ABSTRACT
Point of View ............................................................................................................ 317 11.4.7 By-Product Utilization .............................................................................................. 318 11.4.8 State of the Industrialization Step ............................................................................ 318
References ...................................................................................................................................... 320
Energy consumption worldwide is characterized by a strong dependence on fossil fuels, oil, and natural gas; these are mostly produced by a limited number of countries that are not homogeneously distributed throughout the world. A representative case for this kind of scenario is the Italian situation, where the availability of fossil fuels is so irrelevant that practically all the energy requirements are satis—ed by import (85.6% in 2008, compared to an EU average of about 56%). Energy demand is generally associated with industrial and civil sectors, but a more thorough examination reveals that energy consumption is also very important in other areas, transportation being the main example. In fact, energy consumption for transporting people and goods is larger than that directly related to the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, and almost equal to the need for the production of electricity; this is clearly shown in Figure 11.1, which presents data on the —nal energy consumption, in 2007, divided by sector, in Italy, as elaborated by ENEA in their “Energy and Environment Report 2007-2008.”
