Energy carrier
Encyclopedia
According to ISO 13600, an energy carrier is either a substance (energy form) or a phenomenon (energy system) that can be used to produce mechanical work or heat or to operate chemical or physical processes.
In the field of Energetics
, however, an energy carrier corresponds only to an energy form (not an energy system) of energy input required by the various sectors of society to perform their functions.
Examples of energy carriers include liquid fuel in a furnace, gasoline in a pump, electricity in a factory or a house, and hydrogen in a tank of a car.
Note that coal
, oil
and natural gas
are primary energy sources which are extracted from the earth (fossil fuel
s). Natural uranium
is also a primary energy source extracted from the earth but does not come from the decomposition of organisms (mineral fuel).
for conversion as usable energy later or somewhere else. This could be converted for use in, for example, an appliance or vehicle. Such carriers include springs
, electrical batteries, capacitors, pressurized air, dammed water, hydrogen
, petroleum
, coal
, wood, and natural gas
.
ISO 13600 series (ISO 13600, ISO 13601 and ISO 13602) are intended to be used as tools to define, describe, analyse and compare technical energy systems (TES) at micro and macro levels :
Definition within the field of Energetics
Energy carriers are various energy forms of energy input required by the various sectors of society to perform their functions.
Energy carriers (EC) are produced by the energy sector using primary energy sources (PES). The distinction between "Energy Carriers" and "Primary Energy Sources" is extremely important since these two labels refer to energy forms of different quality so that they cannot be aggregated: 1 megajoule (MJ) of EC is not the same as 1 MJ of PES.
In the field of Energetics
Energetics
Energetics is the study of energy under transformation. Because energy flows at all scales, from the quantum level to the biosphere and cosmos, energetics is a very broad discipline, encompassing for example thermodynamics, chemistry, biological energetics, biochemistry and ecological energetics...
, however, an energy carrier corresponds only to an energy form (not an energy system) of energy input required by the various sectors of society to perform their functions.
Examples of energy carriers include liquid fuel in a furnace, gasoline in a pump, electricity in a factory or a house, and hydrogen in a tank of a car.
Note that coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
are primary energy sources which are extracted from the earth (fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s). Natural uranium
Natural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
is also a primary energy source extracted from the earth but does not come from the decomposition of organisms (mineral fuel).
Definition according to ISO 13600
According to ISO 13600, an energy carrier is either a substance or a phenomenon that can be used to produce mechanical work or heat or to operate chemical or physical processes. It is any system or substance that contains energyEnergy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
for conversion as usable energy later or somewhere else. This could be converted for use in, for example, an appliance or vehicle. Such carriers include springs
Spring (device)
A spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of spring steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and hardened after fabrication...
, electrical batteries, capacitors, pressurized air, dammed water, hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
, petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, wood, and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
.
ISO 13600 series (ISO 13600, ISO 13601 and ISO 13602) are intended to be used as tools to define, describe, analyse and compare technical energy systems (TES) at micro and macro levels :
- ISO 13600 (Technical energy systems — Basic concepts) covers basic definitions and terms needed to define and describe TESs in general and TESs of energyware supply and demand sectors in particular.
- ISO 13601 (Technical energy systems — Structure for analysis — Energyware supply and demand sectors) covers structures that shall be used to describe and analyse sub-sectors at the macro level of energyware supply and demand
- ISO 13602 (all parts) facilitates the description and analysis of any technical energy systems.
Definition within the field of EnergeticsEnergeticsEnergetics is the study of energy under transformation. Because energy flows at all scales, from the quantum level to the biosphere and cosmos, energetics is a very broad discipline, encompassing for example thermodynamics, chemistry, biological energetics, biochemistry and ecological energetics...
Energy carriers are various energy forms of energy input required by the various sectors of society to perform their functions.Energy carriers (EC) are produced by the energy sector using primary energy sources (PES). The distinction between "Energy Carriers" and "Primary Energy Sources" is extremely important since these two labels refer to energy forms of different quality so that they cannot be aggregated: 1 megajoule (MJ) of EC is not the same as 1 MJ of PES.
Related topics
- Capital goods
- Coefficient of performance
- Embedded energy
- EnergeticsEnergeticsEnergetics is the study of energy under transformation. Because energy flows at all scales, from the quantum level to the biosphere and cosmos, energetics is a very broad discipline, encompassing for example thermodynamics, chemistry, biological energetics, biochemistry and ecological energetics...
- Energy pay-back
- Energy resource
- Energy storageEnergy storageEnergy storage is accomplished by devices or physical media that store some form of energy to perform some useful operation at a later time. A device that stores energy is sometimes called an accumulator....
- Enthropy
- ExergyExergyIn thermodynamics, the exergy of a system is the maximum useful work possible during a process that brings the system into equilibrium with a heat reservoir. When the surroundings are the reservoir, exergy is the potential of a system to cause a change as it achieves equilibrium with its...
- Passive and low energy architecture (PLEAPleaIn legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a civil or criminal case under common law using the adversary system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a criminal defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response to a criminal charge, whether that...
) - Renewable resourceRenewable resourceA renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability of being replaced through biological or other natural processes and replenished with the passage of time...
See also
- Energy crisisEnergy crisisAn energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
- Energy and society
- Energy source
- Energyware
- Future energy development
- Hydrogen economyHydrogen economyThe hydrogen economy is a proposed system of delivering energy using hydrogen. The term hydrogen economy was coined by John Bockris during a talk he gave in 1970 at General Motors Technical Center....
- ISO 14000ISO 14000The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc.) negatively affect the...
- Liquid nitrogen economy
- Lithium economyLithium economyThe lithium economy is a concept analogous to the hydrogen economy, methanol economy, ethanol economy, electron economy, vegetable oil economy, or liquid nitrogen economy but where the energy vector is lithium...
- Methanol economyMethanol economyThe methanol economy is a suggested future economy in which methanol replaces fossil fuels as a means of energy storage, ground transportation fuel, and raw material for synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. It offers an alternative to the proposed hydrogen economy or ethanol economy.In the...
- Solar powerSolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
- Vegetable oil economyVegetable oil economyVegetable oil economy deals with the potential of vegetable oil to replace fossil fuels in the economy and how it compares to other potential replacements, including renewable electricity. Vegetable oils are the basis of biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel...
- Wind powerWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
External links
- "BoronBoronBoron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...
: a better energy carrier than hydrogen?" paper by Graham Cowan - ISO 13600 Technical energy systems -- Basic concepts: gives the basic concepts needed to define and describe technical energy systems.