540 likes | 823 Views
Fossil Fuels. A cartoon. Definition of Fossil Fuel. Organically derived sedimentary rocks and rock products that can be burned for fuel Coal, petroleum, natural gas Oil shale, tar sands, heavy oils, peat. Energy Quiz. 1. The U.S.A.’s largest fossil fuel resource is in the form of A. Coal
E N D
Fossil Fuels A cartoon
Definition of Fossil Fuel • Organically derived sedimentary rocks and rock products that can be burned for fuel • Coal, petroleum, natural gas • Oil shale, tar sands, heavy oils, peat
Energy Quiz • 1. The U.S.A.’s largest fossil fuel resource is in the form of • A. Coal • B. Oil • C. Natural Gas • D. Peat
Energy Quiz • The world’s largest known reserves are in what country? • A. Iraq • B. Iran • C. China • D. Saudi Arabia
Energy Quiz • OPEC stands for what? • Oil Producing and Exporting Countries
Energy Quiz • The U.S. has already, or has not, reached its peak of production of oil for all time? • Yes • No
Energy Quiz • The U.S. imports about ______% of the oil used in the U.S. • 0, 15, 25, 35, 55, 65, 75
Energy Quiz • From 2002 to 2006, U.S. imports have increased from 54.45% to 60% • Data from EIA site
Energy Quiz • The energy generated by power plants amounts to about 35, 50, 65, or 80% of the energy contained in the fuel used? • I wanted to check, so I went to the energy web site that is linked from our class web page and I found out the following:
Energy Quiz • In 2005, we used 1,051,177,479 short tons of coal to produce 2,014,172,634,000 kwh of electricity. • UGH—what’s a lady to do • CONVERT
Energy Quiz • American nuclear power plants use/do not use a form of renewable energy? • U is non-renewable
Energy Quiz • China’s chief source of energy is • A. coal • B. oil • C. natural gas • D. peat
Energy Units • Joule: electrical energy needed to maintain 1 ampere for 1 second at a potential of 1 volt • Calorie: energy needed to raise 1 gm of water 1 °C • BTU: energy needed to raise 1 # of water 1 °F • Watt: 1 joule/second
Power • Rate at which energy is used • It is time dependent • Horsepower: In 1776, James Watt measured the power of his steam engine versus the power of his horse
Energy Consumption • World • U.S.
Coal • 1. Formation of coal and history of its use • 2. Rank of coal • 3. Coal reserves • 4. Coal Mining Methods • 5. Environmental Concerns
Coal: a witness to previous life • Contains imprints of stems, leaves, seeds, spores etc.
Coal • Widespread use for heating and cooking beginning in the 12th century • No longer directly used for heating (in most places) but is burned to make electricity • Anglo Saxon word was col— • Black rock that burned better than wood. However it smelled
Coal • Coal and the beginning of the industrial revolution • Coke • Abraham Darby
What we need to form Coal Abundant plant growth
Coal • Plants with cellulose rich stems and leaves don’t appear in the geologic record until the Devonian Period (about 400 m.y. ago) • Carboniferous Period (360-285) • Dominated by ferns, and scale trees • Younger • Flowering plants (like present day swamps)
Principal Types of Coal • Humic (the principal type): derived from organic matter that has passed through the peat stage • Contains black vitreous macerals • Sapropelic (boghead and cannel coal) • Fine grained featureless algal debris
Formation of Humic Coal • Organic debris accumulates in peat swamps where stagnent water prevents oxidation and destruction. Usually about 10% of plant life is preserved. (These result in HUMIC coals.) • Where are these swamps???
Formation of Humic Coal • Not tropical (too much bacterial activity) • Present day peat-forming areas are: • Ireland, Scandinavia, Alaska, Canada • Why? • Rainfall-rapid plant growth-cool temperature-slow bacterial decay • Rate of accumulation is about 1mm per year
Coal • So, major coal basins of the past were swamps that persisted for thousands of years • Coal is also interbedded with sedimentary rocks of marine, lacustrine, and terrestrial origin
Where can this happen? • Coastal swamp • Cycles of transgression and regression
Peat and time • Peat formation varies over time (OH Here) • Permian and Late Carboniferous (345-232)—Eastern U.S. and British coal • Younger (196-23) Western U.S.
Coal • 1. Formation of coal • 2. Rank of coal • 3. Coal reserves • 4. Coal Mining Methods • 5. Environmental Concerns
Van Krevelen diagram • OH here!! • Progressive decrease in hydrogen and oxygen with respect to carbon
Coal • 1. Formation of coal • 2. Rank of coal • 3. Coal reserves • 4. Coal Mining Methods • 5. Environmental Concerns
Coal Reserves • VERY LARGE (from the world coal institute)
http://www.worldcoal.org/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=104 • Coal Production - Over 4970 Mt of hard coal is currently produced – a 78% increase over the past 25 years. Coal production has grown fastest in Asia, while Europe has actually seen a decline in production. • The largest coal producing countries are not confined to one region – the top five producers are China, the USA, India, Australia and South Africa. Much of global coal production is used in the country in which it was produced, only around 16% of hard coal production is destined for the international coal market. • Global coal production is expected to reach 7000 Mt in 2030 – with China accounting for around half the increase over this period. Steam coal production is projected to have reached around 5200 Mt; coking coal 620 Mt; and brown coal 1200 Mt.
Coal • 1. Formation of coal • 2. Rank of coal • 3. Coal reserves • 4. Coal Mining Methods • 5. Environmental Concerns
Coal Mining • Mostly underground • Initially very labour intensive—using children • Long work weeks—60 hours in 1898 • 52 in 1917 • 40 in 1933 • Low pay, long hours—resulted in strong unions
Coal Mining • Since the 1960’s we have mechanization • Growth in surface mining • Why? • Increased demand for low S coal • Safety • Higher Production • Lower costs (unions not in W. U.S.) • Development of power plants near W. coal mines
American accidents • In the United States in 2006, 72 miners lost their lives at work, 47 in coal mining. The majority of these fatalities occurred in Kentucky and West Virginia, including the Sago Mine Disaster. [2][3] • In addition to deaths, many thousands more are injured (an average of 21,351 injuries per year between 1991 and 1999). Overall, there has been a downward trend in deaths and injuries. From 1880 to 1910, mine accidents claimed thousands of fatalities. The U.S. Bureau of Mines was created in 1910 to investigate accidents, advise industry, conduct production and safety research, and teach courses in accident prevention, first aid, and mine rescue. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Acts of 1969 and 1977 set further safety standards for the industry. Where annual mining deaths had numbered more than 1,000 a year in the early part of the 20th century, they decreased to an average of about 500 in the late 1950s, and to 93 during the 1990's.[4] • The deadliest mining disaster in American history took place on December 6, 1907 in Monongah, West Virginia. Three hundred sixty-two men and young boys were killed when an underground explosion took place. • [edit] Chinese accidents • China currently accounts for the largest number of coal-mining fatalities, accounting for about 80% of the world’s total although it produces only 35% of the world’s coal. [5] • In 2006, according to the State Work Safety Supervision Administration, 4,746 Chinese coal miners were killed in thousands of blasts, floods, and other accidents. For example, a gas explosion at the Nanshan Colliery killed 24 people on November 13, 2006; the mine was operating without any safety licence and the Xinhua News Agency claimed the cause was incorrect usage of explosives. However, the 2006 rate was 20.1% less than 2005 despite an 8.1% rise in production. [6] Between January 2001 to October 2004, there were 188 accidents with a death toll of more than 10, about one death every 7.4 days. [5] • After the 2005 Sunjiawan mine disaster, which killed at least 210 miners, a meeting of the State Council was convened to work on measures to improve work safety in coal mines. The meeting's statement pointed out serious problems such as violation of safety standards and overproduction in some coal mines. Three billion yuan (36 million US dollars) were earmarked for technological renovation on work safety, gas management in particular, at state-owned major coal mines. The government also promised to send safety supervision teams to 45 coal mines with serious gas problems and invite colliery safety experts to evaluate safety situations in coal mines and formulate prevention measures. [7] • The worst coal mining disaster in the world took place on April 26, 1942 in Benxihu Colliery, located at Benxi, Liaoning. A coal-dust explosion killed 1,549 miners working that day.
Coal • 1. Formation of coal • 2. Rank of coal • 3. Coal reserves • 4. Coal Mining Methods • 5. Environmental Concerns
Environmental Concerns • Besides Accidents • Acid Mine Drainage • Acid rain • Increasing atmospheric CO2 • Mine reclamation (subsidence) • Coal seam fires
Acid Mine Drainage • Sulphur is bound in organic mararels and in Fe sulphides (marcasite and pyrite) • Why? Originally from sulphates in groundwater and reduced by bacterial action in coal formation