Energy Notes

Fossil Fuels

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FOSSIL FUELS

• What are Fossil Fuels?a. Remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years agob. Coal, Oil, Natural Gasc. The world relies heavily on fossil fuels to run our cars, provide electricity and heat/cool our homes and businesses

CoalDefinition: dark, black rock that consists mainly of carbon

Use:• Electricity (90% used in US for electricity)

• Industry

Coal (con’t)Types

• Lignite, Sub-bituminous, Bituminous, Anthracite

• Highest energy yield = Anthracite

Top Coal Producers: Montana, Illinois, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico

Coal (con’t)Pros

• generates 51% of U.S. electricity

• helps to create iron and steel• industrial export

Cons• air pollution• water pollution• non-renewable (300 years left)• accidents from coal mines

Clean Coal Technologies• 3 ways to clean

sulfur/impurities from coal– Coal is crushed & washed & the

sulfur is removed– Scrubbers spray a solution of

water & limestone powder into the gases released by burning coal

– Coal gasification – hot coal is sprayed with hot water vapor which turns the coal to a mixture of carbon monoxide & hydrogen – the gas can be burned – this removes 99.9% of sulfur

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Oil (Petroleum)Definition: Rock oilUses:

• Transportation (gasoline)• Manufacturing (fertilizers, plastics,

medicines)• 20 million barrels per day (over 830

million gallons)Top Oil Producers: Texas, Alaska,

California, Louisiana, Oklahoma• Import over 2/3 of our petroleum from

other countries

Oil (Con’t)Non-renewable

• 40-60 years left• 4000 drilling platforms

in the worldEnvironmental Damage

• Air pollution (automobiles add carbon dioxide)

• Drilling for oil disturbs ecosystems

• Oil transportation can endanger environment if spilled

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Oil Production• Oil is pumped out of the

ground using pressure• If there is still oil to be

removed, sometimes natural gas or water is pumped into the rock to ‘push’ the rest of the oil out of the ground

• Regardless, for every 1 barrel of oil pumped out of the ground, 2-3 are left behind

Oil Facts• The world consumes 85 million barrels

of oil per day (That’s 31 billion per year!)

• 1 barrel of oil = 42 U.S. Gallons of oil• The U.S. could save 33 million gallons of

gas each day if the average commuter passenger load were increased by one person

Oil Facts• U.S. consumes 24% of the total world petroleum

produced each day - we only make up 6% of the world population

• Did you know?If you drive an SUV for one year, it is equivalent to the energy wasted by:* leaving your refrigerator door open for six years

AND* keeping a light in your house on for 30 years

AND* leaving your TV on for 28 years

The Gulf of Mexico

Oil Disaster• Explosion on the Deepwater

Horizon oil rig• Spilled oil for 3 months in 2010• Leaked 4.9 million barrels of oil

(205.8 million gallons) into the Gulf

• The spill still continues to cause extensive damage to wildlife & marine habitats

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Natural GasDefinition:

hydrocarbons – chains of carbon & hydrogen linked together – emit energy

Uses:a. Heat, cookingb. Industrial production

Top Natural Gas Producers: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming

Natural Gas (con’t)Non-Renewable

a. 50 years leftb.  200 years available in world – more expensive gas prices

Environmental Damagea. produces carbon dioxide, but very little