2. Main Topics
• What are Fossil Fuels
• Types of Fossil Fuels
• How we use Fossil Fuels
• Fossil Fuel Limitation
• Aftermath of Fossil Fuels
• Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fuels
• Politics and Fossil Fuels
3. What are Fossil
Fuels?
•Main Deposits from Carboniferous
Period (360-286 m.y.a.)
-Land was covered with:
1. Large Trees
2. Huge Ferns
3. Grand Leafy Plants
- Water and Seas primarily filled with algae
• Death of Plants and Trees during this
period
1. Plant and Tree waste fell to the
bottom of swamps and oceans
2. Waste formed “Peat Layer”
3. Peat layer-sedimentary
4. Rock pile on sedimentary layer
• Millions of Years of Pressure
1. Pressure squeezed water out of
peat
2. Result- coal, petroleum, or natural
gas
Energyquest.ca.gov
4. Types of Fossil Fuels
• Coal
• Petroleum or Oil
• Natural Gas
5. Coal
• Constituents:
1. Carbon
2. Hydrogen
3. Oxygen
4. Nitrogen
5. Sulfur
• Main Types:
1. Anthracite
2. Bituminous
3. Lignite
• Coal Mining
1. Coal Extraction
2. Shafts are dug deep
underground
3. Strip Mining
• Coal Dispersion
1. Shipped: train, boat, pipeline
• Coal Usage
1. Used to fuel power plants and
factories to produce energy for
the city
Energyquest.ca.gov
6. Oil or Petroleum:
Background
• What is it?
- Formed over 300 m.y.a.
- Tiny Diatoms are source
of oil
• Diatoms
-Organisms that can
convert sunlight directly
into stored energy
-Convesion to Oil
1. Buried under
sediment layer
2. Rock pressure on
diatoms
3. Carbon => Oil
• Transformation of Earth
created oil and natural gas
pockets within the Earth
energy.quest.ca.gov
7. Oil:
History and Modern
Applications
• Has been used for over 5,000-
6,000 years
-Used by many civilizations:
Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptions, Native
Americans, and more
• Modern Oil Drilling
- Edwin Drake (8/27/1859)
- Oil companies drill into deposits
- Oil pumped to the surface by Oil Rigs
through pipelines or ships
• Oil Storage
- Transported by large tanker ships
- Stored in massive oil tanks
- Oil Refineries
• Top Oil Deposits
- Domestic: California and Alaska
- Foreign: Saudi
Arabia, Canada, Iraq, U.A.E., Kuwait, I
ran
- 50% of the oil we use is foreign
(majority from the Middle East)
energy.quest.ca.gov
Mapsofworld.com
8. Natural Gas:
Background
• Discovery
-Iran (6,000-2,000 BCE)
-Gas Seeps in the Middle East
• Characteristics
-Lighter than air
-Mainly composed of Methane
-Methane- CH4
•Where is it Found?
-Found near petroleum underground
pockets (near coal beds)
-Domestic: 33 States- TX, OK, NM, WY
-Globally:
U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central and
South America, Europe, Middle
East, Asia
• Global and Domestic Usage
-2,464 billion cubic meters of NG is
dug, processed, and used globally
annually
-70% of single-family homes in the
U.S. used NG for gas heating
-energy.quest.ca.gov
-pge.com
-eia.gov
9. Natural Gas
Processing
• Mechanisms
1. Biogenic Mechanism – methanogenic organisms
2. Thermogenic Mechanism – organic material
• Processing Plants
- Around major pipeline systems
1. Well-Head Processing Plants
2. Centralized Processing Plants
- Plant-Complexes are complexes of connecting
low-pressure pipelines
• Processing
- Separate all materials (various hydrocarbons and
fluids) from the pure-natural gas
- Natural Gas must be purified before
transportation
• Byproducts
- Ethane, Propane, Carbon Dioxide, Water
Vapor, Helium, and Nitrogen gas
naturalgas.org
eia.gov
10. Natural Gas
Transportation
• Complex network of pipelines near the
storage facility
– Small Diameter/Low-Pressure Pipelines
– Transport the natural gas from the
wellhead to the processing plants
• 3 Major Pipelines
1. Gathering System
2. Interstate Pipeline System
3. Distribution System
• Ocean
- LNG Carriers – ships carry Liquefied
Natural Gas
• Land
- Pipelines
- Tank Trucks - carry Compressed Natural
Gas
Naturalgas.org
11. Natural Gas
Storage
• Held in underground pressure
facilities
1. Depleted Reservoirs in oil/gas
fields
2. Aquifers
3. Salt Cavern Formations
• Facility Characteristics
1. Capacity to hold natural gas for
future use
2. Withdrawn Inventory Rate and
Deliverability Rate
• Problems
- Low density of the natural gas
makes it hard to store efficiently
and transport
pge.org & naturalgas
.org
12. How we use Fossil Fuels:
Converting Fossil Fuels to Energy
• Overview
- Energy from burning fossil
fuels is converted to
electricity and heat in power
plants
• Basic Process
- CH4[g] + 2 O2[g] -> CO2[g] + 2
H2O[g] + energy
- Electricity is generated
a) Mechanical Energy is
transformed to Electrical
Energy
b) Energy is converted through
a generator or turbine
c) Process normally takes
place within power plants
Lenntech.com
13. Fossil Fuel Applications
• Provide Energy
- Coal, Oil, and Natural
Gas provide the energy
to power our society and
economy everyday
• Main Energy Products
1. Providing Electricity
2. Fueling Transportation
3. Heating and Cooling
Iptv.org
Elmhurst.edu
14. Fossil Fuel Limitation
• Reserves (R) and
Production (P) Ratio
1. Oil – 46 years (2055)
2. Natural Gas – 63 years
(2072)
3. Coal – 119 years (2128)
• Growth vs. Depletion
Date
- Avg. Growth Rate (since
1981)/ Depletion Date
1. Oil – 1% / 2046
2. Natural Gas – 2.6% / 2046
3. Coal – 2.2% / 2068
Science20.com
15. Fossil Fuel Depletion
vs.
Population Growth
• Growth Rate depends
on socioeconomic
factors
- Policy-making, Fuel
Prices, Demographics, Te
chnical Advancements
• Predicting “the end”
1) Uncertainty in Growth
Rate
2) Uncertainty in Reserves
Science20.com
16. World Energy Model
• International Energy Agency
• Mathematical Model
composed of 6 modules
1. Final Energy Demand
2. Power Generation
3. Refinery and Other
Transformation
4. Fossil Fuel Supply
5. Carbon Dioxide Emissions
6. Investment
• Main Goal
- WEM is a model composed of
~16,000 equations, to help
replicate how energy markets
work
Iea.org
Science20.com
19. Petroleum Aftermath
1. Collapse of Nations
- Domino Effect
2. Medical Concerns
- Power & Medical Supplies
3. National/Domestic Power
- Society and Life based off of
energy
4. Economic Downfall
- Transportation and World Market
- 74% of our oil is used for
transportation
5. Import/Export
- Transporting Goods
Energyquest.ca.gov
20. Collapse of Nations
• Domino Effect
- GVT Communications
Foreign and Domestic
- Import/Export Supplies
Food, Water, Medicine, W
ork Labor
- Transportation
Planes, Boats, Cars
- Domestic Energy
Power Homes
21. Medical Concerns
• Transportation
1. Patient Transfer
2. Medical Supplies
• Domestic Energy
1. Hospital Building
2. Life-Support Machines
3. Imaging Systems
22. Economic Downfall
• National/Domestic
Power
1. Lifestyle
2. Society
3. Government
• Economic Collapse
1. Petroleum Based Jobs
2. Tourism & Travel
3. Stock Market
4. International Trade
24. Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fuels
Fossil Fuels Alternative Fuels
1. Oil or Petroleum • Wind Power
2. Natural Gas • Solar Power
3. Coal • Nuclear Fission
• Biofuels
• Hydrogen Power
25. Wind Power
• Process:
1. Heat from the Sun
2. Earth’s uneven surface
3. Rotation of Earth
• Energy Storage
1. Wind = Mechanical Energy = Power
2. Wind Turbines produce energy
• Wind Turbine
1. Wind turns propellers
2. Electric Generator
• Utilization
1. Free Renewable Source
2. Clean Energy
• Cons
1. High Initial Investment
2. Location
Windeis.anl.gov
26. Hydrogen Power
• History
- Gaffron and Rubin 1939
• Major Processes
1. Steam Reforming
2. Hydrogen Electrolysis
High Pressure
High Temperature
3. Algae Utilization
• Transport and Storage
• Pros and Cons
27. Hydrogen Power Processes:
Steam Reforming
• Leading Hydrogen Process
• Natural Gas
1. Methane Reaction
2. Carbon Monoxide +
Steam = Exothermic
Reaction
3. Carbon Monoxide
Removal
• Cons
1. Cost
2. Carbon Dioxide Emissions
3. Storage
FossilEnergy.gov
28. Hydrogen Power Processes:
Coal Technology
• Hydrogen Produced by:
1. Gasification
2. Subsequent processing of
resulting gas
• Process:
1. Coal + Oxygen Reaction
2. Synthesis Gas Formation
3. Cleansing
4. Hydrogen Recovery
• Cons
1. Cost
2. Storage
3. Lack of Research
Fossilfuelenergy.gov
29. Hydrogen Power Processes:
Hydrogen Electrolysis
• Definition
- The breakdown of water
through an electric current
- Separation of Hydrogen
from Oxygen
- Fuel cell combines
hydrogen and oxygen to
produce
electricity, heat, and water
• Methods
1. High-Pressure
2. High-Temperature
3. Industrial Electrolysis
Fossil.energy.gov
hydrogencars.now.com
Fossil.energy.gov
30. Hydrogen Power
Pros and Cons
Pros Cons
1. Produces a “cleaner” process to 1. Still produces carbon
produce energy
- Help climate change dioxide and other
- Better Lifestyle greenhouse gases
2. Renewable Energy
- Better future and less stress on the 2. Fuel cell batteries are
economy expensive to:
3. Hydrogen is very abundant
- Money expenditure on foreign drilling transport, store, and
sites can be used elsewhere in a
country’s society
produce
4. Reduce dependence on foreign 3. Less energy to travel
oil further distances than
- Spend less time on conflict in
drilling in foreign countries fossil fuels
Keyframe5.com
31. Fossil Fuels
Pros and Cons
Pros Cons
1. High Calorific Value 1. Climate Change
2. Easier to refine and - Releases Greenhouse Gases
produce 2. Acid Rain
3. 50% of factories and mills 3. Health Hazards
are powered by coal - Water contamination
energy - Polluted Air
4. Easy Storage and 4. Land Degredation
Transportation 1. Strip Mining
Buzzle.com
2. Toxic work envrionment
32. When Will We Change?
• Why aren’t we being
progressive?
1. Politics
2. Greed
3. Time vs. Cost
33. Alternate Fuel Progression upheld by
Politics and Greed
• Government and
Petroleum ties
– Officials and political parties
sponsored by petroleum
businesses
• Poor management of the
nation’s budget
– Alternative Fuels should be
the #1 priority
• Foreign Conflicts
• “Oil” on Capital Hill
– Bush and Cheney Campaign
Pbs.org
34. What is our Plan?
• Fossil Fuels will
deplete eventually
and soon
• Climate Change’s
damage will become
worse each year
• Earth’s population ill
continue to grow
35. Questions
• What can we do?
• Are the ties between
government officials and
“big” oil companies
hindering progression in
alternative fuels?
• Persevere through a
decade of change now or
suffer through decades of
mass chaos later?
• What will it take for a
massive change to
happen?
