Sažetak | Nafta i plin poznati su kao fosilna goriva. Nastali su od organske tvari (mikroskopskih planktona, kopnenog bilja) koja se taložila na dnu oceana, dubokih jezera i obalnih područja. Ta organska materija sakupljala se u sedimentima, te je pod utjecajem visokog tlaka i temperature pretvorena u ugljikohidrate, koji su migrirali kroz pore i pukotine matičnih stijena. Međutim, ukoliko bi dospjeli u zamku, nastaju ležišta ili akumulacije.U takvim rezervoarima lakši plin popuni pore stijene iznad nafte. Prerada nafte i plina vrši se u rafinerijama, kako bi se preveli u korisne produkte koje svakodnevno koristimo. Važno je, međutim, i napomenuti negativan utjecaj nafte i plina na okoliš. Naime, prilikom prerade i korištenja tih sirovina ispuštaju se velike količine ugljikovog-dioksida (staklenički plin) u atmosferu. Osim toga, jedna od velikih katastrofa vezanih uz naftu jeste njeno izlijevanje u mora, prilikom čega dolazi do uništavanja cijelog ekosistema, a ponovno uspostavljanje ravnoteže zahtijeva mnogo vremena. Treba naglasiti i to da su zalihe nafte i plina sve manje, područja koja su bogata naftom sve su rjeđa, a to je dakako i jedan od velikih uzroka svjetskih sukoba. Trebali bismo početi više aktivno razmišljati o drugim izvorima energije poput energije Sunca, vjetra, vode, bioenergije. |
Sažetak (engleski) | Oil and gas are known as fossil fuels. Oil is the residue of organic waste (primarily microscopic plankton floating in seas, and also land plants) that accumulated at the bottom of oceans, lakes, and coastal areas. Over millions of years, this organic matter was collected beneath successive levels of sediments. Pressure and underground heat "cooked" the organic matter, converting it into hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas). The droplets of oil liquid migrated through small pores and fractures in the rocks until they were trapped in permeable rocks. In such a reservoir, the lightest gas fills the pores of the reservoir rock as a "gas cap" above the oil. All crude is processed in a refinery to turn it into useful products like gasoline, jet fuel, home heating oil, and industrial fuel oil. It’s also important to mention what influence does oil have on natural environment. Processing and using oil and gas has negative influence on nature, because of the carbon-dioxide that ends up in atmosphere. Also, big ecological catastrophes happen when oil leaks from tankers into oceans and seas. Plants and animals, living in the area struck by the disaster, vanish for good, and it takes a very long time for that biological eco-system to recondition. Oil and gas are used as source of energy, but the supply of those sources is getting fewer. In the future, we should try to use other sources of energy, such as energy of Sun, water, wind, bio energy. |