Fossil fuel cycle

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) (1996) Study of analytical evaluation method for comprehensive fossil fuel cycle from a global envhonmental perspective (III). NEDO, Kawasaki... 

Golomb, D. S. Fay, J. A. 2004. Atmospheric Impact of the Fossil Fuel Cycle. In Giere, R. Stille, P. (eds) Energy, Waste, and the Environment a Geochemical Perspective. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 236, 153-167. 

The metal is a source of nuclear power. There is probably more energy available for use from thorium in the minerals of the earth s crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future. Work has been done in developing thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) and MSRE (molten salt converter reactor experiment), have operated. While the HTGR reactors are efficient, they are not expected to become important commercially for many years because of certain operating difficulties. 

N. R. Johanson and J. W. Muehlhauser, "MHD Bottoming Cycle Operations and Test Results at the CFFF," paper presented at Second International Workshop on Fossil Fuel Fired MHD, Bologna, Italy, 1989. 

If possible comparisons are focused on energy systems, nuclear power safety is also estimated to be superior to all electricity generation methods except for natural gas (30). Figure 3 is a plot of that comparison in terms of estimated total deaths to workers and the pubHc and includes deaths associated with secondary processes in the entire fuel cycle. The poorer safety record of the alternatives to nuclear power can be attributed to fataUties in transportation, where comparatively enormous amounts of fossil fuel transport are involved. Continuous or daily refueling of fossil fuel plants is required as compared to refueling a nuclear plant from a few tmckloads only once over a period of one to two years. This disadvantage appHes to solar and wind as well because of the necessary assumption that their backup power in periods of no or Httie wind or sun is from fossil-fuel generation. Now death or serious injury has resulted from radiation exposure from commercial nuclear power plants in the United States (31). 

Conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants, nuclear power faciUties, cogeneration systems, and combined-cycle faciUties all have one key feature in common some type of steam generator is employed to produce steam. Except for simple-cycle cogeneration faciUties, the steam is used to drive one or... 

Power plants based on the Rankine thermodynamic cycle have served the majority of the world s electric power generation needs in the twentieth century. The most common heat sources employed by Rankine cycle power plants are either fossil fuel-fired or nuclear steam generators. The former are the most widely used. 

Fossil Fuel-Fired Plants. In modem, fossil fuel-fired power plants, the Rankine cycle typically operates as a closed loop. In describing the steam—water cycle of a modem Rankine cycle plant, it is easiest to start with the condensate system (see Fig. 1). Condensate is the water that remains after the steam employed by the plant s steam turbines exhausts into the plant s condenser, where it is collected for reuse in the cycle. Many modem power plants employ a series of heat exchangers to boost efficiency. As a first step, the condensate is heated in a series of heat exchangers, usually sheU-and-tube heat exchangers, by steam extracted from strategic locations on the plant s steam turbines (see HeaT-EXCHANGETECHNOLOGy). 

Simplified Cycle. A simplified fossil steam cycle appears in Figure 19. The water accumulates in the bottom of the condenser, called the hotweU. It goes through a feed pump to pressurize it. The pressurized water passes through one or more feedwater heaters, which raise the temperature. The water then enters the boiler where heat from the fuel converts it to steam. The steam expands through the engine, usually a turbine, which extracts work. In the middle of the turbine some of the steam is extracted to supply heat to the feedwater heater. The remainder expands through the turbine and is condensed. The rejected heat is carried away by the condenser coolant, which is usually water, but sometimes air. The condensed steam then returns to the... 

Carbon. Most of the Earth s supply of carbon is stored in carbonate rocks in the Hthosphere. Normally the circulation rate for Hthospheric carbon is slow compared with that of carbon between the atmosphere and biosphere. The carbon cycle has received much attention in recent years as a result of research into the possible relation between increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, most of which is produced by combustion of fossil fuel, and the "greenhouse effect," or global warming. Extensive research has been done on the rate at which carbon dioxide might be converted to cellulose and other photosyntheticaHy produced organic compounds by various forms of natural and cultivated plants. Estimates also have been made of the rate at which carbon dioxide is released to soil under optimum conditions by various kinds of plant cover, such as temperature-zone deciduous forests, cultivated farm crops, prairie grassland, and desert vegetation. 

The balance between animal and plant life cycles as affected by the solubiHty of carbon dioxide ia the earth s water results ia the carbon dioxide content ia the atmosphere of about 0.03 vol %. However, carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere seems to be increa sing as iacreased amounts of fossil fuels are burned. There is some evidence that the rate of release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere may be greater than the earth s abiHty to assimilate it. Measurements from the U.S. Water Bureau show an iacrease of 1.36% ia the CO2 content of the atmosphere ia a five-year period and predictions iadicate that by the year 2000 the content may have iacreased by 25% (see Airpollution). 

To comply with carbon reduction goals, some countries impose taxes on carbon dioxide emissions. Since biofuels have lower full-cycle carbon dioxide emissions than fossil fuels, biofuels are more cost-competitive with fossil fuels in regions where these taxes are imposed. 

Like all matter, carbon can neither be created nor destroyed it can just be moved from one place to another. The carbon cycle depicts the various places where carbon can be found. Carbon occurs in the atmosphere, in the ocean, in plants and animals, and in fossil fuels. Carbon can be moved from the atmosphere into either producers (through the process of photosynthesis) or the ocean (through the process of diffusion). Some producers will become fossil fuels, and some will be eaten by either consumers or decomposers. The carbon is returned to the atmosphere when consumers respire, when fossil fuels are burned, and when plants are burned in a fire. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere can be changed by increasing or decreasing rates of photosynthesis, use of fossil fuels, and number of fires. 

If hydrogen is made from decarbonized fossil fuels, fuel-cycle emissions can be cut by up to 80 percent. With renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar, or wind, the fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions are virtually eliminated. It is possible to envision a future energy system based on hydrogen and fuel cells with little or no emissions of pollutants or greenhouse gases in fuel production, distribution, or use. 

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