Radical Technologies

Question 1

What is a hydrogen fuel cell?

Answer 1

A device that converts chemical potential energy stored in molecular bonds of hydrogen into electrical energy

Question 2

Give four advantages of hydrogen fuel cells

Answer 2

• replace petroleum for transport or natural gas for heating
• only waste product is water
• hydrogen is a gas that can be obtained from many stores (accessible and cheap)
• fuel cells are more efficient that petrol or diesel

Question 3

Give four disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells

Answer 3

• Has to be separated from other compounds (water, biomass, ethanol, methane)
• separation requires large amounts of energy
• separation emits large volumes of greenhouse gases
• hydrogen is effective as an energy carrier but not a primary source of energy

Question 4

Give an example of hydrogen fuel cell use

Answer 4

Toyota developed the Mirai with had a range of 270 miles and went on sale in California in 2015

Question 5

Give four disadvantages of electric cars

Answer 5

• Expensive to buy
• So quiet they are a threat to pedestrians
• Dependent on the country’s energy mix for electricity generation
• Distances travelled are short before charging required

Question 6

Give four advantages of an electric car

Answer 6

• best suited to urban environments
• reduce air pollution
• contain management systems that control most economical fuel source to run on
• cheap to run

Question 7

Give examples of where electric cars are best and worst to run and why

Answer 7

Dependent on the energy mix so India and Australia are both dependent on coal so electricity generation is not geofriendly whereas Paraguay (HEP) and Iceland (geothermal) is more eco viable

Question 8

Why are electric cars controversial in the UK

Answer 8

There are only 3,919 charging locations to serve over 60,000 cars

Question 9

What is carbon capture and storage?

Answer 9

A storage system that collects CO2 emissions from fixed points such as industrial and power plants then compressed and transports the gas to a geological structure 800m below ground

Question 10

Describe CCS in Canada

Answer 10

In 2014, the first CCS opened at a cost of $1.3bn to reduce emissions by 90% by pumping it underground and selling it to Cenovus oil company for priming

Question 11

How can CCS be combined with bioenergy carbon capture and storage?

Answer 11

Capture CO2 during bioenergy production such as ethanol to create a net removal of CO2 during farming

Question 12

What did the IPCC report of 2014 say about BECCS?

Answer 12

• Uncertain availability of such geo-engineering technology
• only two BECCS in 2013
• essential motivation to limit temp increase to under 2 degrees C by the end of the century
• power generation without CCS must be phased out by 2100

Question 13

What are the concerns regarding CCS?

Answer 13

• CO2 leakage affects environmental and human health
• pressure underground causes earthquakes
• requires water affecting natural environment

Question 14

What is nuclear fusion?

Answer 14

Where two or more atomic nuclei join together releasing energy in the process

Question 15

Give three advantages of nuclear fusion

Answer 15

• no greenhouse gas emissions or radioactivity
• common elements can be used
• 35 countries working together on international thermonuclear experimental reactor

Question 16

What did the Chinese research team discover about nuclear fusion?

Answer 16

Managed to sustain a superheated plasma gas for over 1 and a half minutes though did this not create usable energy many regard it as critical in development

Question 17

Name four radical technologies

Answer 17

Hydrogen fuel cells
Electric cars
Nuclear fusion
CCS