Energy Sources Review
Combustibles Energy Source

More Update Post: 06_08_2008

A catch phrase for all combustible energy sources excluding the fossil fuels and hydrogen, combustibles as used in the context of world energy issues includes alcohols: Methanol, Ethanol, Propanol and Butanol; and Biodiesel fuels. These energy sources are in fact derivative products, as they are not naturally occurring substances.

Methanol Production is produced by two common methods: The old fashioned Destructive Distillation and Synthesis Gas Reaction Process. Synthesis gas‑a mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen‑that is usually made by steam reforming of natural gas. A third proprietary method under development is the Hydrogenation of Carbon Monoxide.

The Synthesis Gas Reaction Processes currently employed for methanol production use either high‑pressure or low‑pressure technology: In the high‑pressure process, the synthesis gas mixture is reacted at pressures of about 300 atm, In the low‑pressure process, the the synthesis gas mixture is reacted at pressures of only 50‑100 atm and is catalyzed with a highly selective copper‑based compound; however, the low‑pressure process has become the preferred technology because of the lower natural gas feedstock requirements and significantly lower operating costs.

Ethanol commercial production using either the wet mill process or dry mill process. Wet mill process involves separating the grain kernel into its component parts (germ, fiber, protein, and starch) and feeding the starch for fermentation. Dry mill process involves the grounding of the entire grain kernel into flour and then feeding the flour for fermentation. In either case, the starch is converted to ethanol during the fermentation process, creating carbon dioxide and distillers grain.

Newer approaches, however, have been developed: Two approaches are currently being pursued assiduously for commercial production of ethanol: Grain Ethanol, and Grass [Cellulosic] Ethanol, a Third approach potentially efficacious in the tropics only is Palm Ethanol.

The cellulosic ethanol process technology basics is not significantly different from the technology for grain ethanol except for the preprocessing of the cellulose of the grasses. Propanol and Butanol productions have also been well-documented in several chemistry texts and now even the bio-community has developed methods and processes as an Internet search will show.

The commercial production of diesel is usually not deliberately planned for but rather is produced as a general product component of the Fischer Tropsch Process. The petroleum-based diesel is composed of about 75% saturated hydrocarbons of all isotopes and cyclohydrocarbon, and 25% aromatic hydrocarbons including alkyl-aromatics^. Generally, the average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C₁₂H₂₃, ranging from approx. C₁₀H₂₀ to C₁₅H_28.

However, bio-diesel approach has also been developed: The bio-diesel process is often based on a direct map of the process chemistry into a biotechnology process and is truly based on renewable resources in proposing even to use methanol produced with a Methanol Bioprocesses.

Although in each of the above processes, the essential steps have been discussed, there are ancillary steps that must be considered including extensive chemical kinetics studies and analysis may be required.

Energy Type
The energy form of combustibles is chemical, being released upon the reaction of the combustible with oxygen, with results such obtains through the breakage of chemical bonds. The reaction gives off heat and is of the class of chemical reactions generally termed exothermic reaction. During the reaction enough oxygen reacts with the combustibles such as to completely convert the carbon atoms into carbon dioxide and the hydrogen atoms into water molecules in vapour state. 

Energy Adoption
Given portability of the combustibles, and that the reaction of the combustible and oxygen gives off heat the approach to adopting the energy of the combustible depends on the use-needs: The

 combustible is reacted with oxygen and the product of steam and carbon dioxide simultaneously heated with the exothermic heat to support the mechanical extraction of work as fuel for automobiles, The Power-Utility Generation Systems in which combustible is reacted with oxygen to heat water to produce steam in some form of boiler or steam generator and to then drive a turbine with the steam to produce electricity. An Energy Adoption-Technology Analysis, presents for consideration two situations for the production of steam: The Aspirated Fired Burner combustion of the combustibles, The Aspirated Ignited reaction Combustion of combustible. The specifics and engineering designs incorporating these two approaches have been many.

The development of Power-Utility Generation Systems, of course, must consider the best method of storage of the combustibles because of the high volatility of some combustibles. The Aspirated Combustion Burners generally have the standard design as for Coal energy Source adoption, except for the minerals processing steps. This is the preferred approach for most large scale power generation operations. Power station burners simply blow combustibles as fine aerosol mist together with oxygen into the combustion chamber in which ignites the reaction. Obviously, the mixing of fuel and air is much better with aerosol mist and the combustion reaction is both quicker and cleaner. The Aspirated Fired Burners generally have the combustible actually aflame with the water being heated with the heat from the high temperature flame.