By Products of Production
|
When producing or working with coal and oil, different strata of the oil is used
for various purposes, such as gasoline, engine oil, and plastics. The
remaining "crud" is unusable and can generate no profit, which encourages some
companies to use recovery techniques to reduce the amount of the crud (Imperial Petroleum
Recovery Corporation).
A graph of petroleum
exports, arranged by type, shows which form of petroleum is consumed in the greatest
quantities. The excessive use of fossil fuel is debilitating to the worldwide
environment, in that it increases acid rain and creates a dependence on severely limited
resources. The use of such fuels needs to be drastically reduced. (Department
of Energy). Approximately 90%-95% of all nitrogen and sulfur
oxides are of human origin, mainly from fossil fuel utilization. Nitrogen and Sulfur
oxides are principal reagents of acid rain (Environment Canada).
The linked table below
shows the rate that fossil fuels are being consumed in the United States. Lines
31-38 of the table in the following link give totals of production in thousands of barrels
per unit time. (Department
of Energy - Table)
The following link gives
conversion factors showing how much energy is produced by fossil fuels per unit volume.
These are useful when comparing the diminishing fossil fuels and the recycling BioFuels. (Department of Energy
- Petroleum Conversions)
This University of
California at Santa Barbara project depicts the effects of the natural biodegradation by
microbes in waters near where oil is being drilled. In one case, the water toxicity
increased tenfold around an oil processing plant in Alaska. Oil concentration of 0.1%
can have ill effects on the early stages of development for herring, urchin, oyster, and
innkeeper worm. (University
of California)
When speaking of fossil
fuel recycling it should be noted that: "only one gallon of post-consumer oil is
needed to produce 2.5 quarts of motor oil, while 42 gallons of crude oil
is needed to produce the same amount. Both processes yield marketable byproducts in
addition to motor oil (Louisiana Sea Grant). One pint of oil can produce a one-acre
slick on surface water, harming fish, aquatic animals, waterfowl, insects, and the base of
the aquatic food web: floating plankton and algae."
The most widely dispersed
fossil fuel, coal, is by far the dirtiest to burn. It produces large amounts of
sulfur and nitrogen oxides, causing acid rain. There is also danger to humans and
the environment during the mining of the coal. This danger mostly derives from the
pent up methane deposits in coal-beds. This is the natural gas which companies pipe
and sell. If accidentally discovered under high pressure, the result could be a
burst of exploding gas. Environmentally, methane has twenty times the greenhouse
properties of carbon dioxide.
Crude oil, also know as
petroleum, is a gooey liquid whose primary components are hydrocarbons (organic compounds
containing hydrogen, carbon and oxygen; the hydrocarbons are what is made into fuel) and
other compounds (impurities such as nitrogen and sulfur).
Natural gas is the least dense and
cleanest of all fossil fuels, but is still in limited supply by its very nature of being a
fossil fuel. Natural gas is mainly (50%-90%) methane with some butane and propane
present at times. Natural gas can also be liquefied for use to transport to other
areas. (Buffalo
State College). |
Sludge remaining after BioFuels extracted has very high levels of heavy metals. (Dr. Francis Huang)
The resulting CO2 is still a potent greenhouse gas, but the
methane emissions would be far worse to the atmosphere. (EPA: Methane is a
Potent Greenhouse Gas) |
Drawbacks
|
Fossil Fuels
The main drawback of
fossil fuels is the re-introduction of carbon dioxide into the modern world which was
locked up by plants in the prehistoric era. With BioFuels the carbon dioxide is
current and recently extracted from the air and locked into, for example, corn which
(without undergoing millions of years and tons of pressure to form oil) is then processed
and is used for fuel. There is a very limited supply of oil and most of it is
controlled by a cartel called OPEC. With BioFuel there is essentially an unlimited
amount of areas to grow a wide variety of crops, and monopolies would not exist in such a
market where competition could easily thrive. The fossil fuels are impure and leave
residue after they are burned, with BioFuels, the only products are water and carbon
dioxide. The resulting impurities of fossil fuels are main constituents of acid rain (By-Products Of Production). |
BioFuels
CH4 + 2O2
==> CO2 + 2H2O
Movie of methane combustion
(with permission of Ben Krauth)
The main drawback of
methane production is its high degree of volatility, in that it is easily
combustible. High pressures and temperatures involved in the ascertaining of methane
are a great danger. If the methane is not captured, it wreaks much greater havoc on
the atmosphere in terms of the greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide, a byproduct of both
fossil fuel and biofuel combustion. |
Recent
Technological Advances |
Fossil Fuels
There are hardly any
recent technological advances, however refining technology has improved the purity of
crude oil products. |
BioFuels
Due to technological
advances in recent years, local operation is not necessary. The burners can safely
be operated from a remote location with minimized risk of bodily harm. |