Page 12 - Synthetic Fuels Handbook

CHAPTER 1

FUEL SOURCES

Fuel sources (gas, liquid, and solid) are those sources that can be used to roduce fuels (gas,
liquid, and solid), which are combustible or energy-generating molecular species that can
be harnessed to create mechanical energy.
Petroleum-based fuels are well-established products that have served industry and con-
sumers for more than one hundred years. Over the past four decades, in spite of the energy
shocks of the 1970s, there has been rapid escalation in fuel demand to the point that many
countries, particularly the United States, are net importers of petroleum and petroleum
products and this is projected to continue (Fig. 1.1). However, the time is running out and
these fuel sources, once considered inexhaustible, are now being depleted at a rapid rate. In
fact, there is little doubt that the supplies of crude oil are being depleted with each year that
passes. However, it is not clear just how long it will take to reach the bottom of the well!
The impact of an oil deficiency can be overcome by serious planning for the world
beyond petroleum (the slogan used by BP, formerly British Petroleum) but it is a trade off.
The trade off is between having a plentiful supply of liquid fuels versus the higher cost
(initially with a fall in production costs as technology advances) for the petroleum replace-
ments. The flaw in this plan, of course, is its acceptance by the various levels of government
in the oil consuming nations as the politicians think of re-election. And so, the matter falls
into the hands of the consumers and requires recognition that the price of fuels will rise and
may even continue to rise in the short-term. At least until serious options are mature and the
relevant technologies being applied are on-stream.
Thus, as the amount of available petroleum decreases, the need for alternate technolo-
gies to produce liquid fuel grows (Table 1.1) (Green and Willhite, 1998). These fuels could
potentially help prolong the liquid fuels culture and mitigate the forthcoming effects of the
shortage of transportation fuels that has been suggested to occur under the Hubbert peak
oil theory (Hirsch, 2005).
The Hubbert peak oil theory is based on the fundamental observation that the amount
of oil under the ground is finite and proposes that for any given geographic area, from an
individual oil field to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to fol-
low a bell-shaped curve. The theory also proposed the means to show how to calculate the
point of maximum production in advance based on discovery rates, production rates, and
cumulative production. Early in the curve (pre-peak), the production rate increases due to
the discovery rate and the addition of infrastructure. Late in the curve (post-peak), produc-
tion declines due to resource depletion.
To mitigate the influence of the oil peak and the subsequent depletion of supplies,
unconventional (or nonpetroleum-derived) fuels are of increasing interest in the conscious-
ness of oil importing countries.
An alternative fuel or synthetic fuel is defined according to the context of its usage. In
the context of substitutes for petroleum-based fuel, the term alternative fuel or synthetic
implies any available fuel or energy source and may also refer to a fuel derived from a
renewable energy sources. However, in the context of environmental sustainability, alterna-
tive fuel often implies an ecologically benign renewable fuel.

1
Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.