Fossil fuel resources

Oil Shale Operations in Israel. Oil shale, the only fossil fuel resource in Israel, is being used to generate electric power. The oil shale feed stock, typical of the low grade IsraeH oil shale (see Table 2), is situated in a deposit overlying phosphate ore. The oil shale operations are being carried out because the oil shale has to be mined to obtain the phosphate ore. 

Coal is the most abundant and most economical fossil fuel resource in the world. Proven coal reseiwes exceed 1 trillion tons, and indicated reserves are estimated at 24 trillion tons. Coal is found in eveiy continent of the world, including Antarctica, although the largest quantities of coal are in the Northern Hemisphere. Coal is mined in some sixty countries in nineteen coal basins around the world, but more than 57 percent of the world s total recoverable reserves are estimated to be in the United States, and China, which together account for more than two-thirds of the world s coal production. 

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. 

As the domestic mix of fossil fuel resources changes over the coming years, new challenges will emerge for the design and renovation of our nation s installed base of refineries. While the practical aspects of this task must be left to the petroleum and gas industries, there is a need for fundamental research to provide new design concepts and for trained engineering personnel to maintain international competitiveness in these industries. 

Currently there is an urgent need to develop hydrogen storage materials for mobile and stationary appHcations. This trend is accelerated by the hydrogen fuel cell technology that could, within the next decades, replace fossil fuel resources such as oil and gas. 

If H2 is made from renewable fuels such as biomass, or nuclear energy, or fossil fuel resources with C02 capture and sequestration, it would be possible to generate emission-free electricity in the future. 

One notes the large difference in amounts available, not only between available fossil resources, but also for the renewables. The amounts of coal are close to eight times those of oil, comparable to our uranium resources. The amounts of natural gas available are slightly less. If one compares these amounts with the current use of renewables as wind, solar and photosynthesis production, it is clear that fossil fuel resources will stay with us for a very long time. 

The other option is to capture the C02 and to store it. The amounts of C02 are huge if we continue to use the fossil fuel resource base. It is estimated to be over 6.000 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC) [1], The most attractive opportunity for this is geological (Fig. 1.7). 

Improvement of the atmosphere continues to be of great concern. The continual search for fossil fuel resources can lead to the exploitation of coal, shale,... 

Nowhere is the effect of anthropogenic stress felt more than in the development of natural resources of the Earth. Natural resources are varied in nature and often require definition. Eor example, in relation to mineral resources, for which there is also descriptive nomenclature (ASTM C294), the terms related to the available quantities of the resource must be defined. In this instance, the term resource refers to the total amount of the mineral that has been estimated to be available ultimately. The term reserves refers to well-identified resources that can profitably be extracted and utilized by means of existing technology. In many countries, fossil fuel resources are often classified as a subgroup of the total mineral resources. 

The present world energy supply system is facing three basic problems (1) limitation of fossil fuel resources, (2) climate change by carbon dioxide emission, and (3) insecurity by nuclear weapon competence and radioactive materials. The strategic goal therefore should be to transition to unlimited resources, use zero-emission fuels and accept no options for abuse. 

As fossil fuel resources dwindle, there is growing interest in developing new raw materials for future polymers [121]. As A. Gandini has stated polymers from renewable resources are indeed the macromolecular materials of the future [122]. Between the different renewable resources, carbohydrates stand out as highly convenient raw materials because they are inexpensive, readily available, and provide great stereochemical diversity. 

Coal forms about 60% of the global fossil fuel resources that are relatively evenly distributed around the world in more than 90 countries. The relative share of the coal consumption had a peak of 70% around 1900, but since then the relative importance has been on decline. Nowadays approximately % of the global fossil fuel consumption is by solids, from which 60 % is used for power generation. 

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. 

Fossil fuel resources a gaseous, liquid, or solid fuel material formed in the ground by chemical and physical changes (diagenesis, q.v.) in plant and animal residues over geological time natural gas, petroleum, coal, and oil shale. 

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