5. Construction of Infrastructures
The fuel to support these highly efficient "system energy" technologies is based on natural gas not only with the gas turbine but also with the fuel cell. Natural gas which is the fossil fuel and mainly consists of methane, originally contains no sulfur, and generates no SOx if it is burned. Since it is a gaseous fuel, generation of NOx can also be suppressed small if the fuel is mixed with a large volume of air and subjected to the lean-burn technology. The quantity of CO2 in question is about 60% that of coal, and about 70% that of petroleum to the same heat generation. This means that natural gas is the cleanest fuel among the fossil fuels. Since no impurities including sulfur and vanadium are contained, the blades of the gas turbine or the catalyst of the fuel cell are less damaged. In addition thereto, natural gas is not unevenly distributed like oil, but extensively and evenly distributed all over the world, and its potential quantity is also sufficient.
At the 17th World Energy Conference held in Houston, USA in September, 1998, the gas which has been considered impossible in drilling, is now included in the possible drilling range based on the technical innovations such as 1] the sophisticated three-dimensional seismic exploration is now possible due to the progress in computers, 2] the drilling rigs withstandable to the high temperature at large depth is developed due to the progress of the material technology, and 3] about 20 wells including the perpendicular, diagonal and horizontal wells can be dug from one derrick, and the drilling cost is considerably reduced, and the enormous figures of the possible drilling years of the conventional natural gas are 247 years on the world consumption base in 1995, and that of natural gas including the nonconventional type gas such as the large depth gas are 511 years in total as a result of the review of the conventionally accepted opinion on the quantity of the resources, were incorporated in the "conclusion and recommendations". No methane hydrate is included in the non-conventional type gases. The figures of the estimated quantity of methane hydrate which is equivalent to the natural gas consumption for 11,000 years of the present value, and equivalent to the total consumption of fossil fuel for 2,000 years, are given as the reference. It is believed that the only solution for the time being with reality under the global environmental restrictions to carefully use natural gas which is clean and sufficient in potential quantity making use of the highly efficient "system energy" technology. In particular, in the age that the fuel cell is diffused to each house, it is necessary to establish the infrastructure, i.e., the pipeline network to supply natural gas throughout the country. It is an urgent matter to complete the pipeline network not only in Japan, but also to the interior of China continuing the economic growth with its population of 10 times that of Japan.
Fig.6 shows the transition of the world fuel depicted by the President Robert Hefner 111 of GHK which is the natural gas development company in Oklahoma, USA. Up to the 1 9th century, it was the age of solid fuels such as woods and coal. The 20th century is the time of the liquid fuel, i.e., the century of the petroleum, during which, the internal combustion engine was developed, and the airplane flies, and two world wars broke out. The 21st century is the age of the gaseous fuel. Since the potential quantity of natural gas is sufficient, at least the first half of the 21st century is the age of natural gas, and transferred to the age of hydrogen.
A noticeable conclusion is led in the book titled "Power Surge" published by The Worldwatch Institute in USA in November, 1995, written by C. Flavin & N. Leusson, translated in Japanese, published by Diamond Publishing Co., The highly efficient cogeneration with natural gas for its fuel is diffused, and the fuel is gradually converted from natural gas to hydrogen.
