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Suggested Citation:"Energy Conversion." National Research Council. 2000. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9736.
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Energy Conversion

ENERGY CONVERSION FACTORS

From one:

To:

EJ

Btce

Btoe

Tcm NG

Quad

Exajoule

EJ

1.000

0.033

0.022

0.025

0.948

Billion metric tons coal equivalent [2]

Btce

30.300

1.000

0.675

0.761

28.720

Billion metric tons oil equivalent [3]

Btoe

44.900

1.482

1.000

1.128

42.559

Trillion cubic meters natural gas [4]

Tcm NG

39.800

1.314

0.886

1.000

37.725

Quadrillion Btu

Quad

1.055

0.035

0.023

0.027

1.000

[1] These factors are as per footnote 1 on p. 2, and follow the U.S. convention of high-heat values.

[2] Chinese conversion factors for coal and other fuels are low-heat values. Chinese average raw coal contains 20.93 GJ/metric ton (low heat), or 22.51 GJ/t (high heat), assuming that low-heat values for coal are 93% of high-heat values. China typically converts all its energy statistics into “metric tons of standard coal equivalent” (tce), a unit that bears little relation to the heating value of coals actually in use in China. One tce equal 29.31 GJ (low heat) equivalent to 31.52 GJ/tce (high heat).

[3] China uses a conversion factor for its oil of 41.87 GJ/metric ton (low heat), equivalent to 44.07 GJ/ t (high heat), assuming that low-heat values for oil are 95% of high-heat values.

[4] China uses a conversion factor for its natural gas of 38.98 GJ/thousand cubic meters (low heat), equivalent to 43.31 GJ/tcm (high heat), assuming that low-heat values for natural gas are 90% of high-heat values.

Suggested Citation:"Energy Conversion." National Research Council. 2000. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9736.
×

Chinese factors:

 

low heat

conversion

high heat

average raw coal

GJ/t

20.93

0.93

22.51

standard coal equivalent

GJ/tce

29.31

0.93

31.52

oil

GJ/t

41.87

0.95

44.07

natural gas

GJ/tcm

38.98

0.90

43.31

Both tables courtesy of J.E. Sinton, Energy Analysis Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Multiplier Prefixes for use with International System of Units (SI) Prefixes

kilo = thousand = 103

mega = million = 106

giga = billion = 109

tera = trillion = 1012

peta = quadrillion = 1015

exa = quantrillion = 1018

Adapted from EIA, Annual Review of Energy 1997

Abbreviations

Quad = quadrillion (1015) British thermal units (Btu)

mtce = million ton of coal equivalent

mtoe = million ton of oil equivalent

boe = barrel of oil equivalent

One barrel of oil = 0.136 tons of oil

One short ton (2000 lbs.) = 0.907 metric tons

One cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic meters

Suggested Citation:"Energy Conversion." National Research Council. 2000. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9736.
×
Page 92
Suggested Citation:"Energy Conversion." National Research Council. 2000. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9736.
×
Page 93
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Today we recognize the importance of the pending transition in energy resource utilization in the coming century. Two major players in this transition will be two of the world's superpowers—China and the United States. Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States focuses on collaborative opportunities to provide affordable, clean energy for economic growth and social development, to minimize future energy concerns, environmental threats to our global society, and the health and economic impacts on energy production and use.

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