Fossil Fuel Power Production Kaitlyn Loop, Kristina Cana, and Tiffany Ma IB Physics 22 April 2015

Definition Fossil fuels: underground deposits of organic material that over millions of years have decomposed into a combustible fuel with high energy density

Types of Fossil Fuels Coal: formed from dead plants Oil and Natural Gas: formed from deceased marine organisms

History Industrial Revolution in Western Europe large-scale manufacturing industry factories required energy to run as factories grew, rate of energy consumption increased turned to fossil fuels for use in trains, factories, and agriculture cities began to grow around sources of fossil fuels caused economic and population growth

Energy Density of Fossil Fuels Types of Fossil Fuels Energy Density By Mass (MJ/kg) Coal, anthracite31.4 Diesel45.3 Gasoline, automotive45.8 Gasoline, aviation43.1 Kerosene46.3 Oil, crude(petroleum)41.9 Oil, heating42.5 From the diagram above we can see that the world's energy consumption is heavily depended upon oil, coal and gas which are all fossil fuels. Over the last 40 years the consumption of fossil fuels has been continuously increasing. Between 1980 and 2004, the worldwide annual growth rate was 2%.

Demands of Power Stations Fossil-fuel Power Plant A fossil-fuel power plant is a power plant that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum (oil) to produce electricity. The main systems are the steam cycle and the gas turbine cycle. Coal-fired Power Plant A typical (500 megawatt) coal plant burns 1.4 million tons of coal each year. There are about 600 U.S. coal plants. Coal supplies about 28% of our electricity. Oil-fired Power Plant Each year, 120,000 tons of crude oil are burned by a oil plant to generate 100 MW of electricity. Gas-Oil Fired Steam Boilers The world has more than 2000 fossil fuel power plants. Annually, the world consumes more than 4,500,000,000 ton of coal and 85,000,000 barrels of oil per day.

Advantages and Disadvantages Associated with the Transportation and Storage of Fossil Fuels OIL AdvantagesDisadvantages Maritime Transportation ●The majority of oil transported by maritime means reaches their destination to 2004, according to the accident statistics of ITOPF (International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation) almost % of oil transported arrived at its destination without any problem ●greater flexibility ●Possibilities of oil spills and discharging of polluting products such as the residue from tank and bilge cleaning Land Transportation ●Normally there are no serious oil spillages. In fact, as soon as the pipeline is damaged by accident or sabotage, pumping is stopped and pollution remains limited. ●Oil is always corrosive to a greater or lesser extent, because it contains acidic gases. The pipes deteriorate from the inside and if they are not changed in time, they finish by leaking. This problem exists for example in certain areas in Siberia. Storage in Tanks (Petroleum storage tanks/ oil depots) ●Usually situated close to oil refineries or in locations where marine tankers containing products can discharge their cargo.

COAL AdvantagesDisadvantages Railroads ●relatively trouble-free operation with minimum maintenance, ●the large-volume shipments that are possible ●the high mechanical efficiencies that are obtained with low rolling resistancesmechanical efficiencies ●Roadbed and track requirements and large fixed investment in railcars make rail transport capital-intensive On-highway trucks ●can negotiate more severe grades and curves ●roads can be resurfaced or constructed more readily and with far lower capital investments than can railways Barges ●transport of coal on barges is highly cost-efficient.●Waterways are usually circuitous, resulting in slow delivery times Conveyors ●Conveyors can traverse difficult terrain with greater ease than trucks or rail systems, and they can also be extended easily and have the advantage of continuous transport. ●Conveyors with wide belts and high operating speeds can have enormous capacities, varying from 2,000 to 5,000 tons per hour. Coal Storage ●Taller and wider stockpiles reduce the land area required to store a set tonnage of coal ●Larger coal stockpiles have a reduced rate of heat lost, leading to a higher risk of spontaneous combustion

NATURAL GAS AdvantagesDisadvantages Gas Pipelines ●Transportation by gas pipelines are less costly●the construction of gas pipelines is technically impossible or too expensive, for example to bring Nigerian gas to Europe Storage through Depleted Gas Reservoir ● relatively close to gas markets and to transportation infrastructure (pipelines and distribution systems) Storage through Salt Formation ●Salt caverns allow very little of the injected natural gas to escape from storage unless specifically extracted. ●walls of a salt cavern are strong and impervious to gas over the lifespan of the storage facility ●cannot hold the large volumes of gas necessary to meet base load storage requirements ●costly when measured on dollars per thousand cubic feet of working gas Storage through Aquifer Reservoir ●Geological and physical characteristics of aquifer formation are not known ahead of time so a significant investment has to go into investigating and evaluating the aquifer’s suitability for natural gas storage. ●If the aquifer is suitable, all of the associated infrastructure must be developed from scratch

Efficiency of Power Stations Fuelled by Different Fossil Fuels ●Efficiency is determined by fuel type, the load factor, and employed technology ●Natural gas power stations are the most efficient o Convert approximately ½ of the chemical energy in gas to electricity

Environmental Problems Associated with the Recovery of Fossil fuels and their use in Power Stations Problems with fossil fuels in plant stations: ●Pollution ●Release of carbon monoxide is poisonous Problems with retrieval of fossil fuels: ●Environmental impacts ●Pollute the air and water ●Spills

Environmental Problems Associated with the Recovery of Fossil fuels and their use in Power Stations Cons of underground mines ●More dangerous and more expensive ●Particulate matter has to be pumped to the surface ●Cave-ins in discontinued mines have caused hazards to land and surface structures above the mines Cons of strip mines ●Sulfur deposits form acid ●Topsoil is removed ●Water erosion Coal can be obtained through underground mines or strip mines

Cons of crude oil and natural gas ●Expensive compared to coal mining o Geographical mining o Geochemical surveys o Drill prospecting o Offshore engineering ●Oil blowouts Environmental Problems Associated with the Recovery of Fossil fuels and their use in Power Stations

Activity: Oil Seeps ●Oil Seeps: natural oozing of oil and gasoline through cracks in the land ●Petroleum and natural gas rise through the water ●People used to believe that oil and gas purified the air ●In Santa Barbara it is estimated that barrels of oil seep to the surface a day ●Tents are built to capture the seeps, but still haven’t solved the problem completely