The book looks at the prospects for a transition from natural gas to low carbon gas, which could take several decades, and at how this will depend on the evolution of the fossil fuel industry. The author investigates the technologies and energy systems for making the best use of renewable gas resources.

Table of Contents

• List of Tables and Figures
• Series Editor's Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 An Introduction to Renewable Gas
• 1.1 What is Renewable Gas?
• 1.2 A rationale for Renewable Gas
• 1.2.1 Growth in the energy sector
• 1.2.2 The partnership and synergy between gas and power
• 1.2.3 Energy sector development rates and risks
• 1.2.4 The Limits to Growth: Peak Oil and Peak Natural Gas
• 1.2.5 Contrasting answers to a growing energy demand-supply gap
• 1.2.6 The decarbonisation of gas
• 1.3 The Natural Gas story
• 1.3.1 The “wonderfuel” development of Natural Gas
• 1.3.2 A trend towards dependency on Natural Gas
• 1.3.3 Risks of dependency on Natural Gas
• 1.3.4 Low carbon gas fuels to de-risk the scenario
• 1.3.5 A collection of low carbon gas fuels - from a range of technologies
• 1.3.6 A win-win-win situation
• 1.3.7 Challenging rates of progress
• 1.3.8 The natural end point for British and European energy policy
• 2 Energy Change and Investment Challenges
• 2.1 Navigating the nexus of the economic, climate and energy crises
• 2.1.1 Peak fossil fuel production
• 2.1.2 Global economic change
• 2.1.3 Managing the inevitable energy change –cross-cutting issues
• 2.2 Energy Change: the energy paradigm shift
• 2.3 Challenge to invest: the engineering and resource life cycle
• 2.3.1 Losing investment from energy engineering
• 2.3.2 Why oil and gas supply investment might not be forthcoming
• 2.3.3 Peak Fossil Fuels: fossil fuel supply depletion severity needs to become acknowledged
• 2.3.4 Technological blind alleys and the economics of new technologies
• 2.3.5 Can carbon pricing or taxation be effective in stimulating investment in the low carbon economy?
• 3 Energy Transitions and Renewable Gas
• 3.1 What can work is what is already working for energy change
• 3.1.1 What is already working? Strong continued investment in renewable electricity
• 3.1.2 What is already working? Natural Gas-fired power generation
• 3.2 Why gas?
• 3.2.1 Flexibility in use, multiplicity in source and flexibility in composition
• 3.2.2 Nature's own energy solution
• 3.2.3 Industrial gas solutions
• 3.2.4 Energy storage - because renewable electricity is sustainable, but variable
• 3.3 Why Renewable Gas?
• 3.3.1 Gas is our flexible friend
• 3.3.2 Renewable Gas can decarbonise the gas supply
• 3.4 Why methanate?
• 3.4.1 Methanation permits a gradual transition in gas energy systems
• 3.4.2 Methanation can upgrade a mix of gases from a range of sources
• 3.4.3 Methanation can help to resolve problems arising from changing Natural Gas quality
• 3.4.4 Methanation can enable the recycling of fossil carbon
• 3.4.5 Methanation could avoid exploration for Natural Gas in sensitive regions of the world
• 3.4.6 Methanation and methane storage could regulate gas systems
• 3.5 Practical measures in an orderly gas transition
• 3.5.1 Efficient management of Natural Gas resources
• 3.5.2 Accurate assessments of Renewable Gas production potential
• 3.5.3 Management of gas market competition
• 3.6 Pathways to Renewable Gas
• 3.6.1 Space heating and cooling of buildings
• 3.6.2 The Prime Mover of transportation: the importance of fixing transport options
• 3.6.3 Electricity generation
• 3.6.4 Industrial chemistry
• 3.7 Can we stop digging yet? Technological advance in Renewable Gas
• 3.7.1 Renewable Gas is “cuspish” - on the verge of major industrialisation efforts
• 3.7.2 Vanguards of research
• 3.7.3 The forefronts of knowledge
• 3.7.4 Industrial gas systems design
• 3.8 Advances and the way ahead
• 3.8.1 Market development - volumising
• 3.8.2 A summary of the future state of gas
• 4 A Brief History of Gas
• 4.1 Eternal flames
• 4.2 Coal Gas and Town Gas
• 4.3 Manufactured gas and the conversion to Natural Gas
• 4.4 Research into Natural Gas substitutes
• 4.5 The parallel lives of syngas during the 20th Century
• 4.6 SNG and synthetic liquid fuels from coal and biomass
• 4.7 Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
• 4.8 SNG made from heavy oils and petrorefinery waste
• 4.9 Other gas manufactured in petrorefineries
• 4.10 Gas for power generation
• 4.11 The chemistry of manufactured gas
• 4.12 Biomass gasification and carbon recycling
• 4.13 A brief future of gas
• 5 Renewable Gas Systems
• 5.1 The evolution of gas energy systems
• 5.1.1 The existing energy system
• 5.1.2 Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
• 5.1.3 Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)
• 5.1.4 Increased bioenergy
• 5.1.5 Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
• 5.1.6 Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)
• 5.1.7 Carbon recycling
• 5.1.8 Renewable Gas
• 5.1.9 Hydrogen Economy
• 5.2 Key process engineering
• 5.2.1 The importance of gasification
• 5.2.2 Syngas production
• 5.2.3 Methane production
• 5.2.4 Hydrogen production
• 5.3 Generic Renewable Gas power plant system design
• 5.3.1 Mode A: the production of Renewable Hydrogen
• 5.3.2 Mode B: the gasification of (hydro-) carbonaceous material
• 5.3.3 Mode C: Methanation: Type 1
• 5.3.4 Mode D: power generation
• 5.3.5 Mode E: Methanation: Type 2
• 5.3.6 Mode F: Methanation: Type 3
• 5.3.7 Mode G: the production of synthetic fuels
• 5.3.8 Mode H: gas grid injection
• 5.4 Alternative routes to syngas besides gasification
• 5.5 Thermal and gas balance
• 5.6 Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
• 5.7 Activation energies in thermochemical reactions
• 5.8 Renewable Gas for Iran
• 5.9 The carbon problem: an ocean solution?
• 5.10 Transitions and choices: major branching choices: alternative narratives
• 5.10.1 Option A: conventional or unconventional Natural Gas?
• 5.10.2 Option B: utilise or vent carbon dioxide?
• 5.10.3 Option C: separation or in situ methanation?
• 5.10.4 Option D: fossil gas or Renewable Gas?
• 6 The Technology of Renewable Gas
• 6.1 Key areas of research and development
• 6.1.1 Mode A: the production of Renewable Hydrogen
• 6.1.2 Mode B: gasification
• 6.1.3 Mode C: Methanation
• 6.1.4 Mode D: power generation
• 6.2 Transition pathways: technology adoption
• 6.2.1 Mode A: the production of Renewable Hydrogen
• 6.2.2 Mode B: gasification
• 6.2.3 Mode C: Methanation Type 1
• 6.2.4 Mode D: power generation
• 6.2.5 Mode E: Methanation Type 2 and Mode F: Methanation Type 3
• 6.2.6 Mode G: the production of synthetic fuels
• 6.2.7 Mode H: gas grid injection
• 6.3 Coal routes to low carbon gas (CtG)
• 6.3.1 Carbonisation, gasification and carbon capture
• 6.3.2 Co-firing
• 6.3.3 Fuel cell conversion
• 6.3.4 Hydrogen, steam, catalysts and sorption
• 6.4 Waste routes to low carbon gas energy (WtE, EfW)
• 6.5 Biological routes to low carbon gas (BtG)
• 6.6 Hydrobiological (hydrogen-biological) routes to low carbon gas (H+BtG)
• 6.7 System integration
• 6.7.1 Candidates for process configuration for carbon capture
• 6.7.2 Doubling down on doubling up: peaker plant design
• 6.7.3 Doubling down on doubling up: Sabatier reaction versus syngas methanation
• 6.7.4 Doubling down on doubling up: heat management and heat integration
• 6.7.5 Further heat integration
• 6.8 Pinch Points
• 6.8.1 Pinch Point: carbon slip
• 6.8.2 Pinch Points: the production of Renewable Hydrogen
• 6.8.3 Pinch Point: methanation efficiency
• 6.8.4 Pinch Point: economics
• 7 The Energy Policy Context for Renewable Gas
• 7.1 The policy waymarker
• 7.1.1 Why we cannot be “technology-neutral” or “technology agnostic” in transforming and re-investing in energy systems
• 7.1.2 Why we might need to develop gas as public infrastructure assets
• 7.1.3 Why energy demand management is critical
• 7.1.4 Carbon balance
• 7.1.5 Smooth transition
• 7.1.6 The economics of Renewable Gas
• 8 Reflections and Conclusions
• 8.1 The hydrogen-carbon question
• 8.2 The Natural Gas and ammonia question
• 8.3 Sustainable business
• 8.4 Renewable Gas is imminent
• 8.5 Renewable Gas can already displace some fossil fuels
• 8.6 Renewable Gas and uranium
• 8.7 Development pathways
• 8.8 The hydrogen numbers game
• 8.9 Good “black swans”
• 8.9.1 Hydrogen catalysis
• 8.9.2 Electromagnetic radiation-assisted hydrogen and methane production
• 8.9.3 A breakthrough in biomass gasification
• 8.9.4 A breakthrough in the methanation of sour/acid Natural Gas
• 8.10 The policy ambit
• 8.10.1 Retaining gas-to-power capacity
• 8.10.2 Enabling the transition to Renewable Gas
• 8.11 Recommendations
• References