Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009: Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Global COE Program "Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming - ... Energy System" (Green Energy and Technology) 4431997784, 9784431997788

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Green Energy and Technology

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Takeshi Yao Editor

Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009 Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Global COE Program “Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming—Toward CO2 Zero-emission Energy System”

Editor

Takeshi Yao Program Leader Professor of the Graduate School of Energy Science Kyoto University Steering Committee of GCOE Unit for Energy Science Education Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku Kyoto 606-8501, Japan [email protected]

ISSN 1865-3529 e-ISSN 1865-3537 ISBN 978-4-431-99778-8 e-ISBN 978-4-431-99779-5 DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-99779-5 Springer Tokyo Berlin Heidelberg New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2009943557 © Springer 2010 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. The use of general descriptive na mes, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMXDesign, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

Preface

Securing energy and conservation of the environment are the most important issues for the sustainable development of human beings. Until now, people have relied heavily on fossil fuels for their energy requirements and have released large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (Here, we have abbreviated all greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide to “CO2.”). Emissions of CO2 have been regarded as the main factor in climate change in recent years, and how to control them is becoming a pressing issue in the world. The energy problem cannot simply be labeled a technological one, as it is also deeply involved with social and economic issues. It is necessary to establish “Low carbon Energy science” as an interdisciplinary field integrating social science and human science with the natural sciences. From 2008, four departments of Kyoto University, Japan — the Graduate School of Energy Science, the Institute of Advanced Energy, the Department of Nuclear Engineering, and the Research Reactor Institute—have joined forces, and with the participation of the Institute of Economic Research, have been engaged in a program entitled “Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming — Toward a CO2 ZeroEmission Energy System” for a Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, with the support of university faculty members. This program aims to establish an international education and research platform to foster educators, researchers, and policy makers who can develop technologies and propose policies for establishing a scenario toward a CO2 zero-emission society no longer dependent on fossil fuels by the year 2100. In the course of implementing the Global COE, we placed the GCOE Unit for Energy Science Education at its center, and we are proceeding from the Scenario Planning Group and the Advanced Research Cluster to Evaluation, forming mutual associations as we progress. The Scenario Planning Group is setting out a CO2 zero-emission technology roadmap and establishing a CO2 zero-emission scenario. They will also conduct analyses from the standpoints of social values and human behavior. The Advanced Research Cluster, as an education platform based on research, promotes socio-economic study of energy, study of new technologies for renewable energies, and research for advanced nuclear energy by following the roadmap established by the Scenario Planning Group. Evaluation is conducted by exchanging ideas among advisors inside and outside the university, including those from abroad, to gather feedback on the scenario, education, and research. v

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For education, which is the central activity of the Global COE, we have established the GCOE Unit for Energy Science Education and have selected students from the doctoral course, and are fostering these human resources. The students, on their own initiative, are planning and conducting interdisciplinary group research combining social and human science with natural science, working toward CO2 zero emission. The students will acquire the ability to survey the whole energy system through participation in scenario planning and interaction with researchers from other fields, and will apply that experience to their own research. This approach is expected to become a major feature of human resources cultivation. We will strive to foster young researchers who will be able to employ their skills and knowledge with a broad international perspective and expertise in their field of study in order to respond to the needs of society in terms of various energy and environmental problems. Those new researchers also will become leaders in the twenty-first century, full of vitality and creativity and working toward harmony between the environment and mankind. We held the First International Symposium of the Global COE titled “ZeroCarbon Energy, Kyoto 2009” on August 20–21, 2009, at Kyoto University Clock Tower in parallel with the First International Summer School on Energy Science for Young Generations (ISSES-YGN) on August 20–22, 2009, at Kyoto University Clock Tower and Kyodai Kaikan. There were many important lectures by invited speakers and members of the Global COE, with interesting presentations by students at the GCOE Unit for Energy Science Education. This book is a compilation of the lectures and presentations. We hope that it will provide the impetus for the establishment of Low carbon Energy science. Takeshi Yao Program Leader Global COE “Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming – Toward a CO2 Zero-Emission Energy System”

Contents

Part I  Plenary and Invited Papers What Can We Learn from Photosynthesis About How to Convert Solar Energy into Fuels?..................................................... Richard J. Cogdell, Katsunori Nakagawa, Masaharu Kondo, Mamoru Nango, and Hideki Hashimoto Renaissance of Nuclear Energy in the USA: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Research Needs......................................................... Masahiro Kawaji and Sanjoy Banerjee Eco-Friendly Production of Biodiesel by Utilizing Solid Base Catalysis of Calcium Oxide for Reaction to Convert Vegetable Oil into Its Methyl Esters................................................................................ Masato Kouzu

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Part II  Contributed Papers g -Ferric Oxide / Carbon Composite Synthesized by Aqueous Solution Method as a Cathode for Lithium-Ion Batteries........................... Mitsuhiro Hibino and Takeshi Yao

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Morphology Control of TiO2-Based Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy Applications.............................................................. Yoshikazu Suzuki

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New Material Processing and Evaluation for TiO2 by Microwave and Mid-Infrared Light Techniques..................................... Taro Sonobe, Mahmoud Bakr, Kyohei Yoshida, Kan Hachiya, Toshiteru Kii, and Hideaki Ohgaki Construction of the Functional Biomolecules with the Ribonucleopeptide Complexes......................................................... Masatora Fukuda, Fong Fong Liew, Shun Nakano, and Takashi Morii

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High-Pr Heat Transfer in Viscoelastic Drag-Reducing Turbulent Channel Flow................................................................................. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tomoaki Kunugi, and Feng-Chen Li

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Current Status of Accelerator-Driven System with High-Energy Protons in Kyoto University Critical Assembly............................................ Jae-Yong Lim, Cheol Ho Pyeon, Tsuyoshi Misawa, and Seiji Shiroya

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Part III  International Summer School on Energy Science for Young Generations (ISSES-YGN) (i) Scenario Planning and Socio-economic Energy Research Toward Education for Collaboration Between Different Fields: An Experiment of Facilitation Viewpoints Utilization for Reflecting Group Discussion..................................................................... Kyoko Ito, Eriko Mizuno, and Shogo Nishida

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The Impact of Wind Power Generation on Wholesale Electricity Price at Peak Time Demand in Korea......................................... Seunghyun Ryu, Shinyoung Um, and Suduk Kim

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An Analysis of Eco-Efficiency in Korean Fossil-Fueled Power Plants Using DEA................................................................................. Hong Souk Shim and Sung Yun Eo

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An Analysis of Energy Efficiency Using DEA: A Comparison of Korean and Japanese Economic Regions........................ Jayeol Ku

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The Role of Nuclear Power in Energy Security and Climate Change in Vietnam..................................................................... Dinhlong Do, Il Hwan Ahn, and Suduk Kim

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Opportunities and Challenges of Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation Promotion for Rural Electrification in Indonesia............................................................................. 102 Zulfikar Yurnaidi Wind Power Generation’s Impact on Peak Time Demand and on Future Power Mix............................................................................... 108 Jinho Lee and Suduk Kim Development of LiPb–SiC High Temperature Blanket................................ 113 Dohyoung Kim, Kazuyuki Noborio, Takayasu Hasegawa, Yasushi Yamamoto, and Satoshi Konishi

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(ii) Renewable Energy Research and CO2 Reduction Research Lipid-Domain-Selective Assembly of Photosynthetic Membrane Proteins into Solid-Supported Membranes............................... 123 Ayumi Sumino, Toshikazu Takeuchi, Masaharu Kondo, Takehisa Dewa, Hideki Hashimoto, Alastair T. Gardiner, Richard J. Cogdell, and Mamoru Nango Light-Induced Transmembrane Electron Transfer Catalyzed by Phospholipid-Linked Zn Chlorophyll Derivatives on Electrodes................................................................................ 129 Yoshito Takeuchi, Hongmei Li, Shingo Ito, Masaharu Kondo, Shuichi Ishigure, Kotaro Kuzuya, Mizuki Amano, Takehisa Dewa, Hideki Hashimoto, Alastair T. Gardiner, Richard J. Cogdell, and Mamoru Nango Raman Spectroscopic Studies on Silicon Electrodeposition in a Room-Temperature Ionic Liquid............................................................ 135 Yusaku Nishimura, Toshiyuki Nohira, and Rika Hagiwara DC Connected Hybrid Offshore-Wind and Tidal Turbine Generation System............................................................................ 141 Mohammad Lutfur Rahman and Yasuyuki Shirai Primary Pyrolysis and Secondary Reaction Behaviors as Compared Between Japanese Cedar and Japanese Beech Wood in an Ampoule Reactor.............................................................. 151 Mohd Asmadi, Haruo Kawamoto, and Shiro Saka Some Low-Temperature Phenomena of Cellulose Pyrolysis........................ 156 Seiji Matsuoka, Haruo Kawamoto, and Shiro Saka Rotational Temperature Measurements in a Molecular Beam with High-Order Harmonic Generation............................................. 161 Kazumichi Yoshii, Godai Miyaji, and Kenzo Miyazaki Chemical Conversion of Lignocellulosics as Treated by Two-Step Hot-Compressed Water............................................................. 166 Natthanon Phaiboonsilpa, Xin Lu, Kazuchika Yamauchi, and Shiro Saka Method for Improving Oxidation Stability of Biodiesel............................... 171 Jiayu Xin and Shiro Saka Construction of the Artificial Enzyme for Using Solar Energy..................................................................................................... 176 Shun Nakano, Masatora Fukuda, Kazuki Tainaka, and Takashi Morii

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Development of Fluorescent Ribonucleopeptide-Based Sensors for Biologically Active Amines.......................................................... 181 Fong Fong Liew, Masatora Fukuda, and Takashi Morii Light Energy Induced Fluorescence Switching Based on Novel Photochromic Nucleosides................................................... 186 Katsuhiko Matsumoto, Yoshio Saito, Isao Saito, and Takashi Morii Development of Nanocrystalline Co–Cu Alloys for Energy Applications................................................................................... 191 Motohiro Yuasa, Hiromi Nakano, and Mamoru Mabuchi Investigation of SI-CI Combustion with Low Octane Number Fuels and Hydrogen using a Rapid Compression/ Expansion Machine.......................................................................................... 195 Sopheak Rey, Haruo Morisita, Toru Noda, and Masahiro Shioji Comparison Between the Hexaboride Materials as Thermionic Cathode in the RF Guns for a Compact MIR-FEL Driver.............................................................................................. 202 Mahmoud Bakr, Kyohei Yoshida, Keisuke Higashimura, Satoshi Ueda, Ryota Kinjo, Heishun Zen, Taro Sonobe, Toshiteru Kii, Kia Masuda, and Hideaki Ohgaki Indicators for Evaluating Phase Stability During Mechanical Milling............................................................................. 211 Kosuke O. Hara, Eiji Yamasue, Hideyuki Okumura, and Keiichi N. Ishihara The Study of CO2 Fixation in Spent Oil Sand Under the Different Temperature and Pressure............................................ 216 Dong-Ha Jang, Hyun-Min Shim, and Hyung-Taek Kim The Study on Characteristics Upgraded Low Rank Coal (Lignite-IBC) by Changed Temperature and Particle Size............................................................................................... 222 Tae-Jin Kang, Na-Hyung Jang, and Hyung-Taek Kim Energy Efficiency of Combined Heat and Power Systems........................... 229 Eunju Min and Suduk Kim Behavior of a Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode in Molten Chlorides Containing Oxide Ion..................................................................... 234 Yuya Kado, Takuya Goto, and Rika Hagiwara

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(iii) Advanced Nuclear Energy Research An Algorithm for Automatic Generation of Fault Tree from MFM Model.................................................................................... 243 Jie Liu, Ming Yang, and Xu Zhang A Method of Generating GO-Flow Models from MFM Models.................. 248 Xu Zhang, Ming Yang, and Jie Liu Functional Modeling of Perspectives on the Example of Electric Energy Systems.............................................................................. 254 Kai Heussen and Morten Lind Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of SiC/SiC Composites Fabricated for Erosion Component........................ 261 Min-Soo Suh, Akira Kohyama, and Tatsuya Hinoki Diffusion Bonding of Tungsten to Reduced Activation Ferritic/ Martensitic Steel F82H Using a Titanium Interlayer................................... 266 Zhihong Zhong, Tatsuya Hinoki, and Akira Kohyama The Simulation of Corium Dispersion in Direct Containment Heating Accidents............................................................................................. 274 Wei Wei and Xin-rong Cao Study on Three-Dimensional Thermal Hydraulic Simulation of Reactor Core Based on THEATRe Code................................................... 279 Zhaocan Meng and Zhijian Zhang Study on Turbine System of Nuclear Power Plant Based on RELAP5/MOD3.4 Code.................................................................. 286 Shao-wu Wang, Min-jun Peng, and Jian-ge Liu Analysis of Instability in Narrow Annular Multi-channel System Based on RELAP5 Code.................................................................... 292 Geng-lei Xia, Min-jun Peng, and Yun Guo Development of Ultrafast Pulse X-ray Source in Ambient Pressure with a Millijoule High Repetition Rate Femtosecond Laser.......................................................................................... 300 Masaki Hada and Jiro Matsuo

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Development of Small Specimen Technique to Evaluate Ductile–Brittle Transition Behavior of a Welded Reactor Pressure Vessel Steel........................................................................................ 306 Byung Jun Kim, Ryuta Kasada, and Akihiko Kimura Research on Distributed Monitoring and Prediction System for Nuclear Power Plant..................................................................... 310 Yingjie Sun, Min-jun Peng, and Ming Yang Multiple Scale Nonlinear Phenomena in Nature: From High Confinement in Fusion Plasma to Climate Anomalies................................. 315 Miho Janvier, Yasuaki Kishimoto, and Jiquan Li The Electric Properties of InSb Crystals for Radiation Detector............... 320 Yuki Sato, Yasunari Morita, Tomoyuki Harai, and Ikuo Kanno Kinetic Transport Simulation of ICRF Heating in Tokamak Plasmas........................................................................................ 324 Hideo Nuga and Atsushi Fukuyama Electrochemical Study of Neodymium Ions in Molten Chlorides............... 330 Kazuhito Fukasawa, Akihiro Uehara, Takayuki Nagai, Toshiyuki Fujii, and Hajimu Yamana A New Numerical Approach of Kinetic Simulation for Complex Plasma Dynamics: Application to Fusion and Astrophysical Plasmas.............................................................................. 334 Kenji Imadera, Yasuaki Kishimoto, Jiquan Li, and Takayuki Utsumi Relationship Between Microstructure and Mechanical Property of Transient Liquid Phase Bonded ODS Steel.............................. 339 Sanghoon Noh, Ryuta Kasada, and Akihiko Kimura Nondestructive Testing of NITE-SiC Ceramics for Fusion Reactor Application....................................................................... 346 Yun-Seok Shin, Yi-Hyun Park, and Tatsuya Hinoki Numerical Simulation on Subcooled Pool Boiling......................................... 354 Yasuo Ose and Tomoaki Kunugi Framework of a Risk Monitor System for Nuclear Power Plant................ 360 Ming Yang, Jiande Zhang, Zhijian Zhang, Hidekazu Yoshikawa, and Morten Lind

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Dynamic Reliability Analysis by GO-FLOW for ECCS System of PWR Nuclear Power Plant......................................................................... 364 Ming Yang, Zhijian Zhang, Hidekazu Yoshikawa, and Shengyuan Yan Prior Evaluation Method of User Interface Design...................................... 369 Shengyuan Yan and Kun Yu Consideration of Alumina Coating Fabricated by Sol–Gel Method for PbLi Flow..................................................................................... 373 Yoshitaka Ueki, Tomoaki Kunugi, Masatoshi Kondo, Akio Sagara, Neil B. Morley, and Mohamed A. Abdou Feasibility Study on Introducing Building Integrated Photovoltaic System in China and Analysis of the Promotion Policies............................. 380 Hongbo Ren, Weisheng Zhou, and Ken’ichi Nakagami Author Index.................................................................................................... 385 Keyword Index................................................................................................. 389

Part I

Plenary and Invited Papers

What Can We Learn from Photosynthesis About How to Convert Solar Energy into Fuels? Richard J. Cogdell, Katsunori Nakagawa, Masaharu Kondo, Mamoru Nango, and Hideki Hashimoto

Abstract  We briefly review the need for construction of novel systems for the production of clean renewable fuels to replace oil and gas. Then the case is made that if it will be possible to gain a sufficient understanding of photosynthesis that it should be possible to use this information to produce “artificial leaves”. These artificial leaves will be designed to convert solar energy into dense portable fuel. Keywords  Solar fuels • Photosynthesis • Artificial leaf • Global warming

1  Introduction Currently in the developed world we get our energy mainly from fossil fuels. In fact approximately 70–80% of our current energy needs are met by burning coal, oil and gas. Unfortunately oil and gas supplies are predicted to be largely exhausted by the end of this century. Also we have a major problem caused by the increasing rates at which we currently consume fossil fuels, namely global warming caused by elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. As a result of these two imperatives there is an urgent need to develop new, clean, scalable, and renewable sources of fuels. Providing for our requirements for electricity is not such a fundamental problem. There are many clean and renewable energy sources that can be used to produce electricity, e.g. wind, solar energy, hydro, thermal, etc. The main challenge is to R.J. Cogdell (*) University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, Scotland, UK e-mail: [email protected] K. Nakagawa, M. Kondo, and M. Nango Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8555, Japan K. Nakagawa, M. Kondo, M. Nango and H. Hashimoto CREST/JST, Saitama, Japan H. Hashimoto Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan T. Yao (ed.), Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009, Green Energy and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-99779-5_1, © Springer 2010

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find ways of producing clean sources for the production of dense portable fuel. If the aeroplanes are to be kept in the sky and the ships are to be kept at sea, then a fuel equivalent to gasoline will be required. One possible abundant energy source that in principle could be harnessed to produce fuel is the sun. More than enough solar energy reaches the surface of earth each hour to satisfy all our current energy requirement for one year. How can we use this plentiful supply of solar energy to produce fuels? There is already a process that takes place on our planet that converts solar energy into fuel. This process is photosynthesis.

2  What Is Photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants, algae, and some bacteria are able to use solar energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into sugar (a fuel). Indeed all the fossil fuels that man is currently so greedily consuming represent photosynthetic activity that occurred in the past millennia. If we could fully understand photosynthesis would it be possible to use this knowledge to produce robust, efficient artificial systems to convert solar energy into fuels. Although, at present we do not have all the detailed information that is needed in order to produce such systems it is possible from a consideration of the essence of photosynthesis to start a long the path towards succeeding in this aim. Photosynthesis can be divided into four key partial reactions [1]. These are light-harvesting (light-concentration), using this concentrated light-energy to separate charge across a membrane, accumulation of positive charges on one side of this membrane in order to extract electrons from water (water splitting) and accumulation of the negative charges on the other side of this membrane in order to do catalysis to produce a fuel (e.g. the conversion of carbon dioxide to carbohydrate) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1  A representation of the four key partial reactions of photosynthesis

What Can We Learn from Photosynthesis About How to Convert Solar Energy into Fuels?

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3  Concept of the Artificial Leaf Jim Barber from Imperial College in London has championed the idea of an artificial leaf. This is an elegant concept that really clearly illustrates the idea of using the photosynthetic blueprint in order to design ways of using solar energy to produce fuels. We will now consider each of the four key partial reactions of photosynthesis, outlined above, in order to assess where current research is along path to producing fuels from solar energy. We will describe both current approaches and where we think the major bottlenecks are. Solar energy, though an abundant energy source, is a diffuse low-density energy source. This means that relatively large surface areas are required to harvest and concentrate this energy before it can be used to make fuel. Photosynthesis achieves this through its light-harvesting pigment-protein complexes. We are now in the fortunate position of having several high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of light-harvesting complexes from a variety of different photosynthetic organisms. It is possible therefore to ask whether there are some key common design features that can be found in these structures (Fig. 2). Remarkably the structures of antenna complexes from different species are found to be highly variable. Initially it might be thought that this is a very disappointing result. Why should these structures be so variable? The answer is that the

Fig. 2  Examples of the X-ray crystal structures of different light-harvesting complexes. (a) LHCII from higher plants [2], (b) peridinin-chlorophyll a protein from dinoflagellates [3], and (c) LH2 complex from two different species of purple bacteria [4, 5]

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physics of energy-transfer is very tolerant. So long as the light-absorbing pigments are arranged close enough singlet–singlet energy-transfer will remain efficient even when the positioning of these pigments is quite variable. This design tolerance rather than being disappointing is encouraging to researchers who are trying to construct artificial systems designed to replicate biological light-harvesting. It means that there will be many different potentially successful ways of constructing light-harvesting modules [6]. Photosynthesis uses reaction centres to drive a transmembrane charge separation process powered by light energy provided by the light-harvesting system. Again there are several high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of photosynthetic reaction centres from several different species of photosynthetic organisms. In this case the basic structure of these reaction centres and organization of the redox centres within them is very highly conserved [6] (Fig. 3). In contrast to energy-transfer the structural constraints on electron transfer are much more stringent. Even though this is true several artificial analogues of the basic reaction centre structure have been synthesized and shown to successfully separate change upon illumination. It appears therefore that it is not too difficult to construct artificial systems that can successfully mimic both light-harvesting and charge-separation. At present the major bottlenecks both conceptually and practically are where the one electron redox reactions characteristic of a basic reaction centre interface with the chemical reactions that require either multiple positive or negative charges. The reaction centre of photosystem II also houses the water splitting apparatus.

Fig. 3  Structure of the purple bacterial reaction centre and a view of the organization of the reaction centre redox carriers with the protein subunits removed (PDB: 1RGN). P is the special pair of bacteriochlorophyll molecules that go oxidized upon illumination. B is a monomeric bacteriochlorophyll. H is a bacteriopheophytin molecule. Q is a quinone. Charge is separated down the A branch and the negative charges are accumulated by QB

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Unfortunately the X-ray crystal structure in this area only reveals an outline of the catalytic centre that is capable of storing four positive charges and then using them in a concerted reaction to split water into oxygen, protons and electrons (Fig. 4). What is needed is structures of this catalytic centre in each of its individual redox states together with a detailed understanding of how the protein in the region of manganese centre participates in the reaction mechanism. There have been numerous attempts to mimic the structure of the water splitting centre with just the manganese/calcium/oxygen atoms [e.g. 8]. None of these metal complexes are able to reproduce the catalytic power of the natural system. We expect that this will remain to be the case until models include the function of the protein (a smart matrix) as well as just the ion centre. A similar barrier to progress exists on the side of the negative charges. There are however enzymes that are able to store negative charges in order to do a catalytic reaction required to produce fuels. The simplest

Fig.  4  The overall structure of photosystem II together with the picture of the water splitting centre [7]

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example of such enzyme is hydrogenase [9]. This enzyme is able to reduce protons to produce hydrogen. Although hydrogen is not very dense fuel, there are many situations in which it could usefully substitute for denser carbon based fuels. Hydrogenase does provide a useful model system with which to develop the methodology to couple the reaction centre to an output capable of producing fuel. Unfortunately most hydrogenases are very oxygen sensitive. They are inactivated in the presence of oxygen. This is a major problem, since on the other side of the reaction centre oxygen is going to be produced. Recently hydrogenases have been found in anaerobic purple photosynthetic bacteria that are much less oxygen sensitive. It is to be hoped that when the details of the origin of this oxygen insensitivity are understood that hydrogenases resistant to oxygen can be incorporated into devices designed to be artificial leaves.

4  Outlook for the Future Photosynthesis is a subject to the same laws of chemistry and physics as every other process on earth is. There is nothing magical about photosynthesis. It has however evolved over millions of years to the point where it can rather efficiently use solar energy to produce fuels. We believe that the production of an artificial leaf is possible and holds out the prospect of producing practical scalable systems for converting solar energy into fuel. Moreover, the need for such a system is so great that now is the time to invest in the research that is required to realize this dream. We see this as one of the grand challenges facing mankind and hope that enough of the really talented next generation of scientists will dedicate themselves to solving this challenge. Like all grand challenges it will not be easy but the result of not facing up to this challenge is impossible to contemplate. Acknowledgements  RJC acknowledges the support of the EPSRC. RJC and HH thank HFSP for support. HH and MN thank Nissan Science Foundation for support.

References 1. ESF report on “Harnessing solar energy for the production of clean fuels”. http://ssnmr.leidenuniv.nl/files/ssnmr/CleanSolarFuels.pdf 2. Liu Z, Yan H, Wang K, Kuang T, Zhang J, Gui L, An X, Chang W (2004) Crystal structure of spinach major light-harvesting complex at 2.72 Å resolution. Nature 428:287–292 3. Hofmann E, Wrench PM, Sharples FP, Hiller RG, Welte W, Diederichs K (1996) Structural basis of light harvesting by Carotenoids: peridinin-chlorophyll-protein from Amphidinium carterae. Science 272:1788–1791 4. McDermott G, Prince SM, Freer AA, Hawthornthwaite-Lawless AM, Papiz MZ, Cogdell RJ, Isaacs NW (1995) Crystal structure of an integral membrane light-harvesting complex from photosynthetic bacteria. Nature 374:517–521

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5. Koepke J, Hu X, Muenke C, Schulten K, Michel H (1996) The crystal structure of the lightharvesting complex II (B800–850) from Rhodospirillum molischianum. Structure 4:581–597 6. Moser CC, Page CC, Cogdell RJ, Barber J, Wraight CA, Dutton PL (2003) Length, time, and energy scales of photosystems. Advances in protein chemistry. Academic, New York, pp. 71–109 7. Ferreira KN, Iverson TM, Maghlaoui K, Barber J, Iwata S (2004) Architecture of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolving center. Science 303:1831–1838 8. Sproviero EM, Gascon JA, McEvoy JP, Brudvig GW, Batista VS (2006) Characterization of synthetic oxomanganese complexes and the inorganic core of the O2-evolving complex in photosystem II: evaluation and the DFT/B3LYP level of theory. J Inorg Biochem 100:786–800 9. Vignais P, Billoud B (2007) Occurrence, classification, and biological function of hydrogenases: an overview. Chem Rev 107:4206–4272

Renaissance of Nuclear Energy in the USA: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Research Needs Masahiro Kawaji and Sanjoy Banerjee

Abstract  The future of nuclear energy is an important issue for many countries intending to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and achieve the reduction targets for green house gas (GHG) emissions. As of June, 2008, there were 439 operating nuclear reactors with a total generating capacity of 372 GWe and 42 power reactors under construction in 15 countries. In the USA, a total of 104 nuclear reactors currently produce 20% of the electricity and account for at least 70% of all GHG-free electricity generation. Their performance has been improving steadily over the past 20 years and has now reached 90% capacity factor. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized future nuclear R&D and provided incentives for construction of new nuclear plants. As a result, there are now 17 COL applications for construction of as many as 26 new reactors in the USA. This paper summarizes some of the opportunities, challenges and future research needs for achieving and sustaining nuclear renaissance in the USA. Keywords  Nuclear energy • Nuclear reactors • Nuclear power • LWR • PWR • BWR

1  Introduction The future of nuclear energy is an important issue for many countries in the world aiming to reduce both their dependence on fossil fuels and green house gas (GHG) emissions. As of June, 2008, there were 439 operating nuclear reactors with a total generating capacity of 372 GWe and 42 power reactors were under construction in 15 countries. Today, the nuclear power accounts for approximately 17% of worldwide electricity generation. In 2004, the United States, France and Japan together accounted for ~56% of the nuclear electricity generation capacity as shown in Fig. 1, and their share is expected to decrease slightly to ~50% in 2020 as other countries, especially M. Kawaji (*) and S. Banerjee The Energy Institute, City University of New York, New York, USA e-mail: [email protected] T. Yao (ed.), Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009, Green Energy and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-99779-5_2, © Springer 2010

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Country's share of world nuclear electricity generation (%)

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27.5

USA (1)

12.4

France (2)

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Japan (3)

26 24 22 20 18 16

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14 12 10

10.3

8 6 4

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0

0.5 0.0

2004

8.1 7.3

Russia (4) China (5)

5.6

Korea (6)

3.6

India (7) Canada (7) Ukraine (7) South Africa (8) Vietnam (9) Sweden (10) Germany (11) United Kingdom (12)

2.0 1.5 1.4 0.8 0.2

2020

Source: Based on annual nuclear power generation, TWh

Fig. 1  Share of world nuclear electricity generation [1]

China, Russia and India plan to expand their nuclear energy generation [1]. European countries, on the other hand, have reduced their use of nuclear power in recent years but countries such as United Kingdom and Italy have decided to deploy more nuclear power in the future. In the USA, 85% of all the energy consumed comes from fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal [2]. The rest is provided by nuclear and hydro. The renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass contribute very little at the present time. In electricity generation, the fuels used in US power plants are coal (48.5%), natural gas (21.3%), nuclear (19.6%), hydro (5.9%), wind (1.3%), petroleum (1.1%), wood (0.4%), waste (0.4%), geothermal (0.4%) and solar/PV (