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Petroleum Refining, Oil Spills, Coal, and Alternatives

Petroleum Refining, Oil Spills, Coal, and Alternatives. Petroleum. Also used for raw materials Less than ½ recovered – economics Demand will outstrip supply in this decade Price? Why is OPEC keeping the price of oil so low?. Refining of Petroleum.

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Petroleum Refining, Oil Spills, Coal, and Alternatives

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  1. Petroleum Refining,Oil Spills, Coal,and Alternatives

  2. Petroleum • Also used for raw materials • Less than ½ recovered – economics • Demand will outstrip supply in this decade • Price? • Why is OPEC keeping the price of oil so low?

  3. Refining of Petroleum • Petroleum is a complex mixture of many sized mostly linear hydrocarbon molecules • First step is separating out different size groups • Fractional distillation • A fraction is a portion of the crude oil in which the molecules fall in a range of sizes or boiling points.

  4. Petroleum Refining • Catalytic cracking • Uses a catalyst • Breaks up large molecules into smaller ones • From less valuable fractions to more valuable • Produces some alkenes • Boosts octane rating

  5. Petroleum Refining • Straight-run gasoline is low quality • Octane rating of ~55 • Catalytic reforming • Uses a catalyst • Converts straight chain HC’s to branched ones and aromatics and other unsaturated HC’s • Boosts octane rating

  6. Lead compounds used to be used to boost octane Lead pollution became a problem

  7. Reformulated Gasoline • Add oxygen containing compounds • Ethanol • Methanol • MTBE • ETBE • Required in high pollution areas • In Utah?

  8. Oil Spills • Many natural ones – California coast • Can harm the environment, at least short term • Long term, nature has ways of cleaning up • Mostly consumed by bacteria and oxidized. • Other sources – • Normal tanker operations, tanker accidents • Blow-outs, changing oil

  9. Coal • Largest supply 250 - 1500 years worth • Different types of coal - age • Much more complex

  10. Coal • 88% of coal burned in US generates electricity • Dirtier burning – ash, sulfur, etc. • Not very mobile • Best bet: Gasification or Liquifaction • Break up into smaller molecules and add hydrogen • Central removal of pollution • Held back by economics • Called “clean coal technologies”

  11. Coal Mining • Dangerous • Over 100,000 killed in US in last century • Getting safer all the time • Strip mining – “stripping” off covering and scooping out coal • Less dangerous • Harder on the environment

  12. Alternatives • Methanol • ½ the energy content of gasoline • ½ the cost of gasoline • Very corrosive to the fuel system • M85 and M100 • E85 and E100 • FFV’s

  13. Alternatives • Electricity – secondary source (converted) • 36% of energy in the US is used to produce electricity • Average efficiency – 31% Lost? • More mobile and clean • Garbage, burn or ferment • Geothermal • Wind • Temperature difference in oceans • Biomass, burn or ferment • Solar

  14. H12 – C4 • 33, 36 - 39, 41, 55, 65 - 67

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