Environmental Science Notes
MTR process
1. clearing (trees burned) topsoil and plants must all be removed 2. Blasting (explosives) 1,500 tonnes used daily 3. Digging remove coal with draglines draglines replace workers 4. Dumping waste nearby valleys are filled with excess toxic waste and pollutants 5. Processing: coal is chemical treated, turning it into toxic sludge 6. Reclamation supposed to help re-establish the forests and plant life technically requried, most companies find a way out in reality, land is usually sprayed with foreign grass seed
science of generating electricity from coal
1. pulverized (fine powder, more surface area) 2. combustion chamber (PCC combustion chamber 3. boiler 3.water converted into steam 4. propeller uses steam energy and turns turbine wire coils generate energy 5. condenser---steam steam--goes to boiler--reheats--cycle 4,000 rads of energy generated Steam coal--thermal coal---electricity combustion chamber boiler 1. before coal is burned, a machine called a pulverizer grinds the coal into a fine powder, which increases the surface area, allows it to burn more quickly (pulverished coal combustion systems) 2. coal powder mixes with hot air, which helps the coal burn more efficiently, and the mixture moves to the furnance (blown into firebox of boiler/combustion chamber of the boiler whre it is burnt at high temperatures) (fires uses oxygen molecule to produce CO2 by adding a single carbona atom from fires fuel, just as much CO2 produced as oxygen used, burning in suspension, coal/air mixture provides complete combustion and maximum heat possible (PCC combustion chamber after pulverszed), 3. burning coal heats water in a boiler, hot gases and heat energy produced comverst water, which was pumped through pipes inside the boiler, into steam, creating steam, steam them piped to turbine 4. steam released/piped from the boiler powers an engine called a turbine, transforming heat energy from burning coal into mechanical energy that spins the turbine engine, pressure of steam pushing against a series of large blades turns the turbine shaft; 5. kinetic energy of spinning turbine carries out work in a generator, turbine shaft is connected to shaft of the generator generator - macine that turns work into electric energy occurs when magnets inside a copper coil in the generator spin moving magnets cause electrons to move from one place to another, creating an electrical current, producing electricity 6. condenser cools the steam moving through the turbine large chamber in basement of power plant, gallons of water from nearby source, river or lake, pumped through network of tubes that run through the condensor, cool water in tubes that run through condesnor - converts the steam back into water that can be used over and over again as the steam in condensed, it turns back into water, 7. cooling water returns to source, steam water returns to the boiler, cycle begins again
2010: deepwater horizon oil well
1500 meters below surface largest us offshore oil breach as of 2010: 21.2-33.5 million gallons of oil released during first six weeks, based on USGS region estimates hundreds of species in coastal habitats threatened Methane rleased
How much coal does each person in the US use per day?
16 pounds of coal used per day
Gulf of Mexico Oil Well explosions
1979: Ixlocl exploratory oil well 50 meters below surface release 156 million gallons of oil: containment efforts took 9 months What didn't work: cap, siphoning, controlling burn "top kill" What did work: relief wells
Climate Change/Greenhouse gas emissions:
2010 study = mountaintop removal mining releases large amounts of carbon through clear cutting and burning of trees Soil is brought to surface by mining operations Greenhouse gas emissions = amount to at least 7% of conventional power plant emissions
Transportation
: coal is usually transported through trucks, railroads, big cargo ships, releases air pollution, such as soot, can lead to destruction that demolishes the environment,
How much CO2 emissions are coal fired power plants responsible for?
Climate impacts of coal plants: Coal-fired power plants are culpable for one-third of America's CO2 emissions, making it a immense contributor to global warming BECAUSE..... Emissions of CO2 induce global warming
Heavy metals and coal:
Coal contains many heavy metals because it is created through compressed organic amtter (fernes) Which contains almost every element of the periodic table Carbon and heavy metals Heavy metal amount varies by coal seam and geographic region We need little amounts of heavy metals for our health, but an excess can induce posisioning "chronic or acute toxiity" Many heavy metals released in mining and burning of coal are toxic in regards to biology and the environment: Lead, Mercury Nickel Tin Cadmium Antimony Arsenic Radioactive isotopes of thorium and strontium
Sulfur Dioxide and coal
Coal fired power plants Largest human-induced source of sulfur dioxide Sulfure dioxide = pollutant gas that participates in the production of acid rain and induces health problems Coal contains sulfur in a natural manner Coal burned = sulfur combines with oxygen, forms sulfur oxides sulfur dioxide mixes with water; sulfuric acid is created, creates acid rain/decomposition
Radioactivity and coal
Coal has small amount of radioactive elements: uranium and thorium (see above) Coal is burned = fly ash contains uranium and thorium that increases up to 10 times their original levels VERY RADICACTIVE WHEN BURNED
How much electricity does coal produce in the US?
Coal produces half of the electricity in the US
Fossil fuel supply
Consumption is still rising, but new fossil fuels do not form on a human timescale industry,limitation to regulation, pollution Commons: air and water, not owned by anyone, circulate, oceans, influences climate, something one party does to air ffects everyone new oils oruces--oil sands, oil shale, methane hydrates are expensive and can be hazardous to obtain coal sources are still relatively ahubdantment, but not in time
Waste coal
Culm Gob Boney Made up of unused coal mixed with soil, rock from previous mining operations Runoff from coal waste coal sites can pollute local water supplies
Land subsidence:
Def: "insidious settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface, which is resulted from underground movement of earth's materials Causes of land subsideience are: Aquifer system compaction Draining organic soils Underground mining Hydrocompaction Natural compaction More than 80 percent of subsidence in the nation is correlated to the exploitation of underground water Land subsidence can occur after any type of underground mining Very common in the case of longwall mining
Thermal pollution from coal plants
Diminishment of the quality of water by power plants, industrial manufacturers Gas can be cooled due to heat absorption by water Water used as a coolant, returned to environment at a higher tempature since it takes heat out Change in temperature impacts organisms by diminishing their water supply and impacting the composition of the ecosystem
What is the debate in offshore drilling?
Envrionemtn or Economy
How much of Earth's oil have we extracted?
Extracted nearly half of Earth's oil;US coal supplies may last just 30 years Consequences: US imparts two thirds of its crude oil OPEC--two thirds other countries
Floods and Forest Destruction
Floods: Buffalo Creek floods, caused by mountaintop removal mining to get coal, failures of coal mind impoundments, cause detriment due to toxic ash pit and toxic metals flowing into env Forest destruction: Forest destruction caused by mountaintop removal mining, 2010 study = destroyed 6.8 of Appalachia's forest
Hilts Law
Generalization that states the deeper the coal seam, the higher its rank
What is precipitation?
Infliltration: goes into aquifers (underground special field (groundwater), becomes groundwater; H20 is purified because soil, gravel, sand particiles are susbtitues and pikcup pollutant and purify, water then becomes our groundwater;plants and soil; plants and soil help as the water goes down and runoff: doesn't have to be purified, surface waters, into oceans, can increase flooding and water pollution, not type of usable water, rocks and pavement; can cause pollution turning salty water into purified water is expensive, there are droughts, need high technology, low cost system to increase surface runoff
Bitimous Coal
Intermediate rank; high heating value; high carbon content, -Compact, all remnants of plant life gone -Low CO2 emissions, Derivatives & by products used in different chemical forms, which can be used in the production of aspirin, paint, & nylon; -In US, mainly mined in Kentucky, PA, & West Virginia
Coal sludge/slurry:
Liquid coal waste made by washing coal Dumped out at impoundments near coal mines, compacted clay soil, plastic sheet, Direct injection into abandoned underground mines, Coal sludge has toxins = spills, leaks can be detrimental to underground and surface waters
Particulate matter:
Little particles of fly ash and dust that are emitted by coal burning power plants Studies show being exposed to particulate matter is connected to an increase in respiratory and cardiac mortalitydeath
Methane and coal
Methane that is emitted from coal mining contributes/is responsible for 10 percent of US releases of Methane (CH4) Methane is a strong gas that contributes largely to global warming
Coal combustion waste:
Nation's second largest waste stream aside from municpial solid waste Disposed in lanfills, surface impoundments: lined with comp
Obama vs Trump clean coal
Obama-no plans energy independence from other natins, US lead the world with promotion of CC, Obama proposed spending more on further developmet of alternatiive energy sources Obama admin comitted money in stimulus dollars to CC projects, also comitted stimuls dollars to getting US electricity from renewable sources Trump--promotes clean coal criticised for suppty, economic rather than environment, ideal vs action earlyy stages of deelopment trump suppor--chance toget past testing stages supports of cCS technology--coal a vital part of American energy future
coal formation: carbineferous period
Occurred about 360 to 300 million years ago Amphibians were the dominant land vertebrates Large strips of trees covered the mega-continent of Pangea 35% of the atmosphere was composed of oxygen, rather than 21% (today) Conditions conducive to the formation of coal
Ranks and transitions of coal
Peat---lignite Lignite---Sub-bituminous Sub-bituminous---Bituminous Bituminous---Anthracite Continued burial. increasing pressures and temperatures, water and other compounds squeezed out Thus, as more transformations happen, amount of water and other compounds in the coal decreases Increased pressure at deeper depths, greater temperatures = more plant debris transformed into carbon = ranked higher
Two types of pollution that surface runoff causes and descriptions
Point source: wastewater treatment plant/factory pollutions like thermal pollution, nuclear power plant directly dischrarged into a body of water and able to be tracked!!; emanates from a definitiv,e individual source non-point: rural homes, urban streets, cropland, animal feed/lot, suburdan development; effects in atmosphere, earth, or the sea, other bodies of water; can't be traced to asingle point; may have multiple sources (CO2 in the air); movement of the air and the water has caused the pollution to move across the world and diffuse widely; not traced back to a single source point source pollution is a localized pollution, nonpoint source pollution is concentrated close to the surface of pollution; point source pollution can be traced back to a single point that way, pollution can be stopped at a source; ex: if pipe is leaking chemicals, pipe can be located and the leak can be stopped = non point source - no single source of pollution that can be overcome; makes it harder to control through the medium of a "quick fix" solution levels of dilution are different: non point source pollution tends to be more diluted than point source = non point source pollution moves widely from its multiple origins -fumes from aersols sprayed around the world will rise up in the air and dilute more thoroguhly with the molecules in the air
Water consumption from coal plants: Water pollution from coal:
Power generation has been estimated is the second to agricultural in being the largest domestic user of water Includes the negative health and environmental affects from: Mining, processing, burning, and wastes storage of coal
Conditions that allowed for Carboniferous period
Seas sometimes flooded forest areas, trapped plants and algae at the bottom of swampy wetlands Lower sea levels Swamps -Swamps vital to coal formation Formation of coal = starts in areas of swampy wetlands where groundwater is near or slightly above the topsoil Because of this = flora that is present produces organic matter faster than it can be decomposed Mud and acidic waters inhibited plant matter from coming into contact with oxygen = decomposed at slow rate Compiling of peat (partly decayed vegetation) Peat bogs (areas of buried plant matter that store lots of carbon many meters underground) Thick layer of dead plants rotting in the swamp: More plants grew up, but they died and fell, forming separate layers mergence of wooden trees with bark -Trees = not decomposed by anything; preserved -In time, trees were buried -As they went deeper and deeper, heat and pressure produced chemical and physical changes in the plant layers that forced oxygen out and left abundant carbon deposits **Material that had been plants became coal**
Inverse relationship:
The higher the oxygen content of coal, the lower its heating value The lower the oxygen content of coal, the higher its heating value Oxygen in the coal is bound to the carbon, has already partially oxidized the carbon, thus diminishing its ability to generate heat Lower ranked coal has high CO2 emission factors ; in part attributed to low sulfur content; on average, lower rank coals produce 5 percent more C02 from combustion than higher ranked coals
What are the primary fossil fuels?
The primary fossil fuels are coal, petroleum, and natural gas; they account for 85% of the world's energy consumption
Topography and its relationship to precipitation
Topography = helps, counter precipitation -flat landscape -remove topsoil, trees, forbes, groundwater, runoff, not purified, increasing flooding, decreases usable water, can't purify due to high costs, need for human technologydf
surface mining
US disregards, companies able to surface mine through MTR need surface mining and undergroudn mining MTR more econonically possible use most on the east side of the USA generates more waste that is disposed in nearby valleys 2 most common types: opencast and MTR Mountaintop removal mining and other varietes of surface mining can cause changes to landscape, destrouction of habitat (HIPPO), detriments to water supplies, air pollution Not all of these effects can be regarded through coal mine reclamation
coal
a dark, combustible material formed through a process known as coalification from plants growing primarily in swamp regions layers of fallen plant material accumulated and partially decayed in these wet environments to form a soft, coarse substance called peat over time, material was compressed over sand and mud, and heated by the earth to be converted into coal some scientists reference coal as sedimentary rock formed from remains subjected to high heat and pressures over millions of years
Longwall and room and pillar mining
acknowledges the ability to use expensives for remove land and get coal from surface, cost of coal decreases, not buying a lot, producing a lot price of energy alters economy long wall mining - mechanical sears extract a coal seam roof is held up temporarily with metal supports roof collapses afterwards 75% of coal is removed and usable after the coal seam at a longwall operation has been removed, the earth above it will generally collapse to fill the void, causing the surface to slump surface slumping can permanently alter the environment and the way it functions change water flow patterns and soil charactersitics in certain places, a significant drop can redirect the overland flow of water run-off and even induce it to pond have been occassions of surface vegetation dying and tree roots being disturbed, can increase erosion serious changes to topography and ecology of an area
Types of coal: three main types and their order; anthracite
anthracite = pure, clean burning, releases less mercury and oxides of sulfur that it emits, doesn't emit less CO2; 4-Highest rank; highest quality; highest heating value; highest carbon content, Contains the highest amount of carbon; contains the highest amount of energy -Cleanest burning type -Harder, denser, shinier than other types -More expensive than other types
CCT details and steps
as flue gas desulfurization systems, flue gas separation, low nitrogen oxide burners, carbon capture and storage, oxy fuel combustion, pre combustion capture, post combustion capture, and gasification washing-reduces emissions of ash and sulfur dioxide when the coal is bruned electrostatic precipitants: 99% of fly ash can be removed from flue gases when using this m ethod technique of clean coal technology is carbon capture storage and sequestration, in which carbon dioxide emissions are caught and segregated through the process of sequestration from power plants. This involves the geological storage of CO2, usually 2-3 km deep Gasification avoids burning coal through an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle System in which steam and hot pressurized air or oxygen combine to make syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Syngas is cleared and burned in a gas turbine to create electricity, and the heat energy from the gas turbine powers a steam turbine. apturing and sequestering CO2 from this process allows for storage and commercial usage through mediums such as saline aquifers, coal seams, and oil and gas fields. 58,000 kilometers of pipeline connect oil ields to carbon dioxide sources in the US, and CO2 can thin oil, making it flow easily to recovery wells. Utilizing the process of injecting CO2 into coal seams in order to dislodge methane and contribute to the production of coal seam methane could offset the economic burden. The utilization of extensive pipeline connections in populated areas for the injection of CO2 into oil fields may pose risks to safety, Flue gas desulfurization: ability to reduce output of sulfur dioxide by 97% Low NOx bruners - ability to reduce nitrogen dixoide nitric oxides = when mixed with water, nitric aicd, lowers Ph of preicipation, acid formes as depsotion most impacted by acid depositio 20% less energy is able to be used from the same amount of coal need to produce more coal targets chemcial emissions, but does not acknowledge the issue of unsafe working conditions for miners or the effects of MTR little incentive for the government to fund such an expensive project may be beneficial to reduce CC in future
Coal ash
biproduct of coal combustion
First power plant to use CCT
boundary Dam Canada North America - highest numeber of CCS projects in the world 16 out of 22 CCT projects are under construction UK-planned 5 CCS proejcts --none surfaced to life 3/22 global projects are power stations
What are the repercussions of burning fossil fuels?
burning fossil fuels releases carbon, which contributes to global CC When coal and oil burn, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released, which contribute to smog and sulfuric acid, nitric acid, when mixed with air, all living things need low ph--adequate mercury----linked to autism
What is coal primarily composed of?
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
Coal combustion waste
coal combustion waste: Nation's second largest waste stream aside from municpial solid waste Disposed in lanfills, surface impoundments: lined with compacted clay soil, a palstic sheet rain filters through the toxic ash pit year after year, toxic metals filtered into local environment
Creation, goals, etc. of CCT
created in the late 20th century result of trying to diminish the impacts of coal attempts to be sustainable realized negative impacts of coal Why? 1. lessen impacts of coal production capture, prevent coal emissions from escaping into the environment 2. combat climate change: burns harmful CO2
When oil is extracted, what is it?
crude oil after crude oil is extraced from the ground, it is seperated into diffferent fuels in a refinery
Room and pillar mining
cuts "rooms" in the coal seams leaves "pillars' so roof wont collapse, eaeth wont above it won't generally collapse to fill the void only 40% of coal can be removed and used
Health impacts of coal
dangerous: coal ash and heavy metals can cause cancer, heart damage, reproductive problems, gastrointestinal disease, waste: cancer, nervous system impacts, cognitive defects, behavioral problems, heart damage, lung disease, kidney disease, reporductive problems, gastrointestinal disease, birth defects, 1 in 50 chance of cancer
Oil
dark, liquid fossi fuel made up of mostly hydrocarbons formed from remains of ancient marine organisms, underground deposits TRANSPORTATION oil has been extracted from parts of Alasks North slope since 1977 ANWAR-Arctic National Wildife Refuge said no oil wilderness area, most protected area in all of US, Bush JR-opened up issues around transportation of oil and piplines between Cnaada and US habitats transofrmed AnWAR contains: oil depsotis - oil exploration forbidden in 1980, region called 1002 arctic wildlife designated for future descion making Today, debates rages as to whether oil drilling should be allowed In 2017, oil explorations started in ANWAR region, debate rages since 1970: karaboo habitat dropped last year
Opencast mining
explosives break through topsoil and rock draglines and trucks remove the exploded matter coal is drilled mined in strips coal put onto conveyors transported to power plants most times where the land where the coal was excavated is required to be rehabilitated companies find ways out
What is oil formed from> what is it used for?
formed from animal remians: plastic gasoline transportatin heating.aviation (biggest polluter) cooling homes clothing--fashion undstry, soc justice/ec-new concept shoes--issue,Nike Adidas fuel for cars, trucks, planes, ships used in chemical compounds petrometicals (petroleum) whch is used for lotion, cosemtics, plastics
How long did it take fossil fuels to form?
formed naturally over millions of years
How is natural gas extracted?
fracking ng located at top of oil byproduct of oil formation hydraulic fracturing heating/cooling homes used for
How is oil extracted?
fracking for ng and oil offshore drilling--oil sepeage--natural drilling for oil prevents oil seepage oil spills-offshore drilling removes natural seepage (offshore drilling) Oil flows out of well because it is already under pressure primary extractin--squeeze secondary--a;; pf ot, increased pressure for injectiosnneeded to remove oil
OPEC
group of oil producing countries that sets oil prices Middle East South American countries
precipitation
hail, sleet, rain
Natural gas
heating appliances making electricity NOT primary source of electricity much less killing than coal, releases more energy when combusted often found above oil or coal deosits drill into sponge, get out every last drop of oil with fracking mostly methane gas releases, small amount of other gases mixed in
Obama, oil, energy indlendnce, ideas and themes correlated
idea that we can open up our reserves to energy independent Obama placed moratorium on offshore drilling idea = import 2/3 of oil from other countries, idea--should we be offshore drilling costal commnities- dependent on fish for income, shut down--env, economy by offshore drilling Fish die from oil spills - reduces marine life, affects fishermen and people living near the oil spill; fishermen lose their source of income; protein source as well
formation of coal details
increasing heat in pressure, higher in rank high heating value-low oxygen content (inverse relationship) lower oxygen content = higher heating value more energy for smaller mass! Carbohydrate and bagel comparison - bagel-store more energy due to structure butter-2 times energy in carbohydrates; higher energy for smaller mass ex-anthracite, able to store more energy in small amount fat-gram for gram, store more energy, small amount; low oxygen content, higher heating value
What causes water precipitation? What makes the water stay where it is?
infiltration is increased by: -heathly topsoil -dissidous forests -trees increase spills/floods, then get taken out of the world -Forbes and grwnn covers mossees and clovers cover the soil -
Strip mining
involves removal of coal deposits, often hundreds of feet below the earth's surface (usually no more than 100 feet from the surface) topsoil and rocks are removed from the surface to expose the coal deposits explosives and heavy machinery are used to break up and remove layers of coal overlying rock and soil are removed to access coal may not need as many workers able to sue US disregards, companies able to surface mine through MTR
land reclamation of coal/affects of reclamation
legislation that states what miners need to do after mining flooding increase as a result, rocks are used, as soil substitute (policy making changed writing of land reclamation, under Bush admin)"look like"; human made stream that is "like plumbing"; no life, won't be there for a few hundred years Restoring areas disrupted, through soil and rock displacement leads to environmental diminshment, to a natural resource environment that they once possessed, (forest, ag land uses), limited env impacts Reclaiming active and abadoned coal mines uses restoration to topography, soils, vegetation, water quality to specific health and safety standards that are laid out by law
Fossil Fuels today
limited, polluting conditions were specific for creation of coal don;t have them now, won't have them forever Ecologists: locate wehre despotis are gs/oil indsutry
Coal and industry
miners and citizens are hospitalized from coal fired power plants results in shortened life costs associated with premature . death due to coal is five times greater than the economic benefits from the minng industyr fish are poisioned by mercury, deprive predators, fishermen = jobless coal waste in streams --mercury not all coal costs reflected in market price coal mining/combustion require ivestments, tax payers pay cost of cleanig up environmentl disasters, industries rely on ecostms, ishing/tourism in alaska proposal of deregulation of coal fired power plants not set in stone Global warming: C02 emissions mercury emssion smog/illness coal mine methane (explosive_ undergroundrleasing toxins into surface mine dranage strip mning
Disadvantages of coal
mining accidents, dangerous, not nuclear = bombed or meltdown
Environmental Impacts of Coal
mining, combustion, preparation, waste storage, and transport cid mine drainage: Outflow of acidic water from coal mines or metal mines Oftentimes found in abandoned mines where ore/ coal mining works have shown rocks that contain pyrite Pyrite: sulfur bearing mineral; reacts with air and water to form sulphuric acid and dissolved iron Water washes through mines-----compound makes a dilute acid----which washes into river and streams Air pollution from coal-fired power plants (burns coal to make it into electricity) Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen oxides Particulate matter PM Heavy metals Leads to......... Smog Acid rain Toxins in the environment Respiratory Cardiovascular Cerebrovascular effects Air pollution from coal mines: From: emissions of particulate matter and gases Gases: Methane (CH4) Sulfur dioxide: (SO2) Nitrogen oxides (NOx) Carbon monoxid Disturbance/Disruption of 8.4 million acres of farmland, rangeland, and forests, not been reclaimed
methane
natural part of metabolism CH4 industrial farming--cow digestion food industry factory farms remove trees, GHG, trees filter co2, loaded up with animals that produce methane Bush administration -- alloed for fracking, state control EPA--no fracking, human power to investigate consquences; unregulated sick--EPA investigate; health impacts--correlation doesnt mean causation high pop--multiple scolorsis, neutrogentiative diseases
Pollution caused by MTR
non point source; possibly travels long distance, don't know where it is directly, difficult to figure out
Fires
oal fires: Coal fires occur in abandoned coal mines and coal waste piles Throughout the world, thousnads of coal piles are currently burning Global coal fire emissions include: 40 tons of mercury that goes into the environment every year Three percent of world's annual CO2 emissons Mercury can build up in organisms and up as it goes along the food chain ignificant effects on reproduction in birds Predatory marine mamalas at risk Mercury is responsible for diminsihign th emicro-biological dynamic that is integral to the land based food chain in soils in Europe, also in other places in the world with similar soil traits Food web traits and depdence on mercury contaiminated food sources are found in specific ecosystems and human countries in many areas of the world, central in places where a fish diet is common Mercury and Coal: emissons from coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury in the US Coal fired ower plants release mercury, which harms human health Accounts for 41 percent (48 tons in 1999) of industrial emissons
Loss/Diminishing of groundwater:
oal seams serve as underground aquifers Removing coal beds can result in changes in hydrology after mining is completed Aquifer = "a body of penetrable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater Hydrology = movement of water Coal seam = a bed of coal thick enough to be fruitfully mined in regards to profits
Oil spills
oil spills, equipment incidents, and coastal natural seepage oil runof pollute waterways, oceans, and coastal areas
Two main phases in coal formation
peatification and carbonization: Bacterial activity = main process that creates peat during peatification Debris needs to be buried, compressed, and protected from erosion -Plants need to be buried and submerged by sediments Peat transforms into coal through carbonization: Carbonization occurs under large amounts of heat and pressure Coal endures different phases of carbonization over millions of years Undergoes many changes before it becomes black substance burned as fuel
Where are fossil fuels dervied from
plant (coal) and animal matter (oil forms from single celled animals called alotoms
Natural gas explaination
primarily methane gas with small amounts of other gases mixed in, made up of hydorcarbons high energy bonds in photosynthesis, aniaml consumers: need phytoplatkton, need zooptaltn which need plankton energy---photosynthesis intially often found above oil or coal desposis much less polluting then coal or oil and releases more energy when combusted used for heating appliances stoves and dryers and making electricity surpassed coal in eletricity vehicles = in debate, Methane= putting out way way worse pollutants than CO2, worse for atmospeheric/surface temp tn CO2, less of them, stronger
What does it take for oil not to be crude?
refined oil, refinement, time, money, NO refinement process for coal
fossil fuel definition
remenants of ancient life that have undergone changes due to heat and pressure
underground mining
removal of coal deposits, often hundreds of feet below the earth's surface Some mines may be close to 2,000 feet deep shafts or tunnels are dug into coal layers and widened to allow room for miners and coal cars or conveyor belts additional shafts may be excavated to increase air ventilation for miners costs more but is needed to access coal seams more than 500 feet underground more dangerous for workers and equipment temperatures average around 32.2 degrees C overheating is a common problem 2 most common types: longwall room and pillar -Common in western half of USA
Advantages of Coal
safe to transport, cost effective to transport, easy, provides long term jobs; coal removal is minimally processed, provides long term jobs; stimulates economy, dependent upon coal for self promotion, Easy availability Accessible in large quantities around the world, different from oil and natural gas: only have availability in certain areas of the world, Many areas of world/countries where oil and gas are available possess unsteady political environments, causing it to be arduous to access those resources of energy Coal = doesn't need high-pressure pipelini or an excess of security during transportation easy to use Mine coal, then use it Advantage over coal vs oil or natural gas--need to be altered before reaching costumors -store and use at any time when needed Has sense of flexibility Very versatile Can fuel a locomotive, power a boiler in an industry, produce a dependable source of electricity Coal does it all Coal can be used for rec activities such as BBQs, home fires, domestic uses Inexpensive: A large amount of resources, easily accessible, Cheaper mode of transportation, Electricity and gas made from coal is cheaper than eletricity and gas made from other non-convential sources like solar and wind, nuclear Domestic use of coal is cheaper in correlation to other domestic fuels like petrolum based oils or gases Economic benefits: Coal mining and distribution industry accounts for a larger industry in comparison to oil, gas, or nuclear energy Coal industry uses manpower Mining to distribution, creates business for small traders and distributors, they create more employment chances, fueling a cycle of fruitfulness Direct and indirect employment created by coal industry is larger due to the wide range of chances due to roles and the vastness of the roles provided and available
MTR mining
started in 1970s 100% of coal can be removed fewer workers required 500ft or more removed hazardous to nearby communities pollutants, floods, sludge dams cancer and cardiovascular issues
What are the two main types of coal mining?
surface (strip) mining underground mining
Clean coal technology
technology to sequester or hold emissions of coal so they aren't being put into the air; in EU = cost-effective, not where it needs to be, don't know its affects, CO2 into carbon through sequestering systems carbon sinks = soil, ocean; depending where, but can come out, resurface beween ocean, air, and land, carbon can ome out and resurface between ocean, air, and land
Crude oil contains.....
trace amounts of lead and arsenic, arsenic---cancer cuasing, mercury is cancer causing anecdotal evidence of mercury causing autism
processing of coal
virtually no processing, can get coal and burn it, generate electricity with oil, process of extracting coal is "easier" as it can be more economical than natural gas through fracking, not refined
Graph
year--independent, Y--dependent---production Depenedent--constumption billions of barrels
Does the US have oil reserves?
yes, offshore drilling BP oil spill obama--moratorium on oil, drilling in marine resources