CHEME 6660 Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems

Problem Set #1 Fall 2013 Due: Friday, Sept 6, 2012 Draft 1.5 August 27 2013 Energy Conversion and Scaling Analysis
1. Plastic or paper? A major supermarket is planning to phase out using plastic bags to be greener and lower the energy and ecological footprint of its customer base. They would continue to offer paper bags to shoppers who dont use reusable bags. Below are some excerpts from their recently released public flyer announcing the change: 1. Plastic bags are made from fossil fuels, a non-renewable and increasingly scarce resource. 2. An estimated 100,000,000 bags are used in the US every year requiring millions of barrels of oil. 3. Paper bags are made from wood pulp -- a renewable biomass feedstock. Please analyze this situation to decide whether the information put forth in the assertions is correct. And if so how does this compare with the annual consumption of oil in the US per capita? Note - We recently went in to the laboratory and weighed several plastic grocery bags and found that their weights to be about 7 grams. You can assume that the plastic used in bags is essentially pure polyethylene which is polymer of ethylene normally produced from low molecular hydrocarbons such as ethane that are extracted or synthesized during oil and gas production and refining. Overall the process of producing polyethylene requires about 12 % of the energy content of substrates. 2. Gasoline natures way of providing energy at high density - Estimate the rate of energy transfer that occurs when you fill the gasoline tank of a typical family car. How does this rate compare with the typical rate of electrical charging that is used to recharge the batteries in a pure electric vehicle like a Nissan Leaf or a Ford? 3. How green is hydro? (problem 12.5 from Sustainable Energy) -- A large mega-hydro project similar in design to the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams on the Colorado river is being considered for a mountainous region of Siberia. The dam would be located in a 150 m deep canyon that is about 50 m wide. If approximately 1 million tons of concrete are used for the dam structure alone (following the design shown schematically in Figure 12.1 of the SE text), what is the average thickness of the dam from its base to its top? The plant should produce about 2,000 MWe of power for its entire lifetime of about 100 years. What is the impact of this plant on GHG emissions? Hint - concrete consists of about 30% Portland cement with the remainder a combination of sand and stone aggregate. Portland cement is produced by the endothermic calcination of limestone (CaCO3) to make CaO. For the reaction, H = 178 kJ/mole. Consider cases for coal and natural gas as the energy source for the reaction.

4. DOEs 20 in 20 program - Can wind power provides 20% of US electricity by 2020 Estimate what year will wind generate 20% of all electricity if current trends continue? At that point, what is the total installed wind capacity. Assume the following status for US total and wind electric generation as of 2012: Total Installed US generating capacity Capacity Factor 1,000 GWe 50% Wind 60 GWe 25% 25%/year

Current Annual Growth Rate in Generation 3%/year

Economic Principles and Methods 5. Discounting is important (a) What is the present value of the right to receive $25,000 in 5 years, if we use an annual rate of 6.5% ? (b) A commercial property is expected to generate rents of $25,000 for the next 25 years. If I assume a discount at 8% and that rent is due annually at the end of the year, how much should I pay today based solely on the return to investment, to acquire the property? If I assume the building life is 25 years, that is, for tax purposes I will have depreciated it fully in that period, will it have any value at the end of 25 years? If there is value, what would it be. 6. Turn off the incandescent lights to save the planet!! (a) Determine whether it is advantageous to use compact fluorescent or LED light bulbs Instead of conventional incandescent light bulbs by comparing levelized annual expenditures, in $/yr, over an appropriate time horizon, for bulbs having equivalent light output and the following characteristics: LED/ Compact Fluorescent Power, W Useful life, hrs Todays cost, each, $ 13 / 15 60,000/10,000 $30 / $7 Incandescent 60 1,500 $1

Other data -- Use rate: 1,000 hrs/yr; Residential Cost of Electricity: 18/kwh (today, timezero); Interest (discount) rate: 5%/yr (continuous); Inflation (escalation) rate: 1%/yr (continuous) (b) List other major consumer sector examples of items where inexpensive initial cost dominates purchasing decisions even though future continuing expenditures are actually high enough to justify behaving otherwise. (c) Briefly discuss any aspects not included in the above analysis which should be taken into account in a complete lifecycle analysis. Note - List all assumptions and approximations made in arriving to your answers. You can use the textbook as a source for conversion factors and other needed. You can also use data available in the library or from other sources on the web to solve these problems but make sure that you list the primary sources in your solutions.