ENERGY RESOURCES - Forming and Using Fossil Fuels - Carbon Conundrum

1. ENERGY RESOURCES - Forming and Using Fossil Fuels - Carbon Conundrum

2. Energy is not only a resource and technological dilemma • Global energy resources are driven by: • Policy • Politics • Media • Scientific literacy • Education • Awareness of the impact of humans • on the FINITE planet Therefore, what is the role of science and engineering?

4. Energy Impact of humans is different around the globe

8. Questions: • Where do we get the resources to • support society? • What is the total environmental impact? • Is there an ecological limit to humans?

9. U.S. Electric Power Industry Net Generation, 2004

10. Rate of Formation of Oil 1833 billions barrels were formed over 550 millions years 3300 barrels/year or 138,000 gallons/year

11. Rate of Consumptions of Oil 82 x 106 barrels/day = 3.4*109 gallons/day* = ~6 hours of Niagara falls!! Non-renewable resource: Time scale of geologic production is many orders of magnitude slower than human consumption

12. Hubbert Peak Theory 1. Production starts at zero; 2. Production then rises to a peak which can never be surpassed; 3. Once the peak has been passed, production declines until the resource is depleted. How long will supplies last ? Importation = vulnerability ? Impacts on society (wars) ?

13. Forming and Using Fossil Fuels Hydrocarbons • Any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) • One of Earth's most important natural resources • Currently the main source of the world’s electric energy and heat sources • Hydrocarbons are all substances with low entropy (they hold a lot of energy potential), which can be released and harnessed by burning • Constituents of the major fossil fuels: Oil, natural gas, coal • Also form plastics, paraffin, waxes, solvents and oils

15. Coal • Combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary • rock • Composed primarily of carbon along with • assorted other elements, including sulfur, and • other impurities • Mostly formed in the Carboniferous (~280 - 345 • Ma) • Warm temperatures • Lower sea levels • First appearance of bark-bearing trees • Higher oxygen levels • Extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining)

18. Coal: What’s the problem? Should combust to just C + O … - coal is never pure - sulfur emissions contribute to acid rain - toxic byproducts include mercury, arsenic - incomplete combustion causes carbon monoxide (CO) - also causes soot (C), which can lead to lung damage - contributes to atmospheric CO2 and global warming “Clean burning coal” chemically washed of minerals and impurities CO2 can be recovered and stored U.S. FutureGen: zero-emissions coal-fired power plant??

19. We will essentially use up all the world coal resources by 2500

21. World Oil Reserves

22. With over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total, Saudi Arabia is not only the top foreign supplier to the United States - the world's largest energy consumer - but also essentially the sole source of liquidity in the oil market. According to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the world will become more dependent on Arabian oil in the next two decades. To meet global demand for oil, Saudi Arabia will need to produce 13.6 million barrels a day (mbd) by 2010 and 19.5 mbd by 2020. Both the International Energy Agency and EIA assume Saudi oil output will double over the next 15 to 20 years. In a new study soon to be released, Matthew R. Simmons, president of Simmons and Company International, a specialized energy investment banking firm, contends that this is not likely to happen. He argues that Saudi Arabia's oil fields now are in decline, that the country will not be able to satisfy the world's thirst for oil in coming years and that its capacity will not climb much higher than its current capacity of 10mbd. Considering the growth in demand, this could easily spark a global energy crisis.

24. By-products, etc. TABLE IV: 2-1. HISTORY OF REFINING

27. History of Natural Gas The ancient peoples of Greece, Persia, and India discovered natural gas many centuries ago. The people were mystified by the burning springs created when natural gas seeping from cracks in the ground was ignited by lightning. They sometimes built temples around these eternal flames so they could worship the fire. About 2,500 years ago, the Chinese recognized that natural gas could be put to work. The Chinese piped the gas from shallow wells and burned it under large pans to evaporate sea water for salt. Natural gas was first used in America to illuminate the streets of Baltimore in 1816. Soon after, in 1821, William Hart dug the first successful American natural gas well in Fredonia, New York. His well was 27 feet deep, quite shallow compared to today's wells. The Fredonia Gas Light Company opened its doors in 1858 as the nation's first natural gas company. By 1900, natural gas had been discovered in 17 states. In the past 40 years, the use of natural gas has grown dramatically. Today, natural gas accounts for about a quarter of the energy we use.

28. Greatest Natural Gas Reserves by Country, 2006