BTGE4713 ENGINEER AND SOCIETY

ASSIGNMENT 1

Lecturer: Ir. Sulaiman

Tutor: Ir. Victor

Prepared by
Lim Zhi Zhang

13WTR11010

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (HONOURS) MECHATRONICS

Q1)
Based on a recent news, the world energy consumption is expected to grow by 48% between the
year 2012 and 2040. Most of the growth will be contribute by countries that are not in the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These countries include
China and India which is one of the world strong economic power. Renewable energy and nuclear
power are the worlds fastest-growing energy sources. This is due to the concerns about the
effects of fossil fuel emission on the environment, and sustained, long-term high world oil prices
support expanded use of nonfossil renewable energy sources and nuclear power.
Although the liquid fuels, or petroleum based fuel remain the largest energy source, it is project to
fall from 33% in 2012 to 30% in 2040 as oil prices rise in long term. Furthermore, many energy
users adopt green technology are one of the main reason that the fuel prices are projected to fall.
Coal on the other side is the worlds slowest-growing energy source, rising by only 0.6% per year
through 2040. It was projected that the biggest coal-consuming countries are Chine, the United
States, and India. The total consumption of these countries are expected to account for more than
70% of the worlds consumption. The use of coal are expected to decline in China due to air
pollution and Chinas policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Meanwhile, India will surpass
the United States in coal consumption after 2030.

We burn fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, coal, and natural gas to run our vehicle engines and to
heat and light our homes. Burning fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in
the atmosphere. CO2 is a major contributor to climate change, or "global warming". Reducing

fossil fuel usage helps protect the limited supply of fossil fuels while decreasing the pollution
produced. Fossil fuel conservation saves you money in many situations.
Experts estimate that the reservation of natural gas will be finished within 70 years in Malaysia. It
also expected that oil is to be used up at current usage rate for about 16 years (Shigeoka, 2010).
Therefore awareness in this matter need to be taken seriously.
Drive Less:

More than half of our CO 2 comes from vehicles, so use public transit,

carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, or telework from home if possible. We can save 1 pound of carbon
dioxide for each mile of driving that are eliminated.

Stop Engine Idling:

Reduce idling by turning off engine can reduce fuel use and air pollution.

Change Your Lights: Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs to
eliminate 150 pounds or more of CO 2 for each bulb per year. This can cut costs, energy use and
CO2 emissions. We can further reduce the cost by switching off lights when its not being use.

Cut Hot Water Use:

By reducing the temperature or lower down the flow rate of water when

showering, we can reduce the use of energy for heating of water. Furthermore by using renewable
energy such as the solar heater, we can directly reduce our usage on fossil fuels.
Turn Off Power:

Some TV models use more electricity when they're off than when they're

operating. Plug them and other appliances into a surge protector; switch off the surge protector
after you turn off the appliances. When you buy new appliances, look for power-saving Energy
Star ratings.
Purchase Green Power:

Change your electricity utility to support clean, renewable

electric power. For more efficient, clean energy, consider an energy-efficient furnace, geothermal
heat pump, or solar roof top panels. Learn more about renewable energy.
Avoid using Fossil Fuel Transportation:

Ride a bike or walk more instead of taking a bus

or driving a car. People can try cycling or walking to their destination. By doing so, it will tend to
help reducing the use of fossil fuels and it is also ideal for keeping people more healthy.

Change the Choice of Car:

Shifting from normal car to a hybrid or electric car. Both cars are

using less fossil fuels to power. They are good transition vehicles which more viable options that
the non-reliant on fossil fuels can be created.

Q2)
Ever since the Industrial Revolution took off in the 18th century, vast quantities of fossil fuels
have been used to power the economy and deliver unprecedented affluence to huge numbers of
people. As we all know, fossil fuels are organic matter made from the remains of flora and fauna
subjected to immense pressure and heat deep within the Earth over millions of years. Petroleum,
coal, and natural gas are major fossil fuels.
Coal is the most plentiful fuel in the fossil family and it has the longest and, perhaps, the most
varied history. Coal has been used for heating since the cave man. Archeologists have also found
evidence that the Romans in England used it in the second and third centuries (100-200 AD).

In the 1700s, the English found that coal could produce a fuel that burned cleaner and hotter than
wood charcoal. However, it was the overwhelming need for energy to run the new technologies
invented during the Industrial Revolution that provided the real opportunity for coal to fill Its first
role as a dominant worldwide supplier of energy.
The Industrial Revolution played a major role in expanding the use of coal. During the first half
of the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution spread to the United States. Steamships and steampowered railroads were becoming the chief forms of transportation, and they used coal to fuel
their boilers. In the second half of the 1800s, more uses for coal were found.
During the Civil War, weapons factories were beginning to use coal. By 1875, coke (which is
made from coal) replaced charcoal as the primary fuel for iron blast furnaces to make steel. The
burning of coal to generate electricity is a relative newcomer in the long history of this fossil fuel.
It was in the 1880s when coal was first used to generate electricity for homes and factories. Long
after homes were being lighted by electricity produced by coal, many of them continued to have
furnaces for heating and some had stoves for cooking that were fueled by coal.

The 19th century was a period of great change and rapid industrialization. The modern petroleum
industry began in 1859, when the American oil pioneer E. L.Drake drilled a producing well on
Oil Creek in Pennsylvania at a place that later became Titusville. Many wells were drilled in the
region. Kerosene was the chief finished product, and kerosene lamps soon replaced whale oil
lamps and candles in general use. Little use other than as lamp fuel was made of petroleum until
the development of the gasoline engine and its application to automobiles, trucks, tractors, and
airplanes. Within a year, more than 1,500 oil companies had been chartered, and oil became the
dominant fuel of the 20th century and an integral part of the American economy . Today the world
is heavily dependent on petroleum for motive power, lubrication, fuel, dyes, drugs, and many
synthetics. The widespread use of petroleum has created serious environmental problems. The
great quantities that are burned as fuels generate most of the air pollution in industrialized
countries, and oil spilled from tankers and offshore wells has polluted oceans and coastlines.

The figure in the previous page shows the different types of fuel that are used by mankind
throughout different timeline. Coal was a major fuel source starting the mid of 19 th century until
the early 20th century. After that, oil took over and became mankinds major fuel source.
Petroleum are more desirable compare to coal due to few reasons. Firstly petroleum is easier to
obtain and transport, since petroleum have higher energy to weigh ratio, transferring a kg of

petroleum is more worth than transporting a kg of coal. Secondly, coal produce more particulate
pollution compare to petroleum. It is much cleaner to use petroleum compare to coal. Thirdly,
petroleum have a higher burning efficiency. Other than that, coal become an unrealiable fuel
source because obtaining coal had become a problem due to the danger and labour issues.
The internal combustion engine became one of the most influential inventions of the Industrial
Revolution. Internal combustion engine require liquid fuel to operate thus further encourage the
use of petroleum in the industry. To fuel the internal combustion engine is much easier than to
fuel the steam powered engine where shoveling coal into a furnace to boil water is a requirement.
On the economic standpoint, it is much cost effective to produce energy using petroleum compare
to coal. By taking estimates to produce 1 kWh, it would require 0.471710-3 tons of coal,
0.242010-3 tons of petroleum is needed to produce the same amount of power. It was estimated
that 1 short tons of coal would cost USD 41.10 while 1 barrel of petroleum would cost around
USD 51. The transportation cost are included, USD 17.25 is required to transport a short tons of
coal while transportation cost per barrel of petrol cost around USD 5 per barrel.
Fuel

Amount Require to

Cost in (USD)

Total Cost in

produce 1kWh of energy

Production

Transportation

(USD)

Coal

(In tons)
0.471710-3

41.1

17.25

0.0275

Petroleu

0.242010-3

51

0.0136

m
From the table above, petroleum have better advantage economically compare to coal. The cost of
petroleum to produce 1kWh of energy is USD 0.0136 while the cost of coal to produce the same
amount of energy is USD 0.275. It is way cheaper to produce energy using petroleum because of
the low transportation cost of material and the amount of heat that petroleum can produce are
much better or in other word, petroleum are much energy dense compare to coal.

One of the most significant political change that encourage the use of petroleum over coal is the
introduction of 1970 Clean Air Act. This act set goals to reduce air pollution by imposing
pollution control technology on vehicles. The Clean Air Act primary objective is to improve the
ambient air quality standards for criteria pollutant. The primary objective that is set by the Act is

to improve and protect the health of the society. In our country, the Prime Minister had announce
that Malaysia would reduce it carbon emission by 40% by the year 2020 compared to year 2005.
This means that coal plant are expected to be replace with cleaner energy plant to provide energy
for our nation.
On the environmental standpoint, petroleum are much better or more preferable to produce
energy. This is because the burning of coal creates high amount of carbon dioxide gas because of
its compound. Petroleum which have higher hydrogen to carbon ratio are much cleaner during
combustion. Furthermore, the process of refinery reduces the harmful parts in crude oil. All of the
contaminants are removed, therefore the contaminants will not be produce during burning of
petroleum.
Scattered records of the use of coal date to at least 1100 BC. By the Middle Ages, small mining
operations began to spread in Europe, where coal was used for forges, smithies, lime-burners, and
breweries. The invention of fire bricks in the 1400s made chimneys cheap to build and helped
create a home heating market for coal. Further forward into the future in the 18 th century, the coal
powered steam engine was born, and became the main driver in trains. The technology used here
require man to chuck coal into the boiler to boil water and power the steam engine. It was a
revolutionary technology during that age. Later by the 19 th century, kerosene was used for
lighting and heating, and was the principal product derived from petroleum. However, the
development of drilling technology for oil wells in mid-19th century America put the petroleum
industry on a new footing, leading to mass-consumption of petroleum as a highly versatile fuel
powering transportation in the form of automobiles, ships, airplanes and so on, applied to
generate electricity, used for heating and to provide hot water supplies.

References:
1) Hill. H, 2014, How to Conserve Fossil Fuels. Viewed on 25 Aug 2016. Available from:
<http://earthuntouched.com/conserve-fossil-fuels/>.
2) Syed. S, 2013, Renewable Energy in Malaysia: Strategies and Development. Viewed on
25 Aug 2016. Available from:
<http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/emsd/article/viewFile/3197/2723>.
3) Aggarwal. M, 2016, History of The Industrial Revolution, Viewed on 25 Aug 2016.
Available from: <http://www.historydiscussion.net/history/industrial-revolution/historyof-the-industrial-revolution/1784>.
4) Carnegie Mellon University, 2003, History of the Energy System, Viewed on 26 Aug
2016, <http://environ.andrew.cmu.edu/m3/s3/01history.shtml>.
5) Unknown, 2016, Petroleum vs. Coal, Viewed on 26 Aug 2016,
<https://prezi.com/esomh2jyz6bm/petroleum-vs-coal/>.
6) USwitch, 2016, Energy Saving Tips, Viewed on 26 Aug 2016,
<https://www.uswitch.com/energy-saving/guides/tvs-computers-laptops/>.
7) Brce, R., 2010, Wood to Coal to Oil to Natural Gas and Nuclear: The Slow Pace of
Energy Transitions, Viewed on 26 Aug 2016,
<http://www.energytribune.com/5265/wood-to-coal-to-oil-to-natural-gas-and-nuclearthe-slow-pace-of-energy-transitions#sthash.mn1xfbDH.AXpxAmwU.dpbs>.