Fossil Fuels energy

Fossil fuels are created from organic material that was created millions of years ago. Petroleum, a fossil fuel gets its name from two words, "Petra" meaning rock and "oleum" which means oil. Petroleum is drilled in order to search for oil. Also to determine the size of a reserve, as well as to produce oil and gas at a controlled rate. There are different ways to recover Petroleum. ne of which is primary recovery. !n this method, all flows are from natural pressure or simple pumping. The ma"imum recovery is thirty percent of the oil in the well. #econdary recovery pumps water or gas into the well to force oil out. Through this, an additional ten to twenty percent can $e recovered. n %arch &&, '((' we learned the difference $etween gasoline engines and diesel engines. )asoline engines give low power, low efficiency, are *uiet, have an easy cold start, cause less pollution, controlled emissions, and easily converted. +iesel engines give high power, high efficiency, are noisy, difficult cold start, more pollution, and it is more difficult to control emissions. There are severe environmental impacts from fossil fuel use. These impacts are found in all stages, recovery, transportation, refining,storage,and end use. +uring recovery of coal, the earth suffers destruction of topsoil as well as acidic run off creating orange creeks and land su$sidence. Petroleum production causes on land and off shore drilling as well as gushers and accidents. +uring transportation accidents can occur and are pretty much routine. This causes massive pollution of the seas. Preparation or refining creates refuse and sludge from coal cleaning plants. ,ith petroleum air and water pollution are caused. !n storage, gasoline leaks in underground tanks at gas stations are a threat. +uring end use, pollutants from com$ustion occur. Also, the release of sulfur and nitrogen o"ides pose a threat. n %arch &-,'((' we learned of measures to reduce the environmental pollution from fossil fuel use. Amendments passed in &..( placed limits on hydrocar$on emissions. Also, mandatory emission testing was placed on vehicles. in &..' during the /arth #ummit in 0io one hundred and si" countries participated. An international treaty was raised to reduce 1 ' emissions to &..( levels and sta$alize concentration of 1 ' in the atmosphere. &..2 kyotoProtocal was created to reduce emissions in developed countries. 3# congress refused to approve it. #ome ma4or challenges we face now are the reduction of fossil fuel use, increasing population, and industrialization of developing nations. Fossil fuels5coal, petroleum 6oil7, and natural gas 5 are concentrated organic compounds found in the /arth8s crust. They are created from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago in the form of concentrated $iomass. According to the 3# /nergy !nformation Administration 6/!A7, fossil fuels meet around -' percent 9i: of 3.#. energy demand.

Fossil fuels make modern life possi$le. These huge sources of energy work to generate steam, electricity and power transportation systems. They make the manufacturing of tens of thousands of commercial goods possi$le. And although fossil fuels have $ecome synonymous with modern industrial society, their potential to solve some of the challenges of everyday e"istence has $een understood throughout history. #cattered records of the use of coal date to at least &&(( ;1. ;y the %iddle Ages, small mining operations $egan to spread in /urope, where coal was used for forges, smithies, lime<$urners, and $reweries. The invention of fire $ricks in the &=((s made chimneys cheap to $uild and helped create a home heating market for coal. 1oal was firmly esta$lished as a domestic fuel in much of /urope $y the &>2(s, and represented the ma4or heating source for $uildings, especially in cities located far from easy access to less energy<dense $iomass forms. 1oal was the first of the fossil fuels to go into widespread use, displacing low<energy firewood as the leading source of fuel in the 3#, and triggering the country8s industrialization in the second half of the &.th century. ,ithin a few decades, the 3# went from a net importer of coal 6mostly from ;ritain7 to a ma4or e"porter of the fossil fuel, a development made possi$le $y mining the nation8s vast reserves of coal. il was used in architectural adhesives, ship caulks, medicines, and roads in %esopotamia around ?((( ;1. Two thousand years later, the 1hinese refined crude oil for use in lamps and home heating. The ancient 1hinese also were pioneers in natural gas, using it to make salt from $rine in gas<fired evaporators, $oring shallow holes, and conveying the gas to evaporators via $am$oo pipes. ;y the &.th century, natural gas was used e"tensively in /urope and the 3# as lighting fuel until it was displaced $y Thomas /dison8s electric light $ul$. /dwin +rake8s successful e"traction of oil at his well in northwestern Pennsylvania in &->. marked the dawn of the age of petroleum. Petroleum8s first decisive impact was displacing whale oil in lighting in the late &.th century. ;ut it was the victory of the internal com$ustion engine over steam and electricity as the preferred means to propel the recently<invented automo$ile in the first decade of the '(th century that thrust petroleum into the prominence it still en4oys today. Fueled $y gasoline made from ine"pensive and readily availa$le oil, internal com$ustion cars, notes Alan P. @oe$, Aalone offered a combination of speed and power, range and infrastructure that gave motorists the ability to achieve the automotive purposes they desired .B Fossil Fuels Today: Oil, By the Barrel The 3# /nergy !nformation Administration 6/!A7 credits fossil fuels for $ringing a$out Aone of the most profound social transformations in history .B f the fossil fuels, none has had a more far<reaching effect on society than oil. il, in all

its forms, is the Atransportation fuelB that makes all modern modes of transportation possi$le and moves $oth people and goods around the world. nce the products of refined crude oil came into widespread use, the 3#, along with most of /urope and Capan, was transformed from an agrarian, su$sistence and hand<to<mouth society for all $ut a few to an industrial society in which many shared a $etter life within a few decades. Today, the most common products derived from oil are found in the energy sectorD gasoline, heating oil, aviation fuels and diesel fuel. il is also the key ingredient in tens of thousands of consumer goods, including ink, plastic, dish washing li*uids, crayons, eyeglasses, deodorants, tires, ammonia, and heart valves. /ach ='<gallon $arrel of oil typically yields these refined products 6percent of $arrel79ii:D 45.2%gasoline for use in automo$iles 29.1%heating oil and diesel fuels

20.9%other products, including those derived from petroleum for the manufacturing of chemicals, synthetic ru$$er, and plastics. 9.5%4et fuel 2.3%asphalt

!ncluded is a processing gain of E.. percent or '.. gallons. Thus, a ='<gallon $arrel of crude oil in actuality yields ==.. gallons of refined products.9iii: The 3nited #tates was once self<sufficient in oil, $ut $egan importing more oil than it produced in &..=. !n '(&', =( percent9iv: of the oil consumed in the 3# was imported from foreign countries. The top five source nations for net petroleum and petroleum product imports to the 3# in '(&' were 1anada, #audi Ara$ia, %e"ico, Fenezuela, and 0ussia.9v: +espite the rapid growth of glo$al demand for petroleum products, the /!A estimates that less than half the world8s total conventional oil reserves will have $een e"hausted $y '(?(. These estimates include e"isting oil reserves and anticipated reserves resulting from new technologies and discoveries. ,orld oil reserves in '(&& totaled &=2?.2E $illion $arrels9vi:, over '.- times their level in &.2&.9vii: The world8s oil reserves have steadily increased even in the face of rising consumption.


Coal, by the !hort To"# 1oal, the first of the fossil fuels to make its presence felt in the modern era, remains a ma4or contri$utor to the world8s energy pool. nce $urned in chimneys to produce heat, today coal is widely used as fuel for power plants that generate electricity for residential and commercial customers. !n fact, it accounts for a$out =( percent of 3# electricity generation.9viii: American coal production is currently the second highest in the world 6$ehind 1hina7 9i":, delivering &.(&E $illion short tons in '(&'.9": The 3nited #tates has a vast amount of in<place coal resources, over &( trillion short tons9"i:, and has the most technically recovera$le coal in the world at 'E(.E $illion short tons9"ii:. From mines around the country, coal is transported to over >(( power plants in the 3# in diesel<powered freight trains. #imilarly, the coal the 3# e"ports to overseas markets is carried on ships powered $y petroleum<$ased $unker fuel, a further e"ample of one fossil fuel $eing

used to transport another. $atural %as, by Trillio"s of Cubi& Feet 'TCF( Gatural gas, once considered a nuisance $y workers drilling for oil, was the last of the fossil fuels to emerge as a ma4or source of energy. +evelopment of the steel pipeline and related e*uipment, which allowed natural gas to $e easily and safely transported over many miles, launched the modern natural gas industry. The first all<welded pipeline over '(( miles in length was $uilt in &.'>, from @ouisiana to Te"as. From &.(E to &.2(, demand for natural gas in America grew >(<fold. #elf<sufficient until the &..(s, the 3# then $egan to import natural gas, mostly $y pipeline from 1anada, to help meet its needs. !t was $elieved $y many forecasters that future natural gas production in the 3nited #tates would need not only to $e supplemented $y 1anadian gas via pipeline $ut also with li*uefied natural gas 6@G)7 $rought from overseas. However, over the last decade, a renaissance has occurred in domestic shale gas production due to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology to the point that the 3# is considering e"porting @G). Today, the 3nited #tates is the largest producer of natural gas 60ussia is second7, producing '= trillion cu$ic feet in '(&'.9"iii: The 3# consumed '>.> trillion cu$ic feet of natural gas in '(&', importing the additional natural gas to meet its demand. ;y sector, 3# natural gas consumption in '(&'9"iv: wasD 33%!ndustrial 3)%/lectric Power 1)%0esidential 11%1ommercial 3%Transportation

@ed $y the $ooming economies of 1hina and !ndia, growing glo$al demand for energy is e"pected to secure the dominant position of fossil fuels for at least the ne"t several decades.


Future Fossil Fuel !u**ly a"d +e,a"d The /nergy !nformation Administration 6/!A7 in its Annual /nergy utlook '(&? predicts 3.#. li*uid fuels consumption to increase ? percent $etween '(&& and '('>, and then to $egin to decline reaching '(&& levels again in '(=(. ;etween '(&& and '(=(, natural gas consumption is e"pected to increase $y '& percent and coal consumption $y 2 percent.9"v: The /!A foresees fossil fuels maintaining their status as America8s leading source of energy consumption $etween now and '(=(, supplying 2- percent of our nation8s energy needs in '(=(. The !nternational /nergy Agency 6!/A7 is forecasting in its ,orld /nergy utlook '(&' that the shale oil and gas $oom in this country will make the 3nited #tates the top oil and natural gas producer in the world. According to the !/A, the 3nited #tates will $ecome the world8s largest producer of oil $y '(&2 overtaking $oth #audi Ara$ia and 0ussia. ;y '(?(, Gorth America will $ecome a net e"porter of oil and, $y '(?>, the

3nited #tates $ecomes almost self<sufficient in energy. 9"vi: )lo$ally, the !/A indicates that fossil fuels will dominate the world8s energy picture as it has in the past. America is endowed with huge *uantities of fossil fuels. The responsi$le use of these resources has fueled our factories, furnaces, homes, highways and hospitals since their first use. Fast *uantities e"ist in untapped forms that hold promise for generations to come. Access to these energy resources and the discovery of new technologies to safely and cleanly use them for the $enefit of mankind is an ongoing challenge. )overnmental decisions a$out the use of these energy resources have tended to place them out of reach of the American people, increasing our dependency on others for those supplies. ;ecause much of our future potential supplies of fossil fuels e"ist under lands owned $y the federal government, its decisions will have a ma4or $earing on how we live our lives. !n '((-, in the midst of the highest gasoline price spike in history, President ;ush revoked the e"ecutive moratory on offshore drilling, and 1ongress did not renew its $an on drilling for offshore oil and natural gas. However, while the ;ush Administration put forth an accelerated schedule for leasing the uter 1ontinental #helf8s oil resources, the $ama Administration e"tended the comment period on the ;ush Administration lease offerings, delayed the a$ility for oil companies to purchases leases and to undertake e"ploratory drilling, and e"cluded most of the newly opened areas in its offshore lease plan for the '(&' to '(&2 period. The net result of these actions is a decline in oil and gas production on federal lands, while production on private and state lands where permits take less time to process has $een increasing.