fossil fuel resources for sustainable development

L E S S O N 3

Saturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS

ENS 809- ENERGY RESOURSES

AND SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

FOSSIL FUELS

CONTENT

The conventional energy sources, their current utilization

and environmental impacts, and their potentials.

Energy Sources

Primary Energy sources-

Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal)

Nuclear energy

Falling water, geothermal, solar

Secondary Energy sources-

Sources derived from a primary source like…

Electricity

Gasoline

Alcohol fuels (gasohol)

Commercial Energy Use by Source for the World

and the United States

How Should We Evaluate Energy Resources?

Supplies

Environmental impact

How much useful energy is provided?

Nonrenewable

energy resources

Nonrenewable energy resources removed from

the earth’s crust include: oil, natural gas, coal,

and uranium

Saturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS 7

What are fossil fuels?

8Industrial societies need a lot of

energy and, at the moment, rely on

fossil fuels as the main source of this

energy.

Fossil fuels are so useful because they contain stored chemical

energy, which is converted into large amounts of useful heat

energy when the fuels are burned.

they are classed as non-renewable energy resources.

Coal, oil and natural gas are fossil

fuels. They are carbon-based materials

that formed over millions of years

from the remains of ancient plants and

animals.

The total amount of fossil fuels available is limited and so

Problems with Fossil Fuels

Non-renewable At projected consumption rates,

natural gas & petroleum will be depleted by the end of the 21st

century Impurities are major source of

pollution SO2 travels on air currents &

falls with precip. as acid rain Mercury bio-accumulates &

biomagnifies thru ecosystems when it travels on air currents and fall as particulate dust or with precipitation elsewhere.

Burning fossil fuels produces large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming

Makes us rely on other countries for our energy needs. Makes us vulnerable.

TYPES OF FOSSIL FUELS

1. Liquid Hydrocarbons- Petroleum (oil)

2. Coal

3. Natural Gas

Liquid mixture of hydrocarbons with S, O, N impurities

Impurities can create SO2 and NOx

air pollution

Impurities increase efficiency of fuel

Formed from remains of plankton, plants, animals in shallow seas millions of years ago.

May be pumped up or may be under pressure

Important producers: OPEC, Alaska, Siberia, Mexico

Saturday, June 21, 2014 FOSSIL FUELS

Saturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS 13

Oil seep in California

Asphalt

GasesLowest Boiling Point

Highest Boiling Point

Gasoline

Aviation fuel

Heating oil

Diesel

Heated

crude oil

Furnace

Naphtha

Greaseand wax

• Petroleum (crude oil)• Costs:

• Recovery• Refining • Transporting• Environmental

• Highest risks are in transportation

• Refining yields many products• Asphalt• Heating oil• Diesel• Petrochemicals• Gasoline• …

Where is the oil?

“After more than 100 years of exploration in > 75% of the potential oil bearing sedimentary areas, including all of the largest and most accessible ones, we have found only 7 major provinces that contain more oil than the world used in a single year in the peak consumption years of the 1970’s.”

Where is the oil?

World Oil Reserves, Dec. 2005

B.P. Estimate

0100200300400500600700800

North Americ

Central/S

outh America

Europe

Eurasia

Middle EastAfric

Asia and Oceania

Billio

Where is the oil?

World Oil Reserves, Jan 2007

Oil and Gas Journal, includes tar sands in Canada

0100200300400500600700800

North America

Central/South America

Europe

Eurasia

Middle East

AfricaAsia and Oceania

How long will it last?

Things to take into account

Reserves

Rate of use

Recovery percent

Undiscovered Resources

New Technology

World daily Crude Oil Production

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Quick Calculation. According to the previous graph we use about 72 million barrels per day. Oil reserves are 1201.332 billion barrels.

This equates to approximately 45 years of oil!

What are the environmental Concerns?

Depends on what we use oil for? It will vary from country to country—however because 50% of oil is refined for gas, transportation is the most important

What are the environmental concerns?

Oil Spills

Pollution

According to 1992 Worldwatch breathing in Bombay is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes/day

Global warming

Transportation infrastructure

Oil Spills

How do you clean up?

http://www.ocean.udel.edu/oilspill/cleanup.html

Burning gasoline in cars/trucks

Produces the following

95% of CO

58% of hydrocarbons

32% of nitrous oxides

2% of sulphur dioxide

11.3% of the particulates

Disadvantages

Need to find

substitutes within 50

Large government

subsidies

Environmental costs

not included in

market price

Artificially low price

encourages waste

and discourages

search for alternatives

Pollutes air when

produced and burned

Releases CO2 when

burned

Can cause water

pollution

Ample supply for

42–93 years

Low cost

High net energy

Easily transported

within and

between countries

Low land use

Technology is well

developed

Efficient

distribution system

Trade-Offs

Conventional Oil

Advantages

Oil Shale and Tar Sands

Tar Sand:Mixture of clay, sandwater and bitumen -a thick and stickyheavy oil.

Extracted by largeelectric shovels,mixed with hot water and steam to extractthe bitumen.

Bitumen heated toconvert to syntheticcrude oil.

Oil Shale:Oily rocks thatcontain a solidmix of hydro-carbons.

Global supplies~ 240 times conventional oilsupplies.

Tar sands, also referred to as oil sands or bituminous sands, are a combination of clay, sand, water, and a solid, tar-like petroleum, called bitumen

Tar Sand

The bitumen is far too thick to flow out of the rock 85% of all tar sand deposits occur in Canada

Tar Sand

It takes two tons of tar sand to produce one barrel of oil

Tar SandThe oil sands after surface removal are further broken

up and then extracted from the rock pores by subjecting

the material to hot water and other chemicals, such as

sodium hydroxide

The oil-bearing sand is piped

into a large settling tank where

the heavy sand settles to the

bottom, water settles above

that, and the oil floats to the

top, where it can be removed

for refining Saturday, June 21, 2014 FOSSIL FUELS

Critics contend that measures taken to minimize

environmental and health risks posed by large-scale

mining operations are inadequate, potentially causing

damage to archaeological sites and natural resources

Tar Sand

The open-pit mining destroys the forest, the bogs, the

rivers as well as the natural landscape

Tar Sand

Coal – What is it?

Solid fossil fuel formed in several stages

Land plants that lived 300-400 million years ago

Subjected to intense heat and pressure over many millions

of years

Mostly carbon, small amounts of sulfur

Coal currently provides 23% of the total U.S. energy

Now that oil and gas are dwindling, many energy

producers and users are looking again at the potential of

Formation of Coal Deposits

Unlike petroleum, coal is not formed from marine organisms, but

from the remains of land plants.

A swampy setting, in which plant growth is lush and where there is

water to cover fallen trees, dead leaves and other plant debris, is

ideal for the initial stages to create coal

The formation of coal from dead plant matter requires

burial, pressure, heat and time

The process works best under anaerobic conditions (no

oxygen) since the reaction with oxygen during decay

destroys the organic matter

It is the carbon content of the coal that supplies most of its

heating value

The greater the carbon to oxygen ratio the harder the coal,

the more reduced the state of the carbons and the more

potential energy it containsSaturday, June 21, 2014 FOSSIL FUELS

The products of coalification are divided into four major

categories based on the carbon content of the material

Lignite

Bituminous

Anthracite

Peat forms in wetlands, variously called bogs, moors,

muskegs, pocosins, mires, and swamps

It contains a large amount of water and must be dried

before use

Historically, it has been used as a source of heat and

burns with a long flame and considerable smoke

Peat is an accumulation of partially

decayed vegetation matter and is

the first stage in the formation of

Peat deposits are found in many places around the

world, notably in Russia, Ireland, Finland,

Scotland, Poland, northern Germany, the

Netherlands and Scandinavia, and in North

America

Approximately 60%

of the world's

wetlands have peat

Peat is still mined as a fuel in Ireland and England

The peat is stacked

to slowly dry out

Lignite

Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is the

lowest rank of coal and used almost exclusively

as fuel for steam-electric power generation

It has a high inherent moisture content,

sometimes as high as 66 percent, and very high

ash content compared to bituminous coal

Lignite is the second step in the

formation of coal and is formed

when peat is subjected to

increased vertical pressure from

accumulating sediments

Lignite

Because of its low energy density, brown coal is inefficient

to transport and is not traded extensively on the world

market compared to higher coal grades

It is often burned in power stations constructed very close

to the mines

Bituminous

Bituminous Coal is the third stage of coal formation

Additional pressure over time has made it compact and

virtually all traces of plant life have disappeared

It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality

than anthracite coal

It is greatly used in industry as a source of heat energy

Bituminous

Bituminous coal is usually black, sometimes dark

brown, often with well-defined bands of bright and

dull material

It is a relatively hard coal containing a tar-like

substance called bitumen

Bituminous

Bituminous coal is a complex molecular mix of 60-

80% carbon, plus oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen,

plus some occasional impurities like sulfur

Coking Coal

Coking is achieved by heating the coal in the absence

of oxygen, which drives off volatile hydrocarbons such

as propane, benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons,

and some sulfur gases and a considerable amount of the

contained water of the bituminous coal

Coking coal is used in the manufacture of steel, where

carbon must be as volatile-free and ash-free as possible

When used for many industrial

processes, bituminous coal must first be

"coked" to remove volatile components

Anthracite

Anthracite is formed during the forth stage of coal

formation

It is the most valuable and highest grade of coal, and

has a carbon content of 92-98%

Physically, anthracite differs from

bituminous coal by its greater

hardness and higher density

Plus, it burns far more efficiently

with less smoke

Fuel Efficiency

As the coals

becomes harder,

their carbon content

increases, and so

does the amount of

heat released

Anthracite produces

twice the energy

(BTUs) of lignite

Coal-bed MethaneDuring the formation of coal deposits, quantities

of methane-rich gas are also formed

Historically, methane has been considered as a

hazardous nuisance

In fact, currently it is usually burned off rather

than recovered

Coal Gasification

One of the most advanced - and cleanest - coal power

plants in the world is Tampa Electric's Polk Power

Station in Florida

It uses a coal gasification process that turns coal into a

gas that can be cleaned of almost all pollutants

Coal Gasification

The coal is heated inside a large oven and blasted with steam

The coal is converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas

Hydrogen gas burns very easily

Coal Liquefaction

Coal can also be

converted into liquid fuels

like gasoline or diesel by

several different processes

This is an attractive

technology because it is

well developed and thus

could be implemented

fairly rapidly and there

are relatively large

quantities of coal reserves

Coal & Environment

A major problem with coal is the pollution associated

with its mining and use. Coal is a major source of the

greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide

In fact, coal releases more carbon dioxide per unit energy

burned than natural gas or oil

Coal & Sulfur

The sulfur content of coal can be as high as 3%,

with some in the form of the iron sulfate mineral

pyrite (FeS2) and some bound in the remaining

organic matter

When a coal containing sulfur is burned, sulfur

gases, notably sulfur dioxide (SO2), are emitted

These gases are poisonous and are extremely

irritating to both eyes and lungs

The pollutant of special concern

with coal is sulfur

Acid Rain

These sulfur gases also react with

water in the atmosphere to produce

sulfuric acid, which is a very strong

This acid falls to earth as acid rain

These trees near coal-

fired power plants

have been killed by

acid rain

Coal also produces a tremendous amount of solid waste

The ash residue left after coal is burned is typically 5-

20% of the original volume

It is primarily

composed primarily of

non-combustible

silicate minerals, but

also contains toxic

metals

If released with emission gases, the ash fouls the air

When dumped onto the surface, the fine-grained ash

weathers very rapidly, releasing toxic metals, such as

selenium, creating a serious water-pollution threat

The average coal-fired

power plant produces

one million tons of ash

per year, which is

usually buried

TVA estimated that 5.4 million gallons of wet fly ash

had escaped thru the breach

About 40 private homes, buildings and other structures

were damaged or destroyed by the ash flow. Some

residents were forced to leave their homes forever

TVA denies that the fly ash is dangerous to the environment or

to human health

However, TVA’s own records revealed that the 5.4 million

gallons of fly ash contained

44,000 pounds of arsenic

49,000 pounds of lead

142,000 pounds of manganese

1.4 million pounds of barium compounds

TVA has been cleaning up the disaster for almost 3

years, but the progress is very slow

It will cost one billion dollars to clean the mess up

14 law suits have been files, but TVA claims immunity

by the “principle of discretionary function”

Coal Mining Deaths

Underground coal mining is notoriously dangerous

The decrease in coal mining fatalities is due to:

Better enforcement of safety regulations

More surface strip mining of coalSaturday, June 21, 2014 FOSSIL FUELS

In particular, coal mining has a bad history of dangerous

working conditions, serious health problems and the

highest death rate among miners

Coal Mining Deaths

The Monongah No. 6 & No. 8 Mine disaster in West Virginia

occurred at 10:20 am on December 6, 1907 and is the “the

worst mining disaster in American history”. The official

death count is 362, but it is believed that over 500 were

killed

1907 Monongah Mine Disaster

An electrical

spark ignited

methane and

coal dust

Upper Big Branch Mine explosion occurred on April 5, 2010 and

killed 29 miners. Due to the large concentration of toxic gases in the

mine, MSHA investigators had to wait for over two months to enter

the mine to investigate the explosion

Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion

Coal Seam Fires

Saturday, June 21, 2014

FOSSIL FUELS69

The Centralia fire closed

highway 61

Coal Seam Fires in U.S.

A coal seam fire has been burning for more than a

century near Glenwood Springs, Colorado

It caused a major forest fire in 2002

Coal Seam Fires in U.S.

It is estimated that coal mine fires in China burn about 200

million tons of coal each year

These fires release about 360 million metric tons of carbon

dioxide greenhouse gas emissions per year

Coal Seam Fires in China

How do you put out a coal seam fire?

Coal Seam Fires

Waste heat

Cooling tower

transfers

heat to

atmosphere

Pulverizing

TurbineCoal bunker

GeneratorCooling loop

Condenser

Boiler

Filter

Toxic ash disposal

Fig. 13-10, p. 306

Coal burning power plant

Fig. 13-10, p. 306Saturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS

Air Pollution from a Coal-Burning

Industrial Plant in India

NATURAL GAS

Mixture

50–90% Methane (CH4)

Ethane (C2H6)

Propane (C3H8)

Butane (C4H10)

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

Sources of Natural Gas• Russia & Kazakhstan - almost 40% of world's supply.

• Iran (15%), Qatar (5%), Saudi Arabia (4%), Algeria (4%), United

States (3%), Nigeria (3%), Venezuela (3%);

• 90–95% of natural gas in U.S. domestic (~411,000 km = 255,000

miles of pipeline).

www.bio.miami.edu/beck/esc101/Chapter14&15.pptSaturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS 79

What do we use natural gas for?

1. Produce electricity

2. Heat homes (inside homes, water heater)

3. Industry (heat for warmth and producing things)

4. Vehicles

5. Cooking

www.bio.miami.edu/beck/esc101/Chapter14&15.pptSaturday, June 21, 2014FOSSIL FUELS

Homework- Report

Describe in details the challenges towards a sustainable

energy future and the strategies that can be put forward in

enhancement of people's quality of life in relation to

environmental climate change.

Report due in 3 weeks time (Due on 9th July, 2014).

Minimum of 5 pages in times new roman font 12, line

spacing of 1.5.

Thanks!

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