1. Fossil Fuels Formation, Distribution, Extraction & Purification,
Advantages & Disadvantages,
Alternatives

2. Fossil Fuels
Coal
Oil (Petroleum)
Natural Gas

3. Formation of Fossil Fuels – common conditions
High Organic Production
Burial of organic material
Reducing conditions – little or no free oxygen
Reducing conditions preserve organic matter
Coal and Petroleum diverge from here

4. Formation of Coal Accumulation of land plant material
Reducing conditions – coastal and inland swamps

5. Formation of Coal
Organic accumulation is greater than destruction (because of reducing conditions)
Organic matter builds up to form peat

6. Formation of Coal Peat is compressed to form lignite – brown coal
Lignite is compressed and volatile compounds are lost to form bituminous coal – soft coal
Bituminous coal is further compressed and heated to form anthracite – hard coal

8. Formation of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Accumulation of organic material – typically marine mud
Burial and preservation of organic material – reducing conditions
Reducing conditions in deep sea or on continental shelves during times of unusual oceanic circulation

9. Formation of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Black, organic-rich mud is buried deeper and converted to rock – shale
With burial, the organic matter is heated
When heat is sufficient (but not too great) – in the range of degrees C – the organic matter is “cooked” and oil forms
Process is called thermal maturation

10. Formation of Petroleum and Natural Gas
If heat is greater than 300 degrees C, the liquid petroleum is further broken down to form natural gas
If heat is too great, even the natural gas is broken down to form carbon dioxide, which has no value as a fuel

11. Migration and Concentration
Petroleum must leave source rock
Process is called migration
Migration is essential because most source rocks are too fine-grained to enable easy extraction of the oil
To be economically concentrated, petroleum must migrate to a reservoir rock with a trap

12. Examples of Petroleum Traps

13. Petroleum Resources Conditions for source rock are rare
Conditions for maturation must be just right
Migration must not let petroleum escape to surface
Reservoir rock must be present
Trap must exist before migration occurs

14. Where did the U.S. Petroleum Industry begin?
In New York!
First gas well – Fredonia, New York

15. Distribution of Petroleum
Economic accumulations of petroleum only occur when all of these conditions are met
These conditions and the sequence of occurrence do not occur everywhere
Conditions are most likely where there are thick accumulations of sedimentary rock – in sedimentary basins

16. Some of the world’s most productive sedimentary basins
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Alaska – north slope, Texas – Louisiana Gulf Coast, Iraq and Iran, Mexico, Venezuela

17. Refining of Petroleum Heat and/or chemical treatment to produce:
Gasoline
Diesel Fuel
Kerosene
Liquified Propane (LPG)
Petroleum bases for plastics

18. Fractional Distillation

19. Advantages
Disadvantages
Highly compact & portable
Source of organic molecules & sulfur
Heat-tolerant lubricant
Excellent road & roof surfacing
Solvents for paint
NG – cooking fuel, fertilizer, detergents, & helium
Very economical
Replaced whale oil (saved the whales)
Source of advanced technology
Burning releases most CO2
Nonrenewable - 50 to 150 yr
National Security - Source Countries unstable
Transportation – spills & leaks
Increasing Consumption vs. Decreasing Production
Oil & NG are a carcinogens
Contribute to smog
Water Pollutant
Land Degradation
Sulphur & Nitrogen contributes to air pollution.

20. Alternatives to Fossil Fuels
Transportation
Electricity & Heat
Electricity
Biofuels
Hydrogen
Solar
Wind
Water
Geothermal
Hydrogen
Bio-fuels
Plastics
Algae
Corn
Sugar Cane & Sugar Beets

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