The current worldwide energy supply is based mainly on the availability of fossil fuels and they will remain indispensable in the decades to come. The development of energies with lower emissions and a management of CO2, is one of the most important technological challenges of our times. Novel methods are the only practical way out of the risks of the Anthropogenic warming threat.
In order to curb environmental changes, it is necessary to proceed simultaneously on two parallel lines: (1) the development and progressive utilization of renewable energy sources and (2) a more efficient and friendly utilization of fossils fuels, curbing the effects of their anthropogenic emissions.
NG (methane) is the fossil fuel with the highest de-carbonization, whose full combustion produces ≈ 2 times less CO2 than coal for the same energy. One of the possible solutions lies in the ability to economically develop unconventional but large NG resources, initially coalbed methane and shale gas and in a foreseeable future methane hydrates. Methane hydrates, (burning ice) are expected to be the largest and unexploited reserve of hydrocarbons in the planetary crust. They are common constituents of the shallow marine geosphere both in deep sedimentary structures and as outcrops on the ocean floor.
The presentation will describe novel methods in order to ensure (1) very long distance transport of electricity from renewable sources with MgB2 superconducting cables (2) a remarkable reduction in the GHG emissions from fossil NG combustion with the spontaneous thermal decomposition (TDM) at sufficient temperature of methane to hydrogen and black carbon: CH4 -> 2H2+C.
Abánades, A., Rathnam, R. K., Geißler, T., Heinzel, A., Mehravaran, K., Müller, G., Plevan, M., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., Weisenburger, A.,Wenninger, H., Wetzel, T.(2015 online): Development of methane decarbonisation based on liquid metal technology for CO2-free production of hydrogen. - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
Geißler, T., Plevan, M., Abánades, A., Heinzel, A., Mehravaran, K., Rathnam, R. K., Rubbia, C., Salmieri, D., Stoppel, L., Stückrad, S., Weisenburger, A., Wenninger, H., Wetzel, T. (2015): Experimental investigation and thermo-chemical modeling of methane pyrolysis in a liquid metal bubble column reactor with a packed bed.- International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 40, 41, p. 14134-14146.