Nonrenewable Energy Sources

Environmental Science 3022013

World and US energy sources

Evaluating Energy ResourcesEvaluating Energy Resources

• U.S. has 4.6% of world population; uses 24% of the world’s energy;

– 85% from nonrenewable fossil fuels (oil, coal, & natural gas);

– 8% from nuclear power;

– 7% from renewable sources (hydropower, geothermal, solar, biomass).

Energy resources removed from the earth’s crust include: oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium

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How Fossil Fuels Are Formed

How Fossil Fuels Are Formed

Problems with Fossil FuelsProblems with Fossil Fuels1. Nonrenewable resources

– At projected consumption rates, natural gas and petroleum will be depleted before the end of the 21st century

2. Pollution: Impurities in fossil fuels

3. Global Warming: Burning fossil fuels produce large amounts of CO2

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COAL is cheaper, GAS is cleaner, OIL is the highest quality

Coal: $0.85 per million BtuNatural Gas: $2.18 per million Btu

Crude Oil: $2.97 per million Btu

Net Energy (EROI)

1. Coal1. Coal2. Oil3. Natural Gas4. Nuclear Energy

•Mostly Carbon (40-98%)•Water (0.2 – 1.25%)•Sulfur (0.2 – 2.5%)•Trace amounts of radioactive materials found in the earth.

Formation of Coal

• The longer it’s been forming, the higher the grade

– Carbon content increases

– Burns hotter & cleaner!

PEATPEAT

LIGNITELIGNITE

garnero101.asu.edu/glg101/Lectures/L37.ppt

BITUMINOUSBITUMINOUS

ANTHRACITEANTHRACITE

What sample do you have?

Describe your sample (2-5 words)

What type of coal? P, L, B, A

1. The major US deposits are located in eastern PA

2. The most common type of coal in terms of its occurrence around the United States

3. A brownish black organic material that is used to build up garden soil

4. Because of its wide availability around the country, this type of coal is most often burned at electric power generation plants

Use the map to answer the following…

Eastern or Western?

1. Coal from this region is generally closer to the surface and is commonly strip-mined

2. Because of higher labor intensity, coal from this region is more expensive

3. Because of low annual rainfall, reclamation of mined land in this region is more difficult.

World Coal Deposits – top 3 countries?

Who uses it?• China is the largest user: 76% of its E

• Used to make 75% of the world’s steel

• 39% of world’s electricity– What about in US?

Extracting Coal: Subsurface Mining• for coal buried 200-1,000 ft. deep• miners work in tunnels to get coal from underground

– Most dangerous, most laborious– Subsidence and black lung

Tour a Coal Mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk-jrbCi7Sc&feature=related

Extracting Coal: Surface Mining

• for coal that is buried less than 200 feet deep– Strip Mining – remove surface– Open Pit Mining – near surface but dig down

– Cheaper and safer– Higher % of coal recovered – Reclamation Reform Act

• study, fill, replant• coal tax to restore old mines

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2009/03/removing_mountains.html

What type of surface mining is this?

What type of surface mining is this?

Net energy?

extracted, transported, processed, washed, and transported

Byproducts: Waste and water

Sludge

Runoff: Mercury, ash

Centralia, PA

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkHfnp2czZQ• More than 500 fires burning in coal deposits and

waste heaps in the US

© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

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CoalCoal

Cons• Dirtiest fuel, highest

carbon dioxide• Major environmental

degradation• Major threat to health

Pros• Most abundant fossil fuel• Major U.S. reserves• 300 yrs. at current

consumption rates• High net energy yield

Coal Coal (solid) • Changing form is slightly better

for pollution, but lessens net E• Coal gasification

Synthetic natural gas (SNG)• Coal liquefaction Liquid fuels

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_K8jXrtPZQ• Sequestration and climate change applications

CO2 Sequestration

How can we link carbon sequestration and tertiary oil recovery?

SciFi! Can we ship our CO2 to another planet and make an atmosphere???

1. Coal1. Coal

2. Oil2. Oil3. Natural Gas3. Natural Gas4. Nuclear Energy4. Nuclear Energy

garnero101.asu.edu/glg101/Lectures/L37.ppt

What is oil?• Petroleum (crude oil)

– complex liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, with small amounts of S, O, N impurities

• Most valuable natural resource (?)– Gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel,

grease, wax, asphalt, plastics…

What is petroleum used for?

• Fuel – transportation (65%), generating electricity

• Making products - plastic, fleece, ink, floor wax, soap, carpet, nail polish, aspirin, etc. (over 6,000 products)

Fractional Distillation

• From extraction, oil travels via pipeline to a refinery

• Impurities are removed

• Oil is heated, which separates the various liquids by various boiling points

http://www.absorblearning.com/media/item.action?quick=11khttp://www.absorblearning.com/media/item.action?quick=11o

http://www.petroleum.co.uk/education/%20coryton/page7.htm

What one barrel of oil makes...

Oil Extraction

• Primary Oil Recovery– Drill well– Pump out oil that flows by

gravity into well

• Secondary Oil Recovery– Inject water into nearby water

to force oil into well.

http://www.absorblearning.com/media/item.action?quick=11h

Enhanced (Tertiary) Oil Recovery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMBhX1IxajU&feature=related

Recovery & Net Energy• In any oil field, only 1/3

of the heavy oil can actually be recovered by 1st or 2nd –ary methods

• Tertiary recovery uses the energy of 1/3 of a barrel of oil for each barrel it produces

• (<4min)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMRu7GjR7o&feature=related

Who Has the Oil? Reserves

North America 75.7

South and Central America 89.5

Western Europe 18.9

Former Soviet Countries 58.9

Middle East 673.6

Africa 75.4

Far East and Oceania 43.0

Total 1,033.2

OPEC• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

– Set up in 1960 so developing countries would get a fair price for the resource.

– Control 67% of world’s oil

– Saudi Arabia (#1), Iraq (#2), Iran, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Qatar, and Venezuela

Oil in U.S.Oil in U.S.•2.3% of world reserves

•uses nearly 30% of world reserves;

•65% for transportation;

•increasing dependence on imports.

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Future of Reserves

• Economically depleted– When 80% of a resource has been used– Cost to extract remaining supply is more expensive than its

sale price.

• Why change when you’ve found a good thing?– Government subsidizes price of oil– In turn...

• Low oil prices = stimulated economic growth • discourages improvements in energy efficiency and alternative

technologies

What a Barrel of Persian Gulf Oil Really Costs U.S. Consumers

• $30 in initial costs • + $61 for military support services • = $91 per barrel of oil

(Prentice Hall 2005)

• Oil near $119 after report of Iranian boat firing– MSNBC April. 25, 2008

• Currently around $90/barrel (2013)

Should we use oil?

PROS• High net energy yield

• Low cost (with subsidies)

• Easily transported

CONS• Low reserves

• Artificially low price causes waste and discourages alternatives

• Air pollution (smog, acid rain)

• Global warming

• Oil spills and water pollution

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Crude Oil Alternatives

Greener oil options?

Oil Shale Oil Shale (kerogen) & Tar Sand Tar Sand (bitumen)

• Different forms of rock/sand that can be transformed (crushed/heated or pressurized) to be use like crude oil.

Oil Shales/Tar Sands• Pros

– Availability: Global supplies of shale oil may be 200x’s larger than conventional oil supplies

• Cons– Processing

• Uses ½ barrel of oil to process (heat)

• Uses large amounts of water (in desert areas!)

• Surface mining• Groundwater

contamination (salts, carcinogens, & toxic metals)

Energy Consumption in the United StatesEnergy Consumption in the United States

1. Wood2. Water (steam)3. Coal4. Natural gas5. Oil6. Nuclear power

3, 4, and 5 = 83.5% of U.S. energy consumption

ANWR and offshore drilling• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjfssrKGsBU – Jay Leno

• http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6351721n – Obama offshore drilling

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP2GejkLdwA – ANWR and offshore• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO_3eiOPuqE (1:30)

• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0605/sights_n_sounds/– http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0605/feature1/index.html -

drilling in Alaska article

1. Oil2. Coal

3. Natural Gas4. Nuclear

Natural Gas - Fossil FuelNatural Gas - Fossil Fuel• Mixture

•50–90% Methane (CH4) •Ethane (C2H6)•Propane (C3H8) •Butane (C4H10)•Hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

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Where is it found?Where is it found?

•Conventional natural gas = above most reservoirs of crude oil

•Unconventional = deposits of gas hydrates (water + methane)

• Global deposits estimated to contain 2X as much carbon as all other fossil fuels

• Not yet economically feasible

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billion cubic metres

Natural Gas ReservesNatural Gas Reserves•Russia (25%)

•Iran (15%), Qatar (14%), Saudi Arabia (4%), United Arab Emirates (4%)

•United States (3%),

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90–95% of natural gas used in U.S. is domestic 255,000 miles of pipeline

Interactive Map: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112970060

Natural Gas and the

Marcellus Shale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0kmskvJFt0&feature=related

Natural Gas Extraction

1. Tap gas field - Propane & butane are liquefied (liquefied petroleum gas - LPG)

• Stored in pressurized tanks

2. Remaining gas (methane) is dried to remove water, cleansed to remove impurities,

• Odor is added to detect leaks

Processing

Pressurized & piped to homes.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be shipped in refrigerated tanker ships

• Lose ¼ of net energy when this is done

What is it used for?

• Fuel for transportation

• Producing electricity and heat

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