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Dr Liam Herringshawlgh865@hotmail.com

Earth's Energy Systems

To finish from last week...

Fracking for shale gas

Unconventional hydrocarbons

Does fracking pollute aquifers?

From 'Gasland'

Fracture propagation

Redrawn from Davies et al. (2012)

<1% risk of vertical frack >350m

600m minimum safeseparation distance

Fracking fluids?

4000 holes in Blackpool Lancashire?

Well density

Carboniferous–Bowland Shale thicker than US shales–1300 Tcf resources?–5% recoverable = 65 Tcf–2.5-5 Bcf per well–= 13,000-26,000 wells–10 wells per pad–= 1300-2600 pads

But many uncertainties

Well integrity

Leakage rate?Is UK well-prepared?

24 Jan 2013

23 Jan 2013

Consensus?

Researching Fracking In Europe

www.refine.org.uk

Research briefsTranslationsVideosNews

Oil & Gas – for or against?

VOTE!

This week: Nuclear

Energy from uranium?

One of heaviest natural elements:~19x as dense as water;

Two common isotopes:U-238 & U-235:Nucleus: 92 protons + 143

or 146 neutrons

Slow, radioactive decay

Energy from uranium?

When U-235 captures a neutron it splits

= FISSIONReleases heat (& neutrons)Neutron release can create

chain reaction if other U-235 atoms nearby

= NUCLEAR REACTOR

Uranium geologyOccurs in most rocks (and seawater) but

in small quantities: 2-4 ppm

Need enrichment for economic viabilityMain producers:

Australia, Kazakhstan,Canada

Pitchblende

The U in unconformity

Highest grade uranium ores occur at ancient geological erosion surfaces

Uranium power

~440 uranium-fuelled nuclear reactors2500bn kWh per year (13% of global elec.)

Nuclear – for or against?

Your arguments(with reference/s)

Where does the waste go?

Deep geological storage

Retention over 10s-100s of ka

Finland

USA

Nuclear danger?How risky is nuclear power?

Much less so than coal, oil or gas!Deaths/cases per TWh(Markandya & Wilkinson 2007)

Nuclear danger?

Do disasters pose as great a risk as is generally perceived?

Fukushima:“for the general population inside and outside

of Japan … no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates are anticipated.” (WHO)

A Fusion Future?

Nuclear fusionIn hearts of stars, enormous heat generated by

atomic nuclei colliding at high speed, fusing and releasing energy (as neutrons)

Image from Universe Today

Fusion breakthrough?New research by Hurricane et al. (2014):

Nuclear – for or against?

VOTE!

Next week: GeothermalA major source of heat?

Economically viable for UK?

Consider your arguments...