Various Practical Applications of Petroleum - Report Example

Name Class Unit Executive summary This report analyses petroleum which is a non-renewable energy source. Petroleum is a major source of energy globally. The report starts by analysing extraction of petroleum from the earth. Through refinery, petroleum is separated into different products used for various purposes. Gasoline is highly utilised in the transport industry especially in the automobile engines. The report looks at ways in which petroleum is converted into mechanical and electrical energy. By analysing the diesel engine, its use as a prime mover is explained. Diesel power plants are a source of electricity. Diesel power plants consist of several elements: Fuel supply, air intake, exhaust and cooling system. These elements are covered in details throughout the report. Diesel is commonly used with engines whose power output is between 1 to 2 MW. Engines above 5MW operate with heavy fuels. The report concludes by looking at other practical applications of petroleum. These are; bunker fuel, heating oil, plastics, synthetic rubber, dyes, paints, synthetic fibres, medicine, food additives, photographic films, detergent, pesticides and candles. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Extraction 4 Available Technologies 6 Engines 6 Generating electricity from oil 7 Fuel supply 7 Air intake system 8 Exhaust system 8 Cooling system 9 Lubricating system 9 The engine starting system 9 Fuel injection system 10 Explanation 10 Practical applications of petroleum 12 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction Petroleum is a common source of primary energy globally. At the moment, petroleum is estimated to supply 33% of the world energy needs. After refinery, the products from petroleum are used for transportation among other uses in modern life (Speight, 2015). Petroleum is classified as a fossil fuel which is formed from the remains of sea animals and plants which died millions of years ago (Tissot & Welte, 2012). A typical petroleum reservoir is made mostly of sandstone or limestone where the oil is trapped inside. Petroleum is a non-renewable energy source since it takes millions of years for it to be formed. Crude oil has been in use for thousands of years where the ancient Egyptians and Chinese used oil for lighting. In America, Kerosene oil was used to light homes before the arrival of electricity. Oil production is a risky and costly exercise. Most of the oil wells averages about 6000 ft. deep and can produce up to 10.6 barrels of oil daily (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). This report investigates petroleum as a source of non-renewable energy. The report analyses the available technologies that can be used to convert oil petroleum energy to mechanical or electrical energy. The report also looks at the practical application of petroleum. Extraction After petroleum is extracted from the earth, it is not usable at first. The crude oil has to be taken to a refinery where it has to be converted to different products for everyday use. When pumped into the ground, the oil is tested for two characteristics which help in determining its quality and overall price. The first test determines its density. This looks at how heavy the crude oil is. The thicker the crude oil is, the more processes it needs to undergo in the refinery. The second test looks at the crude oil sulfur content. When the oil has low sulfur content, it is referred as sweet. High sulphur content is referred to as sour (Gary, Handwerk & Kaiser, 2007). Sulfur can lead to corrosion of the oil pipes hence the need for more refinery processes. The best crude oil is expected to have low sulfur content and low density (Tissot & Welte, 2012). For petroleum to be converted into energy, it has to go through the refinery. The refinery can be defined as a density changing machines. The refinery changes the crude oil into different petroleum products which ranges from fuels, plastics, fertilizers and paving materials (Eneh, 2011). Of all the petroleum products that come from the refinery, gasoline represents about 50% of the total volume. In a refinery, the crude oil goes through three main processes: distillation, conversion and Alkylation. In all the three process, all the unwanted chemicals are removed through de-sulfurization. Distillation process uses heat to separate the crude oil into various products. This is carried out in the crude tower and vacuum tower. In the crude tower, a furnace is used to heat the crude oil which separates into various components based on varying temperatures. The heated crude oil is then separated into different components based on varying boiling temperatures. The components which have a high boiling temperature remain at the bottom of the crude tower (Gary, Handwerk & Kaiser, 2007). The heavier components are sent to the vacuum tower due to their need for high temperatures. In the vacuum tower, the heavy products are distilled using lower pressure than the atmospheric pressure. This helps in breaking them down a process known as cracking. Once the products of the crude oil are separated, they are refined through other processes in the refinery based on conversion units (Gary, Handwerk & Kaiser, 2007). Available Technologies Engines Gasoline is highly utilised in the transport industry especially in the automobile engines. At the moment, most of the automobile engines operate on a four stroke engine. The engine uses a mixture of air and gasoline which is first compressed and then ignited. A spark plug is used to ignite the mixture. The burning gasoline is used to ignite the mass of the surrounding gasoline. After combusted the products occupies a larger volume than the gasoline and air had initially occupied. This helps in increasing the pressure in the engine cylinder. There is also an increase in the temperature due to the burning gasoline. This makes the pressure to be increased in the unburned gasoline (Stone, 2012). The performance of a gasoline engine depends on the compression ratio. This is the ratio of the cylinder volume based on the moment the piston is at the bottom of its stroke to the remaining volume when the piston rises to the top of stroke (Graus & Worrell, 2006). Also, the efficiency of the engine is proportional to the compression ratio. This also determines the engine power since higher efficiency means more power (Stone, 2012). The octane number is used to reduce knock in an engine. Most of the modern automobile engines require a high octane number in range of 87-93. This makes it prudent for the refineries to look for ways to increase the octane number. Catalytic cracking have been used in the refineries to ensure that there are high number of gallons of gasoline produced with a high octane number. This is based on the modern refinery technology (Parkash, 2009). Generating electricity from oil Diesel power plants are used to generate electrical energy. The diesel engine is utilised as the prime mover in the energy generation. The diesel burns inside the engine and the products of combustion are used in production of mechanical energy (Wang, Anthony & Abanades, 2004). Through use of an alternator, the diesel engine converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy. Due to high costs of fossil fuels, these power stations are used in production of small amount of owner in the national grids. The diesel power plants consist of several elements. The elements are: Fuel supply, air intake, exhaust and cooling system (Stone, 2012). Fig1. Diesel power plant. Fuel supply The supply consists of storage tanks, fuel transfer pumps, strainers and an all-day fuel tank. The fuel is supplied to the plant on a regular basis based on the needs. From the large storage tank, the oil is pumped into a smaller tank at intervals. From the smaller tank, the oil is then taken through strainers which help in eliminating all suspended impurities. This leads to production of clean oil which is then injected into the engine (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Air intake system The air intake system is used to supply the necessary air to the engine to help in combusting oil. The intake system is made up of pipes which help to supply the fresh air into the engine manifold. The system has filters which helps in removing all the dust particles suspended in the air. This is to protect the engine cylinder from abrasion. The engine used in energy generation requires close tolerance for it to gain the correct compression ratio. Since most of the engines used are supercharged or turbocharged, the air entering the system is required to be clean. The air intake system can either be wet or dry. In a wet air intake system, the air is passed through oil bath to ensure that all the dirt is removed by the oil. The air then passes through a screen like material to ensure all the oil entrapped is removed. In a dry filter, paper, cloth or a metal screen are used to trap the dirt before the air enters the engine. The air entering the system is trapped far away from the engine as possible to ensure that it is cool. Cool air has higher oxygen concentration than hot air. This makes it possible to burn the fuel more efficiently. If the engine is supercharged or turbocharged, the fresh air is compressed with a blower and cooled before entering the air box. The intake system also helps in reducing the air flow noise (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Exhaust system This is designed to exhaust the gas outside the building and discharge it into the atmosphere. The system in most cases incorporates a silencer to reduce the noise. All the spent gas is taken away from the engine and diluted by the atmosphere. This makes the area in which the engine is situated habitable. The exhaust system also helps to confine and route the gas to the turbocharger (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Cooling system The heat from the engine may damage the system. In order to ensure that the engine is operating at the right temperatures, cooling is provided. The system is made up of water, pump and cooling towers. Water is circulated in the jacket head and cylinder. The cooling towers help to cool the hot water from the engine which then recirculates (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Lubricating system To minimise tear and wear of the rubbing engine parts, lubricating system is used. It’s made up of an oil tank, pump, filter and cooler. The engine cannot run if the moving metal parts make direct contact without lubrication. This is due to fact that the moving parts would melt. Oil cools and lubricates the engine to avoid destruction. Oil serves the purpose of cooling and lubricating the moving parts (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). The engine starting system The system starts the engine initially while running until the ignition occurs. Small diesel engines can be started by handles while in large engines, compressed air is used. Air which is at high pressure is admitted to few cylinders which act as reciprocating air motors and turns the engine. A diesel engine can have many types of starting circuits. The most common are; electric motors, hydraulic motors and air motors. In most case, there is a simple start pushbutton or an auto start (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Fuel injection system The fuel injection system is made up of a mixture of air and fuel inside an internal combustion engine. The fuel injection system is designed based on the type of oil that it can handle. The discovery of electronic fuel injection system has made the gasoline hardware to be similar. The EFI have replaced the carburettor in the gasoline engines. Use of fuel injection has the capability to enhance the engine efficiency. This is due to fact that there is reduced power for the same output. Through using a fuel injected engine, it becomes easier to get more power than using the carburetted engine. The enhanced air flow by the engine makes it possible to burn more fuel hence making it possible to realise more energy. The process of combustion converts the chemical energy into heat energy. Most of the diesel engine power plants use direct injection. This is where the nozzle is placed inside the engine combustion chamber. The piston leads to depression where combustion is carried out. Through having enhanced dispersion and homogeneity it becomes possible to cool the piston and cylinder. Higher compression ratios are attained which leads to aggressive ignition timing and higher compression ratios (Niemi & Polytechnic, 1997). Explanation Most of the diesel power plants operate on heavy fuel and diesel. Diesel is commonly used with engines whose power output is between 1 to 2 MW. Engines above 5MW operate with heavy fuels. Use of gas oil has also been on discussion to replace heavy oils. This is due to reduced parasitic loss and less maintenance. The exploitation of the heat generated by the engines is one of the most interesting issues (Graus & Worrell, 2006). The heat can be used for heating, evaporation and cleaning. Steam which is produced by the boiler is also fed back to the turbines to enhance power production. In some cases, waste from the power plants is used for heating in the area. When the engine is utilised for pure electricity production only, there have been demand for high efficiencies. This has led to combined cycle solutions to be used in the power stations. The recent years have seen turbo compound systems to be adopted especially in the two stroke engines. Steam turbines have also been incorporated to the diesel power plants (Parkash, 2009). In USA, there are over 108 petroleum power plants. The power plants have the capability of producing over 100MW of power. Despite this, it is important to understand that only a small percentage of oil is used for power generation. The amount of petroleum that is used in power generation depends on the efficiency of the generator being used and fuel heat content. The efficiencies of the power generators vary based on type and the plant emission controls among other things (Chow, Kopp & Portney, 2003). For the petroleum power station to be set, the type of soil must be considered. This is due to fact that there is need for a strong foundation to support the diesel engine. The site is also required to be accessible through use of road or rail. For the cost of transmission lines and maintenance to be reduced, the site is supposed to be at load centre. Petroleum power plants require adequate water and means of transportation. Use of petroleum for power production is carried out when there is low demand for electricity. It can also be utilised when the country lacks adequate coal and water for power generation (Graus & Worrell, 2006). The main advantages are; requires simple layout and design, less space, can be located anywhere, no standby losses and less amount of water for cooling. It is also important to note that the thermal efficiency of the plant is higher than those of steam power plants. Disadvantages associated with petroleum power plants are; high running charges, does not work well with overload, only generate small amount of power and requires high maintenance costs. In most cases, petroleum based power plants are used to peak load for other types of power plants. In industries which require low power in the order of 500KW, diesel engines are more applicable due to their high efficiency (Graus & Worrell, 2006). Fuel oil which is generated from the crude petroleum is used in power generation. This type of fuel consists of residual and distillate fuel oils. Distillate fuel oils consist of less than 0.3% of the sulfur and are more volatile. Distillate fuels are used in small applications and include both diesel and kerosene. Residual fuels are used in large commercial applications. The differences in composition of the two types of fuels leads to different emissions when combusted (Eneh, 2011). Practical applications of petroleum Through refining, petroleum, there are different products that are obtained. The products have varying applications in our daily lives. Petroleum is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur. The crude oil has higher content of hydrogen than coals. Most of the crude oils are utilised as source of fuel. The rest is used in the petrochemical industry to give products such as plastics, textiles and pharmaceuticals. The most important by product from the petroleum refinery is gasoline (Parkash, 2009). Gasoline- gasoline is used as a fuel for light and medium cars as well as trucks. Gasoline is the most consumed petroleum product in a lot of countries. This is due to fact that most of the automobiles utilise gasoline as a source of energy (Speight, 2015). Diesel fuel-Diesel is used by heavy duty vehicles, trains and buses which require high torque. Heating oil- this is a by-product of petroleum used for furnaces and boilers (Speight, 2015). Jet fuel-this is a special type of fuel for use in jet engines. The fuel consists of several additives which prevent it from sparking, icing, corrosion and gumming (Speight, 2015). Bunker fuel- this type of fuel is also known as heavy fuel. The fuel is used in powering ships and contains high amount of pollutants and contaminants (Speight, 2015). Plastics- petroleum is also used in production of plastics through distillation. Plastic is used in various products such as packaging materials (Speight, 2015). Synthetic rubber-this is the rubber used in making rubber soles used for shoes. Synthetic rubber has higher demand than the natural rubber. Other uses of petroleum are: dyes, paints, synthetic fibres, medicine, food additives, photographic films, detergent, pesticides and candles (Parkash, 2009). It is important to note that the diesel engine I used as a prime mover which drives an alternator. The alternator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The diesel power plants are used when the energy output required is small. In most cases, diesel engines are used as standby modes. Despite this, use of fossil fuel for power has been under a lot of criticism (Bronfman et al., 2012). This is due to fact that burning crude oil for power produces a lot of pollutants. The emissions from these engines contain toxins and hazardous waste. This affects the health of the workers and community. The impacts of petroleum as a source of energy and other products are thus a major threat to environmental health (Eneh, 2011). Conclusion Petroleum is a fossil fuel which is used by a large percentage of the world energy needs. The fossil fuel was formed millions of years ago from dead plants and animals. After extraction, petroleum is taken to refinery to separate it into different products. In a refinery, the crude oil goes through distillation, conversion and Alkylation. Gasoline is highly utilised in the transport industry especially in the automobile engines. Performance of a gasoline engine depends on the compression ratio. Petroleum is also utilised in electricity generation where the engine acts as a prime mover. The main elements of diesel power plant are, fuel supply, air intake, exhaust and cooling system. Diesel is commonly used with engines whose power output is between 1 to 2 MW. When the output required is up to 5MW heavy fuels are used instead. Other practical applications of petroleum products are; jet fuel, bunker fuel, heating oil, plastics, synthetic rubber, dyes, paints, synthetic fibres, medicine, food additives, photographic films, detergent, pesticides and candles. Despite the benefits, petroleum products pose a danger to environment health. References Bronfman, N. C., Jiménez, R. B., Arévalo, P. C., & Cifuentes, L. A. (2012). Understanding social acceptance of electricity generation sources. Energy policy, 46, 246-252. Chow, J., Kopp, R. J., & Portney, P. R. (2003). Energy resources and global development. Science, 302(5650), 1528-1531. Eneh, O. C. (2011). A Review on petroleum: Source, uses, processing, products and the environment. J. Applied Sci, 11, 2084-2091. Gary, J. 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