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