Energy consumption fossil fuels

Total Energy Consumption Fossil Fuel Saving with Gasohol... 

Fossil fuels, namely oil, coal, and gas, provide 85% of all the energy used in the United States. Renewable energy sources supply just 8%, most of which comes from hydropower and the burning of biomass while only 4% comes from geothermal sources. Fig. 2 shows the history and projections of the U.S. energy consumption by fuel sources for the period of 1970-2020. 

States and in developing ones like China, chemists are actively trying to find new energy sources. Currently the major sources of energy are fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas). The estimated reserves of these fuels will last us another 50-l(X) years, at the present rate of consumption, so it is urgent that we find alternatives. 

In addition to the significant consumption of coal and lignite, petroleum, and natural gas, several countries utilize modest quantities of alternative fossil fuels. Canada obtains some of its energy from the Athabasca tar sands development (the Great Canadian Oil Sands Project). Oil shale is burned at... 

X 10 Btu/short ton), the solar energy trapped in 17.9 x 10 t of biomass, or about 8 x 10 t of biomass carbon, would be equivalent to the world s fossil fuel consumption in 1990 of 286 x 10 J. It is estimated that 77 x 10 t of carbon, or 171 x 10 t of biomass equivalent, most of it wild and not controlled, is fixed on the earth each year. Biomass should therefore be considered as a raw material for conversion to large suppHes of renewable substitute fossil fuels. Under controlled conditions dedicated biomass crops could be grown specifically for energy appHcations. 

A projection of biomass energy consumption in the United States for the years 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2030 is shown in Table 6 by end use sector (12). This analysis is based on a National Premiums Scenario which assumes that specific market incentives are appHed to aU. new renewable energy technology deployment. The scenario depends on the enactment of federal legislation equivalent to a fossil fuel consumption tax. Any incentives over and above those in place (ca 1992) for use of renewable energy will have a significant impact on biomass energy consumption. 

Several important generalizations can be made. The first is that fossil fuel prices are primary competition for biomass energy. Table 28 summarizes 1990 U.S. tabulations of average, consumption-weighted, deflvered fossil fuel prices by end-use sector (90). The deflvered price of a given fossil fuel is not the same to each end user ie, the residential sector normally pays more for fuels than the other sectors, and large end users pay less. 

It would obviously be desirable to eliminate the generation of waste. Practical alternatives are to minimize it by reduction at source or to recycle it. Table 16.7 illustrates the hierarchy of waste minimization practices. Source reduction includes increased process efficiency economies in the use of energy are also relevant, e.g. it may result in a decrease in the consumption of fossil fuels ... 

The possibilities of new sources of energy, such as energy from hydrogen, may also some day become economical, and help to uncouple fossil fuel consumption from economic growth... 

Since the 1970s, technological advances have solved many environmental problems associated with energy production and consumption, and proven that more energy consumption does not necessarily mean more pollution. The fossil fuel industries are producing and distributing more energy less expensive-... 

Implementation of the 1998 Kyoto Protocol, which is designed to reduce global carbon emissions, will have dramatic effects on fossil fuel usage worldwide. The Kyoto Protocol mostly affects delivered prices for coal and conversion of plants to natural gas, nuclear and/or renewable resources. However, as pointed out by the International Energy Agency, increased natural gas consumption in the United States may likely have the effect of increased reliance... 

Unlike the gasoline tax that only impacts the transportation sector, carbon taxes affect all sectors of the economy. Implemented by some European countries and proposed in the United States by the Clinton Administration in 1993, the carbon tax makes consumption of fossil fuels more expensive for the energy user. The goals of a carbon tax are to reduce the consumption of energy and to make non-carbon emitting sources like wind and hydroelectric more cost-competitive with fossil fuels. 

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