There are different natural ways to get energy and generate electricity or other kinds of energy; some are renewable while others are non-renewable sources. Non-renewable sources are those natural sources which human cannot reproduce or grow within specific time period. These resources are today used on scale which can sustain their consumption rate and once depleted, we would not be able to use them in future. Energy from petrol and oil is also one of those non-renewable sources which are created naturally underneath the earth’s surface and we use it to get energy in different forms like heat, electricity and steam etc. Its excessive use is reducing availability of this resource and rising prices in global market.
At the time of industrial evolution oil and petrol were started using as main source of energy due to its wide availability. But with passage of time its resources started declining and we come to know that burning petrol and oil release harmful gases and pollute environment. Because petrol or crude oil is a flammable liquid and is mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth’s surface. Petroleum is made when organic matter settles in water that has lost its dissolved oxygen and is then compressed under immense heat and pressure for millions of years. There is no way for humans to reproduce this process for mass production either in nature or in a lab, so once mankind has used the current supply of petroleum, more will not be available for many centuries. This oil does not come out in useable form from earth; it is refined and then turned into useable forms. According to a rough estimate daily 88 million barrels of oil are consumed round the world, and this rate of usage is making its availability limited.
Besides this burning these fossil fuels releases harmful gases which include huge amount of carbon in it, this is effecting human health as well environment. These gases are also contributing in global warming.
Refining process of petrol and oil:
Gasoline and petroleum products are used heavily nowadays, but they do not have idea that how it is drilled and then converted into useable form. A complete process work to convert petrol and oil into beneficial products.
- Separation: heavy components are founded in bottom of petrol or oil while light fractions stay on top. Because of this weight difference process of separation becomes easier. Here this substance is passed through hot furnaces to discharge vapors from liquid. From there the lightest fraction which is gasoline and LPG vaporize and move towards top of the tower. Medium weight liquid which is kerosene and diesel oil remain in the middle, while the heavy weight substance separate down with highest boiling points.
- Conversion: then heavy and low-valued liquid is processed to turn into light weight and value able gasoline. From towers heavier fraction substance passes and transformed into stream of finished produces. Cracking and cooking are two famous methods used to convert liquid from waste to precious liquid.
- Treatment: in this process final touches are given to finished product. For different finished products refinery technicians combine variety of streams from the processing units. Each blends decides which stream will give what output.
Pros and cons of using petrol and oil:
This source of non-renewable energy is extremely powerful. No other source can move a vehicle faster and longer than petrol and oil
- Few countries are equipped with unlimited supply of this resource
- It can be converted in any form of energy easily
- It is a non-renewable source, so it will run out of stock some day
- Burning it release carbon in the environment
- Big oil rigs needed to build to extract oil offshore and inshore
- Oil leaking on surface and in sea results in natural disaster which took years to cleanup