Coal/Biomass to Liquids as a Carbon Management Option for Clean Liquid Fuels

摘要

Two of the major issues confronting the energy sector today and in the future will be balancing the need for energy, particularly liquid transportation fuels, which are predominately produced from petroleum, while addressing global climate change. The U.S. transportation sector is heavily reliant on petroleum, accounting for over 96 percent of the fuel consumed in this sector, and the United States currently imports over 12 million barrels per day of its total liquid fuels supply. The latest projections by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) suggest that imports will decrease to about 8.5 million barrels per day by 2030, due to reduced demand spurred by high world oil prices ($130/barrel projected in 2030 ($2007), improved vehicle fuel economy, and increased domestic supply of biofuels and crude oil. However, even if imports are reduced to this level, the EIA projects that the United States would still spend on average over $340 billion per year from 2011 to 2030 on imported liquid fuels, much of which would go to nations that may be hostile towards the United States. Clearly there is an energy security and economic driver to further reduce this level of imports while also reducing the environmental impact of liquid fuels.