The course will involve the study of various conventional and unconventional sources of energy for human consumption. These will include conventional sources such as food (including agricultural, horticultural, and hunting sources), plant produce (wood, grass), animal power (horses, oxen and others), fossil fuels in solid (coal), liquid (crude oil), and gas (natural gas) forms. Alternative sources will include hydroelectric, wind, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, solar-thermal-electric, tidal and wave, geothermal, thermoelectric, bio-diesel, bio-ethanol, nuclear, and human and industrial waste. Each source of energy will be analyzed using a variety of criteria such as the physical mechanism of energy production, world-wide abundance, energy returned on energy invested, continuity of flow (dispatch-ability), convenience, safety, environmental pollution (including visual, audio, chemical, and biological), portability, peak power, and storage. Emphasis will be on making quantitative analyses on scientifically established principles and data.
The following forms of energy will be explored in this course.
1. Fossil-Solids: Coal
2. Fossil-Liquids: Crude Oil, Natural Gas Liquids
3. Fossil-Gas: Natural Gas
4. Nuclear: Fission mostly with some fusion
5. Hydroelectric: Large scale and small scale dams
6. Wind: Different forms offshore and on shore and different scales
7. Solar: Photo-voltaic, solar-thermal-electric, and solar thermal
8. Geothermal: For heating and electricity generation
9. Biomass (not used for food): This will include wood, grass, human and animal waste, different types of ethanol by source, bio-diesel from oil-seeds
10. Wave and Tidal
11. Food: Agricultural, horticultural, and hunting produce.
12. Animal Power: Horses, bullocks and others
13. Conservation: Effect of energy flow during waste re-cycling, waste heat, burning industrial waste for energy
The following energy storage and transmission devices will be considered
1. The Electric Grid
2. Water reservoirs
3. Compressed Air
4. Batteries
5. Hydrogen and other fuels
6. Ultra-Capacitors
7. Human and Animal Fat and muscle
The study of each of the above 13 primary sources and 7 storage devices will be conducted with a description of the following attributes.
1. Relation to the fundamental laws of science
2. Total resource base and reserve base available
3. Energy returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) and NSE
4. Infrastructure requirements
5. Materials and water requirements
6. Dynamics of Energy flow
7. Transportation and portability
8. Replace-ability
9. Environmental Impact
10. Laws, Morals and Ethics