■ Causes a negative impact on the local environment (e.g., increased truck
traffic, more rigs traveling to sites, etc.).
■ Causes earthquakes in local communities.
■ Causes groundwater contamination due to extraction and processing. In
situ methods have the potential of degrading aquifers.
■ Disrupts local wildlife and flora.SYNFUELS
A synthetic fuel (synfuel) is any fuel produced from coal, natural gas, or biomass
(e.g., corn) through chemical conversion. The raw materials used to make
synfuels have to be subjected to intense chemical and physical changes to be
usable. An example is synthetic natural gas (SNG), which is chemically
produced from coal.
Pros
■ Easily transported through pipelines.
■ Produces less air pollution.
■ There is a large supply of raw materials available worldwide to meet the
current demands for hundreds of years.
■ Can produce gasoline, diesel, or kerosene directly without having to be
sent to a refinery.Cons
■ Low net-energy and requires energy to produce.
■ Manufacturing plants are expensive to build.
■ Would increase the depletion of coal due to inherent inefficiencies.
■ Product is more expensive than petroleum products.
■ Still a carbon-based fuel which, during combustion, produces gases that
are harmful to the environment (e.g., global warming, air pollution, acid
rain, etc.).