Present Sources of Energy

Woody plants, coal, petroleum, and natural gas hold a vast amount of energy that originally came from the
sun. By the process of photosynthesis, plants store energy that can be claimed by burning the plants
themselves or the decay products that have been converted over millions of years to fossil fuels.

Petroleum and Natural Gas

Petroleum and natural gas were most likely formed from the remains of marine organisms that lived
approximately 500 million years ago. Petroleum is a thick, dark liquid composed mostly of compounds called
hydrocarbons that contain carbon and hydrogen. Natural gas, usually associated with petroleum deposits,
consists mostly of methane, but it also contains significant amounts of ethane, propane, and butane. Over the
last several years it has become clear that there are tremendous reserves of natural gas deep in shale deposits.
Estimates indicate that there may be as much as 200 trillion cubic meters of recoverable natural gas in these
deposits around the globe.

The composition of petroleum varies somewhat, but it consists mostly of hydrocarbons having chains that
contain from 5 to more than 25 carbons. To be used efficiently, the petroleum must be separated into fractions
by boiling. The lighter molecules (having the lowest boiling points) can be boiled off, leaving the heavier ones
behind. The commercial uses of various petroleum fractions are shown in Table. Kerosene and gasoline are
used as fuels are produced from refining of the petroleum.

Uses of the Various Petroleum Fractions

Coal

Coal was formed from the remains of plants that were buried and subjected to high pressure and heat over
long periods of time. Plant materials have a high content of cellulose, a complex molecule whose empirical
formula is CH2O but whose molar mass is around 500,000 g/mol. After the plants and trees that flourished on
the earth at various times and places died and were buried, chemical changes gradually lowered the oxygen
and hydrogen content of the cellulose molecules. Coal “matures” through four stages: lignite, subbituminous,
bituminous, and anthracite. The energy available from the combustion of a given mass of coal increases as the
carbon content increases. Therefore, anthracite is the most valuable coal and lignite the least valuable.

Elemental Composition of Various Types of Coal

Effects of Carbon Dioxide on Climate

The earth receives a tremendous quantity of radiant energy from the sun, about 30% of which is reflected back
into space by the earth’s atmosphere. The remaining energy passes through the atmosphere to the earth’s
surface. Some of this energy is absorbed by plants for photosynthesis and some by the oceans to evaporate
water, but most of it is absorbed by soil, rocks, and water, increasing the temperature of the earth’s surface.
This energy is in turn radiated from the heated surface mainly as infrared radiation, often called heat radiation.
The atmosphere, like window glass, is transparent to visible light but does not allow all the infrared radiation
to pass back into space. Molecules in the atmosphere, principally H2O and CO2, strongly absorb infrared
radiation and radiate it back toward the earth, so a net amount of thermal energy is retained by the earth’s
atmosphere, causing the earth to be much warmer than it would be without its atmosphere. In a way, the
atmosphere acts like the glass of a greenhouse, which is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared
radiation, thus raising the temperature inside the building. This effect is called as greenhouse effect. This
could increase the earth’s average temperature by as much as 30C, causing dramatic changes in climate and
greatly affecting the growth of food crops.

Methane is another greenhouse gas that is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. This fact is particularly
significant for countries with lots of animals, because methane is produced by methanogenic archae that live
in the animals’ rumen. For example, sheep and cattle produce about 14% of Australia’s total greenhouse
emissions. To reduce this level, Australia has initiated a program to vaccinate sheep and cattle to lower the
number of archae present in their digestive systems. It is hoped that this effort will reduce by 20% the amount
of methane emitted by these animals.
New Energy Sources

Woody plants, coal, petroleum are the common energy sources in the nature and also these can cause for
pollution in the environment. Apart from this the nature itself has some other energy source which generally
do not cause for any pollution and also they are very efficient energy sources. The potential energy sources
are the sun (solar), nuclear processes (fission and fusion), biomass (plants), and synthetic fuels.

Coal Conversion

One alternative energy source involves using a traditional fuel—coal—in new ways. This is done by coal
gasification. This is achieved by treating the coal with oxygen and steam at high temperatures to break many
of the carbon–carbon bonds. These bonds are replaced by carbon– hydrogen and carbon–oxygen bonds as the
coal fragments react with the water and oxygen. The desired product is a mixture of carbon monoxide and
hydrogen called synthesis gas, or syngas, and methane (CH4) gas. Since all the components of this product
can react with oxygen to release heat in a combustion reaction, this gas is a useful fuel.

The process of coal gasification: Reaction of coal with a mixture of steam and air breaks down the large
hydrocarbon molecules in the coal to smaller gaseous molecules, which can be used as fuels.
One of the most important considerations in designing an industrial process is efficient use of energy. In coal
gasification, some of the reactions are exothermic:

Methanol is used in the production of synthetic fibers and plastics and also can be used as a fuel. In addition,
it can be converted directly to gasoline. Approximately half of South Africa’s gasoline supply comes from
methanol produced from syngas. In addition to coal gasification, the formation of coal slurries is another new
use of coal.

Hydrogen as a Fuel

In the nature hydrogen is a one of the gases which helps to formation of water by combing with the oxygen.
Apart from that, it is also having tremendous energy in the form of heat which is released when it combines
with oxygen. The combustion reaction is

The heat of combustion of H2(g) per gram is approximately 2.5 times that of natural gas. In addition,
hydrogen has a real advantage over fossil fuels in that the only product of hydrogen combustion is water;
fossil fuels also produce carbon dioxide. However, even though it appears that hydrogen is a very logical
choice as a major fuel for the future, there are three main problems: the cost of production, storage, and
transport.

Other Energy Alternatives

Many other energy sources are being considered for future use. The western states, especially Colorado,
contain huge deposits of oil shale, which consists of a complex carbon-based material called kerogen
contained in porous rock formations. These deposits have the potential of being a larger energy source than
the vast petroleum deposits of the Middle East.

Ethanol (C2H5OH) is another fuel used to supplement gasoline. The most common method of producing
ethanol is fermentation; Car engines can burn pure alcohol or gasohol, an alcohol–gasoline mixture (10%
ethanol in gasoline), with little modification. Gasohol is now widely available in the United States. A fuel
called E85, which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, is also widely available for cars with “flex-fuel” engines.

Methanol (CH3OH), an alcohol similar to ethanol, which was used successfully for many years in race cars, is
now being evaluated as a motor fuel in California. A major gasoline retailer has agreed to install pumps at 25
locations to dispense a fuel that is 85% methanol and 15% gasoline for use in specially prepared automobiles.

Another potential source of liquid fuels is oil squeezed from seeds (seed oil). For example, some farmers in
North Dakota, South Africa, and Australia are now using sunflower oil to replace diesel fuel. Oil seeds, found
in a wide variety of plants, can be processed to produce oil composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen, which
of course reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and heat. It is hoped that oil-seed plants can be
developed that will thrive under soil and climatic conditions unsuitable for corn and wheat. The main
advantage of seed oil as a fuel is that it is renewable.