Solution to Global Warming (Part 11)

3.9.4 COMBUSTION OF NATURAL GAS

The total annual consumption of Natural Gas is registered at 99.1 quadrillion BTU or 9.91 x 1016 BTU. Natural Gas consists of a mixture of Methane “CH4”, Buthane “C2H6”, Prophane “C3H8”, Acetylene “C2H2”, Ethylene “C2H4”, and Propylene “C3H6” among others.
Calories = 9.91 x 1016 BTU (252 Cal./BTU)/year
= 2.49732 x 1019 Cal./year

2.49732 x 1019 Cal./year
Gasoline Equivalent = -------------------------------------
8,517,042 Cal. /Liter of Gasoline

= 2.932144751663 x 1012 Liters/year
= 2.932144751663 x 109 M3/year
= 2.932144751663 Km3/year
COMBUSTION OF GASOLINE: “C8H18”
228 800 704 324
2 C8H18 + 25 O2 = 16 CO2 + 18 H2O

192 14,000 BTU 2.2 lb 252 Cal.
C = (-------) (---------------) (--------) (-----------) = 6,536,084.21 Cal./Kg
228 lb Kg BTU


36 60,000 BTU 2.2 lb 252 Cal.
H = (------) (---------------) (--------) (-----------) = 5,252,210.52 Cal/Kg
228 lb Kg BTU

Total = 11,788,294.73 Cal/Kg (0.7225) = 8,517,042.94 Cal/Liter


3.9.5 HEAT FROM COMBUSTION OF METHANE: “CH4”

16 64 44 36
CH4 + 2 O2 = CO2 + 2 H2O

12 14,000 BTU 2.2 lb 252 Cal.
C = (-------) (---------------) (--------) (-----------) = 5,821,200.00 Cal./Kg
16 lb Kg BTU

4 60,000 BTU 2.2 lb 252 Cal.
H = (------) (---------------) (--------) (-----------) = 8,316,000.00 Cal/Kg
16 lb Kg BTU

Total = 14,137,000.00 Cal/Kg

14,137,000.00 Cal/Kg
One Kg of Methane = ------------------------------------
8.517,042.94 Liter of Gasoline

= 1.6598483886 Liters Gasoline/Kg Methane

Methane = 1.6598483886 (2.86280353 x 1012 Liters/year)
= 4.7605037713 x 1012Liters of Gasoline Equivalent/year
= 4.7605037713 Km3 of Gasoline Equivalent/year
= 0.013033548997399 Km3/day


EMISSION OF CARBON DIOXIDE “CO2”

CO2 = 44/16
= 2.75 Kg/Kg of Methane
= 4.7605037713 Km3 (0.875)

3.9.6 RUNNING ELECTRIC HEATING ELEMENTS

The utilization of electricity in Electric Ranges or Electric Stove in cooking foodstuff could be one of the main contributors of heating the environment. In the households, we also have flat iron for pressing clothes, clothes drying devices, bread toaster, hair dryer and electric oven that utilize the electric heating elements.

In the field of Manufacturing Industries, we utilize the electric furnaces for plastic industries, cement factories, steel smelting industries, ceramic industries and in food processing industries to include bakeries. Another area of human activity that requires big consumption of electricity is lighting the streets during the night, provide lighting in residential houses, commercial and industrial establishments and office buildings.

The wide of application of electricity makes it highly difficult to determine how much electricity is consumed and how much heat is produced from the electrical heating element that in one way or another heats the environment that could significantly contribute to Global Warming.

In 2003, the world annual consumption of electric power was registered at 15.9 trillion kilowatt-hours ( 1.59 x 1013 KWH) which is worth P135.15 trillion or 32 times the annual Gross National Product “GNP” of the Philippines. About 16.0% of this generated power comes from Nuclear Plants, 17.0% from Hydro-Electric Power Generation, 2.0% from Geothermal Plant and 65.0% from Thermal Plants or steam production feed by coal, crude oil, and natural gas.

A rough estimate on electrical consumption that passes through the electrical heating element is 80 % while those that are utilized through the process of electro-magnetism and electro-mechanical is 20%. This assumption means that 34.8 billion kilowatt-hour is converted into heat energy every day.

34.8 x 109KWH day 1,000 W Joules 3,600 Sec Cal
Calories = (-------------------) (--------) (-----------) ( ---------) (-----------) (---------)
Day 24 Hr KW Sec Hr. 4.18 J

= 1.248803 x 1015 Calories

1.248803 x 1015 Calories
Liters of Gasoline = (-----------------------------) = 1.4662412454 x 108 Liters
8,517,042 Cal. /Liter

= 1.4662412454 x 105 M3/day
Km3 of Gasoline = 0.0053554461 Km3/day

3.9.7 OPERATIONS OF GEOTHERMAL PLANTS

The total annual electrical energy derived from Geothermal Plants worldwide amounts to roughly 2.0% of the total electrical energy generated all over the world which is registered at 15.0 trillion kilowatt- hours. Geothermal Plants therefore generates 318 billion KWH annually or 870.6366 million KWH per day.

Since that our concern here is in this sub-topic is to determine how much heat that is wasted and dissipated into the environment, we limit our efforts in the quantification of the spent steam in Geothermal Plants. In this concern, we must be reminded that what comes out in the pipes and being used as prime movers in the generation of electricity are superheated steams. The pressure of the steam turns the turbine and there is always that residual heat being carried by the steam into the atmosphere.

It must be noted that the spent steam is quite large enough create a vertical flow of hot air that goes with the steam to produce clouds and precipitation. No wonder that almost every day especially when the air is calm, there exist some shower within the vicinity of the Geothermal Plant.

This study failed to avail of the records of the exact temperature of steam in Tiwi, Albay, but it may be assumed that temperature of the superheated steam could be at the vicinity of 1200C. One of two units of Geothermal Plant in Tiwi, Albay, near Mayon Volcano in the Bicol Region, Philippines, which has the rated capacity of 25 Megawatts is fed with a six inch diameter water pipe. At the approximate velocity of one meter per second, the amount of water that is converted into steam is about 17,671 Cm3/Sec.

Operating at 24 hour per day the amount of water that is converted into steam amounts to 1,526.7744 M3/day..At the average of 1,040 calories per gram, the amount of heat being thrown into the atmosphere every day.

2,714.35 M3 1,000,000 Gm 1,040 Cal.
Calories = (--------------) (------------------) (--------------)
Day M3 Gm
= 1.58784537 x 1012Calories/25Mega-watt
= 6.351381 x 1010Calories/ Megawatt


25 Mw 1,000,000 watts Joules Cal 24 Hr 3,600 Sec
Calories = (-------) (-----------------) (--------) (-----------) (--------) (-----------)
Unit Mw Sec 4.18 J day Hr
= 5.1674641148 x 1011 Calories/day
= 2.06698564 x 1010 Calories/Mw/day

6.351381 x 1010Cal./Mw
Percent waste = ------------------------------ x 100 = 307.394975 %
2.06698564 x 1010 Cal/Mw
All over the world, there are 380 Geothermal Plants in 22 countries with the combined Electric Power Generation of 8,000 Megawatts. The biggest producer of geothermal energy is the United States with the generation capacity of 2,960 Megawatts. The second is the Philippines with 2 plants in Tiwi, Albay, one in Laguna and one in Negros Occidental that generates about 420 Megawatts representing about 6% of its total supply of Electricity. Among other leading countries include Italy, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Iceland, France, Poland and Hungary. Italy was the first one to construct a geothermal plant that dates as far back in 1904.

PROCESSES OF POWER GENERATION

1. DRY STEAM PLANT
The Dry Steam Process is the cheapest to construct because the dry stem is directly fed into the system which turns the turbine to produce electricity and this has plenty of heat being lost into the atmosphere.

2. FLASH STEAM PLANT
The Flash steam Process pass the steam through the reservoir and heat exchangers to produce steam that is fed into the system that runs the turbine. The steam is condensed and brought back into the bottom of the well.

3. BINARY POWER PLANT
The binary Process is very expensive to construct but much more efficient and no pollution is produced. It usually utilizes hot water pumped from the bottom of the well. The hot water being deposited in the reservoir is installed with pipelines used as heat exchangers to evaporate isobutene that runs the turbine. The isobutene is recovered by allowing it to condense and recycled

We do not have the details on how much power is generated by each of the three different processes so that we accurately determine how much heat is thrown into the atmosphere. Since that more fifty percent of these Geothermal Plants operates under the Flash Process, we may come up with approximation that 20% out of 8,000 megawatts operates under the Dry Steam Process. Therefore, about 1,600 Megawatts operates under the Dry Steam process and if the waste is three times whatever is generated, the total heat that dissipates into the atmosphere is

Joules Cal 3,600 Sec 24 Hr
Heat = 4,800 Megawatts (106 Watts) (-------) (---------) (-----------) (---------)
Sec. 4,18 J Hr day
= 99,215,311,004,784.6889 Cal

99,215,311,004,784.6889 Cal
Km3 of Gasoline Equivalent = -----------------------------------
8,517,042 (1012)

= 0.000011649339 Km3/day