1. Introduction
2. Coal in the industrial revolution, and beyond
3. History of oil and natural gas
Oil extraction and exploration
Natural gas
4. Fossil fuel resources and uses
Coal
Oil
Tar sands
Oil shale
Natural gas
Coalbed methane
Tight sands and shales
Methane hydrates
Outlook
5. Diminishing oil and gas reserves
6. The continuing need for hydrocarbons and their products
Fractional distillation
Thermal cracking
7. Fossil fuels and climate change
Mitigation
8. Renewable energy sources and atomic energy
Hydropower
Geothermal energy
Wind energy
Solar energy : photovoltaic and thermal
Electricity from photovoltaic conversion
Solar thermal power for electricity production
Electric power from saline solar ponds
Solar thermal energy for heating
Economic limitations of solar energy
Biomass energy
Electricity from biomass
Liquid biofuels
Ocean energy : thermal, tidal, and wave power
Tidal energy
Waves
Ocean thermal energy
Nuclear energy
Energy from nuclear fission reactions
Breeder reactors
The need for nuclear power
Economics
Safety
Radiation hazards
Nuclear byproducts and waste
Emissions
Nuclear power : an energy source for the future
Nuclear fusion
Future outlook
9. The hydrogen economy and its limitations
The discovery and properties of hydrogen
The development of hydrogen energy
The production and uses of hydrogen
Hydrogen from fossil fuels
Hydrogen from biomass
Photobiological water cleavage
Water electrolysis
Hydrogen production using nuclear energy
The challenge of hydrogen storage
Liquid hydrogen
Compressed hydrogen
Metal hydrides and solid absorbents
Other means of hydrogen storage
Hydrogen : centralized or decentralized distribution?
Safety of hydrogen
Hydrogen in transportation
Fuel cells
History
Fuel cell efficiency
Hydrogen-based fuel cells
PEM fuel cells for transportation
Regenerative fuel cells
Outlook
10. The "methanol economy" : general aspects
11. Methanol as a fuel and energy carrier
Properties and historical background
Present uses of methanol
Use of methanol and dimethyl ether as transportation fuels
Alcohol as a transportation fuel in the past
Methanol as fuel in internal combustion engines (ICE)
Methanol and dimethyl ether as diesel fuels substitute in compression ignition engines
Biodiesel fuel
Advanced methanol-powered vehicles
Hydrogen for fuel cells from methanol reforming
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC)
Fuel cells based on other fuels and biofuel cells
Regenerative fuel cell
Methanol for static power and heat generation
Methanol storage and distribution
Methanol price
Methanol safety
Emissions from methanol-powered vehicles
Methanol and the environment
Methanol and issues of climate change
12. Production of methanol from syn-gas to carbon dioxide
Methanol from fossil fuels
Production via syn-gas
Syn-gas from natural gas
Methane steam reforming
Partial oxidation of methane
Autothermal reforming and combination of steam reforming and partial oxidation
Syn-gas from CO₂ reforming
Syn-gas from petroleum and higher hydrocarbons
Syn-gas from coal
Economics of syn-gas generation
Methanol through methyl formate
Methanol from methane without syn-gas
Selective oxidation of methane to methanol
Catalytic gas-phase oxidation of methane
Liquid-phase oxidation of methane to methanol
Methanol production through mono-halogenated methanes
Microbial or photochemical conversion of methane to methanol
Methanol from biomass
Methanol from biogas
Aquaculture
Water plants
Algae
Methanol from carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases
Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
13. Methanol-based chemicals, synthetic hydrocarbons and materials
Methanol-based chemical products and materials
Methanol conversion to olefins and synthetic hydrocarbons
Methanol to olefin (MTO) process
Methanol to gasoline (MTG) process
Methanol-based proteins
Outlook
14. Future perspectives
The "methanol economy" and its advantages.