encyclopedia of energy research and policy

El-Nashar Chapter 4 Solid State Organic Photoelectrochemical Solar Energy Conversion Based on Conjugated Substituted Polythiophenes 159 Teketel Yohannes Chapter 5 A New Approach to Hyb

E NCYCLOPEDIA OF E NERGY

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CONTENTS

United States Government Accountability Office

Chapter 2 Three-Dimensional Simulation of Base Carrier Transport Effects in

K Kotsovos and K Misiakos

Chapter 3 Multiple Effect Distillation of Seawater Water Using Solar Energy

– The Case of Abu Dhabi Solar Desalination Plant 85

Ali M El-Nashar

Chapter 4 Solid State Organic Photoelectrochemical Solar Energy Conversion

Based on Conjugated Substituted Polythiophenes 159

Teketel Yohannes

Chapter 5 A New Approach to Hybrid Systems of Renewable Energy

Yu.V Vorobiev, J Gonzalez-Hernandez,

P Gorley, P Horley and L Bulat

Chapter 6 Dye-Sensitized Nano SnO2:TiO2 Solar Cells 219

Weon-Pil Tai

Chapter 7 Strategies for Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions - The Case of

C Ketlogetswe and T.H Mothudi

Chapter 8 The Applying of Coatings and Surface Thermal Treatment of

Materials in Solar Furnaces: Theory and Experiments 245

V.V Pasichny and B.A Uryukov

Chapter 9 Transparent Conductive Layers of Tin, Indium, and Cadmium

Yu.V Vorobiev, J Gonzalez-Hernandez, P Gorley,

V Khomyak, S Bilichuk, V Grechko and P Horley

Chapter 10 Dynamic Impedance Characterization of Solar Cells and PV

Modules Based on Frequency and Time Domain Analyses 301

D Chenvidhya, K Kirtikara and C Jivacate

United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

Chapter 12 Federal and State Regulatory Requirements Potentially Applicable

United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

Chapter 14 Biomass And Bioenergy Research In Tropical Africa: State Of The

Jonathan C Onyekwelu and Shadrach O Akindele

Chapter 15 Poplar Biomass of Short Rotation Plantations as Renewable Energy

Bojana Klasnja, Sasa Orlovic, Zoran Galic and Milan Drekic

Chapter 16 Biobased Polymers by Chemical Valorization of Biomass

B Kamm, M Kamm, I Scherze, G Muschiolik and U Bindrich

Chapter 17 Experimental Analysis of Small Combustion Thermal Systems

J.C Morán, J.L Míguez, E Granada and J Porteiro

Chapter 18 Negative Emission Biomass Technologies in an Uncertain

Kenneth Möllersten, Zuzana Chladná, Miroslav Chladný and Michael Obersteiner

Chapter 19 A Review of the Socio-Economic and Environmental Benefits of

Biomass Gasification Based Power Plant: Lessons from India 549

Kakali Mukhopadhyay

Chapter 20 The Energy Balance and Fuel Properties of Biodiesel 589

Mustafa Acaroglu and Mahmut Ünaldı

Chapter 21 An Experimental Study on Performance and Exhaust Emissions of a

Diesel Engine Fuelled with Various Biodiesels 603

Nazim Usta

Carlo Bonini and Maurizio D’Auria

Chapter 23 Offgas Recycle for Increased Heat Production from Aerobic

Thermophilic Treatment of Swine Waste: Pilot Studies and

James W Blackburn, Zhe Wang and Mahesh Mudragaddam

Chapter 24 Nuclear Dynamics Modelling by Recurrent Neural Networks 675

F Cadini, E Zio and N Pedroni 675

Chapter 25 Primary Cosmic Ray Studies Based on Atmospheric Cherenkov

A.L Mishev, S Cht Mavrodiev and J.N Stamenov

Chapter 26 Development of Subchannel Analysis Code for CANDU-SCWR 779

Yu Jiyang, Wang Songtao, Jia Baoshan

Chapter 27 Application of Best Estimate Computational Tools for Safety

Anis Bousbia Salah, Tewfik Hamidouche and Francesco D’Auria

Chapter 28 Advanced Fuel Fusion Reactors: Towards a Zero-waste Option 829

Massimo Zucchetti

Chapter 29 Solar Thermal Power Generation on Mars 843

Viorel Badescu

Chapter 30 Equilibrium Phases in Zirconium Alloys of Concern to the Nuclear

Industry: Isothermal Sections of the Zr-Cr-Sn and Zr-Cr-Ti Systems 893

S.F Aricó, R.O González and L.M Gribaudo

Chapter 31 Nuclear Nonproliferation: IAEA Safeguards and Other Measures to

Halt the Spread of Nuclear Weapons and Material 915

Gene Aloise

Chapter 32 Radial-Bias-Combustion and Central-Fuel-Rich Swirl Pulverized

Zhengqi Li

Chapter 33 Fuel Cell Combined Cycle Power Generation System Installed into

Shin’ya Obara

Chapter 34 Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources: A Multi-Criteria

Fausto Cavallaro

Chapter 35 Gas Turbines and Electric Distribution System 1139

Chapter 38 Wide-Area Monitoring and Analysis of Inter-Area Oscillations

A R Messina, M A Andrade and E Barocio

Chapter 39 Unconventional Problems in Power Systems Protection 1251

Mahmoud Gilany and Mohamed A Mahmoud

Chapter 40 BME-Generated Temperature Maps of the Nea Kessani Geothermal

Konstantinos Modis, Hwa-Lung Yu, George Christakos, Robert Stewart and George Papantonopoulos

Chapter 41 Advances in Studies of Thermal-Fluid Geochemistry and

Jianguo Du, Youlian Zhang and Heping Li

Chapter 42 A Comparative Analysis of the Geothermal Fields of Larderello and

Giovanni Gianelli

Chapter 43 Sedimentary Characteristics of Coal Beds in Intramontane Basins

Wang Hua and Xiao Jun

Chapter 44 Coupling of Thermal and Chemical Simulations in a 3-D Integrated

Magma Chamber-Reservoir Model: A New Geothermal Energy

Surendra P Verma and Jorge Andaverde

Chapter 45 Determination of the Damage Effect in Geothermal Wells Using

A A Aragón, S L Moya and A M C Suárez

Commentary B Analysis and Characterization of Complex Inter-Area Oscillations

from Measured Data: A Time-Frequency Perspective 1449

A R Messina, E Barocio and M A Andrade

Chapter 2 – This work presents a theoretical investigation of rear junction point contact silicon solar cells through three-dimensional numerical simulation based on the solution of minority and majority carrier transport equations in the base of the cell The device series resistance is evaluated through the simulated current-voltage (IV) curves under AM1.5 illumination conditions and its dependence on back contact geometry is examined Results are presented which show the influence of the majority carrier transport in the base to the solar cell performance A comparison is also performed with two other similar types of point contact solar cells, one with the emitter located on the front surface and the other on both surfaces, as well as with a conventional solar cell structure

Chapter 3 - This report describes the solar desalination test plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE and gives a summary of its first year performance and economics The plant has been operating successfully for 18 years supplying fresh water to the City of Abu Dhabi The plant was commissioned in September 1984 and was running until the year 2002 when it was dismantled after fulfilling its objectives The aim of the plant is to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of using solar desalination of seawater in providing fresh water to remote communities in the Middle East and to obtain long-term performance and reliability data on the operation of the plant The plant has proved its technical feasibility and proved to

be reliable in operation with few minor maintenance problems that required slight plant modification Maintenance routines were established to maintain high plant performance The economic feasibility of the plant was established by comparing the cost of water from a solar MED plant with a conventional MED plant using fossil fuel for plant capacity ranging from

100 m3/day to 1000 m3/day It was found that the cost of water from solar MED plants is competitive with that from a conventional MED plant if the cost fuel continues to rise

Chapter 4 - The utilization of organic materials for photovoltaic devices has been investigated intensely during the last couple of decades Earlier studies concentrated on molecules that had high optical absorption in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum Recent discovery of conjugated polymers having semiconductor-like behavior has

started to stir excitement because such materials are not only able to function in a similar manner to the inorganic semiconductors but also have important advantages such as: low cost, light weight, ease of fabrication and the possibility of large area coatings Their use as photoactive electrodes is of increasing interest, as the processing possibilities of conjugated polymer materials have become more developed Furthermore, the high absorption coefficients of these materials and the possibility of varying the band gap by molecular engineering have opened up new options for solar energy conversion

Among the conjugated conducting polymers, neutral, substituted polythiophenes exhibit interesting properties as semiconducting photoactive materials and are used for conversion of optical energy into electrical energy

Investigation of the photoelectrochemistry of conducting polymers was mainly focused

on their use as protective films against photocorrosion and as photoactive electrodes in liquid junction photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) Photocorrosion and side reactions involving the electrolyte solution and the difficulty of packaging limit the working life of liquid electrolyte PECs Solid-state PECs with the use of solid polymer electrolytes provide a means to eliminate this problem since they can easily be processed into thin films over large areas and are easier to encapsulate The solvent-free ion conducting polymer electrolytes eliminated handling, portability, and packaging problems encountered in liquid junction photoelectrochemical cells Basically, the photoelectrochemical properties occurring in these systems are the same as those occurring in systems based on semiconductor photoelectrodes

in contact with liquid electrolytes

In this chapter an overview of the studies made on solid-state photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion devices using standard photoelectrochemical and photoelectrical characterization techniques is presented The photoelectrochemical cells contain a thin film of semiconducting conjugated substituted polythiophenes as a light-harvesting unit, a redox couple complexed with an ion conducting polymer electrolyte, and a counter electrode

Chapter 5 - A general analysis is given of hybrid systems consisting of different combinations of 4 devices frequently employed for renewable energy utilization: Photovoltaic Solar Panel (PV), Solar Thermal Plane Collector (ST), Wind Generator (WG) and Heat-to-Electric/Mechanic Energy Convertor (HE); some of the combinations include radiation energy flux concentrators of different degrees The main result of the consideration made is that the hybrid systems are more efficient than the sum of the constituents and more stable in relation to spontaneous variations of the renewable energy source potential (like wind velocity, insolation, etc.) However, to realize the possibilities mentioned, all the elements of

a given hybrid system have to be especially designed and made for this specific system For example, the PV panel for the hybrid PV/Thermal system ought to have a substrate with high thermal conductivity, to allow for heat extraction from the panel by the adjacent Solar Thermal Plane Collector, and practically no commercial panels with these characteristics are available Besides, the PV panel as a part of the hybrid system will demand a special choice

of semiconductor material and surface treatment which could be different from those for conventional panels The limiting efficencies for some hybrid systems are estimated; these efficiencies exceed the efficiencies of separate use of the devices discussed The most promising hybrid system is the PV panel made as spectrum splitter in combination with HE converter, of which total efficency could be around 50 %

Chapter 6 – The nanostructured SnO2:TiO2 bilayered and composite solar cells sensitized by eosin Y and RuL2(NCS)2 dyes are prepared and the photoelectrochemical

properties of the cells are investigated The semiconductor films possess the grain size of nanometer order and have nanoporous structure The bilayered cell shows higher IPCE (incident photon- to-current conversion efficiency) value than the single and composite cells

A maximum IPCE value of 88.1% was reached at 540 nm wavelength in the bilayered cell with 3.5μm-thick SnO2 and 7μm-thick TiO2 sensitized by RuL2(NCS)2 dye The higher IPCE value in the bilayered cell is attributed to the promotion of the charge separation by fast electron transfer process from the excited dye to SnO2 in the SnO2/TiO2/dye system with different conduction band edge energy positions

Chapter 7 - The International Community’s pre-occupation with the ever-escalating dangers posed by gaseous pollutants need not be overemphasized Suffice to mention, however that the magnitude of the dire negativity of pollutants is reflected in the numerous international charters that were promulgated with a common objective to sensitise the world about the need to move toward setting up minimum permissible levels of emission for activities whose execution result in atmospheric pollution In addition, authorities have also gone so far as to offer incentives / motivation as a means of assuaging nations towards implementing various strategies for minimising atmospheric pollutions This paper explicates efforts taken by The government of Botswana in an effort to strive for compliance with international protocols and standards to safeguard against deterioration of the planet Focus will specifically be paid to examining any concrete measures taken with the view to curb the negative impacts of carbon dioxide gas The suitability and sustenance or, otherwise, of government projects envisaged for reducing carbon dioxide emission levels generated during the combustion of fuelwood and other related energy sources used by rural communities in Botswana will also be discussed

Chapter 8 - Solar furnaces make it possible to obtain a temperature of heating equivalent

to 3500 K and above it an oxidizing air medium and without any outside contamination They are used for investigation of materials in the Institute for Problems of Materials Science (IPMS) of theNational Academy of Science of Ukraine (NASU) for the past 40 years The created experimental base consists of 14 different solar installations of power from 0.1 up to

10 kW They are included in the two laboratories located in Kyiv and on the Black Sea coast Some optical furnaces on Xe arc lamps which are the simulators of solar furnaces are added

to the experimental base In the given chapter the works of the last few years are concentrated They are dedicated to surface heating of materials intended for obtaining coatings and improving their protective, decorative and other operational characteristics The specialists of various fields of engineering and production are engaged in the development of these energy-intensive processes with the use of traditional energy sources Their substitution for renewable solar radiation if it is possible can cause not only saving on utilities saving but

in some cases the improvement of coatings quality due to chemical purity of the heating source Some theoretical and experimental results of the investigation in the given field fulfilled in the IPMS are represented in the proposed work Using an approximate integral method for solving heat conduction equation the problem is solved for the determination of the rate of thermal treatment of a surface by partial melting in a solar furnace when the sample is stationary and moves relative to the focal spot depending upon the given thickness

of fused layer Taking into account the absence hitherto of industrial (commercial) production

of solar furnaces the theoretical and practical foundations have been developed in the IPMS for the creation of solar radiation concentrators on the basis of metallic antennae with plane mirror facets As it is described in the given work the energy characteristics of these

concentrators fully come up to the standards which are necessary for the realization of the greatest part of the investigated processes

Chapter 9 - Transparent conductive oxides SnO2, In2O3-SnO2 (ITO) and CdO are widely used for different optoelectronic devices, including photovoltaic applications Depending on technological conditions, oxide films can be either high- or low-resistive This paper presents the results of complex investigation of technological parameters influence (such as chamber pressure, substrate temperature, magnetron cathode power, and duration of isothermal annealing in the air) on specific resistance and transmission coefficient of oxide thin films, grown by reactive magnetron sputtering Ar-O2 mixture was used as a carrier gas for direct current sputtering; high-frequency sputtering was performed in pure Ar atmosphere Substrates for the films were made of quartz glass and silicon Significant attention was paid

to the transformation of defect subsystems after isothermal annealing in the air The authors determined optimal technological regimes allowing to obtain reproducible high-quality thin films of tin, indium and cadmium oxides with the following electrical and optical parameters: SnO2 – specific resistivity ρ = 6 – 15.10-4 Ω⋅cm, optical transmission T = 90 – 95% in transparency region; ITO – ρ = 4 – 6.10-4 Ω⋅cm, T = 90 – 95%; CdO – ρ = 5 – 20.10-4 Ω⋅cm,

T = 80 – 90%

Chapter 10 - This article describes new methods to derive dynamic impedance of solar cells and PV modules from time and frequency domain analyses Initially, the authors propose a new method, based on the frequency domain analysis, to measure dynamic impedance of x-Si solar cells and PV modules in the dark using basic instruments and FFT analysis The dynamic parameters in the AC equivalent circuit, in addition to the DC model, consists of dynamic resistance, diffusion capacitance and transition capacitance Loci of impedance in the complex plane can be obtained by inputting a small signal square wave, superimposing on either forward bias or reverse bias, to cells or modules Such technique is compared with sinusoidal inputting All of these parameters can be obtained from impedance loci in the complex plane The impedance of a cell or a module can be derived in a closed form equation in terms of frequency dependent and voltage dependent resistance and capacitance under the dark condition with reverse bias The relationship between the dynamic and static characteristics is compared for solar cell modules having low and high fill factors Another new analytical method determining solar cell and module dynamic impedance is demonstrated using the same measuring techniques Determination of dynamic parameters, previously outlined, and time constant of solar cells and modules, based on a time domain response, can be simultaneously obtained at each bias condition The merits of this second characterization method using square wave inputs are reduction in measuring steps and yielding of dynamic parameters and time constants in a single measurement

Experiments on polycrystalline and amorphous silicon cells and modules are also conducted and their results will be separately revealed at a later date Knowledge of dynamic impedance characterization of solar cells and modules will lead to better understanding of behaviors of PV grid-connected systems and improvement of power quality from such distributed power generation systems

Chapter 11 - Modern wind energy technologies rely heavily on the very complex scientific discipline of fluid dynamics (which includes the study of the atmosphere) and the equally complex engineering discipline of aerodynamics A comprehensive treatment of either of these disciplines is well beyond the scope of this programmatic environmental

impact statement (PEIS) The discussions that follow are intended only to establish a basic understanding of wind technology and the factors that control its evolution References are provided for those who wish to have a more detailed understanding of wind technology This appendix provides an overview of the fundamentals of wind energy and wind energy technologies, describes the major components of modern wind turbines, and introduces terms that are unique to the field of electric power generation using wind energy Important site characteristics and critical engineering aspects of wind energy technologies are presented, and their respective influences on future development decisions are discussed.[1] An overview of the current state of wind energy technology and ongoing research and development (R&D) is provided Descriptions of a typical wind energy project and the major actions associated with each phase of development — site monitoring and testing, construction, operation, and decommissioning — are presented in part 3 of this PEIS

Chapter 12 - The tables that follow list the major federal and state laws, Executive Orders, and other compliance instruments that establish permits, approvals, or consultations that may apply to the construction and operation of a wind energy project on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands The general application of these federal and state authorities and other regulatory considerations associated with such construction and operation are discussed in Chapter 3

The tables are divided into general environmental impact categories The citations in the tables are those of the general statutory authority that governs the indicated category of activities to be undertaken under the proposed action and alternatives Under such statutory authority, the lead federal or state agency may have promulgated implementing regulations that set forth the detailed procedures for permitting and compliance

Definitions of abbreviations used in the tables are provided here

Chapter 13 - Data on commercial wind energy projects in the western states that are within the scope of this programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) are displayed

in the tables below The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) compiles and maintains all of the data displayed below All data presented are current as of January 14,

2004 All data are accessible electronically from the AWEA Web site at http://www.awea.org/projects/index.html Data presented in the tables below are updated quarterly by the AWEA

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cannot guarantee the completeness or accuracy

of these listings Submission by wind farm developers or operators of project information to AWEA for inclusion in these listings is voluntary

Chapter 14 - Forest biomass and bioenergy production currently play a very important role in energy generation in tropical African countries, especially in the rural areas where between 75 and 95% of the populace depend on fuelwood as the primary energy source Given the current high population growth, the low rates of switching to non-carboniferous household energy sources as well as the inefficiency of other energy sources, the importance

of biomass and bioenergy in household energy generation in tropical African countries is expected to increase in the future This paper examines the sources and extent of biomass production in tropical African countries as well as their current contribution to bioenergy supply and possible future trend The current status and prospects of bioenergy technologies, the state of biomass and bioenergy research in the sub-region as well as the methodologies used in obtaining local and national biomass estimates were reviewed The paper also discussed the challenges facing biomass and bioenergy research in tropical Africa, and

stressed the need for more collaboration with the developed countries to be able to tackle the challenges The paper finally examines the likely future research directions and makes recommendations towards a more efficient and environmental-friendly utilization of biomass and bioenergy in the sub-region

Chapter 15 - Fast-growing broadleaf species (poplars, willows and black locust), raised in dense, short-rotation plantations, very often on the soils unsuitable for agricultural crops, produce a high yield of biomass A significant amount of thermal energy can be obtained by direct combustion of young plant biomass (aged from one to three years) converted into chips

by chipping the whole trees together with bark and branches

In this aim, the Institute carried out systematic multiannual research on the improvement

of several poplar clones in order to increase the yield of biomass Also for this purpose, the selection focused on the clones which are best adapted to the conditions of very dense planting, which is the main condition required from the foresters in the establishment of energy plantations

Based on the calorific value of wood and bark of the study poplar clones, it is assessed the quantity of energy which could be produced by the combustion of the chipped biomass of one-year, i.e two-year-old plants The higher heating value of wood and bark was determined for several poplar clones (Populus spp.) of different ages and plants, as well as the trees from mature plantings (aged from 8 to 14 years) By FVI (Fuel Value Index) which takes into account ash content, wood basic density, as well as moisture content, it was determined that poplar wood can be significant energy raw material, primarily because of its short production cycle and very high volume increment

The plantations are established in two variants, by planting the cuttings of the selected poplar clones, with two planting spaces, i.e with 38,461 plant/ha, and 83,333 plant/ha, on the previously selected and prepared soil To define the produced biomass of individual clones, the increment elements were measured after the cycles of one and two years

Average dry matter biomass yield reached 21 t 1 year-1 (38,461 plant/ha), and 12 t

ha-1 year-ha-1 (83,333 plant/ha) Based on calorific values of oven dry wood and bark of each clone, average energy potential of researched poplar clones was estimated up to 395 GJ ha-1 year-1, and for denser plantations up to 222 GJ ha-1 year-1

Chapter 16 - Plants represent a natural chemical and polymer factory and food plant Biorefineries combines necessary technologies between biogenic raw material and intermediates and final products The paper present two strategies for producing of polymeric materials, firstly the utilization of the pre-determined natural macromolecular structure and secondly the using of biogenic building blocks The first step is the fractionation technology from green biomass for producing of fiber-rich press cake and a nutrient rich-green juice The main focus is directed on products, such as proteins, polylactic acid, cellulose and levulinic acid- sequence products and their application as well as their market

Chapter 17 - In this chapter a set joint of experimental techniques for assessing biomass combustion devices is presented Small scale energy converters such as chimneys, boilers, stoves, etc, producing heat and/or hot water by combustion of biomass (wood, pellets, briquettes, etc.) are especially suited to domestic purposes However, in regular commercial combustion conditions, this kind of use still has some disadvantages: besides the fact that some emissions (volatile organic carbons, carbon monoxide or NOx) may still be high, it is difficult to compare the quality and performance of equipment working in very different combustion conditions

Due to their relatively low cost and the complexity of combustion in such devices, modelling by numerical analysis is seldom attempted Controlling operational factors are usually designed and regulated based on the manufacturer’s experience or on handbook values In order to protect customers, and to assure compliance with minimum requirements for energy performance and maximum limits on pollutant emissions, several national and international regulations have been developed in recent years Experimental analysis of these devices is a key technique for control and improvement

Chapter 18 - Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change belong to the most pressing global challenges for the 21st century Major mitigation options include improved energy efficiency, shifting towards less carbon-intensive fossil fuels, increased use of energy sources with near-zero emissions, such as renewables and nuclear, CO2 capture and permanent storage (CCS), and carbon sequestration by protection and enhancement of biological absorption capacity in forests and soils

Bioenergy is one of several energy sources which could provide society with energy services with near-zero emissions Bioenergy has a unique feature, however, which distinguishes it from other low-emitting energy supply options, such as solar, wind, nuclear, and clean fossil energy technologies Bioenergy conversion could be integrated with a process which separates carbon If the biomass feedstock is sustainably produced and the separated carbon is subsequently isolated from the atmosphere for a very long time the entire process becomes a continuous carbon sink – in other words such technologies yield negative CO2 emissions Negative emission biomass technologies can be centralised or distributed; Centralised negative emission biomass technologies, biomass energy with CO2 capture and storage (BECS), build on the conversion of biomass into energy carriers in centralised conversion plants integrated with CO2 capture The captured CO2 is subsequently transported and stored in geological formations Distributed negative emission biomass technologies are based on the production of long-term carbon-sequestering charcoal soil amendment, with or without co-production of biofuels

In this chapter a BECS implementation scenario study is presented The study analyses investments in BECS in a pulp and paper mill environment The investment analysis is carried out within a real options framework taking into account the potential revenue from trading generated emission allowances on a carbon market Uncertainty is considered in the economic modelling through the use of stochastically correlated price processes of one input price (biomass) and two output prices (electricity and CO2 emission permits) that are consistent with shadow price trajectories of a large-scale global energy model The results suggest that BECS can be economically feasible within approximately 40 years

The chapter also discusses Research and Development needs for better understanding of the future overall potential of negative emission biomass technology implementation

Chapter 19 - There is a steady and continuing interest in biomass gasification in both the developed countries and developing countries While the advanced countries are interested primarily from considerations of reduced emissions and waste utilisation, the developing countries look at biomass gasification as a means to augment commercial energy like electricity, diesel, fuel oil etc

India, a tropical country with a vast geographical area is richly endowed with renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass which can play a crucial role in meeting end use energy needs in a decentralised manner One of the major goals of the ninth and tenth five year plan is strengthening of infrastructure (energy, transport, communication, irrigation) in

order to support the growth process on a sustainable basis It is usually the tendency of the developing countries to equate development with economic growth and to further equate economic growth with energy consumption especially electricity India being a developing country has also given due emphasis on strengthening its energy position accordingly Moreover threat from Green House Gasses (GHG) also has caused worldwide concern In India electric power generation is the largest source of GHG emissions It accounts for 48%

of carbon emitted These concerns point towards more rational energy use strategies The renewable and recycling process makes biomass possible to generate power without adding to air emissions

Biomass (firewood, agricultural residue, and dung) is one of the main fuels in India, particularly in the energy-starved rural sector The biomass power potential in India was 16,000 MW (excluding co-generation), but the achievement in this respect is negligible (Installed capacity - 630 MW Project under implementation - 630 MW, as on March 2005) It brings out the fact that much of the potential of biomass gasification is still unexplored Globally, India is in the fourth position in generating power through biomass and with a huge potential, is poised to become a world leader in utilization of biomass

According to the Planning Commission of India, in its Tenth Five Year Plan, announced that 26.10 per cent of the Indian populations are below the poverty line and mostly belongs to rural areas The inequitable distribution has been evident from the fact that although 70% of India’s population lives in the rural areas, only 29% of rural households have electricity supply as against 92% of urban households Of the half a million or so villages in India, about

3, 10,000 villages have been declared to be electrified and 80,000 more villages remain completely un-electrified There are a number of constraints to supply power to remote rural area such as small human settlements, geographically dispersed villages, seasonally of loads etc In the absence of adequate network and hence supply of power to remote rural areas the household depend largely on primary energy sources like kerosene and diesel for lighting No commercial investments in micro enterprises can therefore be made by either individuals or companies without installing diesel generators which have a very high generating cost Biomass gasifier is a leading option in that respect Besides, the supply of power to remote rural areas from the centralised grid is not competitive than a modern biomass gasification based decentralised power plant Estimate from an Indian village shows that modest 50 kW of installed capacity per village will lead to total saving of 52000 million Rs (Rs 5200 Crore /

1100 million US $) in power plant investments In energy terms, the saving in TandD losses will release a generation capacity of 800 MW for profitable sale Reduced pollution and reduction of CO2 emissions will be the other advantages of a decentralised renewable energy based system for the rural areas

The purpose of the present paper is to evaluate the rural electrification programme in India undertaken by the Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Government

of India, through biomass gasifier power plant It explores the eradication of poverty that has been made possible by introducing biomass gasification based power plant in remote rural areas in India Creation of jobs in the power stations, small-scale business, commerce and industries and also improvement in the quality of life is assessed The paper concludes with policy options relevance for the other developing countries

Chapter 20 - In this study energy balance and fuel properties of biodiesel has been calculated Accordingly, the cost of 1 liter of oil is calculated 0.32 € after the income from the seed meal is deduced Finally, the cost of per unit of biodiesel (1 liter) was calculated as 0.55

€, after deduction of the income provided by the sales of glycerin for use in soap and cosmetic industry

The energy equivalent of total output was calculated 147605.50 MJ per hectare The net energy gain (refined oil) was found as 15105.63 MJ per hectare (The net energy ratio 11.031) according to yield and inputs values

The viscosity values of vegetable oils vary between 27.2 and 53.6 mm2/s whereas those

of vegetable oil methyl esters between 3.59 and 4.63 mm2/s The flash point values of vegetable oil methyl esters are highly lower than those of vegetable oils The flash point values of vegetable oil methyl esters are highly lower than those of vegetable oils An increase in density from 860 to 885 kg/m3 for vegetable oil methyl esters or biodiesel increases the viscosity from 3.59 to 4.63 mm2/s and the increases are highly regular There is high regression between density and viscosity values vegetable oil methyl esters The relationships between viscosity and flash point for vegetable oil methyl esters are irregular

An increase in density from 860 to 885 kg/m3 for vegetable oil methyl esters increases the flash point from 401 to 453 K and the increases are slightly regular

The LHV values of vegetable oils methyl ester vary between 35.74 and 39.16 MJ/kg Chapter 21 - Instability and increases in prices of petroleum-based fuels, gradual depletion of world petroleum reserves and increases in environmental pollution caused by exhaust emissions speed up research on renewable alternative fuels

Vegetable oils have been considered as renewable alternative fuels in compression ignition engines for a long time However, they have not been widely used as fuels in the engines due to some technical and economical drawbacks Some properties of vegetable oils such as high viscosity, lower volatility and lower heat content result in technical problems in direct using of vegetable oils in short and long term applications From economical point of view, the main problem is that vegetable oils have been more expensive than petroleum Diesel fuel

There are various ongoing studies on solving these problems to be able to use vegetable oils in Diesel engines Different methods such as preheating oils, blending or dilution with other fuels, thermal cracking/pyrolysis and transesterification have been developed Among these techniques, transesterification appears to be the most promising one It is a chemical process converting vegetable oils to alcohol ester of oil named as biodiesel In general, biodiesel-Diesel fuel No.2 blend can be used as a fuel in Diesel engines without modification Specifications of biodiesel mainly depend on oil, transesterification process, type and amount

of alcohol, type and amount of catalysis, reaction time and temperature

Biodiesel can be produced from different kinds of vegetable oils Since prices of edible vegetable oils are higher than that of Diesel fuel No 2, waste vegetable oils and non-edible crude vegetable oils are mostly preferred as potential low priced biodiesel sources It is also possible to use soapstock, a by-product of edible oil production, for cheap biodiesel production

In this study, various biodiesels were produced from raw vegetable oils (rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cotton seed oil, palm oil and tobacco seed oil), waste sunflower vegetable oils and hazelnut oil soap stock-waste sunflower vegetable oil, and their specifications were compared with each other The biodiesel (20% in volume) - Diesel fuel No.2 (80% in volume) blends were tested in a four cycle, four cylinder turbocharged indirect injection Diesel engine The effects of biodiesel addition to Diesel fuel No.2 on the performance and emissions of the engine were investigated at full load Experimental results showed that the

biodiesels can be partially substituted for Diesel fuel No.2 at most operating conditions in terms of performance parameters and emissions without any engine modification and preheating of the blends

Chapter 22 - Lignin, obtained through steam explosion from straw, was completely characterized via elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography, ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy, 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry

Lignin powder was used for the preparation of blends with low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and atactic polystyrene (PS)

The obtained blends are processable through the conventional techniques used for thermoplastics; the modulus slightly increases for most lignin-polymer blends, while the tensile stress and elongation reduce Moreover, lignin acts as a stabilizer against the UV radiation for PS, LDPE and LLDPE.

Polyurethanes were obtained treating steam exploded lignin from straw with methylenebis(phenylisocyanate), 4,4’-methylenebis(phenylisocyanate) – ethandiol, and poly(1,4-butandiol)tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate terminated The obtained materials were characterized by using gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed a Tg at -6 °C, assigned to the glass transition of the poly(1,4-butandiol) chains The presence of ethylene glycol reduced the yields of the polyurethanes The use of the prepolymer gave the best results in polyurethanes formation Steam exploded lignin was used as starting material in the synthesis of polyesters Lignin was treated with dodecanoyl dichloride The products were characterized by using gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, 13C and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy

4,4’-Chapter 23 - Pilot plant experiments with both a 3.79 m3 batch and semi-continuous reactor have been performed with whole, fresh swine manure and the production of biochemical energy as heat has been both measured and calculated The reactor operates at near atmospheric pressure and about 55˚ C The systems were equipped with a patented offgas recycle process that may be shown to increase the amount of recoverable and useful energy from the reactor compared with a once-through aeration system The batch study, a statistically-designed series of experiments, was held to investigate the relationships of initial

or feed total solids concentration, fresh air fed, and offgas recycle rate to the total biochemical energy produced in the system A linear model was developed to determine the importance of these factors in design The model indicates optimism for improved operation over pilot plant work performed The recycle concept is most useful when a reactor design is desired with a relatively shallow depth (e.g., 3 m aeration submergence), as may be found in in-ground concrete tanks Good results may be achieved in deep aeration submergence reactors with no offgas recycle, owing to the higher oxygen transfer efficiencies in tall tanks A combination

of tall tanks and offgas recycle is synergistic with improved results These results will be presented and discussed in the context of a full-scale farm application When compared to once-through aeration systems, offgas recycle also leads to major reductions of emitted offgas, and aiding odor and pollutant reductions Other potential applications will also be discussed

Chapter 24 - The design, operation and control of highly risky industrial systems, such as

in the nuclear, chemical and aerospace, entail the capability of accurately modelling the

nonlinear dynamics of the underlying processes In this respect, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have gained popularity as valid alternatives to the lengthy and burdensome analytical approaches to reconstructing complex nonlinear and multivariate dynamic mappings

In particular, Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are attracting significant attention, because of their intrinsic potentials in temporal processing, e.g., time series prediction, system identification and control, temporal pattern recognition and classification, whereas classical feedforward neural networks are in general capable of representing only static input/output mappings

The aim of this chapter is to present two kinds of recurrent neural networks and show their capabilities of approximating the temporal evolution of complex dynamical systems First, the Elman’s recurrent network is considered, in which external feedback connections feed the output of the hidden nodes back to a set of additional nodes placed in the input layer The network’s modelling capabilities are demonstrated on a case study concerning the prediction of the behaviour of a steam generator in a nuclear power plant

A more advanced type of recurrent architecture is then presented: the Infinite Impulse Response-Locally Recurrent Neural Network (IIR-LRNN), characterized by nodes which contain local, internal feedback paths realized by means of IIR synaptic filters providing the network with the necessary system state memory The effectiveness and criticalities of this type of recurrent neural network are tested on two highly nonlinear dynamic systems of literature, the discrete-time Back-Tsoi model and the continuous-time Chernick model describing the evolution of the neutron flux in a nuclear reactor

Chapter 25 - A new method for primary cosmic ray investigations based only on atmospheric Cherenkov light flux analysis is presented The method is applied for the solution of two of the main problems in astroparticle physics: ground based gamma ray astronomy, selection of events initiated by primary gamma quanta and the energy and mass composition estimation of primary cosmic ray in the region around the “knee” The lateral distribution of atmospheric Cherenkov light flux in extensive air showers initiated by primary proton, Helium, Oxygen and Iron nuclei with energies in the range from 1013 eV to 1017 eV were obtained with the help of the CORSIKA 5.62 code, using VENUS and GHEISHA hadronic interaction models for the Chacaltaya observation level of 536 g/sm2

The lateral distribution of Cherenkov light flux in extensive air showers is approximated using a nonlinear fit such as Breit-Wigner A detailed study of the energy dependence of the proposed model function parameters is carried out and the fit of model parameters as a function of the energy is obtained as well On the basis of the difference between the model parameters, precisely their behavior as a function of the energy, the strong nonlinearity of the model, the authors propose a method, which permits the making of the distinction between a primary gamma quanta from a primary nuclei The efficiency of the method is estimated and studied

An additional analysis for primary nuclei is carried out, towards the development of a similar method for simultaneous energy and mass composition estimation of simplified cosmic ray spectra of protons, iron, helium and oxygen

Different detector displacements are analyzed using the simulation of simplified primary mass composition The detector response is simulated taking into account the physical fluctuations of the processes, the statistical and possible systematic errors The simulated and reconstructed events are compared and the accuracy in energy and primary mass estimations

is obtained Moreover, the accuracy in shower axis localization is studied and the corresponding criteria are proposed

On the basis of the obtained approximation of the lateral distribution of Cherenkov light,

a fast Monte Carlo simulation of the response of a different detector displacement is carried out The possible triggers for two different detector arrays are studied and the registration efficiency is estimated

Chapter 26 - The paper presents the development of a sub-channel thermal hydraulic analysis code named SUBCHAN The code was originally developed to analyze a super critical CANDU type reactor which has such characteristics as horizontal fuel channels, heavy water moderated, super critical light cooled water, and any type of fuel bundle with or without thorium rods Thermal-hydraulic model of SUBCHAN is based on four partial differential equations that describe the conservation of mass, energy and momentum vector in axial and lateral directions for the water liquid/vapor mixture The heat transfer correlations and pressure drop correlations used in the SUBCHAN code are presented in this paper The water properties package of the code is based on the Industrial Formulation 1997 for the Thermodynamic Properties of Water and Steam The heat transfer correlation of super critical region is based on the experimental investigation of Xi'an Jiaotong University By calculating the TACR case, which is operating at 12.5MPa pressure, compared with the results of ASSERT-PV code, the paper arrives at the conclusion that the development of the SUBCHAN code with super critical water property package is successful Then the paper uses the SUBCHAN code to analyze CANDU-SCWR operating at 25.0 MPa pressure The paper draws the conclusion that the SUBCHAN code can be used to analyze sub-channel thermal hydraulic analysis of CANDU-SCWR fuel channel

Chapter 27 - Computer codes are widely used for Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) safety analysis within a wide set of purposes including licensing issues, safety improvement programs of existing NPPs, better utilization of nuclear fuel, and higher operational flexibility, for justification of lifetime extensions, development of new emergency operating procedures, analysis of operational events, and development of accident management programmes A safety key parameter of the evaluation and assessment of NPPs is closely related to the code ability in determining the time-space thermal-hydraulic conditions throughout the reactor coolant system and especially in the core region In the beginning, the code development took place between the sixties and seventies during which sets of conservative models were used Furthermore, the latter were also limited due mainly to the restricted computer memory, Central Process Unit (CPU) time, and performances However,

in light of the sustained development in computer technology and computational methods, the potential of computational features has been enlarged accordingly Nowadays, it has become possible to switch to a new generation of computational tools consisting of coupling advanced computer codes and getting better realistic simulations of complex phenomena and transients that could occur in NPP These packages include mainly a thermal-hydraulic system and reactor kinetics codes, as well as specific codes for the containment thermal-hydraulics, structural mechanics codes, and more sophisticated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes

However, notwithstanding the complexity of these codes and the level of the present scientific knowledge, a computer code cannot be expected to accurately model phenomena that are not yet fully understood by the scientific community In general, the results of code predictions, specifically when compared with experimental data, often reveal some

discrepancies These discrepancies could be attributed to several reasons as model deficiencies, approximations in the numerical solution, nodalization effects, imperfect knowledge of boundary and initial conditions Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the uncertainty of the results and the sensitivity effect of the most effective parameters

The purpose of the present paper is to characterize the present situation as far as the code assessment and uncertainty predictions are concerned This is achieved through a re-evaluation of some typical activities carried out at the University of PISA These examples concern mainly application of Best Estimate tools for PWR, BWR, VVER1000 and Research nuclear reactors accident analysis On this basis, requirements and future needs in the field of Best Estimate tools are outlined

Chapter 28 - Most of the studies and experiments on nuclear fusion are currently devoted

to the Deuterium-Tritium (DT) fuel cycle, the easiest way to reach ignition Some of the main technological questions of future DT fusion reactors have been identified previously Among those, in particular, the radioactive inventory in such reactors is due, besides tritium, to the neutron-induced radioactivity in the reactor structures The recent stress on safety by the world community has stimulated research on fuel cycles other than the DT cycle, based on

‘advanced’ reactions, such as Deuterium-Helium-3 (DHe) Several studies have addressed the design of DHe reactors: concerning small-size near-term experiments, to begin to explore the possibilities of DHe plasmas, a DT burning plasma experiment at high magnetic field and high plasma densities is particularly compelling

Ignitor is a proposed compact high magnetic field tokamak, aimed at reaching ignition in

DT plasmas and at studying them for periods of a few seconds A design evolution of Ignitor

in the direction of a reactor using a DHe fuel cycle has been proposed: a feasibility study of a high-field DHe experiment of larger dimensions and higher fusion power than Ignitor, still based on the core Ignitor technologies, has led to the proposal of the Candor fusion experiment

This paper deals with the radioactive waste issue for fusion reactors, proposing an innovative solution (the “zero-waste” option), which is a clear advantage of fusion power versus fission, in view of its ultimate safety and public acceptance Even if feasible in theory,

a zero-waste option for fusion reactors using the DT fuel cycle will be difficult to obtain As a further step towards the zero-waste option, the features of fusion reactors based on alternative advanced fuel cycles have been examined, to assess whether that goal could be reached for such devices Fusion reactors with advanced DHe fuel cycle turn out to have quite outstanding environmental advantages

Activation behaviour of materials after service in a DHe advanced fuel fusion experiment has been investigated EUROFER, SiC/SiC and V-Cr-Ti materials have shown the possibility

of being declassified to non-radioactive material (clearance) after their irradiation in the reactor plasma chamber wall, if a sufficient interim cooling time is allotted AISI 316L, on the contrary, suffers the presence of Ni and N (alloying elements) and Nb and Mo (impurities) Chapter 29 - A "dynamic" solar power plant (which consists of a solar collector - thermal engine combination) is proposed as an alternative for the more usual photovoltaic cells Upper bounds for the efficiency of solar thermal power plants operating in the Martian environment are first evaluated A general thermodynamic approach, first presented here, clearly shows which of the three theories usually quoted in literature gives the exergy of thermal radiation Recent works reporting accurate upper bounds for the efficiency of thermal radiation energy conversion into work are subsequently used in this chapter The results refer to thermal

engines powered by direct or diffuse solar radiation on Mars Diffuse solar radiation is modeled as diluted or multiply scattered thermal radiation A more elaborated model uses an endoreversible Carnot cycle to describe solar engine operation Two strategies to collect solar radiation are analyzed: a solar horizontal collector and a solar collector whose tilt and orientation are continuously adjusted to keep the receiving surface perpendicular on Sun rays Meteorological data measured at Viking Landers (VL) sites are used in computations Results show that generally the influence of latitude on performance is important In some situations the meteorological effects compensate the latitudinal effects and the output power is quite similar at both VL1 and VL2 sites During a winter dust-storm day the maximum output power is much smaller than during autumn High efficiency thermal engines should be used

in combination with solar collectors kept perpendicular to the Sun’s rays When a horizontal solar collector is considered, the dependence of the maximum output power on optimum solar efficiency seems to be quadratic at both VL1 and VL2 sites When a collector perpendicular

to the Sun’s rays is considered, this dependence is more complicated, but keeps the quadratic feature No obvious difference exists between power plant performances in the two years of VL2 operation A solar Stirling engine based on a horizontal selective flat-plate converter is analyzed in the last part of this chapter All the computations were performed for a solar collection area similar in size with that of Mars Pathfinder’s Sojourner The solar efficiency at noon is as high as 18 % The power provided by the engine is as high as 16 W during autumn and winter These results suggest that under the Martian environment the performance of properly designed solar Stirling engines is comparable with that of PV cell power systems Chapter 30 - Zirconium has a low neutron capture cross-section and it is used in alloys for internal components of nuclear reactors, the currently named Zircaloy, Zr-Nb, ZIRLO, etc In Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4, chromium is an important component in order to assure good corrosion performance, and tin is one of the strengthening elements On the other hand, titanium, in spite of its poor neutron transparency, has sometimes been considered an element, which could substitute zirconium in this kind of alloy

The present experimental study concerns two ternary systems Zr-Cr-X (being the X component Sn or Ti) Published data on phase equilibriums of these systems are very scarce and found only in Russian works

Many contributions to the knowledge of phase equilibriums in ternary and quaternary systems involving zirconium as the principal component were assessed by Ivanov O.S et al and published by the Metallurgical Institute of Moscow in the monograph Zirconium Alloys Structures in 1973 Stability domains of phases at different temperatures of those two ternaries were presented, especially as isothermal sections of the equilibrium diagram

The knowledge of transformations through equilibrium diagrams is essential in order to design or improve technological applications, especially in the temperature range where the

Zr rich hcp/bcc solid solution reaction is possible

Alloys were prepared by melting the metal components in a non-consumable tungsten electrode arc furnace with a copper crucible under a high purity argon atmosphere

Phase characterizations and determination of their compositions were carried out by metallographic observations and electron microprobe analysis X-ray diffraction was performed on some samples

The study of the Zr-Cr-Sn system involves alloys with compositions between 0 and 15 at

% Cr and 0 to 15 at % Sn and heat treatments at temperatures of 860, 900, 960 and 980 ºC

Three alloys of the Zr-Cr-Ti system with 40 at % Cr and different Zr/Ti ratios and one more, richer in Cr, were elaborated Specimens were heat treated at 900 and 1100 ºC respectively

Results of equilibrium between the solid solutions and the intermetallic compounds are presented as tie lines and isothermal sections where the phase boundaries are also sketched Chapter 31 - The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) safeguards system has been a cornerstone of U.S efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation since the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was adopted in 1970 Safeguards allow IAEA to verify countries’ compliance with the NPT Since the discovery in 1991 of a clandestine nuclear weapons program in Iraq, IAEA has strengthened its safeguards system

In addition to IAEA’s strengthened safeguards program, there are other U.S and international efforts that have helped stem the spread of nuclear materials and technology that could be used for nuclear weapons programs This testimony is based on the U.S Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) report on IAEA safeguards issued in October 2005 (Nuclear Nonproliferation: IAEA Has Strengthened Its Safeguards and Nuclear Security Programs, but Weaknesses Need to Be Addressed, GAO-06-93 [Washington, D.C.: Oct 7, 2005]) This testimony is also based on previous GAO work related to the Nuclear Suppliers Group—a group of more than 40 countries that have pledged to limit trade in nuclear materials, equipment, and technology to only countries that are engaged in peaceful nuclear activities—and U.S assistance to Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union for the destruction, protection, and detection of nuclear material and weapons

Chapter 32 - The kind of swirl coal burners is given Radial-biased-combustion and centrally-fuel-rich swirl coal combustion technology was developed In the air and the air-particle test facilities, the single sensor hot-film and the anemometers were used to measure air and air-particle flows in the near-burner region of different swirl burners Both cold air flow and reacting flow experiments were performed in the industrial 50, 220, 410, 670 and

1025 ton per hour boilers On an air-particle test facility, the characteristics of the coal concentrator with cone vanes were investigated The influence of structure parameters, such as run parameters such as swirling vane angle and burner cone angle and length, and run parameters, such as non-swirl secondary air, central air and air supply, and primary air flow type on divergent angles, diameter and length of the central recirculation zone, mixing characteristic of the primary air and the secondary air, in-situ gas temperature and NOx formation near the burner zone, carbon in ash and NOx emission of boilers was determined with the radial-biased-combustion burner The difference characteristics of gas/particle flow and coal combustion of the centrally-fuel-rich and dual register burners were obtained The experimental results show that the two new burners simultaneously have the ability of high combustion efficiency, flame stability, low NOx emission and resistance to slagging and high temperature corrosion The air-surrounding-fuel combustion theory was put forward

pulverized-Chapter 33 - The introduction to urban areas of the micro-grid system has the following characteristics (a) The distance between the heat-supply side and the heat-demand side is short, and effective utilization of exhaust heat is possible (b) It is linked with the load leveling of the existing large-sized electric power facilities (c) Since a facility suitable for the energy-demand characteristics of a region can be installed, energy efficiency may increase and facility costs may decrease The micro-grid using a proton exchange membrane type fuel cell (PEM-FC) may greatly reduce environmental impact However, when connecting an energy system to the micro-grid of a city area and operating, partial load operation occurs

frequently and power generation efficiency falls And, the electrode material (especially the catalyst material and the proton exchange membrane) of PEM-FC is expensive, and its system

is complex Consequently, it is necessary to connect two or more power generation systems to the micro-grid, and to design optimization of an operation plan for the purpose of maximization of power generation efficiency Therefore, the methods of an improvement of the efficiency of the power generation system connected to the micro-grid installed into a city area are described In this chapter, it consists of subjects of three studies on the micro grid In these studies described in this chapter, the improvement of the subject of the micro grid is tried by combining fuel cell and other power equipment Section 1 describes "Operation Plan

of Micro Grid Using PEM-FC/Diesel Engine Generator Combined System." Section 2 describes "Carbon-Dioxide Emission Characteristic of Micro Grid Using PEM-FC/Hydrogenation City gas-Engine Combined System." Section 3 describes "Dynamic Characteristics of Micro Grid Using PEM-FC/Woody Biomass Engine Combined System." Chapter 34 - The energy policy of many Western governments aims to diversify supply and reduce dependence on foreign sources and thus to maximise benefits from internal resources Undoubtedly, the main strategy underlying this is one that seeks to optimise the use of renewable energy sources (RES) The development of these sources, as well as their market penetration, depends however not only on political will but also on sound management of energy demand in order to rationalise and stabilise energy consumption

In addition to fortifying the guaranteed energy supply, RES represent a potential that cannot be overlooked This lies in their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus to stem the growing trend of global warming, one which has accelerated particularly in recent years and which is due mainly to the use of fossil fuels for producing electricity

The use of RES for the production of electric power brings huge benefits both in terms of environmental protection as well as savings in non-renewable resources Nevertheless, the very nature of RES raise technical and economic problems that create a considerable gap between their potential capacity and ways to feasibly exploit them Their many different forms and the ways in which they may be used have to be carefully examined in order to evaluate the costs and other technical and environmental factors involved

The planning and appraisal of sustainable energy projects involve rather complex tasks This is due to the fact that the decision making process is the closing link in the process of analysing and handling different types of information: environmental, technical, economic and social Such information can play a strategic role in steering the decision maker towards one choice instead of another Some of these variables (technical and economic) can be handled fairly easily by numerical models whilst others, particularly ones relating to environmental impacts, may only be adjudicated qualitatively In many cases therefore, traditional evaluation methods and the chief economic and financial indicators are unable to deal with all the components involved in an environmentally valid energy project Multi-criteria methods provide a flexible tool that is able to handle and bring together a wide range

of variables appraised in different ways and thus offer valid assistance to the decision maker

in mapping out the problem

Chapter 35 - Lately, the use of gas turbines following the deregulation of the electricity supply industry has become greater quickly The motivation for modeling the gas turbines and their controllers is determinant to the interpreting of their impacts on distribution systems The model predictive control (MPC) is used to damp the oscillation when the power distribution system is subjected to a disturbance MPC is selected because it can explicitly

handle the nonlinearities, and constraints of many variables in a single control formulation The IEEE 13 node power distribution system is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of MPC to damp the oscillations of gas turbines

Among fossil fuels, gas is the most quickest, with a growth rate nearly double that of coal and oil The electricity generation field is the leading market for gas The natural gas business has a great interaction with the electricity market in terms of fuel consumption and energy conversion On the other hand, the transmission and distribution activities are very similar with the natural gas transportation through pipelines The power losses in gas and electric systems are compared It is also demonstrated that the electricity system results more convenient for longer distances of gas wells from electricity consumption area

Chapter 36 - Combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system, as a distributed energy system, can work all the year and provide cooling/hot-water/power in summer, heating/hot-water/power in winter and hot-water/power in other seasons In CCHP systems, the total energy efficiency increases to over 85%, while the average energy efficiency of conventional fossil fuel fired electricity generation systems is around 40% The energy efficiency promotion of CCHP systems results in emission reduction compared to the conventional methods of generating heat and electricity separately And as a distributed energy resource, CCHP systems also increase in the reliability of the energy supply

With the overall development of CCHP systems and related technologies, the utilization

of micro CCHP systems in the residential sector is emerged as a growing potential The article focuses on the micro CCHP systems for single-family applications (around 10 kW) and multi-family or residential district applications (under 200 kW) The status quo of micro CCHP systems is briefly presented and diverse combinations of technologies existing in applications or experimental units are listed through comprehensive literature review Various technologies available or under development are introduced, such as reciprocating internal combustion engine, micro-turbine, fuel cell, Stirling engine, absorption chiller, adsorption chiller and so on Afterward, the tendency and issues of micro CCHP systems are discussed The review shows that micro-CCHP applications are entering into average families as a next-generation residential energy supply center

Chapter 37 - The calculations of the several sensitivities such as loss sensitivity, voltage sensitivity, generator constraint shift factor, and area based constraint shift factor become very important in energy management system (EMS) and energy markets This chapter focuses on the analysis and implementation details of the above-mentioned sensitivities calculations in the practical transmission network and energy markets The power operator uses them to study and monitor market and system behavior and detect possible problems in the operation These sensitivities calculations are also used to determine whether the on-line capacity as indicated in the resource plan is located in the right place on the network to serve the forecasted demand If the congestion or violation exists, the generation scheduling based

on the sensitivities calculations can determine whether or not a different allocation of the available resources could resolve the congestion or violation problem

This chapter also comprehensively discusses how to compute and use the sensitivities under the different references such as the market-based reference, and the energy management system based reference The calculation results of the several sensitivities are illustrated using the IEEE 14 bus system and AREVA T & D 60-bus system

Chapter 38 - Many transient processes in power systems involve phenomena that vary in time and space in complicated ways Comprehensive monitoring of large-scale power systems

by means of properly placed time-synchronized phasor measurement units (PMUs) provides the opportunity to analyze and characterize complex inter-area swing dynamics involving all

or most of the power system

Wide-area real-time monitoring may prove invaluable in power system dynamic studies

by giving a quick assessment of the damping and frequency content of dominant system modes after critical contingencies Measured data, however, may exhibit quite different dynamics at each system location or exhibit abrupt changes, dynamic irregularities, or be complicated by nonlinear trends or noise Traditional Fourier and Prony methods for system identification are unable to resolve the localized nature of these processes and hence provide little useful information concerning the nature of noisy, time-varying oscillatory processes

In this Chapter, a new method for analyzing the temporal dynamics of nonlinear and stationary inter-area oscillations using a local empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method and the Hilbert transform is presented Two novel algorithms are developed to address nonlinear and non-stationary issues The first method is a local implementation of the empirical mode decomposition technique The second is an algorithm to compute the Hilbert transform using finite impulse response (FIR) filters By combining these approaches, the method can be used to analyze complex signals for which the conventional assumptions of linearity and stationarity may not apply and can be implemented for on-line estimation of modal damping and frequency using synchronized wide-area measurement systems

non-The physical mechanism underlying nonlinear time-varying inter-area oscillations is investigated and methods to characterize the observed oscillatory phenomena in terms of physically meaningful modal components are proposed Emphasis is placed on identifying modal content in the presence of noise and nonlinear trends Issues concerning the implementation of the method and numerical considerations are also discussed

As specific applications, data obtained from PMU measurements from a real event in the northern systems of the Mexican interconnected system are used to examine the potential usefulness of nonlinear time series analysis techniques to characterize the spatio-temporal characteristics of the observed oscillations and to determine the nature and propagation of the system disturbance The efficiency and accuracy of the method is demonstrated by comparison to other approaches

Chapter 39 - Of the numerous electric power faults an Electric Engineer comes across in

a life time, only a few of these faults are memorable- the rest being routine ones In this chapter, some of those unconventional faults, which are mainly related to power system protection, are presented The chapter presents five case studies of actual field incidents rather than hypothetical scenarios The objective of the chapter is to present a typical approach for analyzing the faults in power systems

Chapter 40 - Temperature profiles have been empirically investigated in the underground geological formations of the Nea Kessani (Greece) geothermal system by the Greek Institute

of Geology and Mineral Exploration using measurements in a set of vertical drill holes In this work, we used the BME method to derive spatial temperature estimates in the Nea Kessani region in a mathematically rigorous and scientifically meaningful manner The proposed analysis involves the solution of a stochastic partial differential equation representing the geothermal field and is conditioned on site-specific information (random boundary conditions reflecting in-situ uncertainties etc.) Temperature probability distributions were generated at the nodes of a dense spatial grid, which can provide a detailed understanding of the geothermal situation by means of various temperature maps (most probable, error minimizing

etc.), depending on the objectives of the study The BME solutions are more informative than the direct (analytical and numerical) solutions of the geothermal model obtained in a formal mathematical sense

Chapter 41 - This chapter introduces briefly distribution of hydrothermal resources, potential of hydrothermal energy, geochemistry of geothermal fluids and correlation between geothermal areas and seismic zones in China More than 3,200 hydrothermal manifestations have been found in China About 2,240 drilled wells reveal that 275 high temperature sites of hydrothermal energy, which are expected to supply a need of electric generators with total annual output of 5,800 MW More than 2,900 sites of low and intermediate temperature geothermal systems have been found, which can be utilized for heating, medicine treating, bathing, farming, etc

Most geothermal waters in China are (Na, Ca)-HCO3 type, and some are (Ca, Na)-SO4and Na-Cl types Stable isotopic compositions of oxygen and hydrogen indicate the geothermal waters are derived from meteoric water, with small amount of magmatic volatile Reservoir temperatures calculated with chemical geothermometers range from about 100 °C

to 350 °C Geochemical variations of geothermal fluids with time are found, which are correlated to hydrothermal eruption, earthquakes and exploitation

Main gaseous components of geothermal systems in China are CO2, N2, O2, and trace amount of H2S, H2, CH4,NH3, CO, C2H6, C3H8 as well as noble gases (Rn, He, Ar, Ne, Kr, Xe) The gaseous concentrations of geothermal systems are correlated to the temperatures of geothermal systems and seismic faults The gases have a multiple origins of crust, mantle and atmosphere

The chapter emphasizes on both the spatial correlation between the geothermal areas/zones and the seismic zones and the energetic relationship between geothermal-fluid geochemistry and seismic activity The more amounts of mantle gases the geothermal systems contain, the higher temperature of geothermal systems and the more active the seismic zones The deep earth fluids provide both matter and energy for geothermal fields and earthquake generation, and carry the messages of geothermal reservoir and earthquake

Chapter 42 - The Larderello and Mt Amiata geothermal fields in Tuscany are large active thermal systems Both likely overlie young plutonic rocks that serve as the principal sources

of heat The features of the two geothermal systems are similar 1 Structural setting The

geothermal fields of Larderello and Mt Amiata are located in the inner part of the Northern Apennines, characterized asthenosphere uplift and delamination of the crustal lithosphere or

underplating 2 The heat source both at Larderello and Mt Amiata can be ascribed to the presence of shallow igneous intrusions 3 The heat flow data for the area surrounding both the

Larderello and Mt Amiata geothermal fields show a comparable areal extension and similar

values (up to 200-300 mW/m2 ) 4 Cap rocks and reservoirs Both the Larderello and the Mt

Amiata fields have shallow vapor-dominated sedimentary, and deep metamorphic reservoirs

At Larderello super-heated steam is present in both reservoirs, to depth of more than 3.5 km, whereas the deep reservoir of the Mt Amiata geothermal fields is likely water-dominated In

both fields the upper reservoir is present below the flysch units forming the cap rocks 5 Permeability is due to rock fracturing, even at depths of about 4 km and temperatures as high

as 350°C Pressure greater than hydrostatic and a supercritical fluid can occur in the deepest

part of the geothermal fields 6 Hydrothermal alteration and contact metamorphism At

Larderello and Mt Amiata there is evidence of an early contact metamorphism related with

the intrusion of the granites 6 Recharge The water stable isotope values of the steam

discharged by the geothermal wells at Larderello indicate a meteoric origin A geochemical regional study on the thermal waters and gases of the Mt Amiata area indicates that the geothermal reservoirs originated from a meteoric fluid, mainly stored in a regional Mesozoic dolomite-anhydrite unit, and evolved in a Na-Cl, CO2 gas-reach reservoir by interaction with calcite-bearing metamorphic rocks

The high temperatures existing in correspondence of a deep seismic reflector suggest the occurrence of a deep-seated unconventional geothermal resource (UGR), which can be possibly exploited The heat could be mined from silica-rich rocks close to a plastic state, but where fracturing can be induced by fluid overpressure and abrupt high strain rates This geothermal resource is very important, requires a re-assessment of the geothermal resources

in Italy, considering the possibility of the exploitation of the new reservoirs

Chapter 43 - High-temperature geothermal reservoir is under consideration, consisting of two high-permeability layers, which are separated by a low-permeability stratum The thermodynamic conditions are assumed to imply that the upper and lower high-permeability layers are filled in by water or by vapor, respectively The stable stationary regimes of vertical phase flow between water and vapor layers in the low-permeability stratum may exist The authors give possible types of transition to instability of the vertical flows in such a system under the condition of smallness of the advective heat transfer in comparison with the conductive one It is found that in the generic case there exist three different scenarios of the instability onset of the stationary vertical flows They are accompanied by the bifurcations of solutions describing the destabilizing vertical flows The possible scenarios of the evolution

of the system over the threshold of instability are discussed

Chapter 44 - Abundant genetic and sedimentary indicators has been found in the thick coal beds from three fault-controlled coal basins on the Central Massif France A new formation model for thick continental (intra-mountainous) lacustrine peat swap is proposed

In the new coal accumulation mechanism, thick coal beds were associated with various gravity-influenced breccia and sandstone interlayer sediments and the subaquatic gravitary current transported the organic (peat) and inorganic clasts formed in lakeshore swamp were formed in active clastic environment, and were associated with various gravity-influenced mudstone and sandstone interlayers The presence of a great number of gravity-flow sediments such as detrital flow, diluted slurry flow or turbidity-current sediments in the coal seams, and that of the contemporaneous gravity slump and deformation structures in the coal seams both indicate that the accumulation of the thick coal beds was characterized by the relatively deep water environment and allochthonous sedimentation This new model interprets reasonably the accumulation mechanism of the thick coal beds developed in the fault basins in the Central Massif (France) and provides a completely new idea with respect to the traditional coal formation models

Chapter 45 - As an innovation, the authors propose that a new frontier in geothermal research should be explored that involves the coupling of thermal and chemical simulations in

an integrated “magma chamber-reservoir” model To achieve this innovation in geothermal research, the authors have written a new computer program (in Fortran 90) in modular structure that runs on a PC under the dynamic memory concept and simulates heat transfer conductive and convective processes both in a magma chamber and the overlying geothermal

reservoir as well as computes in-situ major element chemistry of magmas that evolved in the

magma chamber as a result of processes of assimilation, crystallization (liquid line of

descent), magma mixing, recharge, and eruption This combined task is accomplished in three dimensions (3-D) – a substantial improvement as compared to the current practice of obtaining thermal solutions in 1-D or 2-D and of modeling chemical data obtained from the

analysis of surface outcrops without reference to the actual location within the Earth where

the magmas were stored prior to eruption In fact, if temperature estimates in drill wells and chemical data for surface rocks were available, this information can be used to constraint the model the authors are proposing as a new research frontier The practice of “direct” modeling can be replaced in the future by inverse modeling when greater computing and storage capacities of personal computers will be available This chapter briefly reviews the current state of thermal modeling of geothermal areas and presents the salient features of our new research approach, including a brief description of our computer program An application example of a Mexican geothermal field (Los Humeros, Puebla), currently under exploitation for electricity production, will highlight the use of our software This particular geothermal field was chosen for illustration purposes because of the availability of required thermal and chemical data to test the 3-D simulation model The authors have successfully reproduced some of the major element chemical characteristics for the most voluminous caldera-forming eruption at about 0.46 Ma and the present-day thermal regime inferred from static formation temperatures using a quadratic regression of the actually measured bottom hole temperature data

Expert Commentary A - In the last decade, nuclear energy has gained a widespread renewal of interest as an important contributor to energy security, supply and sustainability A number of new designs of nuclear power plants (NPP) has emerged recently, in attempts to achieve advances in the following areas: sustainability, competitive economics, safety and reliability, proliferation-resistance and physical protection Actually, in the framework of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a task force has announced in 2002 the selection of six reactor technologies, which would represent the future shape of nuclear fission energy: these reactors operate at higher temperatures than today's reactors, allowing new and attractive applications, such as the thermo-chemical production of hydrogen In addition to these six concepts for deployment between 2010 and 2030, the GIF has recognised a number

of International Near-Term Deployment advanced NPPs available before 2015 Moreover, several international research projects are ongoing, which concern subcritical Accelerator-Driven Systems for radioactive wastes incineration, in conjunction with Partitioning and Transmutation technologies

Expert Commentary B - Large sparse power systems form an extremely complex dynamical system which usually possess many degrees of freedom and poses a challenge for simulation and analysis Forced complex oscillations triggered by the loss of major system resources may manifest highly complex spatial and temporal dynamics and involve a large number of machines and take place over a great range of time and time scales Proper understanding of the underlying dynamics causing these oscillations requires investigation of the various types of temporal nonlinear interactions involving the fundamental modes of the system Such features may be obscured or distorted in the normal spectral analysis approach The analysis of spatio-temporal dynamic patterns is important for many reasons Nonlinearity causes the fundamental waves or temporal modes to interact, leading to frequency and amplitude modulation and to a phase relationship known as quadratic phase coupling between the frequency components involved Mounting evidence suggest that these interactions can have a significant impact on system performance such as the modal content

of the observed oscillations and may the design of controllers Further, it is also possible that nonlinearity contributes to non-stationary behavior in the record

RESEARCH AND REVIEW STUDIES

Editor: A L Zenfora, pp 3-51 © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc

Chapter 1

United States Government Accountability Office

WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY

To better understand how changes in domestic and international petroleum products markets have affected prices, GAO was asked to evaluate trends in (1) the international trade

of petroleum products, (2) refining capacity and intensity of refining capacity use internationally and in the United States, (3) international and domestic crude oil and petroleum product inventories, and (4) domestic petroleum supply infrastructure

To address these objectives, we reviewed numerous studies, evaluated data, and spoke to many industry officials and experts and agency officials

WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS

GAO is making recommendations aimed at improving the functioning of petroleum product markets, including that the Secretaries of Transportation and Energy coordinate with other agencies to (1) encourage more uniform biofuel and petroleum product blending practices, (2) conduct a study of infrastructure system adequacy, and (3) evaluate the assignment of a lead agency to coordinate permitting of infrastructure construction

In commenting on the report, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations, while the Departments of Energy and Transportation neither fully agreed nor disagreed

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on GAO-08-14 For more information, contact Mark Gaffigan at (202) 512-3841, gaffiganm@gao.gov

* This is an edited, reformatted and augmented version of GAO Report GAO-08-14, dated December 2007 publication

WHAT GAO FOUND

International trade in petroleum products has expanded over the past two decades, making markets for gasoline and other petroleum products increasingly global in nature Recent plans and mandates in the United States and other countries to greatly expand the use

of biofuels blended with petroleum products—for example, ethanol blended with gasoline and biodiesel blended with petroleum diesel—may have the unintended effect of reducing opportunities for trade because blending different levels of biofuels with petroleum blending stocks will require changes to these blending stocks and thereby reduce their fungibility For most of the past 25 years, there has been excess refining capacity globally, but this excess has shrunk considerably in recent years as demand has increased faster than capacity growth, causing refineries to run closer to their production capacity, and contributing to recent increases in petroleum product prices, price volatility, and refining profits However, experts say it is unclear whether or for how long the current market tightness will continue, in part because of uncertainties about how much additional refining capacity will actually be built in the face of rising construction costs and initiatives that may reduce future demand for petroleum products such as through the blending of large volumes of biofuels into the transportation fuels markets

When measured as average days of consumption, inventories of petroleum products and crude oil in the United States indicate a general decline over the past 20 years A number of factors have contributed to this decrease in the United States, including reductions in crude oil production and the number of refineries as well as efforts to reduce inventory holding costs

by applying advances in technology Lower operating costs associated with lower inventories may have translated into lower consumer prices during normal periods However, lower than normal inventories can lead to higher or more volatile prices in the event of supply disruptions or surges in demand

The nation’s petroleum product supply infrastructure is constrained in key areas and is likely to become increasingly constrained, unless timely investments are made A constrained supply infrastructure can exacerbate price effects and price volatility due to a supply disruption However, no central source of data tracks system bottlenecks While there is widespread recognition that a study is needed to fully identify the extent of infrastructure inadequacy and the impact on prices, to date, no such analysis has been undertaken, though such a study was mandated by Congress in 2006 with a June 2008 deadline Significant infrastructure expansion plans in the private sector could alleviate the stresses However, a complex permitting and siting process involving as many as 11 federal agencies and numerous state and local stakeholders has slowed or impeded the expansion and construction

of new pipelines Unlike in the case of natural gas pipelines, no central federal agency acts to coordinate this permitting process

ABBREVIATIONS

BP British Petroleum

DOE Department of Energy

DOT Department of Transportation

EIA Energy Information Administration

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FTC Federal Trade Commission

IEA International Energy Agency

MARAD U.S Maritime Administration

NYMEX New York Mercantile Exchange

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

SPR U.S Strategic Petroleum Reserve

December 20, 2007

The Honorable Daniel Inouye Chairman,

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate

The Honorable Maria Cantwell United States Senate

In 2003, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, a widely watched benchmark crude oil price, averaged about $31 per barrel By 2006, the average was about $66 per barrel, and in mid-November, 2007 the price rose to over $90 per barrel Wholesale and retail prices

of petroleum products refined from crude oil, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, which normally rise and fall with crude oil prices, also generally rose over the period For example, U.S retail regular gasoline prices—equivalent to wholesale prices plus taxes, marketing costs, and retail profit margins—averaged $1.52 per gallon in 2003, but by August 2006, they had almost doubled to $3.00 per gallon, and as of July 2007, remained relatively high at $2.85 per gallon Such large and sustained increases in gasoline prices have not been seen in the United States since the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the start of the Iran-Iraq war pushed prices up—even higher than today’s prices when adjusted for inflation—causing severe economic hardship for many Americans and contributing to a global economic recession While this more recent increase in petroleum product prices does not appear to have had such far-reaching economic effects, consumers want to know the reasons for the large and relatively sudden price increases Figure 1 shows retail regular gasoline prices in the United States, in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms during the past 30 years

In addition to crude oil prices, a number of factors affect the price of petroleum products

As we recently testified before Congress, these factors include domestic capacity to refine crude oil into petroleum products; inventories of these products; the proliferation of special blends of gasoline; the capacity and functioning of the crude oil and petroleum product supply infrastructure, which is composed of pipelines, barges, tanker vessels, marine terminals, rail, trucking and storage tanks; and mergers in the oil industry.[1] In addition, because the United States imports and exports petroleum products, events outside the United States can affect domestic petroleum product prices Imports to or exports from the United States typically enter or leave through port facilities on tankers or across national borders via pipeline Our imports of petroleum products come from all over the world into ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the east and west coasts, and by pipeline from Canada

Refineries process crude oil into petroleum products through a variety of complicated processes, and a single barrel of crude oil produces a varying amount of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products depending on the configuration––or complexity––of the refinery as well as the type of crude oil being refined Refineries can be optimized—or “upgraded”––to

process different grades of crude oil through the addition of specialized refining equipment U.S refineries are generally optimized to produce large proportions of gasoline to meet domestic transportation demand Cleaner-burning fuels have proliferated in response to legislation including the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, leading to additional investments in the refining equipment needed to produce the new fuels

Source: GAO analysis of EIA data

Figure 1 U.S Retail Regular Unleaded Gasoline Prices, Annual Average, 1976 – 2006

More recently, a number of European countries, the U.S federal government, and a number of individual states and localities have proposed or mandated the use of biofuels—such as ethanol made from corn or biodiesel made from soybeans or other crops—partly in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce consumption of petroleum products These mandates call for biofuels to be blended in varying proportions with traditional gasoline or diesel For example, U.S federal biofuel standards call for a minimum proportion and volume of biofuels to be sold each year but do not specify how that proportion is met In addition, a number of states and at least one city have requirements or plans to require use of biofuels in varying proportions, blended with gasoline and diesel For example:

• Hawaii, Minnesota, and the city of Portland, Oregon, all currently require ethanol to

be blended at a 10 percent by volume rate with gasoline, although Hawaii only requires this for 85 percent of the gasoline sold in the state

• Minnesota and Portland, Oregon require 2 and 5 percent biodiesel, respectively, to be blended with diesel fuel Minnesota also requires the expansion of ethanol blending

to 20 percent by volume by 2013

• Four other states—Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, and Oregon—have biofuel mandates that will require 10 percent ethanol blended into gasoline and/or varying blends of biodiesel: Missouri and Montana have no mandated plans for biodiesel; New Mexico calls for 5 percent biodiesel blending and Oregon for 2 percent

• Other states have “flexible standards.” For example, Iowa provides tax credits if at least 10 percent of the fuels used by 2009 are renewable, with the threshold rising to

23 percent in 2018 Yet this can be achieved in a flexible way, using a blend consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, while other gasoline would

be blended with less or no ethanol at all Louisiana will require both ethanol and biodiesel to be blended at 2 percent, but only when state production reaches certain levels and prices of ethanol and biodiesel are sufficiently low Finally, Washington will require that at least 2 percent of diesel sold be biodiesel by November 30, 2008,

or when a determination is made that state biodiesel production can meet the 2 percent requirement

Automakers and refiners told us that these varying biofuel blends will require changes to the gasoline and diesel blendstocks––the fuels that will be mixed with the ethanol or biodiesel—to maintain engine performance and emissions requirements The production of these new blends may also require further refinery changes as well as changes to automobile engines Automakers also told us that in addition to increasing the costs of production, changing engines to be able to meet performance and emissions standards using a wide mix

of biofuel blends would also entail potential losses in fuel efficiency

From refineries, petroleum products are distributed through an extensive supply infrastructure composed of pipelines, barges, tanker vessels, marine terminals, rail roads, trucks, and storage tanks Pipelines are generally the cheapest domestic mode for transporting crude oil and petroleum products Crude oil and petroleum products are transported in separate pipelines, and while different types and specifications of petroleum products are shipped in the same pipelines, they must be kept separate during transport and storage in order to maintain the specific desirable performance and emissions characteristics of these different fuels Crude oil pipelines connect several large refining centers to crude oil sources, and petroleum product pipelines connect these refineries to population centers all over the country Trucks and rail have generally distributed only a small fraction of petroleum products to wholesale terminals However, they are being increasingly utilized to move ethanol to locations near final demand centers where the ethanol is blended with gasoline This is because existing pipelines cannot currently accommodate ethanol due to an insufficient collector pipeline network linking ethanol refineries with major pipelines, and because ethanol has corrosive and other properties that complicate its transport in pipelines that also carry petroleum products

Refiners, distributors, and marketers of petroleum products maintain inventories of crude oil and petroleum products to facilitate smooth supply operations and mitigate the effects of supply disruptions Crude oil and petroleum product inventories consist of three levels Primary inventories comprise the crude oil or petroleum products held at production sites, refineries, and storage terminals, and in pipelines, tankers, barges, and other transportation centers Secondary inventories consist of retail outlets and small storage facilities—those with less than 50,000 barrels of total capacity––that exist between the primary distribution system and the end user Tertiary inventories are the petroleum products in the hands of end users, for example, in drivers’ gasoline tanks The federal government also maintains strategic stocks of crude oil and, in the Northeast, heating oil to be released in the event of a major supply shortage The Energy Information Administration (EIA) collects inventory data for the primary system Information about changes in inventory levels can inform market participants about underlying demand or supply conditions that will influence prices

A number of federal agencies have programs and activities related to the oversight or monitoring of the refining, distribution, or importing of petroleum and petroleum products For example, the Department of Transportation (DOT) oversees crude oil and petroleum