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Since the beginning of the 

  
, fossil fuels have been important sources of
energy. European industrialization began in the late 1700s in England, and coal soon became a
major fuel. In 1850 wood was still the main energy source in the United States. During the latter
half of the nineteenth century, the United States and other industrialized nations relied on coal (a
fossil fuel) to provide the energy for industrialization. Coal remained the major fuel source for
many years, and then, in the latter half of the twentieth century, oil and natural gas became the
primary energy sources. The first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859.

In 2000, fossil fuels accounted for almost 90 percent of the world's energy production (see Table
1). 
 power and hydroelectric plants supplied about 13 percent and geochemical, wind,
and solar energy sources supplied only a fraction of 1 percent. , including the burning
of wood, is not included in the table because it is so difficult to estimate.

Although coal 

produces substantially greater air pollution problems than does oil or
natural gas combustion, because of its great abundance in the United States and other countries
(such as Russia), there has been renewed interest in developing technology to burn coal more
cleanly. However, all fossil fuels consist mainly of hydrocarbons (compounds that contain only
carbon and hydrogen), which, upon complete combustion, yield carbon dioxide, a major
greenhouse gas.

It is widely accepted in the scientific community that fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) have a
biological origin and are ultimately derived from the buried remains of plant and animal matter,
although some still argue in favor of a nonbiological or inorganic source. It is believed that a
small fraction (much less than 1%) of dead plant and animal matter accumulates as deposited
matter, is removed from contact with atmospheric oxygen, is subject to elevated temperatures
and pressures (inhibiting decomposition by bacteria), and over geological time, is transformed
into fossil fuels.

 



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Petroleum 39

Natural Gas 24

Coal 24

Hydroelectric 7

Nuclear 6


Coal is considered the remnant of plants that grew in swamps hundreds of millions of years ago,
and thus its source is often characterized as à

à
signifying its association with continental
land masses. Terrestrial plant material characteristically contains   a carbon-based natural
polymer that provides rigidity to nonaquatic plants and enables them to stand upright against the
pull of gravity. Lignin is much more resistant to bacterial degradation than other botanical
components, such as cellulose, and is considered a significant contributor to the chemical
composition of coal.

The extent to which lignin and other plant matter has been metamorphosed by the high
temperatures and pressures associated with the gradual burial of this material determines the
grade of the coal produced. As the process of coal formation (coalification) proceeds, the product
is increasingly characterized by lower moisture content, greater carbon and energy content, and a
greater hardness. Lignite is the softest and least metamorphosed type of coal, with a relatively
high moisture content, a low fixed carbon (nonvolatile carbon) content, and a low energy
content.
à  coal is the next highest grade, and upon further coalification it can be
transformed to bituminous coal, or ultimately to  à
à Anthracite is the hardest coal,
possessing about 95 percent fixed carbon, the lowest moisture content, and the best energy
content. Coals from different sources also contain differing amounts of inorganic mineral matter
(ash), which remains as a residue upon burning and thus lowers the energy content of the coal.
Table 2 compares the compositions of the various types of coal.

One mineral often associated with coal is pyrite, FeS 2 . The burning of coal contributes to
pollution of the atmosphere, owing to the presence in coal of pyrite and organic sulfur-containing
compounds. Coal is commonly burned in power plants that generate electricity, and both the
inorganic (pyrite-containing) and organic forms of coal are oxidized to yield sulfur dioxide (SO 2
). Sulfur dioxide reacts in air to form sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ), which is a major cause of  
. Sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide are also lung irritants, and thus health hazards, and
contribute to the corrosion of structures by their acidification of all forms of precipitation (rain,
snow, fog, sleet). The impact of the atmospheric precipitation of SO 2 and H 2 SO 4 has been
minimized by chemical and physical processes that remove inorganic sulfur from coal
(desulfurization), and by the use of coals with low sulfur content. One positive effect of higher H
2 SO 4 levels in the atmosphere is the increase in cloud cover, due to the hygroscopic (water-
absorbing) nature of this acid, and this may help to lower the average surface temperature of the
planet²although CO 2 produced as a result of oxidization of the carbon in coal is a major
contributor to global warming.



$
Coal can be transformed into coke and other fuels by various industrial and experimental
processes. Coke is produced by the pyrolysis (heating in the absence of air) of coal and is used in
the production of iron and steel. The coking procedure removes moisture and other volatile
components from coal, yielding an extremely carbon-rich material. Coal can also be transformed
(via intrafuel conversion) into relatively clean liquid and gaseous fuels (liquifaction and
gasification). However, this is accomplished at high cost²in money and energy.

 

Petroleum is an extremely complex mixture of hydrocarbons, which can be separated into liquid
(oil) and gas fractions. Compared to coal, petroleum being a liquid is easier to transport. It
probably originated in marine sediments, in contrast to the terrestrial origins of coal.

Because petroleum varies greatly in composition and distribution throughout the world, elaborate
systems of refining and transport have been developed. Major oil fields or giant petroleum fields
("giant" indicating oil fields capable of producing at least 500 million barrels of oil) are found
primarily in the Middle East, North and South America, and countries that made up the former
Soviet Union. The uneven natural distribution of oil, and the consequent need to transport oil
across vast distances, has led to instances of contamination due to oil spills. Coastal waters are
particularly vulnerable, not only to oil spills, but also to contamination by bilge water and tank-
washing water from commercial oil tankers. Even though it is a major producer of oil, the United
States has found it necessary to import significant additional amounts of oil in order to meet
ever-increasing industrial and home-related energy demands. Most plastics and other
petrochemicals are made from petroleum, along with almost all gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel,
heating oil, and lubricants. However, Earth's supply of petroleum is limited. Some experts
estimate that world production of oil could climax as early as 2004. Although most, if not all, of
the major oil-producing fields associated with continental masses have been discovered, and
many offshore wells have been drilled, there still may be other major oil discoveries in less
accessible areas such as under the ocean²a largely unexplored territory.


!" 
How Crude Oil Is Refined into Petroleum Products

The world uses gasoline and petroleum products to move merchandise and people, help make
plastics, and do many other things. At a refinery, different parts of the crude oil are separated
into useable petroleum products. Today, some refineries turn more than half of every 42-gallon
barrel of crude oil into gasoline.

How does this transformation take place? Essentially, refining breaks crude oil down into its
various components, which then are selectively reconfigured into new products.
All refineries perform three basic steps:

˜ | 

|


v | þ  |

Source: Adapted from Chevron

eparation

Heavy petroleum components or "fractions" are on the bottom; light fractions are on the top.
This difference in weights allows the separation of the various petrochemicals. Modern
separation involves piping oil through hot furnaces. The resulting liquids and vapors are
discharged into distillation towers.

Inside the towers, the liquids and vapors separate into fractions according to weight and boiling
point.

The lightest fractions, including gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), vaporize and rise to
the top of the tower, where they condense back to liquids.
Medium weight liquids, including kerosene and diesel oil distillates, stay in the middle.

Heavier liquids, called gas oils, separate lower down, while the heaviest fractions with the
highest boiling points settle at the bottom.

Conversion

Cracking and rearranging molecules takes a heavy, low-valued feedstock ² often itself the
output from an earlier process ² and change it into lighter, higher-valued output such as
gasoline. This is where refining's fanciest footwork takes place ² where fractions from the
distillation towers are transformed into streams (intermediate components) that eventually
become finished products.

The most widely used conversion method is called cracking because it uses heat and pressure to
"crack" heavy hydrocarbon molecules into lighter ones. A cracking unit consists of one or more
tall, thick-walled, bullet-shaped reactors and a network of furnaces, heat exchangers, and other
vessels.

Cracking and coking are not the only forms of conversion. Other refinery processes, instead of
splitting molecules, rearrange them to add value.

Alkylation, for example, makes gasoline components by combining some of the gaseous
byproducts of cracking. The process, which essentially is cracking in reverse, takes place in a
series of large, horizontal vessels and tall, skinny towers that loom above other refinery
structures.

Reforming uses heat, moderate pressure, and catalysts to turn naphtha, a light, relatively low-
value fraction, into high-octane gasoline components.

Treatment

The finishing touches occur during the final treatment. To make gasoline, refinery technicians
carefully combine a variety of streams from the processing units. Among the variables that
determine the blend are octane level, vapor pressure ratings and special considerations, such as
whether the gasoline will be used at high altitudes.

torage

Both the incoming crude oil and the outgoing final products need to be stored. These liquids are
stored in large tanks on a tank farm near the refinery. Pipelines then carry the final products from
the tank farm to other tanks all across the country.

All of these activities are required to make the gasoline that powers our cars, the diesel fuel that
brings our food to market, and the jet fuel that flies our planes. These provide us with the energy
we need to get from place to place quickly and comfortably.


The history of natural gas dates back to 900 B.C.E. , when its use was mentioned in China. It was
apparently unknown in Europe until 1659, when it was discovered in England. It was not
discovered in the United States until 1815 in West Virginia. In the early twenty-first century,
natural gas has become the favorite fuel of industrial nations. The United States is the largest
producer as well as the largest consumer of natural gas. The largest natural gas reserves are
located in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Iran.

Natural gas, which consists mainly of methane (CH 4 ), can contain up to 20 percent of other
gases²mainly ethane (C 2 H 6 ), and possibly propane (C 3 H 8 ), butane (C 4 H 10 ), pentane (C 5
H 12 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and nitrogen (N 2 ). Some natural gases contain small amounts of
hydrogen, argon, carbon monoxide, or even hydrogen sulfide. Certain gas wells in Oklahoma
also contain helium. In fact, they are a major source of helium in the United States. Natural gas is
also colorless, odorless, and nontoxic but very flammable. (The odor we associate with natural
gas is because of a mercaptan added to make gas leaks detectable.) Most natural gas is burned as
fuel; however, ethane and the higher alkanes can be separated out and cracked to ethylene and
propylene for making plastics. Although it is considered a "clean" and environmentally friendly
fuel, compared to oil and coal, it is itself a major greenhouse gas and upon combustion yields
carbon dioxide, the other major greenhouse gas. Like carbon dioxide, methane is also a
greenhouse gas. However, natural gas fuel is thought to be only a minor contributor to methane
in the atmosphere. Methane is constantly being generated by marsh and swamp terrain and by
certain animals. Some experts believe that animals are the main source of atmospheric methane.

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Oil shales and tar sands also contain significant amounts of hydrocarbon materials that might
eventually prove to be important energy sources. Oil shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks
(shales) that contain hydrocarbons that are dispersed within the matrix of the rock. A ton of shale
contains from 10 to 100 gallons of kerogen, a waxy material that breaks down to oils when
heated in the absence of air. It is estimated that three states (Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming)
contain shale bearing more oil than exists in all the proven reserves in the world. Tar sands are
the extremely viscous petroleum deposits associated with sedimentary rocks. They are mixtures
of clay, sand, and extremely viscous oils called bitumens. The utility of oil shales and tar sands is
currently limited, because of problems having to do with hydrocarbon recovery and the disposal
of large amounts of inorganic residues.
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