Fuels economic considerations

Although biomass used directly for heating and cooking is the thermodynamically most efficient use, followed by use for electricity generation, the economics are much more favorable to convert to a liquid fuel. Economic considerations outweigh thermodynamics as an electricity generator, biomass must compete with relatively low-priced coal, but as a liquid fuel the competition is higher-priced oil. 

Evaluations of fuel resources or total fuel supply focus on critical economic and environmental issues as well as existence. These issues include avadabihty, utilisation patterns, environmental consequences, and related economic considerations. 

Increasing fuel costs and sizes of industrial and utiUty installations have forced the emphasis in economical considerations to shift to high thermal efficiency, rehabiUty, and avadabihty. The investment, operating, maintenance, transmission, insurance, and other costs as well as depreciation must also be considered, but these are often less important. 

Drying Fhiidized-bed units for drying solids, particularly coal, cement, rock, and limestone, are in general acceptance. Economic-considerations make these units particularly attrac tive when large tonnages of solids are to be handled. Fuel requirements are 3.3 to 4.2 MJ/kg (1500 to 1900 Btu/lb of water removed), and total power for blowers, feeders, etc., is about 0.08 kWh/kg of water removed. The maximum-sized feed is 6 cm (IV2 in) X 0 coal. One of the major advantages of this type of dryer is the close control of conditions so that a predeterminea amount of free moisture may be left with the solids to... 

Economic considerations were developed to determine the ultimate disposition of each battery. These considerations included capital investment and manning requirements for new meter sites vs. remote headers, vapor recovery potential, reduced fuel usage, maintenance costs, saltwater disposal costs, and additional oil production achievable through automation. 

In economic considerations, it is also important to compare the future costs of hydrogen (which will be considerably tower than they are today because of the assumed market and technology development) with the future costs, both internal and external, of fossil fuels (which will unavoidably be higher than today s prices due to depletion, international conflicts, and environmental impact). 

One such catalytic system has been pilot planted by Toyo Engineering Company (7 ). It utilizes a combination catalyst and specially designed feedstock vaporization system to process hydrocarbons as heavy as crude oil to obtain reasonable conversions to hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Another process announced by Grand Paroise uses a fluidized bed of catalyst for the reforming step (8). Heat required is introduced into the fluidized catalyst by burning fuel inside of tubes immersed in the bed. Both of these systems have been extensively tested in large pilot installations and could be included in commerical installations in the near future if justified by economic considerations. 

Economic Considerations. Economics, of course, will justify the technique of solid waste disposal and fuel gas generation. 

The factor 0,2 is an explicit statement that 0 M cost = 20% of Capital Cost. The equation has the form Y = MX + C where the units of Y are year and X is dimensionless, figure 3. Then the feedstock is of zero cost, e.g. WECS Solar and occasionally biomass the Capital cost becomes E/(1+0,2D) and although efficiency is not explicit in the zero fuel cost solution it is still an economic consideration if not a thermodynamic fact since the size of the plant still has to meet a defined capital cost limitation. This model was used in table I which lists the characteristics of current biomass technologies and those under development. The unit of capacity C is defined here as the metric unit of... 

Decision-makers also influence market share. Even if a new technology is somewhat more expensive than the alternative, some fraction of purchasers will choose it, perhaps because of environmental or "energy independence" considerations. Alternatively, some fraction of purchasers will continue to use their familiar fuel source even if economic considerations dictate a change to a new one. Imperfect price information also affects the market share curve. These various factors are aggregated into the one market share parameter. In a perfect market with high price elasticity and none of these real world effects, y would be infinite, and the product with even a very slight economic advantage would obtain a 100 percent steady-state market share. 

Furnace construction with monolithic refractories is determined by the method(s) to be used in installing the furnace lining, which may be dictated by furnace configuration, time limitations, or other local site conditions. The furnace designer must determine the minimum refractory thickness required. (See table 9.3.) Thicker-than-minimum linings are usually mandated by fundamental economic considerations such as fuel conservation (less heat loss), extended lining life, and reduced maintenance. Additional lining thickness also may be required because of workplace environmental considerations (e.g., external shell temperature or interal atmosphere). 

To reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and curb the exhaust of CO2, we need to make a large-scale transition toward new, sustainable sources of energy. While most scientists and politicians nowadays agree that such a transition is unavoidable, there is much uncertainty about the route to follow, and the speed at which this can and should be done. More often than not, the viabihty of a certain route is determined by economical considerations, rather than technological impediments. As we see later in this chapter and in Chaps. 7 and 8, cost is indeed a crucially important factor for the photoelectrochemical water splitting route that is the topic of this book. 

Indeed, while the market niche for bio-based polymers today is still less than 1 %, and only 3 % of that derive from new synthetic materials, the overall growth rate is about 13 % per year (Smith 2013). Drivers include consumer concerns and demands, as well as environmental, political, and economic considerations. Significant productivity increases in historical and projected com yields will help to provide agricultural feedstock to fuel some of these developments. 

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