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Powered by Rock. Earth's Energy Systems. Dr Liam Herringshaw lgh865@hotmail.com. Fracking for shale gas. To finish from last week. Unconventional hydrocarbons. Does fracking pollute aquifers?. From 'Gasland'. Fracture propagation. <1% risk of vertical frack >350m 600m minimum safe

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  1. Powered by Rock Earth's Energy Systems Dr Liam Herringshaw lgh865@hotmail.com

  2. Fracking for shale gas To finish from last week...

  3. Unconventional hydrocarbons

  4. Does fracking pollute aquifers? From 'Gasland'

  5. Fracture propagation <1% risk of vertical frack >350m 600m minimum safe separation distance Redrawn from Davies et al. (2012)

  6. Fracking fluids?

  7. 4000 holes in Blackpool Lancashire?

  8. Well density Carboniferous • Bowland Shale thicker than US shales • 1300 Tcf resources? • 5% recoverable = 65 Tcf • 2.5-5 Bcf per well • = 13,000-26,000 wells • 10 wells per pad • = 1300-2600 pads But many uncertainties

  9. Well integrity Leakage rate? Is UK well-prepared?

  10. 24 Jan 2013 Consensus? 23 Jan 2013

  11. Researching Fracking In Europe www.refine.org.uk Research briefs Translations Videos News

  12. VOTE! Oil & Gas – for or against?

  13. This week: Nuclear

  14. Energy from uranium? One of heaviest natural elements: ~19x as dense as water; Two common isotopes: U-238 & U-235: Nucleus: 92 protons + 143 or 146 neutrons Slow, radioactive decay

  15. Energy from uranium? When U-235 captures a neutron it splits = FISSION Releases heat (& neutrons) Neutron release can create chain reaction if other U-235 atoms nearby = NUCLEAR REACTOR

  16. Uranium geology Occurs in most rocks (and seawater) but in small quantities: 2-4 ppm Need enrichment for economic viability Main producers: Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada Pitchblende

  17. The U in unconformity Highest grade uranium ores occur at ancient geological erosion surfaces

  18. Uranium power ~440 uranium-fuelled nuclear reactors 2500bn kWh per year (13% of global elec.)

  19. Your arguments (with reference/s) Nuclear – for or against?

  20. Where does the waste go?

  21. Deep geological storage Finland Retention over 10s-100s of ka USA

  22. Nuclear danger? How risky is nuclear power? Much less so than coal, oil or gas! Deaths/cases per TWh (Markandya & Wilkinson 2007)

  23. Nuclear danger? Do disasters pose as great a risk as is generally perceived? Fukushima: “for the general population inside and outside of Japan … no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates are anticipated.” (WHO)

  24. A Fusion Future?

  25. Nuclear fusion In hearts of stars, enormous heat generated by atomic nuclei colliding at high speed, fusing and releasing energy (as neutrons) Image from Universe Today

  26. Fusion breakthrough? New research by Hurricane et al. (2014):

  27. VOTE! Nuclear – for or against?

  28. Next week: Geothermal A major source of heat? Economically viable for UK? Consider your arguments...

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