8.3 Study Guide!

8.3.1 Outline the historical and geographical reasons for the widespread use of fossil
fuels.!

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Fossil fuel!
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Unlike solar energy, fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas and oil, are not renewable. By burning
the fossil fuels, we are able to use the chemical energy released to power our cities. Over 80%
of the energy we used today is supplied by the combustion of fossil fuels.!

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Formation of Oil!
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It is believed that fossil fuel comes from plants and animals' dead bodies million years ago. The
majority of these life forms were phytoplankton and zooplankton. When they died, their bodies
sunk down to the bottom of the seabed. The actual transformation is a mystery; however,
scientists know that pressure, heat and large amount of time are needed.!

Geologists believe that the beds of the organic bodies are mixed with silt and mud. Minerals,
over time, formed above the organisms due to sedimentation. The organisms are covered with
hard minerals and rocks. With helps of gravity, the rocks increased the pressure and
temperature of the organisms. This condition caused the organic material to break down into the
simpler form of hydrocarbons, chains of carbon and hydrogen ranging from simple configuration
to complex compounds. Oil and gas are various mixtures of hydrocarbons. The high pressure
also caused the oil and gas to rise. But they can not penetrate the rock formations so they are
trapped underground.!

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Formation of Coal!
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Coal is formed through coalification. Coal is made of decomposed plant matter in conditions of
high temperature and pressure. Its formation is similar to oils but it takes less time to form.!

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History of usage of Fossil Fuel!
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Before steam engines were invented, heavy industry depended on mechanical water power to
grind flour, saw wood, and so forth. Industrialization led to a higher rate of energy usage. Fossil
fuel led to development and it played a crucial rule as energy sources, inputs for agriculture, and
feedstocks for chemical manufacture.!

The Industrial Revolution marked a big change for people of the world. Many of the agriculture
based societies that used human and animal labor forces switched to use machines to do work.
Coal was commonly used in the early era of industrialization until internal combustion engine
and the automobile were invented. Oil and gas became the most common fossil fuel people
used. !

SUMMARY: Students should appreciate that industrialization led to a higher rate of

energy usage, leading to industry being developed near to large deposits of fossil fuels. !

8.3.2 Discuss the energy density of fossil fuels with respect to the demands of power
stations.!

Fossil fuels have a high energy density, this means that we can get large amounts of energy
from just a small mass. Power stations use these fuels to heat water. This water turns into
steam which passes through a turbine which moves the generator and in turn providing
electricity. Due to the high energy density of fossil fuels we can save up our usage of fossil
fuels.!

Energy Density of Fossil Fuels!

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8.3.3 Discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages associated with the
transportation and storage of fossil fuels.!

There are a lot of drawbacks associated with the usage of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are highly
combustible and volatile substances which is why we have to go out of are way to ensure that
there is no chance of them being able to ignite. Leakages are common in the process of
transportation and storage which is why they must be monitored.!

Since Oil is usually found in the depths of the ocean floors, they are transported by the maritime
industry. This has proven to be quite beneficial as not many accidents have occurred in the
transportation of Oil. Oil is then kept in large containers called Oil reserves. There is a higher
accident rate in the recovery of Oil than in the transportation and storage.!

Railroads are probably the most popular way of transporting Coal. They are useful as they allow
for it to travel long distances, minimum maintenance, mostly undisturbed and their high
mechanical efficiencies. Coal is usually stored as a stockpile. Where coal is literally just stocked
up into a large pile. This could be territorially inefficient.!

Natural gas is transported by pipeline to a refinery. These pipelines can be vulnerable in certain
cases to environmental factors. However since it is a gas, it will take less space and contain
more volume making it efficient.!

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8.3.4 State the overall efficiency of power stations fueled by different fossil fuels.!
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The efficiency of fossil fuel power is dependent on the design of the power stations. These
stations are restricted by the laws of thermodynamics, which include the conservation of heat
energy. The heat energy being put out is not used which is why these power stations cannot
have the highest efficiencies. According to Tim Kirk the standard fossil fuel station in 2007 had
the following efficiencies:!

Coal: 35%!
Natural Gas: 45%!
Oil: 38%!

In his textbook he also cited the efficiency of the best fossil fuel power station in 2007 which was
42%, 52% and 45% respectively.!

8.3.5 Describe the environmental problems associated with the recovery of fossil fuels
and their use in power stations.!

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Fossil Fuel Extraction and Usage!
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As fossil fuel exist deep inside the Earth's crust, while extracting and mining the fossil fuel, it
destructs the habitations for all kind of wildlife and marine animals. Not only that, during the oil
extraction process, "oil spill"("NON-RENEWABLE") is a distress as it harms the sea animals and
birds catastrophically. Usage of the fossil fuels can also damage the environment since while
burning the fossil fuels, the "pollutants" like "sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and
carbon monoxide" dissipate into air which helps the greenhouse effect to accelerate and cause
"global warming"("NON-RENEWABLE"). These "pollutants"("NON-RENEWABLE") attribute to
cause acid rain as well. Additionally, according to the University of California college prep. coal
will be depleted "in 200 years", "30 years" for oil, and "100 years" for natural gas ("NONRENEWABLE").!
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Oil Recovery !

One type of oil recovery system, Hydraulic downhole's

surface pumps are dangerous for the wild animals. The
accident of wild animals and birds being trapped by the
surface pump occurs sometimes, which leads to injuries
and deaths of animals. Not only that during the process,
"reciprocation of a sucker rod" ("Hydraulic downhole")
leads to tearing the production tube. This results an
inefficient process in oil recovery by wasting lots of energy.
Plus it pollute the environment as oil would spill if the
production tube wears out. This would lead to destructing
the habitation for animals, harming the animals and birds
and contaminating the underground water.!

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Natural Gas Recovery!
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Recovering the natural gas that are dissolved under the saline water is a great concern. For the
gas recovered, large amount of salt water needs to be separated from the gas. However, it is
very complicated and difficult to separate the saline water and pollutants from the pure natural
gas with the recent technology. The process of natural gas recovery costs a lot.!

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Coal Recovery!
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Coal recovery leads to destruction of the habitation for the wildlife animals. Accidents of animals
and birds being injured occurs in the coal recovery station. The percentage of the coal ash
compared to the clean coal recovery is comparatively high. Therefore the efficiency of the coal
recovery is low. Coal that is agglomerated with some oil or water can not be recovered with the
high efficiency to use as the quality of the coal is the best when the concentration of the oil is
the lowest.!