Nonrenewable Energy Sources Environmental Science

World and US energy sources

Evaluating 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

How Fossil Fuels Are Formed

Problems with Fossil Fuels 1.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 CO 2

COAL is cheaper, GAS is cleaner, OIL is the highest quality Coal: $0.85 per million Btu Natural Gas: $2.18 per million Btu Crude Oil: $2.97 per million Btu

Net Energy (EROI)

1. Coal 1. Coal 2. Oil 3. Natural Gas 4. 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.

The longer it’s been forming, the higher the grade – Carbon content increases – Burns hotter & cleaner!

PEATLIGNITE garnero101.asu.edu/glg101/Lectures/L37.ppt BITUMINOUS ANTHRACITE

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.

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?

Formation of Coal

What sample do you have? Describe your sample (2-5 words)

How Fossil Fuels Are Formed

World Coal Deposits – top 3 countries?

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 Most dangerous, most laborious – Subsidence and black lung Subsidence and black lung Tour a Coal Mine:

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

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 More than 500 fires burning in coal deposits and waste heaps in the US

© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP 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 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. Coal 2. Oil 3. Natural Gas 4. 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

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.

Enhanced (Tertiary) Oil Recovery

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???

Recovery & Net Energy In any oil field, only 1/3 of the heavy oil can actually be recovered by 1 st or 2 nd –ary methods Tertiary recovery uses the energy of 1/3 of a barrel of oil for each barrel it produces (<4min) u7GjR7o&feature=related

Who Has the Oil?Reserves North America75.7 South and Central America89.5 Western Europe18.9 Former Soviet Countries58.9 Middle East673.6 Africa75.4 Far East and Oceania43.0 Total1,033.2

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. 2.3% of world reserves uses nearly 30% of world reserves; 65% for transportation; increasing dependence on imports.

Resources ≠ Reserves Resources – amounts of material that are known/ assumed to exist that can be extracted NOW or in the FUTURE for a POSSIBLE profit $ Reserves – known amounts of material that can PRESENTLY be extracted for a PROFIT – “proven”

How much is left? Estimated reserves: educated guesses about the location and size of oil or natural gas deposits Proven reserves: how much oil can be economically obtained from the oil field Production: withdrawal of oil or gas from the oil field

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

Crude Oil Alternatives Greener oil options?

Oil Shale Tar Sand Oil Shale (kerogen) & 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 States 1.Wood 2.Water (steam) 3.Coal 4.Natural gas 5.Oil 6.Nuclear power 3, 4, and 5 = 83.5% of U.S. energy consumption

ANWR and offshore drilling – Jay Leno – Obama offshore drilling – ANWR and offshore (1:30) nds/ nds/ – - drilling in Alaska article

1. Oil 2. Coal 3. Natural Gas 4. Nuclear

Natural Gas - Fossil Fuel Mixture 50–90% Methane (CH 4 ) Ethane (C 2 H 6 ) Propane (C 3 H 8 ) Butane (C 4 H 10 ) Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S)

Where is it found?

Conventional vs. Unconventional 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

billion cubic metres

Conventional Natural Gas Reserves Russia (25%) Iran (15%), Qatar (14%), Saudi Arabia (4%), United Arab Emirates (4%) United States (3%)

Shale deposits around the world

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

Natural Gas and the Marcellus Shale watch?v=O0kmskvJFt0&f eature=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