Energy Inefficiency
The process of refining crude oil requires tremendous amounts of energy. As laid out in the U.S. Energy Information Administration table “Fuel Consumed at Refineries”, one of the biggest sources of energy for refineries is natural gas. In 2016, U.S. refineries used 882,611 million cubic feet of natural gas alone (“U.S. Fuel Consumed at Refineries”). They also used 47,388 million kilowatt hours of purchased electricity, 123,533 million pounds of purchased steam, and smaller quantities of various other energy sources like distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, still gas, petroleum coke, and coal (“U.S. Fuel Consumed at Refineries”). When you burn a gallon of gas, you burn not only that gallon but the many other resources that were put into its production and transportation. The inefficiency of using energy to produce energy is something that needs to be considered in the future
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. “U.S. Fuel Consumed at Refineries.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. Department of Energy, 21 June 2017. Web. 17 Nov. 2017.
