Nuclear power to manufacture synthetic fuels (Eric Jelinski, EFN-Canada)

Using nuclear power to manufacture synthetic liquid and gaseous fuels

by Eric Jelinski, M. Eng., P. Eng. President, EFN-Canada ENVIRONMENTALISTS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY (CANADA) INC. ÉCOLOGISTES POUR LÉNERGIE NUCLÉAIRE (CANADA) INC. The challenge is economics. About 25 years ago, I wrote a thesis on this topic of hydrogen. Things that go around always come around. In a nutshell, electricity from a waterfall will always be cheaper than electricity from nuclear, and has been for ½ a century since the beginning of nuclear.

Krka River and Hydroelectric Power Plant "KRKA", Skradinski Buk, Croatia KRKA - Second polyphase AC power plant in the world The hydroelectric power plant „Krka“ (later called Jaruga I) was the first commercial polyphase alternating current (AC) power system in Croatia, the first such hydro power plant in Europe, and second in the world. It was set in operation on 28 August 1895, at 20:00, two days after the famous Adams Power Plant on the Niagara Falls. The same evening hydroelectric plant „Krka“ began supplying power to the street lights in Šibenik, making it the first city in the world with street lights powered by a polyphase system of alternating current (AC). page 1

Although Niagara plant was set in operation few days before Krka plant, the first electricity transmitted from Niagara Falls to nearby Buffalo was sent one year later, on November 16, 1896, when building of the 22 mile transmission line was finished. Both hydroelectric plants, Adams Power Plant on the Niagara Falls and „Krka“ power plant, were based on the work of Nikola Tesla, using Tesla's AC system patent.

Source: http://www.yacht-chartercroatia.com/charter_base_sibenik/krka-powerplant.htm Hydro Quebec is an example (and they have shutdown G2 due to economics). Smelting aluminum is another example, aluminum production is competitive with cheap electricity from a waterfall, not nuclear at this point in time. Electrolytic hydrogen has to compete with hydrogen from Steam Methane Reformation. Purity of hydrogen for fuel cells, glass production, and high purity reducing environments is where electrolytic hydrogen has the market advantage over SMR. Hydrocarbon upgrading, sorry, does not need high purity hydrogen. Hythanization of natural gas distribution streams also does not need high purity hydrogen. Nuclear and/or wind turbine/solar load cycling as an opportunity for hydrogen does not have favourable economics relative to SMR or waterfall due to the capacity factor and therefore lifecycle economic costs of the electrolysis equipment.

Direction for the future needs to be to eliminate/ban automobiles with combustion engines and use electric train via a third rail, trolley bus via a third rail, eg. Toronto Transit, use electric cars sparingly because a car with 2 metre by 3 metre footprint for one or two occupants is a waste of space causing congestion.

Development Charges is what developers pay and then pass on to the consumer for the costs of building city infrastructure, eg. roads, sewers, water, gas, hydro services. The only one and obvious service missing from the DC’s is public transit, and this is the PROBLEM in all Canadian Cities, and I suspect the problem in all cities in the western world whose economics of the infrastructure has been modelled from each other.

Changing this to recognize the costs of transit as part of the DC’s will change the way transportation is financed, and that is the way to change the environmental economics.

Eric Jelinski M. Eng. P. Eng. President, EFN-Canada ENVIRONMENTALISTS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY (CANADA) INC. ÉCOLOGISTES POUR LÉNERGIE NUCLÉAIRE (CANADA) INC. eric_jelinski@sympatico.ca

"The Future is Nuclear"

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