The Fossil Fuels: Oil

1
The Fossil FuelsOil
Lecture 4 HNRS 228 Energy and the Environment
2
Why is the term, FOSSIL FUEL used for coal, oil,
gas and lignite?A Because they all contain
fossils.B Because they were once food sources
for things that are now fossils.C Because they
are derived from living matter of a previous
geological age.D Because of their energy per
unit of mass.E Because Prof. Geller said so.
3

• Recall Exercise Draw a flow map showing the flow
  of energy transformations in a car from starting
  vehicle to driving. You should have 5 different
  types of energy.

4
Energy Transfer
Sound (mechanical)
Electrical
Thermal
Mechanical
Electrical
Chemical
Electrical
Light (Electromagnetic)
5
Oil Exploration and Extraction

• Oil is a fossil fuel
• formed from the remains of plants and animals
• died in ancient seas around 300 million years ago
• Biota such as plankton fall to the bottom of the
  sea and decay
• form sedimentary layers
• little or no oxygen present
• microorganisms break down the remains into
  carbon-rich compounds
• organic material mixes with the sediments to form
  fine-grained shale, or source rock
• sedimentary rocks layer generate heat and
  pressure
• distilled organic material forms crude oil and
  natural gas
• oil flows from the source rock and accumulates in
  thicker, more porous limestone or sandstone known
  as reservoir rock.
• When the Earths crust moves, the oil and natural
  gas is trapped in reservoir rocks, which are
  between layers of impermeable rock (cap rock
  usually granite or marble)

http//www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html
6
iClicker Question

• Oil is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of
  plants and animals which
• A formed on another planet billions of years ago
• B formed on Earth a few billion years ago
• C formed on Earth in the past few thousand years
• D died on another celestial object around 300
  million years ago
• E died in ancient seas on Earth around 300
  million years ago

7
iClicker Question

• Oxygen is required in the formation of oil in the
  sedimentary layers
• A True
• B False

8

• The Search for Oil
• Oil companies usually contract out the search for
  oil to exploration geophysicists
• Exploration geophysicists utilize
• surface features
• surface rock
• reservoir rock
• entrapment
• satellite images
• gravity meters
• magnetometers
• hydrocarbon sniffers sometimes called electronic
  noses
• seismometers most common technique used
• shock waves developed
• reflections interpreted
• Oil exploration methods are still only about 10
  percent successful in producing useful well

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htm
http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htm
9
iClicker Question

• What is the name of a scientist who explores for
  oil?
• A oil scientist
• B exploration geophysicist
• C petroleum physicist
• D All of the above
• E Only A and B above

10
Once a Site is Selected
Getting the land ready
Making way for the rig

• The area is surveyed to determine its boundaries.
• Environmental studies are said to be done.
• The land is cleared and then access roads are
  built.
• Water is drilled if there are no natural sources
  available.
• A reserve pit is dug to dispose of rock cuttings
  and mud. It is lined with plastic to protect
  the environment only if the area is considered to
  be ecologically sensitive.

• Several holes are dug to make way for the rig and
  main hole
• A rectangular pit (cellar) is dug around the
  location of the drilling hole. (This provides a
  workspace)
• The crew drills a main hole
• Additional holes are dug to the side to store
  equipment

11
iClicker Question

• Which of the following instruments is (are) used
  to help discover oil?
• A seismometers
• B magnetometers
• C electronic noses
• D All of the above (A,B and C)
• E Only A and B above

12
Setting Up the Rig

• Once the land is ready, several holes are dug to
  make way for the rig and main hole. A rectangular
  pit, called a cellar, is dug around the location
  of the actual drilling hole. The cellar provides
  a workspace around the hole. The crew then drills
  a main hole. The following diagram shows how a
  rig is set.

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htm
13
Drilling
Directions on drilling

• Place drill bit, collar and drill pipe in the
  hole
• Attach the Kelly (six-sided pipe that transfers
  rotary motion to the turntable and drill string)
  and turntable
• Begin drilling
• As drilling progresses, circulate mud through the
  pipe and out of the bit to float the rock cutting
  out of the hole
• Add new sections (joints) of drill pipes as the
  hole gets deeper.
• Remove the drill pipe, collar and bit when the
  pre-set depth is reached
• anywhere from a few hundred to a couple thousand
  feet

Photo courtesy Institute of Petroleum
http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htm
14
Confirming the Presence of Oil

• After the pre-wet depth is reached, the workers
  run and cement the casing pipe sections into the
  hole to prevent it from collapsing. Drilling
  continues in stages. When the rock cuttings from
  the mud reveal the oil sand from the reservoir
  rock, they may have reached the final depth. At
  this point, they remove the drilling apparatus
  from the hole and perform several tests to
  confirm the presence of oil. These tests are Well
  logging, Drill-stem testing, and Core samples.

Photo courtesy Phillips Petroleum Co.Rotary
workers trip drill pipehttp//science.howstuffwor
ks.com/oil-drilling4.htm
15
iClicker Question

• What is a typical drill depth for an oil well?
• A Several hundred feet
• B 1000 feet
• C Several thousand feet
• D All of the above
• E Only A and B above

16
Extracting the Oil

• Once the well is completed, the operators must
  start the flow of oil into the well. For
  limestone reservoir rock, acid is pumped down the
  well and out the perforations. For sandstone
  reservoir rock, a special blended fuel containing
  proppants (i.e. material suspended in water) is
  pumped down the well and out the perforations.
  The pressure from this fluid makes small
  fractures in the sandstone that allow oil to flow
  into the well, while the proppants hold these
  fractures open. Once the oil is flowing, the oil
  rig is removed from the site and production
  equipment is set up to extract the oil from the
  well.

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.htm
http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.ht
m
17
iClicker Question

• Which of the following is (are) used to confirm
  the presence of oil in a well?
• A Core samples
• B Well logging
• C Drill stem testing
• D All of the above
• E Only A and B above

18
Crude oil to Refineries

• Oil fields and offshore oil rigs generally have
  hundreds of wells with flow lines that carry
  crude oil to the lease tanks. The crude oil flows
  from the wells to the unseen lease tanks via the
  flow lines, where it is accumulated, sampled and
  measured prior to further transportation via
  other connecting pipelines. Oil pipelines are
  considered to be a closed system since the
  chemicals theoretically dont touch the
  environment, however leaks in the system do
  occur. Also, oil tankers bring oil to refineries
  and as was the case in the Exxon Valdez disaster,
  the environment suffers tremendously from oil
  production.

Photo Courtesy http//response.restoration.noaa.go
v/photos/exxon/exxon.html
19
Environmental Disasters
Statistic courtesy of http//www.itopf.com/stats.h
tml
20
iClicker Question

• What is the name of the suspension used to keep
  fractures in rock open and allow oil to flow?
• A crackant
• B fracture suspension
• C flowant
• D fracturant
• E proppant

21
Fractional Distillation

• Heat the mixture of two or more substances with
  different boiling points to a high temperature.
  Heating is usually done with high-pressure steam
  to temperatures of about 1112 degrees
  Fahrenheit/600 degrees Celsius
• The mixture boils, forming vapor (gases) most
  substances go into the vapor phase.
• The vapor enters the bottom of a long column
  (fractional distillation column) that is filled
  with trays or plates.
• The vapor rises in the column
• As the vapor rises through the trays in the
  column, it cools.
• When a substance in the vapor reaches a height
  where the temperature of the column is equal to
  the substances boiling point, it will condense to
  form a liquid.
• The trays collect the various liquid fractions
• The collected liquid fractions may pass to
  condensers, which cool them further, and then go
  to storage tanks or go to other areas for further
  chemical processing.

22

• Further chemical processing is required to make
  various products
• gasoline, lubricating oils, kerosene, jet fuel,
  heating oil, chemicals for plastics and other
  polymers
• It is possible to change one fraction into
  another through three methods
• cracking, unification, and alteration.
• Cracking takes large hydrocarbons and breaks them
  into smaller ones

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
23
iClicker Question

• The process by which components in a chemical
  mixture are separated according to their
  different boiling points, is called
• A Distillationism
• B Fractionation
• C Fractioning
• D Fractional distillation
• E Fractional fractionating

24

• Unification is the process where smaller
  hydrocarbons are combined to make larger ones.
  The main unification process is called catalytic
  reforming and uses a catalyst to combine low
  weight naphtha into aromatics which are used in
  making chemicals and in blending gasoline.

• Alteration The structures of molecules in one
  fraction are rearranged to produce another.
  Commonly this is done using alkylation- low
  molecular weight compounds are mixed in the
  presence of a catalysts such as hydrofluoric acid
  or sulfuric acid.

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
25
Distilled and chemically processed fractions are
treated to remove impurities by passing the
fractions through the followingA column of
sulfuric acidAn absorption column filled with
drying agents to remove waterSulfur treatment
and hydrogen-sulfide scrubbers to remove sulfur
and sulfur compounds
http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining3.htm
26
Products From Refined Oil Refraction

• gasoline of various grades, with or without
  additives
• lubricating oils of various weights and grades
  (e.g. 10W-40, 5W-30)
• kerosene of various grades
• jet fuel
• diesel fuel
• heating oil
• chemicals of various grades for making plastics
  and other polymers

http//science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining6.htm
27
Oil, Gasoline, Polymers, and Plastics are moved
around to the marketplace in trucks, trains,
ships and via pipelines

• Tanker trucks hold around 9,000 gallons of
  gasoline
• Tanker ships hold around 1.26 million barrels of
  oil
• It would take 14 and a quarter tanker ships to
  carry all the oil that the U.S consumes in one
  day
• The U.S alone has over 200,000 miles of oil
  pipelines

Photo courtesy of chevron.com
28
Oil Transportation Issues

• Numerous cases of land, ocean and lake spills of
  petroleum have occurred all over the world,
  causing the irregular operation of petroleum
  pumping, fluid transport, tank storage, plant and
  refinery, and maritime and truck transport
  facilities.
• Spills and leaks of petroleum and refined
  products have been detected from overflowing
  tanks, leaking extraction and pumping stations,
  ocean tankers and tank trucks.
• Petroleum and derivatives have spilled into
  lakes, the ocean, and land areas surrounding
  industry facilities.
• Loaded tank trucks have overturned, spilling
  diesel and gasoline fuel on roads and highways.

29
iClicker Question

• Which of the following are not petroleum derived
  products?
• A gasoline
• B kerosene
• C jet fuel
• D plastics
• E None of the above

30
Gas Stations Leak

• Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) -- a gasoline
  additive has been detected in wells, lakes and
  underground aquifers across the country
• In California (with 27 million vehicles and over
  9,500 gas stations) MTBE has contaminated some
  10,000 shallow groundwater sites, including 1,000
  in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been found
  in dozens of state lakes and reservoirs,
  including Shasta, Tahoe and Donner in the north
  and Castaic, Pyramid and Perris in the south.
• The U.S. Geological Survey has found MTBE in more
  than a quarter of the nation's shallow urban
  wells, as well as in streams, lakes, rain and
  snow.
• Researchers have found that MTBE can cause cancer
  in animals, and they believe it is a potential
  carcinogen in human beings.
• In South Lake Tahoe, leaks at underground gas
  station tanks have caused the water district to
  close 12 of 34 wells.

31
World Oil Consumption
http//people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en
32
Products Consumed from Oil
http//www.eia.doe.gov/kids/non-renewable/oil.html
33
Oil Waste

• Carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere when
  oil is burned.
• Petroleum derived plastics are dumped into
  landfills, if not recycled, and can seep into the
  soil over time.
• An oil well can produce at least 1,500 tons of
  toxic drilling muds which are dumped into rivers,
  streams and soils.
• Wastewater from petrochemical industries can
  contain hazardous chemicals.
• The average refinery generates 10,000 gallons a
  day of waste that contain toxic chemicals known
  to cause cancer, birth defects, or breathing
  problems.
• Refineries create an added burden of pollution in
  the areas within which they reside.