AP Environmental Science- Test 6 Energy

fossil fuels

a fuel derived from biological material that became fossilised millions of years ago

nonrenewable energy resource

an energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels

nuclear fuel

fuel derived from radioactive materials that give off energy

commercial energy source

an energy source that is bought and sold

subsistence energy source

an energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs

Developed countries only account for only 20% of the world’s population, however use almost _____ of the world’s energy each year.

half

wood was predominant energy source until

1875

from after _ *until the early 1900’s _, _, _, began being more widely used*

1875, coal, natural gas, oil

the 1950’s saw energy generated by _ power plants as well as _.

nuclear, hydroelectricity

1970s saw a decline in *_ and an increase in _*

oil, coal

midwestern and southeastern states prefer

coal.

western and northeastern states prefer

a mix of nuclear energy, natural gas and hydroelectricity.

Northern areas consume more energy during

winter to warm up.

Southern areas consume more energy during

summer to cool down.

energy efficiency

useful work performed relative to the total energy input in a system

efficiency of converting coal into electricity is approximately

35 percent

oil and natural gas together make up _ of overall energy use in the US

64

30% of energy use in the United States is for

transportation.

energy carrier

something that can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form for users

primary energy source

coal, oil, natural gas, etc.

secondary energy source

electricity

turbine

a device that can be turned by water, steam, or wind to produce power

electrical grid

a network of interconnected transmission lines that join together power plants and links them with end users of electricity

combined cycle

a power plant that uses both exhaust gases and steam turbines to generate electricity

capacity

in reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output.

capacity factor

the fraction of time a power plant operates in a year.

cogeneration

the use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat.

advantages of coal use

\-used to generate electricity

\
\-easy to exploit by surface mining

\
\-easy to transport

\
\-does not require a lot of refinement for burning

\
\-technological and economic costs are relatively low

\
\-easy to handle

disadvantages of coal use

\- surface mining will inevitably lead to subsurface mining which is more technologically demanding and worse for human health

\
\-coal releases sulfur and trace elements into the atmos

\-lignite and anthracite have low percentages of sulfur while bituminous has higher percentages

\
\-leaking of chemical cleaning compounds and ash holding for coal plants

\
\-CO2

\
\-ugly mining process, destroys habitat

petroleum

a widely used fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water and sulfur

crude oil

liquid petroleum removed from the ground

petroleum is formed by

phytoplankton.

coal is formed by

plants.

advantages of petroleum

\-extremely convenient to transport and use

\
\-relatively energy-dense and burns cleaner than coal

disadvantages of petroleum

\-oli contains trace elements released to atmos when burned

\
\-oil has to be extracted from under the ground or beneath the ocean

-potential for spills

\
\-transport

-potential for spills

petroleum can be refined to produce

tar, asphalt, gasoline, diesel, kerosene, petrochemicals; plastics, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, cleaning solvents

net energy

usable amount of high quality energy available from a given quantity of an energy resource

which has a higher net energy? oil or nuclear?

oil.

net energy efficiency

how much useful energy we get from an energy source

life cycle cost

initial cost of car/appliance + lifetime operating costs

best lightbulbs

LED and CFL

no incandescent bulbs

95% energy wasted

fluorescent light bulbs

contain Hg which can be recycled

LEDs and organic LEDs

lower energy waste percentage

CFL uses _ of the energy of incandescent bulbs

1/4

LED uses _ of the energy of incandescent bulbs

1/6

internal combustion engines waste %

94% waste in fuel

coal burning power plant waste %

66% waste heat

nuclear power used for heat and heating water waste %

83-92%

peak load

amount of electricity needed at the time of highest demand

brownout

lights dim

rolling blackout

take turns losing power to different neighbourhoods

how do people find natural gas and oil?

GIS, satellites, drilling test holes and rock samples, explosion on the surface and measuring seismic waves

sweet crude oil

low sulfur, less corrosive, found in LA, Libya, Nigeria

sour crude oil

high sulphur, corrosive, found in most of middle east

primary recovery

oil extracted by drilling into deposit, oil flows into wells and is pumped to the surface

secondary recovery

increases yield by injecting water into well to force oil into a central well

tertiary recovery

even more oil removed, injecting steam and C02, really expensive

1/2 of the worlds oil reserves are in the

persian gulf region

peak oil

the point at which half of the supply of oil has been used up

1/2 of the worlds natural gas is in

Russia, Iran and Qatar

largest coal reserves found in

US, Russia, China, Australia and India

natural gas is 80-95%

methane.

advantages of natural gas

\-natural gas contains fewer impurities and therefore emits almost no sulfur dioxide or particulates during combustion

disadvantages of natural gas

\-unburned natural gas will leak into the atmosphere (methane) is a potent GHG

\
\-pipelines and tankers can leak

\
\-drilling leads to enviro degradation

oil sands

slow-flowing viscous deposits of degraded petroleum mixed with sand, water and clay

oil sands issues

• have to be surface mined

• require refinements to remove sand

• releases more air pollutants

• mostly found in UTAH and Alberta, Canada, Venezuela, and Russia, and Columbia

• boreal forests damaged during removal

bitumen

a degraded type of petroleum that forms when it migrates to the surface of the Earth and is modified by bacteria

CTL

(coal to liquid) the technology to convert coal solid into coal liquid

energy intensity

the energy use per unit of gross domestic product

strip mining

the removal of strips of soil and rock to expose ore

mine tailings

unwanted waste material created during mining including mineral and other residues that are left behind after the desired metal or ore is removed.

open-pit mining

a mining technique that creates a large visible pit or hole in the ground

mountaintop removal

a mining technique in which the entire top of a mountain is removed with explosives

placer mining

the process of looking for minerals, metals, and precious stones in river sediments

subsurface mining

mining techniques used when the desired resource is more than 100 meters below the surface of the earth.

Mining Law of 1872

allowed individuals and companies to recover ores or fuels from federal lands.

\
\-few environmental protection provisions

SMCRA (1977)

land has to be minimally disturbed during the mining process and be reclaimed after the mining is completed.

How long did EXXON VALDEZ spill take to clean up?

2 decades

How much oil spilled from the EXXON VALDEZ accident?

42 million liters

Deep Water Horizon oil spill

780 million liters spilled out into the Gulf of Mexico

thermal shock

a dramatic change in water temperature that can kill organisms.

bottom ash

residue collected at the bottom of the combustion chamber in a furnace

fly ash

the residue collected from the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace

gravitational settling

a way to remove ash and particulate matter using gravity. the ash falls to the bottom, easier to collect.

a scrubber

removes particulate matter using water mist. mist collects the particles and drops it down where it is collected by a sludge removal system.

nuclear fission

a nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat.

fuel rods

a cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor

control rods

a cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction

Hubbert curve

a bell-shaped curve representing oil use and projecting both when world production will reach a maximum and when the world will run out of oil.

anthracite

is a metamorphic rock.

lignite and bituminous

are sedimentary rocks.

most important energy used in the US

oil

meltdown

when the metal around the uranium melts, releasing radiation called a meltdown

stigma against nuclear energy

\-accidents and radioactivity

bacquerel (Bq)

Unit that measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays; 1 Bq = decay of 1 atom or nucleus per second.

Curie

a unit of measure for radiation; 1 curie = 37 billion decays per second

problem with nuclear waste

it is really difficult to dispose of

nuclear fusion

a reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei