America's Dependency on oil and the need for alternative
1. America’s Dependency on
Oil and the Need for
Alternative Fuel
Submitted by: Daniel Stern
Presented by: Henry Moreno & Stephen Shervon
2. History of US Oil
Consumption
• Ever since the Industrial Revolution took off in the 18th
century, vast quantities of fossil fuels have been used to
power the economy and deliver unprecedented affluence
to huge numbers of people.
• During the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels seemed to be
the ideal energy source. Steam locomotives, the
quintessential machines of the Industrial Revolution, used
coal as a fuel source from early on to compensate for a
lack of firewood and charcoal
3. History of US Oil Consumption
Since the modest beginnings of the oil industry in the mid-
19th century, petroleum has risen to global prominence
the development of drilling technology for oil wells in mid-
19th century America put the petroleum industry on a new
footing, leading to mass-consumption of petroleum as a
highly versatile fuel powering transportation in the form of
automobiles, ships, airplanes and so on, applied to generate
electricity, used for heating and to provide hot water supplies
World consumption of primary energy greatly increased from
3.8 billion tons of oil equivalent in 1965 to 11.1 billion tons of
oil equivalent in 2007.
4. Oil
Consumption
Energy consumption in China and
other Asian countries is expected to
continue increasing rapidly owing to
high economic growth, rising
populations and ongoing
industrialization
Consumption is also increasing
rapidly in certain countries in the
Middle East.
World consumption of primary
energy greatly increased from 3.8
billion tons of oil equivalent in 1965
to 11.1 billion tons of oil equivalent
in 2007
7. US oil usage by four
primary sectors
residential;
transportation;
and industrial, which includes the agricultural,
manufacturing, construction, and mining
industries.
9. Oil price
oil prices and increasing production fourfold in 1985
The region ( Union Soviet )lost approximately $20 billion per year due to lower revenues
from oil exports, which resulted in huge government borrowing in the following years
Wide fluctuations in oil prices have played an important role in driving economies into
recession and even regimes collapsing
Since 2008, oil prices have seen two cycles of highs and lows, with no indication of a
steady path in the near future
The historic high values of oil prices during 2010–13 and the following prolonged
downturn during 2014–16 (the longest
since the 1980s) suggest that the world economy is in unchartered territory.
12. Alternatives fuels
Alternative fuels not only burn cleaner— producing lower
emissions—but some are even renewable, unlike fossil fuels,
which means we could develop a continuous supply of them. The
alternative fuels in use today include
ethanol,
biodiesel,
methanol,
natural gas,
propane,
electricity, and
hydrogen.
13. Ethanol
The most widely used alternative transportation fuel
is ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol typically made from
corn or corn byproducts, using a process similar to
brewing beer.
In the United States, we blend more than 1.5 billion
gallons of ethanol with gasoline each year to produce
E10 (10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.)
Today we also have some vehicles that can use a
higher blend of ethanol – up to 85 percent – called
E85. These vehicles, known as flexible-fuel vehicles,
can use E85, gasoline, or any mixture of the two. E85
is available in many parts of the country but primarily
in the Midwest.
14. bio biodiesel
Biodiesel is an ester (similar to vinegar) that can be
made from several types of oils, such as vegetable
oils and animal fats. Each year about 30 million
gallons of biodiesel are produced in the United
States from recycled cooking oils and soybean oil.
Biodiesel is typically used as a blend— 20 percent
biodiesel and 80 percent petroleum diesel—called
B20. B20 can be used in a conventional diesel
engine with essentially no engine modifications
15. methanol
Methanol, another alcohol-based fuel, is
usually produced from natural gas, but it can
also be produced from biomass. Therefore, it
has the potential to help reduce petroleum
imports.
Methanol-powered vehicles emit smaller
amounts of air pollutants, such as
hydrocarbons, particulate matter, and
nitrogen oxides, than do similar gasoline-
fueled vehicles. Some buses and fleet
vehicles currently run on M85, which contains
85 percent methanol and 15 percent
gasoline.
16. natural gas
Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly methane. It can be
produced either from gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil
production.
Natural gas is a clean burning, domestically produced fuel that
generates significantly less carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
particulate matter, and nitrous oxide compared to similar fossil fuel
vehicles. It is used in vehicles as compressed natural gas (CNG) or
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
There are about 100,000 natural gas vehicles in the United States.
Nearly one of every five new transit buses in the United States runs
on natural gas.
17. propane
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly called propane, is
a mixture of at least 90 percent propane, 2.5 percent butane
and higher hydrocarbons, and ethane and propylene make
up the remaining balance.
Propane emits 64 percent less reactive organic compounds,
20 percent less nitrogen oxide, and 20 percent less carbon
monoxide than a similar gasoline vehicle.
There are fueling stations in all states. Today there are more
than 270,000 on- and off-road, propane-powered vehicles
in the United States.
18. electricity
Electricity is considered a fuel when used in vehicles. Electric vehicles
use various types of batteries and other energy storage mechanisms
to store the electricity used to run a vehicle.
While the electricity production process for vehicles may contribute
somewhat to air pollution, an electric vehicle (EV) itself does not,
resulting in much lower emissions per mile traveled
In 2000, close to 7,600 on-road EVs in the United States consumed
electricity at an amount equivalent to about 1.7 million gallons of
gasoline.
19. Hydrogen
Hydrogen is a simple,
abundant element found in
organic matter, notably in the
hydrocarbons that make up
many of our fuels, such as
gasoline, natural gas,
methanol, and propane.
Hydrogen can be combined
with gasoline, ethanol,
methanol, or natural gas to
reduce nitrogen oxide
emissions