Fossil-based energy, alternatives

The choices are fossil, renewables, and nuclear. Fossil is likely to remain dominant for decades, but in light of the trends of fossil resources and environmental emission, sustainable economic development might favour its displacement with non-fossil based energy supply if viable alternatives are available. The remaining options would then be renewables and nuclear. 

The use of oil sands and tars to produce liquid fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) is part of today s non-conventional oil business and, hence, has not been considered here as a fuel alternative for a future mostly renewable-based energy system (for details see Chapter 3). 

These chemicals as well as energy vectors can be used in several applications or can be further upgraded into other useful products. They can all be produced via synthesis gas (CO + Hj) that has been the subject of extensive investigations and commercial industrial processes based on fossil based synthesis gas exist. The advantage of these vectors is that they can be either used in fuel cells for electricity or transport applications, or alternatively, they can be processed to liquid transport fuel additives such as dimethylether (DME) and dimethoxymethane (DMM). 

Furthermore, 75% of these fossil-based resources are concentrated in a few OPEC countries and, under these circumstances, oil prices are more likely to remain unstable and are now hovering around US 123/barrel. It is estimated that the price of crude oil is likely to exceed US 170/barrel by the end of the year 2010. This situation cannot be sustained. The development of alternative energy resources will help stabilize oil prices and improve the security of energy supply for non-oil producing nations. The development and production of liquid bio-flxels, which has been ongoing since the oil crises of 1973, should contribute towards the attainment of this goal. 

Whale oil was used for lighting and heating long before the extensive use of petroleum oil. Similarly, vegetable oils (or biomass liquids and saps) are also potential fuels (see Chap. 1), but their modest production at present precludes their wide spread use. Perhaps when the energy farm has developed, it will be possible to consider biomass fuels as an alternative to fossil-based fuels. 

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