CH. 10

CHAPTER 10

political and environmental issue OPEC – largely Arab countries –

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries1973 restricted import into US. – ahhhhh!!!!Strategic Petroleum Reserve – prevent crisis

during f.f. interruption – 1 billion barrels

• 1970s – US conserved – drove less, bought fewer cars, used less heat/air

• 1980s – oil prices low and consumption is high

• 1990s – continued foreign dependence• Current – more non OPEC suppliers, cheap

energy, HIGH US consumption – large vehicles, larger energy-sucking homes (high ceilings, central air, hot tubs, etc.), increased speed limits from 55 mph– 55% US oil imported– Supplies won’t last forever

HDC v. LDC 20% of population using 60% of energy 1 person in HDC = 8 in LDC

Ex: agriculture – tractors v. animals in field, energy to make fertilizers and pesticides

To raise LDC standard of living usually includes a rise in per capita energy consumption

Energy in US: 42% industries (making chemicals, minerals, food); 33% make buildings comfortable (heat/air, lights, hot water); 25% transportation

Fossil fuels Coal, oil, natural gas Partially decayed

remnants of organism Supplies most of

energy in N. AmericaOther sources: nuclear,

solar, wind, etc.

Nonrenewable resource – forming, but too slowly

Fossil fuel formation• Ancient climate: warm with many swamps with big trees• Plant die, don’t decompose well in watery grave – no fungi

in oxygen deprived env., anaerobic bacteria don’t decay wood quickly

• Sea level changes, sediment traps plants– TIME, heat, pressure convert nondecomposed

plant material into carbon rich coal. – Oil: microscopic aquatic organism died and

decompose in sediment and create oxygen deprived env. no more decomposition. Sediment covered.

– Natural gas (mainly methane): similar formation as oil, but hotter

– Oil/natural gas are less dense than rock – tend to move up through porous rock and accumulate beneath nonporous rock

COALCOAL Industrial Revolution of mid 18th century Mainly for electricity; other: energy to

melt iron during conversion to steel Different grades – higher heat during

formation = drier, harder, higher energy content

Grades of Coal

1. Lignite – soft, little heat, little sulfur; lots in W. US

2. Subbituminous – little heat and little sulfur, lots in Alaska

3. Bituminous (“soft coal”) – most common, sulfur!, lots of heat, lots in Appalachian region

4. Anthracite (“hard coal”) least sulfur, highest heat, mostly depleted in US

Little heat/soft

Lots of heat/hard

COAL RESERVES Most abundant ff China, US (25%),

Russia, etc. Last 200 years at

present rate, more if deeper deposits become available

SAFETY PROBLEMS WITH COAL Subsurface mining dangerous for miners

(cave-ins) Increased risk of cancer and black lung

disease

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF MINING

Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) – 1977: requires reclamation of surface coal minesReshape land, spread topsoil, plant

seeds/plants, sedimentation ponds confine sediment filled water, prevent acid mine drainage (rains through iron sulfide minerals and carries sulfuric acid to lakes/streams)

QUICK SUMMARY:Water pollution: sediment and acid

Land destruction: removes topsoil/can’t grow plants/erosion/habitat loss

ENVIRONMENAL IMPACTS WITH BURNING COAL

Releases CO2 – prevents heat from leaving planetPossible effects: melt polar ice raise sea

levels and flood coastal areas, increases coastal erosion and increase risk of violent storms

Most CO2 per unit heat Most air pollution

Mercury – 1/3 of all airborne emissions (biomagnification!!! Consuming large fish…ick)

NOx and SOx from bituminous coal + H2O acid deposition○ Normal rain = ph 5.6○ Effects: decrease aquatic animal populations,

damage forests

MAKING COAL CLEANER1. Scrubbers – remove sulfur. Chemical react with sulfur to create

precipitate to settle out; expensive – 10%-15% of construction costs

2. Lime scrubbers – H2O + lime sprayed to neutralize sulfur dioxide – creates calcium sulfate sludge. Landfills

Resource recovery: ○ sell calcium sulfate (synthetic gypsum) to make drywall, to farmers for soil (hold

water)○ Fly ash is used to make lightweight concrete

3. Electrostatic precipitator – removes particulate matter (like fly ash)4. fluidized-bed combustion – mixes crushed coal with limestone

during combustion. Limestone neutralizes sulfur-dioxide calcium sulfate. Lower temperature produces less Nox

Produces more heat from a given amount of coal, less CO2 emitted per unit electricity

Can coalcoal ever be truly clean? What does that mean anyway?

“Clean coal”

Clean Air Actprotects the public from air pollutants hazardous to our health

Amendments of 1990:

Reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to reduce acid rain

OIL AND NATURAL GASOIL AND NATURAL GAS Most of energy used in world (including US) Petroleum = crude oil Petrochemical: plastics, fertilizers, pesticides Natural gas: mainly methane, some butane,

propane.+: very little air pollutants-: difficult to transport b/c a gasMethane – generate electricity, transportationStore butane, propane as liquid (liquified petroleum gas)

EXTRACTION Oil pumps

Find traps by:Drill test holes to obtain rock samplesProduce explosion and analyze sound waves$$

“Fracking” – hydraulic fracturing Water, sand, and chemicals injecting

underground to release natural gasConcerns: contaminating groundwater with

unknown chemicals and methane

RESERVES Oil: middle east – over 50%/ ~ 50 years

left (not considering industrialization of China)

Natural gas – Russia (40%) and Iran/ ~ 150 years

Environmental problems with natural gas and oil 1. burning the fuel – CO2 (less with natural gas),

acid deposition (not natural gas)

2. production and transport – Exxon Valdez Alaskan Oil Spill 1989: lack of

double hull; hit reef; killed birds, sea otters, etc.Persian Gulf Oil Spill – biggest in world, on purpose,

6 million barrelsDeepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill - during deep water

drilling – 5 million barrels

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Debate to open to oil exploration + create jobs, area close by production declining,

decrease dependence of foreign oil

- hurt national wildlife refuge (platforms, pipelines, roads, potential spills), temporary amount will increase future dependence

SYNFUELS – another option for the future Liquid/gas from coal or other natural sources Drawbacks – energy intensive to produce = low net energy yield Types:

Methane Hydrates – methane in ice (permafrost areas, beneath deep ocean floor); positive feedback (global warming)

Tar sands – have bitumen (semi-solid oil), can convert bitumen to oil, mined using strip-mining

Oil Shale – “oily rock” Coal-to-liquid

○ Easy to transport through pipes, produce gasoline, can use lower grade coal, $$, requires energy

Keystone XL pipeline

Oil sands (tar sands) in Canada Concerns :

Oil spills/crossing Ogallala AquiferExtracting: surface mining or injecting lots of

steam to make less thick = lots of energy (=lots of CO2)/ Boreal forest

Expensive to turn into gasoline

Pros/cons summary Coal

+: plentiful, not harmful if spilled, relative high energy yield

-: erosion, acid mine drainage, hurts miners, NOx/SOx/CO2/mercury

Oil

+: cheap, versatile, high energy yield

- : NOx/SOx, CO2, , oil spills, wildlife habitats

Natural gas+: no pollution from NOx and SOx, high energy yield

-: highly explosive, hard to transport (pipes carry risk of leaks/explosions), methane (CH4 is a greenhouse gas and ozone destroyer), least amount CO2