Non-Renewable Energy

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Non-Renewable Energy

• From Living in the Environment by Miller and
  Spoolman

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I. Thinking About Energy

1. Currently most commercial energy (energy sold)
   comes from extracting and burning nonrenewable
   energy resources obtained from the Earths crust
   primarily from carbon-containing fossil fuels
   oil, natural gas, and coal.
2. About 82 of the commercial energy consumed in
   the world comes from non-renewable resources
   76 from fossil fuels, 6 from nuclear.

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I. Thinking About Energy

• C. Scientists think energy resources should be
  evaluated on the basis of their supplies, the
  environmental impact of our using them, and how
  much useful energy they actually provide.
• D. The usable amount of high-quality energy
  available from a give resource is its net energy.
  It is the total amount of useful energy
  available from an energy resource minus the
  energy needed to find, extract, process, and get
  the energy to consumers.

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I. Thinking About Energy

• E. Net energy can be expressed as a ratio of
  energy produced to the energy used to produce it.
  For example, if it takes 8 units of energy to
  produce 10 units of energy from a coal mine, the
  net energy ratio would be 10/8, or 1.25.
• F. Energy ratios for heating
• Passive solar 5.8, Natural gas 4.9, Oil 4.5
• Electric heating (coal-fired plant) 0.4

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I. Thinking About Energy

• G. Net energy ratios for transportation
• Ethanol from sugarcane 8.0
• Gasoline 4.1
• Oil Shale 1.2
• Ethanol from corn 1.1
• H. Considering net energy ratios are very
  important when deciding energy policy or where to
  invest RD dollars to develop new technology.

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I. Thinking About Energy

• I. The laws of thermodynamics are also important
  to keep in mind when thinking about energy
• 1st law of thermodynamics- Energy is never
  created or destroyed, it just changes form
• 2nd law of thermodynamics- When changing energy
  from one form to another, we always end up with
  less useful energy than what we started (some
  energy is given off to the environment in the
  form of heat).

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II. Oil

1. Petroleum (AKA crude, conventional, or light oil)
   is a thick and gooey liquid consisting of
   hundreds of different combustible hydrocarbons
   along with small amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and
   nitrogen impurities.

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• B. Petroleum was formed from the decaying remains
  of organisms that lived 100-500 million years
  ago. Fossil fuels are formed only when organic
  material is broken down in an anaerobic
  environment, such as the bottom of deep lakes,
  swamps, or shallow seas. Which fossil fuel forms
  depends on the chemical composition of starting
  material, temperatures and pressures, and the
  presence or absence of anaerobic decomposers.

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II. Oil

• C. Deposits of oil and natural gas are often
  trapped together under a dome deep within the
  earths crust. The crude oil is dispersed in
  pores and cracks in underground rock formations.

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• D. Crude oil is refined by heating and distilling
  the different types of hydrocarbons present
  refining is all based on differences in boiling
  points of hydrocarbons.

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II. Oil

• E. Gases and gasoline have the lowest boiling
  points, followed by aviation fuel, heating oil,
  diesel, naphtha, and the residues left over are
  used for asphalt.
• F. Some of the products of oil distillation,
  called petrochemicals, are used as raw materials
  in cleaning fluids, pesticides, fertilizers,
  plastics, synthetic fibers, paints, and
  medicines.

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By the Numbers.

• G. Projected global reserves of conventional oil
  will be 80 depleted sometime between 2050 and
  2100, using the current rate of use of oil
  reserves of 2.8 a year. Between 2000-2007, the
  world used nine times more oil than the oil
  industry discovered. The U.S. produces about 9
  of the worlds oil, but uses 24 of the worlds
  oil production. The U.S. imports about 60 of
  its oil. Global oil production has leveled off
  since 2005.

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II. Oil Basics

• H. Oil is now the single largest source of
  commercial energy in the world, and in the U.S.
  as well. Since the world is so dependent on oil,
  the oil industry (both private 25 and
  governmental 75) is the largest industry in the
  world. Control of oil reserves is the single
  greatest source of global economic and political
  power. Miller and Spoolman

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II. Oil Basics

• I. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
  Countries (OPEC) have at least 60 of the worlds
  crude reserves, and produce 43 of the worlds
  oil. OPEC is somewhat secretive about the true
  size of member countries oil reserves, so in
  truth no one really knows the exact size of world
  oil reserves. Saudi Arabia has 25 of the worlds
  largest crude oil reserves.

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• J. OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia,
  Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi
  Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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• K. What about U.S. reserves? I heard we just
  need to Drill Baby, Drill. There are
  potentially vast reserves beneath federal lands
  and coastal waters (a huge find in the Gulf of
  Mexico in early September 2009). Even if all
  projected reserves are completely developed (a
  perfect world scenario), the oil would only meet
  current U.S. needs for 5 years.

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II. Oil Basics

• L. Most of these projected reserves are in hard
  to reach areas, and will take billions of dollars
  to develop and be brought to market at very high
  cost.

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II. Oil Basics

• M. Remember back to net energy the ratio of the
  amount of energy produced to the amount of energy
  needed to produce the energy. The U.S. produces
  most of its dwindling domestic supply of oil at a
  high cost, about 7.50 to 10 per barrel on dry
  land, and 35-40 per barrel for taping deep
  water resources (Saudi Arabia produces for about
  2 a barrel).

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N. How about Alaskan Oil?

• 1. The estimated reserves under Alaskas North
  Slope the largest crude reserves ever found in
  North America would meet current world demand
  for 6 months, or U.S. demand for 3 years.
• 2. Of this oil, the reserves under Alaskas
  Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would meet
  world oil demand for 1-5 months and U.S. demand
  for 7 to 24 months.

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• 3. ANWR is tundra habitat home to polar bears,
  arctic foxes, and peregrine flacons. It serves as
  summer breeding ground for millions of migratory
  birds and one of North Americas last great herds
  of caribou.

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• 4. Opponents say getting relatively little oil
  from the ANWRs costal plain is not worth the
  permanent environmental degradation to a pristine
  tundra habitat. If vehicle fuel efficiency for
  new cars, SUVs, and light trucks was improved by
  just 1 mile per gallon, the U.S. would save far
  more oil than what is ever likely to be pulled
  from the ANWR deposit.

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Trade-Offs for Conventional (Light) Oil
Advantages Disadvantages
Ample supply for 42-93 years Need to find permanent substitute within 50 years
Low cost Large government subsidies, environmental cost not included in market price
High net energy yield Artificially low price encourages waste and discourages search for alternatives
Easily transported within and between countries Pollutes air when produced and burned
Low land use Releases CO2 when burned (43 of global CO2 emissions)
Technology is well developed, with efficient distribution system Can cause water pollution (Exxon Valdez oil spill, BP oil spill.)
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III. Heavy Oils

1. Heavy oil is extracted from either oil sand or
   tar sand, or oil shale.
2. Oil sand or tar sand is a mixture of clay, sand,
   water, and a combustible organic material called
   bitumen (a thick, sticky heavy oil with a high
   sulfur content that makes up about 10 of tar
   sand).

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• C. Northeastern Alberta in Canada has
  three-fourths of the worlds oil sand underneath
  boreal forests. Other deposits are in Venezuela,
  Colombia, Russia, and Utah. Together the oil
  sands of Canada and Venezuela contain more oil
  than is found in Saudi Arabia.

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III. Heavy Oils

• D. How to extract oil from the tar sands of
  Alberta (which is done through strip-mining)
• Clear cut boreal forest, drain wetlands, and
  divert rivers and streams.
• Remove the overburden of soil, rocks, and clay to
  expose oil sand deposits.
• Dig out oil sands and carry it to upgrading
  plants at the upgrading plants, mix with hot
  water and steam to extract bitumen.

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III. Heavy Oils

• 4) Heat bitumen via natural gas in huge cookers
  to convert to low-sulfur, synthetic crude oil,
  which can then be refined using traditional
  refining methods.
• E. About 4 metric tons of overburden are removed
  to produce 1 metric ton of bitumen. The mining
  process produces huge pits, as well as huge ponds
  of toxic mine tailings and other wastes stored as
  liquid slurries that are extremely toxic to
  aquatic life and birds.

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III. Heavy Oils

• F. The process results in much more water and air
  pollution than is produced in traditional crude
  production, and releases at least three times
  more CO2 than conventional oil.
• G. The environmental defense fund called Canadas
  oil sands industry the most destructive project
  on Earth, and for each barrel of oil produced,
  the energy input needed is 0.7 barrels of oil.

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III. Heavy Oils

• H. Oily rocks, called oil shales, are another
  potential source of heavy oil. When oil shales
  are heated, a hydrocarbon mix called kerogen is
  produced.
• I. About 72 of the worlds oil shale reserves
  are in the western U.S., beneath an area called
  the Green River Formation (Arid lands of
  Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. The federal
  government owns 80 of this land.

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III. Heavy Oils

• J. It is estimated that these deposits contain an
  amount of recoverable heavy oil equal to almost
  four times the size of Saudi Arabias reserves.
  So yea! Is it time to .

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• K. Not quite most of these deposits are locked
  up in ore of such low grade that it would take a
  lot of energy to mine and process the rock to
  extract the oil. The net energy is even lower
  than that of the oil sands.
• L. It also takes A LOT of water to extract oil
  from oil shale. As most of the deposits are in
  arid areas of the west that are already having
  extreme water issues, it seems implausible that
  water could be used in the amount needed.

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III. Heavy Oils

• M. Pollution issues are huge with oil shale too
  you have to process 1 ton of oil shale to produce
  1 barrel of oil. All of the same toxicity issues
  apply to oil shale mine tailings and slurry as
  well.

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Trade-Offs for Heavy Oil
Advantages Disadvantages
Moderate cost (oil sands) High cost (oil shale)
Large potential supplies, especially in the Canadian oil sands Low net energy yield
Easily transported within and between countries Environmental costs not included in market price
Efficient distribution system in place Large amounts of water needed for processing
Technology well developed (oil sands) Severe land disruption
Severe water pollution
Air pollution and CO2 emissions when burned (at about 3x the rate as light oil)
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IV. Natural Gas

1. Natural gas is a mixture of gases which contains
   between 50-90 methane (CH4). Natural gas also
   contains smaller amounts of ethane (C2H6),
   propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10), and small
   amounts of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
2. Conventional natural gas is often found in
   reservoirs above crude oil deposits, but can not
   be used unless a natural gas pipeline has been
   built.

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IV. Natural Gas

• C. Russia is the Saudi Arabia of gas, having 27
  of gas reserves, followed by Iran (15) and Qatar
  (14). The U.S. has only 3 of the worlds
  proven gas reserves, but uses 27 of the worlds
  annual production.
• D. Methane gas can be burned to heat space and
  water or produce electricity or propel vehicles
  with only minor modifications.

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IV. Natural Gas

• E. Natural gas turbines to produce electricity
  are almost twice as energy efficient as
  coal-burning nuclear power plants.
• F. Burning natural gas releases CO2 into the air,
  but releases much less CO2 per unit of energy
  than coal or oil.
• G. To transport natural gas across oceans, it is
  converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) at very
  low temps and high pressure.

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IV. Natural Gas

• H. LNG is very flammable and shipped aboard
  refrigerated tanker ships, then reheated to gas
  at regasification plants before being distributed
  via pipeline.
• I. LNG has a low net energy yield the
  equivalent of more than a third of its energy
  content is needed to compress, decompress,
  refrigerate, and transport it long distances.

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IV. Natural Gas

• J. The long-term outlook for natural gas is
  better than for oil current reserves are
  estimated to last 65-125 years.

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Trade-Offs for Natural Gas
Advantages Disadvantages
Ample supply Nonrenewable resource
High net energy yield Releases CO2 when burned
Low cost Government subsidies
Less air pollution than other fossil fuels Environmental costs not included in market price
Lower CO2 emissions than other fossil fuels Methane (potent greenhouse gas) can leak from pipelines
Easily transported by pipeline Difficult to transfer from one country to another
Low land use Can be shipped across ocean only as highly explosive LNG
Good fuel for fuel cells, gas turbines, and motor vehicles
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V. Coal

1. Coal is a solid fossil fuel formed from the
   remnants of land plants that were buried 300-400
   years ago.
2. Coal is burned to generate approximately 40 of
   the worlds electricity. Coal is also used in
   various industrial plants, for example in blast
   furnaces to make steel or iron.
3. Using a coal-burning power plant is essentially a
   complex and inefficient way to boil water and
   produce steam.

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V. Coal

• D. The three largest coal-burning countries in
  the world are China, the U.S., and India. By 2025
  China is expected to burn twice as much coal as
  the U.S., and Indias coal use is expected to
  quadruple.
• E. In the U.S., coal produces 49 of our
  electricity (followed by natural gas 21, nuclear
  19 and renewable (9).

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• F. Coal is the worlds most abundant fossil fuel.
  According the USGS, global coal supplies could
  last from 214 1,125 years, depending on use.
• G. The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of Coal, with 25
  of world-wide coal reserves. Russia has 15,
  India and China both have 13, Australia has 8
  and South Africa.

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• H. Different estimates put U.S. coal supplying
  U.S. needs for either 100 or 250 years.
• I. Without sophisticated and expensive pollution
  control devices, burning coal severely pollutes
  the air. Coal is mostly carbon, but also
  contains small amounts of sulfur, which is
  released into the air as sulfur dioxide (SO2).
  Burning coal also releases large amounts of
  particulates (soot), carbon dioxide, trace
  amounts of mercury and radioactive materials.

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• J. Coal-burning power plants account for 25 of
  world-wide CO2 emissions, and 40 of U.S. CO2
  emissions.
• K. Coal is the single biggest air polluter in
  coal-burning nations.

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L. China and Coal

1. China burns a third of the worlds coal, to
   produce 80 of its electricity.
2. China is adding the equivalent of three large
   coal-burning power plants per week.
3. Pollution controls on older, inefficient plants
   in China are almost non-existent, and even the
   newest coal-burning plants are inefficient and
   have inadequate air-pollution control systems.

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• 4) Since 2005, China has been the worlds leading
  source of SO2, which can cause respiratory and
  cardiovascular disease, as well as cause acid
  rain. In 2008 China became the worlds leading
  producer of CO2.
• 5) Major Chinese cities are in an almost
  perpetual haze from particulates and other
  pollutants released from burning coal, and China
  contains 20 of the top 30 most polluted cities in
  the world.

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• 6) According to a World Bank study, indoor and
  outdoor air pollution, mostly from coal burning,
  contributes to 650,000 to 700,000 premature
  deaths a year.

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Trade-Offs for Coal
Advantages Disadvantages
Ample supplies (225 900 years) Severe land disturbance, air pollution, and water pollution
High net energy yield Severe threat to human health when burned
Low cost Environmental costs not included in market price
Well-developed technology Large government subsidies
Air pollution can be reduced with improved technology High carbon dioxide emissions when produced and burned
Radioactive particles and toxic mercury emissions