Ch3 - Lecture - Sustainable Energy

ECEG 796-62
ENERGY SOURCES
LECTURE 2: FOSSIL FUELS
FALL 2017
Slides by: Dr. Mahmoud Amin

ECE Dep., Manhattan College
Sustainable Energy
Chapter 3
 Fossil Fuel
Resources and
Use
©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 1

Sustainable Energy Dunlap
Learning Objectives
● The properties of fossil files and methods for

obtaining and processing them.
● The availability of fossil fuels.
● The use of fossil fuels worldwide.
● The application of the Hubbert model to fossil
fuel use.
● Enhanced fossil fuel recovery methods.
● The properties and availability of shale oil and
tar sands.
● Methods for coal liquefaction and gasification.

Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are categorized as
• Oil
• Natural gas
• Coal

Oil
Oil (as well as natural gas) is formed from

decomposition of marine organisms that lived
about 500 million years ago from extended
periods of high temperature and pressure.
20 tonnes of organic matter produces about 1

liter of oil.

Location of oil deposits

Deposits are trapped under a layer of impermeable rock and may
be under the ocean or (because of continental drift) under land

Oil production
Oil first used as a fuel in mid-1800s
Early production in Pennsylvania and Ontario

Current oil production methods
Current oil production

Small land based oil well

Off-shore oil production

Refining
Crude oil contains a variety of hydrocarbons that can be
separated according to molecular weight by refining

Alkanes
Some hydrocarbons are in the alkane series with compositions
CnH2n+2
Higher heating value

Refinery process
Hydrocarbons with different molecular weights

and different boiling points can be separated by
allow crude oil to travel up a fractionating
column with progressively lower temperature.

Schematic of a fractionating column

Fractionating columns at an oil refinery

Natural gas
Natural gas is often found mixed with oil deposits or in

deposits of its own.
Typically a mixture of about 85% methane and 15%

ethane.
Combustion is approximated by the combustion of methane

as

Coal
Coal is formed from terrestrial plant matter over

many years of elevated temperature and
pressure.
The oldest coal deposits are about 350 million

years old.
About 0.8% of original carbon in the plant matter

becomes coal.
Ranks of coal
Type (or rank) of coal depends on formation conditions and age
Common ranks of coal

Coal use in the United States
Most coal in the U.S. is used to generate electricity in

thermal generating stations

Comparison of U.S. and Saudi Arabian oil

production
United States produces 2.45×109 bbl (barrel) per year from
about 600,000 oil wells.
Saudi Arabia produces 3.96×109 bbl per year from about

1000 oil wells.
Production rates per well
• United States 1.2 L/min

• Saudi Arabia 1200 L/min
Why such a discrepancy?

U.S. oil wells are much closer to depletion

Application of the Hubbert model to

U.S. oil production
Hubbert peak was passed about 40 years ago

Hubbert model for world oil production
Not quite yet at the peak

U.S. dependence on imported oil

Lifetime of oil resources
Longevity of oil resources in the U.S., Canada and worldwide
Depends critically on growth rate

Lifetime of natural gas resources
Longevity of natural gas resources in the U.S., Canada

and worldwide

Application of the Hubbert model to coal

production
Note that the peak occurs around 2060 and that the curve is
much wider than for oil
Lifetime of coal resources
Longevity of coal resources in the U.S., Canada and

worldwide

Enhanced fossil fuel recovery methods
Oil recovery from traditional oil wells can be enhanced by

several techniques
• Primary oil recovery - oil flows from well under its own
pressure (about 10 - 15% of oil recovered)
• Secondary oil recovery - water or gas pumped into

reservoir to pressurize it (additional 25% of oil
recovered)
• Tertiary oil recovery - Various techniques include

o Surfactant injection
o Steam injection
o Fireflooding
Fracking
Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) is often used to enhance

natural gas recovery.
Water (with chemicals added for various reasons) is injected

into the well under pressure to fracture the rock and allow gas
to enter the well.
This technique is controversial because of potential

contamination of water supply with fracking liquids or natural
gas.

Diagram of the fracking process

Shale oil
Oil shale is a sedimentary rock that contains

complex hydrocarbons called kerogens.
Heating kerogens breaks them down into

petroleum-like materials that can be used in
place of traditional oil.

Estimated shale oil resources
The U.S. has the largest known resources and these exceed
estimates of the world total oil resources from traditional
sources
Energy content of oil shale
Good quality oil shale produces the

equivalent of about 100 L oil per tonne of
shale.
This is about 12% the energy content of

one tonne of bituminous coal.

World use of shale oil
Estonia is the only major shale oil user and extracts the
majority of its energy from this source
Use of U.S. shale oil resources
Despite the extensive resources available in the U.S., there

is virtually no utilization of shale oil.
The reasons for this result, at least in part, from the

location of the resources and the methods of extracting
shale oil from the rock.

Location of U.S. Oil shale resources

Extraction of shale oil
Oil is extracted from oil shale by
• heating the shale oil to about 500°C to

extract the kerogens
• refining the resulting hydrocarbons as for

crude oil

Concerns for shale oil production
The following points of concern must be addressed for

U.S. shale oil resources
Water supply
• The area of the oil shale deposits have generally little

rainfall and water from rivers is a valuable resource for
agriculture
Disposal of spent shale
• Because of the low energy density (compared to coal)

large quantities of shale need to be processed and
disposed of
Further factors against U.S. shale oil

production
Environmental consequences
• Shale oil production releases significant pollution and

greenhouse gases, 97% of Estonia's air pollution comes
from the shale oil industry
Cost
• Some studies have suggested that shale oil would cost

about twice the price of conventional crude oil

Extra heavy oil
Extra heavy oil has a very high viscosity and, as a result,

is more difficult to extract
Virtually all extra heavy oil is located in Venezuela

Extra heavy oil production
Estimated extra heavy oil resources are close to

the estimates for total conventional oil resources.
Commercial extra heavy oil production has been

ongoing in Venezuela since 2001 and has been at
a rate of about 4×107 L/day.

Tar sands
Tar sands represents deposits of oil that are

mixed with sand.
The majority of tar sands resources are

located in Alberta, Canada and are estimated
to be a substantial fraction of world resources
of conventional oil.

World tar sands resources

Location of Canadian tar sands resources

Production of oil from tar sands
Production of oil from tar sands in Canada began

in 1967.
Production of about 5×108 L/day is anticipated.

Coal liquefaction and gasification
Liquid or gaseous fuels suitable for transportation use can

be produced from coal.
Coal (mostly carbon) can be heated in the presence of

oxygen or water to yield the following reactions

Combustion of coal gas
Coal gas can be burned to yield energy by the reactions

Use of coal gas and related fuels
During gasoline shortages in World War II, gaseous fuels

were produced from solid hydrocarbons for vehicle use

Coal liquefaction
Liquid hydrocarbons similar to gasoline or diesel fuel

can be produced from coal by various chemical reactions
and polymerization.
Coal gas and liquid fuels produced from coal have not been
shown to be economically viable and produce more
greenhouse gas emissions than conventional petroleum
products.

Summary
• Fossil fuels are categorized as oil, natural gas and coal
• All fossil fuels are produced under extreme pressure by the
decomposition of ancient organic matter
• Crude oil can be refined to yield a variety of products
• Natural gas is about 85% methane and 15% ethane
• Coal has different ranks depending on formation conditions
• Worldwide oil production is approaching the peak in the
Hubbert model, in the U.S. it has passed the peak
• Coal has a greater longevity than other fossil fuels
• Enhanced recovery technologies may extend the lifetime of
oil
• Shale oil is a plentiful resource but is not viable at this time
• Extra heavy oil and tar sands have been utilized for a
number of years
• Coal may be gasified or liquefied to produce a
transportation fuel

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ECEG 796-62

Slides by: Dr. Mahmoud Amin

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 1

● The properties of fossil files and methods for

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 3

Fossil fuels are categorized as

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 4

Oil (as well as natural gas) is formed from

20 tonnes of organic matter produces about 1

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 5

Location of oil deposits

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 6

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 7

Current oil production

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 8

Off-shore oil production

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 9

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 10

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 11

Hydrocarbons with different molecular weights

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 12

Schematic of a fractionating column

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 13

Fractionating columns at an oil refinery

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 14

Natural gas is often found mixed with oil deposits or in

Typically a mixture of about 85% methane and 15%

Combustion is approximated by the combustion of methane

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 15

Coal is formed from terrestrial plant matter over

The oldest coal deposits are about 350 million

About 0.8% of original carbon in the plant matter

Type (or rank) of coal depends on formation conditions and age

Common ranks of coal

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 17

Coal use in the United States

Most coal in the U.S. is used to generate electricity in

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 18

Comparison of U.S. and Saudi Arabian oil

Saudi Arabia produces 3.96×109 bbl per year from about

Production rates per well

• United States 1.2 L/min

Why such a discrepancy?

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 19

Application of the Hubbert model to

Hubbert peak was passed about 40 years ago

Hubbert model for world oil production

Not quite yet at the peak

U.S. dependence on imported oil

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 22

Lifetime of oil resources

Longevity of oil resources in the U.S., Canada and worldwide

Depends critically on growth rate

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 23

Lifetime of natural gas resources

Longevity of natural gas resources in the U.S., Canada

©2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved. 24

Application of the Hubbert model to coal

Lifetime of coal resources