Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: AZRedhawk44 on September 01, 2009, 11:51:58 AM

Title: Energy efficiency of cracking petroleum?
Post by: AZRedhawk44 on September 01, 2009, 11:51:58 AM

What's the energy efficiency of cracking petroleum?

How many BTU's or kcals or whatever does it take to render crude oil to various usable fuels, how many kcals/BTU's are stored in those usable fuels, and is a refinery a self-sustainable operation given a constant intake of crude oil?

Title: Re: Energy efficiency of cracking petroleum?
Post by: AJ Dual on September 01, 2009, 12:14:33 PM

I don't have that good an answer for you.

IIRC, from beginning to end, exploration, drilling, transport, and refining, in it's heyday post WWII oil was a ten to one net energy gain. For every ten barrels produced, one was used in it's procurement and refinement.

Now, it's about 5-1, with slant drilling, water pumping, and advanced catalytic cracking to get more from the crude, and to use lower grades of crude.

It's my understanding that the Wyoming tar-sand and Canadian Shale deposits would be about a 3-1 prospect in terms of energy gain. However, they'd make up for it in sheer volume, being at least 100 years supply, with the current rate of growth factored in.