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A comment below mentions subsidies - that's certainly part of the answer. In addition, for mobile applications, not all energy sources are equal. Transportabili
by alsocasey 14y ago
A comment below mentions subsidies - that's certainly part of the answer. In addition, for mobile applications, not all energy sources are equal. Transportability (stability, energy density, etc.) also contribute to liquid hydrocarbon Joules being more valuable than methane, coal or sunshine.
- sliverstorm 14y agoTangent- we have LPG, and from what I understand it's actually very successful in niche applications. Have we tried liquefied methane gas? We have many more sources of methane than propane.
- surrealize 14y agoMethane has a much lower boiling point (-182 C) than propane (-42 C), so liquefying methane (and keeping it liquid) is substantially harder.
- sliverstorm 14y agoCan you not simply roughly double the pressure you store it at? Or is LPG already stored at borderline risky pressures.
- DaniFong 14y agoVapor pressure is exponentially related to temperature; you really need to keep it cold.
- surrealize 14y agoIf you really want to produce a liquid transportation fuel from methane, the usual approach is F-T synthesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Tropsch_process Generally, it hasn't been very economical to do so, although I wonder what the numbers are now that we've got so much natural gas production in the US.
- maxerickson 14y agoNatural gas is increasingly being shipped on the oceans: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNG_carrier http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNG_carrier When used as a portable fuel it is usually just compressed.