| Primary Energy |
Article Index for Primary |
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Information AboutPrimary Energy |
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Primary energy is energy contained in raw Fuels and any other forms of energy received by a System as Input to the system. The concept is used especially in Energy Statistics in the course of compilation of Energy Balance s. CONVERSION TO SECONDARY ENERGY Primary energies are transformed in Energy Conversion processes to more convenient forms of energy, such as Electrical Energy and cleaner Fuels . In energy statistics these forms are called Secondary Energy . FUTURE It will be important to replace the fossil coal fuels during the 21st century with good alternatives. LEVELS AND FLOWS Levels of primary energy sources are the reserves in the ground. Flows are production. The most important part of primary energy sources are the Carbon based Fossil energy sources. Oil , Coal , and Gas stood for 79.6% of primary energy production during 2002 (in million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe)) (34.9+23.5+21.2). Levels (reserves) ( EIA oil, gas, coal estimates , EIA oil, gas estimates )
Flows (daily production) during 2002 (7.9 is a ratio to convert tonnes of oil equivalent to barrels of oil equivalent)
Years of production left in the ground with the most optimistic reserve estimates (Oil & Gas Journal, World Oil)
Note that this calculation assumes that the product could be produced at a constant level for that number of years and that all of the reserves could be recovered. In reality, consumption of all three resources have been increasing. While this suggests that the resource will be used up more quickly, in reality, the production curve is much more akin to a bell curve. At some point in time, the production of each resource within an area, country, or globally will reach a maximum value, after which, the production will decline until it reaches a point where is no longer economically feasible or physically possible to produce. See Peak Oil for detail on this decline curve. GLOSSARY SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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