Disputes about the shape of the Earth do not detract from the significance of its contents. Groundwater has always been the most important resource. They provide the primary need of the human body. However, without fossil fuels, which are the main energy supplier for human civilization, human life seems completely different.
Fuel is a source of energy
Among all the fossils hidden in the bowels of the Earth, fuel is a combustible (or sedimentary) type.
| Types of fossil resources of the Earth | |||
| Combustible (sedimentary) | Groundwater | Ore (igneous) | Non-metallic (non-metallic) |
|
Oil Coal Oil Shales Natural gas Gas hydrates peat |
High water layer Groundwater Artesian layer Mineral Springs |
Iron ore Copper Ore Nickel ores Gold Silver |
Diamonds Asbestos Graphite Rock s alt Quartz Phosphorites |
The basis of combustible substances is hydrocarbon, so one of the effects of the combustion reaction is the release of energy, which can be easily used to improve the comfort of human life. Over the past decade, about 90% of all energy used on Earth has been produced using fossil fuels. This fact makes us think a lot, given that the riches of the planet's interior are non-renewable energy sources and are depleted over time.
Fuel types
| Main fuels | |||
| hard | liquid | gaseous | dispersed |
| Oil Shales | Oil oil | Propane | Aerosols |
| Peat | Oils | Bhutan | Suspensions |
| Coal: brown, black, anthracite, graphite | Alcohols | Methane | Foam |
| Sapropel | Ethers | Shale Gas | |
| Tar Sands | Emulsions | Ore gas | |
| Liquid rocket fuel | Marsh gas | ||
| Fischer-Tropsch Synthetic Fuels | Biogas | ||
| Methane hydrate | |||
| Hydrogen | |||
| Compressed gas | |||
| Solid fuel gasification products | |||
| Mixes | |||
All fossil fuels are supplied by oil, coal and natural gas.
Summary of minerals used as fuel
The raw materials for the production of energy are oil, coal, oil shale, natural gas, gas hydrates, peat.
Oil is a liquid related to combustible (sedimentary) fossils. Consists of hydrocarbons and other chemical elements. The color of the liquid, depending on the composition, varies between light brown, dark brown and black. Rarely there are compositions of yellow-green and colorless color. The presence of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen-containing elements in oil determine its color and smell.
Coal is a name of Latin origin. Carbō is the international name for carbon. The composition contains bituminous masses and plant remains. This is an organic compound that has become the object of slow decomposition under the influence of external factors (geological and biological).
Oil shale, like coal, is a representative of a group of solid fossil fuels, or caustobiolites (which inLiterally translated from Greek, it sounds like “a combustible life stone”). During dry distillation (under the influence of high temperatures), it forms resins that are similar in chemical composition to oil. Shale composition is dominated by mineral substances (calcide, dolomite, quartz, pyrite, etc.), but there are also organic substances (kerogen), which only in high quality rocks reach 50% of the total composition.
Natural gas is a gaseous substance formed during the decomposition of organic matter. In the bowels of the Earth, there are three types of accumulation of gas mixtures: separate accumulations, gas caps of oil fields and as part of oil or water. Under optimal climatic conditions, the substance is only in the gaseous state. It is possible to find in the bowels of the earth in the form of crystals (natural gas hydrates).
Gas hydrates are crystalline formations formed from water and gas under certain conditions. They belong to the group of compounds of variable composition.
Peat is loose rock used as fuel, heat-insulating material, fertilizer. It is a gas-bearing mineral, used as a fuel in many regions.
Origin
Everything that modern man mines in the bowels of the earth refers to non-renewable natural resources. It took millions of years and special geological conditions for their appearance. A large amount of fossil fuels were formed in the Mesozoic.
Oil - according to the biogenic theory of its origin, the formation lasted forhundreds of millions of years from the organic matter of sedimentary rocks.
Charcoal - Formed when decaying plant material is replenished faster than it decomposes. Swamps are a suitable place for such a process. Stagnant water protects the layer of plant mass from complete destruction by bacteria due to the low content of oxygen in it. Coal is divided into humic (comes from the remains of wood, leaves, stems) and sapropelitic (formed mainly from algae).
Peat can be called a raw material for the formation of coal. If it is submerged under sediment layers, water and gases are lost under the influence of compression and coal is formed.
Oil shale - the organic component is formed with the help of biochemical transformations of the simplest algae. It is divided into two types: thallomoalginite (contains algae with a preserved cellular structure) and colloalginite (algae with a loss of cellular structure).
Natural gas - according to the same theory of the biogenic origin of fossils, natural gas is formed at higher pressure and temperature readings than oil, which is proved by deeper deposits. They are formed from the same natural material (the remains of living organisms).
Gas hydrates are formations that require special thermobaric conditions to appear. Therefore, they are formed mainly on sea bottom sediments and frozen rocks. They can also form on the walls of pipes whengas extraction, in connection with which the fossil is heated to a temperature above hydrate formation.
Peat - is formed in the conditions of swamps from not completely decomposed organic remains of plants. Deposited on the surface of the soil.
Production
Coal and natural gas differ not only in the way they rise to the surface. Deeper than the rest are gas fields - from one to several kilometers deep. There is a substance in the pores of the collectors (a reservoir containing natural gas). The force that causes the substance to rise up is the pressure difference in the underground layers and the collection system. Production takes place with the help of wells, which are trying to distribute evenly throughout the entire field. The extraction of fuel, thus, avoids gas flows between areas and untimely flooding of deposits.
Oil and gas production technologies have some similarities. Types of oil production are distinguished by the methods of raising the substance to the surface:
- fountain (a technology similar to gas, based on the difference in pressure underground and in the liquid delivery system);
- gaslift;
- using an electric submersible pump;
- with the installation of an electric screw pump;
- rod pumps (sometimes connected to a ground pumping unit).
The method of extraction depends on the depth of the substance. There are a lot of options for raising oil to the surface.
The method of developing a coal deposit also depends on the characteristics of the coal occurrencein the ground. In an open way, development is carried out when a fossil is found at a level of one hundred meters from the surface. Often a mixed type of mining is carried out: first by open pit mining, then by underground mining (with the help of faces). Coal deposits are rich in other resources of consumer importance: these are valuable metals, methane, rare metals, groundwater.
Shale deposits are developed either by mining (considered inefficient) or in-situ mining by heating the rock underground. Due to the complexity of the technology, mining is carried out in very limited quantities.
Peat extraction is carried out by draining swamps. Due to the appearance of oxygen, aerobic microorganisms are activated, decomposing its organic matter, which leads to the release of carbon dioxide at a tremendous rate. Peat is the cheapest type of fuel, its extraction is carried out constantly in compliance with certain rules.
Recoverable reserves
One of the assessments of the welfare of society is made by fuel consumption per capita: the greater the consumption, the more comfortable people live. This fact (and not only) forces humanity to increase the volume of fuel production, affecting pricing. The cost of oil today is determined by such an economic term as "netback". This term implies the price for a refinery, which includes the weighted average cost of petroleum products (produced from the purchased substance) and the delivery of raw materials to the enterprise.
Trading exchangesthey sell oil at CIF prices, which literally translates as “cost, insurance and freight”. From this we can conclude that the cost of oil today, according to quotations of transactions, includes the price of raw materials, transportation costs for its delivery.
Consumption rates
Given the increasing rate of consumption of natural resources, it is difficult to give an unambiguous assessment of fuel supply for a long period. With the current dynamics, oil production in 2018 will amount to 3 billion tons, which will lead to the depletion of world reserves by 80% by 2030. Provision with black gold is predicted within 55 - 50 years. Natural gas could be exhausted in 60 years at current consumption rates.
There are much more coal reserves on Earth than oil and gas. However, over the past decade, its production has increased, and if the pace does not slow down, then out of the planned 420 years (existing forecasts), the reserves will be depleted in 200.
Environmental impact
The active use of fossil fuels leads to an increase in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, the detrimental effect on the planet's climate is confirmed by international environmental organizations. If CO2 emissions are not reduced, an ecological catastrophe is inevitable, the beginning of which can be observed by contemporaries. According to preliminary estimates, from 60% to 80% of all fossil fuels must remain intact to stabilize the situation on Earth. However, this is not the only side effect of using fossil fuels. Production itself, transportation, processing at refineriescontribute to environmental pollution with much more toxic substances. An example is the accident in the Gulf of Mexico, which led to the suspension of the Gulf Stream.
Limitations and alternatives
Fuel mining is a profitable business for companies whose main constraint is the depletion of natural resources. It is usually forgotten to mention that the voids formed by human activity in the bowels of the earth contribute to the disappearance of fresh water on the surface and its escape to deeper layers. The disappearance of potable water on Earth cannot be justified by any of the advantages of mining fossil fuels. And it will happen if humanity does not rationalize its stay on the planet.
Five years ago, motorcycles and cars with a new generation of engines (fuelless) appeared in China. But they were released in strictly limited quantities (for a certain circle of people), and the technology became classified. This only speaks of the shortsightedness of human greed, because if you can "make money" on oil and gas, no one will stop the oil magnates from doing it.
Conclusion
Along with well-known alternative (renewable) energy sources, there are less expensive, but classified technologies. Nevertheless, their application must inevitably enter a person’s life, otherwise the future will not be as long and cloudless as “businessmen” imagine it to be.
