Nonrenewable Energy

Energy Resources and Fossil Fuels

Fuels for Different PurposesFossil fuels- Remains of ancient organisms that changed into coal, oil, or natural gas.Four main purposes:

TransportationManufacturingHeating and coolingGenerating electricity

Two main problems:Limited supply Environmental consequences

Electricity- Power on Demand

ConvenientTransports quickly across great distancesDisadvantages:

Difficult to storeMust generate from other energy sources

• Electric generator- Converts mechanical energy (motion) into electrical energy.

Turbine- Wheel that changes the force of a moving gas or liquid into energy that can do the work.

Coal-Fired Power Plant

Energy UseDramatic differences in fuel use and efficiency throughout the worldU.S. uses more energy per person than any other countries in the world except Canada and the United Arab Emirates.

Energy Use

#1 use in United States- Industrial use

#2 use in U.S.-Transportation

Japan and Switzerland-

Extensive rail systems

Hydroelectric and nuclear power

Fossil Fuel Deposits

Oil and Natural Gas Formation-Decay of tiny marine organisms causes heat

Sediment cover causes pressure

Energy-rich molecules in porous rock formations

Coal Formation-Decay of swamp plants

Oceans rose and covered with sediment

Heat and pressure caused coal to form

Fossil Fuel Deposits of United States

Energy Production by Source

CoalMost of world’s fossil fuel reservesAsia and North America- rich in coalDisadvantages:

Top-mining coal damages surfaceToxic wasteAir pollution- Sulfur dioxide produces acid rain

Advantages:Relatively inexpensiveNeeds little refining after it’s mined

Electricity Generation in the United States

Petroleum

Pumped from the ground, a.k.a. crude oil.

Petroleum products- anything made from crude oil

45% of world’s commercial energy use

Trapped in folds, faults, and salt domes which; bound by impermeable layers of rock

Environmental Effects

Oil spills

Leaking vehicles

Release of pollutants when burned

Carbon dioxide- Global warming

Sulfur dioxide- Acid rain

Smog

Natural Gas

20 % of world’s nonrenewable energy

Methane, CH4

Fewer pollutants when burned

Can be used to generate electricity

Fossil Fuels and the Future

90 % of energy used in developed countries

Demand to double by 2050

Costs will likely increase

Oil reserves- Oil deposits that can be extracted profitably at current prices using current technology.

Cost of obtaining influences extraction

More under oceanDifficult to drill

Expensive

Oil Production