APES Nonrenewable Resources Chapter 15

Name several types of nonrenewable energy.

Fossil fuels (oil), natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy

Oil supplies ______ of the world's energy.

1/3

Net energy

the amount of high-quality usable energy available from a resource after subtracting the energy needed to make it available

Electrical generator

a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy through a turbine

First law of Thermodynamics

the total energy of an isolated system is constant; energy can be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed.

Second law of Thermodynamics

energy conversions are not efficient, energy is degraded into low quality, more dispersed, less useful heat

Coal burning power plants are only _____% efficient

33%

How do you refine crude oil? Know where the removal of certain components of oil in the distillation column occurs.

Based on boiling points, components are removed at various layers in a giant distillation column. The most volatile components with the lowest boiling points are removed at the top.

What are petrochemicals? Provide examples of common items that contain petrochemicals.

products of oil distillation, used as raw materials in the production of chemicals, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, paint and medicine

What two countries control 70% of the world's oil production.

Saudi Arabia and Venezuela

The US imports ______% of its oil.

24%

What is oil sand (tar sand)? What is bitumen? How is bitumen extracted?

A mixture of combustible bitumen, clay, sand, and water. Bitumen has a high sulfur content and creates a thick, sticky, heavy oil. Bitumen is extracted through mixing oil sand with water and steam.

Shale Oil

A potential source of heavy oil, ,mostly in US

What type of net energy ratios do oil sand and oil shale have- high or low?

low

_______________, Canada has ______% of the world's oil sand reserves.

Alberta, 75%

What are the advantages/disadvantages of conventional oil?

Advantages: Moderate cost (oil sand), Large potential supplies, especially oil sands in Canada, Easily transported within & between countries, Efficient distribution system in place, Technology well-developed (oil sand)
Disadvantages: High cost (oil shale), Low net energy yield, Environmental damage, Dependence

What other fossil fuel is harvested with oil?

Natural gas

Natural gas is more than _____% methane. Name some other gases associated with natural gas.

50%
Ethane, propane, butane, and hydrogen sulfide

What is LPG? What/where is it used?

Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
Are liquefied propane and butane gases, stored in tanks for use in rural areas not served by gas lines.

Natural gas supplies _______% of the world's energy needs.

23%

What two countries have almost half of the world's conventional gas reserves?

Russia and Iran

What are the advantages/disadvantages to conventional natural gas? How do you commonly transport it?

Advantages: Can be a renewable resource, can be efficiently and safely stored, has fewer impurities, it is less chemically complex, and its combustion generally results in less pollution
Disadvantages: Emits greenhouse gases, highly volatile and can be dangerous if handled or transported carelessly, its leak detection is very difficult

Fracking

the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc., so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.

What are the 3 types of coal discussed in your text? What are the differences between them? Be able to list the stages of coal formation from lowest to highest heat content starting with peat.

Lignite, Bituminous, and Anthracite.
L- low heat & sulfur content
B- high heat & sulfur content
A- high heat content, low sulfur content
Heat Stages: Peat, Lignite, Bituminous, and Anthracite.

What is the most prized type of coal and why?

Anthracite, burns the best and gives the most energy

Coal, when burned, releases two undesirable chemicals. What are they?

Sulfur dioxide and Mercury

What are the top two advantages of using coal as an energy resource? What are the major disadvantages?

A: ample supplies and high net energy yields
D: high CO2 emissions, land disturbance

What type of fossil fuel is the dirtiest form of fossil fuel to burn?

Coal

What is the most commonly used fuel in nuclear reactors?

Uranium

What is the difference between nuclear fusion and fission?

Both fission and fusion are nuclear reactions that produce energy, but the applications are not the same. Fission is the splitting of a heavy, unstable nucleus into two lighter nuclei, and fusion is the process where two light nuclei combine together releasing vast amounts of energy.

What happened to nuclear power? Why hasn't it lived up to its promise? How many new nuclear power plants have been ordered in the US

Cheap energy and declining demand for electricity.
Radioactive waste is a problem.
0 new power plants

What countries depend the most on nuclear energy?

France, Japan, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, & Ukraine

What are some political concerns of nuclear energy?

nuclear bombs and wars, terrorist attacks

Name three nuclear power disasters and where they took place.

Three Mile Island (near Harrisburg, PA),Fukushima Daiichi
(Japan), and Chernobyl (Ukraine)

What happened at Chernobyl?

A controlled test of the safety emergency core cooling feature of the reactor was scheduled. When test was started, the chain reaction began occurring uncontrollably. When detected, a shutdown of the reactor was ordered. An unknown design flaw in the tips of the control rods caused coolant fluid to be displaced. This created an even larger spike, overwhelming the reactor containment, causing an explosion and a complete core meltdown.

What happened at Fukushima?

A tsunami struck the area causing the local power plant responsible for supply electricity to the nuclear power plant was cut off. This caused the water to continue to heat up and a meltdown occurred causing radioactive material to enter the aquifer.

What are the major advantages and disadvantages of nuclear fuel?

Advantages: no green house gas emissions,
Disadvantages: radioactive waste, high environmental disruption (if explosion occurs)

How long must radioactive waste be stored? Where/how do we store it?

240,000 years;
store in water for cooling and shielding

Yucca Mountain

Planned repository for high-level radioactive wastes in a Nevada Mountain desert region near Las Vegas.

Explain why nuclear power energy has a low net energy yield.

it is extremely expensive to make nuclear power plants

What aspect of energy generation is shared by wind, hydroelectric, and fossil fuel plants?

All are hooked up to a turbine and a generator