Unit 5: Energy Resources and Use

Thermodynamics

The study of energy transfer

System

Matter relevant to a particular case of energy transfer

Open system

Energy is exchanged with its surroundings

Examples of open systems

Pot, stove, water, biological organisms

Closed system

Energy is not exchanged with its surroundings

Surroundings

Everything outside the matter of a system

Energy

The ability to do work or change

1st law of thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred

Example of radiant energy

Light energy from the sun can be transformed by solar panels into electricity

Example of chemical energy

Energy stored in chemical bonds in food are broken during digestion and the energy is released and can be used as mechanical enerrgy, allowing people to run, play, and move

Example of mechanical energy

Cars use chemical energy from gas to power engines, transforming it into mechanical energy

Mechanical energy

A form of kinetic energy

Kinetic energy

Energy of motion

Nuclear energy

Released when nuclei split or combine, can be used for electrical energy

Electrical energy example

Light bulb uses electrical energy to create radiant energy

Thermal energy

Heat energy can be transferred by conduction, convection, or radiation

Heat

The transfer of energy, but it cannot always be used to do work

Entropy/Disorder

Energy that is lost as heat and is unuseable. Higher entropy = greater disorder. Determines the efficiency of a system

How many Joules in 1 calorie?

4.184 J

How many calories in 1 kcal?

1000 calories

How many joules in 1 British Thermal Unit (BTU)

1,055 Joules

How many joules in 1 kcal

4,184 j

Formula for mechanical energy

work energy = force x distance

Formula for rate of energy flow

Watt = joules/second

Why do electric bills report energy usage in kilowatt hours?

Power = Energy / Time

Energy = Power x Time

Joules = Watts x Seconds

What does 1 kWh (kilowatt hour) equal in kilojoules

3600 kj

What source of energy has been used since the United States was founded in 1775?

Wood

What source of energy was increasingly utilized after the Industrial Revolution which ended in the 1840s?

Coal

How has the consumption of coal changed in the last fifty years?

It has declined

How has the energy consumption from petroleum changed over time?

Drastically increased during early 1900s

Industrial Revolution

Occurred from 1760 to 1840. Shift from small-scale production of goods to large-scale production using machines occurred

When was oil/petroleum discovered in the US

1859

When did strip-mining begin

1866 in Illinois

When did the mass production of autmobiles begin?

1890

When did Coal consumption see an increase?

Following conflicts with OPEC nations

First commercial hydropower plant that utilized alternating current

The Redlands Power Plant in California (1893)

Monongah Mining Disaster

The worst mining accident in U.S. history when 360 men were killed in an explosion in West Virginia in 1907

Enrico Fermi

Produced the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction in 1942, proved that neutrons could split the nucleus of atoms, releasing energy, He thought that if he had a critical mass of nuclear materials, he could trigger a chain reaction which would produce a self-sustaining continuous release of energy

Why was nuclear energy not used until the 1960’s

Research and development of nuclear material was focused on building nuclear weapons

When did the world's first nuclear power plant begins operations?

1957 in Pennsylvania

What event happened in 1973 that was basd for oil prices in the U.S?

Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed an embargo that banned petroleum exports to the U.S.

When was the US Department of Energy established

1977

The Iranian Revolution of 1978

Reduced petroleum production

Three Mile Island

A loss of coolant from the reactor core causes an accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania in 1979 —> caused public fear

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005

Caused major damage to several oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico

The Energy Policy Act of 2005

Provided tax incentives for different types of energy production, such as natural gas, biofuels, and wind

What increased the demand for gasoline in the U.S.

1980’s; production of automobiles.

What happened as population grew?

Number of automobiles did which led to petroleum replacing coal as the largest source of energy in the later part of the 20th century.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC)

Formed in 1960. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela coordinated policies involving petroleum production and export

OPEC now includes 14 countries that account for 73% of the world's oil reserves.

What did the reliance on OPEC nations for petroleum lead to?

An increase in coal consumption, as well as natural gas due to countries wanting to be oil-independent

What else allowed americans to be even more oil-independent?

Advancements in science leading to nuclear energy consumption and hydroelectric power plants gradually became more prevalent

What percent of US energy use is renewable

10%

What percent of the world’s energy comes from oil?

40%.

Oil prices

Depend on discoveries and also political events

World energy consumption

Rising, especially in developing countries

Global demand for energy

Tripled in the past 50 years, and may again in the next 30

Much of the growth comes from booming economies of china and india

Renewable energy

Growing fast, Germany plans to meet 20% of its electricity and 10% of its overall energy needs w/ renewable resources by 2020

China

Second largest consumer of oil in 2003

Over ⅓ of oil is imported

Coal dominates the commercial energy resources of China, accounting for ⅔ of its energy consumption

Largest generator of CO2 in 2009

Largest consumer of oil

United States

India

main energy resources are biomass (wood and dung) and coal

½ of India’s oil is imported. About 70% of India’s electricity is generated by highly polluting coal

Renewables: rapidly growing wind energy base, and it has the largest solar cooking program in the world

What percent of global energy comes from the nonrenewable resources petroleum, coal, and natural gas (fossil fuels)

87%

GDP vs Energy

Countries with higher GDPs consume more energy

(japan is different; has a higher GDP, but consumes about half as much energy)

Energy use graph

118% increase since 1990

What is the projected world energy consumption in the year 2035?

812 x 10¹⁸ Joules

Fossil fuels

Materials created through the compression of prehistoric organic plant and animal matter in the Earth's crust → this compression converts into carbon-rich material that can be burned to release enormous amounts of energy

The formation of fossil fuels occurred over millions of year

The three main types of fossil fuels

coal, oil, and natural gas.

What is the largest source of human-produced air pollution?

Fossil fuels

How is petroleum produced?

Refining crude oil

What does fuel efficiency mean?

How far could a car travel on one gallon of gas, typically in miles per gallon (mpg)

Most abundant fossil fuel on Earth

Coal, formed over millions of years

How large is Earth’s total coal reserve

1 trillion metric tons.

Where is majority of Earth’s total coal reserve found?

Eastern Europe and Asia, large reserves in U.S.

How is coal formed

carbon-filled matter in these ancient swamps compressed into peat, a near-solid soil-like material

What determines what type of coal is formed?

Temperature and pressure differences

Ignite coal

50% carbon & 50% water, produces the lowest energy output, produces relatively low amounts of smog-causing sulfur

Bituminous coal

85% carbon and 3% water, Majority found in U.S., Produces most sulfur dioxide when burned

Anthracite

~100% carbon, Hardest coal, Produced most energy when burned

How is coal mined?

Strip mining and sub-surface mining.

Cons of coal mining

Causes a lot of environmental damage like erosion and habitat destruction. sub- surface causes less environmental damage but is dangerous for miners like if a tunnel collapses or explodes

What percent of electricity in US comes from coal burning plants?

50%

Where is coal used?

Used for heating and cooling in developing countries and rural areas of developed countries

How long are coal reserves estimated to last?

200 years

What does burning coal produce?

Sulfur dioxide and other harmful pollutants; Ex: nitrogen oxides, heavy metals, and carbon dioxide, waste in the form of toxic ash

How can harmful pollutants produced during coal burning be reduced?

Installing scrubbers and electrostatic precipitator in the smokestacks of coal burning power plants

Oil

Relatively inexpensive, preferred over coal because an equal amount of oil produces more kilowatts of energy than coal, burns cleaner; producing about 50% less sulfur dioxide.

What is oil used for

Gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and heating oil, used in petrochemical industry to produce chemicals, plastics, and fertilizers.

Where is more than ½ of the World’s oil found?

the Middle East

Where are other oil reserves found?

North America, including Texas, the largest oil-producing state in the U.S.

Rate of oil use

Oil is being used at a rate that exceeds the rate of discovery of new sources; If consumption rate continues to increase and no significant new sources are found, oil supplies may be exhausted in another 30 years or so.

How is oil formed?

Deep below Earth’s oceans: Remains of seaplants and animals sank to the bottom of the ocean and were buried under thousands of feet of sand sediment, forming sedimentary rock. As the rock was forced deeper and deeper into the Earth’s crust, increasing heat and pressure turned the organic matter into petroleum and gas deposits.

Shale

Oil forms underground in rock that is rich in organic matter

What happens once oil is formed?

It moves upward into porous reservoir rock such as sandstone or limestone, where it can become trapped by an overlying impermeable cap rock → Geologists drill wells into these oil reservoirs to remove the gas and oil

Where are over 70% of oil fields found?

Near tectonic plate boundaries, because the conditions there are conducive to oil formation.

Oil recovery stages

Pump oil from reservoirs under the normal reservoir pressure

This removes about 25% of the oil in a reservoir.

Injecting hot water into the reservoir around the well

Water pushes the remaining oil toward the area of the well from which it can be recovered

**Sometimes a third method of recovery is used in order to remove as much of the remaining oil as possible

involves pumping steam, carbon dioxide gas, or nitrogen gas into the reservoir to force the remaining oil toward the well

very expensive and can cost up to half of the value of oil removed.

Fractional distillation

boiling crude and separating the gases

Natural gas

Considered the cleanest burning fossil fuel; does not contain sulfur, easy and inexpensive to transport once pipelines are in place

Where are most of the world's natural gas reserves found?

Eastern Europe and the Middle East

What is natural gas used for?

Heating, cooking, and powering vehicles in developed countries, or for making ammonia fertilizer.

How many natural gas reserves are there?

Around 100 million metric tons

How long will natural gas reserves last us?

~ 100 years