Envi Sci (February 1, 2014) ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ENERGY ECONOMICS For the last 150 years, petroleum has

s been cheap and in large supplies While engineers have had the technology for nonpetroleum sources, these were not actively developed o Ex: the first Diesel car was designed to run on peanut oil! o But, peanuts were more expensive than petroleum ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES Nuclear o U-fission o H-fusion Solar* o Solar radiation (insolation) Hydroelectric* o Dams o Tidal Wind* o Windmill Geothermal* o Natural hot water *Renewable Nuclear Only alternative energy capable of providing the base load to provide energy for a community Energy from nuclear fission of 235U o Isotope of Uranium (238U) o Conversion is through the process of enrichment Supplies 17% of World electricity 7% in US compared to 75% in France Main Problems: o Potential for very bad accidents (high mortality) o What to do with radioactive waste? o Relatively expensive Nuclear Fission o A large nucleus splits into several small nuclei when impacted by a neutron, and energy is released in this process Nuclear fusion o Several small nuclei fuse together and release energy o Same process how the sun burns and operates o H2 isotopes (Tritium and Deuterium) are fused to produce Helium

Fission Design o Nuclear reaction is contained in a reactor, controlled by control rods o Water is present that cools the reaction o Due to heat transfer, steam is formed o Steam is condensed Consequences: o Thermal pollution The water released form the power plant is warmer than the ocean water Fukushima and Ukraine used to have power plants that power the whole community Most power plants are located near the sea/ocean Only Canada and Russia (and another African country) that have a large supply of Uranium Pros Cleaner than burning fossil fuels no greenhouse emissions Cons What to do with radioactive waste? Accidents, e.g. Chernobyl, Three Mile Island (*explosions are not possible in fusion or fission reactors) Increasingly expensive to build reactors more cost effective to improve efficiencies of existing technologies or implement other energies Non-renewable supply of Umine waste

Fewer deaths per MWe than fossil fuels according to the Rassmussen Report

Fusion Three Confinement Methods o Magnetic confinement o Inertial confinement o High Laser Confinement o Gravity Is there a nuclear fusion now? o For research purposes, yes. Pros Cleaner than burning fossil fuels no greenhouse emission Virtually no radioactive waste Can use ordinary water as a fuel source Cons

Solar

Many forms of energy have a solar energy o Photovoltaic (photo cells) Sunlight induced current flow o Hydropower (sun powers the water cycle) o Wind *sun powers air motion o Absorption o Burning of biomass o Ultimately, fossil fuels Most efficient source of solar energy would be the deserts Not practical that the house would be 100% powered by Solar energy

1500 W/15W/m2 = 100m2 (10mx10m array of cells) About the size of the roof of a house Total per household requirement of al energy is about 10 kW 10,000 W/ 15W/m2 = 667 m2 Cons Depends on amount of sunshine available Still too expensive to be competitive fossil fuels Electrical components too expensive Need government subsidies, tax break

Pros Enough available for all our energy needs Direct energy transfer Virtually no negative environmental impact New technologies = new economy

Photovoltaic cell When light strikes properly constructed piece of silicon, electrical voltage and current are generated Simplest are silicon crystals, but those are expensive Polycrystalline cells work almost as well, and is cheaper Typical Commercial Photocell Performance o Area = 0.8m2 Intercepts 0.9 m2 * 1000 W/m2 = 900W Rated power = 100W SO, its efficiency = 100W/900W = 0.11 = 11% Solar Flux At top of atmosphere, 1400 watts/square meter, but: o The atmosphere absorbs energy: At sea level, 1000 W/m2 on sunfacing surface when sun is high in the sky o When the Sun is close to horizon, then there is more absorption o Day/night cycle: power only available time o Clouds reduce availability further 200 W/m2 on average Home Solar System Power Grid Tie In Electric companies sell it to the consumers Solar Farm Many mirrors a focus the sun light to a tower Only efficient in desert climates Not practical for the Philippines! Area Required to Solar Power Our Lives Assuming average solar flux of 15- W/m2 and a collection-conversion efficiency of 10% is 15 W/m2 If a typical household power requirement is 1500 W

Hydroelectric Power ~16% of world electricity generation (~5% in US) Falling water drives turbines Mostly large dams environmental impacts, water rights Limited life span Not all places have enough water Energy Production Force of gravity pushes the turbines to spin Top Countries with Large Water Supply Russia China Brazil Tidal Power Large untapped water Uneconomical if tide < 25 feet (6m) Need enclosed bay First tidal power plant is in France (built 45 years ago) Cant be done in the Philippines because the tides are just too low Wind Power Wind generators converts differences in air temperature to electrical power Need average winds of 11 mph to reach pay-off Need average of 28mph to be competitive with fossil fuels (~4cents/Kwh) Large wind farms need windy area (geographically specific) Noisy, but overall minor environmental impact Subtropical countries have the greatest trade winds! o Only somewhere North and the Visayas area are the windiest in the Philippines o Bangui Windmills, Ilocos Norte Hazards to burns

Hyrdrothermal (Geothermal) Power Underground steam/hot water Basically no negative environmental impact Limited life per field Geographically limited (and specific) Iceland has a lot of geothermal resources! (100%) Philippines Geothermal Resources We are the words second largest user of geothermal energy for power generation with 1,931 megawatts of installed capacity In 2003, geothermal power plants generated a total of 9,419.02 gigawatt-hours of electricity saving about 16.24 million barrels of fuel oil Power generation form geothermal resources accounts for 19.10% of the countrys total electricity requirement Total World Electricity Generation (2000) Hydro (17.1%) Other (1.6%) Coal (39.1) Oil (7.9) Nuclear (16.9) Gas (17.4)

How is it produced? Produces by transesterification Process thins down the oil to allow it to run in an unmodified diesel engine The end products are biodiesel and glycerin or the raw base of soap Legality of Biodiesel Biodiesel is promoted by the Department of Energy Biodeisel Modify veggie oil so thinner No vehicle modifications Splash blend with diesel Tested millions of times Straight Veggie Oil Modify vehicle Heat veggie oil so thinner Experimental May result in engine deposits

BIODIESEL Made form vegetable oils like soybean, canola, corn and coconut oil Waste cooking oil from McDonalds and Jollibee are good biodiesel sources Direct substitute for diesel fuel Blend stock for mixing with diesel fuel to create B50, B20, B5 (biodiesel 5) Pros: o Renewable o Clean Burning o High Lubricity o Fuel efficiency o Low greenhouse gas o Reduces need to import oil o Biodegradable o Safe: non-toxic Cons: o Cold weather (mag-sesebo) o Powerful solvent o NOx Catalytic converter can lessen this emission o Feedstock o Cost Coconut Biodiesel Cleans you engine Burns better Boosts engine power o Improves fuel economy by as much as 20%

Diesel Engines Invented by Rudolph Diesel in the late 1800s o Could run on a variety of fuels including veggie oil Modified in 1920s to run on stinky petro diesel Most efficient internal combustion engine o Works by compression o Smoke belching results from the ineffiecient compression 40-60% of the cars in Europe are diesel Cautions of running biodiesel in your vehicle Paint (masisira ang paint job) Natural rubber hose and gaskets in fuel system (erode) Fuel filter clogging Cold weather gelling Freedom from Caltex, Shell and Petron Make it yourself Never go to a gas station again (Except to wash your windshield) Fill up under a tree Find out how gross your favorite restaurant really is Can you make biodiesel at home? YES. -cheap -3 hours But, take not that the ingredients needed are extremely toxic Sodium hydroxide is caustic Methane is a toxic substance Methanol mixed with NaOH produced methoxide, an extremely toxic gas!

Some problems 1 liter of 1% biodeise is 1 peso more expensive than diesel 1 liter of 100% coco biodiesel costs about 125 pesos