Operation
The oil refinery converts crude oil into valuable products and supplies. These products are made and sent to many countries abroad, in which are transported on land or along rivers and canals. Crude oil is then arranged and categorized into segments by fractional distillation. Raw crude oil, or unprocessed crude oil, is not normally beneficial in most industrial applications. Low sulfur crude oil has been valuable as a burner fuel to construct steam for the force of seagoing vessels. The lighter elements have the ability to construct explosive and dangerous vapors in the gas tanks. There are extremely hazardous, and are often used in war ships. The remaining hydrocarbon molecules are filtered from crude oil and used towards lubricants, feedstock, plastics, and fuels.
Fossil fuels are used and burned for the engines of ships, cars, airplane and helicopter engines, lawn appliances, saws, and other machineries. Since the less dense liquid products are in heavy demand for engines for combustion, a refinery will use its ability to convert dense hydrocarbons and less dense gaseous components into numerous higher value products. Petroleum refineries produce millions and millions of crude oil. Interestingly, one oil refinery located in Israel is capable of making up to nine millions tons of crude oil just in one year! The cooling towers of this facility extend so high up into the air, making magnificent landmarks!
After the fuel is filtered and purified of all pollutants and contaminations, the fuel or substance is then sold in its filtered state. The fuel is then no longer processed. Smaller molecules, for example, butylene and propylene has the ability to “partner up” to qualify for the designated octane requirements for th...
... middle of paper ...
..., they are most likely to develop asthma or other respiratory illnesses.
Conclusion
As we have discussed, petroleum, natural gas, and its industries are a major factor in our economy. Oil and natural gas’s history, operations, environmental impacts, and present and future challenges demonstrate the importance of these non-renewable natural resources. The exploration of oil will continue to expand through the study of geoscience, engineering, and most importantly, technology. Midstream, containing the main operations of oil and gas, is improving each year in efficient processes for transporting, refining, and storing oil and gas. Despite the numerous challenges that are faced in the petroleum and gas industry, geologists continue to strive to make their operations safer for the environment, but are these efforts enough to save our planet for our future generations?
There is an abundance of oil underneath earth’s crust on land and in the water but getting to that oil can be proven as a challenge and a negative impact on the earth. Many of these oil reservoirs lie in federally protected land or water to minimize the negative impact on the earth. But should those restrictions be removed? Removing the restrictions can allow the US to tap into domestic reserves rather than rely on imported oil from the Middle East and Asia but tapping these reservoirs can also leave behind an impact that is harmful to this planet. “Critics oppose this move for fear that it will cause irreparable harm environmental harm. They point to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as evidence of the risks associated with offshore drilling” (SIRS).
According to one government analysis, the crude from Canada’s oil sands will emit seventeen percent more greenhouse gas pollution than there processes used for conventional oil, making it even more controversial against environmentalists (Davenport par. 6). The concerns are reflected in great quantity of carbon in the tar sands, “Ensure that they will play an important role in whether or not climate change gets out of hand” (Clayton 2). In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A) noticed the impact it would have on greenhouse gas emissions. According to the E.P.A., “The recent drop in global oil prices might mean that contraction of the pipeline vault spur increased development of Canadian oil sands—and thus increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions” (Davenport par
The United States has an immense amount of proven natural gas reserves that could become a major source for the nation's energy future (1). The mining of the natural gas resources have become feasible and cheaper due to the advancement of hydraulic fracturing technologies which have increased the amount the extraction and enabled “greater access to gas in shale formations” (2). Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking of shale formations has positive benefits that includes economic growth and the natural gas extracted is cleaner than coal and oil, however it has caused serious environmental problems and possibly could be the cause of recent seismic activity in areas where fracking operations exist (3).
Oil is a significant, non renewable resource that is found underground and extracted through technological processes (Grubb). Consumption rates of the substance have never been higher. Oil remains to this day a vital aspect of production in industries like plastics, fertilizers, and asphalt. World oil consumption presently rests around 83 million barrels per day (...
Because of fracking within our nation we are experiencing an abundance of cheap natural gas that provides power for hospitals, schools, homes and mass transit systems. Because of this sudden growth and development the job market has massive opportunities available for Americans. The regions that have seen the highest growth in these opportunities are in Texas and North Dakota. Additionally North Dakota has seen the highest jump in income by 7.6 percent and the lowest unemployment rate in the United States. However what is ultimately shaping this economic boom is our dependence on fossil fuels. With the ever present dangers to the environment “fossil fuels will lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases and an acceleration in climate change, the extraction of these materials will involve ever greater cost, danger and environmental risk as energy firms operate deeper and in more problematic rock formations (Klare).” Because of the end of easy access deposits the increase investment of time, money and resources becomes more valuable the deeper we extract and the more we choose to extract the more we pollute. The amount of resources that is invested into a single facking site is staggering. More than 8 million gallons of water can be used in a single frack and laced with over 600 chemicals. Some of these chemicals are known carcinogens and dangerous toxins that cause harm on
These oil wells are great for the economic growth, inventing new jobs and fueling most of our vehicles. The Earth has literal oceans of oil stored in its soil waiting to be harvested. Meaning, crude oil isn’t renewable, and eventually it will run out. According to the British petroleum, the multinational gas and oil company headquarter, there is only enough to sustain the planet for roughly around 53.3 more years. The result of oil depletion will turn turbulent, and we will have to resort to renewable energy. The issue concerning this is that, renewable energies such as solar, water and wind have not been perfected and can be too expensive to use. In theory, renewable energy is still a stable and natural energy source that could potentially save the future. If the we invest in perfecting these energy sources instead of pipelines, oil companies could finally stop reaping the Earth of its oil and prevent a future crisis 50 years from now. We wouldn’t have the need to burn fossil fuels, and we could be one step closer to a cleaner Earth. Nonetheless, most people nowadays care only for shortcuts that will lead them to big money, even if it sacrifices our world’s interior, and the health of those that live upon
After the oil/gas mixture is drawn from the ground, it is then stored into a storage tank and allowed to rest for a while. Then the gas is piped off to a set of distillation columns to clean up the ethane. In order to activate the chemical reaction necessary to separate the ethane, a thermal cracking unit (a sort of long heated tube) i.e. a plug flow reactor is used. After a series of distillations, ethylene exits the tube.
Natural gas extraction and consumption has risen over the past thirty years. Also known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a tremendous amount of uproar is being made in the environmental and political communities. Natural gas use is a great source of energy worldwide, only in America have we had a gold rush affect when it comes to extraction. Natural gas provides less dependence on foreign oil, less need for coal plants, and a more affordable energy source worldwide. There are many advantages to using natural gas but the way in which it is being extracted has caused many people to become sick. The detrimental environmental impacts caused by hydraulic fracturing continue to rise. Not to mention the political pull on big corporations and water quality standards. Currently in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett shale in Texas, the air and water quality have diminished over the past years since drilling sites ran rampant. Natural gas is natural in terms of how it came to be, but not natural in how they extract it and the problems it is causing everyone involved. To make aware the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, environmental impacts, water quality and air emissions, must be considered.
In today’s world humans are consuming massive amounts of fossil fuels. The top five oil consuming countries in the world are the usual suspects. These include the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia. Canada comes in at number 10 with a daily consumption of 2,287 thousand barrels per day. There are three major types of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. These resources were formed during the Carboniferous Period 360-286 million years ago. During this time earth was covered in swamps with large amounts of plants and waters filled with algae. When these plants and trees began to die they would form layers of peat. Hundreds and thousands of years would pass adding sand and other materials on top of the peat. This formed the sedimentary rocks we know today. As the thousands of years turned into millions of years the water of the peat layer was pushed out of the peat until the layer of diatoms turned into coal, oil or natural gas (CEC, 2013). Canada has oil industry throughout the country and currently 12 out of 13 provinces are active in the oil industry. Natural gas production is occurring in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Natural gas could also become large industry in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Oil production is currently taking place in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador (CAPP, 2013).
Offshore oil drilling refers to a mechanical process in which a wellbore is drilled through the seabed in search for petroleum that lies in rock formations. In 1891, the first oil wells were submerged in the Grand Lake St. Marys in Ohio. Since that day they have expanded their range of oil drilling, and our ecosystems are now paying the price for it. I think that offshore oil drilling should be banned because it is ruining the environment, hurting marine wildlife, and even has a negative affect on us humans.
finding new ways to drill for oil and also refine it more efficiently to ensure that
UNEP IE and The E & P Forum (Oil Industry International Exploration and Production Forum) Joint Publication Environmental Management in oil and gas exploration and production E&P Forum/UNEP IE 1997.
» Downstream: significant refineries incorporate unrefined petroleum preparing and transport of items to retail outlets.
The industry is divided into three distinct sectors including the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. The upstream sector includes the exploration and production of crude oil as well as the exploration and production of natural gas. This sector has experienced the largest amount of deals in terms of mergers and acquisitions, which will be further discuss in section III. The midstream sector involves the transportation of extracted petroleum from the upstream sector through pipelines, rail, barge, truck as well as storage. Finally, the downstream sector connects the end consumers through derived products such as gasoline, liquefied natural gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), kerosene (aircrafts), and diesel…
Transportation is another benefit of oil. Of course we all know that we use oil to run our vehicles, but that is not the only benefit. Oil is also used in combustion engines.