Final answer:
Yearly oil consumption in a plastics plant can be estimated by considering production levels, types of plastics produced, and energy efficiency. With the industry's high energy consumption and heavy reliance on oil, the estimate would need to factor in energy input versus output ratios, such as EROEI, and the global concerns for carbon emissions and oil reserve depletion.
Step-by-step explanation:
Estimating yearly oil consumption in a plastics plant requires analyzing various factors such as production levels, the type of polymers being produced, and the efficiency of the manufacturing processes. Plastics production is known for its high energy consumption, predominantly from oil, which is also a non-renewable resource. Given that 1.5 million barrels of oil are used each year to make plastic bottles alone, a larger facility's consumption could be significantly higher. Additionally, with transportation and energy being major consumers of oil, as shown by figures indicating that 37% of the world's energy and 43% of the U.S.'s energy come from oil, the plastics industry is an integral part of this demand.
For example, if we consider the energy return on energy invested (EROEI) of an oil drilling operation, which shows the ratio of the amount of usable energy acquired from a particular energy resource to the amount of energy expended to obtain that energy resource, as detailed in one specific example where an operation uses 800 barrels of oil to pump 12,000 barrels, we get an EROEI of 15. This concept can be applied to estimate energy use in plastic production. Furthermore, with growing concerns about carbon emissions and global warming, the efficiency of plastic production and its impact on oil consumption is a pressing issue as peak oil production approaches, projected to be around the mid-21st century when oil reserves might diminish.