Uploaded on 2016-03-21 by EttoreMurabito

------------------------------------------------------------ The Sankey diagram below (Figure 1) shows the energy sources and sinks for the United Kingdon in the year 2013 (the most recent data available at www.iea.org/sankey as for today). The diagram shows three types of fossil fuels: - Oil/Oil Products (in what follows oil and oil products are considered as one category and will be referred to simply as “Oil”). - Natural Gas. - Coal. Of these, Oil is the largest source (131.5 Mtoe), followed by natural gas (74.3 Mtoe) and then coal (38.7 Mtoe). More in detail: - 47% of Oil is exported and 53% used (consumed or stocked) in the country. - 11% of Natural Gas is exported and 89% used in the country. - The entirety of the Coal import and production is used in the country. Consequently, the usage of fossil fuels in the United Kingdom in 2013 can be ranked as follows: 1. Oil (69.7 Mtoe) 2. Natural Gas (66.1 Mtoe) 3. Coal (38.7 Mtoe) ![Sankey diagram for the energy production and consumption in the UK in 2013][1] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14585724018850031.png ***Figure 1*** - *Sankey diagram for the energy production and consumption in the UK in 2013.* ---------- **Where are the dominant fossil fuels mainly used for in your country?** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The sectors that consume most of the fossil fuels are “transport” and “other” (the latter covering residential, commercial and public services, agriculture/forestry, fishing and other non-specified sectors). - "Transport” - Of all the energy used in the transport sector, 96% (37.6 Mtoe) comes directly from Oil sources. This amount represents 37% of all the production and import of Oil. - “Other” - Of the total energy consumption in this sector, 65% (35.9 Mtoe) comes directly from Natural Gas and represents 48% of the total Natural Gas production/import. Another 33% (18.5 Mtoe) comes from electricity which, in turn, is mostly derived from fossil fuels (43% from coal, 22% from natural gas and 1% from oil). ---------- **Create a new policy in order to improve the environmental friendly and sustainable sources and consumption of energy of your country. How would you do that?** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The energy policy would primarily target the transportation sector, housing, electricity production and energy consumption. ***Transportation*** To decrease the demand of Oil, research and development would be encouraged in the domain of biofuels, hydrogen technology and electric vehicles. ***Biofuels*** can be produced from a variety of feedstocks, including lignocellulosic energy crops, multi purpose crops, residues/wastes from agriculture and forestry, industrial wastes, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and aquatic biomass. *The focus of the policy would be on making the waste of one sector of urban and rural activities part of the input of another sector (in this case transport)*. Particular emphasis would be put on gasification processes and biotechnological approaches. - *Gasification* - New technologies are emerging in the process of converting waste into biofuel through gasification. An example is provided by the Solena's Plasma Gasification (SPG) technology which, compared to conventional gasification technologies, can reportedly process 20% to 50% more waste, and can use a variety of feedstocks such as paper, plastics, tyres, chips and forestry residues. Gasification of biomass will be also considered, although the consistent and reliable availability of feedstock is a key consideration. - *Biotechnology* - The production of biofuel (often in the form of bioethanol) through fermentation of sugars by microorganisms is another approach that would also be encouraged. Current examples of this line of R&D are represented by algae biofuel production. Algal biofuels are of interest as they can utilise waste water such as landfill leachate. Of notable interest is also syngas fermentation, i.e. the fermentation of synthesis gas through microbial process. In this process, a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, known as syngas, is used to feed a microbial culture (for example clostridium ljungdahlii) which will convert it into bioethanol. Because syngas is a mixture of hazardous gases (carbon monoxide is highly toxic and hydrogen is explosive) this process has the double benefit of disposing hazardous material while producing eco-friendly sources of energy. ***Hydrogen technology*** - Hydrogen powered vehicles have the potential to reduce carbon emission. To achieve this, hydrogen must NOT be produced from natural gas (otherwise there would be heavy hidden emissions). Hydrogen would be produced from water by high temperature electrolysis, where a significant amount of the energy required in the process can be provided as thermal energy. This thermal energy can come from a number of different sources, including waste industrial heat, nuclear power stations or concentrated solar thermal plants. This has the potential to reduce the overall cost of the hydrogen produced by reducing the amount of electrical energy required for electrolysis. ***Electric vehicles*** - Although electric vehicles too have the potential to reduce carbon emission, one should consider that most of the electricity used in the UK is produced by converting coal and natural gas in power station. Moreover, in the conversion process, more than 50% of the energy content of the original sources is dissipated in power losses. This make electric vehicles potentially not as eco-friendly as one may think because of the high hidden emissions. Generation of electricity through alternative means is than highly desirable, and not only for the transportation sector. ***Housing*** A policy would be adopted that requires new homes to be self-sufficient in energy terms to a given certain extent by using cutting-edge efficiency and microgeneration technologies. On average, a family expends around 3,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year and around 70% of that is used up in and around our homes. Initiatives such as the Smart Energy Home (SEH) consortium - a collaboration of university researchers, chemical and construction companies - demonstrated that (at least partly) self-sufficient smart homes could be built using available technology. Examples are provided below: - Renewable energy sources to generate electricity - either wind turbines, last generation of solar PV panels (efficiency up to 44%) and concentrators on the roof. - Use of advanced materials for better thermal wall insulation. An example is use of phase-change materials to even out fluctuations in temperature inside a building. These wax-like materials are embedded into the walls, storing heat when temperatures are high by melting. When external temperatures drop, the materials solidify and release the trapped heat back into the house. - Use of smart technology for energy-management systems. This will imply the use of sensors to figure out whether there are people in a building (for example an office) and turning the heating and lighting on and off depending on where it is needed. This is particularly useful in public buildings and workplaces, where the use of heating and lighting is often uncoupled with the actual use of the building and only follows assumed behavioral patterns. - Next-generation energy-efficient appliances and organic LED lights will also be recommended. ***Electricity production*** As already mentioned most of the electricity used in the UK is produced by converting fossil fuel in power station with a power loss of more than 50%. A renewable energy roadmap would be then laid out to increase the electricity production from renewable sources such as biomass (e.g. through gasification and pyrolysis), onshore and offshore wind, marine (e.g. Tidal Stream and waves) and solar PV. ***Energy consumption*** Use of smart technology would also be promoted to make energy usage more efficient. For example, a public illumination system could be devised and implemented to be turned on only when necessary (e.g. passage of pedestrians) through the use of sensors. The use of organic LED lights would also be adopted for public illumination and promoted for private illumination. ***Education and public involvement*** An important aspect of the energy policy would consists of educating the public about the harmful effects of fossil fuels and the potential benefit, costs and limitations of alternative or new energy sources. The public could be also involved in creating smart solutions (for example through council-promoted competitions and/or technology incubators) based on ICT and mobile-technology to promote energy efficiency in the public and private sectors.