary and conclusions 565
References and further reading 566
CHAPTER 14 REMEDIES: MAKING FOSSIL FUEL USE MORE SUSTAINABLE
14.1 Introduction 573
14.2 Reducing pollutant emissions from fossil fuel combustion 574
Fuel switching 574
14.3 Capturing and sequestering carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion 577
Carbon sequestration in forests 577
Carbon capture and sequestration beneath the earth's surface 578
Ocean sequestration of carbon 580
14.4 The fuel cell: energy conversion without combustion 584
Fuel cell types 586
14.5 A fossil-fuel based hydrogen economy 587
Hydrogen storage and use in transport 590
Hydrogen safety 592
14.6 Can fossil fuel use be made more sustainable? 594
References 596
Appendix A 597
A.1 Orders of magnitude 597
A.2 Units and conversions 598