Non-renewable Energy Fuels

1. Non-renewable Energy Fuels

2. Non-renewables • At our current rates of consumption, we will use up the resource • Oil • Natural gas • Coal • Oil sands • Oil shale • Uranium

3. World Energy Use by Fuel Source

4. US Energy Use (2012) • https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2013/Jul/images/28228_flowcharthighres.png

5. Fossil Fuels • Formation – organisms die and end up in oxygen-poor conditions • Gets covered in sediment and geothermal heat converts it to oil and gas – then continues to get buried in layers of rock • Plant matter gets compacted so tightly that there is no decomposition – buried under soil and rock

6. Fossil Fuel Formation • http://www.grantowngrammar.highland.sch.uk/subjects/Peak%20Oil%20web%20site/Formation%20of%20Fossil%20Fuels.html

7. Coal • first fossil fuel exploited by humans for energy on a large scale • demand increased with the industrial revolution, when the steam engine was invented

8. Coal • carbonaceous rock formed from buried plants in ancient forests or swamps • plant materials are first converted to peat— loose, brown, organically rich soil - important energy resource in some areas • more rock layers press down on the buried deposits, geothermal energy heats the peat and reduces its oxygen and hydrogen content, converting it to coal

9. Coal – fossil fuel from plant matter • TYPES: • Peat – (pre-coal, soft, used in Ireland as fuel) • Lignite – (more moisture, less heat and pressure, least compressed) • Sub-bituminous • Bituminous (less moisture, more heat and pressure) • Anthracite – (little moisture, lots of heat and pressure, most compressed) – highest energy content coal

10. Coal Formation

11. Coal FormationAs materials go through this process, known as thermal maturation, their energy content by weight increases.

12. Coal Extraction • Subsurface underground mining – blast/dig shafts into the ground • Problems – dangerous for miners - inhale coal dust, fatal black lung disease (inflammation and fibrosis caused by accumulation of coal dust in lungs and airways) - Mines collapse

13. Subsurface Underground Coal Mining • https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=578750625545537

14. Strip or surface mining

15. Strip or surface mining • Remove all the overburden and then mine out the coal • Problems • Erosion • Acid drainage from runoff • Especially bad in high sulfur coal – Eastern U.S.

16. Strip or surface mining

17. Mountain-top removal of coal

18. Mountain-top removal of coal • Mountaintop removal can involve blasting and shearing away 500 or more feet from the summit of a mountain to expose buried coal seams. • Causes large amounts of erosion • Has a very negative impact on habitats • Leads to industrial smog when high sulfur coal is burned

19. Major Coal Deposits of the World

20. Coal to Electricity Coal is used as a fuel in thermal power plants How A Coal Power Station Works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeXG8K5_UvU

21. Coal to Electricity

22. Negatives of Coal • Air pollution – multiple pollutants released • Sulfur dioxide (SO2) – rotten egg smell, creates acid rain (sulfuric acid) • Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – chief ingredient of smog (brown haze frequently seen over big cities), creates acid rain (nitric acid), trap heat, so they are a greenhouse gas (contribute to climate change). • Particulates – smoke • Carbon dioxide – greenhouse gas • Mercury – (Hg) - major source of Hg in air – deposits into soil and bodies of water by rainfall - can be carried far from the source

23. Urban Smog • Sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides contribute to urban smog. This photo shows Chicago's downtown area shrouded in a blanket of smog.

24. Recent Coal-related Environmental Accident • http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/06/82000-tons-of-coal-sludge-spilling-for-days-into-nc-river-threatens-virginia-drinking-water/

25. Coal –Scrubbers – an alkaline substance precipitates out SO2

26. Coal – Future Challenges • Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) • Also known as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) • Goal is to mitigate the levels of CO2 entering the atmosphere • Electric power plants and large industrial plants have been identified as potential places to use CCUS technologies

27. Clean Coal? • http://houstonpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ayv09.sci.life.eco.cleancoal/clean-coal/ • http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/animation.php?shortname=anm_deep_rock

28. OIL • Formed from heat and pressure – many different types of hydrocarbons (sorted by refineries) • Crude oil, or Liquid Petroleum is distilled (separated ) into fuels such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heating oil • Can also be used to make plastics, wax, pesticides, cosmetics, tar, asphalts, man-made fabrics, and more

29. Products from a barrel of crude oil

30. OIL FORMATION • forms underground in rock such as shale, which is rich in organic materials. • migrates upward into porous reservoir rock such as sandstone or limestone, where it can become trapped by an overlying impermeable cap rock. • wells are drilled into oil reservoirs to remove the gas and oil. • over 70 percent of oil fields are found near tectonic plate boundaries, because the conditions there are conducive to oil formation.

31. Oil - History • 1973 Oil Crisis – Arab Oil Embargo • led to greater interest in renewable energy  and research in solar and wind power • led to greater pressure to exploit North American oil sources and increased the West's dependence on coal and nuclear power. • led to more interest in mass transit

32. 1973 Oil Crisis • High increase in gasoline prices • State governments requested citizens to not put up Christmas lights – Oregon banned all holiday and commercial lighting • Politicians called for a national gas rationing program. • President Nixon requested gasoline stations to voluntarily not sell gasoline on Saturday nights or Sundays; 90% of owners complied, which resulted in lines on weekdays.

33. 1973 Oil Crisis

34. Effects of Oil Crisis • To help reduce consumption, in 1974 a national maximum speed limit  of 55 mph was imposed through the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act. • The cabinet-level Department of Energy was created, followed by the National Energy Act of 1978.

35. Getting Away from Oil Dependency • http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-june-16-2010/an-energy-independent-future

36. Oil Extraction • Use sonar to identify deposits (based on types of rocks) • Some oil reserves aren’t worth the money and time to extract the oil • “proven recoverable reserves” – worth the time and money to extract

37. Oil Extraction • Primary extraction - “gusher” – initial drilling and pumping oil from reservoirs under the normal reservoir pressure. About 25 percent of the oil in a reservoir can be removed during this stage.

38. Oil Extraction • Pressure Extraction – relies on mud, salt water or CO2 push out oil -  pump hot water into the reservoir around the well. Water forces the remaining oil toward the area of the well so it can be recovered • Tertiary Extraction - Steam, hot water, hot gas – partially melt thick crude oil, to make easier to extract

39. Oil Advantages • Despite its limited supply, oil is a relatively inexpensive fuel source. • An equivalent amount of oil produces more kilowatts of energy than coal. • Oil burns cleaner than coal, producing about 50 percent less sulfur dioxide.

40. Environmental Negatives • Drilling only moderately damaging to environment (relatively little land is needed) but… • LOTS of damage during transport (tankers, pipelines, trucks) • http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531423/Cargo-train-hauling-oil-ethanol-derails-explodes-train-filled-oil-strikes-it.html

41. Environmental Negatives of Oil • Corrosion in pipelines is a leading source of leaks and spills of gas and oil. • Oil refineries can be a source of atmospheric pollution, especially if there is a malfunction. • Oil spills in water systems are difficult to clean up.

42. Environmental Negatives of Oil • When burned, NOx, SO2, CO2, CO released – smog-precursors and greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. • Substantial oil reserves lie under the ocean. Oil spill accidents involving drilling platforms kill marine organisms and birds.

43. Offshore Oil Drilling

44. Oil and Controversy •  Some reserves such as those in northern Alaska occur in wilderness areas. The building of roads, structures and pipelines to support oil recovery operations can severely impact the wildlife in those natural areas. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge controversy!

45. Exxon Valdez DisasterMarch 23, 1989 • The Exxon Valdez, a fully loaded oil tanker, ran aground on a reef off the coast of Alaska. The damaged ship leaked the equivalent of 125 Olympic-sized swimming pools of oil into the ocean and onto the surrounding shores. • Approximately 2000 kilometres of shoreline were affected. The cleanup effort included 10,000 workers, about 1,000 boats and roughly 100 airplanes and helicopters. Exxon reported that $2.1 billion was spent on the cleanup effort. Crude oil can still be found in holes and cracks in beaches along much of the affected area.

46. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was widely considered the world’s worst spill worldwide in terms of damage to the environment.

47. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill • Homework: Research the Exxon Valdez Oil spill and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill • Read about both, make list of pertinent facts on causes, amount of oil, size of impacted area, effect on ecosystem, effect on economy

48. Natural Gas • CH4 (methane) • some ethane (C2H5), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10) • Formed under heat and pressure over long periods of time deep underground – organic matter breaks into carbon molecules • Production often a by-product of oil recovery, as the two commonly share underground reservoirs

49. Natural Gas • Also forms in shallow areas through anaerobic bacteria in landfills and swamps. • Also forms in the intestines of animals

50. Natural Gas – pros • Natural gas is usually not contaminated with sulfur and is therefore the cleanest burning fossil fuel.  • Only produces CO2 and H2O when burned (no NOx, SO2) • Natural gas plants are good peak-load plants because they can be easily turned on and off according to demand needs