How do people use petroleum to generate energy?
Why do people use petroleum?
What are the problems of using petroleum as a source of energy?
How do people use petroleum to generate energy?
Before petroleum or crude oil can be used for anything, certain refining procedures have to be carried out to remove water, soil or natural gas. One of the procedures is called fractional distillation, which heats the oil and separates the different oil end products by their weight. For example, the molecular weight of gasoline for cars is the lightest, which is at the top level of the distillation process. The fuel for aircrafts is a little bit heavier and therefore it is in the second level of the distillation process. In addition to fractional distillation, other procedures like crystallization, catalytic cracking and vapor recovery may also be required. As mentioned, automobile fuel, aircraft fuel, diesel, and industrial fuel are located at level one to four respectively. These fuels are the most common use of petroleum for energy. The first three levels are mostly used for engines in automobiles, aircrafts, and trucks. The fourth level becomes industrial fuel and is commonly used in power plants or assembly plants.1
According to Ontario Hydro, the power plant at Lennox near Napanee is the only oil-fueled power plant in Ontario.2
Similar to coal, oil is cheaper compared to many
other sources of energy. It is also easier to transport and a little more widely
available than natural gas. The multi-purpose use of petroleum (as petroleum
is the raw material for plastic, asphalt, kerosene, waxes, lubricants, greases
and more) is another advantage.
What are the problems
of using petroleum as a source of energy?
The usage of petroleum triggers just as many
environmental problems as coal does. Many problems occur during the transportation
of crude oil. There stands a chance for harmful spills from oil pipelines, supertankers
and off shore drilling. Examples of such oil spills are not hard to find. Supertanker
Amoco Cadiz's oil spill off the French coast in 1978, Ixtoc I oil well's oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 1979, and the oil spill by Exxon Valdez in Prince
William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, in March 1989 are just a few of them. Within
these few incidents, there have already been 5.14 million barrels of oil spilt
into our oceans. As it is extremely hard to clean an oil leak, unrecoverable
damages are performed to our environment.3
Similar to burning coal, additional carbon dioxide is produced and causes global
warming. Carbon monoxide and other by-products of incomplete combustion are
also harmful to humans.
[Coal] [Petroleum] [Natural Gas]