Department of Chemistry
The Chemistry of Energy
Dr Dylan P Williamsdpw10@le.ac.uk
Dr David L. Davies, Dr Kevin Parker
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
A 5 credit PBL case study currently being
developed based on the RSC Roadmap
priority area of energy.
Part of the RSC/HE STEM project C/PBL
resource development project.
AIM - Challenge the student belief that
chemistry’s benefit to society is confined
to medicine.
ENERGY
• World Energy demand forecast to double from 2010 to
2030
– 4000 to 8000 GW (+extra 1000 GW for electric vehicles)
• Current proportion electric power supplied by
renewables 22%
– Need to install 36 GW renewables pa just to ‘stand still’
• International energy agency ‘blue scenario’ reduces
CO2 by 40% to 2030
THE ENERGY CHALLENGE
• What we need to build to hit IEA ‘blue scenario’
CHALLENGES FOR CHEMISTRY
Transport – fuel cells batteries (enough Li?), H2
storage
Hydro - CH4 emissions (& clean-up in atmosphere)
Wind - Reliance on rare earth magnets, corrosion if
offshore
PV - efficiency, a-Si/μc-Si, CdTe
CCS – CO2 absorption, reservoir chemistry
Power Transmission – spikes and troughs in supply,
super-conductors
Building insulation – 40% UK CO2 from buildings
The development of
sustainable energy
sources is one of the
greatest challenges
facing society.
© Kawamoto Takuo. Creative Commons Licence
Due to the range of
chemical issues in this
area, it can not be
categorised as falling
into a single I/O/P
category.
© tompagenet. Creative Commons Licence
Problems will be developed JulyDecember 2011
Problem development will be led by a
team with both academic (DLD and
DPW) and industrial (KP) backgrounds.
First drafts of the problems will be made
available by the RSC for testing in early
2012.
In order to allow flexibility, the
case study will be divided into
three units:
Power Generation (the major
unit)
Environmental impact &
societal issues
Energy Conservation
Problems could be used
together or run independently.
University of Leicester
Unit
Skills areas
Power
Generation
• Solar Chemistry
• Nuclear Power
• Organic Chem.& Thermodynamics
Environmental
impact and
societal issues
• Evaluation of scientific & political issues (e.g.
security of supply)
• Atmospheric chemistry (e.g. the effect of
power generation/usage)
Energy
Conservation
• Materials chemistry
All Problems
• Transferable skills
• Problem solving strategy
For further information or to register
your interest in trialling these resources
(or the resources developed at other
institutions) please see the project
website:
http://www.rsc.org/Education/HESTEM/CP
BL/CPBLTrial.asp