SUSTAINABLE ENERGY This page intentionally left blank SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Towards a Zero-Carbon Economy using Chemistry, Electrochemistry and Catalysis JULIAN R.H. ROSS EmeritusProfessor,UniversityofLimerick,Limerick,Ireland; MemberoftheRoyalIrishAcademy(MRIA);Fellowofthe Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) Elsevier Radarweg29,POBox211,1000AEAmsterdam,Netherlands TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,OxfordOX51GB,UnitedKingdom 50HampshireStreet,5thFloor,Cambridge,MA02139,UnitedStates Copyright©2022ElsevierB.V.Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic ormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem, withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Detailsonhowtoseekpermission,further informationaboutthePublisher’spermissionspoliciesandourarrangementswithorganizations suchastheCopyrightClearanceCenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency,canbefoundatour website:www.elsevier.com/permissions. Thisbookandtheindividualcontributionscontainedinitareprotectedundercopyrightbythe Publisher(otherthanasmaybenotedherein). Notices Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchandexperience broadenourunderstanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,ormedical treatmentmaybecomenecessary. Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledgeinevaluating andusinganyinformation,methods,compounds,orexperimentsdescribedherein.Inusingsuch informationormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafetyandthesafetyofothers,including partiesforwhomtheyhaveaprofessionalresponsibility. Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors,contributors,oreditors,assume anyliabilityforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersonsorpropertyasamatterofproductsliability, negligenceorotherwise,orfromanyuseoroperationofanymethods,products,instructions,orideas containedinthematerialherein. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN:978-0-12-823375-7 ForinformationonallElsevierpublications visitourwebsiteathttps://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals Publisher:SusanDennis AcquisitionsEditor:AnitaKoch EditorialProjectManager:CharlotteKent ProductionProjectManager:BharatwajVaratharajan CoverDesigner:ChristianJ.Bilbow TypesetbySTRAIVE,India Contents Preface vii Acknowledgements ix 1. Introduction 1 Energyproductionandthegreenhouseeffect 1 Greenhousegases 4 Consequencesofthegreenhouseeffect 9 Thesourcesofgreenhousegasemissions 11 2. Traditional methodsofproducing, transmitting and using energy 21 Introduction 21 Coal 21 Crudeoil 38 Naturalgas 42 Concludingremarks 47 3. Lessconventional energy sources 49 Introduction 49 Nuclearenergy 50 Geothermalenergy 55 Tidalenergy 59 Wavepower 62 Hydroelectricpower 63 Windpower 67 Solarpower 69 Concludingremarks 75 4. The production andusesof hydrogen 77 Introduction 77 Theproductionofhydrogenfromnaturalgasbysteamreforming 77 Theproductionofhydrogenfromnaturalgasbyothermethods 89 Methanolproduction 96 ProductionoffuelsusingtheFischerTropschprocess 97 Productionofammonia 99 Conclusions 102 v vi Contents 5. Biomass as asource ofenergyand chemicals 103 Introduction 103 Woodasasourceofenergyandpaper 104 Non-traditionalusesofbiomass:Firstandsecondgenerationbio-refinery processes 112 Concludingremarks 129 6. Transport 131 Introduction 131 Historicaldevelopmentofmechanicallydriventransport 131 Exhaustemissioncontrol 143 Hybridvehicles 150 Plug-inhybridvehicles 152 Batteryelectricalvehicles 154 Fuelcellvehicles 159 Concludingremarks 160 7. Batteries,fuel cells andelectrolysis 163 Introduction 163 TheVoltapile,Faradayandtheelectrochemicalseries 163 Half-cellEMF’sandtheelectrochemicalseries 167 Thekineticsofelectrochemicalprocesses 170 Electrochemicalbatteries 175 Flowbatteries 185 Fuelcells 186 Electrolysis 192 8. The way forward: Net Zero 197 Introduction 197 Hydrogenproductionusingrenewableenergy 199 Fuelcellstobeusedfortransportationpurposes 203 Solidoxidehydrolysiscells(SOEC’s)forhydrogenproductionandtheiruse forthesynthesisofgreenammoniaandmethanol 205 Tailpiece 221 Index 225 Preface Itisnotpossibletoopenanewspaperormagazinewithoutreadingofsome aspectoftheglobalproblemofclimatechangeandofthemeasuresthatare necessarytocombatitsothatwecanachieve‘zerocarbon’beforetheyear 2050.Therehasbeenasteadyincreaseintheemissionofgreenhousegases sincetheIndustrialRevolutionandtheaimofallthosecountriesthathave signeduptotheParisAccordistobringbacktheresultanttemperaturerise to no more than 2°C (and even to 1.5°C) within fewer than 30 years. This book considers many aspects of the potential uses of ‘sustainable energy’. In this context, this is the energy that can be obtained by using renewableresourcessuchaswindpower,hydroelectricpowerorsolarradi- ation, and the bookdiscusses how this energy can beused in place of con- ventionally derived energy from fossil reserves: coal, oil and natural gas. In ordertosetthescene,thebookalsodiscussesinsomedetailthemanywaysin which conventional energy is currently used. Thefirstchaptersetsthescenebyconsideringsomeaspectsofthegreen- houseeffectandoutlinestheobjectivesoftheParisAccordthatisaimedat reducingtheemissionsresponsiblefortheeffect.Itthentracestheoriginsof thegreenhouseeffect,discussingsomehumanactivities(manyofwhichare discussed later in the book) that have taken place since the Industrial Rev- olution and have contributed to the increased emissions. Thebookthenconsiderssomeimportantexistingindustrialactivities,all relatedto theuseofenergy createdfrom theuseoffossil fuels,coal oiland naturalgas,eachofwhichresultsintheemissionofgreenhousegases.Some oftheseemissionscanbereducedbymethodssuchascarboncollectionand storage,butanalternativeistoproducesomeofthechemicalsandfuelson which we rely by using biomass-derived materials. Hence, the use of bio- mass as a source of energy and chemicals is then considered. Transport,inoneformortheother,isresponsibleforasignificantshare ofourgreenhousegasemissions.Thedevelopmentsthathaveoccurredsince the Industrial Revolution of various forms of transport are outlined and modern developments such as the use of hybrid engines, battery power andfuelcellsarethenconsidered.Thisleadstoadetaileddiscussionofvar- ious types of batteries and fuel cells followed by a section considering the potential importance of electrolysis brought about using renewable energy as a means of producing hydrogen and syngas. vii viii Preface The final chapter considers how green hydrogen or syngas produced using electrolytic methods fuelled by renewable electricity can be used in industrialapplicationssuchasammoniaandmethanolsynthesis,theproduc- tion of steel and cement manufacture. It also considers the importance of achieving reductions in emissions from commercial, domestic and agricul- tural sources. The reductions required to allow us reach the targets set in the Paris Accord are enormous and the progress towards achieving these aims has beendisappointinglyslowuntilnow.Governmentsandresponsibleagencies mustthereforepaysignificantlygreaterattentiontowaysinwhichobjectives canbeachievedandcanonlymanagethatbyapplyingthe‘carrotandstick approach’: offering incentives to all energy users that encourage energy- saving initiatives and the introduction of new methods while at the same time penalising inactivity. Acknowledgements AsIdidinmyprevioustwobooks,Ifirstthanktheverymanypeoplewith whomI haveworkedover theyearsfor their effortsandenthusiasm, espe- ciallythestudentsandpostdocsfrommyvariousresearchgroups,toomany tonameindividually,whohavehelpedmebuildupmyknowledgeofcatal- ysis and related fields. Thanks are also due to the many scientists and engi- neerswithwhommydifferentresearchgroupshavecollaboratedandfrom whomIhavelearntmuchabouttheapplicationsandexploitationoffunda- mental research in the field of heterogeneous catalysis. This collaborative work was carried out with funding provided by many sources, particularly by various EU research programmes. IthankElsevierandthemanypeoplefromthatcompanywith whomI havecollaboratedduringmyeditorialworkforAppliedCatalysisandCatal- ysisTodayandintheproductionofthethreebooksthatIhavenowwritten and published with them. In particular, I thank Kostas Marinakis who not only guided me through the process involved in the planning of this book butwithwhomIhavehadmanypreviousinteractionsduringmyworkasan editor. I wish him well in his retirement. Thanks are also due to Kostas’s successor, Anita Koch, for her more recent involvement with the produc- tionofthisbook;toNarmathaMohanforherassistanceinensuringthatthe necessary permission had been obtained to reproduce copyright material; and to Bharatwaj Varatharajan for his careful and helpful work on the final production and during the proofreading stage. I particularly thank Alice Grantwho,asthemostrecentElsevierdeskeditorinvolved,hascheerfully and helpfully worked with me for most of the writing process. My thanks are due to two good friends who, each in particular way, helpedmeduringthewritingphase:firstly,mycolleagueandlong-standing collaborator,MichaelHayes,whoverykindlyreadthroughthefirstdraftof Chapter5(BiomassasaSourceofEnergyandChemicals)andnotonlypro- videdmewithusefulcommentsbutalsogavemeinvaluableinformationon soilorganicmatter;andsecondly,TonyHilley,aretiredoffshoreoilandgas engineer, who encouraged me throughout the writing phase by providing me with a large number of important web links to recent developments in the field of energy. I also thank Miguel Ban˜ares for his comments on the contents of the completed manuscript and for suggesting the term ‘Mount Sustainable’. ix