Petroleum consumption storage

In fact, the production and consumption of oil and petroleum products are increasing worldwide and the threat of oil pollution is increasing accordingly. The movement of petroleum from the oil fields to the consumer involves as many as 10 to 15 transfers between many different modes of transportation including tankers, pipelines, railcars, and tank trucks. Oil is stored at transfer points and at terminals and refineries along the route. Accidents can happen during any of these transportation steps or storage times. 

A galvanic cell in which the reactants are fed continuously to the cell and the products are continuously removed is called a FUEL CELL. Any cell process involves the consumption of some materials and the production of others, but in a conventional (nonfiiel) cell, the reactants are part of the cell when it is built and they are not replenished, or, in a storage cell, they are periodically replenished by reversing the current. The only satisfactory fuel cells thus far developed require the expensive and cumbersome as fuel, and they have been used only in special situations where cost is secondary, notably in space vehicles and military equipment. A fuel cell that would bum petroleum products would be of enormous value—it might supersede the internal-combustion engine—and such cells have been built, but they have not reached the stage of practical application. 

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