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Renewable energy : sources and methods PDF

225 Pages·2010·12.282 MB·English
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Renewable Energy SourceS and MethodS Green TechnoloGy Renewable Energy SourceS and MethodS Anne Maczulak, Ph.D. RENEWABLE ENERGY: Sources and Methods Copyright © 2010 by Anne Maczulak, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Maczulak, Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth), 1954– Renewable energy : sources and methods / Anne Maczulak. p. cm.—(Green technology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8160-7203-3 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4381-2748-4 (e-book) 1. Renewable energy sources—Juvenile literature. I. Title. TJ808.2.M33 2010 621.042—dc22 2009010352 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text design by James Scotto-Lavino Illustrations by Bobbi McCutcheon Photo research by Elizabeth H. Oakes Composition by Hermitage Publishing Services Cover printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN Book printed and bound by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN Date printed: December 11, 2009 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. GT-RnewEnergy.fnl.indd 4 12/3/09 5:03:20 PM Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii 1 Earth’sEnergySources 1 The World’s Appetite for Energy 2 Case Study: Western Energy Crisis, 2000–2001 6 Renewable or Nonrenewable 8 Oil 10 Sun’s Energy Stored in the Earth 14 Carbon Economics 16 Our Renewable Energy Resources 20 Smart Energy Grids 22 Social Aspects of Alternative Energy 24 Energy Programs in the Global Community 26 The U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment 28 Conclusion 28 2 Recycling 31 The Grassroots History of Recycling 33 How Recycling Saves Energy 35 Industrial Raw Materials from Waste 39 Recycled Materials Chemistry 41 High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 42 Minerals and Metals 44  Case Study: Recycling during World War II 46 Rubber Recycling 48 Conclusion 49 3 Gasoline Alternative Vehicles 51 Evolution of Alternative Vehicles 53 Biofuels 57 Case Study: Toyota’s Prius 58 Synthetic Fuels 62 Battery Power 64 Combustion 65 Fuel Cell Technology 66 Nuclear Fission and Fusion 69 Natural Gas Fuels 70 Next Generation Hybrids 72 Conclusion 74 4 Biorefineries 75 Today’s Refinery Industry 77 Pipelines 80 The U.S. Department of Energy 81 Case Study: Alaska’s Oil Economy 84 Biorefining Steps 86 Developing the Biorefining Industry 89 Conclusion 91 5 Innovations in Clean Energy 93 Alternative Energy Emerging 94 Wind, Wave, and Tidal Power 97 Solar Power 101 Solar Films 108 Hydropower and Geothermal Energy 109 Nuclear Energy 113 Direct Carbon Conversion 117 Fuel Cells 120 Conclusion 124 6 Green Building Design 125 Building Green Comes of Age 127 Controlling Energy and Heat Flows 129 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 131 Cooling and Ventilation 138 Insulation 140 Daylighting 142 Windows Technology 144 Water Conservation 146 Case Study: Four Horizons House, Australia 147 Managing Waste Streams 150 Off the Energy Grid 151 Conclusion 154 7 Energy from Solid Biomass 156 The Earth’s Biomass 158 Types of Biomass 160 The Phosphate Bond 163 Conversion to Energy and Fuels 164 The Energy Value of Garbage 166 A Biomass Economy 167 Case Study: The Chicago Climate Exchange 169 Conclusion 171 8 Future Needs 172 Appendixes 174 Glossary 184 Further Resources 190 Index 199 Preface T he first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970, and occurred mainly because a handful of farsighted people understood the damage being inflicted daily on the environment. They understood also that natural resources do not last forever. An increasing rate of environmental disasters, hazardous waste spills, and wholesale destruction of forests, clean water, and other resources convinced Earth Day’s founders that saving the envi- ronment would require a determined effort from scientists and nonscien- tists alike. Environmental science thus traces its birth to the early 1970s. Environmental scientists at first had a hard time convincing the world of oncoming calamity. Small daily changes to the environment are more difficult to see than single explosive events. As it happened the environ- ment was being assaulted by both small damages and huge disasters. The public and its leaders could not ignore festering waste dumps, illnesses caused by pollution, or stretches of land no longer able to sustain life. Environmental laws began to take shape in the decade following the first Earth Day. With them, environmental science grew from a curiosity to a specialty taught in hundreds of universities. The condition of the environment is constantly changing, but almost all scientists now agree it is not changing for the good. They agree on one other thing as well: Human activities are the major reason for the incred- ible harm dealt to the environment in the last 100 years. Some of these changes cannot be reversed. Environmental scientists therefore split their energies in addressing three aspects of ecology: cleaning up the damage already done to the earth, changing current uses of natural resources, and developing new technologies to conserve Earth’s remaining natural resources. These objectives are part of the green movement. When new technologies are invented to fulfill the objectives, they can collectively be called green technology. Green Technology is a multivolume set that explores new methods for repairing and restoring the environment. The iixx

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