Clean Energy (Rsc Clean Technology Monographs) - Hardcover

Dell, R. M.; Rand, D. A. J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0854045465 ISBN 13: 9780854045464

Verlag: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

Clean Energy presents a broad survey of the energy problems facing society over the coming decades and the prospects for their solution. The book emphasizes the importance of developing a strategy for the world's future energy supply. The strategy must take into account: the finite supplies of natural gas and petroleum; the increased consumption of fuel by developing economies; the concern over greenhouse gas emissions; the pollution caused by burning coal (especially coal with a high sulphur content); the difficulties and costs of extracting unconventional fossil fuels; and the technical, sociological and cost barriers that restrict the use of renewable forms of energy. Clean Energy sets the various renewable energies (wind, waves, solar etc) in the context of present and projected world production of energy and its use in the time-frame until 2020 and looks speculatively beyond that. It looks at the possibilities for reducing pollution from fossil fuels and tackles the serious problem of how to store energy, in order to smooth out fluctuations in supply and demand. Clean Energy is well illustrated with diagrams and photographs. It is accessible to anyone who has studied science to A-level and will appeal to anyone with a serious interest in environmental matters, and the interaction between energy usage and the environment.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

James H Clark is Professor of Chemistry at the University of York, and is Founding Director of the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and the Bio-renewables Development Centre. He started the award-winning company Starbons Ltd and he is now involved in commercialisation of novel bio-based solvents and new green technologies. He was founding scientific editor of the world-leading journal Green Chemistry. His research has led to numerous awards including Honorary Doctorates from universities in Belgium, Germany and Sweden. He has Visiting Professorships in South Africa and China, and was recently appointed as Chair-Professor at Fudan University. He has published over 500 articles (h index over 72) and written or edited over 20 books and is Editor-in-chief of the RSC Green Chemistry book series. He has received numerous awards and distinctions including the 2018 Green Chemistry prize.

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Clean Energy

By Ronald M. Dell, David A. J. Rand

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2004 The Royal Society of Chemistry
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-85404-546-4

Contents

Abbreviations, Symbols and Units Used in Text, xviii, 
Glossary of Terms, xxiii, 
Chapter 1 Energy Production and Use, 1, 
Chapter 2 Clean Fuels, 32, 
Chapter 3 Electricity Generation, 57, 
Chapter 4 Renewable Energy – Thermal, 90, 
Chapter 5 Renewable Energy – Electrical, 125, 
Chapter 6 Why Store Electricity?, 161, 
Chapter 7 Physical Techniques for Storing Energy, 179, 
Chapter 8 Hydrogen Energy, 198, 
Chapter 9 Battery Storage, 242, 
Chapter 10 Electric Propulsion, 268, 
Chapter 11 Towards 2020, 293, 
Appendix Conversion Factors, 313, 
Subject Index, 315, 

CHAPTER 1

Energy Production and Use

It is generally held that the present production and use of energy pose a serious threat to the global environment, particularly in relation to the emission of greenhouse gases (principally, carbon dioxide, CO2) and the perceived influence of these gases on the Earth's climate. Accordingly, industrialized countries are examining a whole range of new policies and technology issues to make their energy futures 'sustainable'. That is, to maintain economic growth and cultural traditions whilst providing energy security and environmental protection. Clearly, the world is set to make major changes so as to maintain adequate supplies of Clean Energy.

1.1 A Brief History of Energy Technology

The mastery of energy has always been the key to a better world. Ironically, though, the concept of energy is difficult to grasp; it is an abstract quantity that manifests itself in many forms, e.g. chemical, electrical, mechanical, radiant, nuclear, and thermal energy. In an electrical power station, for example, fossil fuel (chemical energy) is converted via steam to mechanical energy and then, via an alternator, to electrical energy. In an electric vehicle, a battery is used to convert chemical energy into electrical energy, which is then converted to mechanical energy by a motor. The scientific use of the term 'energy' was introduced by Thomas Young (1773–1829), an English physicist, physician, and Egyptologist who also provided the most astute definition to date, namely: 'energy is the ability to do work.' It is commonly understood that 'work' means the application of effort to accomplish a task, and the rate at which work is performed is called 'power'. Thus, machines consume energy, perform work, and provide power. A simple example of the relationship between these quantities is shown in Figure 1.1. The 'efficiency' of a machine is a measure of its performance obtained from the ratio of energy output to energy input. The efficiency must always be less than 100% (which would imply perpetual motion).

Until the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, humankind derived its power mainly from its own exertions, from animal muscle (horses, oxen, camels, etc.), from the wind (windmills and sailing ships), and from water (watermills). Even with these limited resources, however, some of humankind's achievements were remarkable. Consider, for instance, the ancient pyramids of Egypt, prehistoric Stonehenge, or the great cathedrals of Europe built in the Middle Ages. As late as the 18th and early 19th centuries, an extensive system of canals was constructed across England to permit the conveyance of freight by horse-drawn barge. Such canals, which are still in use today for recreational boating, were all hand-dug by labourers with spades and wheelbarrows. These feats are truly awe-inspiring when viewed from the comfort of the present mechanized age.

Sources of power began to change with the development of the 'atmospheric' engine in the early 18th century by Thomas Newcomen (1663–1729), who was inspired by the earlier work of Denis Papin (1647–1712) and Thomas Savery (1650–1716). Newcomen was assisted in his experiments by John Calley and, in 1705, they devised the first reliable engine. This invention was brought to practical realization in 1712 when the first working engine was installed at a colliery near Dudley Castle, in Tipton, Staffordshire, UK (Figure 1.2(a)). In Newcomen's engine, atmospheric pressure drives a piston down into a vacuum, which is created by condensing steam introduced into the cylinder space below; hence, the description 'atmospheric' engine. The piston is raised again by the over-balancing weight of the pump rods.

James Watt (1736–1819) subsequently recognized that the 'atmospheric' engine is very inefficient – energy is wasted by having to reheat the cylinder after each stroke of the piston. Watt solved this problem by using a separate condenser and driving the engine by the pressure of steam itself. Thus, in 1769, he patented the first real 'steam' engine, which offered superior performance in terms of both energy efficiency and economy. Further developments followed, but Watt's most decisive invention was to make the steam engine rotative, by using a rigid rod to connect the outer end of the beam to a crank below (Figure 1.2(b)). Watt also added a flywheel and devised a 'governor' by which the speed of the engine could be kept constant. In contrast to the up and down movement of the reciprocating engines of his day, the rotative motion made possible a much smoother action and a far greater range of industrial applications. The engines were used to pump water from mines, to drive machinery in factories, to dig tunnels, and to thresh corn. By 1800, there were about 2500 rotative steam engines operating in the UK. One-third of these were made by Watt and his partner Matthew Boulton (1728–1809) at the Soho Works in Birmingham, UK. The oldest surviving engine was built in 1785 for the London Brewery of Samuel Whitbread. After providing service for 102 years, the engine was presented in 1887 to the Power House Museum in Sydney, Australia, where it has been restored to a working condition.

It was only a short while before the utility of the steam engine was extended to the propulsion of ships, railway locomotives, and road tractors (Figure 1.3). Engines working on the principle developed by Watt were used to propel boats from as early as the 1780s in both France and the USA. Britain's first practical steamboat was a tug, the Charlotte Dundas, designed by William Symington (1763–1831) and in use in 1802 on the Forth–Clyde canal. The world's first steam-powered factory, the Blockmills, was opened in 1802 in Portsmouth Dockyard, UK, to mass-produce pulley blocks for sailing ships. Meanwhile, in early 1804, Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) produced the first steam engine to run successfully on rails; on 21st February 1804, it hauled 10 tonnnes of iron, 70 passengers and 5 wagons at an 'easy' 4 mph on a 9-mile journey from the ironworks in Pen-y-Darren, South Wales to the Merthyr–Cardiff Canal. Unfortunately, the engine proved too heavy for the rails, and the era of the practical steam locomotive began in 1813 with Puffing Billy, which was designed by William Hedley (1779–1843) and was the first to run on smooth rails, instead of the previous rack rails. By the early 19th century, steam was also replacing water to power cotton mills (see Chapter 5) and The Times newspaper was printed in London on a steam press as early as 1814. Thus, such engines turned steam into a universal source of power and heralded the beginning of...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0854045465
• ISBN 13: 9780854045464
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 358
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland