5 future fossil energy technologies

8/7/2019 5 Future Fossil Energy Technologies

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Around the corner



� Fossil fuels haven't been winning any popularitycontests.

� A lot of that's because approximately 80 percent ofgreenhouse gases consist of carbon dioxide that is

generated, in part, by burning fossil fuels .� So today, it's wind, water and solar energy that

are all the rage.

� Keep in mind that alternative energies aren't

without their faults, though they're the lesser of theevils for sure. But the fact is that wide-scale use ofgreen power is years away, so fossil fuels are stillby far the largest producers of energy .



The good news is there are new technologies emerging thatattempt to handle the mining and processing of fossil fuels inmore environmentally friendly ways.

From harvesting gases trapped for millions of years in icecages to cars powered by hydrogen extracted from coal, thesenon-renewable power sources may yet be able to help addressone of the biggest global issues of our day: our rampantconsumption of energy.

While the ultimate solution to fossil fuel emissions will be toone day reduce our dependence on oil, coal and other fossilfuels, steps are being taken to make those out there a littlecleaner.



� The idea of clean coal sounds like an oxymoron becausewe know the facts. Coal mining destroys mountains andis the leading contributor to global warming . But here'sanother fact: Coal is cheap and plentiful. And that's

where««

� CCS separates the C02 from the general emissions streamin one of three ways: post-combustion carbon capture,which occurs immediately after fossil fuels are burned;pre-combustion carbon capture, which occurs beforefossil fuels are burned; and oxu-fuel combustion carboncapture, which burns oxygen with the fossil fuel beforeseparating the C02.



CCS reduces the number of toxins being spewed into theatmosphere. As we will see in a bit, hydrogen, a by-productof CCS, can be used as a zero-emissions source of energy.One of the major downsides of CCS is energy consumption.All three processes require a tremendous amount of energyand are extremely expensive.

Now for the second step in CCS: dealing with the leftover

toxins. The most basic explanation is that the C02 iscompressed and then transported via long pipelines togeologic or oceanic "storage facilities." There, it's injected deepinto the Earth, where it remains for years.



� Hydrogen is one of the cleanest forms of energy outthere. It's efficient, renewable and has zero-emissions.

� The Department of Energy's National Energy

Technology Laboratory (NETYL) is working twotechnologies, Central Hydrogen Production andAlternateHydrogen Production, which extract purehydrogen from gasified coal syngas (synthesis gas).

Syngas is a combination of hydrogen, carbon monoxideand carbon dioxide.

� A chemical process is used to boost its hydrogencontent while removing all other components,resulting in a stream of hydrogen.



Central Hydrogen Production is a promising "co-production"technology. The goal is to produce electricity and hydrogen byburning clean syngas in gas turbines, and the byproducts are

then converted into pure hydrogen. Central HydrogenProduction is looking toward membrane technologies(microporous, metallic or ceramic) to eliminate steps andreduce costs associated with hydrogen from coal extractionwhile achieving a hydrogen purity of 99.9 percent .

Alternate Hydrogen Production uses a technology knownas Fischer-Tropsch to convert clean syngas to liquidhydrocarbon carries, alcohol or methane that have high

concentrations of hydrogen.T

hese products can helpaddress the issues of distributing hydrogen on a large-scale,as they can be transported through our current fueldistribution channels. This addresses a current issue withhydrogen: the need to build new infrastructure to transport

it to fueling stations .



� Fuel-cell vehicles are part of the clean car revolution. Whyare they getting so much play in the world of alternative-energy transportation? In a word: hydrogen. Fuel-cellvehicles are propelled by a chemical reaction that is clean as

a spring morning on an uninhabited island. And they havezero emissions.

� Fuel-cell cars look like any standard model you might see

on the roads. But their inner-workings are a bit out of theordinary. They contain fuel-cell stacks, where hydrogen gasand oxygen are converted into electricity, which, in turn,sends juice to their electric motors. And who doesn't loveelectric motors for their efficiency and quiet ride?.



Fuel-cell cars give themselves a boost with their onboardregenerative braking system, which improves overallefficiency by up to 20 percent. If saving some bucks anddriving cleaner isn't enough incentive, here's another reasonfor parking one of these in your garage: Qualified fuel-cellvehicles, which are those powered by one or more fuel-cellsconverting hydrogen to electricity, receive a tax credit from the

IRS.

As with any new technology, though, fuel-cell cars aren'tperfect. They're expensive because very few are produced, andmost of the country's hydrogen fueling stations are in

California. That said, fuel-cell cars hold great potential for thefuture of clean transportation. Look for them on a road nearyou.



� Methane hydrates are unusual. To the naked eye, they appearto be big chunks of muddy ice, but in reality, what you'relooking at is biogenic methane produced by deep-sea bacteria.These methane hydrate chunks are found in gigantic deposits

deep in oceans around the world. In fact, it's believed thattrillions and trillions of cubic feet of methane hydrates aretucked neatly beneath the ocean's floor. As worldconsumption of fossil fuels continues to rise -- and depleteexisting stores of natural gas and oil -- it's no wonder that

methane hydrates are receiving serious attention as apotential source of energy. Figuring out how to tap intomethane hydrates safely and sustainably has become a globaleffort. The United States, India, Korea and Japan have joinedforces to form mining research programs.



So what are the drawbacks? First, getting methane hydrates isdangerous work. Some scientists fear mining them will leakmethane into the atmosphere, potentially increasing the rate ofglobal warming. Still others believe methane hydrates play avital role in stabilizing ocean floors. Start drilling and we could

create the risk of a landslide on the continental slope. Anotherhuge factor is cost, not to mention current technologies arelimited and make extraction financially impractical. Significantresearch remains to be done to see if methane hydrates are evenan option. If they prove to be stable and sustainable, they couldbe a solid alternative to natural gas and oil.



� Natural gas vehicles (NGV) are emerging on the greentransportation scene. As of 2010, in fact, there were anestimated 11 million NGVs on the road [source: Nijboer].NGVs aren't so different than cars that run on gasoline; the

difference is in how the engine works. Natural gas is mixedwith oxygen and then ignited with a spark plug that movesthe piston up and down. NGVs are efficient and clean, andalso less costly to drive, and gassing them up is convenient.Currently, there are more natural gas fueling stations than

there are hydrogen cars, and NGV owners can even tap intotheir homes' natural gas lines. Plus natural gas burns prettyclean, which means little engine wear, and relatively easy andlow-cost maintenance over the long haul.



But, historically the acquisition of natural gas has been aproblem. There was a time when the industry relied on explosiveseismology to find stores deep within the Earth. Theenvironmental consequences of this type of process go withoutsaying. By-in-large, the seismic vibrator truck has now replacedcontrolled dynamiting. Injecting low-frequency vibrations under

the surface of the Earth, data is collected about the Earth's layers.This field data allows digital landscapes of subsurface areas, andenables more precise predictions of natural gas locations.



� Suffice it to say, we have a long way to go onmost of these technologies. But the good newsis there are new technologies out there.

5 future fossil energy technologies

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