Fossil fuel sources of energy

Solar cells based on silicon or gallium arsenide provide a way to convert the radiant energy of the sun directly into electrical work by a technology that is virtually nonpolluting (Fig. 22.26). The high capital costs of solar cells make them uncompetitive with conventional fossil fuel sources of energy at this time, but as reserves of fossil fuels dwindle, solar energy will become an important option. 

The conversion of wind energy to electricity, using wind turbines, is now cost competitive with fossil-fuel sources of energy such as natural gas. Wind-turbine farms have been built in Europe and the United States. The land around them is still available for agricultural use. However, people have begun to resist the placement of wind farms in certain locations, citing noise, bird kills, and unsightly visual effects. 

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... 

The simple fact is that the world s reserves of fossil fuels will eventually run out, depending on the rate of use, and therefore, if the consumption of these forms of energy are reduced, the existing reserves will last longer. Research and experimentation could lead to those reserves currently available but uneconomic to recover and use being rendered economic, thus extending further the number of years before these non-renewable sources of energy do eventually run out. 

Owing to diminishing fossil fuel reserves, alternative energy sources need to be renewable, sustainable, efficient, cost-effective, convenient and safe.1 In recent decades, microbial production of ethanol has been considered as an alternative fuel for the future because fossil fuels are depleting. Several microorganisms, including Clostridium sp. and yeast, the well-known ethanol producers Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zymomonas mobilis, are suitable candidates to produce ethanol.2,3... 

In the United States, methane is a major energy source used in many homes for cooking and heating of water and indoor air and water. It is commonly known that some power plants and industries use natural gas as a source of energy for generation of electricity and process heat and that this methane is a fossil fuel obtained from gas wells and transmitted throughout the country by gas pipelines. Most people also know that methane bubbles up from polluted swamps where sedimented plant matter is undergoing decomposition. Because of odors from swamps, and the odor due to natural gas additives, methane is incorrectly considered malodorous. 

Fossil fuels are nonrenewable, and combustion products contaminate the atmosphere. Consequently, scientists are searching for new sources of energy. One possibility is molecular hydrogen, which releases energy when it reacts with oxygen 2 H2(g) + 02(g) 2H2 0(/) + Energy Hydrogen powers the rockets of the space shuttle,... 

Since 1800, the main sources of energy have been fossil fuels, with other sources contributing less than 20% of the total. 

In order to reduce the problem of global warming, society needs to find alternative sources of energy. The problem with burning fossil fuels is that they release too much —... 

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on Earth and is expected to continue to be an important source of energy over the next several hundred years. Coal deposits are widely... 

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