Energoinform - alternative energy, energy saving, information and computer technologies. Natural sources of hydrocarbons

The most important sources of hydrocarbons are natural and associated petroleum gases, oil, and coal.

By reserves natural gas the first place in the world belongs to our country. Natural gas contains low molecular weight hydrocarbons. It has the following approximate composition (by volume): 80–98% methane, 2–3% of its closest homologues - ethane, propane, butane, and a small amount of impurities - hydrogen sulfide Н 2 S, nitrogen N 2, noble gases, carbon monoxide (IV ) CO 2 and water vapor H 2 O . The gas composition is specific for each field. There is the following pattern: the higher the relative molecular weight of the hydrocarbon, the less it is contained in natural gas.

Natural gas is widely used as a cheap fuel with a high calorific value (up to 54,400 kJ is released when 1m 3 is burned). It is one of the best types of fuel for domestic and industrial needs. In addition, natural gas serves as a valuable raw material for the chemical industry: for the production of acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, soot, various plastics, acetic acid, dyes, medicines and other products.

Associated petroleum gases are in deposits together with oil: they are dissolved in it and are located above the oil, forming a gas “cap”. When oil is extracted to the surface, gases are separated from it due to a sharp drop in pressure. Previously, associated gases were not used and were flared during oil production. Nowadays, they are captured and used as fuel and valuable chemical raw materials. Associated gases contain less methane than natural gas, but more ethane, propane, butane, and higher hydrocarbons. In addition, they contain mainly the same impurities as in natural gas: H 2 S, N 2, noble gases, H 2 O vapors, CO 2 . Individual hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, butane, etc.) are extracted from associated gases, and their processing makes it possible to obtain unsaturated hydrocarbons by dehydrogenation - propylene, butylene, butadiene, from which rubbers and plastics are then synthesized. A mixture of propane and butane (liquefied gas) is used as a household fuel. Gasoline (a mixture of pentane with hexane) is used as an additive to gasoline for better ignition of the fuel when starting the engine. Organic acids, alcohols and other products are obtained by oxidation of hydrocarbons.

Oil- oily flammable liquid of dark brown or almost black color with a characteristic odor. It is lighter than water (= 0.73–0.97 g / cm 3), practically insoluble in water. In terms of composition, oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, so it does not have a specific boiling point.

Oil consists mainly of liquid hydrocarbons (solid and gaseous hydrocarbons are dissolved in them). Usually these are alkanes (mostly of normal structure), cycloalkanes and arenas, the ratio of which in oils of various fields varies widely. Ural oil contains more arenas. In addition to hydrocarbons, oil contains oxygen, sulfur and nitrogenous organic compounds.

Crude oil is usually not used. To obtain technically valuable products from oil, it is processed.

Primary processing oil consists in its distillation. Distillation is carried out at refineries after separation of associated gases. When distilling oil, light oil products are obtained:

gasoline ( t bale = 40–200 ° С) contains hydrocarbons С 5 –С 11,

naphtha ( t bale = 150–250 ° С) contains С 8 –С 14 hydrocarbons,

kerosene ( t bale = 180-300 ° C) contains hydrocarbons C 12 -C 18,

gas oil ( t bale> 275 ° C),

and in the remainder - a viscous black liquid - fuel oil.

Fuel oil is further processed. It is distilled under reduced pressure (to prevent decomposition) and lubricating oils are released: spindle, machine, cylinder, etc. Vaseline and paraffin are isolated from fuel oil of some types of oil. The residual fuel oil after distillation - tar - after partial oxidation is used to obtain asphalt. The main disadvantage of oil distillation is the low yield of gasoline (no more than 20%).

Distillation products of petroleum have various applications.

Petrol in large quantities it is used as aviation and automobile fuel. It usually consists of hydrocarbons containing an average of 5 to 9 C atoms in molecules. Naphtha used as a fuel for tractors, as well as a solvent in the paint and varnish industry. Large quantities of it are processed into gasoline. Kerosene it is used as fuel for tractors, jet planes and missiles, as well as for domestic needs. Solar oil - gas oil- is used as a motor fuel, and lubricating oils- for lubrication of mechanisms. Petrolatum used in medicine. It consists of a mixture of liquid and solid hydrocarbons. Paraffin It is used to obtain higher carboxylic acids, to impregnate wood in the production of matches and pencils, for the manufacture of candles, shoe polish, etc. It consists of a mixture of solid hydrocarbons. Fuel oil in addition to processing for lubricating oils and gasoline, it is used as boiler liquid fuel.

At secondary processing methods oil, there is a change in the structure of hydrocarbons that make up its composition. Among these methods, the cracking of petroleum hydrocarbons is of great importance in order to increase the yield of gasoline (up to 65–70%).

Cracking- the process of decomposition of hydrocarbons contained in oil, as a result of which hydrocarbons with a smaller number of C atoms in a molecule are formed. There are two main types of cracking: thermal and catalytic.

Thermal cracking carried out by heating the feedstock (fuel oil, etc.) at a temperature of 470–550 ° C and a pressure of 2–6 MPa. In this case, molecules of hydrocarbons with a large number of C atoms are split into molecules with a smaller number of atoms of both saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. For example:

(radical mechanism),

In this way, mainly motor gasoline is obtained. Its output from oil reaches 70%. Thermal cracking was discovered by the Russian engineer V.G. Shukhov in 1891.

Catalytic cracking carried out in the presence of catalysts (usually aluminosilicates) at 450–500 ° C and atmospheric pressure. This method is used to obtain aviation gasoline with a yield of up to 80%. This type of cracking is mainly applied to kerosene and gas oil fractions of oil. In catalytic cracking, along with cleavage reactions, isomerization reactions occur. As a result of the latter, saturated hydrocarbons with a branched carbon skeleton of molecules are formed, which improves the quality of gasoline:

Catalytic cracked gasoline has a higher quality. The process of obtaining it proceeds much faster, with less consumption of thermal energy. In addition, catalytic cracking produces relatively many branched chain hydrocarbons (iso compounds), which are of great value for organic synthesis.

At t= 700 ° C and above, pyrolysis occurs.

Pyrolysis- decomposition of organic substances without air access at high temperatures. In the pyrolysis of oil, the main reaction products are unsaturated gaseous hydrocarbons (ethylene, acetylene) and aromatic hydrocarbons - benzene, toluene, etc. Since oil pyrolysis is one of the most important ways to obtain aromatic hydrocarbons, this process is often called oil aromatization.

Aromatization- transformation of alkanes and cycloalkanes into arenas. When heavy fractions of petroleum products are heated in the presence of a catalyst (Pt or Mo), hydrocarbons containing 6–8 C atoms in a molecule are converted into aromatic hydrocarbons. These processes take place during reforming (refining of gasoline).

Reforming Is the aromatization of gasolines, carried out by heating them in the presence of a catalyst, for example Pt. Under these conditions, alkanes and cycloalkanes are converted into aromatic hydrocarbons, as a result of which the octane number of gasolines also increases significantly. Aromatization is used to obtain individual aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene) from petroleum gasoline fractions.

In recent years, petroleum hydrocarbons have been widely used as a source of chemical raw materials. In various ways, they are used to obtain substances necessary for the production of plastics, synthetic textile fibers, synthetic rubber, alcohols, acids, synthetic detergents, explosives, pesticides, synthetic fats, etc.

Coal just like natural gas and oil, it is a source of energy and a valuable chemical raw material.

The main method for processing bituminous coal is coking(dry distillation). During coking (heating to 1000 ° C - 1200 ° C without air access), various products are obtained: coke, coal tar, supra-resin water and coke oven gas (diagram).

Scheme

Coke is used as a reducing agent in pig iron production at metallurgical plants.

Coal tar serves as a source of aromatic hydrocarbons. It is subjected to rectification distillation and get benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene, as well as phenols, nitrogen-containing compounds, etc. Pitch - a thick black mass left after the distillation of the resin, is used for the preparation of electrodes and roofing tar paper.

Ammonia, ammonium sulfate, phenol, etc. are obtained from supra-resin water.

Coke oven gas is used to heat coke ovens (during the combustion of 1m 3, about 18,000 kJ is released), but it is mainly subjected to chemical processing. So, hydrogen is released from it for the synthesis of ammonia, which is then used to obtain nitrogen fertilizers, as well as methane, benzene, toluene, ammonium sulfate, ethylene.

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Budgetary professional educational institution

Voronezh region

Rossosh Medical College

Topic: "Oil, natural and associated petroleum gas and coal"

Performed by students of 101 groups

Kovalskaya Victoria

Checked by the teacher: Grineva N.A.

Rossosh 2015

Introduction

Oil, natural and associated gases, coal.

The main sources of hydrocarbons are natural and associated petroleum gases, oil and coal.

cracking oil gas coal

Oil is a liquid fossil fuel of a dark brown color with a density of 0.70 - 1.04 g / cm?. Oil is a complex mixture of substances - mainly liquid hydrocarbons. In terms of composition, oils are paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic. However, the most common type of oil is mixed. In addition to hydrocarbons, the composition of oil includes impurities of organic oxygen and sulfur compounds, as well as water and calcium and magnesium salts dissolved in it. Contained in oil and mechanical impurities - sand and clay. Oil is a valuable raw material for high quality motor fuels. After cleaning from water and other undesirable impurities, the oil is processed. The main method of oil refining is distillation. It is based on the difference in boiling points of hydrocarbons that make up oil. Since oil contains hundreds of different substances, many of which have similar boiling points, the separation of individual hydrocarbons is almost impossible. Therefore, by distillation, oil is separated into fractions boiling in a fairly wide temperature range. By distillation at normal pressure, oil is separated into four fractions: gasoline (30-180 ° C), kerosene (120-315 ° C), diesel (180-350 ° C) and fuel oil (residue after distillation). With a more thorough distillation, each of these fractions can be divided into several more narrow fractions. Thus, petroleum ether (40-70 ° C), gasoline itself (70-120 ° C) and naphtha (120-180 ° C) can be isolated from the gasoline fraction (a mixture of C5 - C12 hydrocarbons). Petroleum ether contains pentane and hexane. It is an excellent solvent for fats and resins. Gasoline contains unbranched saturated hydrocarbons from pentanes to decanes, cycloalkanes (cyclopentane and cyclohexane) and benzene. After appropriate processing, gasoline is used as fuel for aviation and automobile

ICE. Naphtha containing C8 - C14 hydrocarbons and kerosene (a mixture of C12 - C18 hydrocarbons) is used as fuel for household heating and lighting devices. Kerosene in large quantities (after thorough cleaning) is used as a fuel for jet aircraft and missiles.

Diesel fraction of oil refining - fuel for diesel engines. Fuel oil is a mixture of high-boiling hydrocarbons. Lubricating oils are obtained from fuel oil by distillation under reduced pressure. The remainder of the distillation of fuel oil is called tar. Bitumen is obtained from it. These products are used in road construction. Fuel oil is also used as a boiler fuel.

The main method of oil refining is various types of cracking, i.e. thermocatalytic transformation of oil constituents. There are the following main types of cracking.

Thermal cracking - the decomposition of hydrocarbons occurs under the influence of high temperatures (500-700 ° C). For example, molecules of pentane and pentene are formed from the molecule of the saturated hydrocarbon decane C10H22:

C10H22> C5H12 + C5H10

pentane pentene

Catalytic cracking is also carried out at high temperatures, but in the presence of a catalyst, which makes it possible to control the process and lead it in the desired direction. During the cracking of oil, unsaturated hydrocarbons are formed, which are widely used in industrial organic synthesis.

Natural and associated petroleum gases

Natural gas. Natural gas contains mainly methane (about 93%). In addition to methane, natural gas also contains other hydrocarbons, as well as nitrogen, CO2, and often hydrogen sulfide. Natural gas generates a lot of heat during combustion. In this respect, it is significantly superior to other fuels. Therefore, 90% of the total amount of natural gas is consumed as fuel in local power plants, industrial enterprises and in everyday life. The remaining 10% is used as a valuable raw material for the chemical industry. For this purpose, methane, ethane and other alkanes are isolated from natural gas. The products that can be obtained from methane are of great industrial importance.

Associated petroleum gases. They are dissolved in oil under pressure. When it is brought to the surface, the pressure drops and the solubility decreases, as a result of which gases are released from the oil. Associated gases contain methane and its homologues, as well as non-combustible gases - nitrogen, argon and CO2. Associated gases are processed at gas processing plants. They produce methane, ethane, propane, butane and gasoline containing hydrocarbons with 5 or more carbon atoms. Ethane and propane are subjected to dehydrogenation to obtain unsaturated hydrocarbons - ethylene and propylene. A mixture of propane and butane (liquefied gas) is used as a household fuel. Gasoline is added to regular gasoline to accelerate its ignition when starting the internal combustion engine.

Coal

Coal. Coal processing is carried out in three main directions: coking, hydrogenation and incomplete combustion. Coking takes place in coke ovens at a temperature of 1000-1200 ° C. At this temperature, without access to oxygen, coal undergoes complex chemical transformations, as a result of which coke and volatile products are formed. The cooled coke is sent to metallurgical plants. When volatile products (coke oven gas) are cooled, coal tar and ammonia water are condensed. Ammonia, benzene, hydrogen, methane, CO2, nitrogen, ethylene, etc. remain non-condensed. Passing these products through a sulfuric acid solution, ammonium sulfate is released, which is used as a mineral fertilizer. Benzene is taken up in a solvent and distilled off from the solution. Thereafter, the coke oven gas is used as a fuel or as a chemical feedstock. Coal tar is obtained in insignificant quantities (3%). But, given the scale of production, coal tar is considered as a raw material for the production of a number of organic substances. If products boiling up to 350 ° C are removed from the resin, then a solid mass remains - pitch. It is used to make varnishes. Hydrogenation of coal is carried out at a temperature of 400-600 ° C under a hydrogen pressure of up to 25 MPa in the presence of a catalyst. This forms a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, which can be used as a motor fuel. The advantage of this method is the ability to hydrogenate low-grade brown coal. Incomplete combustion of coal gives carbon monoxide (II). On a catalyst (nickel, cobalt) at normal or elevated pressure from hydrogen and CO, you can get gasoline containing saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons:

nCO + (2n + 1) H2> CnH2n + 2 + nH2O;

nCO + 2nH2> CnH2n + nH2O.

If dry distillation of coal is carried out at 500-550 ° C, then tar is obtained, which, along with bitumen, is used in the construction business as a binder in the manufacture of roofing, waterproofing coatings (roofing felt, roofing felt, etc.).

Today there is a serious danger of an ecological catastrophe. There is practically no place on earth where nature would not suffer from the activities of industrial enterprises and human life. When working with products of distillation of oil, care must be taken that they do not fall into the soil and water bodies. Soil saturated with petroleum products loses its fertility for many decades, and it is very difficult to restore it. In 1988 alone, when oil pipelines were damaged, about 110,000 tons of oil got into one of the largest lakes. There are tragic cases of fuel oil and oil discharge into rivers, where valuable fish species spawn. Coal-fired thermal power plants pose a serious air pollution hazard - they are the main source of pollution. Hydroelectric power plants operating in river plains have a negative impact on water bodies. It is well known that road transport heavily pollutes the atmosphere with products of incomplete combustion of gasoline. Scientists are faced with the task of minimizing the degree of environmental pollution.

Conclusion

Natural oil always contains water, mineral salts and various mechanical impurities. Therefore, before being processed for processing, natural oil undergoes dehydration, desalination and a number of other preliminary operations.

Features of oil distillation:

1. The method of obtaining petroleum products by distilling one fraction after another from oil, similar to how it is carried out in a laboratory, is unacceptable for industrial conditions.

2. It is very unproductive, expensive and does not provide a sufficiently clear distribution of hydrocarbons into fractions in accordance with their molecular weight.

All these disadvantages are deprived of the method of oil distillation on continuously operating tubular installations:

1. The installation consists of a tubular furnace for heating oil and a distillation column, where oil is separated into fractions (distillates), individual mixtures of hydrocarbons in accordance with their boiling points - gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, etc .;

2. In a tubular furnace, a long pipe is located in the form of a coil;

3. The furnace is heated by burning fuel oil or gas;

4. Oil is continuously supplied through the pipeline, it heats up to 320-350 ° C and enters the distillation column in the form of a mixture of liquid and vapor.

Features of natural gas.

1. The main constituent of natural gas is methane.

2. Besides methane, natural gas contains ethane, propane, butane.

3. Generally, the higher the molecular weight of the hydrocarbon, the less it is in natural gas.

4. The composition of natural gas from different fields is not the same. Its average composition (in percent by volume) is as follows: a) CH4 - 80-97; b) C2H6 - 0.5-4.0; c) C3H8 - 0.2-1.5.

5. As a fuel, natural gas has great advantages over solid and liquid fuels.

6. The heat of combustion is much higher; when burned, it does not leave ash.

7. Combustion products are much more environmentally friendly.

8. Natural gas is widely used in thermal power plants, industrial boiler plants, and various industrial furnaces.

Natural gas applications

1. Combustion of natural gas in blast furnaces allows to reduce coke consumption, reduce sulfur content in pig iron and significantly increase furnace productivity.

2. The use of natural gas in the household.

3. At present, it is beginning to be used in vehicles (in high-pressure cylinders), which allows saving gasoline, reducing engine wear and, thanks to more complete fuel combustion, keeping the air basin clean.

4. Natural gas is an important source of raw materials for the chemical industry, and its role in this regard will increase.

5. Hydrogen, acetylene, and soot are obtained from methane.

Features of associated petroleum gas:

1. Associated petroleum gas by its origin is also natural gas;

2. It received a special name because it is located in deposits together with oil - it is dissolved in it and is located above the oil, forming a gas "cap"; 3) when oil is extracted to the surface, it separates from it due to a sharp drop in pressure.

Ways of using associated petroleum gas.

1. Previously, associated gas was not used and was immediately burnt in the field.

2. Nowadays, it is increasingly captured because, like natural gas, it is a good fuel and a valuable chemical raw material.

3. The possibilities of using associated gas are even much wider than that of natural gas; along with methane, it contains significant amounts of other hydrocarbons: ethane, propane, butane, pentane.

Coal:

Coal is one of the most valuable fuel and energy resources of mankind. It is sometimes called petrified sunlight. As a result of prolonged decomposition and chemical transformation of giant masses of dead trees and grasses, which took place in the so-called Carboniferous period - 210-280 million years ago, the vast majority of today's reserves of this raw material have accumulated in the bowels. Its world reserves exceed 15 trillion tons. Much more coal is extracted on our planet than any other mineral: about 2.5 billion tons per year, or about 700 kg for each inhabitant of the Earth.

The use of coal is very diverse and wide. It is used to generate electricity in thermal power plants, and is also burned for other energy purposes; coke is obtained from it for metallurgical production, and about 300 other industrial products are made during chemical processing. Recently, there has been an increase in the consumption of coal for new purposes - the production of rock wax, plastics, gaseous high-calorific fuel, high-carbon carbon-graphite composite materials, rare elements - germanium and gallium.

For many centuries, coal has been and remains one of the main types of technological and energy fuel, and its importance as a raw material for the chemical industry is increasing. Therefore, more and more new deposits of coal are being explored, quarries and mines are being built for its production.

Bibliography

1. Alena Igorevna Titarenko. Organic Cheat Sheet

Posted on Allbest.ur

Oil refining

Oil is a multicomponent mixture of various substances, mainly hydrocarbons. These components differ from each other in terms of boiling points. In this regard, if oil is heated, then first the lightest boiling components will evaporate from it, then compounds with a higher boiling point, etc. This phenomenon is based primary oil refining consisting in distillation (rectification) oil. This process is called primary, since it is assumed that during its course no chemical transformations of substances occur, and oil is only separated into fractions with different boiling points. Below is a schematic diagram of the distillation column with a brief description of the distillation process itself:

Before the rectification process, oil is prepared in a special way, namely, they get rid of impurity water with dissolved salts and solid mechanical impurities. The oil prepared in this way enters the tubular furnace, where it is heated to a high temperature (320-350 o C). After heating in a tubular furnace, oil with a high temperature enters the lower part of the distillation column, where individual fractions are evaporated and their vapors rise up the distillation column. The higher the section of the rectification column is, the lower its temperature. Thus, the following fractions are selected at different heights:

1) distillation gases (taken at the very top of the column, and therefore their boiling point does not exceed 40 ° C);

2) gasoline fraction (boiling point from 35 to 200 о С);

3) naphtha fraction (boiling point from 150 to 250 about C);

4) kerosene fraction (boiling point from 190 to 300 about C);

5) diesel fraction (boiling point from 200 to 300 o C);

6) fuel oil (boiling point over 350 o C).

It should be noted that the middle fractions released during the distillation of oil do not meet the standards for the quality of fuels. In addition, as a result of oil distillation, a considerable amount of fuel oil is formed, which is by no means the most demanded product. In this regard, after primary oil refining, the task is to increase the yield of more expensive, in particular, gasoline fractions, as well as to improve the quality of these fractions. These tasks are solved using various processes. secondary oil refining , for example such as cracking andreforming .

It should be noted that the number of processes used in the secondary oil refining is much larger, and we only touch on some of the main ones. Let's now figure out what the meaning of these processes is.

Cracking (thermal or catalytic)

This process is designed to increase the yield of the gasoline fraction. For this purpose, heavy fractions, for example fuel oil, are subjected to strong heating, most often in the presence of a catalyst. As a result of this effect, the long-chain molecules that make up the heavy fractions are torn and hydrocarbons with a lower molecular weight are formed. In fact, this leads to an additional yield of gasoline fraction, which is more valuable than the original fuel oil. The chemical essence of this process is reflected by the equation:

Reforming

This process fulfills the task of improving the quality of the gasoline fraction, in particular, increasing its detonation stability (octane number). It is this characteristic of gasoline that is indicated at gas stations (92nd, 95th, 98th gasoline, etc.).

As a result of the reforming process, the proportion of aromatic hydrocarbons in the gasoline fraction, which, among other hydrocarbons, has one of the highest octane numbers, increases. Such an increase in the proportion of aromatic hydrocarbons is achieved mainly as a result of the dehydrocyclization reactions occurring during the reforming process. For example, with sufficiently strong heating n-hexane in the presence of a platinum catalyst, it turns into benzene, and n-heptane, in a similar way, into toluene:

Coal processing

The main method of processing bituminous coal is coking . Coal coking is called a process in which coal is heated without air access. At the same time, as a result of such heating, four main products are isolated from coal:

1) Coke

A solid that is almost pure carbon.

2) Coal tar

Contains a large number of various predominantly aromatic compounds such as benzene homologues, phenols, aromatic alcohols, naphthalene, naphthalene homologues, etc .;

3) Ammonia water

Despite its name, this fraction, in addition to ammonia and water, also contains phenol, hydrogen sulfide and some other compounds.

4) Coke oven gas

The main components of coke oven gas are hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, ethylene, etc.

Are the Japanese tackling the gas fuel of the future? January 13th, 2013

Japan today began trial production of methane hydrate, a type of natural gas, the reserves of which, according to a number of experts, can largely solve the country's energy problems. The special research vessel "Chikyu" / "Earth" / has begun drilling in the Pacific Ocean 70 km south of the Atsumi Peninsula near the city of Nagoya on the east coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu.
Over the past year, Japanese specialists have conducted a series of experiments on drilling the Pacific seabed in search of methane hydrates. This time they intend to test the full-scale production of energy resources and the extraction of methane gas from it. If successful, commercial development of the field near the city of Nagoya will begin in 2018.

Methane hydrate or methane hydrate is a combination of methane gas with water, resembling in appearance snow or loose melted ice. This resource is widespread in nature - for example, in the permafrost zone. There are large reserves of methane hydrates under the ocean floor, which until now was considered unprofitable to develop. However, Japanese experts claim that they have found relatively cost-effective technologies.

The reserves of methane hydrates only in the area south of the city of Nagoya are estimated at 1 trillion cubic meters. In theory, they can fully meet Japan's natural gas needs for 10 years. All in all, according to the forecasts of experts, the deposits of methane hydrates under the ocean floor in the adjacent regions of the country will be enough for about 100 years. Nevertheless, the cost of this fuel, taking into account processing, transportation and other costs, is still higher than the market price for conventional natural gas.

Currently, Japan is deprived of energy resources and completely imports them. Tokyo, in particular, is the world's largest buyer of liquefied natural gas. Recently, after the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant and the gradual shutdown of all nuclear power plants, Japan's energy needs have increased.

Despite the development of alternative energy sources, fossil fuels still retain and, for the foreseeable future, will retain a major role in the planet's fuel balance. According to the forecasts of ExxonMobil experts, the consumption of energy resources in the next 30 years on the planet will increase by half. As the productivity of known hydrocarbon deposits decreases, new large deposits are discovered less and less, and the use of coal is damaging the environment. However, the dwindling reserves of conventional hydrocarbons can be compensated for.
The same ExxonMobil experts are not inclined to dramatize the situation. First, oil and gas production technologies are evolving. Today, in the Gulf of Mexico, for example, oil is extracted from a depth of 2.5-3 km below the surface of the water, such depths were unthinkable 15 years ago. Secondly, technologies are being developed for processing complex types of hydrocarbons (heavy and high-sulfur oils) and oil surrogates (bitumen, oil sands). This allows you to return to and resume traditional mining areas, as well as start mining in new areas. For example, in Tatarstan, with the support of Shell, the production of so-called "heavy oil" begins. In Kuzbass, projects for the extraction of methane from coal beds are being developed.

The third direction of maintaining the level of hydrocarbon production is associated with the search for ways to use their unconventional types. Among promising new types of hydrocarbon raw materials, scientists single out methane hydrate, the reserves of which on the planet, according to rough estimates, are at least 250 trillion cubic meters (in terms of energy value, this is 2 times more than the value of all the reserves of oil, coal and gas on the planet combined) ...

Methane hydrate is a supramolecular compound of methane with water. Below is a molecular model of methane hydrate. A lattice of water (ice) molecules is formed around the methane molecule. The connection is stable at low temperatures and elevated pressures. For example, methane hydrate is stable at temperatures of 0 ° C and pressures of 25 bar and above. This pressure occurs at an ocean depth of about 250 m. At atmospheric pressure, methane hydrate remains stable at a temperature of -80 ° C.

Methane hydrate model

If the methane hydrate is heated or the pressure decreases, the compound decomposes into water and natural gas (methane). From one cubic meter of methane hydrate at normal atmospheric pressure, 164 cubic meters of natural gas can be obtained.

The US Department of Energy estimates that the planet's reserves of methane hydrate are enormous. However, until now this compound is practically not used as an energy resource. The department has developed and is implementing a whole program (R&D program) for the search, assessment and commercialization of methane hydrate production.

Methane hydrate hill on the seabed

It is no coincidence that the United States is ready to allocate significant funds for the development of technologies for the extraction of methane hydrate. Natural gas accounts for almost 23% of the country's fuel balance. Most of the US natural gas is obtained through pipelines from Canada. In 2007, natural gas consumption in the country amounted to 623 billion cubic meters. m. By 2030, it can grow by 18-20%. Using conventional natural gas fields in the USA, Canada and offshore is not possible to ensure this level of production.

But here, as they say, there is another problem: together with the gas, a huge mass of water will rise, from which the gas will need to be purified with all possible zeal. There are no such engines, short would be indifferent even 1% of the mass of fuel in the form of chlorides and other salts of the ocean. Diesels will die first, turbines will last a little longer. Is that a Stirling EXTERNAL combustion engine?

So supplying gas directly from the bottom layer to the pipeline will not work in any way. Golovnikov, when cleaning, the Japanese bite above the roof. And then the green ones will tackle the pollution in the thickness of the ocean by its bottom layers. Most likely, a stream of sand and other impurities will be pulled along the stream and will be visible from space. Like a jet from the Bosphorus in the Sea of Marmara.

To me, this project and its prospects remind me of an ambiguous and largely controversial shale gas project.

sources

1. Natural sources of hydrocarbons: gas, oil, coal. Their processing and practical application.

The main natural sources of hydrocarbons are oil, natural and associated petroleum gases and coal.

Natural and associated petroleum gases.

Natural gas is a mixture of gases, the main component of which is methane, the rest is ethane, propane, butane, and a small amount of impurities - nitrogen, carbon monoxide (IV), hydrogen sulfide and water vapor. 90% of it is consumed as fuel, the remaining 10% is used as a raw material for the chemical industry: obtaining hydrogen, ethylene, acetylene, soot, various plastics, medicines, etc.

Associated petroleum gas is also natural gas, but it occurs together with oil - it is above the oil or dissolved in it under pressure. Associated gas contains 30-50% methane, the rest is accounted for by its homologues: ethane, propane, butane and other hydrocarbons. In addition, it contains the same impurities as in natural gas.

Three fractions of associated gas:

1. Gas gasoline; it is added to gasoline to improve engine starting;

2. Propane-butane mixture; used as household fuel;

3. Dry gas; are used to obtain acithelene, hydrogen, ethylene and other substances, from which rubbers, plastics, alcohols, organic acids, etc. are produced.

Oil.

Oil is a yellow or light brown to black oily liquid with a characteristic odor. It is lighter than water and practically insoluble in it. Oil is a mixture of about 150 hydrocarbons mixed with other substances, so it does not have a specific boiling point.

90% of the oil produced is used as a feedstock for the production of various types of fuels and lubricants. At the same time, oil is a valuable raw material for the chemical industry.

I call crude oil extracted from the bowels of the earth. Crude oil is not used, it is processed. Crude oil is purified from gases, water and mechanical impurities, and then subjected to fractional distillation.

Distillation is the process of separating mixtures into individual components, or fractions, based on the difference in their boiling points.

When distilling oil, several fractions of oil products are isolated:

1. Gas fraction (tboil = 40 ° С) contains normal and branched alkanes СН4 - С4Н10;

2. Gasoline fraction (bp = 40 - 200 ° С) contains hydrocarbons С 5 Н 12 - С 11 Н 24; during repeated distillation, light oil products are released from the mixture, boiling in lower temperature ranges: petroleum ether, aviation and motor gasoline;

3. The naphtha fraction (heavy gasoline, bp = 150 - 250 ° C), contains hydrocarbons of the composition C 8 H 18 - C 14 H 30, is used as fuel for tractors, diesel locomotives, trucks;

4. The kerosene fraction (tboil = 180 - 300 ° C) includes hydrocarbons of the composition C 12 H 26 - C 18 H 38; it is used as fuel for jet aircraft, missiles;

5. Gas oil (bp = 270 - 350 ° C) is used as diesel fuel and is cracked on a large scale.

After distilling off the fractions, a dark viscous liquid remains - fuel oil. Diesel oils, petroleum jelly, paraffin are isolated from fuel oil. The residue from the distillation of fuel oil is tar, it is used in the production of materials for road construction.

Oil recycling is based on chemical processes:

1. Cracking - the splitting of large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones. Distinguish between thermal and catalytic cracking, which is more common at the present time.

2. Reforming (aromatization) is the transformation of alkanes and cycloalkanes into aromatic compounds. This process is carried out by heating gasoline at elevated pressure in the presence of a catalyst. Reforming is used to obtain aromatic hydrocarbons from gasoline fractions.

3. Pyrolysis of petroleum products is carried out by heating petroleum products to a temperature of 650 - 800 ° C, the main reaction products are unsaturated gaseous and aromatic hydrocarbons.

Oil is a raw material for the production of not only fuel, but also many organic substances.

Coal.

Bituminous coal is also a source of energy and a valuable chemical raw material. The composition of coal contains mainly organic substances, as well as water, minerals that form ash when burned.

One of the types of coal processing is coking - this is the process of heating coal to a temperature of 1000 ° C without air access. Coal coking is carried out in coke ovens. Coke is made up of almost pure carbon. It is used as a reducing agent in the blast furnace production of pig iron in metallurgical plants.

Volatiles during condensation coal tar (contains many different organic substances, most of which are aromatic), ammonia water (contains ammonia, ammonium salts) and coke oven gas (contains ammonia, benzene, hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide (II), ethylene , nitrogen and other substances).