Fuels and the Environment

Almost 4.5 billion years ago, the earth was formed, and 95% of the atmosphere consisted of carbon dioxide. The appearance of plant life changed the atmosphere since plants, through the process of photosynthesis, absorb carbon dioxide. Carbon from the atmosphere was drawn into the vegetation. When the vegetable matter died, it decomposed, and formed coal and oil. This reduced the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to less than 1%. 

Oil and natural gas contain less carbon than coal or wood, but the demand for electricity and fuel soared as the nation s economy grew and consumers became more affluent. By 1950, Americans drove three-quarters of all the world s automobiles and they lived increasingly in energy consuming suburban homes, with inefficient heating and cooling 

energy consumption slowed down in the 1970s and 1980s, as manufacturers introduced more efficient appliances. Even so, by the late 1980s, Americans consumed more petroleum than Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom combined. 

GM President Charles Wilson, became Secretary of Defense in 1953, and proclaimed that a new road system was vital to U.S. security needs. Congress approved the 25 billion Interstate Highway Act of 1956 and the highways expanded. 

The American Automobile Manufacturers Association which merged into the International Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers claims that today s automobiles are up to 96% less polluting than cars 35 years ago but automobiles still produce a quarter of the carbon dioxide generated annually in the United States. 

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Reed, M. J. Renner, J. L. 1995. Environmental compatibility of geothermal energy. In Sterrett, F. S. (ed) Alternative Fuels and the Environment. Lewis Publisher, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 23-27. 

Blake DM. Solar processes for the destruction of hazardous chemicals. In Sterrett F, eds. Alternative Fuels and the Environment. Boca Raton, FL Lewis, 1994 175-186. 

Bolton JR, Saearzadeh-Amiri A, Cater SR (1995) The Detoxification of Waste Water Streams Using Solar and Artificial UV Light Sources, in Sterret FS (ed.) Alternative Fuels and the Environment, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Chap. 11 187-192. 

Fuel and the Environment Institute of Fuel, London 1974 Combustion—Formation and Emission of Trace Species Edwards 1974... 

Bolton, J. R., Safarzadeh-Amiri, A., Cater, S. R., 1995, The detoxification of waste water streams using solar and artificial UV light sources, in Alternative Fuels and the Environment, F. S. Sterret, ed., Lewish Publisher. , Boca Raton, FL, pp. 187-192. 

There were multiple barriers between fuel and the environment. The fuel in each fuel pin was hermetically sealed within a strong stainless steel clad the fuel pins were immersed in a sodium pool able to retain chemically a number of important fission products, should a fuel pin fail the coolant was contained within the primary contaiiunent (the reactor vessel, the biological shield roof and, surrounding the reactor vessel, the leak jacket) over the biological shield roof was the secondary containment building which incorporated a post-incident cleanup plant. The latter ensured that any radioactive release to the environment, even following a major incident would be kept to a minimum. 

Chemicals are ubiquitous as air, carbohydrates, enzymes, lipids, minerals, proteins, vitamins, water, and wood. Naturally occurring chemicals are supplemented by man-made substances. There are about 70000 chemicals in use with another 500-1000 added each year. Their properties have been harnessed to enhance the quality of life, e.g. cosmetics, detergents, energy fuels, explosives, fertilizers, foods and drinks, glass, metals, paints, paper, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, plastics, rubber, solvents, textiles thus chemicals are found in virtually all workplaces. Besides the benefits, chemicals also pose dangers to man and the environment. For example ... 

Allen RL, Manning W, McKenzie KD, et al. 1992a. Development of a monoclonal antibody immunoassay for the detection of gasoline and diesel fuel in the environment. Assoc Am Railroads Contaminated Soils-Diesel Fuel Contamination Research Triangle Park NC. 

Netherlands Agency for Energy and the Environment www.Novem.nl Energy research Centre of the Netherlands www.ECN.nl Nedstack Fuel Cells and Systems www.nedstack.com Commercial gasses www.hoekloos.nl Dutch Biohydrogen Platform www.biohydrogen.nl Senter www.senter.nl... 

SiC technology provides the opportunity for the exploitation of chemical gas sensors in the near future in environments and applications that are problematic today. The extension of this technology to these areas will enable the reduction of unwanted emissions and will promote reductions in the use of fuel and energy, resulting in positive implications for natural resources and the environment. 

Although petroleum refiners are not unfamiliar with questions of thermal stability of petroleum products, jet fuel stability requirements (stable in the range 400—500°F) presented a new set of problems. One of the first things to be done was to define limits of acceptable stability. Such limits naturally would depend upon individual engine design and the environment to which the fuel is exposed. Fuels meeting one set of conditions could conceivably fail to meet another set. The solution devise some sort of laboratory test that would correlate with actual engine performance... 

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