ORGANIC FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
CHAPTER 15
The Need for Energy• Energy Basics:• Energy can not be
created or destroyed.• Energy can change
from one form to another (Ex: light to heat).
Ex:
Sun’s energy (heat/light) is converted by grass (photosynthesis) to chemical energy
Cows eat the grass and convert grass to chemical (body functions) and mechanical (body movement) energy
Energy Basics• Fuel – any substance
from which energy can be obtained.
• Electricity is the only form of energy that is not naturally occurring (lightning is the exception)
• Energy changing from one form to another is not 100% efficient – some energy is always lost as either heat or light
Organic Fuels• Carbon-based (C)• Most fuels are
Hydrocarbons (composed of Carbon and Hydrogen – CH)
• Simplest:
Methane CH4
Ethane C2 H6
Octane C8H18
•
Organic Fuels• Numbers on gas pumps
(87, 90) are based on the energy available in that gasoline formula.
• Hydrocarbons also contain other compounds (impurities) like sulfur, lead.
• Fossil-fuels from remains of long-dead organisms include: coal, oil and natural gas
Coal• Organic material like
prehistoric plants died, were covered with many layers of dirt, compressed into a liquid (oil) and then a solid (coal).
• Four stages of coal formation: peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite coal.
Peat• Brittle, brown,
compacted plant material with high water content and low carbon content
• First stage in coal formation
• Found close to surface of Earth
• Burns quickly, gives off lots of smoke
Lignite• Soft , brown coal that
has 40% carbon content
• Second stage of coal formation
• Burns quickly but give off very little smoke
• Found below the Earth’s surface and must be mined
Bituminous Coal• Soft coal located deep
within the Earth’s crust.
• Formed over time from lignite with increased heat and pressure
• Deep inside the Earth’s crust
• Most common coal mined in the United States
Anthracite Coal• Bituminous coal,
subject to increased pressure over time turns into metamorphic rock coal
• Shiny black color• Located deepest in the
Earth’s crust• Lowest water content
– highest carbon
Burns hottest and cleanestHardest to reachMost expensive
petroleum•AKA crude oil, a fossil fuel
•Its 2/3 of the world’s energy
•Supplies are limited
•Millions of Uses
PETROLEUM
• COMES FROM THE LATIN, petra = rock and oleum = oil.
• Three basic forms
liquid – crude oil
solid – bitumen
gas – natural gas
• Developed by intense heat and pressure of ancient plants and animals
• Liquid sinks through layers of rock to form under-ground reservoirs of oil
Petroleum History• 2000 BC – Chinese refined
crude oil for lamps
• 1859 – Edwin Drake drilled the first US oil well, Titusville, PA
• 1890’s – Invention of automobile increases demand for gasoline
• 1960’s – OPEC was formed by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela
• 1973 – Arab Oil Embargo caused oil crisis in US and Holland
• 1993 – First time US imports more oil than it produces
TOP-TEN OIL PRODUCERS
• 10 United Arab Emirates 2.8 million barrels per day
• 9 Venezuela
2.9 million barrels per day
• 8 Canada 3.1 million barrels per day
• 7 Norway 3.2 million barrels per day
• 6 China 3.6 million barrels per day
• 5 Mexico 3.8 million barrels per day
• 4 Iran 4 million barrels per day
• 3 United States 8.7 million barrels per day
• 2 Russia9.3 million barrels per day
• #1 Saudi Arabia
10.4 million barrels per day
• 10 Mexico + France 2 million barrels per day
• 9 South Korea 2.1 million barrels per day
• 8 Brazil 2.2 million barrels per day
• 7 Canada 2.3 million barrels per day
• 6 India 2.3 million barrels per day
• 5 Russia 2.6 million barrels per day
• 4 Germany
2.6 million barrels per day
• 3 Japan 5.4 million barrels per day
• 2 China 6.5 million barrels per day
• 1 United States• 20.7 million barrels per day
TOP-TEN OIL CONSUMERS
WHAT’S OIL GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Uses include:• Gasoline (46%)• Heating oil (27%)• Jet fuel (7%)• Blacktop (4%)• Kerosene (2%• Inks, crayons, bubble gum,
detergents, furniture polish, deodorant, medicine, packaging, fertilizers, insecticides, plastics (10%)
OIL SUPPLY
• More than 5,000 oil/gas drilling companies in the world
• Major oil fields are on: North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia
Major Oil-shale Deposits in the U.S.
Petroleum• Plants and animal
remains in shallow seas from millions of years ago
• Under intense pressure formed syrupy liquid
• Liquid seeped through sedimentary rock
• Trapped by nonporous rock• Not a renewable resource• Often has natural gas trapped in the same layers as the oil
Natural Gas• Mixture of gases:
Methane, ethane, propane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and helium
• Forms the same way as oil and is often found in the same area as oil
Other Organic FuelsTwo Problems with
fossil fuels:
1. Availability:Nonrenewable
Easiest to reach already used
2. Pollution:Exploration causes
environmental damage, mining accidents
Burning fuels causes acid rain, increased CO2 in the atmosphere
Biomass Fuels: WOOD• Biomass fuel;
formed from living organisms
• PLUS - Trees are a renewable resource.
• MINUS – getting wood can damage forests, burning wood releases high amounts of CO2
Biomass Fuels: GARBAGEGarbage made in most homes is mostly organic.The organic parts of household waste can be used as organic fuel.Many towns and cities burn garbage to produce electricityPLUS – readily available supply.MINUS - smell, expensive to build conversion plants, NIMBY