Using Crude Oil Thursday, 15 November 2018 L.O: To understand the advantages and disadvantages of using crude oil products as fuels and as raw materials for making plastics and other chemicals. Thursday, 15 November 2018

Starter Using the knowledge you already have about crude oil, answer yes or no to the following questions: Is crude oil useful? Is it renewable? Do you think it will be replaced? Do you think that any of the alternatives are better? Do you agree that it should be replaced? Do you think it will be replaced soon?

They make good fuels… Crude oil fractions release lots of energy when they burn and they burn cleanly, so they make good fuels.

Modern Transport… Most modern transport is fuelled by crude oil fractions, e.g. cars, boats, trains and planes.

Heating & Electricity Parts of crude oil are also burned in central heating systems in homes and in power stations to generate electricity.

Jobs There's a massive industry with scientists working to find oil reserves, take it out of the ground, and turn it into useful products. People also work at crude oil refineries and oil rigs, so it provides employment.

Making Chemicals As well as fuels, crude oil also provides the raw materials for making various chemicals, including plastics.

Cheapest and Easiest to use Often, alternatives to using crude oil fractions as fuel are possible. For example, electricity can be generated by nuclear power or wind power, there are ethanol-powered cars, and solar energy can be used to heat water. But things tend to be set up for using oil fractions so crude oil fractions are often the easiest and cheapest thing to use.

Reliable Crude oil fractions are often more reliable than other energy sources too. For example, solar and wind power won't work without the right weather conditions, whereas crude oil can be used any time. Nuclear energy is reliable, but there are lots of concerns about its safety and the storage of radioactive waste.

Disadvantages of using Crude Oil There are 2 main disadvantages of using crude oil: It’s bad for the envir0nment It isn’t renewable

Oil Spills Oil spills can happen as the oil is being transported by tanker — this spells disaster for the local environment.

Volunteers cleaning up an oil spill

Oil Spills Birds get covered in the stuff and are poisoned as they try to clean themselves. Other creatures, like sea otters and whales, are poisoned too.

Burning Oil You also have to burn oil to release the energy from it. But burning oil is thought to be a major cause of global warming, acid rain and global dimming.

Effects of acid rain, caused by burning crude oil

It isn’t renewable Most scientists think that oil will run out — it's a non-renewable fuel.

Using even more oil New oil reserves are discovered from time to time and technology is constantly improving, so it's now possible to extract oil that was once too difficult or expensive to extract.

No idea when it’ll run out No one knows exactly when it'll run out, but there have been heaps of different predictions — for example, about 40 years ago, scientists predicted that it'd all be gone by the year 2000. In the worst-case scenario, oil may be pretty much gone in about 25 years — and that's not far off. [COULD] 2039

Crude oil will run out…

We need more time… Some people think we should immediately stop using oil for things like transport, for which there are alternatives, and keep it for things that it's absolutely essential for, like some chemicals and medicines. However, it will take time to develop alternative fuels that will satisfy all our energy needs.

We need renewable energy It'll also take time to adapt things so that the fuels can be used on a wide scale. For example, we might need different kinds of car engines, or special storage tanks built. One alternative is to generate energy from renewable sources — these are sources that won't run out. Examples of renewable energy sources are wind power, solar power, tidal power and biofuels. So however long oil does last for, it's a good idea to start conserving it and finding alternatives now.

Questions Answer the questions in full sentences in your books: Why do crude oil fractions make good fuels? Suggest an alternative energy source that can be used instead of crude oil. Give two reasons why crude oil fractions are still used for fuels even though alternatives are available. Give two reasons why using crude oil can be bad for the environment. 40 years ago, scientists predicted that all the crude oil would be gone by the year 2000. Explain why this prediction did not come true. Some people think that we should stop using oil as a fuel for transport immediately. Explain why people might think this. 2.

Answers E.g. lots of energy is released when they burn / they burn cleanly / they are a reliable source of energy. E.g solar power / wind power / nuclear power / tidal power / biofuels. E.g. everything is already set up for using crude oil. / Crude oil fractions are often more reliable. / It will take time to adapt things so that renewable energy sources can be used on a large scale. E.g. oil spills can happen when the oil is being transported. / Burning oil releases gases that contribute to global warming/global dimming/acid rain. E.g. new oil reserves have been discovered in the last 40 years. / Technology has improved which means we can now extract oil that was too difficult or too expensive to extract 40 years ago. E.g. crude oil is non-renewable and alternative fuels for transport are available, so stopping using crude oil for transport would mean we could keep the crude oil for things that it's essential for, like making chemicals and medicines. 2.