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Fossil Fuels in the News
Fossil Fuels
There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. A fourth form of fossil fuel. Coke is a refined version of fossil fuel made from either coal or petroleum. Today these fuels provide over 86% of all energy needs consumed in the United States. These fuels are derived from organic materials deposited millions of years ago. The most important being: coal, petroleum and natural gas.
Just about all of the United States’ transportation needs and nearly 2/3rds of the production of electricity is dependent on the use of fossil fuels. Moreover, it is expected that the reliance on fossil fuels will increase and not decrease in the next 20 years despite the government’s incentives to invest in renewable energy sources and the use of nuclear technologies – the growing need for energy is that great. Fossil Fuels are essential to the health of the nation’s economy, whether we like it or not. Accordingly, the U.S. government has focused in three major areas of endeavor to assure that fossil fuel resources are available and usable. First, the U.S. government has established emergency reserve stockpiles of heating oil and crude oil. In the event of a major disruption to the supply of these fuels, the President can order the release of these reserve fuels into the market place. Secondly, the U.S. government has encouraged the development of new technologies that will locate and produce oil and gas beyond the reach of today’s technologies. The Deep Horizon project owned by British Petroleum is an example of this new type of exploration. It unfortunately has dramatically demonstrated the potential pitfalls both technically and politically in deep ocean energy exploration. And finally, the U.S. government has encouraged research in new ways of making the use of fossil fuels cleaner. Indeed there have been improvements. But there need to be more. The increase use of Fossil Fuels poses a major threat on the environment. If we must use them we must address the harmful byproducts of their use on both human health and the environment. Partly for this reason and partly to assure alternative energy companies get a fair shake in pricing; Congress is considering the enactment of the cap and trade bill.
The most important aspect to remember regarding Fossil Fuels is that they are all non renewable resources. In other words once we use them up; they are gone. Considering the fact that our civilization is so heavily dependent upon them, makes one wonder exactly how much of these valuable resources are remaining in the earth. The answer - the real honest answer - is that no one really knows. The best that we can do is guess. Even at that, the guess work that is being done is speculative and highly qualified. For example, government agencies, energy corporations and industrial groups all have various ways of evaluating fossil fuel reserves. Many use the term, proven reserves, P1. Proven reserves consist of fossil fuels that are theoretically extractable based on the feasibility of using present day technology. Obviously, this is a very variable term as there are many issues that influence the feasibility of extracting these resources. The terms, P90 or P95, which essentially means 90 or 95 percent probability of extraction, takes into consideration additional influences such as break-even profitability, contractual, and regulatory influences. Unproven reserves are just that, reserves which have no certainty of being exploited. Fuel reserves can be further described as potential or probable reserves. Furthermore, various companies, governmental agencies and trading associations may have special motivations which might influence their reporting of fuel reserves – either to overestimate or underestimate. Caution should always be used in considering these types of analyses. That said, the World Coal Institute states. “It has been estimated that there are over 847 billion tons of proven coal reserves worldwide. This means that there is enough coal to last us around 119 years at current rates of production. In contrast, proven oil and gas reserves are equivalent to around 46 and 63 years at current production levels.” This is a shocking statement considering the importance of fossil fuel reserves. Whether it is accurate remains to be seen. Nevertheless, it underscores the importance of quickly developing the energy resources which will replace fossil fuel for our civilization’s future needs. As it stands, to date most forms of alternative energy require support in one manner or another from fossil fuels.
Want to learn more about Fossil Fuel energy in general:
World Coal Institute
BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2010
BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2010, Excel Workbook of Statistical Data
International Energy Outlook 2010, DOE/EIA-0484(2010)
Coal
Coal is a nonrenewable energy resource as it takes millions of years to create it. Essentially, coal is made up from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals altered by time, pressure, and heat. At the beginning of the Carboniferous Period approximately 360 million years ago the earth was covered with thick forests and swamps. During this period bodies of water were also plentiful with various forms of plant materials especially algae. The Plants eventually died and were deposited in thick layers of decayed spongy detritus called “peat”. Over the many centuries to follow, this carbon rich material was covered with clay and sand. After even more centuries, as more clay and sand was deposited, the pressure from the weight of the material caused chemical changes to occur. The clay and sand formed various types of sedimentary rock and the peat changed to various types of fossil fuels – mainly coal and natural gas.
Coal is a combustible, brownish-black, sedimentary rock with varying degrees of hardness. The pertinent elements contained within coal are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. Coal can be classified into four different types: lignite, subbituminous, bituminous and anthracite. Each type of coal generally differs in age, carbon content, energy value and hardness.
Lignite, the softest coal, is high in hydrogen and oxygen and comparatively low in carbon, 25% - 35%. It is considered a relatively young type of coal. It is crumbly in appearance, and has the least amount of energy value. About 7% of the coal mined in the U.S. is lignite.
Subbituminous coal, is harder than lignite, has more hydrogen and oxygen, and more carbon, 35%-45%. It is at least 100 million years old and has a higher energy value than lignite. Approximately 46% of the coal produced in the U.S. is subbituminous coal.
Bituminous coal is yet even harder. It was formed under high pressure and heat approximately 100 to 300 million years ago. It contains more carbon than subbituminous coal, 45% - 86%, and has a higher energy value.
Anthracite, the hardest coal, contains the most carbon and has the highest energy content of the four coals. It usually burns without smoke. Only .5% of the coal mined in the U.S. is Anthracite.
Coal is extracted from the ground using two methods, surface mining and underground mining. The U.S. is blessed in that much of the coal deposits are less than 200 ft deep down making them accessible using surface mining techniques. In the U.S. surface mines account for about 2/3rds of coal production. In the last few decades, the use of surface mines has accounted for a significant increase in productivity. Since 1978 the amount of coal produced in one hour per miner has tripled.
A little known fact is that the cost of transporting coal is often greater than the cost of mining it. For this reason, many different methods of transporting coal have been devised based on the type of coal, the amounts of material moved, and distances traveled. Coal is transported by truck, train, river barge, and ship. In some instances it is crushed, mixed with water, and sent through pipelines as “slurry”. Where feasible coal fired power plants are often built near coal mines to minimize the cost of transportation.
More than 90% of the coal mined in the U.S. is used for the generation of electricity. It accounts for nearly half of the electricity produced in the country. Power plants use coal as a fuel source to heat water to make steam. The steam is used to power large electrical generators to make electricity.
Pros:
- In the United States coal is plentiful and widely distributed
- Coal yields a high amount of heat energy when combusted.
- Compared to other fossil fuels coal is the least expensive fuel.
- Coal is very versatile. It can be transformed into liqudied and gas fuels.
Cons:
- Coal burning generates more pollution than any other fossil fuel.
- According to many enviornmentalists coal burning constitutes a health risk to individuals with respiratory illnesses.
- Coal burning produces more carbon dioxide than any other form of energy.
- Coal combusition produces green house gases.
- Coal burning power plants are a source of mercury contamination.
- Coal burning produces sulfur dioxide which when released into the enviornment causes acid rain.
- Coal burning power plants are a major consumer of fresh water.
- Though inexpensive to explore and expolit, coal is expensive to transport.
- Coal is a non renewable resource.
Want to learn more about Coal:
Department of Energy, Coal
Department of Energy, Up to date Information on Coal, Prices, Production, Imports, Storage
Wikipedia, Coal
Coal Utilization Research Council (CURC
World Coal Institiute
Coke
By the way, coal can be made cleaner. One of the ways is to refine it by turning it into coke. In a similar process of turning wood into charcoal, coal can be transformed into coke. Coke is produced through a process called pyrolysis (destructive distillation) by placing coal in an airless furnace at temperatures approaching 2,000 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, volatile elements contained in the coal such as water, coal tar and coal gas are removed. Generally, different types of coal are mixed to create a blend of coal consisting of roughly 28% of volatile elements prior to going into the furnace. This ratio of volatile elements to non-volatile elements provides the most optimum results in the manufacture of coke.
Coke was first produced in China in the eighth century. However, it was not until the 17th century in the growing industrialization of Great Britain that coke began to play a major role. Deforestation in Europe had caused the use of wood fuel and charcoal to rise in cost. As a result, Coal was introduced. But because of Coal’s propensity to produce high levels of smoke during combustion in addition to its high level of obnoxious sulfur containing fumes during combustion it was unsuitable for many applications. The industrial brewing of beer saw the first major use of coke fuel in 1642. It was followed by the use of fuel coke in many other industries which required a relatively clean fuel source. Finally in 1709, Abraham Darby, an English Quaker, created the first coke-fired blast furnace to produce cast iron. The coke fired blast furnace produced thinner and therefore lighter and less expensive cast iron cooking equipment. It was a major step in the industrial development of Great Britain. Coke fired furnaces made possible the production steam engine parts, structural members for bridges & buildings, and many other industrial achievements. Without it there may not have been an industrial revolution. Coke has many uses besides its use as a fuel source. It is used in the smelting of iron as a reducing agent and as a heat shield material for space craft.
Petroleum coke, is a differnet material made from petroleum. It is literally the residual materials left from the distilliation of petroleum - the burnt materials on the bottom of the barrel so to speak. Where as coke derived from coal is the goal of the coal refining process, petroleum coke is the residual solids left from the final stages of distilling petroleum. Petroleum coke is used in the manufacture of dry battery cells, electrodes, and anodes for the aluminum, steel and titanium smelting industries. Unlike coke from coal, petroleum coke contains more sulfur and therefore is considered less desirable of a fuel source than coke fuel made from coal. A useful by-product of coke production from both coal and petroleum is Syngas, a mixture of predominantly carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
Pros:
- Coke burns without smoke.
- Coke yields an extremely high degree of heat energy when burned. Excellent fuel source for the creation of strong metals.
- Coke has many uses besides its use as a fuel.
Cons:
- Coke is a refined form of coal and therefore more expensive.
- Petroleum coke unlike coke fromcoal contains more contanaments and is therefore considered a less desirable fuel
Want to learn more about Coke:
Department of Energy, U.S. Coke Information
The Free Dictionary, Coking
Wikipedia Coke (fuel)
Lousisiana Department of Economic Development, The Potential Use of Lignite and Petroleum Coke
Information About Coke
Petroleum (Crude Oil)
Petroleum is a non-renewable fossil fuel. Like coal it is derived from organic materials (plants and animals) deposited about 300 million years ago. Most scientists believe it is largely derived from diatoms, small microscopic sea creatures, which form a thick mat at the bottom of the oceans. Over the centuries of geologic time successive layers of mud, sand and other sediment were deposited over this organic material subjecting it to extreme heat and pressure. In time the organic material went through various molecular and chemical changes which resulted in the creation of crude oil and natural gas.
Crude oil contains organic compounds such as alkanes, cycloalkanes and other aromatic hydrocarbons as well as nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. Trace amounts of metals such as iron nickel, copper and vanadium are also found in crude oil. The exact composition of crude oil is highly variable. It can be as thick as heavy tar to something as thin as water. It also varies in color – from black, brown, yellow , red, to sometimes green.
Since the end of World War II, Petroleum has become the world’s most important energy resource. Fuels produced from crude oil include: Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Ethane, Gasoline, Diesel fuel, Kerosene, Jet fuel, and Fuel oils. It also has firmly established itself in the production of many products on which our civilization has grown to depend – plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, lubricants, and solvents. As of 2009, of the 10 largest corporations in the world, 5 are involved in petroleum – Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP, Sinopec, and China National Petroleum. At the same time , of the 10 most profitable corporations in the world, 4 are involved in petroleum – Gazprom, Exxon, GP, and Petrobras. (CNNMoney.com, Fortune 550, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2010/performers/companies/profits/)
In 2007, 70 % of the petroleum used in the United States was for transportation, 24% for production of plastics, 5% for miscellaneous residential and commercial purposes, and 2% for the production of electricity. Presently the United States’ per capita rate of oil consumption is more than twice that of any of its European trading partners. It is by far the world’s largest consumer of petroleum at approximately 22.6 bbl /year/person. But the real concern is not only the over consumption by the United States but the growing needs of the industrializing Third World. For example, if the populations in both China and India increased their per capita consumption to about 1/8th that of an average North American. The combined consumption for these two countries would surpass that of the United States. Granted this increase in consumption would be major for both countries. It would represent a combined increase in consumption of 84% – China 2.1 bbl/year/person, India .09bbl/year/person, both to 2.825 bbl/year/person. However this increase may not be unreasonable. 2.85 bbl/year/person is less than half the consumption rate of Mexico at 7.1 bbl/year/person. Given the low cost of labor, the number trainable educated workers, and the potential size of the markets these countries represent, it is not only possible the combined consumption of petroleum for China and India will soon surpass the United States; it is more than likely.
Given the fact that petroleum is a non renewable resource it would be reasonable to expect that in the United States, Federal, State, and local planners would be focusing their efforts on making urban environments more livable and denser, that zoning laws would be designed to encourage people to live and work in the same neighborhoods, that legislators would begin channeling funds from widening freeways to developing affordable and convenient mass transportation, and that the general public would be made keenly aware of the impact that petroleum has on the environment, urban planning, economy, foreign relations, and government expenditures. Unfortunately, efforts in these areas have been no more than token gestures. Moreover, the developing Third World seems to be no different. Therefore, even with major development of alternative energy resources such as geothermal, solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power, one can expect world petroleum consumption to increase.
Pros:
- Petroleum fuels, desiel and gasoline, are the least expensive options for vehicular fuels.
- Petroleum fuels yield a high degree of energy when combusted delivering more horsepower than other fuels.
Cons:
- Having an extraordinarily high demand for petroleum products in North America means we must import much of it.
- Which in turns impacts national security because we must protect our access to those foreign resources and the channels by which they will be delivered.
- Reliance on foreign oil makes the domestic economy suseptible to wide flucuations in fuel prices and the resultant negative impacts to the national economy.
- Petroleum fuels are not derived from a renewable resource.
- Though cleaner than coal, petroleum fuels are responsible for the creation of significant amounts of air borne pollutants - even with engines modified to control air emissions.
Want to learn more about Petroleum oil:
Go Articles, Energy-Petroleum-Crude Oil :Its Uses and Benefits
Department of Energy, Up to date Information on Petroleum, Prices, Production, Imports, Storage
Oil&Gas Journal
Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA)
Natural Gas
Natural Gas in its natural form is primarily methane gas with approximately up to 20% of its volume containing other hydrocarbon materials. Natural Gas is closely associated with both coal and petroleum deposits. All three resources contain hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon gases are classified as light or heavy. Typically, these hydrocarbon materials are found together. Whether they take a gaseous or liquid form is highly dependent on temperature and pressure. At normal surface conditions, light hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane and butane are found in the gas form. Heavier hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane and heptanes, at surface conditions normally condense and are in a liquid form. Therefore when petroleum oil is brought to the surface the lighter hydrocarbons such as methane normally release from solution as gases while the heavier hydrocarbons remain in solution. In like manner, when natural gas is brought to the surface the lighter hydrocarbons remain gases while the heavier hydrocarbons condense and form condensate (liquid). Both processes result from temperature and pressure differences between subsurface and surface conditions. Natural Gas is processed to remove impurities such as water, sulfur, and nitrogen as well as the heavier hydrocarbons. The result is a colorless, shapeless, and odorless gas made up mostly of methane and the lighter hydrocarbon gases. The exact composition of natural gas varies from region to region but generally falls within the parameters indicated in the following chart.
Because purified natural gas is cannot be smelled a distinctive foul smelling odorant such as butyl mercaptan (skunk odor) is added as a safety measure to assist in leak detection.
The ancient Chinese first exploited natural gas by collecting naturally occurring gas seepage with bamboo pipelines and using it to boil sea water in an effort to distill drinking water. In Great Britain in 1795, natural gas was collected from coal beds and distributed for lighting gas lamps. In 1821 in Fredonia, New York, the first gas well was sunk to augment the flow of gas already seeping from the ground. Throughout most of the 19th Century natural gas was used almost exclusively for lighting and was manufactured from coal. However, in 1885 Robert Bunsen invented the “Bunsen Burner”, a device that efficiently mixes air and gas in the proper proportions for combustion. Eventually this invention provided natural gas huge new markets for heating and cooking. However, it was not until World War II with advances in piping technology, that natural gas could be safely brought to the masses. Today it is an extremely valuable source of energy and is extracted from the earth in a number of different ways. When found associated with petroleum oil it can be extracted from the oil as casing head gas. This form of natural gas is also called “associated gas” as it is closely associated with petroleum oil. It can also be commercially produced from conventional natural gas fields. This type of natural gas is typically referred to as “non-associated gas”. Natural Gas can also be found within coal deposits and can be extracted as “coal bed methane”. In addition, more costly methods of extracting natural gas have been developed to recover gas trapped in shale and tightly packed sand. This type of natural gas is referred to as “shale gas” and “tight gas” respectively.
As the cleanest fossil fuel, natural gas has become a major energy resource and has found many uses. In 2009 the United States consumed 22.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. To put this in perspective imagine an area the size of Pennsylvania covered by a blanket of natural gas 18 feet thick. The generation of electrical power was the largest user of natural gas at 30%. It is by far cleaner to burn natural gas than either coal or petroleum. Considering relative cost differences and the impact that the burning of coal and petroleum has on the environment it is reasonable to expect an increase in the use of natural gas for electrical generation in the future. Industrial uses for natural gas followed at 27% of total consumption. Industrial uses for natural gas included providing heat for manufacturing processes and a raw material for the creation of chemicals, fertilizers, fabrics and pharmaceuticals. Residential consumption for natural gas equaled 21%. Nearly one half the homes in the United States are served with natural gas. It is used for water heating, space heating, cooking, laundry dryers, and other appliances. 14% of gas consumption went to Commercial uses predominantly for space heating and water heating and other heating requirements similar to residential uses. The oil and gas industries also are consumers of gas and use it in two major ways. First, natural gas is used as a heat source in the refining of petroleum products. Secondly, it is used as a heat source to pressure natural gas at pressure stations along gas pipe lines to keep the gas pressurized and flowing. Consumption of natural gas for these purposes was 5% for the Oil and Gas operations and 3% for pipeline fuel. Despite the many advantages natural gas has over gasoline and diesel oil, natural gas used as vehicle fuel accounted for only 1% of consumption. Natural gas is cheaper per mile than gasoline or diesel, it is produced within the U.S., compared to gasoline it produces 30-40% less the green house gases and 60-90% less the smog producing pollutants. The major disadvantage to natural gas as vehicle fuel has been the relative short travel distance which is limited by on vehicle storage capacity and commercially available refueling stations. However, recent advances in natural gas refueling have made it very affordable - even to the extent of it being cost effective to install one in a family garage for overnight refueling. The advantages of natural gas as a vehicle fuel have been well documented by a number of governmental vehicle fleet studies. However, it remains to be seen if the automobile industry, fueling industry, and consumer have the motivation to invest in the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel.
Want to learn more about Natural Gas:
Department of Energy, Up to date Information on Natural Gas, Prices, Production, Imports, Stocks
Snapshot of U.S. Natural Gas Consumption
Natural Gas. org
Natural Gas, Division of Fuel Chemistry American Chemical Society
Oil&Gas Journal
Geology.com, Uses of Natural Gas
UC Berkeley, Web Geological Time Machine
Bloomberg Businessweek - Ending Fossil-Fuel Subsidies Will Reduce Oil Demand, IEA Says
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