Fuel Types and Uses (APES 6.3)

Wood (easy processing) and charcoal

Fuel primarily used in developing countries (easily accessible)

Charcoal

a stick of black carbon material used for drawing (made from wood)

Tree removal & Charcoal extraction

Leads to soil erosion and soil degradation leads to food security issues (also deforest station which leads to changes in precipitation, etc)

Peat

partially decayed plant matter burned for fuel found in bogs (wet spongy ground) - precursor to coal. less effective than coal beacsue it is only partially decayed. releases LOTTTSSSS of co2

3 types of coal and info about coal

1. Lignite
2. Bituminous
3. Anthracite

these three form depending on how long they are underground for! coal releases mercury and sulfure dioixde → acid rain

Lignite

1. Low heat capacity, low sulfur, high moisture (least valuable)

Bituminous

2. Most commonly used, high heating capacity, high sulfur

Anthracite

3. Best quality, high heating capacity, low sulfur content (most pressure/least amount of impurities/most valuable)

acid deposition (acid rain)

Sulfur emission + H2O vapor cause

Wood uses

Heating, lighting, cooking

Charcoal uses

Heating, cooking

Peat uses

Heating, cooking

Natural gas

Cleanest burning fossil fuel because it doesn't release many harmful emissions (releases negligible amount of sulfur dioxide and mercury) - made of mostly methane HOWEVER still produced carbon emissions

tar sand

Deposit of a mixture of clay, sand, water, and varying amounts of a tarlike heavy oil known as bitumen. Bitumen can be extracted from tar sand by heating. It is then purified and upgraded to synthetic crude oil. (NOT ideal for processing)

tar sand

Crude oil can be recovered from. HELLA deforestation and lots of water

Fuel made from crude oil

Gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, etc

Refineries

The facilities that turn petroleum into gasoline and other products (take advantage of different boiling points of the fuels)

Cogeneration (combined heat and power)

the use of a fuel to generate useful electricity and produce useful heat