News and analysis on materials solutions to energy challenges
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Inside:
BAKKEN FORMATION
EDITORIAL
Don’t waste the waste MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL
REGIONAL INITIATIVE
Norway faces windy road to offshore wind
CHICAGO
ENERGY SECTOR ANALYSIS
Ceramic-matrix composites take the heat
ENERGY QUARTERLY ORGANIZERS CHAIR M. Stanley Whittingham, Binghamton University, The State University of New York, USA Anshu Bharadwaj, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, India David Cahen, Weizmann Institute, Israel Russell R. Chianelli, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA George Crabtree, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Sabrina Sartori, University of Oslo, Norway Anke Weidenkaff, University of Stuttgart, Germany Steve M. Yalisove, University of Michigan, USA
Editorial image: NASA satellite image shows how the gas being burned off at the Bakken oil field in North Dakota is almost as bright as the light emitted from major US cities such as Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago.2 Credit: NASA. Energy Sector title image: These turbine blades were part of the first successful test of a rotating ceramic-matrix composite part. They were designed for GE’s adaptive cycle engine, which is under development for military aircraft. Courtesy of GE Aviation.
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Don’t waste the waste The United States, Canada, and Mexico are now being called the “New Middle East” because of their huge production of oil and gas from both conventional and shale sources.1 This new hydrocarbon production produces two waste materials in large quantities: flare natural gas and tars. The gas is typically burned away in flares because it is cheaper to burn than to liquefy and sell. A recent NASA study revealed that space stations flying over Siberia reported thousands of flaring oil wells from conventional oil wells, burning as much energy as the East Coast of the United States uses for travel every day. The same phenomenon has been reported in the western states of the United States.2 Flare gas is typically comprised of approximately 50% methane and 50% CO2. Catalytic reforming of methane with CO2 is possible using catalytic materials producing valuable hydrocarbons that are liquid at room temperature. However, this reaction occurs at temperatures near 700oC. Thus, the cost of implementing this process in petroleum fields is too high. “Flare quenching” methods are now being developed using novel catalytic materials for the reforming using solar power to convert the waste to useful products.3 In addition, refineries that produce heavy crudes also produce large quantities of “heavy bottoms” that are used to make “road tars.” These heavy bottoms contain molecules called asphaltenes. Under moderate conditions, novel catalytic materials can destroy the asphaltenes and remove sulfur and nitrogen. Interestingly, novel materials can be generated during this process. Indeed, a solar cell made with asphaltenes has been reported.4 Several more interesting materials made from “waste asphaltenes” are an
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