Petroleum Energy

1. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages 1.Petroleum makes a lot of products such as gasoline, medicine, plastic, etc. 2. Drilling petroleum produces jobs for more people 3. It takes less energy to make petroleum than the energy we get out of using it. (kind of getting more for less) Disadvantages 1. Drilling for oil endangers wildlife because of oil spills and other things. 2. When we use petroleum for gasoline, we burn it which pollutes the air. 3. Petroleum is one of the main reasons for GLOBAL WARMING! Ashna Karpe, Period 08, 12/12/12 Petroleum Energy The Description of Petroleum Petroleum is a non-renewable resource because once you use/ drill it, you can’t use it again and it was made millions of years ago by dead organisms that were pressured/heated by layers of sand/rock. Petroleum is also called crude oil which is a smelly blackish yellow liquid. How Petroleum is Turned into Energy We Use Petroleum is changed into energy we can use since we can’t just use crude oil right away after it’s drilled from the ground. First, at a refinery, the oil is separated into heavy petroleum, medium petroleum, and light petroleum. Next, you use the method(s) of conversion. One method is to crack/rearrange the oil’s molecules to make the heavy hydrocarbon molecules lighter. Then, you treat the petroleum by combining streams of oil from oil processing units and blend it to add finishing touches and ‘corrections’ to the oil. Lastly, you store the now useable petroleum in large tanks- ready to be used. http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=oil_home-basics