The Mode of Distribution - Case Study Example

Module: Question The main types of fuels in the United Kingdom and their combustion characteristics.The United Kingdom is endowed with a wide range of resources that are used as fuel. The country has vast coniferous forests which are cut down to produce wood which is cut down to produce wood, large coal mines that are excavated to produce coal that is used to generate energy. The country also has a number of oil fields which are drilled to produce crude oil which is processed to produce petroleum and other products. Natural gas occurs hand in hand with crude oil and it is also drilled from the ground and piped for distribution to various areas for both commercial and domestic uses. These resources constitute the main sources of fuels for the United Kingdom and will be discussed below. Basically, a fuel is any substance which when burnt produces heat. This implies that all fuels must contain one or several of the combustible elements which are carbon, hydrogen and sulphur. The process of combustion involves the conversion of chemical energy into heat energy. In order to perform a comprehensive analysis of the fuels available in the United Kingdom effectively, we shall use the two broad classifications for Fuels. These fuels are: a) Classification according to the physical state in which they exist. They can be solid, liquid or gaseous. b) Classification according to their mode of formation. They can either be natural or manufactured. The table below illustrates the classification of fuels available in the United Kingdom. Table 1: classification of the fuels available in the United Kingdom. Natural fuels Manufactured fuels Solid fuels Wood Charcoal Coal Coke, Oil shale Liquid fuels petroleum Products of oil distillation Coal tar Shale oil Alcohols Gaseous fuels Natural gas Coal gas Hydrogen gas Acetylene Oil gas Solid fuels have a number of advantages over the liquid fuels since they are easier to transport, their production cost is low and require a low ignition temperature in order to undergo combustion. However, their ash content is very high and a large amount of heat produced during combustion is wasted unlike the gaseous fuels which have no ash content at all and their cost of handling is quite low. Among the fuels available in the country, the main ones are wood, coal, petroleum and natural gas and will be discussed in details. 1. Wood. It is the oldest kind of fuel and has been used for a number of centuries since the discovery of fire in the early Stone Age. It is used in households for cooking activities and heating and also in industries. Wood is mainly constituted of cellular tissues and lignin and small portions of fat, tar and sugar. These components occur in different proportions as illustrated below: Table 2: constituents of the cellular tissue and lignin tissue of wood. Constituents Cellular tissue (%) Lignin (%) Carbon 44.4 54.58 Hydrogen 6.2 5.8-6.3 Oxygen 49.4 35.39 Some of the main wood types available in the United Kingdom are pine, birch and oak. Wood is mainly constituted of different materials of the cellular tissue which are illustrated below: Table 3: constituents of wood Constituents % Composition of Cellular tissue Carbon(c) 50.0 Hydrogen(H) 6.00 Oxygen(O) 43.10 Nitrogen(N) 0.30 Ash 0.60 Combustion characteristics of wood a) The intensity with which the wood burns depends on the lightness of the wood the more the intensity it burns with, the higher the intensity, the long flame. b) Air penetrates easily throughout whole piece during combustion. c) It ignites easily and is thus used for lighting other fuels. Destructive distillation of wood produces charcoal which is used for both domestic activities such as heating and industrial purposes. Combustion characteristics of charcoal a) It burns with a clear blue flame. b) It does not produce any smoke. c) It produces a heat of high intensity about 6050 ca/kg 2. Coal Coal is excavated from the earth’s crust where it was formed after the compaction of wood during the glacial period. It occurs in different forms such as lignite coal, brown coal and coke which have different commercial values. For companies to ascertain the commercial value of coal, certain tests on its burning properties are done conducted. These tests are: a. Proximate analysis This test evaluates the composition of the wood contents in the coal. The results of the proximate test are as shown below. Table 4: The components and results of the proximate analysis. Moisture 3-30% Volatile matter 3-50% Ash 2-30% Fixed carbon 16-9% b. Ultimate analysis This test for the burning components of the coal. The results of this test are as shown below. Table 5: The components and results of the ultimate test. Carbon 50-95% Hydrogen 2.5-5% Oxygen 2-4% Sulphur 0.5%-7% Nitrogen 0.5-3% Ash 2-3% Destructive distillation of coal results in the formation of coke which occurs in two types: 1. Soft coke a) It contains 5-10% of the volatile matter. b) It burns with a smokeless flame. c) It is used as domestic fuel in cooking and heating. 2. Hard coke a) It is obtained as a solid residue from the destructive distillation of coal. b) It burns with a smokeless flame. c) It is useful for industrial metallurgical process as it produces a very hot flame. 3. Petroleum Petroleum occurs as a dark greenish brown mineral with high viscosity. This mineral is found deep in the strata of the earth’s crust and it is composed of a number of hydrocarbons which include: paraffins, cycloparaffins,olefins and aromatics. Petroleum is composed of various elements in different proportions as illustrated in the table below: Table 5: components of petroleum. Element % composition Carbon(H) 79.5-87.1% Hydrogen(H) 11.5-14.8% Sulphur(S) 0.1-3.5% Oxygen(O) 0.1-0.5% Petroleum is graded according to the following physical and chemical properties. a) The specific gravity. b) Its calorific value. c) Its ignition point. d) Its viscosity. e) Its sulphur content. f) The moisture content available. Petroleum cannot be used in its raw form but it undergoes fractional distillation in a distillation column and different fuels are obtained at different temperatures depending on their combustion characteristics. 1. Gasoline Gasoline is obtained at a temperature range of 400C-1200C and it has the following combustion characteristics: a) It has a high calorific value b) It ignites easily. c) It has low content of sulphur and lead content and is used as an anti knocking reagent. d) It vaporizes easily when it is exposed to heat. 2. Diesel a) It is obtained at a temperature range of 250OC-3200C. b) It contains 85% of carbon and 12% of hydrogen. c) It has a high calorific value of about 11,000 kgcal/kg. d) It easily ignites below compression temperature 3. Kerosene a) It is obtained at a temperature range of 1800C-2500C in the fractionating column. b) It has very low density and ignites easily. c) It burns with a sooty yellow flame. 4. Heavy oil 5. It is obtained at a temperature range of 3200C-4000C. It is used in heavy trucks and industrial machinery. Heavy oil on further processing results in: a) Lubricating oil b) Petroleum jelly c) Greases d) Paraffin wax 4. Natural gas Natural gas is found deep in the crust of the earth where it is formed. It is mostly associated with petroleum deposits and at times they occur in the same wells. Natural gas is mainly used for domestic activities such as cooking and heating. The components are components of natural gas are illustrated below. Table 6: The components of natural gas. CH4(methane) 70.9% C2H6(ethane) 5.10% H2(hydrogen) 3% CO+CO2 22% The combustion characteristics of natural gas are: a) It has a high calorific value of 12000-14000 kg cal/m3. b) It is an excellent domestic fuel and is conveyed in pipelines. c) It is colorless and odorless gas. d) Natural gas is a non poisonous gas. Question 2: How fuel is supplied and distributed in the United Kingdom After fuels have been processed to an economically viable form, they are then stored ready for distribution to various part of the country. Storage of fuels such as petrol, diesel, gasoline and natural gas is done in storage tanks which are found in the refineries or processing plants. From this point, they are then distributed to various depots within the country where they can be redistributed to consumers. Fuels are distributed using methods such as: a) Pipelines distribution system. b) Rail distribution system. c) Ships transport distribution system. d) Road transport distribution system. These methods of distribution are discussed in details below: a. Pipelines Pipelines are used to transport fuels which occur in fluid form. These are fuels which can flow easily in pipelines and can be distributed to various regions through this method. The fuels distributed through this method are petroleum, diesel, gasoline and natural gas. A network of pipelines criss crosses the country and is connected to various stations within the country. This ensures that most of the areas are well supplied with these products despite the weather conditions or the geographical factors. Pipelines are owned by both individual oil companies and the government. They ensure that the fuels move efficiently in large quantities while at the same time maintaining safety. This method of distribution requires a high capital in the installation of pipelines but the cost of operation gradually reduces once everything has been put into place. The movement of fuels is controlled and monitored through a sophisticated computer system that is linked to sensors and valves that are automated. b. Rail This method of distribution is efficient when transporting large volumes of bulky fuels. The fuels transported via rail system are coal, petroleum, wood and charcoal. Rail transport is a safe mode of transporting fuels as rail wagons run on railway lines away from human traffic. Rail transport is also a cheap channel as goods are carried in bulk hence reducing the cost of distribution. However, rail transport is slow but with the improvement of the rail transport through use of electric driven wagons. It is also unsuitable for short distances. c. Road Road transport also involves transport of large volumes of fuels. Road tankers carry petroleum from the refineries or any other processing plants to various part of the country. It is a very efficient method as it allows even the remotest part of the country to be accessed. Lorries and trucks are also used to transport coal in large quantities through the roads. However, this method of distribution is prone to many accidents along the roads and may lead to massive losses both to the companies and environmental pollution. d. Ships Ships are used to ferry and distribute large quantities of fuel to areas along the coastline. Ships can carry massive volumes of fuel including coal and petroleum to various close to the sea. This method is safe and more efficient especially with the improvement in the maritime industry where more efficient cargo ships have been constructed. Factors that affect supply and distribution of fuels. 1. Geographical factors: The general landscape of an area affects the choice of the mode used for the distribution of fuel. Some areas have very harsh and inaccessible terrain and this requires the use of alternative methods of distribution such as pipelines which are not barred by geographical landscapes. In other areas where the land is gently sloping, rail distribution can be applied in the supply of these fuels. 2. Technology: The level of technology determines the efficiency of the distribution system. Automated systems are incorporated in the different distribution systems to monitor the movement of fuels and this ensures that both safety and efficiency are maintained. An example of an automated distribution system is the pipeline system which has sensors fixed within it to detect any defects and the valves are fixed with automated systems. 3. The government policies: This is one of the main factors that affect the distribution and supply of fuel. Policies related to taxation and movement fuel affect the distribution of fuels and hence there is need for a distribution company to be familiar with these policies. Other policies such as the drive to have a green economy and reduce the carbon (iv) oxide emitted to the environment by the year 2015 are also a major factor. This has led to the use of biofuels such as biogas and biodiesel. 4. Natural calamities and weather: These factors play a major role in the distribution of fuel in the country as the movement of vehicles along roads is affected by the weather conditions. Adverse stormy weather conditions hinder efficient distribution of fuels through roads and may cause a delay in the distribution of these fuels. In some cases, the fuels may even fail to reach their intended destination. 5. Changes in the prices of fuels: Changes in the fuel prices has a great effect the target market. The customers have a tendency of opting for the cheaper and more affordable fuel. A rise in the fuel prices results in a lesser demand for the fuels hence the distribution companies may be forced to reduce the bulk of fuel distributed. 6. The number of producers: The distribution sector is a liberalized area of the economy and this has increased the competition in the distribution market. Distribution companies are owned by both the national government and individual companies and the profits gained by each company are dependent on the efficiency of the systems the company has put into place. 7. Price of subsidies and alternatives to fuel: The government is advocating for the use of biofuels in order to reduce the amount of pollutant gases released to the environment. This has had an effect on the amount of fuels supplied as the amount has reduced. People are using biogas in place of natural gas and biodiesels in place of the petroleum generated diesel. 8. Goal of the distribution firm: The goal of the distributing company is a major factor in the distribution of fuel. Most companies are profit oriented and hence make decisions that are aimed at maximizing the profits while reducing the expenses incurred in its operations. 9. Profitability of the bulk fuel: in most cases, the amount of fuel distributed per unit time has a great influence on the supply market as well as the effectiveness of the company in the market. It is recommended that fuels are distributed in bulk in order to supply a larger market and maximize on the profits. Ways of reducing problems resulting from the factors that affect the distribution and supply of fuel. 1. Construction of an all weather road network across the country by involving the national government. In regard to the effect of adverse weather conditions and poor terrain, the distribution companies can liase with the government in the construction of a road system that is operational throughout the year and serves most points of the country. This will help to reduce losses incurred in bad weather. 2. High efficiency units: companies should aim to produce fuel of very high quality that will be effective in its usage. This creates a lot of confidence among the customers in the target market hence there is need to have high efficiency units of fuel produced. 3. An improved transport management system: The distribution companies should create a transport management system is efficient and effectively distributes their fuels to all the targeted areas. In case of a pipeline, the company should have a system that monitors the movement of fuel and can detect any defect in the pipeline and report it for action. In other cases where the company uses road and rail, there should be a system that monitors the movement of fuels and ensures that they arrive in time and safely. 4. Consideration of the nature of the distribution network: The distribution network can either be regional or centralized depending on a number of factors such as the geographical extent of the distribution area and the number of customers the company has. Therefore if the customers are concentrated within a certain zone, the company should consider a centralized approach while on the other hand if the market is spread across the country, the company should consider a distributed approach. 5. Government involvement: The distribution companies should consider involving the government in their operations and make a follow up on the policies made in regard to fuel distribution. This ensures that the government remains a key player rather than a competitor. 6. Carrying a variety of fuels: The distribution companies should also ensure that they carry a variety of fuel products in order to balance their gains and losses. This will ensure that incase one product fails; there is always an option of selling a range of other products. With the increase in demand for biofuels by the residents, the companies can strive to create infrastructure that allows them to produce their own biofuels and distribute them into their own market. 7. Storage and warehousing: warehousing and storage facilities can play a major role in solving the problem of the losses incurred through accidents experienced during transport. This can be achieved through construction of warehouses for bulky fuels like coal, charcoal and wood and depots for gas and petroleum. Warehousing and storage facilities also ensure that there is security of the fuels incase of any drop in the production sector. 3. Processes best suited for the fuels available in the United Kingdom. Wood fuel, coal, charcoal, petroleum and natural gas produced in the United Kingdom can be applied in a number of processes both for domestic purposes and industrial purposes. There is a wide range of these processes but in this discussion, we shall discuss the main processes that utilize these fuels. 1. Wood fuel and charcoal As discussed earlier, wood fuel which is commonly available across the country is used as cheap source of fuel. The use of wood fuel has been on the rise and this can be attributed to the fact that it has a certain degree affordability and availability. It is usually applied in a number of processes which will be discussed below: a) Domestic purposes: For domestic purposes, wood fuel is used in individual households to light wooden stoves used for heating. It is also used for some domestic cooking though it is not a common practice. In some households, simple boilers are heated used wood fuel and this is used for heating the water and the house. b) Industrial uses: wood fuel is stacked in a burning kiln and light up to heat boilers in factories. These boilers are used to generate heat to produce steam from boilers. The burning wood produces very high temperatures that heat the boilers and in turn they produce steam which is used to drive the systems in the industries. c) Pyrolysis process. The process of pyrolysis is used in production of wood gas. This is achieved through the application of heat to wood. The gases are normally combined with oxygen gas and combustion of this mixture is done in a refractory chamber. The gases become superheated and are then passed through a series of tunnels in the refractory chamber and it is directed into a uniquely designed swirl chamber. Most of the heat exchange processes take place in this chamber. The wood remaining in the firebox continues to be gasified by the superheated refractory chamber. After the process of combustion has been completed, the residual ash is combined with air that is flowing at a very high velocity and this ensures that the heat exchanger has been scrapped of hence preventing a build up in the chamber. This process is useful in maintaining an unparalleled consistency in the exchange of heat in the system. The residual ash exits the chamber and it is collected. In the system, the wood gun alternates on and off like the other boilers and during the off cycle, there is very little fuel consumed because there is deficiency of oxygen in the chamber. 2. Natural gas Natural gas is readily available in areas where drilling of petroleum is available and it is used in a number of processes including manufacture of automotive gas, used in infrared units and industrial co-firing processes. The main processes are discussed below. a. Infrared heating units In the infrared heating units, natural gas is normally combined with a panel of ceramic fibers which contains a platinum catalyst. This catalyst is meant to increase the rate of reaction and this triggers the oxygen to react causing an increase in the temperatures without a flame being produced in the chamber. This results in what is known as the infrared heating units. b. Industrial co-firing process In the industries that utilize high quantities of heat, co-firing is an important process that utilizes natural gas. In this process, natural gas is used in the combustion processes as a supplement to the other available fuels to produce a flame that has very high temperatures. This is achieved by adding the natural gas to the mixture of the gases available for combustion. Natural gas is advantageous over other fuels such as wood since it releases lesser gases to the environment hence becomes a more preferred fuel in this process. This process is used in heating systems and metallurgical activities. Figure 1: a typical industrial co-firing system 2. Coal Coal is extracted underground the earth’s crust or open pit mines it is then washed and sorted out to be used for industrial purposes using the available methods of testing. Coal is mainly used to generate energy that is used in the industrial processes and also manufacture of hydrocarbons. These processes are discussed below. a. Use of coal in industrial boilers Coal occurs in various forms that are used for different purposes. Usually, coke is the form of coal that is used in the iron and steel industry. In this case, it is used to light blast furnaces that produce very high temperatures which are used in this process. During the processing of steel, coal is normally mixed with the cast iron that has been manufactured. This is achieved through a chemical process of the reduction of iron. In the process of coking, the available coal is heated to a temperature of 1000 degree Celsius. The coke is then burnt in a boiler and the heat that is released, converts the water available in the boiler into steam. This steam generator boiler is connected to a turbine that is driven by the steam and using an alternator connected to it, it produces electricity that is used in the industry. Figure 2: An illustration of a typical industrial boiler b. Manufacturing of synthetic gas. Synthetic gas can also be manufactured using coal. It is known that coal contains a lot of carbon which is burnt and then gasified in the presence of oxygen gas and steam to produce a synthetic gas. This gas is usually a combination of carbon (ii) oxide (CO) and hydrogen (H). Synthetic gas is used to make synthetic fuel which is used for both domestic purposes and industrial purposes. 3. Petroleum fuel. Petroleum fuel contains a number of products which are separated through the process of fractional distillation. Figure 2: The fractionating column in the refinery of petroleum (crude oil) The products of petroleum are used in different processes and the major ones are discussed below. a) Manufacture of soap less detergents A petrochemical derived from petroleum through the process of fractional distillation is used together with oleo chemicals to manufacture soap less detergents. Oleo chemicals are usually derived from biological fats and oils, alkalis and other chemical substances such as sulphur (vi) oxide, sulfuric acid and ethylene oxide. These substances are combined and processed in order to produce a final product called soap less detergent. b) Manufacture of plastics While refining petroleum in the industry, monomers are obtained in the process. This is usually achieved through the process of fractional distillation. It is very important that purity is maintained because any contamination can prevent them from polymerization or may lead to formation of a brittle plastic. Plastics are usually formed through a process called polymerization whereby monomers are connected together in chains. This can be achieved either through condensation or additional polymerization. In the process of production of plastics, the process of condensation is used to manufacture products such as nylon and polyesters which are polymers. The process of formation of these polymers is illustrated below and from the equation, the value R is a representation of any number of the atoms of carbon and n is a representation of any whole number. On the other hand, addition reactions result in the formation of polymers such as polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, Teflon, polystyrene and rubber that is already hardened. The general process of this reaction is as shown below: The two processes of condensation polymerization and addition polymerization results into different qualities of plastic. The polymers achieved through the process of condensation results in polymers that are biodegradable in nature. This can be attributed to the fact that the carbon-carbon bonds in the polymer molecules tend to be polar in nature and thus become more reactive. They can be easily broken down. Polymers that result from the process of addition are not biodegradable. This has very adverse effects to the environment and thus can lead to very serious problem to the environment. However, these detergents are also not reusable. c) Synthetic rubber After petroleum has undergone the process of fractional distillation to refine it, two products known as butadiene and styrene are obtained and they are used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber. Butadiene and styrene are mixed to make a slurry liquid latex which is then heated to dry it and finally pressed into bales of synthetic rubber. In the market today, most of the rubber used is usually synthetic in nature. Using different chemical combinations, the latex can be modified to produce different types of rubber with different levels of hardness to suit different applications in the industries. d) Manufacture of fertilizers and pesticides. Basically, the most important chemical that is used in the manufacture of fertilizers is ammonia especially in the production of nitrogenous fertilizers. 1. Ammonia Production Process Ammonia is usually formed using water, air and energy. The source of the energy required in this process is usually a petroleum product that usually provides hydrogen that is necessary for the fixing of nitrogen. Other sources of energy such as steam produced from boilers are used to input the necessary elements. Other fuels such as natural gas, heavy oil and coal are also used in the production of energy necessary for this process. In the table below, there is a comparison of the approximate ratio of energy for the three energy sources. Table 6: Evaluation of the effectiveness of natural gas, heavy oil and coal as sources of energy. Natural gas Heavy oil coal Energy consumption 1.0 1.3 1.7 Investment cost 1.0 1.4 2.4 Production cost 1.0 1.2 1.7 Natural gas is the most efficient energy source but due to its unavailability, heavy oil is preferred and used to produce the energy required as well as the necessary hydrogen for production of ammonia. Ammonia is then used to produce various types of fertilizers such as phosphates and carbonates. It is also used manufacture pesticides. Figure3: Block diagram of the industrial production of ammonia from petroleum e. Manufacture of paint Petroleum product such as benzol, alcohols, esters, ketones, and acetone are used in the process of manufacturing paint. The process of manufacturing paint starts with the preparation of a resin mixture that is combined with petroleum products in a processing chamber. Fillers such as calcium carbonate and aluminum silicate are used to give the paint somebody characteristics without changing the paint properties. The process of manufacturing paint is very crucial in the construction industries. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be noted that the United Kingdom is endowed with a wide range of resources that can be used to produce fuels in the country. Several factors influence the choice of the mode of distribution and this is dependent on a number of factors discussed in the literature above. The best approach to solving these problems, would involve the use of alternative fuels such as biofuels. This reduces the cost of production and the pollution to the environment. These fuels have a number of uses and are applied in a number of processes at both domestic level and industrial level as discussed in the literature above and more application processes continue to be used with the advancement in technology. References Ahrends, A., N.D. Burgess, S.A.H. Milledge, M.T. Bulling, B. Fisher, J.C.R. Smart, G.P. Clarke, B.E. Mhoro, and S.L. Lewis, 2010. Predictable waves of sequential forest degradation and biodiversity loss spreading from an African city. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Madubansi, M., and C.M. Shackleton, 2007 Changes in fuel wood use and selection following electrification in the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa. Journal of Environmental Management. Ramanathan, V., and G. Carmichael. 2008. Global and regional climate changes due to black carbon. 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