Final answer:
The petroleum industry is actively developing technologies like fracking, tar sands processing, and improved lubricants to extend petroleum supplies and enhance efficiency. Simultaneously, the industry is focusing on alternative fuels like ethanol and hydrogen cells, as well as electric vehicle adoption to reduce dependency on oil.
Step-by-step explanation:
Future Technologies to Improve Petroleum
Research in the petroleum industry is constantly evolving to meet global energy demands and minimize environmental impacts. Companies are exploring several avenues to make petroleum use more sustainable and efficient. Here we look at some future technologies being developed to improve petroleum.
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Advancements in oil extraction technology such as fracking and techniques to process tar sands have increased the accessibility of harder-to-reach oil reserves. This technology could potentially extend the timescale of available petroleum supplies, despite concerns about its environmental impacts, including pollution.
Alternative Fuels
As petroleum prices rise and supplies dwindle, there is a shift towards alternative fuels like ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, and hydrogen fuel cells. These alternatives are being developed to power vehicles in order to reduce greenhouse gases and dependency on fossil fuels.
Improving Fuel Efficiency
Another focus is on enhancing fuel efficiency, for instance, through the development of better lubricants that can reduce engine wear. Other efforts include refining petroleum products to lower their air pollution potential.
Pollution Remediation
Addressing the environmental impact of petroleum, products like NASA's microencapsulating technology are being used to safely eliminate petroleum-based pollutants from water.
Although controversial, companies like BP have expanded the definition of oil to include biofuels such as ethanol in order to scale up production, despite the argument that these are not truly new sources of oil due to their dependence on energy-intensive agricultural processes and government subsidies.
The Role of Electric Vehicles
The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could alleviate the demand for oil, provided logistical and infrastructural challenges, like mass-scale charging solutions, are overcome.
These technological developments signal an ongoing effort to diversify energy sources, enhance petroleum production, and address environmental concerns, ultimately shaping the future of energy consumption and sustainability.