Energy From Organic
Fuels
Chapter 15
15.1 The Need For Energy
• The laws of physics state that energy
cannot be created or destroyed.
• Light energy from the sun is converted
by plants into chemical energy. When
we eat food, energy is converted to
heat, mechanical energy.
•Fuel – any substance from
which energy can be obtained.
•Energy from the sun fuels
almost all life on Earth.
•Lightning is the only form of
electricity found in nature.
Changing
Energy
Needs
Modern industrial
society uses about 50
times more energy per
person than the
hunter-gatherer
(Lights, Heat, &
Cooking) societies did.
Fuels From Organisms
• Hydrocarbon – A compound
composed only of carbon and
hydrogen.
• (Methane CH4, Ethane C2H6, Octane
C8H18)
Naming
Hydrocarbons
•Fossil Fuels
• Fuels derived from
the
Fossil
Fuels
remains of organisms that
lived long ago.
• The energy is stored within
buried cells (Animals,
Trees, Bones, Plant Roots)
of organisms is used as a
fuel today.
• Petroleum, Coal, and
Natural Gas
15.2 Coal
• Coal formation is
largely the result
of sedimentation.
• Coal formation occurs in stages over millions of years.
• H & O is removed leaving higher concentrations of
Carbon.
• Higher concentrations of Carbon produces greater
amounts of energy.
Coal Deposits
Peat
• The 1st stage in the formation of Coal.
• Peat – Brittle, brown plant material
containing a great deal of water and a low
percentage of carbon.
• Large amounts of smoke.
• Peat is not coal… yet! 
Peat
Lignite
• The 1st form of true coal.
• Heat and pressure forces water from the
peat forming lignite.
• Lignite – Soft, brown coal composed of
about 40% Carbon.
• Must be mined.
Lignite
Bituminous Coal
• Soft coal composed of up to 85% Carbon.
• Most abundant type of coal mined in the
US.
• Burns hotter and less smoke than lignite
and peat.
• Used by Power Plants to produce steam to
generate electricity.
Bituminous Coal
Anthracite Coal
• Metamorphic Rock formed from Bituminous Coal.
• A hard coal composed of up to 95% carbon.
• Shiny black color
• Located deeper in the ground than other coal forms.
• Least amount of water, fewest impurities, and highest carbon
content.
• Most Expensive = Least Abundant
Anthracite Coal
15.3 Petroleum and Natural
Gas
• Petroleum – Crude
oil, liquid fossil fuel.
• Natural Gas – Fossil
Fuel in gaseous
state.
• Coal - Solid
• Crude oil is
under
extreme
pressure as
a result of
being
trapped
under
nonporous
rocks such
as shale.
•One of the
World’s most
important
resources.
Petroleum
•Petroleum
Products:
Gasoline, Diesel,
Fuel oil, Grease,
Asphalt, Nylon,
Polyester, and
Plastics.
Natural
Gas
• Major components of
Natural Gas are
Hydrocarbons. (Ex.
Methane, Ethane, and
Propane)
• Natural Gas burns
cleaner than Coal and
Oil.
15.4 Other
Organic Fuels
• Alternative fuels can
solve some but not
all of the problems
associated with
fossil fuels.
Problems
With Fossil
Fuels
• Availability – Fossil Fuels are declining
(Nonrenewable)
• Pollution – Environmental Damage (Oil Spills
and Habitat destruction)
• Permanent degradation of coastlines are the
most serious environmental threats associated
with Fossil Fuel exploration.
Biomass Fuels
• Fuels that are formed
from burning recently
living organic products.
• Biomass Fuel – Fuel
formed from the
products of living
organisms.
• Wood, Garbage,
Methane, and Alcohol
Wood
• High
concentrations
of CO2 and
Smoke.
• Damages
Forests.
Garbage
• 66% of
garbage can
be burned
as fuel.
• Trash to
Steam
Power
Plants
Trash to Steam Plant 1
Trash to Steam Plant 2
Trash to Steam Plant 3
Trash to Steam Plant 4
Methane
• Family farmers can store animal
waste in containers and capture
natural gas for fuel.
• Swamp gas – naturally produced
form of methane.
• Methane is being removed from
landfills and swamps for fuel
usage.
Alcohol
• Using alcohol fermentation converts organic
material into a fuel. (Ethanol)
• Bioconversion – Processing organic material
into fuel.
• Gasohol is a gasoline-alcohol mixture that is
being produced by sunflowers and peanuts.