Sources of EnergyNonrenewable

Sources of EnergyLearning Standard

ENGR-EP-1. Students will utilize the ideas of energy, work, power, and force to explain how systems convert, control, transmit, and/or store energy and power

Sources of EnergyConcepts

Name three nonrenewable sources of energy

List the characteristics of the different types of coal

State what synfuels are and why they may be important in the future

Define OPEC and the relationship of the U.S. with OPEC

Identify basic environmental concerns associated with the use of fossil fuels

Recognize the major components of a coal-fired generating plant

Explain the purpose of a fractionating tower

Sources of EnergyConcepts

Give examples of some positive and negative impacts of importing oil

Discuss various influences, including economic, environmental, technological, and political influences, with regard to the use and continued development of fossil fuels

Sources of EnergyVocabulary

Anthracite CoalAquiferBag FilterBituminous CoalCrude OilDeep MiningElectrostatic PrecipitatorEnvironmental Protection AgencyFly AshFractionating TowerKerogenLand ReclamationLignite CoalLiquified Natural GasNatural GasOil ShaleOvrburdenPeatPetroleumStrip MiningSubbituminous CoalTar SandTherm

Sources of EnergyFossil Fuels

Three primary types of fossil fuels

CoalOilNatural Gas

Sources of EnergyFossil Fuels

Fossil fuels come from the ground and are the remains of decayed plant material. The transformation of plant material to a fossil fuel takes millions of years and need pressure and heat to be transformed

Fossil fuels come in the forms of solids, coal, liquids or semiliquids, petroleum and tar, and gases, natural gas

Since fossil fuels are nonrenewable, they are decreasing in the environment

Sources of EnergyFossil Fuels

In a developed country, like the U.S., it takes great quantities of fossil fuels to maintain our technologically advanced economy

Because of the increases in demand brought about by an increasing population and an increased standard of living, more fuel is needed

Due to the millions of years it takes for fossil fuels to form, we can not replace them. Which means that fossil fuels will run so low that it will no longer be economically viable to locate, recover, and refine them

The need to develop alternative energy sources is important for this reason

Sources of EnergyCoal

The formation of coal in the Earths surface started 500 million years ago. It took 85 million years for the plant material to decay into a usable form of coal

Coal can range from a soft to a rocklike material. It can be brown or black , depending on its age. The older coal gets the blacker and denser it becomes

Coal is combustible and used to generate electricity, generate heat for industrial processes, and to heat homes and buildings

Sources of EnergyCoal Mining

There are two methods to mine coal:

Deep MiningStrip Mining

Sources of EnergyDeep Mining

Deep mining uses shafts and special machinery to remove the coal from deep below the Earths surface. This type of mining can be dangerous due to cave-ins and machinery accidents

Sources of EnergyStrip Mining

Surface mining, or strip mining, is the removal of coal close to the Earths surface. It is done mainly with the use of large pieces of machinery, such as mechanical shovels. Surface mining is less expensive and safer than deep mining

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Peat is a step in the formation of coal more than a type of coal. It is formed from water and the decomposition of organic materials. When dried, this material can be used as a fuel source for home heating

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Lignite coal is the next youngest type of coal. This material contains some woody decomposition that can be recognized as peat, but it has a higher energy content than peat. Lignite has enough energy content per volume that it can be used for the production of electricity or as industrial fuel

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Subbituminous coal is estimated to be at least 200 million years old. It contains greater energy content per volume than lignite and is frequently used as an industrial fuel, for space heating, and for the generation of electricity. More commonly known as soft coal

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Bituminous coal has a high carbon content. It is denser and blacker than most other forms of coal. This type of coal is principally used for the production of electricity

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Anthracite coal is hard and brittle. It appears shiny on the surface and has a high carbon content. Because it burns cleaner than other forms of coal, it is often used for home heating. It has about the same energy content per volume as bituminous coal. This is commonly referred to as hard coal

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Sources of EnergyTypes of Coal

Peat: 90% carbon content. Energy content of about 14,000 Btu/lb or greater.

Sources of EnergyUsing Coal

Burning coal can be a dirty process. This is particularly true when the coal is burned in small quantities. Pollution control techniques have improved drastically in the recent decades. Devices such as bag filters and electrostatic precipitators filter solid particles out of the exhaust gases before they are discharged into the atmosphere.

Sources of EnergyUsing Coal

Bag filters work essentially the same way as a bag on a vacuum cleaner. All solid particles in the waste stream are trapped in the bag filter prior to the gases exiting through the smokestack of the power plant

Sources of EnergyBaghouse FilterCleaned gasDirty gasDust discharge

Sources of EnergyUsing Coal

Electrostatic precipitator works by positively charging the waste particles and attracting them to a negatively charged electrode. The solid particles are then washed off the electrode and collected. This solid waste by-product, known as fly ash, historically had no use. It is now used for traction grit in snowy areas of the country. It can also be used as an additive in concrete and as an absorbent material for oil spills

Sources of EnergyElectrostatic Precipitator

Sources of EnergyOil

Oil is also known a petroleum. Petroleum is a fossil fuel which is drilled and pumped from the ground in the form of crude oil. Crude oil is a mixture of semisolids, liquids, and gases. The biggest users of oil are transportation systems. Some form of oil fuels almost all transportation vehicles. Once the drilling and pumping operation has brought the oil to the surface it is transported by pipeline to a refinery. A refinery is a place that turns crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, and lubricating oil for machine parts. This process is done in a fractionating tower, where crude oil is heated to boiling and the gassed products rise through the tower separating on the way up

Sources of EnergyFractionating Tower

Sources of EnergyOil Shale

Where Utah, Wyoming and Colorado join there is an area known as the Green River formation that contains more shale oil than any proven crude oil reserves in the U.S.

Oil shale is a 40-50 million year old sedimentary rock that contains an oily substance that is the result of decaying plant material. Kerogen is this oily substance that resides in sedimentary rock.

This rock can be crushed and the oil extracted and heated to 800F so it can be liquefied for separation. This process is known as retorting. The yield from oil shale is about 30 gallons for every ton of rock crushed. This oil is known to be present, but the economics of recovery are not yet favorable

Sources of EnergyGreen River Formation

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3012/

Sources of EnergyOil Shale

Source of EnergyTar Sands

Tar sands are similar to oil shale in composition and cannot be retrieved through conventional means, such as drilling. The largest reserves of tar sands in the world are located in Alberta, Canada. At present, these sands are mined and mixed with hot water or steam to extract the thick oil known as bitumen. The U.S. has limited proven reserves of tar sands.

Source of EnergyTar Sands

Sources of EnergyOil Countries

OPEC (Organization of Exporting Countries)

Consists of 12 Countries (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela)

OPEC members collectively hold 79% of world crude oil reserves and 44% of the worlds crude oil production

In 1973, OPEC penalized the U.S. for its oil consumption by creating an oil embargo against the U.S. Restricting the trade of oil to the U.S. forces the government and car manufacturers to produce more economical (4-cylinder) vehicles, which started the energy conservation movement here in the U.S.

Sources of EnergyNatural Gas

The gaseous portion of petroleum is call natural gas. Natural gas is found wherever oil deposits are discovered. This gas is comprised of ethane, methane, propane, and butane. Of all the gasses found in natural gas, butane offers the greatest Btu content per volume. Natural gas is the cleanest burning and presently the least expensive of the fossil fuels

Sources of EnergyNatural Gas

Once natural gas has been removed from the ground, it is transported through pipes that take it to a refinery where the impurities are remove and the gases are separated, which is used for heating and the production of electricity in some areas. During the times when the gas is not needed it is stored in underground areas called aquifers.

Sources of EnergyNatural Gas

Transporting natural gas to rural areas can be expensive, so the gas is placed under low temperatures to create liquefied natural gas (LNG). Liquefied natural gas can be transported by railroad tankers, ships, and even trucks. More liquefied gas can be stored in the same volume than the gas in a natural state. A therm is a unit of measurement that is equal to 100 ft3 and is abbreviated as ccf

Sources of EnergyNatural Gas

Sources of EnergyNatural Gas