Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy

495 Pages·2018·21.474 MB·English

by  Alain Goeppert, George A. Olah, G. K. Surya Prakash

Beyond Oil and Gas

Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy
George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert, and G. K. Surya Prakash
Third, Updated and Enlarged Edition
The Authors All books published by Wiley-VCH are carefully
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Prof. George A. Olah
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University of Southern California contained in these books, including this book,
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute to be free of errors. Readers are advised to keep
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Prof. G. K. Surya Prakash
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Dedicated to the fond memory of a Giant of a Chemist and a great Human Being,
the late Professor George A. Olah.

vii
Contents
Preface xiii
About the Authors xv
Acronyms xvii
1 Introduction 1
2 Coal in the Industrial Revolution and Beyond 13
3 History of Petroleum Oil and Natural Gas 21
3.1 Oil Extraction and Exploration 26
3.2 Natural Gas 27
4 Fossil‐Fuel Resources and Their Use 31
4.1 C oal 32
4.2 P etroleum Oil 38
4.3 U nconventional Oil Sources 43
4.4 T ar Sands 44
4.5 O il Shale 46
4.6 L ight Tight Oil 47
4.7 N atural Gas 48
4.8 C oalbed Methane 56
4.9 T ight Sands and Shales 56
4.10 Methane Hydrates 57
4.11 Outlook 60
5 Oil and Natural Gas Reserves and Their Limits 63
6 The Continuing Need for Hydrocarbon Fuels and Products 73
6.1 Fractional Distillation of Oil 77
6.2 Thermal Cracking and Other Downstream Processes 78
6.3 Petroleum Products 79
7 Fossil Fuels and Climate Change 85
7.1 M itigation 95
viii Contents
8 Renewable Energy Sources and Atomic Energy 101
8.1 Hydropower 104
8.2 Geothermal Energy 108
8.3 Wind Energy 113
8.4 Solar Energy: Photovoltaic and Thermal 117
8.4.1 Electricity from Photovoltaic Conversion 118
8.4.2 Solar Thermal Power for Electricity Production 121
8.4.3 Electric Power from Saline Solar Ponds 125
8.4.4 Solar Thermal Energy for Heating 125
8.4.5 Economics of Solar Energy 126
8.5 Bioenergy 127
8.5.1 Electricity from Biomass 128
8.5.2 Liquid Biofuels 130
8.5.2.1 Biomethanol 135
8.5.3 Advantages and Limitation of Biofuels 135
8.6 Ocean Energy: Thermal, Tidal, and Wave Power 136
8.6.1 Tidal Energy 136
8.6.2 Wave Power 138
8.6.3 Ocean Thermal Energy 139
8.7 Nuclear Energy 140
8.7.1 Energy from Nuclear Fission Reactions 142
8.7.2 Breeder Reactors 146
8.7.3 The Need for Nuclear Power 148
8.7.4 Economics 149
8.7.5 Safety 151
8.7.6 Radiation Hazards 153
8.7.7 Nuclear By‐products, Waste, and Their Management 154
8.7.8 Emissions 156
8.7.9 Nuclear Fusion 156
8.7.10 Nuclear Power: An Energy Source for the Future 160
8.8 Future Outlook 161
9 The Hydrogen Economy and Its Limitations 165
9.1 Hydrogen and Its Properties 166
9.2 The Development of Hydrogen Energy 168
9.3 Production and Uses of Hydrogen 171
9.3.1 Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels 172
9.3.2 Hydrogen from Biomass 174
9.3.3 Photobiological Water Cleavage and Fermentation 175
9.3.4 Water Electrolysis 175
9.3.4.1 Electrolyzer Types 176
9.3.4.2 Electricity Source 177
9.3.5 Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Energy 179
9.4 The Challenge of Hydrogen Storage 180
9.4.1 Liquid Hydrogen 182
9.4.2 Compressed Hydrogen 182
9.4.3 Metal Hydrides and Solid Adsorbents 184