Fossil resources

Renewable carbon resources is a misnomer the earth s carbon is in a perpetual state of flux. Carbon is not consumed such that it is no longer available in any form. Reversible and irreversible chemical reactions occur in such a manner that the carbon cycle makes all forms of carbon, including fossil resources, renewable. It is simply a matter of time that makes one carbon from more renewable than another. If it is presumed that replacement does in fact occur, natural processes eventually will replenish depleted petroleum or natural gas deposits in several million years. Eixed carbon-containing materials that renew themselves often enough to make them continuously available in large quantities are needed to maintain and supplement energy suppHes biomass is a principal source of such carbon. 

In anticipation of a more balanced discussion on renewable and fossil resources for surfactants a consensus on the coexistence of petrochemically derived products and products based on, for instance, oils, fats, and carbohydrates can be predicted. 

Note MPW is Mixed Plastic Waste MSW ca is municipal solid waste and comparable material Typical capacities considered are 50 ktpa to 200 tpa Theoretical potential if most blast furnaces and cement kilns in the EU start to replace regular fossil resources by MPW ... 

Other than longer-term supply issues the main driver for moving away from fossil resources is pollution. Since pre-industrial times the level of atmospheric CO2 has risen from 280 ppm to 360 ppm, and whilst some observers believe this may be a natural cycle in the Earth s history, most believe it is a direct consequence of burning fossil fuels. This additional CO2 is now thought to be the main cause of global warming via the greenhouse effect (see Box 6.1). 

The assessment and quantification of the remaining reserves and resources of fossil fuels is a very complex and broad field, characterised by a lack of internationally harmonised definitions and standards, great data uncertainties and discrepancies and, consequently, the potential danger of data abuse for political purposes. Within the scope of this publication, only an overview of the range of the currently available estimates of fossil resources is provided and the focus is rather on the general discussion of potential sources of uncertainty, than on a detailed assessment of the different methodological and statistical approaches and discrepancies at country or even field level. 

Renewable hydrogen is mainly an economic option in countries with a large renewable resource base or a lack of fossil resources, for remote and sparsely populated areas (such as islands) or if surplus electricity from intermittent renewable energies must be stored. Otherwise, renewable hydrogen needs to be incentivised or mandated. 

One notes the large difference in amounts available, not only between available fossil resources, but also for the renewables. The amounts of coal are close to eight times those of oil, comparable to our uranium resources. The amounts of natural gas available are slightly less. If one compares these amounts with the current use of renewables as wind, solar and photosynthesis production, it is clear that fossil fuel resources will stay with us for a very long time. 

Fig. 2.13 Feed and processing cost of transportation fuels derived from lignocellulose and fossil resources.

Catalysis could play a relevant role in limiting the environmental impact associated with biofuel production. In fact, it has been estimated, for example, that significantly more waste water arises in the production of biofuels than in the production of fuels using fossil resources. New (catalytic) processes for handling waste water deriving from biofuel production need to be developed. 

To convert these feedstocks into useful chemicals, mainly fermentation, chemical modification or thermochemical methods were applied. However, these processes were later abandoned in favor of the more economic and efficient processes based on fossil resources, in particular oil. Easier transport and more stable chemical composition (biomass feedstocks are highly diverse, depending on the source) are two relevant additional factors in favor of fossil fuels. Therefore, although the concept of biorefinery is attractive, there are several barriers to economically feasible. 

The point is that if the longer-term sustainability of a process can be demonstrated, then a reliance upon fossil resources in the initial stages of the industrial cycle should not be used as an argument against the technology. 

Canadian Fossil Resources for Liquid Fuel Conversion Route... 

It should be pointed out that the raw materials for VAM and its related polymers (i.e. ethylene and acetic acid) are produced from fossil resources, mainly crude oil. It is possible to completely substitute the feedstock for these raw materials and switch to ethanol, which can be produced from renewable resources like sugar cane, com, or preferably straw and other non-food parts of plants. Having that in mind, the whole production of PVAc, that nowadays is based on traditional fossil resources, could be switched to a renewable, sustainable and C02-neutral production process based on bioethanol, as shown in Fig. 3. If the vinyl acetate circle can be closed by the important steps of biodegradation or hydrolysis and biodegradation of vinyl ester-based polymers back to carbon dioxide, then a tmly sustainable material circle can be established. 

Emission of carbon contained in Bionolle drawn from fossil resources must be accounted for as CO2. However, there has been no study mentioning the ratio of carbon components discharged into the open air after biodegradation in soil. Instead, it is assumed that the entire component will be emitted into the open air as CO2. 

Ethanol. Ethanol is the most important chemical produced by fermentation, and it has the potential to become a major feedstock for the chemical industry since many other large-scale chemicals can be produced from ethanol. In fact, ethanol can in many respects be considered a renewable alternative to ethylene, which is the largest volume carbon-containing chemical produced from fossil resources today. Via catalytic dehydration, ethanol can easily be converted into ethylene and diethyl ether, both of which are well-known acid catalyzed processes. Almost all available... 

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