Fly Ash Case Study

Question 1: What is fly ash? What is it caused by and what are the effects?
Fly ash is small particles of ash, caused by coal combustion. The incombustible materials remain behind as ash. Fly ash often stored wet and in bulk, and can spill or seep out of the containment into the soil and ground water. Fly ash can also corrode metal structures and is harmful to human health.

Question 2: How can a solid fuel substance like coal be introduced into a steam powerplant? Combustion of coal is C+O2 → CO2. Coal is a solid and a reaction on the surface of the coal (between carbon and oxygen) will occur if carbon is available. This reaction will produce heat (release some chemical potential energy from the bonds in the coal).

Question 3: How “efficient”
As these components decompose, they transform into a new substance called Kerogen. The transformation stops and the Kerogen get buried further and further into the Earth. The Kerogen is exposed to high temperatures and pressures and “cooks”. Kerogen’s carbon atoms break apart and the liquid result is also known as crude oil. This whole process can take hundreds of millions of years.

Question 6: What is the significance of the term Pennsylvania crude? How/why is it used? Pennsylvania crude oil is a type of sweet crude oil. It is free of asphaltic components, and contains very little amounts of sulfur and nitrogen. It is also very good for refining lubricants. The oil is thermally stable and has a high viscosity.

Question 7: What is petroleum distillation? What are the resulting products?
Petroleum distillation is a separation process of crude oils. It is the most important step in petroleum refining. The gasses dissolved in the oil are separated and collected. The next products include gasoline or petrol, a solvent (kerosene or jet fuel), diesel fuel, and heating oil or fuel oil. The rest of the materials are called