Anenergy carrier is a substance (fuel) or sometimes a phenomenon (energy system) that containsenergy that can be later converted to other forms such asmechanical work orheat or to operate chemical or physical processes.
Such carriers includesprings,electrical batteries,capacitors,pressurized air,dammed water,hydrogen,metal energy carriers,[1][2]petroleum,coal,wood, andnatural gas. An energy carrier does notproduce energy; it simply contains energy imbued by another system.
According to ISO 13600, anenergy 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.[3] It is any system or substance that containsenergy for conversion as usable energy later or somewhere else. This could be converted for use in, for example, an appliance or vehicle. Such carriers includesprings,electrical batteries,capacitors,pressurized air,dammed water,hydrogen,petroleum,coal,wood, andnatural gas.
ISO 13600 series (ISO 13600, ISO 13601, andISO 13602) are intended to be used as tools to define, describe, analyse and compare technical energy systems (TES) at micro and macro levels:[4]
.png)
In the field ofenergetics, anenergy carrier is produced by human technology from aprimary energy source. Only the energy sector uses primary energy sources. Other sectors of society use an energy carrier to perform useful activities (end-uses).[5] The distinction between "Energy Carriers" (EC) and "Primary Energy Sources" (PES) is extremely important. An energy carrier can be more valuable (have a higher quality) than a primary energy source. For example 1megajoule (MJ) of electricity produced by a hydroelectric plant is equivalent to 3 MJ of oil.[6]Sunlight is a main source of primary energy, which can betransformed into plants andthen into coal, oil and gas.Solar power andwind power are other derivatives of sunlight. Note that althoughcoal,oil andnatural gas are derived from sunlight,[7] they are considered primary energy sources which are extracted from the earth (fossil fuels).Natural uranium is also a primary energy source extracted from the earth but does not come from the decomposition of organisms (mineral fuel).
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
