What Are The Effects Of Petroleum Environmental Sciences Essay

Is a process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. However, globalization is usually recognized as being driven by a combination of economic, technological, socio-cultural, political, and biological factors. The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or popular culture through acculturation.

1.2 Petroleum Industry

The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline (petrol). Petroleum is also the raw material for many chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics. The industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. Midstream operations are usually included in the downstream category. Petroleum is vital to many industries, and is of importance to the maintenance of industrial civilization itself, and thus is a critical concern for many nations.

1.3 Current Situation

Reliable Source of Energy: Petroleum is still the most reliable source of energy. Although renewable sources of energy do exist, but the extent to which they can replace petroleum and the possible environmental damage they may cause is not known and controversial. For transportation use high energy density liquid petroleum cannot be replaced by sun, wind, geothermal and other renewable electricity sources.

Environmental Pollution: One of the most prevalent sources of environmental degradation in the industrialized world is the petroleum-derived contaminants. In large concentrations, hydrocarbon molecules that make up the petroleum products are highly toxic for the living organisms. Petroleum also contains some amount of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, which when react with the environment they produce secondary poisonous chemicals.

Oil Spills: Oil spills are most visible source of petroleum pollution. During transporting crude oil from one country to another these oil spills occur. Oil travels for long distance by either ocean tanker or land pipeline. Oil spills also occur at areas where oil is extracted. Massive quantities of petroleum are released into land and marine ecosystems when there is a tanker, pipeline or oil well accident. Small spill near shore is more harmful for marine organisms then a large oil spill in the open ocean.

Global Warming: Petroleum fuelled transportation is considered as one of the chief reasons of global warming. Greenhouse effect is created by the capture of excess amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxide. Carbon Dioxide even though is not a toxic, but it’s the main constituent of petroleum fuel exhaust. About one-third of carbon dioxide emitted in the air every year comes from exhaust of vehicles. Whenever crude oil is extracted, transported, refined or stored methane is also emitted.

Lesser Carbon-Dioxide released compared to Coal: Lesser amount of carbon dioxide is released in environment by burning petroleum as compared to coal. So coal has more harmful effects on environment than petroleum.

1.4 Recent Trends

Decrease Dependence on Petroleum – Energy efficient engines and hybrid gas/electric cars help to reduce some need for oil. It provides better gas mileage and less demand.

Renewable Energy – Petroleum companies are now investing in renewable energy products and services. There are little or no greenhouse gas emissions through renewable sources of energy and they do not contribute towards formation of smog, acid rain or other hazardous air pollutants. In growing number of applications, renewable sources of energy are used and they have many environmental benefits as well as increased local opportunities.

Recycling Used Oil: Used Motor oil can be reprocessed into fuel. Two gallons of used oil can generate enough electricity to run the average household for 24 hours. These days the petroleum companies are providing convenient used oil collection sites at their service stations. Recycling used motor oil conserves a valuable resource as well as it keeps the surface waters and groundwater supplies safe from potential contamination due to improper disposing of used oil.

1.5 Opportunities

Reduce impact and occurrence of oil spills: The oil companies should dispose of their waste products carefully and maintain their equipment in peak conditions. For downstream petroleum industry protecting land and groundwater is their priority.

Designing environmental friendly disposal solution: Distributors and refiners should work closely with the government authorities to design environmental friendly disposal solutions. These would allow more used oil to be recycled or reused in an environmentally safe manner.

Recycling used oil: Used oil can be recycled many times which means less new materials are consumed. Hence refining is more practical. 50 per cent less energy is consumed in re-refining used oil than producing motor or lubricating oil from unrefined crude.

Reduce natural gas flaring and implement new emissions estimation and tracking tools: Oil companies have to reduce natural gas flaring in order to cut emissions (while also adding to energy supplies) and they have to store Carbon Dioxide underground, so that it can be safely preserved for many year. The oil and gas companies should also implement new emissions estimation and tracking tools so that it would enable them to assess how well they are meeting the goals set for themselves and report progress to the public.

Refinery cleaning: Oil companies should clean up their refineries. They should reduce their air and water emissions. Gasoline should be reformulated to bum cleaner, which would dramatically cut the levels of lead, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons released into the air.

1.6 Threats

Alternative Fuels: There are wide variety of alternative fuels developed like ethanol, biodiesel (made from vegetable oil), and hydrogen. They produce little or no green house gases and exhausts.

Renewable Sources of Energy: Renewable sources of energy like solar power, bio fuels, geothermal energy, and wind power are available nowadays. Companies are now working with the automakers and government agencies on new fuel and vehicle technology.

Global Warming and Environmental Pollution: One of the most prevalent sources of environmental degradation in the industrialized world is the petroleum-derived contaminants. In large concentrations, hydrocarbon molecules that make up the petroleum products are highly toxic for the living organisms. Petroleum also contains some amount of sulphur and nitrogen compounds, which when react with the environment they produce secondary poisonous chemicals. Petroleum fuelled transportation is considered as one of the chief reasons of global warming. Greenhouse effect is created by the capture of excess amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxide. Carbon Dioxide even though is not a toxic, but it’s the main constituent of petroleum fuel exhaust. About one-third of carbon dioxide emitted in the air every year comes from exhaust of vehicles. Whenever crude oil is extracted, transported, refined or stored methane is also emitted.

Oil Spills: Oil spills are most visible source of petroleum pollution. Massive quantities of petroleum are released into land and marine ecosystems when there is a tanker, pipeline or oil well accident. Small spill near shore is more harmful for marine organisms then a large oil spill in the open ocean.

2.0 INFLUENCE OF GOVERNMENT OVER ENVIRONMENT

United Nations Environment Programme

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It has to co-ordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. They cover wide range of issues regarding atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. They have aided in the development of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, trans-boundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways.

Government Regulations and Petroleum Industry

The U.S government provides financial support for exploring alternative sources of energy like renewable sources of energy. They provide grants to researchers so that they can experiment with renewable energy technology. The Department of Energy has developed a grant-based research project called the Climate Change Technology Initiative. Through this CCTI project, researchers help to find ways of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. A partnership was formed between the U.S. government and major automobile manufacturers in U.S with the hope that technology developed through this research would help in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from automobiles in the United States. This grant also helps in supporting other experiments in the field of renewable sources on energy.

OPEC supports the use of CCS technology. CCS technology has the potential of reducing emissions by 40%. A need exists for companies to learn more about the CCS process and the different technologies that may be used. Hence, OPEC is further advocating the development of CCS technologies along with the Carbon-Dioxide enhanced oil recovery. Living in a carbon-constrained world has lead to changes in policy priorities in industrialized countries. Many companies and countries have already implemented policies to limit the use of petroleum products in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However other energy sources (like coal) have far greater carbon emissions than petroleum.

3.0 Summary

Energy is what moves the world. And many energy resources have been relied upon for ages, to make our lives convenient and comfortable. Petroleum is one such energy resource.  Energy, environment and associated global warming concerns are the focus of raging debates as the global climate system impacts the political climate. The impending energy crisis and the soaring oil prices have their roots in the fast depleting non-renewable source of energy: petroleum. Petroleum takes the spotlight as the world’s primary energy resource as the petroleum industry produces indispensable gasoline and other fuel derivatives. Petroleum is considered a major building block for the economy as well. Therefore the petroleum industry, generating bulk-volume products by way of gasoline and fuel oil, is of paramount significance when issues related to energy or ecology are at the center of current public and world affairs. Petroleum has been the critical element for development of numerous industries in the last two centuries. The receding supply of petroleum has sparked off the search for crude through offshore drilling.  The process of oil exploration with offshore drilling is a tedious and intensive one.  Oil wells are dug miles into the earth or the sea shore in the hope of finding natural gas. Oil and gas have been much under the spotlight because the global specter of rising oil prices strains the economies of the world.

Recommendations

The oil companies should dispose of their waste products carefully and maintain their equipment in peak conditions. For downstream petroleum industry protecting land and groundwater is their priority.

Used oil can be recycled many times which means less new materials are consumed. Hence refining is more practical. 50 per cent less energy is consumed in re-refining used oil than producing motor or lubricating oil from unrefined crude.

Distributors and refiners should work closely with the government authorities to design environmental friendly disposal solutions. These would allow more used oil to be recycled or reused in an environmentally safe manner.

Oil companies should now invest in alternative fuels like ethanol, biodiesel (made from vegetable oil), and hydrogen.

Oil companies need to look for renewable sources of energy like solar power, bio fuels, geothermal energy, and wind power.

Oil companies should also reduce its demand by increasing their efficiency.