Nonrenewable Energy

Core Case Study: How Long Will the Oil Party Last?  Saudi Arabia could supply the world with oil for about 10 years.  The Alaska’s North Slope could meet the world oil demand for 6 months (U.S.: 3 years).  Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would meet the world demand for 1-5 months (U.S.: 7-25 months).

Core Case Study: How Long Will the Oil Party Last?  We have three options: Look for more oil. Use or waste less oil. Use something else. Figure 16-1

TYPES OF ENERGY RESOURCES  About 99% of the energy we use for heat comes from the sun and the other 1% comes mostly from burning fossil fuels. Solar energy indirectly supports wind power, hydropower, and biomass.  About 76% of the commercial energy we use comes from nonrenewable fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) with the remainder coming from renewable sources.

TYPES OF ENERGY RESOURCES  Nonrenewable energy resources and geothermal energy in the earth’s crust. Figure 16-2

TYPES OF ENERGY RESOURCES  Commercial energy use by source for the world (left) and the U.S. (right). Figure 16-3

TYPES OF ENERGY RESOURCES  Net energy is the amount of high-quality usable energy available from a resource after subtracting the energy needed to make it available.  Remember the second law of thermodynamics!  Net energy ratio – useful energy produced/energy used to produce it

Net Energy Ratios  The higher the net energy ratio, the greater the net energy available. Ratios < 1 indicate a net energy loss. Figure 16-4

OIL  Crude oil (petroleum) is a thick liquid containing hydrocarbons that we extract from underground deposits and separate into products such as gasoline, heating oil and asphalt. Only 35-50% can be economically recovered from a deposit. As prices rise, about 10-25% more can be recovered from expensive secondary extraction techniques. ○ This lowers the net energy yield.

OIL  Refining crude oil: Based on boiling points, components are removed at various layers in a giant distillation column. The most volatile components with the lowest boiling points are removed at the top. Figure 16-5

How Crude Oil is Refined

OIL  World’s largest business  Eleven OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) have 78% of the world’s proven oil reserves and most of the world’s unproven reserves. An oil reserve is an identified deposit from which crude oil can be extracted profitably at current prices and current technology.

2007 World Proved Reserves  After global production peaks and begins a slow decline, oil prices will rise and could threaten the economies of countries that have not shifted to new energy alternatives.  Top three oil consuming nations U.S. (60%) China (33%) Japan (100%) Source: U.S Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration Energy Information Administration

Oil Refining Capabilities  Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries control most oil refining.  Supply and demand economics are therefore interrupted by a multi- stage process dictating the supply.

Historic Oil Prices  Source: Lindstrom, Kirk. Inflation adjusted oil prices fall on strong USD. Seeking Alpha. 19 Oct, Retrieved 26 Mar, 2009 from

Oil Refinery Capacity vs. Demand

As Oil Prices Rise…  Prices of food and products produced from petrochemicals will rise.  People will necessary move down the food chain.  Food production may become more localized.  More land will be used to produce renewable biomass crops.  Air travel and air freight may decline.  Re-urbanization

Case Study: U.S. Oil Supplies  The U.S. – the world’s largest oil user – has only 2.9% of the world’s proven oil reserves.  U.S oil production peaked in 1974 (halfway production point).  About 60% of U.S oil imports go through refineries in hurricane-prone regions of the Gulf Coast.

Alaskan Oil Pipeline Carries 2 million barrels a day of crude oil from the Prudhoe Bay oil field 789 miles south to Southern Alaska to be loaded onto tankers destined for refineries. Represents 25% of the U.S. crude oil reserves.

OIL  Burning oil for transportation accounts for 43% of global CO 2 emissions. Figure 16-7

CO 2 Emissions  CO 2 emissions per unit of energy produced for various energy resources. Figure 16-8

Heavy Oils  Heavy and tarlike oils from oil sand and oil shale could supplement conventional oil, but there are environmental problems. High sulfur content. Extracting and processing produces: ○ Toxic sludge ○ Uses and contaminates larges volumes of water ○ Requires large inputs of natural gas which reduces net energy yield. ○ Deforestation

Oil Sands  Bitumen can be extracted  Athabascan Oil Sands deposits equal in area to U.S. states of MD and VA.  Supply 1/5 of Canadian energy needs.  Production costs high ($13/barrel vs. $1-2 for conventional production.  1.8 mt of oil sand = 1 barrel of oil.  China invested heavily.

Canadian Oil Sand Pit Mine

Athabascan River Surface Water Allocations

Oil Shales  Oil shales contain a solid combustible mixture of hydrocarbons called kerogen. Figure 16-9

Oil Shales

Figure 16-10

When Does the Oil Party End?

60 minutes video re: Shalieonaires  d= n&tag=contentMain;contentB ody d= n&tag=contentMain;contentB ody  Natural Gas video

NATURAL GAS  Natural gas consists mostly of methane and other gaseous hydrocarbons. Conventional natural gas ○ found above reservoirs of crude oil. ○ When a natural gas-field is tapped, gasses are liquefied and removed as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Unconventional natural gas ○ Coal bed methane gas ○ Methane hydrate bubbles of methane trapped in ice crystals deep under the arctic permafrost and beneath deep-ocean sediments

Natural Gas Processing

Natural Gas Production

NATURAL GAS  Some analysts see natural gas as the best fuel to help us make the transition to improved energy efficiency and greater use of renewable energy. Figure 16-11

COAL  Coal is a solid fossil fuel that is formed in several stages as the buried remains of land plants that lived million years ago. Figure 16-12

COAL  Most abundant fossil fuel  Generates 62% of world’s electricity and is used to make 75% of its steel  Anthracite (98% carbon) is most desirable but least common.  Lower grades of coal have increasing traces of sulfur, toxic mercury, and radioactive materials that are released upon burning.  Extraction by subsurface mining, area strip mining, contour strip mining, and mountaintop removal are environmentally damaging.

Fig , p. 369 Waste heat Coal bunker Turbine Cooling tower transfers waste heat to atmosphere Generator Cooling loop Stack Pulverizing mill Condenser Filter Boiler Toxic ash disposal

COAL  Coal reserves in the United States (27%), Russia (17%), and China (13%) could last hundreds to over a thousand years. In 2005, China and the U.S. accounted for 53% of the global coal consumption.

COAL  Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel, but compared to oil and natural gas it is not as versatile, has a high environmental impact, and releases much more CO 2 into the troposphere. Figure 16-14

COAL Synfuels  Coal can be converted into synthetic natural gas (SNG or syngas) and liquid fuels (such as methanol or synthetic gasoline) that burn cleaner than coal. Requires mining 50% more coal Costs are high. Burning them adds more CO 2 to the troposphere than burning coal.

COAL  Since CO 2 may soon be regulated as an air pollutant and costs are high, U.S. coal-burning plants are unlikely to invest in coal gasification. Figure 16-15

Clean Coal Technology Multiple technologies aimed at cleaning coal and containing its emissions Coal washing Wet scrubbers (flue gas desulfurization systems) Low-NO x burners Electrostatic precipitators Oxy-fuel combustion Pre-combustion capture

Clean Coal Technology  Regardless of method, the CO2 must be sequestered – either in a commercially viable product or stored deep underground or in the oceans. 1. CO2 pumped into disused coal fields displaces methane which can be used as fuel 2. CO2 can be pumped into and stored safely in saline aquifers 3. CO2 pumped into oil fields helps maintain pressure, making extraction easier

NUCLEAR ENERGY  When isotopes of uranium and plutonium undergo controlled nuclear fission, the resulting heat produces steam that spins turbines to generate electricity. The uranium oxide consists of about 97% nonfissionable uranium-238 and 3% fissionable uranium-235. The concentration of uranium-235 is increased through an enrichment process.

Fig , p. 372 Small amounts of radioactive gases Uranium fuel input (reactor core) Control rods Containment shell Heat exchanger Steam Turbine Generator Waste heat Electric power Hot coolant Useful energy 25%–30% Hot water output Pump Coolant Pump Moderator Cool water input Waste heat Shielding Pressure vessel Coolant passage Water Condenser Periodic removal and storage of radioactive wastes and spent fuel assemblies Periodic removal and storage of radioactive liquid wastes Water source (river, lake, ocean)

NUCLEAR ENERGY  After three or four years in a reactor, spent fuel rods are removed and stored in a deep pool of water contained in a steel-lined concrete container. Figure 16-17

NUCLEAR ENERGY  After spent fuel rods are cooled considerably, they are sometimes moved to dry-storage containers made of steel or concrete. Figure 16-17

Fig , p. 373 Decommissioning of reactor Fuel assemblies Reactor Enrichment of UF 6 Fuel fabrication (conversion of enriched UF 6 to UO 2 and fabrication of fuel assemblies) Temporary storage of spent fuel assemblies underwater or in dry casks Conversion of U 3 O 8 to UF 6 Uranium-235 as UF 6 Plutonium-239 as PuO 2 Spent fuel reprocessing Low-level radiation with long half-life Geologic disposal of moderate & high-level radioactive wastes Open fuel cycle today “Closed” end fuel cycle

What Happened to Nuclear Power?  After more than 50 years of development and enormous government subsidies, nuclear power has not lived up to its promise because: Multi billion-dollar construction costs. Higher operation costs and more malfunctions than expected. Poor management. Public concerns about safety and stricter government safety regulations.

Case Study: The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident  The world’s worst nuclear power plant accident occurred in 1986 in Ukraine.  The disaster was caused by poor reactor design and human error. Resulted in an 18-mile (30 km) Exclusion Zone  By 2005, 56 people had died from radiation related illnesses. 4,000 more are expected from thyroid cancer and leukemia. Over 600,000 clean up workers exposed to some elevated levels of radiation. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Chernobyl Disaster

NUCLEAR ENERGY  In 1995, the World Bank said nuclear power is too costly and risky.  In 2006, it was found that several U.S. reactors were leaking radioactive tritium into groundwater. Figure 16-19

NUCLEAR ENERGY  A 1,000 megawatt nuclear plant is refueled once a year, whereas a coal plant requires 80 rail cars a day. Figure 16-20

Risks from Terrorism  Attack nuclear power plants Especially poorly protected pools that store spent nuclear fuel rods.  Dirty bombs Explosives wrapped around small amounts of radioactive materials Radioactive material is easy to get Cause minimal loss of life, but could contaminate areas for decades resulting in environmental damage and economic losses.

Radioactive Waste  Wastes must be safely stored for 10,000 to 240,000 years.  Options: Bury it deep underground. Shoot it into space. Bury it in the Antarctic ice sheet. Bury it in the deep-ocean floor that is geologically stable. Change it into harmless or less harmful isotopes.

In 2009, Obama pulled funding for Yucca Mountain, the only existing U.S. facility designed for long term highly-radioactive waste storage.

Decommissioning  When a nuclear reactor reaches the end of its useful life, its highly radioactive materials must be kept from reaching the environment for thousands of years.  At least 228 large commercial reactors worldwide (20 in the U.S.) are scheduled for retirement by Many reactors are applying to extend their 40-year license to 60 years. Aging reactors are subject to embrittlement and corrosion.

Are Reactors the Answer to Oil Independence?  Yes. Nuclear power can be developed domestically to generate electricity rather than using foreign oil. Nuclear power is clean and does not contribute to global warming.  No. Oil only generates 2-3% of U.S. electricity. When the entire nuclear fuel cycle is considered, the cycle does contribute to CO 2 emissions. Wind turbines, solar cells, geothermal energy, and hydrogen contributes much less to CO 2 emissions.

New and Safer Reactors  Pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) are smaller reactors that minimize the chances of runaway chain reactions. no need for a core cooling system or airtight containment dome fuel can be rearranged while operating security concerns generates more waste more expensive Figure 16-21

Fig , p. 380 Each pebble contains about 10,000 uranium dioxide particles the size of a pencil point. Pebble detail Silicon carbide Pyrolytic carbon Porous buffer Uranium dioxide Graphite shell Helium Turbine Generator Pebble Core Hot water output Recuperator Reactor vessel Water cooler Cool water input

NUCLEAR FUSION  Nuclear fusion is a nuclear change in which two isotopes are forced together. No risk of meltdown or radioactive releases. May also be used to breakdown toxic material. Still in laboratory stages. Link

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