Unconventional, energy resource

A world atlas, giving sites with evidence of hydrate deposits, both onshore and offshore, is presented in Chapter 7, Figure 7.2. Since each volume of hydrate can contain as much as 184 volumes of gas (STP), hydrates are currently considered a potential unconventional energy resource. Table 1.4 lists the milestones accomplished to further our knowledge on naturally occurring hydrates. 

Naturally occurring clathrate hydrates are found in marine sediments and in permafrost. Because they contain a large amount of methane, they are thought to have potential as an unconventional energy resource. At the same time, however, clathrate hydrates are a serious problem for the gas and oil industries, because they form easily under suitable conditions at the sites of natural gas production, transportation, and processing. The inhibition and control of hydrates in pipelines adds tremendously to gas production costs. ... 

Cardott, B. (2004). Overview of Unconventional Energy Resources of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geological Survey, Norman, OK (www.ogs.ou.edu/fossilfuels/coalpdfs/... 

Hinman, G. W. (1991). Unconventional Petroleum Resources. In The Energy Sourcebook, ed. R. Howes and A. Faiiiberg. New York American Institute of Physics. Lee, S. (1996). Applied Technology Series Alternative Fuels. New York Taylor Francis. 

Figure 5.46. New and unconventional uranium resources given as kg of luanium oxide per m, averaged over each country (source World Energy Coxmcil, 1995 GIS layout Sorensen, 1999).

The U.S. resources of oil shale and tar sands are estimated at about 2 trillion barrels and about 76 billion barrels, respectively. These huge unconventional oil resources are currently undeveloped (1,2). To develop these unconventional domestic energy resources several constraints, which include the presence of nitrogen and sulfur, which can lead to increased emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide respectively, need to be addressed. 

Shikha Sharma (stable isotope geochemistry with focus on issues related to the water-energy-environment nexus and isotope applications in unconventional and sustainable energy resources), Director, WVU Stable Isotope Laboratory, Department of Geology Geography, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV... 

Other sources of energy worth noting are the extensive wind farms, solar projects, and related emerging unconventional technologies. These renewable resources provide only small quantities of energy to the U.S. economy as of this writing. 

Resource estimates and current production Natural gas from coal is present wherever coal is found and, as coal is found in great quantities throughout the world (see Section 3.5), natural gas from coal may represent a large energy source. As for all types of unconventional gas, the published reserve and resource figures show great variations and are often based on estimations from incomplete data. In addition, as... 

Current estimates of the available reserves and further resources of uranium and thorium, and their global distribution, are shown in Figs. 5.44-5.50. The uraruum proven reserves indicated in Fig. 5.44 can be extracted at costs below 130 US /t, as can the probable additional reserves indicated in Fig. 5.45. Figure 5.46 shows new and unconventional resources that may later become reserves. They are inferred on the basis of geological modelling or other indirect information (OECD and IAEA, 1993 World Energy Council, 1995). The thorium resource estimates are from the US Geological Survey (Hedrick, 1998) and are similarly divided into reserves (Eig. 5.47), additional reserves (Fig. 5.48) and more speculative resources (Fig. 5.49). The thorium situation is less well explored than that of uranium the reserves cannot be said to be "economical", as they are presently mined for other purposes (rare earth metals), and thorium is only a byproduct with currently very limited areas of use. The "speculative" Th-resources may well have a similar status to some of the additional U-reserves. 

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