Nonrenewable Resources 1A - Cabrillo Collegedschwartz/documents/NonrenewableResources_… · Carthage Missouri plant opens in Feb 2005. 270 tons turkey guts & 20 tons of pig fat can

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ES 10

Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Oil and Natural Gas continued…

http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf

Past to Present (1st 31 slides)

What are fossil fuels

Why use Oil / Natural Gas

DrawbacksWhere does oil come from?

Oil Traps; Source, Reservoir & Cap Rocks

Abiotic Oil?

How much is there and who has the oil? How long will it last?

Where does US get it’s oil?Unconventional sources of oil and gas: Oil Shale, Tar Sands,

Methane Clathrates, aka Gas Hydrates

Abiotic Oil?Some challenge the accepted view of petroleum formation being

exclusively from biological material.

Extraterrestrial occurrences used to support hydrocarbons may

be inorganic:

� Outer planets and moons contain methane.

� Some stony meteorites (chondrites) contain hydrocarbons.

Carbonaceous chondrites (5% of all chondrites) are a type of stony meteorites that contain Silicates, Oxides, Sulfides and traces of various hydocarbons, including amino acids. Most chondrites (86% of all meteorites) are rich in silicate minerals olivine and pyroxenes. (Iron meteorites account for <6% of all meteorites but make up ~90% of the mass of all known meteorites.)

� Since hydrocarbons formed from inorganic reactions in the above 2 examples, some think hydrocarbons on earth may have formed in a similar way.

Abiotic Oil?� Methane is present in volcanoes (1% - 15%). Abiotic oil from the

mantle that migrated upward, or volcanoes erupting through a

cover of sediments already containing some hydrocarbons?

� Some laboratory experiments using a high-pressure and high

temperature apparatus have produced petroleum from solid iron

oxide (FeO), marble (CaCO3) and H2O –with no biotic compounds

or hydrocarbons originally present.

Could petroleum be produced abiotically? Yes, inassociation with extraterrestrial and internal igneousactivity but it’s not commercial grade.

Could petroleum be produced from recycling various waste?

Yes….

• Thermal Conversion Process (TCP)Changing of manure and/or animal & vegetable waste to crude

oil.

• Thermal Depolymerization (TDP)

Can change many carbon-based materials into crude oil and

methane, and is not limited to manure or vegetable waste. Web

Link: “Anything into Oil”, Discover Vol. 27 April 2006

http://discovermagazine.com/2006/apr/anything-oil

• Pyrolysis

Decomposition of organic material at high temperatures without

oxygen. Web link: The Clean Oceans Project

http://thecleanoceansproject.org/index.php

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Carthage Missouri plant opens in Feb 2005.

270 tons turkey guts & 20 tons of pig fat can yield 500 barrels oil

worth ~$42,000/day. Other by-products: fertilizer and water.

Problems: initial high cost, odors and emission violations. US

consumes >22 million bpd175lb human = 38lbs oil, 7lbs gas, 7lbs mineral & 123 lbs water

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ES 10

Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Past to Present (29 slides)

What are fossil fuels

Why use Oil / Natural Gas

Drawbacks

Where does oil come from? Oil Traps; Source, Reservoir & Cap Rocks

Abiotic Oil?

How much is there, who has the oil & how long will it last?Where does US get it’s oil?

Unconventional sources of oil and gas: Oil Shale, Tar Sands,

Methane Clathrates, aka Gas Hydrates

Where are global petroleum deposits located and

how much oil is there?

Percent World Crude Oil Reserves by Country

Latin America

former USSR

China

Asia

USA

Europe

Africa

OPEC

Countries

OPEC Countries Latin America former USSR China Asia USA Europe Africa

67%

Organization of

Petroleum

Exporting

Countries:Saudi ArabiaIran

Iraq

VenezuelaKuwait

UAE

NigeriaLibya

Angola

EcuadorAlgeria

Qatar

USA 3%

79%

Top producing countries

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Approximate US Energy breakdown(notice 86% is from Fossil Fuels)

North American Energy Resources

CoalCoal

GasGas

OilOil

High potentialHigh potential

areasareas

MEXICO

UNITED STATES

CANADA

Pacific

Ocean

Atlantic

Ocean

Grand

Banks

Gulf of

Alaska

Valdez

ALASKA

Beaufort

Sea

Prudhoe Bay

Arctic

Ocean

Prince

William Sound

Arctic National

Wildlife RefugeTrans Alaskaoil pipeline

How long will current conventional oil reserves last?

• Known and projected global oil reserves expected to be 80% depleted in 42 – 93 yrs. At the rate of consumption in 2008, OPEC’s reserves will last ~85 yrs.

• Known recoverable US reserves is ~21 billion barrels and US consumes ~22 million barrels/day.

US reserves with no oil imported:21 billion barrels/22 million barrels/day = 2.6 years

US imports ~13.5 million barrels of oil/day (~61% of 22 mill).

21 billion barrels/the remaining 8.5 million US barrels use/day = 6.7 years

• Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling would add ~4 – 10 months

• Saudi Arabia alone could supply world for ~10 yrs.• Global oil consumption is expected to increase >30% by 2020.

» Source: G.Griggs, UCSC

Where does the U.S. get its Oil?Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela

are the top 4 switching places monthly-yearly

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Peak Oil = the midpoint of depletion, when ½ the total has been

taken.

Other sources of Oil / Unconventional

Oil Shale and Oil Sand (aka “Heavy Oils”)

Oil still in Source RockOil Shale:

Sedimentary rock containing organic kerogen (altered org matter in Sed Rk)

– never buried deep enough to raise

temperature required to convert Kerogen to liquid oil

– Massive deposits underlie US

(estimate 2-5 trillion barrels)

Oil Sand/ aka Tar Sand:

mixture of sand, clay, water and

Bitumen (a viscous, heavy oil, too thick

to flow out of rock, the soluble portion of Kerogen).

– Alberta Canada extensive deposits--

few in US

http://alumni.libraries.psu.edu/images/Fig_1%20EIA%20shale_gas_plays.jpg

Oil Shale Resources of North AmericaIt’s estimated that the Green River Formation in Colorado,

Wyoming and Utah contain >400 billion barrels of oil.

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http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/newsgraphics/2013/0204-shale/0204-nat-webshale.jpg

Green areas

are parks, etc

Monterey

Shale areas

Shown in loops

Oil Shale Booming

• Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) is a drilling

process designed to increase the yield of oil and/or

gas out of rock; the method involves fracturing

surrounding rock (increasing permeability) and

pumping fluids into the fractures under extremely

high pressures to force the desired gas or liquids

out.

• Web Link: Horizontal Wells and Fracking

http://www.northernoil.com/drilling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY34PQUiwOQ (6.5min)

Oklahoma Earthquakes: between 1978 and 2008 ~2- 6/yr.

In 2010 there were 1,047 earthquakes

Some Fracking Practices

• Steel casing, cement sleeve – protect aquifers

• Horizontal drilling

• Perforation

• Water + sand + slickening agents + salt

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http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national

Read this slide at home

electrical gunshots perforate

steel casing & cement, then

slickwater pressure + propping

agents fracture the shale

How Fracking Can Impact The Environment

• water consumption

• diesel pumps, compressors, drills, etc.

• methane escape & flaring

• truck traffic, emissions, habitat impacts, pipelines

• aquifer contamination

• wastewater disposal

– underground

– untreated in streams

– burden on sewage treatment plants

• unaesthetic views

Resources for the Future fracking rules / different states

Explore on your own.

• fresh water withdrawals

• underground injection wells for wastewater

• cementing of well

• all other state regulations

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Making Fracking Greener?

• Run equipment with cleaner natural gas rather than diesel

pumps, compressors, drills

• Replace water trucks & traffic with temporary water pipelines

• “Kitchen counter” frack fluids as safe as what’s under your

kitchen sink

• Recycle fracking fluids – commonly done now

• Use gas as a fracking medium rather than water

– CO2 or propane

- produces 30% more natural gas

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The Athabasca Tar Sands of Alberta, CanadaHow much Oil Shale and Tar Sand (aka oil sand)?

• Global supplies are estimated to be 200X larger than

conventional oil.

• More oil is trapped in Canadian tar sands than Saudi Arabia

has in all it’s reserves.

• It is estimated that tar sand in Alberta & Orinico Oil Belt in

Venezuela contain nearly 3.4 trillion barrels of oil.

At end of 2010, world proven conventional crude oil reserves

stood at >1.4 trillion Barrels

Why not use these resources?

• Oil shale and sand extraction requires surface mining

– ecosystem disruption; forests, wetlands, grasslands

– huge volumes of waste rock-- only ~3 barrels of shale oil for 1 ton of rock processed.

– 3 barrels of H2O/1 barrel of shale oil produced

– tailing ponds created: hold leftover water, sand, clay, bitumen, salts, metals (Ni, V, Hg, As, Pb),

– pollution floats downstream.

– land reclamation issues

– lower useful energy yield than conventional oil and gas

Web Link: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100831/full/news.2010.439.html

Web Link: Garth Lenz: The True Cost of Oil

– http://www.ted.com/talks/garth_lenz_images_of_beauty_and_devastation.html

17.4 min

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Detroit MichiganPetroleum Coke: 3 stories high, 1 city block

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ES 10

Nonrenewable Energy Resources11/19/13

Oil and Natural GasPast to Present (31 slides)

What are fossil fuels

Why use Oil / Natural Gas

Drawbacks

Where does oil come from? Oil Traps; Source, Reservoir & Cap Rocks

Abiotic Oil?

Who has the oil & how much is there? How long will it last?

Where does US get it’s oil?

Unconventional sources of oil and gas: Oil Shale, Tar Sands,

Methane Clathrates, aka Methane Hydrates, Gas Hydrates

Methane Clathratesaka Methane Hydrates or Gas Hydrates

another source of “unconventional” fossil fuels

Newer Estimates: (2013)

~500 – 2,500

Still approx 2 – 10 X

the amount of conventional

natural gas Stored mostly in broad, shallow layers beneath the seafloor, methane hydrate is, by some

estimates, twice as abundant as all other fossil fuels combined. The yellow squares show

where methane hydrate has already been recovered; the blue dots, where it is thought to exist.

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~1,300 trillion cubic ft off N and S Carolina,

>60X amount US uses each year (~20 trillion cubic ft/yr)

Total US gas Hydrate deposits ~320,222 trillion cubic ft, at 10%

recovery, enough to last 1600 years

Seismic Reflection Profile data on Blake Ridge showing BSR

(meters below sea level on left, meters below ocean floor on right)

P-Wave rates in hydrates can be as fast as 3.0 – 3.6Km/s

Methane Hydrate recovered from Blake Ridge

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Review Questions/Key Concepts

– Where do most conventional oil reserves exist? Who is OPEC? Which member has the most oil? Which countries (top 3) are producing the most oil?

– Daily production of crude oil ~ 84 m bpd. Global conventional oil reserves ~ 1.4 trillion barrels. Who uses the most? Primary use?

– Can petroleum be produced abiotically? If so, how?

– What is Thermal Conversion and Thermal Depolymerization?

– When will global conventional oil supplies be economically depleted?

– What is Hydraulic Fracturing, aka Fracking? Drawbacks? Why do it?

– What are oil shales and tar sands? Who is mining these and where?

– What are the drawbacks of mining tar sands?

– What are Methane or Gas Hydrates and why are scientists interested in them?

– How do scientists locate Methane Hydrates? What does BSR stand for?

– What are some concerns about mining methane hydrates?