Sunday, January 08, 2023

The uncertain future of industrial process heat: A mirror for our energy challenges

Few of us think about heat as an essential ingredient in the products we use every day. And, yet industrial process heat constitutes two-thirds of all energy used by industry. It is used to melt and form metals, to make ceramics, to refine crude oil, to make industrial chemicals, to dry crops, to process food, to sterilize medical instruments, and to heat the facilities within which industries operate. Practically, everything we use on a regular basis has at some point required heat to process. And it turns out that the challenges society faces obtaining process heat mirror in many respects the energy challenges for society as a whole.

Without process heat, much of the world would grind to a halt. That's why the ready availability of fuel for creating that heat is so important. Currently, fossil fuels dominate as energy sources for process heat, chiefly natural gas and coal. There are two reasons to be concerned about their supply.

First, evolving regulations regarding fossil fuel emissions in order to address both pollution and climate change may make fossil fuels more expensive and difficult to use (for example, due to the need for advanced scrubbers and carbon capture). Second, the underground supplies of fossil fuels may not be as plentiful as the public has been led to believe. (Regarding oil and natural gas, see this piece. For coal, see this piece.)

Process heat is so central to some industrial operations that if it becomes too expensive, it may make operations unprofitable. We've already seen several energy-intensive industries in Europe shut down operations due to high prices for natural gas resulting from the loss of Russian natural gas imports due to sanctions and sabotage. So, not only must fossil fuels be available to those requiring process heat, those fuels must also be cheap enough to maintain the profitability of the operations that rely on them.

So what are the possible alternatives? This piece (linked previously above) outlines some of them.

1. Geothermal has much to recommend it. It takes heat from deep in the earth, and once set up needs very little carbon-based fuel to maintain itself. Trouble is, it is not cost-effective compared to current fuels and would require technological advances to drill the extraordinarily deep holes required that would often have to be deeper than 12 kilometers (not a typo). Moreover, it is not a portable fuel like coal and natural gas which can be transported to the site where they are needed. And so, a geothermal well would have to be drilled in every place where process heat is required.

2. Electricity sounds great until you realize that currently almost 62 percent of the world's electricity is generated using fossil fuels. Since the amount of energy lost in the form of heat at the generating plant is significant—somewhere between two-thirds to just under half depending on the fuel and equipment—it makes more sense to bring the fuel to the facility where the process heat is needed and burn it there. If, on the other hand, renewable energy sources are used, electricity as a heating source makes more sense. But renewable energy is often just fraction of what is delivered via the grid to an industrial operation. Dedicated solar and wind power along with storage batteries at the plant can solve this problem, but that's costly to set up and run in most places compared to fossil fuels.

3. Heat pumps operate using electricity so concerns listed under "Electricity" above apply. And, the pumps only generate low-level heat and tend to become less efficient as temperatures outdoors and indoors diverge too greatly.

4. Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source. Currently, it is  made primarily using natural gas through steam reforming. It can also be made from water using electrolysis (which means the electricity has to come from somewhere).

5. Nuclear reactors can supply heat, but typically not at the levels needed for high-temperature applications like melting metals. The development of so-called microreactors may allow nuclear reactors to compete more favorably in the process heat market.

There is, of course, the larger question of how quickly human societies can transition away from fossil fuels for ALL applications in the world economy given the urgency due both to depletion and climate change. And, that urgency is becoming greater with every passing day.

Kurt Cobb is a freelance writer and communications consultant who writes frequently about energy and environment. His work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Resilience, Common Dreams, Naked Capitalism, Le Monde Diplomatique, Oilprice.com, OilVoice, TalkMarkets, Investing.com, Business Insider and many other places. He is the author of an oil-themed novel entitled Prelude and has a widely followed blog called Resource Insights. He can be contacted at kurtcobb2001@yahoo.com.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:25 AM

    Потрібно визнати, що ми не можемо жити в умовах технологічного довготермінізму. і ця утопія точно закінчиться через 100 років.
    Визнати, що ми перевищили всі екологічні і біофізичні основи життя на планеті. Зрештою визнати, що нам не слід претендувати на звання 'панівний вид'. Що наше матеріалістичне технологічне розуміння світу зрештою може виявитись надзвичайно примітивним, порівнюючи з органічними системами на планеті(око птаха, мозок, ехолокація, органи відчуттів інших тварин). Які не тільки перевершують нас в здатностях, але перевершують компактність найменших з приладів подібного призначення. Біоцентризм, та глибокий зв'язок людини і оточуючого середовища, для якого ми пристосовані і в якому проходила наша еволюція, ось наша основа життя. Не бетонні коробки-житла, не пластикові матеріали повсюди, не хімічна їжа, і т.д. Енергетично це був спалах вугільно-нафтогазовий спалах 'прогресу', або ж 'самознищення'. Більше цього не буде. Ніколи. Дивлячись на 500 років вперед я не бачу залізобетону, машин, криптовалют ХD і т.д. Це все зникне, так само як і виникло. Я бачу затоплений Нью-Йорк, Одесу, Херсон і Крим, за який так пристрасно воюють.
    Божевілля...

    Рекомендую до перегляду і читання(нажаль знайшов лише на ФБ): https://m.facebook.com/captpaulwatson/photos/a.443115070931.234296.155430570931/10152578876395932/

    ReplyDelete
  2. SomeoneInAsia10:04 AM

    A further problem with process heat is that it all eventually turns into waste heat. The Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates as much. And all that waste heat has to go somewhere; mostly it is radiated into space from the atmosphere of our planet. And as long as we don't generate waste heat faster than our planet can get rid of it the planet will not heat up. Unfortunately, of course, we all know what happened instead over the last umpteen decades. And this thermal pollution will worsen regardless of whether we use or don't use carbon-based fuels, because the problem here is waste heat and not greenhouse gases in particular. That's why, ultimately, no energy source is clean.

    It may well be that the Second Law actually isn't universally true. After all, how did the Universe wind up if it's supposed to be running down? But as far as we can tell no one has the slightest idea how to wind things up the way the Universe did it. It would be great if we could recycle all the waste heat we produce so it becomes usable process heat again, but it would be as far an advancement beyond nuclear fusion as fusion is an advancement beyond good old biomass. (Wonder if there's any science fiction out there that explores the idea of entropy reversal? :) )

    Ultimately, degrowth is the only way out for us all. And it's going to take place anyway. (If it hasn't started taking place already, that is.)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:21 AM

      Реверсія ентропії або синтропія, це пряме еволюційне завдання життя на планеті Земля. Жива матерія накопичує енергію у щвльному виді (нафта, газ, кам'яне вугілля) Рослини мільйони років робили реверс ентропії :)

      Delete
  3. A Google translation of the comment in Ukrainian above:

    We must admit that we cannot live in the conditions of technological long-termism. and this utopia will definitely end in 100 years.

    To recognize that we have exceeded all ecological and biophysical bases of life on the planet. In the end, admit that we should not claim the title of 'dominant species'. That our materialistic technological understanding of the world may ultimately turn out to be extremely primitive when compared to the organic systems on the planet (the bird's eye, the brain, echolocation, the sense organs of other animals). Which not only surpass us in capabilities, but also surpass the compactness of the smallest devices of a similar purpose. Biocentrism, and the deep connection between man and the environment for which we are adapted and in which our evolution took place, is our basis of life. Not concrete housing boxes, not plastic materials everywhere, not chemical food, etc. Energetically, it was a coal-oil-gas flash of 'progress', or 'self-destruction'. There will be no more of this. Never. Looking 500 years ahead, I don't see reinforced concrete, cars, XD cryptocurrencies, etc. It will all disappear, just as it arose. I see flooded New York, Odessa, Kherson and the Crimea, for which they fought so passionately.
    Madness...

    I recommend viewing and reading (unfortunately, I only found it on Facebook): https://m.facebook.com/captpaulwatson/photos

    ReplyDelete
  4. A Google translation of the above comment:

    Reversion of entropy or syntropy is a direct evolutionary task of life on planet Earth. Living matter accumulates energy in a soluble form (oil, gas, coal). Plants have been reversing entropy for millions of years :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:26 AM

    Where did the energy gradient come from to begin with? If your answer is "the big bang", that's not an answer but just another question: how did that arise and why can't it happen again?

    We don't understand enough about physics or the nature of the universe to say with certainty that entropic loss can't be recaptured somehow or perhaps energy from the void can be created, which sounds stupid until you realize that's literally the big bang explanation. Perhaps if we continue advancement, we will find answers. The right approach is to advance technology, understanding, and intelligence as fast and as far as we can. Living in mud huts until the sun expands and consumes the planet is not an answer, but a multi-generational suicide pact.

    ReplyDelete