Sunday October 01, 2006

Oil may rise as OPEC considers cutting output

peakoil.com -> bloomberg.com :

Crude oil may rise on speculation OPEC members will join Nigeria and reduce output to counter a 20% decline in prices during the past two months. Nigeria will cut exports 5% next month. OPEC members are cutting output on a "voluntary basis," acting Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said.

Oil has plunged because of higher U.S. fuel supplies and reduced concern that conflict will disrupt Middle East shipments. The 11 members of OPEC, which produce about 40% of world oil, kept their output target at 28 million barrels a day at their Sept. 11 meeting. Ministers from Nigeria, Iran and Algeria said they were concerned about falling prices. OPEC's next scheduled meeting is on Dec. 14 in Abuja, Nigeria.

See also :

1. Oil price very low, action needed: OPEC chief
2. Crude oil rises on winter demand, OPEC output risk
3. Crude oil falls to 5-month low as natural gas inventories surge

(2006-10-01 16:41:20 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Scientists develop more powerful nuclear fuel

peakoil.com -> news.yahoo.com :

U.S. researchers have designed a reactor fuel that they believe can make nuclear power plants more powerful and safer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said. In a nuclear reactor, the fission of uranium atoms provides heat used to produce steam for generating electricity. Already, one pickup truck of uranium fuel can supply a city with enough electricity for a year. The MIT scientists believe they have found a way to make the fuel go even further, boosting output by about 50%.

Uranium fuel typically is formed into cylindrical ceramic pellets about half-inch in diameter. The scientists changed the shape of the fuel from solid cylinders to hollow tubes, adding surface area that allowed water to flow inside and outside the pellets, increasing heat transfer. The new fuel design is also safer because it reaches an operating temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius, much lower than 1,800 degrees for conventional fuel and further from the 2,840 degrees melting point for uranium fuel. Researchers say their new technology should be ready for commercial use in existing reactors in about 10 years.

(2006-10-01 16:15:37 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

China fusion reactor test successful

peakoil.com -> china.org.cn :

Chinese scientists have successfully conducted their first test of an experimental thermonuclear fusion reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion reactor was tested at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei. Deuterium and tritium atoms were forced together at 100 million degrees Celsius. The first tests lasted nearly three seconds. The device is planned to eventually create a plasma lasting 1,000 consecutive seconds, the longest ever fusion reactor run.

The EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in the world, said Chinese scientists. Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST was the most cost-effective, said Li Jiangang, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics.

Unlike traditional nuclear fission reactors, splitting atoms to create energy and produce dangerous radioactive waste, the EAST uses nuclear fusion to compress atoms at extremely high temperatures to generate energy that would produce very little pollution. Scientists theorize that a fully functional fusion reactor would provide cheaper, safer, cleaner and endless energy and reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.

See also :

1. China to build world's first "artificial sun"

(2006-10-01 16:04:55 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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