Fossil-fuels

Few commodities have had such a fundamental impact on modern society as fossil fuels. Before human beings learned to exploit the energy stored in the hydrocarbon bonds of fossil fuels, they relied solely on muscular effort, direct solar, wind and water energy and the energy stored in biomass. In the last two hundred years, the remarkable rise of the coal, oil and more recently the natural gas industries has led to radical changes in almost every aspect of life. 

The oldest evidence of the use of fossil fuels dates back to prehistoric times. Accumulations of oil and tar were occasionally found at the surface of the earth and used for lighting, heating and building purposes. However, systematic exploitation of fossil fuels did not occur until modern times. 

Hydrogen as a Future Energy Carrier. Edited by A. Zuttel, A. Borgschulte, and L. Schlapbach 

Copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim 

In 1850, wood still supplied 70 % of the world s commercial energy. Fossil fuels began to dominate the global energy market sometime at the end of the nineteenth century. In the course of the twentieth century, their use increased between 12- and 

Other than longer-term supply issues the main driver for moving away from fossil resources is pollution. Since pre-industrial times the level of atmospheric CO2 has risen from 280 ppm to 360 ppm, and whilst some observers believe this may be a natural cycle in the Earth s history, most believe it is a direct consequence of burning fossil fuels. This additional CO2 is now thought to be the main cause of global warming via the greenhouse effect (see Box 6.1). 

It is fortunate, however, that there are small amounts of other gases in the atmosphere, notably carbon dioxide and water vapour. Both these gases absorb strongly in the infrared region of the reflected radiation, keeping the heat 

The natural consequence of the greenhouse effect is to keep the Earth s temperature over 20 °C higher than it would be if the atmosphere were completely composed of N2 and O2, enabling life to survive. 

Whilst the effects of global warming are still somewhat controversial it is likely to cause more storms and flooding, melting of the polar ice caps and changes in animal distributions. 

International agreements and legislation are now in place to limit global production and release of many of these materials. In addition to these restrictions, global emissions of CO2 may need to be reduced by 60% in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. 

Conaway, Charles F. (1999). The Petroleum Industry A Nontechnical Guide. Tulsa, OK PennWell. 

Ernest W. (1999). Advanced Cleaning Product Formulations, Vol. 5. Westwood, NJ Noyes. 

Karl (1999). Antiperspirants and Deodorants. New York Marcel Dekker. 

Nicholas J. Shaath, Nadim A. and Pathak, Madhu A., eds. (1997). Sunscreens Development, Evaluation, and Regulatory Aspects, 2nd edition, revised and expanded. New York Marcel Dekker. 

Chemical and Engineering News web site. Available from http //pubs.acs.org/cen . 

Natural gas Is odorless. The smell observed in a gas leak is due to minute amounts of a sulfur additive such as methanethiol, CH3SH, which provides an odor for easy detection. 

Methane is formed and used in a variety of ways. The CH4 released from decaying vegetable matter in New York City s main landfill is used for heating homes. CH4 generators in China convert cow manure into energy in rural farming towns. 

Products obtained from a barrel of crude oil 1 barrel = 42 gallons. 

Many alkanes occur in nature, primarily in natural gas and petroleum. Both of these fossil fuels serve as energy sources, formed from the degradation of organic material long ago. 

Refining crude petroleum into usable fuel and other petroleum products. 

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The metal is a source of nuclear power. There is probably more energy available for use from thorium in the minerals of the earth s crust than from both uranium and fossil fuels. Any sizable demand from thorium as a nuclear fuel is still several years in the future. Work has been done in developing thorium cycle converter-reactor systems. Several prototypes, including the HTGR (high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) and MSRE (molten salt converter reactor experiment), have operated. While the HTGR reactors are efficient, they are not expected to become important commercially for many years because of certain operating difficulties. 

Hydrocarbons are abundant in nature. All fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) are basically hydrocarbons, deviating, however, significantly in their H C ratio. 

When fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas (i.e., hydrocarbons) are burned in power plants to generate electricity or to heat our homes... 

Burning of any hydrocarbon (fossil fuel) or, for that matter, any organic material converts its carbon content to carbon dioxide and its hydrogen to water. Because power plants and other industries emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, they contribute to the so-called greenhouse warming effect on our planet, which causes significant en-... 

The control of carbon dioxide emission from burning fossil fuels in power plants or other industries has been suggested as being possible with different methods, of which sequestration (i.e., collecting CO2 and injecting it to the depth of the seas) has been much talked about recently. Besides of the obvious cost and technical difficulties, this would only store, not dispose of, CO2 (although natural processes in the seas eventually can form carbonates, albeit only over very long periods of time). 

In photosynthesis, nature recycles carbon dioxide and water, using the energy of sunlight, into carbohydrates and thus new plant life. The subsequent formation of fossil fuels from the biomass, however, takes... 

Supercritical fluid chromatography has found many applications in the analysis of polymers, fossil fuels, waxes, drugs, and food products. Its application in the analysis of triglycerides is shown in Figure 12.38. 

Fossil copal Fossil flour Fossil-fuel furnaces Fossil fuel prices Fossil fuels Fotoform/Fotoceram Fougere Royal Foundry alloys Foundry core binders Foundry furnaces Foundry resins Fountains Fourcault process... 

Selection of pollution control methods is generally based on the need to control ambient air quaUty in order to achieve compliance with standards for critetia pollutants, or, in the case of nonregulated contaminants, to protect human health and vegetation. There are three elements to a pollution problem a source, a receptor affected by the pollutants, and the transport of pollutants from source to receptor. Modification or elimination of any one of these elements can change the nature of a pollution problem. For instance, tall stacks which disperse effluent modify the transport of pollutants and can thus reduce nearby SO2 deposition from sulfur-containing fossil fuel combustion. Although better dispersion aloft can solve a local problem, if done from numerous sources it can unfortunately cause a regional one, such as the acid rain now evident in the northeastern United States and Canada (see Atmospheric models). References 3—15 discuss atmospheric dilution as a control measure. The better approach, however, is to control emissions at the source. 

Triglyceride oils have declined since the 1980s and have been replaced by petroleum-derived products. However, as fossil fuels deplete the supply of petrochemicals, triglyceride-based oils are available as a renewable resource. 

Alternative feedstocks for petrochemicals have been the subject of much research and study over the past several decades, but have not yet become economically attractive. Chemical producers are expected to continue to use fossil fuels for energy and feedstock needs for the next 75 years. The most promising sources which have received the most attention include coal, tar sands, oil shale, and biomass. Near-term advances ia coal-gasification technology offer the greatest potential to replace oil- and gas-based feedstocks ia selected appHcations (10) (see Feedstocks, coal chemicals). 

Rayon is unique among the mass produced man-made fibers because it is the only one to use a natural polymer (cellulose) directly. Polyesters, nylons, polyolefins, and acryflcs all come indirectly from vegetation they come from the polymerization of monomers obtained from reserves of fossil fuels, which in turn were formed by the incomplete biodegradation of vegetation that grew millions of years ago. The extraction of these nonrenewable reserves and the resulting return to the atmosphere of the carbon dioxide from which they were made is one of the most important environmental issues of current times. CeUulosic fibers therefore have much to recommend them provided that the processes used to make them have minimal environmental impact. 

Sources of human exposure to formaldehyde are engine exhaust, tobacco smoke, natural gas, fossil fuels, waste incineration, and oil refineries (129). It is found as a natural component in fmits, vegetables, meats, and fish and is a normal body metaboHte (130,131). FaciUties that manufacture or consume formaldehyde must control workers exposure in accordance with the following workplace exposure limits in ppm action level, 0.5 TWA, 0.75 STEL, 2 (132). In other environments such as residences, offices, and schools, levels may reach 0.1 ppm HCHO due to use of particle board and urea—formaldehyde foam insulation in constmction. 

Production and consumption of commercially available fossil fuel, nuclear power, and hydroelectric power in the United States for the year 1992 is shown... 

X 10 J/kg(10.4 X 10 Btu/lb) in 1990. The shift in coal production toward western coal deposits also reflects the shift in coal utilization patterns (Table 7). Electric utiUties are increasing coal consumption on both absolute and percentage bases, whereas coke plants, other industrial operations, and residential and commercial coal users are decreasing use of this soHd fossil fuel. 

In addition to the significant consumption of coal and lignite, petroleum, and natural gas, several countries utilize modest quantities of alternative fossil fuels. Canada obtains some of its energy from the Athabasca tar sands development (the Great Canadian Oil Sands Project). Oil shale is burned at... 

The percentage of energy demand that could be satisfied by particular nonfossil energy resources can be estimated by examination of the potential amounts of energy and biofuels that can be produced from renewable carbon resources and comparison of these amounts with fossil fuel demands. 

X 10 Btu/short ton), the solar energy trapped in 17.9 x 10 t of biomass, or about 8 x 10 t of biomass carbon, would be equivalent to the world s fossil fuel consumption in 1990 of 286 x 10 J. It is estimated that 77 x 10 t of carbon, or 171 x 10 t of biomass equivalent, most of it wild and not controlled, is fixed on the earth each year. Biomass should therefore be considered as a raw material for conversion to large suppHes of renewable substitute fossil fuels. Under controlled conditions dedicated biomass crops could be grown specifically for energy appHcations. 

A projection of biomass energy consumption in the United States for the years 2000, 2010, 2020, and 2030 is shown in Table 6 by end use sector (12). This analysis is based on a National Premiums Scenario which assumes that specific market incentives are appHed to aU. new renewable energy technology deployment. The scenario depends on the enactment of federal legislation equivalent to a fossil fuel consumption tax. Any incentives over and above those in place (ca 1992) for use of renewable energy will have a significant impact on biomass energy consumption. 

EJ = 0.9488 X 10 Btu. Assumes market incentives of 2 /kWh on fossil fuel-based electricity generation, 2.00/10 Btu on direct coal and petroleum consumption, and 1.00/10 Btu on direct natural gas consumption. 

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