ELEMENTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE PLAN
By
Patrick Briley
September 20, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
[Author's Note: This energy independence plan was developed solely and exclusively as the work product of the author who is a Chemical and Nuclear engineer with 40 years of experience in the US energy industry.
Part 1 Lists the Overall Actions and Approaches Needed for Energy Independence
Part 2 Lists Specific Details to Implement the Technical Actions of Part 1 and includes disclosures of new and/or yet not fully exploited energy technologies.]
PART 1:
Increase Production of Old and New Sources of Energy
Increase Exploration
Increase Diversity of Energy Sources Used
Produce A Variety Of Energy Types (Liquid, gaseous, electric, thermal) For Greater Utility
Produce More Energy from Renewable Energy Sources (Wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, tides)
Build More Nuclear Fission and Fusion Plants for Electricity Production
Build Many More Refineries
Increase and Accelerate Research & Development
Provide More Capital, Loan Guarantees, Economic Incentives
Build More Production Equipment
Retool Existing, Reopen Shuttered, And Build More Manufacturing Plants for Energy Production Equipment
New Training For More Jobs in Manufacturing and Energy Production
Streamline and Expedite Permitting and Regulatory Review Processes for Building Long Lead Energy Production Facilities Sooner
To Save Licensing Costs, Use Technology From Expired US Patents, Especially Those Developed With Taxpayers Dollars, DOE Funding.
Establish REASONABLE Environmental Guidelines That Do NOT Change Frequently To Aide in Long Lead Design, Construction and Funding of High Cost Energy Processing Facilities.
Produce Fuels For Military on Military Bases/Land to Decrease Competition with private Sector Supplies of Energy and to circumvent any unreasonable environmental standards, or delays if need be.
Keep Refinery Products in US - Sell Outside of US Only if in Surplus.
Keep Energy Sources (Coal, oil, gas, electricity) in US - Sell Outside of Country Only if in Surplus.
Do Not Permit Energy Companies, Consortiums Or Foreign Interests To Block Any One Source of Energy Production to Protect Their Economically Vested Interests in Any One Source of Energy.
Do Not Permit Any Foreign Government To Directly or Indirectly (through their subsidiary companies, loans or purchases) Acquire or Control US Energy Sources or US Energy Production and Refining or Mining Capabilities or Companies.
PART 2:
PRODUCE MORE PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS- FOR HEATING, TRANSPORTATION FUELS, AND ELECTRICITY
Onshore Drilling
Offshore Drilling
Uncap, pump from wells (Gull Island, Alaska)
Lift restraints on pumping from existing wells
Use CO2 injection, enhanced recovery from old oil wells-requires some pipelines
More exploration
Extract more natural gas from coal and oil shale deposits
Convert some natural gas to liquid fuels using Shift and Fischer Tropsch Reactions
Shift:
Methane + Water = Carbon Monoxide + Hydrogen
Fischer Tropsch: Carbon Monoxide + Hydrogen + Catalyst= Liquid Fuels
Build More Oil refineries, upgrade existing refineries to make more heating and transportation fuels.
USE MUCH MORE SOLID HYDROCARBON FUELS- COAL, OIL SHALE, TAR SANDS
Explore for and open more coal, tar sands, oil shale mining facilities.
Coal:
Solvent refined clean Coal for electric power plants (take out sulfur nitrogen, mineral content)
Coal gasification to make gas and chemicals and ammonium fertilizers
a) Make gas to burn directly in vehicles, homes, and electric power plants.
b) Convert synthetic gas from coal into liquid fuels and chemicals using Fischer Tropsch process.
Coal liquefaction to convert coal directly to liquid fuels using hydrogen
Use proven technologies disclosed in expired US patents to eliminate licensing costs such as these patents (many more available than just these) :
Method
for Hydroconversion of Solid Carbonaceous Materials:
US Patent
4,410,414 (February 15, 1983) and 4,297,200 (October 27, 1981) by Patrick
Briley
This process will convert any solid hydrocarbon (coal, tar sands, oil shale) to liquid fuels
Coal
Liquefaction Process
US Patent 4.610, 776 dated September 9, 1986 by
Universal Oil Products of Illinois.
This process uses “roasted” oil shale as a VERY LOW COST hydrogenation catalyst (chemically reacts hydrogen gas to coal and coal liquids) to make liquid fuels from coal.
Build refineries to process liquids and gases from coal, tar sands and oil shale into heating and transportation fuels.
Small-scale facilities can also be build for hydrocarbon solids hydroconversion to liquid fuels that are economical for truck fleets, military and farm CO-OP uses.
BUILD MORE BIOMASS TO LIQUID FUELS CONVERSION PLANTS
Do NOT Use Food Stocks (Grains, corn, etc)
Do NOT Use land ad water that could be used instead for raising crops or for grazing.
Convert Algae, Garbage, Wood, Trash to Liquid Fuels (Ethanol, gasoline and Jet Fuel)
Example: JC Bell Bio Fuels (Tifton, GA)
Uses genetically engineered bacteria
7 Large Scale Facilities Built for DOD on military bases
Can convert algae (grown from carbon dioxide effluents) to jet fuel. For more details see Carbon Dioxide Conversion Section below.
UTILIZE EXISTING AND ECONOMIC PROCESSES TO CONVERT CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2):
Carbon Dioxide Conversions in Microreactors
by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (& NASA) :
Sabatier Reaction: CO2 + 4 H2 = CH4 + 2 H2O (Catalyzed and exothermic)
Enhanced Oil Recovery using Injection of CO2 from Refineries, Coal fired electric generating plants.
Recover new oil from old oil fields
Requires CO2 pipelines to oil wells
Growing Algae Biomass for Fuel with CO2 from Refineries, Coal fired electric generating plants.
Example: Texas Clean Fuels Process fro Algae Growth
Example: JC Bell Bio Fuels Process for Converting Algae to Liquid fuels
Combine CO2 Injection and Algae Processes in Oil Fields
Helps Algae Process On Sunless Days
Uses same pipelines for both processes at oil wells.
Extends lifetime of CO2 injection project
BUILD MORE NUCLEAR FISSION REACTORS FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION:
Nuclear Power (fission)-address issues of radioactive waste, effluents, storage, containment, sabotage, earthquakes
Must design, build, inspect, operate and maintain power plants to higher standards (like Navy) to maintain safety, public confidence.
Streamline and Expedite Permitting and Regulatory Review Processes to Build Sooner
More Electric Power transmission lines must be built.
MORE HYDROELECTRIC DAMNS, TIDAL ELECTRIC AND GEOTHERMAL (HEATING AND/OR ELECTRICITY)
Build more capability where available and cost effective.
MORE SOLAR
For heating and electricity where cost effective. Do not compete for crop and grazing land but use in arid regions with high sunlight coverage
MORE WIND POWER
For electricity where cost effective. Do not compete for crop and grazing land. Use in regions with reliable sustained winds.
ACCELERATE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT IN THESE AREAS
Nuclear Fusion:
Build Mega watt pilot facilities for two of the following most promising Nuclear fusion patents. These facilities would economically convert extremely plentiful Deuterium or Boron-11 to huge amounts of energy for electricity with no radioactive waste. Much more energy would be produced than would be required to drive the facilities. Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of all clean energy sources with a virtually inexhaustible supply of fuel:
Controlled Fusion In a Filed Reversible Configuration and Direct Energy Conversion US Patent 7,391,160 B2 - June 24, 2008 by the University of California and Florida [I have improvements for this patent]
[“Spiral Fusion”] Compressed beam directed particle nuclear energy generator US Patent 4,397,810 - August 9, 1983 by Winfield Salisbury [I have improvements for this patent]
More efficient high energy density batteries including batteries that are rechargeable by refilling such disclosed in this patent:
Redox
Flow Battery
US patent 6,764,789 B1
July 21, 2004 by Sckiguchi et al.
More economical and pollution reducing battery recycling
Hydrogen powered vehicles with much safer fuel tanks and much safer refueling stations.
More efficient hybrid electric/gas/gasoline vehicles
Low Temp Waste Heat Recovery (Optimize cooling capacities for nuke, coal electric plants to use Less water) using semiconductors
Improve Solar Panel efficiency, lower cost- nanotubes, solar paint
Catalysts for taking less energy to produce hydrogen from water and hydrocarbons
**Fuel cells- both hydrogen and hydrocarbon based.**
RETOOL EXISTING, REOPEN SHUTTERED, AND BUILD MORE MANUFACTURING PLANTS TO:
Build More oil and gas pipelines-make more pressure corrosion resistance pipe
Build More drilling rigs and offshore platforms
Build more refinery equipment (pumps, tanks, pressure vessels, valves. etc)
Build more mining equipment
Build More Electric power transmission lines
INCREASE IRON ORE, STEEL PRODUCTION AND MACHINING CAPABILITY
© 2008 Patrick Briley - All Rights Reserved
