Download Energy Resources - Laboratory for Integrated Learning and

Energy Resources
Renewable vs. Nonrenewable
• Renewable Resources
– Resources that are
naturally replenished
or regenerated over a
short time span – it is
renewed on a human
time scale
– i.e. Trees, biofuels (?)
• Nonrenewable Resources
– Resources that are
consumed faster than they
can be replenished, it is not
renewed on a human time
scale
– i.e. fossil fuels, aluminum,
etc.
Sources of Energy
Sources of Energy
• Nonrenewable sources
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–
–
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Petroleum (38%)
Coal (22%)
Natural Gas (25%)
Nuclear (8%)
• Renewable sources
–
–
–
–
–
–
Hydroelectric (4%)
Solar
Wind
Tidal
Geothermal
Biofuels
Trends in Energy Usage
Coal
• Organic materials that have escaped
oxidation in the carbon cycle.
• Plant material that is rapidly buried
Coal Ranking & Formation
Rank – amount (%) of carbon (C) in
coal , heat content
1. Peat (pre coal) – soft brown mass
of compressed, largely nondecomposed plant material, ~50%
C
2. Lignite – decomposed peat that has
been compressed, ~70% C
3. Bituminous coal – burial increases
the pressure and temperature on
the lignite and causes a conversion,
~80-90% C
4. Anthracite coal – complete
metamorphism, >93% C
World-wide distribution of coal
U.S. Coal Reserves
Illinois Coal Reserves
Hydrocarbons
• Composed of hydrogen and
carbon linked together in
chains and rings
• Natural Gas – simple organic
molecules
• Crude Oil – complex chains
and rings
What is the source of oil?
• Plankton!
0mm
1mm
Hydrocarbon Formation
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Water borne plankton escape oxidation/decomposition before burial
Plankton is deposited in mud (shale) – Source Rock
Source rock is overlain by more sediment – increasing the pressure (P) & temperature
(T) on the source rock
Increase in P & T, breaks down organic debris
– Oil forms at 50oC
– Methane (natural gas) at 100oC
Hydrocarbons migrates upwards (lower density than water) to a reservoir rock (high
porosity, high permeability rock)
Migration is stopped by either an impermeable rock or a structural trap
“Oil Window”
• Generation of oil
requires a specific
temperature range
80 – 160 Co (If
above this
temperature oil
will “burn away”)
• Higher
temperatures
breakdown oil
molecules –
generate natural
gas
• Exist in the top
most 15-20% of
the crust
Reservoir Rock
• Porosity – amount of open (void) space in a
rock, ability of a rock to store a fluid
• Permeability – interconnectedness of the
void space, ability of rock to transmit a fluid
• Reservoir rock – high porosity, high
permeability
• Cap (seal) rock – low porosity, low
permeability
Structural Traps
• 4 common types
–
–
–
–
Anticline Trap
Salt Dome
Fault Trap
Angular
Unconformity
Trap
Distribution of Oil and Gas
• Found in rocks less than 500 million years
old
• 85% of oil and gas occur in less than 5% of
producing fields
• Generally, near Tectonic belts, active in the
past 60-70 million years
Daily Assignment
• Create a concept map that incorporates the following:
Oil
Coal
Plant Material
Plankton
Folds
Faults
Sandstone
Shale
Labels the pathways-transition between the components
appropriately
Additional items may be included if you feel they help
understand the concepts.
Nuclear Power - Uranium
•
•
•
•
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Uranium (U) – used for nuclear power
Has a Minimum Concentration Factor > 1000
Source Rock – Igneous
U is leached (dissolved) into groundwater
Deposit Types
– Sandstones that have been enriched with U minerals
(groundwater enrichment)
– U-bearing minerals in rock fractures
– Placer Deposits
Geothermal
Energy
• Temperature increases
with depth ~ 3oC/ 100 m
• Geothermal energy
concentrated where
magma is near the surface
• Circulation of groundwater
allows water to heat up
• Hot groundwater drives
turbines