ChEn 433 Introduction

David Lignell

Class 1

Personal introduction, family

Isaac

Luke

Aleah

Andrew and Meg

Energy forms

Work with your neighbor to list as many forms of energy production technologies as you can.

Hydro
Wind
Solar
- Thermal
- Photovoltaic
Geothermal
Tidal, wave
Nuclear
- Fission
- (Fusion)

Combustion
- Coal
- Natural gas
- Biomass
  - biodiesel
  - wood, grass, etc.
  - ethanol
- Hydrogen

Categorize as renewable or non-renewable

Which ones are the most important?

Logistics
Note, this is not an online class. I am not planning to allow attendance via Zoom.
LS is for recording scores and doing quizzes.
- Overall grades are computed as outlined in the schedule, not as specified by LS.
- Email should be sent to me directly, I do not communicate through LS.
Office hours: in person or via Zoom.
TA: it is inappropriate to ask the TA or instructor for answers to problems. The TA and instructor are there to help guide, not to do the work for you. Be careful about that.
Group work is encouraged, but your work should be your own, and your learning must be your own.
BYU policy statements
Final exam: don’t schedule travel during the final.
Topics overview: Learning outcomes, class objectives
- This is an elective class, and the learning outcomes are subject to change.

Guiding principles

The immature human position is that of a child, taking, thoughtlessly, thinking of the Mother Earth as being the all-forgiving, all-abundant, all-giving being that she has been for us. But at some point, if we don’t bring something back to the table, the table will be empty. —Jean Aspen

LDS environmental stewardship and conservation

Energy is all over the news

Try it: go to a news site, any news site, and click the search button: “energy”
Google “energy” and click on the “News” button.
- Here’s what I got on Aug. 18 right after planning this.

Video 1

Discuss with a group.
- What do you think about this video?
- Is it good or bad?
- What did they get right? Did they misrepresent anything?
  - Won’t need to spend fortunes protecting investments…
  - Trillions of taxpayer dollars are freed up…
  - Smog and greenhouse gases plummet.
  - Public health improves.
  - cooling towers look like they are giving off emissions.

Video 2

Discuss with a group.

Energy and standards of living

Energy availability (and technology influencing it, and enabled by it) has increased standards of living, lifespans, reduced poverty, etc.

We would do well to remember this when considering alternative policies and approaches to energy practics and environmental concerns.

Human development index

Life expectancy
Education
Per captia income

Energy and standards of living

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/HDI-vs-electricity-consumption-2-40-46_fig4_315794998

What does this plot tell us?

HDI is strongly correlated with energy consumption
Note the long tail toward the right though.
Note the very fast increase with energy on the left.
Where is the sweet spot?
See also CMO page 238 for some relevant discussion.

Discussion

What are some of the key issues that we will be discussing as we consider energy?

Economic considerations
Resource limitations
Complexity
Safety
Regional availability
Public perception
Political interests
Historical momentum, existing infrastructure
Workforce availability

Values and tradeoffs are the name of the game

It’s very easy to be extreme.
- NIMBY
- BANANA/CAVE
- Drill baby Drill
Remain open-minded. Avoid uniformed opinions. Wear your thinking cap.
As engineers we can develop a much deeper understanding, and informed and nuanced approach to the problem of energy.
- We can communicate that with others.
- Opportunity and responsibility.
- People will trust you because of your degree. Be careful with the trust you are given.
There are no simple answers. If there were, we would not be having this discussion.