The Shape of Net Zero (3): Refinery Operations
August 2021
This is the third post in the series ‘The Shape of Net Zero’.
Articles and blog posts to do with Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions. Describes the types of technology available, and how these programs may affect the process industries.
The 300 Year Party
Published: August 2021
Imagine taking a magic carpet ride through northern Europe from east to west in Biblical. The area is circled on the map shown below — an area that Ugo Bardi rather unkindly refers to as a "vast regions of fog and swamps, inhabited by hairy Barbarians . . . the area we call today "Western Europe".
Net Zero by 2050: Scale Up
Although Net Zero goals are commendable and deserve our support it is vital that they be evaluated realistically. This article is one in a series to do with difficulties that might be encountered as companies implement these programs. Other articles on this theme are:
Net Zero by 2050: The Reality
Slogans such as 'Net Zero by 2050' are being adopted with remarkable alacrity by many organizations, including companies in the energy and oil businesses.
As a reminder, the term ‘Net Zero’ means that the organization in question intends to organize its operations such that it will have no net emissions of greenhouse gases by a specified date. The word ‘net’ is used because the organization is allowed to take credit for any action it takes to remove CO2 or other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere after they have been emitted.
Alice, the Red Queen and ERoEI
Faster! Faster!
In Lewis Carroll’s famous story Through the Looking-Glass the protagonist, Alice, meets the Red Queen. Suddenly they start running.
Report: “Net zero 2050”: A dangerous illusion
Net zero targets are very ambitious and require some of the world’s largest companies to radically and quickly change their basic culture and comp
Net Zero by 2050 in the Energy and Process Industries
This article provides an introduction to the concept of Net Zero by 2050, and how it could affect the energy and process industries.
The Shape of Net Zero (1): No Substitute
The central theme of Net Zero programs is that our use of fossil fuels must cease within the next two or three decades. This leads to the question as to whether there any other alternative energy sources that can replace the fossil fuels while allowing us to maintain our current, energy-profligate way of living. In this article we identify the features of fossil fuels, particularly oil, that make them so attractive, and that makes it unlikely that we will find an equivalent replacement.
Greenhouse Gas Emission Scopes
The matching YouTube for this article is located at the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scopes video.
Many companies in the energy and process industries have committed to a Net Zero program. Their aim is to cease net emissions of greenhouse gases by a specific year, often 2050. In order to properly define their goal these companies need to identify the emissions for which they are responsible.