Nonrenewable Energy
Chapter 15
15-1 What Major Sources of Energy
Do We Use?
 Concept 15-1A About three-quarters of the
world’s commercial energy comes from
nonrenewable fossil fuels and the rest comes
from nonrenewable nuclear fuel and renewable
sources.
 Concept 15-1B Net energy is the amount of
high-quality usable energy available from a
resource after the amount of energy needed to
make it available is subtracted.
How Long Will the Oil Party Last?
 Saudi Arabia could supply the world with oil
for about 10 years.
 The Alaska’s North Slope could meet the
world oil demand for 6 months (U.S.: 3 years).
 Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would
meet the world demand for 1-5 months (U.S.:
7-25 months).
How Long Will the Oil Party Last?
 We have three options:
• Look for more oil.
• Use or waste less oil.
• Use something else.
Figure 16-1
Oil projections
Natural Capital: Important Nonrenewable
Energy Resources
Fig 15-2
Commercial Energy Use by Source for
the World and the United States
Fig 15-3
International Energy information
Click for International Energy Agency
U.S. historical energy trends
Energy flow in U.S.
Net Energy Ratios for Various Energy
Systems over Their Estimated Lifetimes
Fig 15-A
15-2 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Oil?
 Concept 15-2A Conventional oil is currently
abundant, has a high net energy yield, and is
relatively inexpensive, but using it causes air
and water pollution and releases greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere.
 Concept 15-2B Heavy oils from oil sand and oil
shale exist in potentially large supplies but have
low net energy yields and higher environmental
impacts than conventional oil has.
OIL
 Crude oil (petroleum) is a thick liquid containing
hydrocarbons that we extract from underground
deposits and separate into products such as
gasoline, heating oil and asphalt.
• Only 35-50% can be economically recovered from a
deposit.
• As prices rise, about 10-25% more can be recovered
from expensive secondary extraction techniques.
• This lowers the net energy yield.
General Classification of Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources
 Examples are fossil
fuels (coal, oil),
metallic minerals
(copper, iron), and
nonmetallic minerals
(sand, gravel).
Science: Refining Crude Oil
Fig 15-4
What comes from a barrel of oil?
OPEC Controls Most of the World’s Oil
Supplies
 Possible effects of steeply rising oil prices
• Reduce energy waste
• Shift to non-carbon energy sources
• Higher prices for products made with
petrochemicals
• Higher food prices; buy locally-produced food
• Airfares higher
• Smaller more fuel-efficient vehicles
• Upgrade of public transportation
Energy in California
Foreign Source Crude Oil 2008
Click for Ca Energy Commission
OIL
 Inflation-adjusted price of oil, 1950-2006.
 What is the cost today? Click
U.S. oil supplies
Click for EIA data
The Amount of Oil That Might Be Found
in the ANWR
Fig 15-5
Oil in the SBC
Click for SB County
Click for SB Channel Keepers
Gasoline in California
Click for animation: ground to car
National Gasoline Tax
What will motor vehicle fuel cost in the
future?
Annual Energy Outlook 2008 with Projections to 2030
Source: EIA: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/gas.html
Trade-Offs: Conventional Oil, Advantages
and Disadvantages
Fig 15-6
Oil Shale Rock and the Shale Oil
Extracted from It
Trade-Offs: Heavy Oils from Oil Shale
and Oil Sand
Fig 15-9
15-3 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Natural Gas?
 Concept 15-3 Conventional natural gas is more
plentiful than oil, has a high net energy yield and
a fairly low cost, and has the lowest
environmental impact of all fossil fuels.
How electricity is made in California
How does natural gas get to your home?
Click for EIA report
NATURAL GAS
 Russia and Iran have almost half of the world’s
reserves of conventional gas, and global
reserves should last 62-125 years.
 Natural gas is versatile and clean-burning fuel,
but it releases the greenhouse gases carbon
dioxide (when burned) and methane (from leaks)
into the troposphere.
Liquified Natural Gas
Click for EIA report
Shale Gas by Hydraulic Fracturing
Shale Natural Gas continued
• Prices of Natural Gas have dropped: unit = 1000 cubic feet
90s = $2, 2005 = $15, 2010 = $3.50
• Shale Gas reserves increased 50 % from 2007 to 2008 with
30% of this in Texas
• Project $4/1000 cubic feet for next 80 years
• Low Price Making Wind and Nuke investment slow or stop
• Concerns about Groundwater Pollution
Shale Natural Gas and Groundwater
Many cases of water contamination from shale gas drilling operations, which use high-volume
hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), exist: Thousands of problems, including spills, leaks, and the seepage
of contaminants into drinking water supplies, have been documented around the country in
conjunction with shale gas extraction by HVHF.
► Houses, water wells, and pipelines have exploded, and people have found methane levels in their
water so high that they could light it on fire with a match.
No studies have demonstrated that gas extraction operations using HVHF do not cause water
contamination: In 2010, both the EPA and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce under
Senator Waxman initiated major studies on the health and environmental impacts of hydraulic
fracturing.
Hydrofracking is not an exact science: When gas companies fracture the shale, they do not have
complete control over where fractures will develop, so fracturing fluids and natural gas can move in
unexpected directions,ending up in aquifers and water wells.
Vast numbers of uncapped gas wells threaten aquifers and drinking wells: 18,000 to 48,000
abandoned oil and gas wells that have not been capped exist in NY. During hydrofracking and deepwell injection, the high pressure can force the toxic fluids up through any existing uncapped wells,
contaminating aquifers and drinking wells.
The process itself is not a problem. We know how to do these things correctly; we know how
to do the job right … But there’s a lot of operators who aren’t doing it right.” Ron Nelson, a
retired BP Amoco geologist . From Houston Business Journal, Oct 11, 2010.
Natural Gas Projections by EIA
Trade-Offs: Conventional Natural Gas
Fig 15-10
15-4 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Coal?
 Concept 15-4A Conventional coal is very
plentiful and has a high net energy yield and low
cost, but it has a very high environmental
impact.
 Concept 15-4B Gaseous and liquid fuels
produced from coal could be plentiful, but they
have lower net energy yields and higher
environmental impacts than conventional coal
has.
COAL
 Coal reserves in the United States, Russia, and
China could last hundreds to over a thousand
years.
• The U.S. has 27% of the world’s proven coal
reserves, followed by Russia (17%), and China
(13%).
• In 2005, China and the U.S. accounted for 53%
of the global coal consumption.
• Burned in 2100 power plants, generates 40% of
the world’s electricity
Stages in Coal Formation over Millions
of Years
Fig 15-11
Science: Coal-Burning Power Plant
Fig 15-12
Air Pollution from a Coal-Burning
Industrial Plant in India
Electricity production in U.S.
Click of EIA report
COAL
 Coal can be converted into synthetic natural gas
(SNG or syngas) and liquid fuels (such as
methanol or synthetic gasoline) that burn
cleaner than coal.
• Costs are high.
• Burning them adds more CO2 to the troposphere
than burning coal.
• Reduces net energy
Coal Gasification
Click for DOE project info
Carbon Dioxide Sequestration
Click for DOE info
Coal Sequestration Costs
 To sequester carbon dioxide will cost $25 per ton of carbon dioxide
for a combined cycle plant. ($50 per ton of carbon dioxide for a
traditional steam powered plant.)
 This will increase the cost of producing coal 300% to $60 per ton of
coal.
 The power plant that burns the coal to make electricity would face a
50% rise in the cost of producing the electricity. This is around 2
cents/kW-hr.
 The homeowner buying only coal produced electricity (at 10
Cents/kW-hr) will see a 20% increase (10 cents to 12 cents/kW-hr)
in their power bill.
 These estimates are from Scientific American, pp 52, July 2005
CO2 Emissions Per Unit of Electrical
Energy Produced for Energy Sources
Fig 15-14
Case Study: Coal Consumption in China
 Burns more coal than the United States, Europe,
and Japan combined
 Coal–burning plants: Inefficient or non-existent
pollution controls
 Leading area for SO2 pollution: health hazard
 Acid rain due to coal burning
 Hg showing up in salmon off the western coast
of the United States
 Air quality of Korea and Japan impacted
Trade-Offs: Coal, Advantages and
Disadvantages as an Energy Resource
Fig 15-15
Trade-Offs: Synthetic Fuels
Fig 15-16
15-5 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy?
 Concept 15-5 Nuclear power has a low
environmental impact and a very low accident
risk, but high costs, a low net energy yield, longlived radioactive wastes, vulnerability to
sabotage, and the potential for spreading
nuclear weapons technology have limited its
use.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
 When isotopes of uranium and plutonium
undergo controlled nuclear fission, the resulting
heat produces steam that spins turbines to
generate electricity.
• The uranium oxide consists of about 97%
nonfissionable uranium-238 and 3% fissionable
uranium-235.
• The concentration of uranium-235 is increased
through an enrichment process.
Small amounts of
radioactive gases
Uranium
fuel input
(reactor core)
Control rods
Containment
shell
Heat
Waste heat
exchanger
Generator
Turbine
Steam
Hot
coolant
Pump
Pump
Shielding
Pressure vessel
Coolant
Moderator
Coolant
passage
Periodic removal and storage
of radioactive wastes and
spent fuel assemblies
Pump
Pump
Hot
water
output
Cool
water
input
Useful electrical
energy
25%–30%
Waste heat
Water Condenser
Periodic removal and
storage of radioactive
liquid wastes
Water source
(river, lake, ocean)
Fig. 15-17, p. 387
After 3 or 4 Years in a Reactor, Spent Fuel
Rods Are Removed and Stored in Water
What Is the Nuclear Fuel Cycle?
 Mine the uranium
 Process the uranium to make the fuel
 Use it in the reactor
 Safely store the radioactive waste
 Decommission the reactor
Decommissioning
of reactor
Fuel assemblies
Enrichment
Fuel fabrication
of UF6
Reactor
(conversion of enriched UF6
to UO to UO2 and fabrication
of fuel assemblies)
Conversion
of U3O8
to UF6
Uranium-235 as UF6
Plutonium-239 as
PuO2
Temporary storage of
spent fuel assemblies
underwater or in dry casks
Spent fuel
reprocessing
Low-level radiation
with long half-life
Open fuel cycle today
Recycling of nuclear fuel
Geologic
disposal of
moderate- and
high-level
radioactive
wastes
Fig. 15-19, p. 389
What Happened to Nuclear Power?
 Slowest-growing energy source and expected to
decline more
 Why?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economics: construction & operation costs
Poor management
Low net yield of energy of the nuclear fuel cycle
Safety concerns
Need for greater government subsidies
Concerns of transporting uranium
Case Study: Worst Nuclear Power Plant
Accident in the World
 Chernobyl
• April 26, 1986
• In Chernobyl, Ukraine
• Series of explosions caused the roof of a reactor
building to blow off
• Partial meltdown and fire for 10 days
• Huge radioactive cloud spread over many
countries and eventually the world
• 350,000 people left their homes
• Effects on human health, water supply, and
agriculture
TRADE-OFFS
Conventional Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Advantages
Disadvantages
Large fuel supply
Cannot compete
economically without
huge government
subsidies
Low net energy yield
High environmental
impact (with major
accidents)
Low environmental
impact (without
accidents)
Emits 1/6 as much
CO2 as coal
Moderate land
disruption and water
pollution (without
accidents)
Environmental costs not
included in market price
Moderate land use
No widely acceptable
solution for long-term
storage of radioactive
wastes
Low risk of
accidents because of
multiple safety
systems (except for
Chernobyl-type
reactors)
Risk of catastrophic
accidents
Subject to terrorist attacks
Spreads knowledge and
technology for building
nuclear weapons
Fig. 15-21, p. 391
TRADE-OFFS
Coal vs. Nuclear
Coal
Nuclear
Ample supply
Ample supply of
uranium
High net energy
yield
Very high air
pollution
High CO2
emissions
High land
disruption from
surface mining
Low net energy yield
Low air pollution
Low CO2 emissions
Much lower land
disruption from
surface mining
High land use
Moderate land use
Low cost (with
huge subsidies)
High cost (even with
huge subsidies)
Fig. 15-22, p. 392
Will Nuclear Fusion Save Us?
 “Nuclear fusion is the power of the future and
always will be”
 Still in the laboratory phase after 50 years of
research and $34 billion dollars
 2006: U.S., China, Russia, Japan, South Korea,
and European Union
• Will build a large-scale experimental nuclear
fusion reactor by 2040
New and Safer Reactors
 Pebble bed modular
reactor (PBMR) are
smaller reactors that
minimize the
chances of runaway
chain reactions.
Click for MIT
Science Focus: Are New and Safer
Nuclear Reactors the Answer?
 New Generation nuclear reactors must satisfy
these five criteria
•
•
•
•
Safe-runaway chain reaction is impossible
Fuel can not be used for nuclear weapons
Easily disposed of fuel
Nuclear fuel cycle must generate a higher net
energy yield than other alternative fuels, without
huge government subsidies
• Emit fewer greenhouse gases than other fuels
Future Energy Projections of U.S.
Click for projection report