可燃冰能充當(dāng)日本的能源救世主嗎?
????這是一種在2.75億年前摧毀了地球上大量生命的氣體?,F(xiàn)在,日本卻宣揚(yáng)它是世界下一個(gè)非常規(guī)能源供應(yīng)。 ????這種新型潛在燃料俗稱可燃冰或籠形化合物,是一種果子露狀的物質(zhì),由被困在水冰中的甲烷構(gòu)成。乍看起來,它非常像冰,通常藏匿在略低于大陸架外的海床下面。 ????日本的計(jì)算顯示,作為一個(gè)資源貧瘠的國家,日本在其海岸線之外擁有巨額的甲烷水合物儲(chǔ)量,足以滿足這個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)超級(jí)大國在未來100年的能源需求。這種冷凍氣體也普遍存在于地球其他地區(qū)。一項(xiàng)估計(jì)聲稱,它能夠提供的能源比全世界目前已知天然氣和石油儲(chǔ)量的總和還要多。 ????正在引領(lǐng)這項(xiàng)能源開發(fā)嘗試的日本政府表示:“日本的初始研究區(qū)域是綿延400公里(從東京至日本本州島西端)的沿海區(qū)域。我們認(rèn)為,僅這個(gè)地區(qū)的儲(chǔ)量就足以為日本全國供應(yīng)近14年的天然氣?!?/p> ????今年三月份,為日本政府工作的研究人選率先從海底的甲烷水合物中提取天然氣。提取這種氣體面臨巨大的技術(shù)障礙——因?yàn)樗3I畈赜诤F矫嬷拢y以獲取。一些人認(rèn)為,這些資源永遠(yuǎn)也無法實(shí)現(xiàn)商業(yè)應(yīng)用。 ????東京方面開始瞄準(zhǔn)水力壓裂法在20世紀(jì)90年代所面臨的挑戰(zhàn),并隨即聲稱,類似的技術(shù)進(jìn)步將使得從甲烷水合物中獲取能源成為可能。鑒于日本自身的自然資源貧瘠,核電計(jì)劃受阻,再加上可再生能源寥寥無幾,日本希望甲烷水合物能夠使該國擺脫能源依賴癥。 ????根據(jù)過去一年收集的數(shù)據(jù),并于上周發(fā)布的經(jīng)修訂估算顯示,日本海(Sea of Japan)海底儲(chǔ)藏有大量甲烷水合物。日本官員表示,由于這些水合物靠近海床表面,它們比大多數(shù)天然氣資源更容易獲取。據(jù)說,沿著地質(zhì)斷層線可收集甲烷水合物,而日本則坐落于世界三大甲烷水合物儲(chǔ)藏的匯聚之處。 ????“對(duì)于日本來說,甲烷水合物可能會(huì)成為一項(xiàng)重要的能源來源,因?yàn)樵谌蛞阎蛱矫鞯馁Y源中,有相當(dāng)大一部分位于日本周圍,”日本歐洲技術(shù)公司(Eurotechnology Japan)的能源技術(shù)分析師格哈德?法索爾說。 ????對(duì)于制造業(yè)產(chǎn)出數(shù)據(jù)近期獲得提振的日本公司來說,這是一個(gè)好消息。由于幾乎所有的核電站都停止運(yùn)營,東京正在用進(jìn)口的化石燃料,尤其是丙烷氣,支撐日本經(jīng)濟(jì)最近一波迷你繁榮。每百萬英熱單位16美元的價(jià)格(美國的價(jià)格大約為3.50美元),已被證明是非常昂貴的,特別是在日元購買力近期下降,貿(mào)易赤字不斷膨脹的大背景下。 |
????It's a gas that wiped out much of life on Earth 275 million years ago, and Japan is now touting it as the world's next unconventional energy supply. ????Known as inflammable ice, or clathrates, the new potential fuel is a sherbet-like substance consisting of methane trapped in water ice. To the eye, it looks remarkably like ice and typically resides just below the seabed off our continental shelves. ????Japanese calculations suggests the resources-poor country has enough supply just off its coasts to meet the economic superpower's energy needs for the next 100 years. The frozen gas is also prevalent in other parts of the globe and can provide more energy than all the world's known gas and oil reserves combined, according to one estimate. ????"The initial area of study in Japan was the coastal region stretching 400 km (from Tokyo to the western tip of Japan's Honshu island). This region alone is thought to hold enough reserves to supply all of Japan with natural gas for nearly 14 years," says the Japanese government, which is leading the trials. ????Japanese researchers working for the government were the first to tap natural gas from seabed methane hydrates this March. Massive technological hurdles stand in the way of extracting the gas, which is difficult to access, as it is often deep below sea level. Some say these resources will never be commercially applicable. ????Tokyo points to the challenges of fracking in the 1990s and says similar technological advances will make energy from methane hydrate a possibility. With few natural resources of its own, a stalled nuclear power program, and little in the way of renewables, Japan is hoping methane clathrate can save it from energy dependency. ????Revised estimates, based on data collected over the last year and released last week, say there are massive deposits of methane hydrate below the Sea of Japan. These will be easier to reach than most gas deposits as they are located close to the seabed surface, officials say. Methane hydrates are believed to collect along geological fault lines, and Japan sits atop a nexus of three of the world's largest deposits. ????"Methane hydrate could become an important energy source for Japan, because a substantial part of the known or proven resources globally are around Japan," says energy technology analyst Gerhard Fasol of Eurotechnology Japan. ????Good news for Japan Inc., which showed boosted figures for manufacturing output recently. With nearly all nuclear power stations offline, Tokyo is fueling its mini boom with imported fossil fuels, particularly propane gas. At $16 per million metric units, compared to around $3.50 in the U.S., this has proven to be very expensive, particularly in light of the recent fall in the yen's purchasing power and a ballooning trade deficit. |