1.) How does the Earth make petroleum? What are the sequential processes needed

Question

1.) How does the Earth make petroleum? What are the sequential processes needed to develop an economically recoverable deposit?

2.) What role does plate tectonics play in the formation of petroleum?

3.) Does plate tectonics destroy all oil deposits?

4.) Measured in barrels, approximately what is the US petroleum diet per day - per year?

5.) When petroleum is buried what are the products of combustion and what affect may they have on the environment and/or public health?

6.) Other than fuel or lubricants - identify three items you commonly use that are derived from petroleum.

7.) Why base an economy and lifestyle on a substance the Earth does not have much of, and it's source is generally not within our borders or under our economic control?

Explanation / Answer

Oil and natural gas were formed from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals now being called fossil fuels. Petroleum is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found within rock formations in the earth, and is comprised of a mixture of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds. The hydrocarbons are mainly alkanes, cycloalkanes, and various aromatic hydrocarbons. Petroleum is formed through the compression and heating of organic materials over longer period of time (millions of years).

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