NDLI: Emergy Depletion and Offset of Fossil Energy Assets in China

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Chen Ya-lin Han Yong-wei Gao Ji-xi Tian Mei-rong
Copyright Year	2009
Abstract	Coal, petroleum and natural gas are the three main sources of fossil energy. This paper classified fossil energy sources as eco-assets. Using ecological economics, it was calculated that the cumulative emergy wastage of fossil energy sources in China from 1953 to 2006 was 7.08 × 1025sej. This paper considered agricultural residue to be a substitute for fossil energy sources. The results showed that during the earlier period studied, the emergy of agricultural residues could almost offset that of consumption. However, with social-economic development, the disparity in emergy between wastage of fossil energy assets and supply of agricultural residue was shown to be increasing. In 2006, the wastage emergy from energy assets was 7.7 times that supplied by agricultural residue. Fossil fuels are a one-time non-renewable energy source that may be nearing depletion. Hence it is important to substitute bio-energy for fossil energy sources. Assuming that the emergy wasted each year by fossil energy assets was substituted completely by energy from corn stalks, in 1987, the required cultivated area of corn was already three times than that of the actual crop. In addition, due to the increase in emergy demand, the corn acreage also needs to increase. Since 2000, the required acreage for corn has exceeded the acreage of China’s entire rural area. The results are stark, showing the necessity for reasonable and efficient use of fossil energy and the urgency of ecological compensation.Coal, petroleum and natural gas are the three main sources of fossil energy. This paper classified fossil energy sources as eco-assets. Using ecological economics, it was calculated that the cumulative emergy wastage of fossil energy sources in China from 1953 to 2006 was 7.08 × 1025sej. This paper considered agricultural residue to be a substitute for fossil energy sources. The results showed that during the earlier period studied, the emergy of agricultural residues could almost offset that of consumption. However, with social-economic development, the disparity in emergy between wastage of fossil energy assets and supply of agricultural residue was shown to be increasing. In 2006, the wastage emergy from energy assets was 7.7 times that supplied by agricultural residue. Fossil fuels are a one-time non-renewable energy source that may be nearing depletion. Hence it is important to substitute bio-energy for fossil energy sources. Assuming that the emergy wasted each year by fossil energy assets was substituted completely by energy from corn stalks, in 1987, the required cultivated area of corn was already three times than that of the actual crop. In addition, due to the increase in emergy demand, the corn acreage also needs to increase. Since 2000, the required acreage for corn has exceeded the acreage of China’s entire rural area. The results are stark, showing the necessity for reasonable and efficient use of fossil energy and the urgency of ecological compensation.
Starting Page	3
Ending Page	7
File Size	396405
Page Count	5
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9780769536828
DOI	10.1109/ESIAT.2009.264
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2009-07-04
Publisher Place	China
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Humans Power generation economics Educational technology Fuel economy Educational institutions Environmental factors Fossil fuels Environmental economics Protection Water resources
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in