Noadswood Science, 2011

Solutions To Fuel Problems  To identify possible solutions to the impact of burning fuels Saturday, February 06, 2016

Crude Oil  Crude oil is a mixture of compounds called hydrocarbons – they only contain hydrogen and carbon atoms, joined together by chemical bonds  There are different types of hydrocarbon, but most of the ones in crude oil are alkanes…

Crude Oil  Why is crude oil so important?  Some of the 21 st century’s most important chemistry involves chemicals that are made from crude oil – they are used for fuels in cars; warming of homes; making electricity etc…  When oil prices rise it affects us all – countries that produce crude oil can have an affect on the world economy by the price charged for oil  Crude oil originates as a dark, smelly liquid which is a mixture of lots of different chemical compounds – it is not much use straight out of the ground (there are too many substances in it, all with different boiling points). As such it needs to be refined…

Fossil Fuels  One impact of burning fossil fuels is that the products of combustion can be very harmful to the environment  Sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide are the two biggest gases which cause environmental problems, as well as carbon monoxide and the oxides of nitrogen…  Sulfur can be removed from fuels before they are burnt, such as the fuels used for most vehicles  Sulfur dioxide can also be removed from the waste gases after combustion, both in factories and vehicles (using a catalytic converter)

Catalytic Converter  Car exhaust systems have catalytic converters – these convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide… Carbon Monoxide + Nitrogen Oxide → Nitrogen + Carbon Dioxide 2CO + 2NO → N 2 + 2CO 2

Catalytic Converter  Catalytic converters also convert nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and oxygen as well as complete the oxidation of un-burnt hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water Nitrogen Oxides → Nitrogen + Oxygen Hydrocarbon + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water

Environment Versus Economy  There are a variety of alternatives to fossil fuels, and one of the most promising is using hydrogen as a fuel  Hydrogen and oxygen will react together releasing energy – their only by-product being water  The problem at the moment is getting the hydrogen – it can be split from water, but requires energy to do so (currently from burning fossil fuels)!  Biofuels such as biodiesels and ethanol are produced from plant material – however is it right to grow crop for fuel when many of the world’s population remain hungry?

Research  Research the current fuel situation for the entire world, considering the following criteria: -  Economical  Environmental  Social  Long term future  Reliability  Storage and convenience / infrastructure already in place  Identify the pros and cons of fossil fuels / biofuels / hydrogen fuel and form your own opinion of the way we should go forward…