APES in a Box: Week #1

NATURAL GAS
Natural gas: mixtures of gases that is mostly methane (CH4).
-found above conventional crude oil deposits.
Propane and butane can be removed from natural gas to make liquefied petroleum gas.
Natural gas can be pressurized and cool to created Liquefied Natural Gas to be transported
Synthetic natural gas - created from coal by coal gasification
Creating synthetic fuels has low net energy because it needs 50% more coal than just burning coal
Russia possesses 25% of world reserves
U.S has less than 4% of reserve but use 1/4 of natural gas production
PRO: Large reserves remain, less air pollutants, and high net energy.
CONS: low net energy when converted to LNG, releases CO2, difficult and costly to transport.


COAL
There are four categories of coal that vary in carbon, moisture and sulfur content
The older the coal is, the more carbon is contained which means more energy when burned.
Higher carbon levels means less air pollution from sulfur impurities
Peat- precursor to coal and made of decayed plant material. It is formed in wetland bogs and is mined
by cutting into oblong peat bricks. When it is dry, it can be burned for cooking and heating.
1st category: Lignite- low carbon, high moisture, 25-30% carbon, lowest quality, crumbly texture,
located in Gulf Coast and Northern Plains
2nd category: Subbituminous- Higher carbon, lower moisture, harder than lignite, 35-45%
carbon, high quality
3rd category: Bituminous- most common, high carbon content, low moisture, 35-86% carbon,
harder and shinier
4th: anthracite- high carbon, very low moisture, 86-97% carbon, least polluting, most valuable,
highest quality, super hard and shiny


SHALE OIL AND TAR SANDS
Shale oil: deposits of rock that contain kerogen
Kerogen: solid mixture of hydrocarbons
Shale oil is extracted from the rock by crushing the rock and heated to separate the shale oil from rock
70% of world's shale oil is found in the U.S
PROS- Large domestic reserve, existing oil infrastructure can be used, easy to transport
CONS- Low net energy, high disturbance of land similar to coal mining, Greenhouse gases suchs as
CO2,NOx and SOx emitted
Tar sand- viscous mixture of sand, clay, water and Bitumen, tar sand is obtained by strip mining and
can be mixed with water and heated to separate bitumen. Bitumen can be converted into a synthetic
crude oil
Canada has a hold of 75% of world's tar sand reserves
PROS - large potential, current oil infrastructure can be used, tar sand and synthetic oil is easy to
transport
CONS - low net energy, large volumes of water used, high land disruption, habitat loss from surface
mining, CO2, NO2 and SO2 emitted


OIL
Oil: fossil fuel produced when heat and pressure act on decayed organic matter, it consists
predominantly of hydrocarbons with small amounts of sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen
Specific geologic conditions are required
PROS- high net energy, ample supply, oil infrastructure already in place, domestically available, a few of
land disruption.
CONS: Release of CO2, SOx and NOx, U.S dependent on oil imports, potential for oil spills.

CHARCOAL
Charcoal: A biomass fuel created by the burning of wood to remove moisture and increase energy
content per unit of mass.
used for cooking and heating in developing countries throughout the world
PROS - Inexpensive, high energy content, easy to transport, less smoke than wood, renewable, and
Easy to get a hold of.
CONS - Deforestation, hazardous to workers, produces smoke that is unhealthy.