China fossil fuels

Coal is the most abundant and most economical fossil fuel resource in the world. Proven coal reseiwes exceed 1 trillion tons, and indicated reserves are estimated at 24 trillion tons. Coal is found in eveiy continent of the world, including Antarctica, although the largest quantities of coal are in the Northern Hemisphere. Coal is mined in some sixty countries in nineteen coal basins around the world, but more than 57 percent of the world s total recoverable reserves are estimated to be in the United States, and China, which together account for more than two-thirds of the world s coal production. 

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the U.S. and many other countries. In the U.S. coal makes up about 95% of all fossil energy reserves. These reserves could last several hundred years at the current level of coal consumption. Major developing countries such as China and India, which are now using more and more of the world s oil, also have large coal reserves. 

There are several initiatives for the development and demonstration of CCS worldwide. For instance, the European Union has an ambition to deploy 10-12 full-scale CCS demonstration projects within Europe by 2015, testing various ways of integrating CCS in coal and gas-fired power generation it also aims for CCS to be commercially viable for all new fossil fuel power plants by 2020, with existing plants progressively retrofitted (EC, 2007). Other pilot and demonstration plants are planned in the United States, Australia and China.5... 

Figure 2.10 shows the trend in S02 emissions from North America, Europe, the USSR, and Asia from 1970 to 1986 (Hameed and Dignon, 1992). While S02 emissions from North America have decreased significantly, those from Europe have remained about the same and in the USSR have increased somewhat. However, S02 emissions from Asia have increased dramatically due to the increased combustion of fossil fuels, particularly from the use of coal in China and from biomass burning in Southeast Asia (Arndt et al., 1997). For example, Fig. 2.11 shows the 1987 annual emission fluxes of S02 in Asia, where China is seen to be a major source (Akimoto and Narita, 1994). Emissions from ships are also thought to contribute significantly (e.g., Streets et al., 1997 Corbett and Fishbeck, 1997). 

It may be added, as Hie result of recent researches, that Asia and even Africa have been found to be very well stocked with fossil fuel and, indeed, there can be little doubt that the East Indies and China will yet become coal-producing countries. The same may be said of Australia, and other British colonies,... 

Gas Hydrates Gas hydrates are solid particles of methane (which is normally found in gas form) and water molecules in a crystalline form. They are widely found in many parts of the world, including the U.S., South Korea, India and China, often offshore. Gas hydrates have immense potential as a source of energy and may possibly exist in much larger quantities than all other known forms of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, they are not stable except under high pressure. Gas hydrate reserves could be very expensive and difficult to develop as a commercial source of energy. Nonetheless, today s very high prices for oil and gas may eventually make them a viable energy source. 

China alone will contribute a quarter of the increase in C02 emissions or 3.6 billion tons, bringing its total emissions to 6.7 billion tons per year in 2030. However, Chinese emissions will still be well below those of the USA. A projected increase in fossil fuel consumption is largely responsible for fast-paced growth in C02 emissions. Of the fossil fuels, coal and oil account currently for the major part of the total energy-related C02 emissions. Factors such as population growth, rising personal incomes, improved standards of living, and further industrialization are expected to have a... 

Improvement of the atmosphere continues to be of great concern. The continual search for fossil fuel resources can lead to the exploitation of coal, shale, and secondary and tertiary oil recovery schemes. For instance, the industrialization of China, with its substantial resource of sulfur coals, requires consideration of the effect of sulfur oxide emissions. Indeed, the sulfur problem may be the key in the more rapid development of coal usage worldwide. Furthermore, the fraction of aromatic compounds in liquid fuels derived from such natural sources or synthetically developed is found to be large, so that, in general, such fuels have serious sooting characteristics. 

---