Fossil Fuels

What are fossil fuels?

Fossil fuels
are indeed
created
from
fossils.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_Fuels

Fossil fuels are our dominant source of

energy
Cheap
Large Amount of Energy (usually converted to electricity)

What are different types of fossil Fuels?

Coal, oil and natural gas.

http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html

Coal Facts

Hard
Black
Rock-like
A nonrenewable energy source because it
takes millions of years to create.
Energy in coal comes from the energy stored
by plants that lived hundreds of millions of
years ago
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics)

Coal

These fuels were dug out of the ground. They had taken millions of
years to make and so are called FOSSIL FUELS and are NONRENEWABLE.
COAL

Made from the remains of plants which

died millions of years ago

Advantages:
- It's easily transported to many
areas in the world
most abundant sources of
energy, more so than oil and
natural gas

Disadvantages:
- Coal must be mined
and mining creates
damage to the
environment and
human health

- Coal is the least expensive

fossil fuel because it is rather
simple to mine

- Leaves behind
harmful remains
which harm the
environment upon
combustion

Coal can be safely stored and

can be drawn upon to create
energy in time of emergency

Non-renewable and
fast depleting

Coal mining affects the environment

History of Coal
Coal Timeline:
200 BC - first published record of coal used for heating
(Greece)
300 AD - Coal adopted as heat source in China
1285 AD - Coal burning begins to pollute London
1700s- Commercial mining began (invention of steam
engine), Industrial Revolution
1950 -coal provides 60% of world energy sources
2000 - coal provides 30% of world energy sources as
dependence
on petroleum grows

Coal is mined from the surface and

below ground
Subsurface mining = underground deposits are
reached by digging networks of tunnels deep
underground
Strip mining = heavy machinery removes huge
amounts of earth to expose and extract the coal
Mountaintop removal = in some cases, entire
mountaintops are cut off to obtain the coal

Two forms of coal mining

How Coal is used as a Fossil Fuel

Coal is mainly used generating electricity.
Separated ingredients of coal (such as
methanol and ethylene) are used in making;
Tar, Fertilizers, Medicine, Coke, Steel, Cement

(http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics)

Natural Gas Facts

Is lighter than air
Provides 25% of global commercial energy
consumption
Usually found near petroleum underground.
Pumped from below ground and travels in
pipelines to storage areas.
No odor
Cant see it
(http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html)

Advantages of natural gas

Cleaner to burn

Half as much CO2 as coal

More efficient

10% energy lost

More heat/unit weight than any other

fossil fuel
60-year supply at current rates

Disadvantages of natural gas

Difficult to transport
Pipelines
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) tankers

Can be polluting, dangerous when

extracted
Methane bed drilling pollutes

Natural gas is formed in two ways

Biogenic gas = created at shallow depths by
bacterial anaerobic decomposition of organic
matter
Thermogenic gas = results from compression and
heat deep underground

Natural gas has only recently been

widely used
Plutarch called naturally burning gas in Iraq eternal fires
The first commercial extraction occurred in 1821 but was only
used locally, because it could not be transferred safely
First used to light street lamps, then for heating and cooking
After thousands of miles of pipes were laid, natural gas
transport became safer and more economical

 DOOR TO HELL natural gas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7BtglqyY

Natural gas is often wasted

Coalbed methane = from coal seams, leaks to the
atmosphere during mining
In remote oil-drilling areas, natural gas is flared:
simply burned off
In Alaska, gas captured during oil drilling is being
reinjected into the ground for future use

Landfills produce biogenic natural gas

Operators are capturing and selling it

Modern Use of Natural Gas

Produce; Steel, Glass, Paper, Clothing, Brick,
Electricity
Some products that use natural gas as a raw
material are: Paints, Fertilizer, Plastics,
Antifreeze, Dyes, Photographic film,
Medicines, and Explosives.

Oil Facts
Oil is a thick, black, gooey liquid also
called petroleum.
a mixture of hundreds of different types of
hydrocarbon molecules
Oil is the worlds most used fuel since the
1960s
Oil is carried in pipelines and large tanker
ships
)

How Oil is Formed

Oil was formed more than 300 million years
ago from the remains diatoms that lived
millions of years ago in a marine (water)
environment.
transformed by time, heat, and pressure
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=oil_home-basics)
(http://web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-22/Fossil_Fuels.html)

History
Ancient times- construction of the walls in
Babylon, used for waterproofing of ships
1848- First modern oil well
1849- Distillation of kerosene
1886 Gasoline-powered automobiles

We drill to extract oil

Exploratory drilling = small, deep holes to determine
whether extraction should be done
Oil is under pressure and often rises to the surface
Primary extraction = the initial drilling and pumping of
available oil
Secondary extraction = solvents, water, or stream is used
to remove additional oil; expensive
We lack the technology to remove every bit of oil
As prices rise, it becomes economical to reopen a well

Primary and secondary oil extraction

Not all oil can be extracted

Some oil would be so hard to extract, it is not
worth the cost
As prices rise, economically recoverable amounts
approach technically recoverable amounts
Proven recoverable reserve = the amount of oil (or
any other fossil fuel) that is technically and
economically feasible to remove under current
conditions

Advantage
Most versatile fossil fuel
Cleaner and easier to burn than coal
Easily combustible

Disadvantage
it leaves behind harmful by-products upon
combustion, thereby causing a lot of pollution
a major cause of global warming.
mining of oil leads to irreversible damage to
the environment; (oil spill)
Finite resources

How Oil is Used as a Fossil Fuel

Used for petroleum products and motor
gasoline
A few products made from petroleum: Ink,
crayons, Dishwashing liquids, Deodorant,
Eyeglasses, CDs and DVDs, Tires
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=oil_home-basics)

Petroleum products have many uses

Extracted oil is refined to create many products