Nonrenewable Energy
Ch. 17.1: Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels
What does it mean to be “nonrenewable?”
• Forms at a slower rate than the rate that it is consumed
• Ex: – Minerals– Fossil Fuels• Coal• Oil• Natural gas
Fossil Fuels
• Fossil Fuels- remains of ancient organisms that changed into coal, oil, or natural gas
• They are natural resources– Used to run cars, ships, planes, and factories– Produce electricity
2 Main Problems with Fossil Fuels
• 1. Fossil fuel supply is limited
• 2. Obtaining and using them has environmental consequences
Fuels for Different Uses
• Used for 4 main Purposes:– Transportation– Manufacturing– Heating/cooling– Generating electricity
• Determining which fuel to use for which purpose depends on: – Fuel’s energy content, cost, availability, safety, and
byproducts
Electricity
• Energy in fuels is often converted into electrical energy– More convenient– Transported great distances(across state) or tiny
distances (computer chip)
• 2 disadvantages:– Difficult to store– Other energy sources have to be used to generate it
How is electricity generated?
• Electric generator- converts mechanical energy (motion) into electrical energy
How Fossil-Fuel Deposits Form
• Coal Formation:– Forms from the remains of plants that lived in
swamps hundreds of millions of years ago– ~300 mill years ago– Ocean levels rose and fell & swamps were covered
with sediment– Sediment compressed the remains– Heat and pressure from Earth caused coal to form
Oil & Natural Gas formation
• Result from the decay of tiny marine organisms that accumulated on the bottom of the ocean
• Remains buried by sediment• Heated until they became carbon molecules• Carbon molecules migrated into porous rock
Coal
• Most of the world’s fossil-fuel reserves are made up of coal
• 2 advantages: – Relatively inexpensive– Needs little refining after it has been mined
• More than half of the electricity generated in the US comes from coal-fired power plants
Coal Mining Impact
• Impact on the environment:– Underground mines have minimal effect – Surface coal-mining can remove top an entire
mountains– waste rock/toxic chemicals can leach into nearby
water sources– Produces air pollution
Petroleum
• Petroleum (crude oil)-oil that is pumped from the ground
• Used to make fuels, chemicals, and plastics– This is called petroleum product
• 45% of world’s commercial energy use
Locating Oil Deposits• Most of world’s oil reserves are in the Middle East– Oil reserve- oil deposits that can be extracted profitably at
current prices using current technology.
• Other places: – US– Venezuela– North Sea– Siberia– Nigeria
• After petroleum is removed-transported to refinery to be converted into fuels and other products
Environmental Effects of Using Oil
• Petroleum fuels are burned-releases pollutants– Smog– Health
• Oil spills
Effects of oil spills…