Fossil Fuels

Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

Renewable Resources: can be replenished in a short time, within human lifespans

• plants, trees, solar power

Non-Renewable Resources: significant deposits take a long time to form. Is being used faster than it is being replenished

• fossil fuels = coal, oil, natrual gas

• metals = iron, copper, uranium, gold

• non metallic = sand

• in the US we use wood, then coal, then oil & gas

Non-Renewable Sources: Coal

Coal: formed from plant material that were in anoxic environment

• a major fuel for generating electricity

1. Anoxic swamp slows decomposition, CO2 remains in/from dead plants

2. After millions of years, plant matter gets compressed

3. After millions of years, high temperature and pressure leads to metamorphic coal, which is very compacted

Carboniferous Period (300-360 million years) produced the largest expanse of coal swamps in the US

1. Peat: pre-coal, 75% water, 15% carbon

2. Lignite: brown coal

3. Bituminous coal: typical coal, most used for fuel

4. Anthracite: metamorphic coal, 5% H20, 90% carbon, hardest to acquire found in mountainous regions

United States: uses 28% of the global share of coal resources

• Major basins: Williston (ND), Illinois, Appalachian (OH, KY). Each contains different grades and values of coal

• sulfur is an unwanted byproduct present in higher grade coal (more cost of production, but the coal produces better heat)

Appalachian Plateau: Bituminous Coal

• during the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian time scale (300 mya)

• impacts the region today, in resources and economics

• The Drop-Off: as coal production has gone down, the economic security of the region has been negatively impacted

  • coal production plants have been retired in favor of alternative energy

Electricity Production from Coal

1. Coal is burned to heat up water

2. the boiled water becomes steam, the steam powers a turbine

3. the turbine (mechanical rotator) runs a generator, which then triggers electricity

Coal & the Environment

1. Quality of air: sulfur and ash in the atmosphere

   • scrubber or C-capture can help

2. Greenhouse gas emission: CO2 emissions

3. Underground mine subsidence and fines: underground and strip mining

   • hazards of collapse, ground level shrinking, fires

   • acid mine run-off

   • sulfur production, acid rain

   • topographic modification (blowing off mountain top)

   • hazards to miners

4. Coal Ash: remnants of coal that aren’t carbon like arsenic, mercury, lead

Non-Renewable Resources: Oil & Natural Gas

Petroleum: used for transport, industry, and heating

• formed from microscopic ocean organisms in shallow oceans

1. Micro. organisms take in CO2 in ocean, then die and release it on the sea floor

2. Dead matter builds up under heat and pressure

3. Compacted material of oil and gas

Petroleum: a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds

1. Liquids = crude oils, gas condensate

2. Gas = natural gas

3. Solids = asphalt

Extraction: Drilling

Oil and gas want to escape, drills provide a pathway for oil/gas to escape

Geologists- examine area to determine if region is oil dwelling (prehistoric shallow area) and high concentration of oil in one place

1. Anticlinical Trap (oil all in one place)

   • Cap rock = provides a barrier that block the oil/gas this is usually a shale or clay

   • Reservoir = high permeability and porosity allowing oil/gas to travel made of sandstones and sediments

   • Source = where the petrol is made from, usually shale

2. Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking): a way to harvest petrol when not in a trap

   • water with sand, lubricants, and volatiles is pumped into underground cracks

   • creates a pathway for oil

   • oil can be reversed pumped and extracted

     1. requires a lot of water use- 4-5 million gallons

     2. water resource contamination: surface water contamination spills at site (flow back injection or subsurface leakage)

     3. Seismicity: water injection can cause local earthquakes

   3. Natural Gas vs. Oil Consumption: oil is easy to transport major exports, natural gas is hard to transport so its used locally