Friday 22 November 2013

Fusion Geothermal

Fusion Geothermal


Fusion as heat source for Geothermal

Current Situation

Fusion Containment Issues

As for Fusion Power, most directions are stalled at Hi-Energy Containment, near the goal of "getting back more" than the cost of the fields.

Experts believe that it will take several decades before commercially viable operations can occur.

 
Geothermal; location, location, location

Heat sources not always available

Geothermal electricity production requires high levels of heat. Drilling several kilometers down is often required to reach deeper heat sources.


Fusion Expands Geothermal Opportunities.
Geothermal industry's major problem is needing a natural geological heat source nearby. Pure Fusion can provide artificial geological heat "customized" to more locations.
Fusion Geothermal could provide numerous advantages:
  • Energy available on demand
  • Wide range of possible locations
  • Plentiful fuel
  • No carbon emissions (only helium, hehe)
  • Less costly infrastructure, installations than fusion reactors
  • No highly radioactive byproducts, unlike fission
  • No risk of meltdown
  • Bonus: more experimental fusion data for scientists
  • Bonus: fusion is cool
Additional Consideration:

  • Existing structures such as old mines and oil wells would avoid cost of digging deep holes
  • Some sites may prove unsuitable due to the type of rock, water pockets, or other geological problems.
  • There may be residual radiation from the fusion blast, depending on the type of fusion reaction used.
  • Aneutronic fusion is any form of fusion power where neutrons carry no more than 1% of the total released energy.

Electricity
Heat
Desalination
Moon

Quest for Pure Fusion

Commercial fusion appliances exist
Hundreds of neutron generators, miniature particle accelerators that create fusion reactions using deuterium and tritium, are produced annually for the petroleum industry where they are used in measurement equipment for locating and mapping oil reserves. [wikipedia]

Fusion explosions could be small
It has been claimed that it is possible to conceive of a crude, deliverable, pure fusion explosive, using only current day, unclassified technology. The design weighs approximately 3 tonnes, and might have a total yield of approximately 3 tonnes of TNT. The proposed design uses a large explosively pumped flux compression generator to produce the high power density required to ignite the fusion fuel. [Science and Global Security (1998)]

Fusion power could be done this way using existing technology
Project PACER, carried out at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the mid-1970s, explored the possibility of a fusion power system that would involve exploding small hydrogen bombs (fusion bombs) inside an underground cavity. As an energy source, this is the only fusion power system that could be demonstrated to work using existing technology (mid-1970s). [wikipedia]


Links

Geothermal

Fusion

Fusion Methods

Fusion Projects


Sunday 10 November 2013

Biochar Buries Fossil

Biochar Buries Fossil

What is biochar?

Biochar is charcoal made by heating biomass in a low/no oxygen environment. Biochar can store large amounts of carbon in the ground for centuries, like putting coal back in the mines.

Where would this biomass come from?

Rotting leaves return as much CO2 to the atmosphere as the plants took in to make them. All we have to do is rake them up and turn them into biochar to keep all that carbon in the ground.

How much decaying biomass is there?

The natural decay of organic material in forests and grasslands and the action of forest fires results in the release of about 439 gigatonnes of CO2 every year (IPCC). In comparison, human activities only amount to 29 gigatonnes of CO2 per year.

Who would pay for it?

Adding biochar to soil improves fertilizer and water retention, reduces nutrient leaching, and increases crop yields. This gives it a market value of anywhere from $1 to $50 per kilogram as a soil supplement, depending on quality and additional fertilizer.

Would it take a lot of energy to do this?

Modern pyrolysis plants can use the syngas created by the pyrolysis process and output 3–9 times the amount of energy required to run.

What will Big Oil do about biochar?

BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy), and the Constellation division of Exelon are among the investors in CoolPlanet, a developer of small scale biorefineries which convert non-food biomass into gasoline, jet fuel, and soil enhancing biochar, which is currently building its first 10 million gallon renewable gasoline refinery.

Are there any famous supporters?

This technique is advocated by prominent scientists such as James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis, for mitigation of global warming by greenhouse gas remediation, as well as some climate change activists such as Al Gore.

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