APES: Ch 15 Geologic Resources: Nonrenewable Energy part 1

primary oil recovery

drilling a well and pumping out the oil that flows by gravity into the bottom of the well

secondary oil recovery

after the flowing oil is removed, water is injected into nearby wells to force some of the remaining heavy oil to the surface

tertiary oil recovery

Removal of some of the heavy oil left in an oil well after other recovery processes. Involves injecting steam into a secondary well to force the remaining oil to the recovery well.

refinery

the place where crude oil is heated and distilled in gigantic columns to separate it into liquid components with different boiling points such as naphtha, diesel oil, heating oil, aviation fuel, and gasoline

petrochemicals

the products of oil distillations that are used as raw materials

kerogen

A shale oil. The heavy waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, slow-flowing, dark-brown oil formed when the vapor is condensed.

bitumen

A part of tar sand. a mixture of clay, sand, water, and oil removed by surface mining. Creates a gooey, black, high-sulfur heavy oil.

natural gas

a mixture of 50-90% by volume of methane, CH4, the simplest hydrocarbon; smaller amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane c2h6,

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

Happens when a natural gas field is tapped. How propane and butane gases are removed, then they're stored in pressurized tanks for use mostly in rural areas not served by natural gas pipelines.

liquefied natural gas (LNG)

At a very low temperature of -184 degrees Celsius, natural gas is converted to this. It is a highly flammable liquid that can be shipped to other countries in refrigerated tanker ships.

Coal

A solid, rocklike fossil fuel; it formed in several stages as the buried remains of ancient swamp plants that died during the Carboniferous period (a geologic era that ended 286 million years ago) were subjected to intense pressure and heat over millions of years. Mostly carbon with smaller amounts of water and sulfur.

Subsurface mining

characterized by tunnels and shafts. Very labor intensive and is one of the world's most dangerous activities.

Surface mining

When resources are close to the surface, this is used. Bulldozers and huge earth-moving machines remove overburden to recover mineral deposits.

Overburden

Excess soil and rock removed from mineral deposits to extract them.

Area strip mining

Used on fairly flat terrain where mineral deposits are shallow. An earthmover strips away the overburden, and a power shovel digs a cut to remove the mineral deposit. After removal of the mineral, the trench is filled with overburden, and a new cut is made parallel to the previous one. The process is repeated over the entire site.

Contour strip mining

Used on hilly or mountainous terrain., Form of surface mining used on hilly or mountainous terrain. A power shovel cuts a series of terraces into the side of a hill. An earthmover removes the overburden, and a power shovel extracts the coal, with the overburden from each new terrace dumped onto the one below.

Open-pit mining

Thick beds of coal (or other minerals) near the surface are removed by digging a deep pit to get them out.

Fluidized-bed combustion

new method developed to burn coal more cleanly and efficiently by using air jets at the base of the furnace and added crushed limestone from above to nuetralize Sulfur addmissions.

Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG)

What solid coal can be converted into. By coal gasification, converted into hydrogen gas, or into a liquid fuel such as methanol or synthetic gasoline by coal liquefaction. These are synfuels that can be transported by pipeline.

Light-Water Reactors (LWRs)

Reactors using ordinary water as coolant. They produce 85% of the world's nuclear generated electricity (100% in the US).

Core

35,000-40,000 long, thin, fuel rods, packed into assemblies.

Control Rods

moved in and out of the reactor core to absorb neutrons and thus regulate the rate of fission and amount of power the reactor produces

Moderator

slows down the neutrons emitted by the fission process so they have near elastic collisions with U-238 but can still fission U235 so chain reactions can be kept going.

Pressurized water reactors

Water in the reactor core is not allowed to boil and instead is kept under high pressure to allow the coolant to reach higher temperatures.

Coolant

usually water, circulates through the reactor's core to remove heat (so they don't melt) and to produce steam for generating electricity