0:00:01 > 0:00:04Hello and welcome to Bang.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08I'm 800 kilometres north of Britain in the Norwegian Sea,
0:00:08 > 0:00:14which produces over 200 million tonnes of oil and gas every single year.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I'm here to find out what goes into sourcing
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and making our fuel to try and understand why it costs so much.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27It seems almost every week there's a hike in fuel prices,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32with petrol and diesel now costing over £1.40 per litre.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37- How much does it cost to fill this up?- Probably about...80 quid. - 80 quid?!
0:00:37 > 0:00:41You're going to see a lot of people go out of business if it goes up any more.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Did you know petrol has tripled in 20 years?
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Tripled in price since I started driving.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's shockingly expensive and it's not just road fuel.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Household energy bills, over £1,000 a year, on average.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57So, on tonight's show, Jem looks at some alternative fuel sources,
0:00:57 > 0:00:59from biogas...
0:00:59 > 0:01:03If you've ever wondered where those used tea bags and out of date potatoes end up,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05it's probably at a place like this.
0:01:05 > 0:01:12..to fracking - a controversial way of extracting natural gas from deep beneath the earth.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16And Dallas takes Jem on in a challenge to make home-made fuel.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19- I reckon it would make really good bike cider.- Do you think?
0:01:19 > 0:01:23I need you guys to help me turn this into rocket fuel.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29But first, I've gone right to the source of the fuel price issue, oil.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Deep beneath these seas lie deposits of oil and gas.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39They're formed from the remains of ancient fossilised organisms,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43but extracting them is a huge and very expensive challenge.
0:01:43 > 0:01:49We're about 150 kilometres off the coast of Norway and this is Draugan,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53an oilrig that's sitting almost two kilometres above a reservoir
0:01:53 > 0:01:56full of highly pressurised oil and gas.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03This is engineering to the extreme
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and running one of these things doesn't come cheap.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Draugan is unique, built on a single concrete mono-column,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12with its foundations far below on the sea floor.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16It's not just me, is it? This whole platform is swaying, is it?
0:02:16 > 0:02:22It's designed to move. It's quite a long column - over 300 metres.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- Otherwise it would actually crack. - OK, that's good to know.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Good to know.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Oyvind has managed the rig for almost ten years.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34It sits over seven separate wells, where both gas
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and oil rise up to the platform under hydrostatic pressure.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- This is the oil coming up through there.- That's really hot.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47That's oil coming up from under the sea bed.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49How far below the sea bed is it?
0:02:49 > 0:02:54From where you are now it's 2,000 metres.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58So it's a reservoir going in this direction, north and south,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02and the wells are then drilled horizontally into the reservoir.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06And as you begin to empty out this reservoir,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10the pressure isn't as high, so is it more difficult to get the oil out?
0:03:10 > 0:03:17We inject sea water from the platform at each end
0:03:17 > 0:03:21of the reservoir, since the platform is in the middle.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The seawater will replace the oil we take out.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26So we maintain the pressure in that way.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29After all the effort of getting it to the surface,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33the oil is pumped back down to the seabed for storage.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36We have seven storage tanks at the seabed
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and there we can store around a million barrels of oil.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42That's a lot at any one time.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48Even so, tankers visit every week to empty the storage tanks of crude oil.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53At its peak, Draugan was one of the highest producing platforms in the area.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But the oil here won't last forever,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59so the search is already on for new reserves.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03We now have to go further out in the ocean to deeper water.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06As you get deeper and deeper the pressure will increase and
0:04:06 > 0:04:10the temperature will increase and that makes it much more difficult.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Extraction is the most expensive stage of fuel production,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and with new reserves even harder to access,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22the cost of fuel will only continue to rise.
0:04:22 > 0:04:28A few hours ago, this oil was lying thousands of metres beneath my feet.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30And it is a finite resource.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33We're using it up far more quickly than it's made.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37But we continue to invest huge amounts of money in its extraction,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42which just goes to show how utterly reliant we still are on the stuff.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46But getting it out of the ground is only the beginning of the story.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Crude oil is a complex soup of chemicals.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54To make any useful fuel, you have to separate them out.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59I've come to find out about this next stage of the process.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04Here in Rotterdam, oil from all over the world is refined.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07This is Pernis, a giant in the oil industry
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and Europe's biggest refinery.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Now, many things affect the cost of fuel.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16In the UK, about 60% of the price of petrol and diesel is tax.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20But with production costs, processing is second to
0:05:20 > 0:05:24extraction, easy to see when you look at the scale of this place.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28There are enough pipes down there to go around the world four times.
0:05:28 > 0:05:34Pernis can refine 750 litres of crude oil every second.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38But even that only meets a fraction of Europe's fuel demand.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43The new technology needed to find new deposits will cost even more,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and, of course, cost isn't the only issue that concerns people.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51As well as the price of fossil fuels going up,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54you've got the controversial issue of how they take their toll
0:05:54 > 0:05:59on the environment, all of which is forcing us to find alternatives.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Dallas is looking for one that wouldn't cost a thing.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08OK, wind power, solar energy, all very well if you've got
0:06:08 > 0:06:12an electric car, but I want to know if there's anything else I can
0:06:12 > 0:06:17put into my trusty petrol-powered moped, preferably something free.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24- Is there a viable way to make our own fuel?- I think yes.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27There's got to be a way of undercutting the big players.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Do you know how these things work?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33It's the internal combustion engine, they've been around for a while.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35If we can make a repeated explosion in the cylinder,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38with something that's not petrol, we're away.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- What are you thinking?- Come with me, I'm going to show you.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Jem's fond of a good explosion, and that's exactly what you need to get an engine working.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48I've built a little petrol engine here.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It might not look like a car or a motorbike,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53but it works almost exactly the same way.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56To show off the demo we needed a crowd -
0:06:56 > 0:06:59cue a rainy Monday morning on Broadstairs Beach.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Here's the cylinders that you get inside the engine, here's the
0:07:02 > 0:07:07piston that runs up and down inside the cylinder, this is the connecting
0:07:07 > 0:07:10rod that connects it to the crank, that ultimately turns the wheel.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14So, what does Jem think we can burn in an engine?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16First up, the obvious - petrol.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Dallas is going to operate te spark plug.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Here we go, I'm your spark plug. Stand back, three, two, one.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27OK, not surprisingly, petrol works a treat.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32An almighty bang forcing the piston up. But what else could work?
0:07:32 > 0:07:36- Here I've got methane gas. Dallas.- Three, two, one.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44- There's an engine-running fuel that's not petrol.- Anything else?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- What is this?- That's my icing sugar. - You've got a bag of icing sugar?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51If you're not convinced that icing sugar would burn, watch this.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Give it something big.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01- Not bad.- 'All very impressive, but sugar? Inside an engine?'
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Oh! Ooh! Oh!
0:08:05 > 0:08:06Oh!
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Ultimately, the problem is that your engine will eventually clog up.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14So sugar's too messy. What else?
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Now, this worries me, Jem.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It says, "Product of Poland, 95%". 'Alcohol.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- 'But would this work in Jem's engine?'- Right, Dallas, give that a go.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Ready? Stand back. Three, two, one.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Very, very effective as an engine fuel.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Let's here it for Polish vodka!
0:08:38 > 0:08:41So there you go - it's clean, it burns,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43alcohol - the fuel for my bike.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46All I need now is a good home brew recipe.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48What say we get a bit of a challenge on?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Get yourself one of those, make your own fuel from scratch,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54whichever way you see fit, and I'll see you back here in a week.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Dallas, if you're suggesting that we spend a week larking
0:08:58 > 0:09:01around making our own fuel and then racing a motorbike, of course.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05- I will see you in one week's time. - One week!- Laters.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- Can you give me a push?- Yeah.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14OK, here's my plan.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I've got a bike too - in fetching red -
0:09:16 > 0:09:20but I reckon Dallas will struggle to brew alcohol strong enough.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I'm going for one of the other fuels we tried - methane.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Because, although North Sea gas is very expensive,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32it's not the only sort of methane.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Methane is a highly flammable gas that occurs
0:09:34 > 0:09:37naturally in a whole variety of locations -
0:09:37 > 0:09:40including right in there.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44See, animals like this hold certain bacteria in their stomachs
0:09:44 > 0:09:46that help them digest their dinner,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49but in the process produce a whole load of methane.
0:09:49 > 0:09:55My plan is to get hold of some pretty similar bacteria, feed the bacteria
0:09:55 > 0:09:57a stack of high calorie food
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and hopefully harvest the methane that comes off.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I should then be able to use that gas to power a motorbike.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08This kind of gas is called biogas.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10It's nothing new,
0:10:10 > 0:10:15in fact we have around 70 commercial biogas plants in the UK.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Many areas of the country now have specific food waste collections.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22And if you've ever wondered where those used teabags,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26old chicken carcasses and out of date potatoes end up,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28it's probably at a place like this.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Here in Oxford, the gas is burnt in engines to produce
0:10:32 > 0:10:35enough electricity to power over 4,000 homes.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Elsewhere, it's piped straight back into the gas mains.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Fuel from waste - it looks like a win-win situation.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Now to make some of my own.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48What I need now is the gassiest food I can lay my hands on.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51So I'm going to see how sprouts work out.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55They have a reputation, as indeed do baked beans.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Another option, maybe feed the bacteria a very high protein
0:10:58 > 0:11:01diet, so I've got some fish here.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06My other suspicion is that calories might count. Therefore, biscuits.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11And plenty of them. And for a digester, I've gone for a digestive.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14These are mechanical stomachs.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16They contain anaerobic bacteria,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19which are heated to body temperature.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22As they digest my food, the gas produced will be measured
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and captured in bags.
0:11:24 > 0:11:30You're well fed and you're well sealed. Now make flammable gas.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Overnight, the bacteria sprang into action.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40By morning, I had a clear winner. Finally, I've got gas.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44The one that I fed on digestive biscuits seems to be doing
0:11:44 > 0:11:46a tremendous job.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47If I look on the graph here,
0:11:47 > 0:11:52it looks like overnight I've got about 12.5 litres of biogas.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Now I reckon if I feed every single one of these on digestives,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02by Tuesday morning I should have produced just enough gas
0:12:02 > 0:12:05to race Dallas on a motorbike powered by biscuits.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10A few days later, I had a stack of biscuit biogas.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But it wasn't quite ready to run an engine.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17The biogas that the bacteria have kindly made for us
0:12:17 > 0:12:18is not a pure gas.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21It's made up of methane and carbon dioxide
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and a little bit of stinky stuff called hydrogen sulphide.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Now, methane burns tremendously well,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30but carbon dioxide is what you fill fire extinguishers with.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It doesn't aid combustion in any way, it puts the whole process out.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39I want to know what effect this has on the flammability of my gas.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Let's see what we get here.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Well, quite underwhelming, really.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54The plan now is to try and remove all that flame-suppressing
0:12:54 > 0:12:56carbon dioxide from the biogas.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58I'm going to do it with drain cleaner.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05If I pump my biogas through that liquid, bubble it through,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10then it should take out the carbon dioxide from the gas bubbles,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13leaving me, essentially, with pure methane.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25That definitely seems like a more potent mixture,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28so we must have removed a good portion of the carbon dioxide
0:13:28 > 0:13:31that was suppressing the flames. Good.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35My clean-up system works.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38But filtering a few hundred litres of biogas with a bike pump
0:13:38 > 0:13:42was going to take a little while longer.
0:13:42 > 0:13:48The filling stations of the future will hopefully have this sorted in a slightly quicker way.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54It was late, but I was done, and left with one last problem.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59That could get me, I don't know, five miles on my motorbike, maybe. Maybe just two or three.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But as you can see, as I start building up a decent fuel tank,
0:14:03 > 0:14:08it all gets a little ungainly. What I'm going to have to do is
0:14:08 > 0:14:12find something that I can compress all this gas into.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Squeeze it down into some sort of tough, durable, high-pressure container.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Like a pop bottle. Or maybe even a whole rack of them.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Meanwhile, I've been on the search for free alcohol.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31And I think I've found the answer, cider.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34You can make booze out of pretty much anything,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36as long as you know roughly what you're doing
0:14:36 > 0:14:39and you've got plenty of sugar, which is why apples are perfect
0:14:39 > 0:14:43because you don't need to add any extra sugar because they're sweet enough.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44And have a look at this.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I've even dug out the old Campbell apple cider recipe.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53I've come to an organic farm in Devon with these healthy, happy people
0:14:53 > 0:14:57are packing fruit and veg boxes with local produce.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00But not every fruit passes the fitness test.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- Rachel, I need apples. I need a lot of apples.- OK.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- Can we work out some kind of deal? - Yeah, we can.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09You've got to earn it first of all.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- You've got to help me sort through these.- What am I looking for?
0:15:12 > 0:15:17Anything with dinks, bruises or mould on them, we can't send out.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19That the deal, I'll help you sort these apples
0:15:19 > 0:15:21if I can take ones you don't want.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Yep. When I say help, I mean you do it.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25I might be here a while!
0:15:32 > 0:15:34One for me.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44Right, I've got the raw materials. Time to get these into liquid form.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47- I need to make a brew out of this lot.- Yeah.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49We've got to put that through the shredder first,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52which reduces them to a pulp.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Once we had our pulp, we could get the fun bit.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59John uses a traditional pressing method.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The pulp is spread over a mesh
0:16:01 > 0:16:04and layers are built up inside a wooden vice.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Apply a little pressure and out comes the sugary juice.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- Couldn't be simpler really, could it?- No.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Cider's been made like this for centuries.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25Thank you very much indeed. I'm going to take my barrel of apple juice...
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- Right, lovely.- ..and start my brew up.- Well, good luck.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31OK, right, we've got our lovely, sweet apple juice here.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36The next thing we need to do is add the magic ingredient, the yeast.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40It's a fungus and that uses the sugar in here for respiration.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42It's going to give us a couple of by-products.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46It'll give off CO2 and more importantly for us,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49at least, it's going to give us alcohol.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Yeast is happiest when it's warm, around body temperature.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01So with my barrel of juice, I set off in search of a free heat source.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06I remember when I was a kid, my mum used to go absolutely spare
0:17:06 > 0:17:09because my stepdad made dandelion wine, of all things,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11and he used to use the airing cupboard upstairs
0:17:11 > 0:17:14to get his brew going because it was nice and warm.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I'm actually standing on a big pile of poo
0:17:17 > 0:17:21and as all this organic material, the poo and straw breaks down,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25it generates a lot of heat and just to show you how much heat...
0:17:26 > 0:17:30OK, that's 40 degrees. This is going to be absolutely perfect for my brew.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33The yeast are going to love it there.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Now, cider making requires a little bit of patience
0:17:36 > 0:17:39so I left the yeast to get on with their work.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47OK. Still nice and warm which is a good sign but A,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50hasn't had long enough to fully ferment and B, even if it did
0:17:50 > 0:17:54fully ferment in here, it's only going to be about 4% alcohol,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57something like that, which is clearly not enough to run my moped.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01For that, we need to get rid of all that excess water
0:18:01 > 0:18:05and get that alcohol level to something like 95%, thereabouts.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07That's the kind of thing we want.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12And in order to do that, I need to find someone with a licence to still.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17I'm heading to Somerset, home of cider making
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and one of the only artisan cider distilleries in the country.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26At this farm, they produce 12-year-old cider brandy.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28But what would they make of my brew?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Is this the worst cider you've ever tasted?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Close, close.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37OK, so no awards but they've agreed to help me distil it
0:18:37 > 0:18:39into fuel-strength alcohol.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41I reckon it would make really good bike cider.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48When my cider is superheated, the alcohol should evaporate
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and condense in these copper towers, leaving me with a fuel.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55But would it be strong enough to beat Jem?
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- How strong is it? - It's just over 55%...- OK.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01..which isn't what you're looking for.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Unfortunately because of the weakness of the cider in the first place
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and the small volumes, we can't get it any higher for you.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12I need to beat Jem in this motorcycle race.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15We do have some 98% apple spirit.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19That will send the bike up the beach as quickly as you could
0:19:19 > 0:19:20possibly measure it.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Good man. Thank you very much indeed. - Thank you.- Thank you very much, Tim.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28- You're very welcome.- Wish me luck. - Good luck.- Game on.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Dallas and I aren't the only ones searching for alternative fuels.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Because the future for oil is so uncertain,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41people are starting to look at more widespread gas reserves.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44But sometimes, the only way to get at them
0:19:44 > 0:19:47is by a process called fracking.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51France said no, they're called a halt to it in South Africa
0:19:51 > 0:19:55and in parts of United States, folk are up in arms about it.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57But what actually is fracking?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Fracking is a way of mining the hard to reach gas reserves trapped
0:20:03 > 0:20:08deep underground in the most common type of sedimentary rock, shale.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13This all once started out as mud but over millions of years
0:20:13 > 0:20:16of heat and pressure, it's been forged into rock
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and this type of shale has ended up with these distinct individual
0:20:20 > 0:20:24layers. They're almost stacked up like the pages of a book.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28As the rock formed, organic matter trapped between these layers
0:20:28 > 0:20:32turned into natural methane gas and there's potentially
0:20:32 > 0:20:35enough of it in the UK to meet gas demands for decades.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38The problem is, it's deep underground
0:20:38 > 0:20:40and the only way to get to it is to drill.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43But you've got to drill down a distance that's about twice
0:20:43 > 0:20:47the height of Ben Nevis and even then, the problem isn't solved
0:20:47 > 0:20:52because the gas is held within pockets within those compressed layers of rock.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54How do you get it out?
0:20:54 > 0:20:59To release it from where it's embedded deep underground,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02you need a tool that's flexible, powerful...
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and can find its own way into every weakness.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09To get that, you just have to turn on the tap.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12High-pressure water can be forced down the pipe
0:21:12 > 0:21:16right into the heart of the rock, where it'll find any weaknesses
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and burrow into the cracks, prising apart the shale
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and hopefully releasing the gas.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30A nice piece of fracking.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33When they do it for real, it's deep underground
0:21:33 > 0:21:36and it's not just one fracture, it's many, many fractures,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40spreading a long way through the bed of shale.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43And it's not just water that's sent down, they send down sand as well.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Because the little grains of sand then serve to prop
0:21:46 > 0:21:51all those cracks open so all the pockets of gas are now joined up
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and can seep back towards the pipe where they can be easily extracted.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01But disturbing the bedrock of the Earth like this can have unexpected side-effects.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Last year in Lancashire, earthquakes of magnitudes up to 2.3
0:22:07 > 0:22:10were triggered in Britain's first fracking tests. But according to
0:22:10 > 0:22:14the British Geological Survey, they shouldn't have caused any damage.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17There are lots of faults around below us. They're everywhere.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Very small faults and probably some water got into one of the faults
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and was able to lubricate the two planes that meet
0:22:24 > 0:22:27in the faults, so that the fault moved a little bit.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Size wise, how would those earthquakes rank with what you might expect in the UK anyway?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34In a typical month, we might have say 10 earthquakes
0:22:34 > 0:22:38of about that size, purely natural and larger ones as well.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Is there any chance that with fracking, we'll get more significant quakes?
0:22:41 > 0:22:46There are probably limits to the amount of energy these earthquakes
0:22:46 > 0:22:48can produce in the shale that is being fracked.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52In effect, you can't get a very large earthquake.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57But on top of the risk of quakes, some people worry that chemicals
0:22:57 > 0:23:00added to the fracking water or even methane itself
0:23:00 > 0:23:03could leak into groundwater and affect drinking supplies.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07The distance between where the fracking is going on
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and where the water is being taken out is so large and the rock
0:23:11 > 0:23:15is so dense and impermeable, it would be really hard for the methane
0:23:15 > 0:23:19to get anywhere beyond a few metres.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24So the hope is that the risks can be managed, meaning fracking
0:23:24 > 0:23:26could be carried out safely in the UK.
0:23:26 > 0:23:33But in this country, it's still experimental and we don't know how it'll affect the price of gas.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37We really don't know exactly how much gas there might be embedded
0:23:37 > 0:23:42in rocks beneath our land, but we know it could be a substantial amount
0:23:42 > 0:23:46and we also know it's possible to extract it but it's still
0:23:46 > 0:23:50a fossil fuel and when you burn it, it gives off carbon dioxide.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55And for all the huge financial investment it takes to set up
0:23:55 > 0:23:59a fracking industry, we're still talking about a finite resource.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02The gas will run out one day.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07The boys are almost ready for their fuel challenge.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14But first, Dr Yan has got one for you to think about.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18I'm taking one of the most efficient forms of petrol-power transport
0:24:18 > 0:24:23and one of the most efficient forms of human-powered transport.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27The question is, which can go further on the same amount of fuel?
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Dr Yan's answer is on our website as always and while you're there,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34follow the links to the Open University
0:24:34 > 0:24:38to get a free Bang Goes The Theory poster or you can call:
0:24:41 > 0:24:45And don't forget to check out our fabulous Bang roadshows.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50We're all over the country again this year, starting at the Big Bang Fair in Birmingham
0:24:50 > 0:24:55this weekend and then we're off to Edinburgh. Details are all on:
0:24:59 > 0:25:03It's time to put Dallas and Jem's home-made fuels to the test.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08One slippery beach, two highly competitive presenters
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and someone to keep things under control.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Are you feeling confident, lads?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- Kind of.- Jem, what the heck is going on here?
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Well, that used to be a bunch of pop bottles.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It's now a high-pressure fuel tank.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Driven carefully, each of these can get me nearly a mile.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29- Dallas, you've gone for a much more streamlined affair. It's very you. - It's very elegant.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34- And it basically apple flavoured schnapps.- I did have a little bit of help, I confess.- Did you?
0:25:34 > 0:25:38- From my friends at the distillery. - We'll let you off. - I wouldn't drink it, if I were you.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43- It might do you some damage. - OK, it's a simple little race.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- To the end, round the flag, come back again.- What do we win?
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Well, there's no prize but whoever loses buys everyone else ice cream.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- Let's do this.- Let's go!- Let's go!
0:26:05 > 0:26:07APPLAUSE
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Gentleman, are you ready?
0:26:10 > 0:26:14Three, two, one,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17go!
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Oh, no!
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Oh, we've had stallage! We've had stallage!
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Jem Stansfield is coursing into the lead.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Dallas is roaring his engine and off he goes
0:26:35 > 0:26:40on his apple alcohol in the wet sand.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Jem is now pushing with his legs, ladies and gentlemen.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48It's going to be a very interesting race.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Come on, Campbell, you can do it.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Jem seems to be doing very well.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But Dallas is closing in as they both approach the yellow flag,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59the halfway mark.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02OK, this is where it gets interesting.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Jem is wobbling on his bike. I think he's just crashed into the rocks.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Good grief!
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Dallas has gone around the flag and now needs to keep his cool
0:27:10 > 0:27:15because they are now both literally neck and neck.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Now, both boys are giving it welly.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23They've both come round that flag after getting back on their bikes.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26They're neck and neck, ladies and gentlemen.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Jem is not going to be happy because Dallas has just passed him.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35It could be the Campbell on his apple fuel. This is exciting.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Here he comes. Here he comes round the bend.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42If he keeps his cool, he's got the race. Don't panic, Campbell.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Keep it together!
0:27:44 > 0:27:46And we have a winner!
0:27:49 > 0:27:50That was awesome.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Hurry up, Jem.- What happened to your gloves?- You're sitting on my gloves.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58- Dallas.- Good man, thank you very much.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- I feel a bit bad about your tumble there on the race.- It's all right.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06What went wrong, Jem Stansfield? Come on, dish.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Nothing much apart from the massively unsuccessful power slide at the far end.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13You tried to show off again. Little bit, just a little bit.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19- In all seriousness, are both these fuels commercially viable on a large scale?- Totally.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22In this country at the moment, we're converting a proportion
0:28:22 > 0:28:27of our waste food into biogas and it's the calories, the energy in that waste food,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31a lot of that gets turned into the energy in the methane.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35In places like Sweden, they run a good amount of the public transport on biogas. It works.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38The controversial thing about bioethanol is that if you're
0:28:38 > 0:28:42growing crops for fuel, you're not growing crops to feed people.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48But there's another generation of new bioethanol where they're going to be growing crops that can do both.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51- So we'll see.- Good stuff. - I'm leaking here.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54And on that note, that's it from us for this week.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58From a very rainy Broadstairs beach, we'll see you next week. Good night.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00- Good night.- Good night.- Bye!
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd