Fossil FuelsReza Toossi

Carbon Cycle

Calorific ValuesNatural Gas

1000 BTU/cu.ft 58 MJ/kg

Petroleum  19000 BTU/lb or 5.8 million BTU/bbl 44 MJ/kg

Coal 6000-16000 BTU/lb 14- 35 MJ/kg

* 1 kg = 2.2 lb. ; 1 m3 = 35.3 ft3; 1 bbl = 42 U.S. gallons = 159.1 lit

Compare

Fossil Fuels 1 liter of petroleum = 1 kg of coal =

1 m3 of natural gas)

1 gal of petroleum = 10 pounds of coal = 150 ft3 of natural gas

Fossil vs. Non-fossil use in US (1999)

Energy Source Quads Percent of Total

CoalPetroleumNatural GasNuclearHydroelectricBiomassGeothermalSolarWindTotal

21.837.722.0 7.7 3.5 3.2

0.04 0.07 0.05

96.4

22.639.122.8 8.0 3.6 3.3

0.04 0.07 0.05

100

World Oil (2002)Who has it? Who uses it?

Saudi Arabia 26% U.S. 25%

Iraq 10% Japan 8%

Kuwait 10% China 5%

UAE 9% Russia 4%

Iran 9% Germany 4%

Venezuela 6% S. Korea 3%

Russia 5% Italy 3%

Mexico 5% France 3%

U.S. 3% England 3%

All Others 17% All Others 42%

World Oil (2005)Who has it? Who uses it?

Saudi Arabia 24% U.S. 25%

Iran 12% China 5%

Iraq 10% Japan 6%

Kuwait 9% Russia 4%

UAE 9% Germany 3%

Venezuela 7% India 3%

Russia 5% Canada 3%

Libya 4% Brazil 3%

Nigeria 3% South Korea 3%

All Others 17% All Others 42%

Extraction

(SPE Video)

OPEC Organization of petroleum

Exporting Countries Formed in 1960 Current member states are:

Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates

Oil Prices

87.7

123.0

280.0

541.7

559.6

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Oklahoma

Louisiana

California

Alaska

Texas

Millions of Barrels

US Resources (Annual Production)

Hubbert Model (1956) All resources (fossil fuel, minerals)

have a finite life time. The peak production occurs at a

point where 50% of all resource has been depleted.

The distribution is symmetrical about the peak point.

Hubbert’s Curve

US Oil Production

Production Midpoints for major Oil Producing Countries

Coal - Formation Dead plants

Decomposed by aerobic bacteria yielding CO2, CH4, etc.

Decomposed anaerobically (without air) if covered by mud for a long time.

Occurs in stratified deposits, 2-100 feet thick in average depth of about 300 feet

Coal - Resources US:

Appalachian Basin (West Virginia, Pennsylvania)

Illinois Basin (Illinois, Indiana) Rocky Mountains (Montana, Wyoming,

Colorado, New Mexico, N. Dakota) World:

Former Soviet Union (56%) United States (20%) Asia (9%)

Coal – Types Anthracite

Oldest (350 million years) Highest quality(95% carbon) Most clean Pennsylvania (14,000 Btu/lb)

Bituminous 300 million years Medium quality (50-80% carbon) Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Utah (12,500 Btu/lb)

Lignite 60-150 million years Low quality (<50% carbon) North Dakota (10,000 Btu/lb), Texas (7,000 Btu/lb)

* Peat (mix of coals of different ranks such as brown coal, lignite, bituminous)

Strip Mining

Soil instability Damage to

landscape, Flora and fauna

Possibility of acidic and alkaline drainage

Transport of toxic substances to the surface

Shale Oil Carbon bearing

mudstone or marlstone containing organic kerogen (HC wax-like substance)

Found in bottom of Green River (Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming)

US reserves are even larger than petroleum reserves

Shale Oil - Problems Must be extracted, retorted (heated to

1000 F to drive out the HC) and refined.

High sulfur content Low yield (10-25 gallons/ton) Requires a lot of water for processing Disposal of spent shale a problem Cost is prohibitive except for the best

quality shale oil

Tar Sands Deposits of sand impregnated with a

thick, viscous oil called bitumen. Must be mined and transported for

processing. Processing involves extraction of

bitumen by steam and hot water followed by refining.

Main deposits in Alberta, Canada Production prices started to be

comparable to that of crude oil.

Natural Gas Associated and Non-

Associated Gas Composition

Natural Gas CNG and LNG LPG