What are new energy products?
New energy, including solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, biomass energy, nuclear fusion energy, etc., is all kinds of energy other than traditional energy.
In the past two years, new energy or new energy industry has often been heard, and more refers to ‘new energy vehicles’. Especially in recent years, national policies have been inclined to new energy vehicles, especially the introduction of relevant new energy vehicle purchase subsidies and tax exemption policies. More and more people pay attention to the field of ‘new energy vehicles’.
New energy in the traditional sense refers to unconventional energy other than fossil energy, including water energy, wind energy, tidal energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, biomass energy, etc.
The ‘United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Energy’ held by the United Nations in 1980 (the year of Gengshen) defined new energy as: based on new technologies and new materials, modernized development and utilization of traditional renewable energies. Inexhaustible and repeating renewable energy replaces fossil energy with limited resources and pollution to the environment.
At present, our country is still dominated by fossil energy. Although water energy, wind energy, and nuclear energy have developed to a certain extent, the proportion is still very small. Solar energy is relatively common, such as LED solar lamps, solar water heaters, and other technologies are quite mature in China, and China’s industrial chain is also quite mature, that is, there are no products that cannot be found in China. With global warming and increasing carbon dioxide emissions, the country pays more and more attention to energy conservation and emission reduction, and advocates enterprises to develop new energy, carbon neutrality, hydrogen energy, nuclear energy, etc. At the same time, the country’s research and development in this area are also continuously increasing efforts.
Sinopec has made full efforts in the construction of high-end materials, increased research and development of high-end polyolefin materials, advanced fine chemical synthesis technology, advanced plastic processing technology, vigorously developed special fibres, special resins, high-performance rubber, and other products, and actively promoted polyglycolic acid. (PGA), PBAT and other degradable materials business development, strengthen the combination of production, marketing, research, and application of medical and health care, photovoltaic and other materials, and realize the improvement of independent innovation and core competitiveness.
Sinopec firmly adheres to independent innovation, strengthens key core technology public relations, and strives to serve as a national strategic technology force. Focus on the ‘stuck neck’ problem in the fields of oil and gas and basic raw materials, coordinate and promote research in the foreword field and industrialization technology research, and promote the research and development of high-end materials and special equipment that the country urgently needs, and strive to achieve independent control of key core technologies.
In 2021, 7 projects of Sinopec won the National Science and Technology Award. Guided by high-quality development, focus on industrial upgrading, improve quality and efficiency, vigorously promote industrial intelligence and digital transformation, and create new advantages in industrial competition. By the end of 2021, the construction of Sinopec’s smart oil fields, smart factories, smart gas stations, smart research institutes, and smart operation centres has reached a preliminary scale.
CCUS
With the global response to climate change and the proposal of carbon-neutral goals, CCUS (carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage), as a carbon reduction and sequestration technology, has become an important part of many national carbon-neutral behavior plans. The United Nations government and the Panel on Climate Change pointed out that without CCUS technology, almost all climate models will not be able to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the cost of global carbon reduction will increase.
In recent years, Sinopec has carried out a number of CCUS technology research and demonstration projects, and achieved good results in enhancing oil recovery and reducing carbon emissions. In August 2022, the Qilu Petrochemical-Shengli Oilfield million-ton CCUS demonstration project will be fully constructed Putting into operation, realizing the integrated application of carbon dioxide capture, transportation, oil flooding, and storage, becoming the first million-ton CCUS full industry chain project in China, marking the entry of China’s CCUS industry into mature commercial operation. The project can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 100% per year Tons of tons, equivalent to nearly 9 million plants, provide richer engineering practice experience and technical data for the next CCUS project construction, helping to achieve the national ‘double carbon’ goal.
Geothermal Energy
Sinopec actively promotes the development of the geothermal industry. Since 2009, Sinopec has experienced years of development and improvement, and successfully built China’s first geothermal clean heating ‘smoke-free city’ in Xiong, Hebei. In February 2014, the ‘Xiong County Model’ of geothermal energy development and utilization was promoted nationwide by the National Energy Administration. In July 2021, the ‘Xiong County Geothermal Project’ was selected for the International Renewable Energy Agency’s list of global promotion projects. By 2022, Sinopec’s geothermal services have radiated to more than 50 cities in 9 provinces (municipalities) including Beijing and Hebei. County), the geothermal heating capacity reaches 80 million square meters, which can serve about 1 million households, replace 1.85 million tons of standard coal annually, and reduce 3.52 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2023, China Painting and Calligraphy will also host the 7th World Geothermal Congress in Beijing, which is the first time that China undertakes this global event known as the ‘Olympic’ in the geothermal field.
Hydrogen Energy
Sinopec is the largest hydrogen production and utilization entity in the country. In 2021, the total hydrogen production and consumption will reach 4.45 million tons, accounting for nearly 15% of the country’s total utilization. On the basis of rich experience in hydrogen production and use, Sinopec has established a hydrogen energy industry chain covering ‘production, storage, transportation, application, and research’.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the idea of ‘leading hydrogenation, green hydrogen refining, two-wheel drive, and helping carbon reduction’ will strive to create ‘China’s first hydrogen energy’.
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is a form of energy released from the nucleus (the core of an atom) composed of protons and neutrons. This energy can be produced in two ways: by fission – when an atomic nucleus splits into parts; or by fusion – when atomic nuclei fuse together.
Currently, the nuclear energy used to produce electricity around the world is generated through nuclear fission, and the technology to produce electricity using nuclear fusion is in the research and development stage.
Nuclear power is a low-carbon energy source because unlike coal, oil, or natural gas power plants, nuclear power plants actually produce no carbon dioxide in operation. Nuclear reactors produce nearly a third of the world’s carbon-free electricity and are critical to meeting climate change goals.
There are many other applications in which nuclear power can be used besides power generation. These heat-demanding applications include seawater desalination, hydrogen production, district heating, industrial process heating (glass and cement manufacturing, metal production), oil refining, and synthesis gas production. As the international community works to meet climate goals, expanding the role of nuclear energy in these applications could be key to a successful clean energy transition.
The heat generated by nuclear power plants can be used to create steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. Currently, existing nuclear power plants operate at temperatures up to 300°C, while district heating and desalination processes require around 150°C. For technical reasons mainly related to material properties and performance, nuclear power plants are currently designed to convert one-third of the heat they generate into electricity. The remaining heat is usually released into the environment.
This heat, if not released, can be used for heating or cooling, or as an energy source for the production of fresh water, hydrogen, or other products such as petroleum or synthetic fuels. These products can be produced by existing power plants, also known as combined heat and power. Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat or heat derivatives. Thermal efficiency can be increased up to 80% by using heat for combined heat and power generation.
Nuclear Power and District Heating
District heating relies on centralized power plants to distribute heat to residential and commercial buildings. In nuclear district heating, steam from nuclear power plants supplies heat to the district heating network. Countries such as Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Ukraine have implemented this approach.
Nuclear Power and Desalination
Desalination of seawater can help meet the growing demand for potable water while alleviating freshwater shortages in many arid or semi-arid coastal regions. Desalination plants require either thermal energy for distillation or electrical/mechanical energy to drive water pumps that pressurize seawater through permeable membranes to separate the salt from the brine. Currently, most of the energy required comes from fossil fuels. Nuclear desalination is a low-carbon alternative to using nuclear reactor heat and electricity. Seawater desalination technology can be matched with different types of nuclear power plants to produce fresh water and electricity at the same time.
The feasibility of integrated nuclear desalination plants has been proven through more than 150 reactor years of experience mainly in India, Japan and Kazakhstan. The Aktu nuclear reactor in Kazakhstan, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, produced 135 MW(e) of electricity and 80,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day for 27 years before closing in 1999. Japan has several desalination facilities connected to nuclear reactors, with a daily production of about 14,000 cubic meters of drinking water. In 2002, a demonstration plant with two 170 MW (electricity) nuclear reactors was established at the Madras Atomic Power Station in southeastern India, which is the largest nuclear energy seawater based on the hybrid heat infiltration technology using seawater and nuclear power plant low-pressure steam desalination plant.
Solar Energy
The basic principle of solar LED lights is to use solar photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight into electrical energy and store it in the battery through an intelligent solar controller. The electric energy output to the LED makes it emit visible light. When the natural light intensity rises to no longer needs lighting, the intelligent controller (comparison circuit) turns off the power output to the LED, so that the LED goes out and no longer consumes power. The rainy weather has been considered in the system design, and the excess electric energy is stored in the battery, so as to ensure sufficient electric energy for use on rainy days.
New energy Battery
[A] Li-ion battery
A lithium-ion battery is a rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode (anode) to the positive electrode (cathode) during discharge, and from the cathode to the anode during charge. Lithium-ion batteries are common in portable consumer electronics because of their high energy-to-weight ratio, lack of memory effect, and slow self-discharge when not in use.
The three main functional components of a Li-ion battery are the anode, cathode, and electrolyte, and a variety of materials can be used.
Commercially, the most popular anode material is graphite. The cathode is usually one of three materials: layered oxides (such as lithium cobaltate), polyanion-based oxides (such as lithium iron phosphate), or spinels (such as lithium manganese oxide), although materials such as TiS2 (disulfide Titanium) was also used initially.
Depending on the choice of an anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials, the voltage, capacity, lifetime, and safety of Li-ion batteries can vary dramatically.
[B] Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)
Phosphate-based technology has superior thermal and chemical stability and better safety characteristics than lithium-ion technologies made with other cathode materials. Lithium phosphate batteries are non-flammable when mishandled during charge or discharge, are more stable under overcharge or short circuit conditions, and can withstand high temperatures without decomposing. When abuse does occur, phosphate-based cathode materials do not burn and are less prone to thermal runaway. Phosphate chemistry also provides longer cycle life.
Tesla, BYD, and electric vehicles use this new energy technology and are at the forefront of technological development. It not only saves a lot of energy for the country, but also drives economic development, responds to the call of the country, benefits our next generation, and realizes truly sustainable development.
At present, the application of new energy in the world has not yet been fully popularized, and it may become a very popular industry in the next ten or twenty years. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity to develop new energy industries. We must be at the forefront of development and look at the development and the future from the perspective of the world.
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