The US imports 11 million barrels of oil (bbl) per day (hint: note that this is

Question

The US imports 11 million barrels of oil (bbl) per day (hint: note that this is a rate of energy consumption because it is energy per unit time). Each bbl contains 5.8 × 106 BTU of energy, often referred to as a barrel of oil equivalent (boe). (a) Convert the rate of daily oil imports into power (GW). (b) If the US wanted to electrify its auto fleet using nuclear power, how many Diablo Canyon nuclear plants worth of power would be needed (each can provide 2.35 GW of power)

So far I have this please correct me if I am wrong. A) 11,000,000bbl/day x 5.8*10^6 btu/bbl x 1055J/btu x 1day/86,400s x 1MW/1,000,000W =

Explanation / Answer

1 BBL = 5.8 x 10^6 BTU

11 million bbl = 11 x 1000000 x 5.8 x 10^6 BTU

1 BTU = 1055.055 J

11 million BTU = 11 x 1000000 x 5.8 x 10^6 x 1055.055 = 6.73125 x 10^16 J

(a) rate of daily oil imports = 6.73125 x 10^16 / ( 24 x 60 x 60 ) = 7.7908 x 10^11 W

But 1 GW = 10^9 W

rate of daily oil imports =  7.7908 x 10^11 / 10^9 = 7.7908 x 10^2 GW = 779.08 GW

(b) Each can provide = 2.35 GW

No of nuclear plants required = 779.08 / 2.35 = 331.5 = 332

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