Making Technology Work: Applications in Energy and the Environment

by John M. Deutch , Richard K. Lester

• ISBN13: 9780521818575
• ISBN10: 0521818575
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-10
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book presents fifteen cases of technology applications in the energy and environment sectors, including solar, wind, fuel cell, nuclear, coal combustion and emission control technologies. The case studies demonstrate the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, integrating technical and non-technical aspects of the problem. They also introduce a toolbox of analytical techniques useful in the context of realistic technology application. These techniques include energy and mass balances, project financial analysis tools, treatment of external costs and benefits, probabilistic risk assessment, learning curves, regression analysis, and life cycle costing. Each case study presents a description of the relevant technology at a level accessible to anyone familiar with elementary concepts in basic science and engineering. The book is addressed to upper-level undergraduate students in the natural sciences, engineering and the social sciences who are interested in learning about problems of technology application, as well as technology practitioners in industry and government.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1 Introduction	1	(8)
2 Gasohol	9	(8)
3 Solar Thermal, Windpower, and Photovoltaic Technologies	17	(32)
4 Electricity from Coal	49	(17)
5 Controlling Acid Rain from Coal-fired Power Plants	66	(15)
6 Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming	81	(28)
7 Nuclear Power and Its Fuel Cycle	109	(25)
8 Managing Nuclear Waste	134	(20)
9 Nuclear Power and Weapons Proliferation	154	(10)
10 Natural Gas	164	(17)
11 Safety and Risk: Examples from the Liquefied Natural Gas and Nuclear Industries	181	(13)
12 Synthetic Fuels	194	(11)
13 Fuel Cells For Automobiles	205	(16)
14 Energy Models and Statistics	221	(25)
15 The Government's Role in Innovation	246	(17)
16 Conclusions	263	(4)
Index	267