Fossil Fuels

Flashcards related to fossil fuels.

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy can’t be created or destroyed; only transform

Energy can _____form as it flows through a system.

Change

Primary Energy Sources

Sources of energy found in nature; coal

Secondary Energy Sources

Energy sources made by using primary energy; electricity

Second Law of Thermodynamics

There is always loss; entropy; heat

How is the efficiency of transformation?

Not efficient at all; using primary energy to make secondary energy is inefficient.

Direct Financial

Money spent to get a particular energy source

Energy Costs

How much energy is required to get primary source

What are different environmental costs?

Extraction; Refinement; Transport; Use

EROI

Energy Returned to Energy Invested: The amount of energy gained compared to the energy used to obtain it.

What does it mean for a fossil fuel to be cheaply obtained?

More benefits than costs

Externalities

Costs of obtaining energy that are not directly seen by the consumer.

Early Energy was Obtained by:

Human & Animal Muscle; muscles are limited compared to machines

Elements also provide energy:

Sun, Water, Wind

Steam Engine

Founded in Industrial Revolution; Provided Steady, Portable Power; Burning Things

When Was Firewood Replaced by Coal

1929; Coal Provided 80% of US Energy

Significance of Internal Combustion Engine

Oil Provided an Alternative to Steam Power from Coal; Move more efficiently; lighter

Benefits of Using Oil Over Coal

Oil Provided Improved Air Quality; Gas Engines Lighter; Oil is Now Major Energy Source for the World

Where does Coal still Dominate?

Eastern Europe & China

Natural Gas

• Found With Oil or When Drilling For Oil

• Mostly Methane CH₄

• Produces CO₂ & H₂O When Burned; Burns Cleaner Than Coal and Oil

• Formerly Vented As A Waste

• Now Provides 30% of US & 24% of World Energy

Electricity

• An energy carrier that enables modern technological society

• Most Fossil Fuel Energy is Used to Generate Electricity

• 32% of Fossil Fuel Production Used to Generate Electricity in USA

• In 2023: 60% of US electricity was generated using fossil fuels

• Natural Gas #1

Electric Generators

• A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy

• Faraday Invented it in 1831

• Energy Lost via Resistance, Heat, & Transmission

• 3 Units Primary Energy = 1 Unit Electricity

Turbogenerators

Use gas, water, wind, or geothermal energy to turn turbines and provide mechanical energy to power electrical generators.

Power Plants in USA

• 12,538 Utility Scale Electric Power Plants

• 25,378 Electric Generators Across These Plants

• Natural Gas Has Surpassed Coal as #1 Fuel Used

Demand for Electricity

• Fluctuates: Seasons, Summer, Winters

  • Summer Heat Waves are Greatest Cause of Sudden Increase in Demand

  • Some Summers are getting Longer

• Tied Together via Transmission Lines

• Utilites Balance Supply & Demand

• As Demands Rises, Utility Adds Additional Plants

• Antiquated Systems: Expensive to replace, always running, hard to replace

  • Power Plants, Transmission Lines, & Control Systems = Old and Inefficient

Megawatt (MW)

A unit of power equal to one million watts; 1 MW of electricity can power about 800 homes.

Demand Cycles

Lower & Higher periods of electricity

Baseload

The constant supply of electricity needed to meet minimum demand (Starting Points)

Brownouts

A reduction in voltage, which can cause lights to dim and equipment to malfunction; not everything shuts down; miscalculations

Blackouts

A complete loss of power; mechanical failures

Most Electric Utilites Are Ran

In power grids; can transfer among them

Independent Electric Utilites

Not a part of a power grid

Is Electricity Clean?

• Using electricity creates no pollution, generating does

• Fossil Fuels are the most common fuel used to produce electricity

• Electricity from fossil fuels is only 30%-35% efficient

  • Conversion & Transmission Losses

  • Thermal Pollution from Power Plants

Alternative Fuels

• Some Forms of Energy are better for some uses

• Energy Use is divided into 4 or 5 Categories:

  • 1. Transportation: oil, gasoline, diesel

  • 2. Industrial Processing: fossil fuels

  • 3. Commercial & (4) Residential Use: electricity

  • 4. (5) Electric Production: #1 Use

• Electricity Used for all: Secondary Energy

Fossil Fuels

Fuels formed from the preserved remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. There were very specific conditions that were required to have been met: only one block of history that made fossil fuels

Nonrenewable Resource

A resource that cannot be easily replaced at the rate it is being consumed.

Crude Oil

• A mix of hydrocarbons (provides energy) and contaminants (causes gas releases) that must be refined (separated)

• Separation is caused when liquid is heated then condensed to grab different compounds (by mass)

• Lighter → Intermediate → Heavy

• Lighter & Thinner: Kerosene & Gasoline

• Heavier & Thicker: Diesel

• Heaviest & Thickest: Wax & Asphalt

Oil Resources

total amount of oil remaining in ground

Undiscovered Reserves

Locations where oil is expected due to geology

Proved Reserves

Estimated quantities of oil that are likely to be recovered; evidence proves that there is oil

1 Barrel

42 Gallons; Comes from Whiskey Barrels

P50

50% Chance an Oil Field a Given Number of Barrels of Oil; Used to Justify Production

Production

Extraction or Recovery of Oil From Earth

Primary Recovery

The initial extraction of oil using natural pressure; pumping; 25%

Secondary Recovery

Methods used to extract oil after the initial pressure has declined, such as water or gas injection; 25% more

Enhanced (Tertiary) Recovery

Advanced techniques used to extract remaining oil, often involving heat or chemical treatments to break geological formations; will get the most amount, but never 100%

The Price of a Barrel of Oil Determines

Extent Reserves Are Exploited

US Oil

• Until 1970, USA was Oil Independent

• Production Decreased; Consumption Increases

• Hubbert Peak

  • ½ of Available Would Have Been Withdrawn

  • Production Would Decline

• Imports from Middle East would fill gaps

OPEC & Oil Crisis of 1970’s

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

• Lowered Production & Increased Prices

• Shortages Caused Panic & Long Lines

• Caused USA 4x Previous Price for Oil

US Response

• Increased Domestic Production (Subsidized companies)

• Built Alaskan Pipeline (lots of oil)

• Reopened old fields

• Congress Increased Fuel Efficiency Standards & Lowered Speed Limits

• Created Strategic Oil in Lousianna

  • Stores millions each day: enough for 37 days

• Encouraged Oil Production in Non-OPEC Nations

• US consumption decreased; production increased

• New Discoveries of oil- price drove exploration

  • Mexico, Africa, & North Sea

• More Production Caused Glut & Prices Dropped

• US Oil production has trended down & use up

US Oil Dependency

• US Dependent on Foreign Oil Has 3 problems

  • Cost of Buying Oil; Very Expensive

  • Risk of Supply Disruptions; Events can happen

  • Ultimate Resource Limitations; Others will eventually not be able to meet demand

• Cost of Oil Imports in 2000 - $329 Billion

  • 2/3 of total trade deficit

  • by 2014 the oil trade deficit had been decreasing

• Economic Costs of Importing Oil

  • Oil Produced at Home Keeps $$ & Jobs at Home

• Enviromental Costs

  • Primary is cheapest; not efficient

• Politics- The Carter Doctrine: being friendly means more allies

  • Multiple wars & foreign aid to rebuild infrastructure in middle east

• US Subsidized Oil Use via Military

Oil Resource Limitations

• North America is the most Explored Landmass

• Offshore Oil = 30% of domestic production

• World uses 100.2 million barrels/day

• 1.57 trillion barrels of proven reserves

• 3 trillion of unproven reserves

• estimates around 50 years of production left

Oil Sand

• Sedimentary Material Contaminating Bitumen (asphalt or tar)

• Melted Bitumen Can be Refined as Oil (thick, sticky form of crude oil found in oil sands)

• Extraction has Huge Costs

• 110,00 Acres of Boreal Forest & Wetlands Have been Destroyed

• Extractions Generates Huge Amounts of GreenHouse Gases

• Keystone Pipeline: transportation of sand-based oil tar into US for refinement

Oil Shale

• Fine sedimentary rock containing kerogen

  • Insoluble organic matter; fossilized material like algae & plant matter

• US Has Large Deposits- Co, Ut, Tx & Wy

• Heating Shale Releases Oil-Like Substances That Can be Refined

• 1 Ton of Shale Produces ½ Barrel of Oil

• Not possible to produce large quantities of oil from shale

• Approx. 800 billion Barrels of Oil In Oil Shale

• Requires Local & State Approval

• Oil Shale will remain undeveloped until oil prices rise high enough

Natural Gases

• Burns cleaner than coal or oil

• about 52 years of natural gas proven reserves

• new technology improved natural gas production

• previously thought as a byproduct

• fracking

Fracking

• A technique that fractures shale to release trapped gas

  • vertical well drilled

  • shale is fractured, letting gas & fluid flow up the wells

• Gas production rose 20% & costs declined

• Causes air & water pollution

• causes increased earthquakes

• allowed natural gas to pass coal in power plants and oil in heating

• must be transported in liquid natural gas (LNG)

• global reserves are 4x as much as oil

• better than coal & oil; not sustainable yet

Coal

• world’s most abundant fossil fuel

• china is world’s leading producer

• mining coal is hazardous

• underground mines cause subsidence & fires

• fires release as much co₂ as all cars & trucks in usa

• up to 50% of coal must be left underground to support roof

• strip mining

  • dynamite overlyin areas & power shovels remove coal & rock

• mountaintop removal mining in appalachians

• lawsuits in 1990’s slowed dumping waste into streams

• bush administration reclassified “waste” as “fill”

  • allowed companies to dump into streams

• coal fired power plants burn 8000 tons / day

• releasing 20,000 tons of CO₂, 800 Tons of SO₂, Tons of Ash/Day

• kills > 13,000 people / year

• $100 billion in healthcare costs

• older plants lack pollution controls (too many loopholes)

  • except from clear air act

• coal combustion is the leading source of CO₂ worldwide

• CCPI

• IGCC

Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI)

Government initiative to research and develop cleaner coal technologies.

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)

Advanced technology to convert coal into gas, remove impurities, and generate electricity more efficiently.

EPA’s Clean Power Plan

A policy aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants; constantly shot down because of politics

CAFE

Corporate Average Fuel Economy; standards to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles.

Supply Side Policy

policies directly impacts fossil fuels production & users

Demand Side Policy

Government actions focused on reducing energy consumption and demand; consumers

National and States Need To Get Involved

There needs to be a clear vision for what needs to be done; it needs to be something that can survive through