Recently, I have followed both the petrochemical and biofuel evolving debate in the Chicago region. As a chemist and concerned citizen I have attended lectures on biofuel by leading researchers and toured petroleum refineries. Many of these events are attended by other scientists in the region. The interest in both petroleum based energy and green or renewable energy is huge. It is an ongoing science and engineering problem that will be solved only gradually. By the estimates of my petroleum colleagues and other sources we will have crude oil until 2040, but the quality will decrease (larger amounts of sulfur).

The demand for all types of energy is growing. We need to think about how much impact our daily lives have on this problem of possible fuel depletion.

If you believe that production of oil peaked in 2005 and that the production of oil is based on a bell curve (1). Then that bell curve shows that in 2050 we will have the amount of oil that we had in 1960. What will happen when we run oil of oil? We have 30 years to prepare for it at least. We may have slightly more time as there is no way to predict how much oil is in the ground. We must find ways to increase our efficiency as curbing our appetite for energy is difficult given how our society functions. Oddly enough, companies such as Walmart seem to be leading the way in defining what efficiency is.

What is oil?

When talk about running out of oil we are talking about crude oil, fossil fuel, hydrocarbons, gasoline and petroleum (2). Crude oil and petroleum are one in the same. They are a mixture of hydrocarbons of various sizes, lengths and molecular weights, usually 5 to 18 carbons long with hydrogens bonded on to the carbons. Refining is basically the distillation of these hydrocarbons into a more pure mixture removing any unwanted parts of the crude oil. The component that is in the most demand is gasoline. Fossil fuels encompass coal, methane (natural gas), petroleum, crude oil and anything that came from decomposed plants and animals. Gasoline is a refined product from crude oil/petroleum and contains hydrocarbons with carbon-hydrogen single bonds and also cyclic compounds with alternating single double carbon-hydrogen bonds, toluene and benzene. One key ingredient in gasoline is octane, a hydrocarbon with 8 carbons in the chain. This component is important to prevent knocking in your engine, an improper way the fuel gets burned causing a mini explosion.

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