Energy conversion facilities problems

One of the primary problems to be encountered in energy conversion facilities will be the variability of the feedstock. A coal or oil shale facility will probably see greater variability, day-by-day, than experienced in planned changes in oil refinery crude runs. Even with extensive blending in the feed stockpile, the variation in feed characteristics will be significant. 

The gasification system must be tailored to suit each application, in particular with regard to consumption of the energy products and availability of feed. Cost of the final energy is very sensitive to the cost of waste or biomass. The price of 14/od ton used in these analyses is felt to represent the value of wood residues as an energy source once the market for these products has been established. Of course, in many instances these residues represent a disposal problem and an energy conversion facility would have to be built for them to realize this energy value. 

In the future, if the world biomass is used as a major source of the world energy supply, shifts in employment and increases in occupational health and safety problems can be expected. Total employment would be projected to increase 5% if about 11% of the United States energy needs were provided by biomass. This labor force would be needed in agricultural and forest production to plant, cut, harvest, and transport biomass resources and in the operation of various energy conversion facilities. 

Although the motivation for the design of such furnaces may be for high-temperature research, much can be learned from them that is applicable to the design of solar energy facilities for power generation. Up to the point of conversion, the problems are essentially parallel. 

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