Fuel and energy

Petroleum
Is a ​mineral oil​, organic in origin and occurs in the pore spaces of sedimentary rocks.
Petroleum in its natural state is called ​crude oil, a compound of hydrogen and carbon.

Orgin of petroleum
● It is formed from the decomposition of marine (plankton and fish) or vegetative matter
(plants), which collected in the sediments of the sea or ocean floors. Over million of
years, these materials (marine and vegetative matter) accumulates and under
increasing pressure, the hydrogen and carbon compounds change into ​oil ​and
natural gas while the surrounding sediments form hard rocks. The oil and gas are
therefore contained in the pores and cracks in the rocks.
NB​: ​Natural gas and water also usually occur in oil bearing rocks; ​water collects below the
oil​, and ​gas​ which has lower density, ​above the oil​.

a) Petroleum normally occurs in dome-shaped anticlines (​formed by folding​), between

two layers of non-porous rocks as shown in the diagram below.

Diagram from Leong G.C. Fig. 27.4(a) page 267.

The oil is usually trapped in the crest of the anticline with natural gas above and water
below.

b) Oil traps may also result from ​faults​ as shown in the figure below.
Fig. 27.4(b) from Leong G.C.(1983). Page 267.

when porous and non-porous rocks are brought in juxtaposition (placed side by side).

c) In region of volcanic activities, a resistant impermeable dyke may intrude into alternating
layers of rock, thereby acting as a ​cap rock imprisoning(locking) a pool of gas, oil and water
as shown in the below.
Fig. 27.4(c) from Leong G.C.(1983). Page 267.

Besides its liquid form, oil may be extracted in its gaseous state as ​natural gas. ​This
consists mainly of ​mathane and ​ethane ​and is increasingly used for ​heating​, ​lighting and
the ​chemicals industry.
● In certain countries like ​America​,​Europe​, ​Russia and ​New Zealand​, natural gas is
pumped through pipes for use in households and industrial plants.
● Asphalt or Bitumen or ​Pitch is another product mined in connection with petroleum.
It is a highly viscous oil. Most important Asphalt deposit is the ​Pitch Lake of
Trinidad. Bitumen or Asphalt ​is an excellent material ​for road surfacing. ​Large
quantities of this natural Asphalt are dug, melted into barrels and exported.

OIL PROSPECTING AND DRILLING

In the early days of oil prospecting, drilling was done randomly called ​'​Wild-catting'​,hoping
to strike oil. But the modern oil prospecting is teachnical requiring modern scientific
equipment and trained human resources (geologists and surveyors), to spot where oil is.
Once it oil has been found, a steel ​derick (30meters in height) will be erected and
equipment for drilling brought in. Steel tubes are inserted in the borehole and once the drill
reaches the oil-bearing rocks, oil is tapped and pumped to the surface.
Because of the high demand for oil in recent years, oil deposits which lie ​under the sea bed
are now being tapped. This type of oil drilling is called ​Off-shore drilling​, and the Derrick is
mounted on a platform called ​off-shore oil rig.

Transportation of Oil
most of the oil-consuming countries are far from the oil producing countries. Oil is
transported from the producers to consumers in to ways; ​by pipeline or by tanker.

a) Pipeline
The cheapest and most effective method of transporting oil over land for great distances.
This involves the construction of ​pumping stations at intervals and the installation of pipes
(hundreds or thousands of kilometers long).
Pipelines can be utilized both in the producing countries and as well as in the consuming
countries, where they are used to transport oil from the importing ports to the areas where
the oil is used.
Crude oil can be carried by pipelines either to ​refinery ​or to the ​exporting ports​.
Although pipelines are expensive to build, they are cheap to maintain and operate ​(it is very
economical).

b) Tanker
For sea transport, large oil tankers called super tankers (exceeding 400 000 metric tonnes)
are used to carry oil from producing countries to oil consuming nations. Ports should
therefore have sufficient deep water to take the super tankers.

Other means of transporting oil

For local use, ​oil trucks and ​rail-wagons are used for the transportation of refined
petroleum products.
For military and emergency requirements, ​barrels of oil are sometimes transported by
aircraft.

Oil Refining
1. Location of refineries
The Oil Refineries may be located;
a) In or near the oilfields
This is a temporary measure and is applicable only to ​small refineries. ​Offen, the oilfields
are located in remote or desert regions where there is little demand for the refined products
and they are not likely to be good locations for refineries.
b) At the port of export
These basically serve the ​local needs and protect the interests of the oil producing
countries,e.g. the refineries in the Persian Gulf area such as ​Abadan.
They provide employment for the local people but industrial demand is not high.
c) At the port of import
Owned by large International firms that have world-wide oil interests. For example,
Refineries in ​Southampton, Yokohama, Singapore, Port Dickson.
It is ​cheaper​ to import refined products.

2. The Distillation of Oil

Crude oil is refined into various petroleum products in a refinery. Mineral oils are made up of
different ​hydrocarbons and crude petroleum has no use unless it is ​refined​, by the process
known as ​distillation.

Solar energy
● This is the energy tapped from the sun.
● The sun's rays may be used to heat water directly or drive small engines or to charge
photo-voltaic cells (batteries) which produce electricity.
● The solar cells are also used for providing power cor spacecraft.
● Solar energy is most available in the tropics where there is too sun and it has future
for supplying individual homes or small villages with hot water(using solar geyers)
and electricity.
Advantages of solar energy
● It does not pollute the environment as it only uses sun's rays. It is therefore,
environmentally friendly.
● It can easily be trapped by solar panels and stored in batteries for later use.
● Its cheap and easy to maintain.
● Its very easy to install, making it easy for rural and remote cunsumers.
Disadvantages of solar energy
● It's limited to domestic use as it cannot run heavy machinery.
● Its cumbersome to carry batteries and they need to be replaced.
● Solar panels may be costy as they are expensive to manufacture.
● Its not effective in cloudy or low sunshine areas.
● Solar technology is a relatively new technology and most people are familiar with it.
Biogas
● Biogas is a mixture of gases produced by the breakdown of organic (plant or animal)
matter in the absence of oxygen.
● Biogas is produced from raw materials such as manure, sewage (human and
animal), plant material and crops (e.g. maize, sugarcane, cassava) by the process of
fermentation.​
● Biomass energy from sugarcane and cassava can be as a source of alcohol spirit
(methane) which can be used with, or instead of, petrol to drive cars.
● Brazilians have converted their cars to run on alcohol (obtained from biomass
energy, in particular sugarcane) due to very high cost of importing oil.
● However, biogas is a very important source of energy for domestic use in developing
world.
Advantages of Biogas
 ● It is renewable (inexhaustible) source of energy as it hugely depend on plants and
animal remains.
● It is a cheap source of energy as it only makes use of waste materials.
● Requires little skills to produce it.
● It is not a pollutant.
Disadvantages of Biogas
● It produces little energy,limited for commercial or heavy industrial use.
● It is a pollutant if the materials are burnt dirrectly. E.g. if plants or waste materials are
burnt directly.
● It cannot be transported over long distances like H. E. P. can.

Wind Power
● Wind is air in motion or air that is moving.
● Wind mills are used to convert wind energy into mechanical energy that is used in
pumping water, and​ producing electrical power by​ ​spinning generators.
● The moving air (wind) turns(rotates) the blades of huge turbines which then spin
generators to create electricity for use.
● Wind power is produced from wind farms which consists of hundreds of wind turbines
connected to electric transmission network.
● Produces enough electricity for small towns rather than for national networks.
Advantages of Wind Energy
● It is a renewable source of energy as long as wind is blowing.
● It is a cheap source of energy.
● It has low maintainance cost.
● It is environmentally friendly - does not pollute the environment.
● Can be produced in small scale for local consumption.
Disadvantages of Wing Energy.
● It is expensive to generate, need of alot of wind mills.
● It produces low energy for local consumption.
● It causes noise pollution.
● Wind turbines pose a threat to animals. E.g birds.
● It's not a reliable source of energy since wind changes direction and does not blow
constantly.
World Distribution of Wind Energy.
Most wind mills are found in areas where winds are regularly strong (Arid and Semi-arid)
such as in the ​temperate lands on the Western sides of continents, ​for example in
North-West Europe and in California.

Wave and Tidal Energy

● Strong winds produces waves on the surface of the sea known as ​tides or tidal
waves​.
● In areas of high tides (wave power), a dam is created acrosss estuary to tap the
wave which drives a turbine to produce electricity
● France is utilising this form of energy.
Advantages of wave and Tidal energy.
● Its a clean source of energy.
 ● It supplements other sources of energy.
● Tidal barrage during energy generation can prevent flooding.
● Good in islands with regular tidal waves.
Disadvantages
● It is only available along the sea where tidal and waves are high.
● Energy production is limited to the presence of strong winds.
● Requires a lot of capital to install power generating plant.

Geothermal Power.
● This is the power derived from heat in the interior of the earth.
● The core of the earth is very hot with extremely high temperatures of about 4000
degree Celsius.
● Therefore, the water which exists deep underground under great pressure, is heated
up by convectional heat currents.
● By drilling into hot rocks, the superheated water can be tapped and as the water rises
to the surface, the pressure drops making the water to flash into ​super heated
steam​. This steam is transmitted to the station to turn turbines that generate
electricity.
● Afterwards, the water can be pumped back into the ground to be reheated again.
● This source of energy is common in areas with volcanic activities and the steam
manifests itself in the form of ​geysers​ and ​hot springs.
World Distribution of Geothermal Energy.
The main countries from which Geothermal is generated are the USA, Iceland, New
Zealand, Japan, Russia, Italy, Mexico, El Salvador.
The first Geothermal Power Station in Africa is in Kenya at Olkaria and produces 30 Mega
Watts. But Ethiopia is considered to have the greatest potential of all because it has great rift
valleys.

Advantages of Geothermal Power.

● It is a cheap source of energy as it only makes use of Steam.
● The generation of power is continuous as water can be pumped back underground to
generate more steam.
● It is a clean form of energy.
● In is not influenced by climatic conditions.
● Cost of production is lower than that of HEP.
Disadvantages of Geothermal Power.
● Geysers and hot springs are confined to very few places.
● Its generation causes noise pollution and sometimes exposes hazardous minerals to
the environment.
● Geothermal and volcanic activities may calm down in ghe long run, leaving the
station redundant.
● Exploration of a geothermal site requires alot of high technology.
● It may be risk to setting up a power station as it can activate volcanic eruption.
Uranium
An atom consists of two parts; the centre called ​Nucleus composed of protons ​and
Neutrons. ​The outside part consists of ​one or more electrons.
 ● Uranium(​naturally occurring radioactive mineral​) is used to produce ​Nuclear or
Atomic energy​.
● A nuclear power station is a form of thermal electric power station but the difference
that distinguish it others is that in a nuclear reactor, heat is provided by Uranium and
not by burning coal, oil or gas.
● It is called "Nuclear Power" because the energy that heats up water to produce
steam is generated from the splitting of a Nucleus of Uranium atom.
● Great quantities of heat is released when the nucleus of Uranium atom is split into
fragments.
● By splitting more Uranium atoms in a nuclear reactor, a chain of reactions known as
nuclear fusion (achieved by bombarding the nucleus with a stream of neutrons)
produces great heat used for producing steam which under pressure drives steam
turbines which in turn powers generators for the making of electricity.
A large nuclear reactor(contained inside a thick shield of concrete to prevent radiation from
escaping) contains about 30 000 uranium elements which last about five years.
Uranium - Producing Regions
The chief regions of Uranium production are;
● The USA
● Canada
● South Africa
● Australia
● Zaire(Democratic Republic or Congo).
World Distribution of Nuclear Power.
Nuclear power stations have been developed mainly in the ​USA​, ​Britain and ​France.
Egypty and India are two developing contries wich are using nuclear power energy.
Advantages of Nuclear power.
● A reliable source of energy due to its long-lasting supply
● Genedates large amounts of energy.
Disadvantages
● Cons