The world's petroleum supply has run out due to it's inefficient use by .
The nonrenewable resource that once made up almost all materials .
and products no longer exists. Petroleum was the source of petrochemicals. .
Petrochemicals include plastics, alcohol, medicines, sweeteners, perfumes, .
dyes, and explosives, just to name a few (ChemCom, 175). Although wood, .
hydropower, coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear fission are other alternate .
forms of energy, petroleum was the most widely used source (ChemCom, 191). .
Fortunately, scientists and chemist have found alternative sources to .
petroleum to serve as a replacement to petrochemicals and energy sources .
Sixty percent of petroleum usage went towards transportation. Cars are .
the main consumers of such amounts. This is because cars need oil and oil is .
a product of petroleum. This problem can be solved by extracting a substance .
called kerogen from oil shale, which is a form of rock. Kerogen is partially .
formed oil and decomposes into a material like crude oil when heated. The .
only disadvantage to this form of oil is that in order to be extracted, huge .
amounts of shale must be processed in order to get only a fractional amount .
of Kerogen. Vehicles are also being converted into dual-fuel vehicles, using .
either natural gas or gasoline. A refillable natural gas tank, which can .
power an automobile about 250 miles, can be easily stored in a car's trunk .
(ChemCom, 226). .
Coal is another option. Our nation's supply of known coal reserves is much greater then those of petroleum. Another possible alternative is liquid fuel produced from coal. The problem with this task is that the cost is .
considerably greater than that of petroleum extraction. But since petroleum .
is no longer available, the cost doesn't matter. Coal can also be used as an .
alternative to petrochemicals. All carbon compounds made from petroleum can be obtained through the correct chemical reactions from coal, water, and air (ChemCom, 226).