Energy Sources: Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels are geologic deposits of organic materials that are combustible buried in the earth and formed from plants and animals that are decayed and have been converted to crude oil, coal, or natural gas.
1. Is the Energy Source classified as a non renewable, renewable or inexhaustible?
Fossil Fuels are classified as non renewable. This is because they are unable to be made again. Once they are used, they are gone.
2. How is the energy source made usable?
The different types of fossil fuels are made usable in a variety of ways.
When in the state of naturalism, crude oil has literally no use. So to make it usable, it is extracted from the ground and then refined (by being boiled). So, as the fossil fuel is boiled and the temperature rises, different compounds (such as petroleum gas and compound gas) start to be boiled. When these compounds are boiled they are taken out of the oil to be used our everyday necessities such as heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles.
To make coal usable, there are coal power stations located in several parts of the eastern side of the United States and in other countries such as Korea and India that turn the chemical energy that is found in coal into electrical energy. First the coal is grind into a powder and blown into a boiler in which it is burned.It is then steamed in a turbine, put in the generator, and transmitted. Thus making its chemical energy into heat energy, and this coal with contained heat energy taken and used in businesses and homes.
To make natural gas usable, the gas is first extracted from a type of ground source (types of rock like shale or coalbed methane). After this the gas is frozen to make it liquefied. Once liquefied, the gas is transferred to power plants where it is made to generate electricity (by being combusted), making the stored energy contained in the gas ablke to be transformed into usable power (such as steam heat production, cooking, and home heating and cooling).
Fossil Fuels are classified as non renewable. This is because they are unable to be made again. Once they are used, they are gone.
2. How is the energy source made usable?
The different types of fossil fuels are made usable in a variety of ways.
When in the state of naturalism, crude oil has literally no use. So to make it usable, it is extracted from the ground and then refined (by being boiled). So, as the fossil fuel is boiled and the temperature rises, different compounds (such as petroleum gas and compound gas) start to be boiled. When these compounds are boiled they are taken out of the oil to be used our everyday necessities such as heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles.
To make coal usable, there are coal power stations located in several parts of the eastern side of the United States and in other countries such as Korea and India that turn the chemical energy that is found in coal into electrical energy. First the coal is grind into a powder and blown into a boiler in which it is burned.It is then steamed in a turbine, put in the generator, and transmitted. Thus making its chemical energy into heat energy, and this coal with contained heat energy taken and used in businesses and homes.
To make natural gas usable, the gas is first extracted from a type of ground source (types of rock like shale or coalbed methane). After this the gas is frozen to make it liquefied. Once liquefied, the gas is transferred to power plants where it is made to generate electricity (by being combusted), making the stored energy contained in the gas ablke to be transformed into usable power (such as steam heat production, cooking, and home heating and cooling).
3. What are the infrastructure requirements for utilizing this energy source?
The required infrastructure to utilize crude oil include ships (to transport the oil), a proper refinement system (in the diagram above), a working grid for power distribution, and a proper plant and water for electrical generation.
The required infrastructure to utilize coal include proper power plants, mines, and kinds of transportation for it to be transferred in the process of being extracted.
The required infrastructure to utilize natural gas are proper piping, lining, and power plants.
The required infrastructure to utilize crude oil include ships (to transport the oil), a proper refinement system (in the diagram above), a working grid for power distribution, and a proper plant and water for electrical generation.
The required infrastructure to utilize coal include proper power plants, mines, and kinds of transportation for it to be transferred in the process of being extracted.
The required infrastructure to utilize natural gas are proper piping, lining, and power plants.
4. What emerging technologies will make this energy source safer, more usable, more efficient, cleaner...etc?
With the racing track to more advanced technology our world is on today, there are many new emerging things that can make fossil fuels more usable, safe, and efficient.
A new technology that will improve crude oil is called “zipper fracking.” "the fractures form a zipper pattern that cracks the rocks more deeply and efficiently than in a single well. The process allows both wells to produce more oil and gas."-http://dailyreckoning.com/
This will help make crude oil more effective by producing it in more mass amounts, making it easier to be used more often and better.
A new technology that will improve coal is increased automation (meaning machines being programmed and going in to the mines, digging, and retrieving coal- rather than humans).
This will help make coal more safe for the mine workers because it will create a scenario where there is no longer a chance of a mine caving and workers dying.
A new technology that will improve natural gas is the increase of well drilling (retrieving natural gas through wells that connect into the ground to get the gas from the rock sources in the ground).
This will help make natural gas better for the environment because less wells are needed to get the natural gas than towers needed (meaning less Pollution into the air).
With the racing track to more advanced technology our world is on today, there are many new emerging things that can make fossil fuels more usable, safe, and efficient.
A new technology that will improve crude oil is called “zipper fracking.” "the fractures form a zipper pattern that cracks the rocks more deeply and efficiently than in a single well. The process allows both wells to produce more oil and gas."-http://dailyreckoning.com/
This will help make crude oil more effective by producing it in more mass amounts, making it easier to be used more often and better.
A new technology that will improve coal is increased automation (meaning machines being programmed and going in to the mines, digging, and retrieving coal- rather than humans).
This will help make coal more safe for the mine workers because it will create a scenario where there is no longer a chance of a mine caving and workers dying.
A new technology that will improve natural gas is the increase of well drilling (retrieving natural gas through wells that connect into the ground to get the gas from the rock sources in the ground).
This will help make natural gas better for the environment because less wells are needed to get the natural gas than towers needed (meaning less Pollution into the air).
Sources
http://www.nmoga.org/
http://www.edfenergy.com
http://www.epa.gov
http://www.encana.com
http://www.ei.lehigh.edu
http://dailyreckoning.com/
http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/
http://www.edfenergy.com
http://www.epa.gov
http://www.encana.com
http://www.ei.lehigh.edu
http://dailyreckoning.com/
http://corporate.exxonmobil.com/