Economics alternative sources

Sulfuric acid is an economical alternative source of acid and many commercial generators substitute concentrated sulfuric acid for HCl. Furthermore, the requited chloride ion needed as the reductant is already present or added as NaCl in the chlorate solution or crystal obtained from the chlorate manufacturer. This process, popular in the 1960s and 1970s, produces substantial amounts of Hquid effluent containing 20—35% sulfuric acid, 20—25% sodium sulfate, and minor amounts of sodium chloride and unreacted chlorate that must be neutralized with alkaH. 

The first proteins from transgenic plants to reach commercial status were avidin and P-glucuronidase (GUS) both of which are used as diagnostic agents in molecular biology. An important principle demonstrated by these case studies is that molecular farming in cereals can be an economical alternative even when the natural source of a protein is abundant (i.e. egg whites for avidin, and Escherichia coli for GUS) and where a market is already established. 

Within the frame of the EU-funded project GABARDINE (2005-2008 http // www.geoservice.gr/), the identification of alternative sources of water and the feasibility, both environmental and economic, of their utilisation were explored. Alternative water sources to be artificially recharged comprised surface water runoff, treated effluent and imported water. 

Nuclear fuel cycle, 77 545-547 safety principles and, 17 546-547 Nuclear fuel reprocessing, 10 789-790 Nuclear fuel reserves, 17 518-530 alternative sources of, 17 527 economic aspects of, 17 526-527 toxicology of uranium, 17 528-529 uranium mineral resources, 17 518-521, 522-525... 

The calls for a reduction of U.S. hydrocarbon use by 90% would eliminate 75% of America s energy supply are unrealistic. This 75% of U.S. energy cannot be replaced by alternative green sources in the near future. In spite of wide support and subsidies for decades alternative sources still provide a small percent of U.S. energy. The U.S. cannot continue to be a net importer of energy without losing its economic and industrial strength and its political independence. 

A third trend is towards the search for cheap feed stock sources. This development started quite a while ago. Methanol used as a carbon source for microbial growth is of real interest at present. Cellulose and hemicellulose as components of wood are not yet an economic alternative, but recent progress is very impressing. It can easily be foreseen that wood will be utilized as a new resource for biotechnology within the next 10 years. 

Ultimately non-petrochemical sources of raw materials will become more economical, and synthesis of plastics will turn to these alternate sources, some to produce our present plastics, others to produce new types of plastics. Coal, forestry, and agriculture offer a great variety of interesting opportunities, whenever the economics appear appropriate (5). 

As we search for the energy sources of the future, we need to consider economic, climatic, and supply factors. There are several potential energy sources the sun (solar), nuclear processes (fission and fusion), biomass (plants), and synthetic fuels. Direct use of the sun s radiant energy to heat our homes and run our factories and transportation systems seems a sensible longterm goal. But what do we do now Conservation of fossil fuels is one obvious step, but substitutes for fossil fuels must be found eventually. We will discuss some alternative sources of energy here. Nuclear power will be considered in Chapter 21. 

Figure 4 illustrates the annualized cost of operating an RC/Bahco SO2 scrubbing system for various fiue gas SOo concentration levels and unit sizes. As illustrated in Figure 4, a different fuel price of 4/ton of coal and l/barrel of oil is approximately equal to 16 /MMBtu. The current differential between high and low sulfur coal and oil are, respectively, 6-8/ton and 1.5-2/barrel or about 24-32 /MMBtu. Coupled with the increased demand for low sulfur fuels will be an increase in price and a decrease in availability. Therefore the RC/Bahco process is an economic alternative which permits the use of available fuel sources. 

Petroleum chemicals fulfill two functions. They provide alternative and more economic routes to existing chemicals already made from other raw materials, and they lead to new industrial chemicals. The reactions of and outlets for chemicals more economically synthesized from petroleum have already been worked out, although perhaps not completely, in connection with the older routes. Those countries not favored with petroleum as an economic raw material have had to make use of alternative sources for these chemicals. In surveying the literature, it is, therefore, necessary to take account of the history of those petroleum chemicals which have been made from alternative sources. The reactions of methane are the same whether it is obtained from natural gas or as a by-product of the hydrogenation of coal or as a fraction in the liquefaction of coke oven gas depending on the source, the economics may be quite different. 

The U.S. currently imports about sixty (60) percent of its oil requirements (7), which is expected to increase to about 70 percent by the year 2025 (7). This reliance on foreign sources of oil has created both national and economic security issues for the U.S. It is desirable to produce liquid transportation fuels from alternative sources. The Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process can be used to produce liquid fuels from synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Liquid fuels produced from die F-T process have very low levels of sulfur compared to petroleum products these ultra-clean fuels are environmentally friendly. However, syngas is commonly produced from natural gas, which has become significantly more expensive in recent years (2). Alternative, less expensive feedstocks for syngas production can reduce the costs of liquid fuels produced through the F-T process. 

An existing lube hydrocracker can be operated at higher severity to make this special product, but the sharp reduction in yield may not be attractive for the base oil plant economics. However, an alternative source of hydrocracked base oil is available from some of the many existing fuel crackers. These hydrocrackers are important refinery conversion units and are used to make a range of fuel products from vacuum distillate feedstocks. Some plants do not fully convert the feed in one pass to low-boiling products and the limited amount of residue which remains, 5-10%, can be recycled within the plant, used as a fuel oil blending component or upgraded to make the special base oils. 

---