Fossil fuel reserves petroleum

We could not live without combustion reactions the oxidation of glucose powers our bodies, and the burning of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) powers our homes and vehicles. Because fossil fuels reserves are limited, alternatives are being sought (Box 6.2), but even these new fuels will be burned. Consequently, the study of combustion is critically important for our survival. 

FIGURE 18-15 Because fossil fuel reserves are limited, they must be extracted from wherever they are found. This platform is used to extract petroleum from beneath the ocean. The natural gas accompanying it cannot easily be transported, and so it is burned off. 

The energy content of the coal reserves in the United States far exceeds that of the fossil fuel reserves of all Middle East nations combined. Why, then, does the United States import so much petroleum from these nations The immediate... 

The prognosis for the continued use of coal is good. Projections that the era of fossil fuels (gas, petroleum, and coal) will be almost over when the cumulative production of the fossil resources reaches 85% of their initial total reserves (Hubbert, 1969) may or may not have some merit. In fact. 

States and in developing ones like China, chemists are actively trying to find new energy sources. Currently the major sources of energy are fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas). The estimated reserves of these fuels will last us another 50-l(X) years, at the present rate of consumption, so it is urgent that we find alternatives. 

On a uniform calorific value basis, coal constitutes 69% of the total estimated recoverable resources of fossil fuel in the United States. Petroleum and natural gas are about 7% and oil in oil shale, which is not as of this writing used as a fuel, is about 23%. The 1989 total recoverable reserves of coal are about 500 times the 1989 aimual production (2), whereas the reserves of oil and gas are smaller, the production and consumption rate of oil and gas in the United States is three times that of coal. 

All fossil fuels are considered unsustainable because someday they will reach a point of depletion when it becomes uneconomic to produce. Petroleum is the least sustainable because it is the most finite fossil fuel. Although levels of production are expected to begin declining no later than 2030 (U.S. production peaked in 1970), the U.S. and world resei ves could be further expanded by technological advances that continue to improve discoveiy rates and individual well productivity. The extraction of oils found in shales (exceeds three trillion barrels of oil equivalent worldwide) and sands (resei ves of at least two trillion barrels worldwide) could also significantly increase reserves. The reserves of natural gas are comparable to that of oil, but natural gas is considered a more sustainable resource since consumption rates are lower and it burns cleaner than petroleum products (more environmentally sustainable). 

Our complex modern life style was made possible by the discovery and refining of fossil fuels, fuels that are the result of the decay of organic matter laid down millions of years ago. The natural gas that heats our homes, the gasoline that powers our automobiles, and the coal that provides much of our electrical power are fossil fuels. Vast reserves of petroleum, the source of liquid hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and coal, exist in many areas of the world. However, although large, these reserves are limited, and we are using them up at a much faster rate than they can be replaced. 

Coal is the giant of fossil fuel resources. World reserves are many times those of petroleum, and the United States is one of the major resource holders. Coal can be used directly in combustion or converted to gas or liquid. Only combustion consumes significant amounts of coal today. 

The government also held oil shale lands in Utah and Colorado that were opened to development during the 1980s as an alternate source of fossil fuels. In 1996 Congress authorized the divestment of several Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves properties. 

Worldwide, the amount of energy available from coal is estimated to be about ten times greater than the amount available from all petroleum and natural gas reserves combined. Coal is also the filthiest fossil fuel because it contains large amounts of such impurities as sulfur, toxic heavy metals, and radioactive isotopes. Burning coal is therefore one of the quickest ways to introduce a variety of pollutants into the air. More than half of the sulfur dioxide and about 30 percent of the nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere by humans come from the combustion of coal. As with other fossil fuels, the combustion of coal also produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. 

Petroleum is also versatile. It contains all the commercially important hydrocarbons, such as those that make up gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, motor oil, heating oil, tar, and even natural gas. Using fractional distillation (Section 12.1), oil refineries can convert one type of petroleum hydrocarbon to another, thereby tailoring their output to fit consumer demand. Furthermore, petroleum contains much less sulfur than does coal and so produces less sulfur dioxide when burned. So, despite its vast coal reserves, the United States has a royal thirst for petroleum, the king of fossil fuels, consuming about 20 million barrels each day. This is about 11 liters per U.S. citizen per day. 

Along with other alternative sources of energy during the energy crisis of the 1970s, considerable attention was devoted to the exploitation of tar sands. Once, it was predicted that deposits in Canada could yield a light synthetic crude oil to the extent of a million barrels per day, or about one-third of Canada s petroleum requirements. Later, when serious environmental concern over fossil fuels was indicated, research turned essentially elsewhere. It was estimated in the late 1970s that tar sands reserves hi the United States, mainly in Utah, would have the petroleum equivalent of 90 billion barrels. 

Petroleum is a resource, in particular, petroleum is a fossil fuel resource (Speight, 1999). A resource is the entire commodity that exists in the sediments and strata whereas the reserves represent that fraction of a commodity that can be recovered economically. However, the use of the term reserves as being descriptive of the resource is subject to much speculation. In fact, it is subject to word variations For example, reserves are classed as proved, unproved, probable, possible, and undiscovered. 

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