earth science - energy resources

energy

  • the capacity to do work

resource

  • referring to any item which is used for a specific purpose

types of resources

non-renewable resources

  • cannot be replenished or regenerated on a human time scale

  • this energy uses nuclear and fossil fuels

renewable resources

  • cannot be replenished or regenerated on a human time scale

types of non-renewable resources

  1. nuclear energy - both fission (large atom to small atom) and fusion (small atom to large atom) create a heat energy called nuclear energy

  2. fossil fuels - including coal, oil, and natural gas; are drilled or mined before being burned to produce electricity or refined for as fuel

    • coal - black combustible rock made up of different element such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and varying amounts of sulfur; carboniferous period is the most extensive coal deposit date (290mya to 360mya)

      classification of coal according to its carbon content:

    • lignite - a soft, dark brown, low-rank coal composed of 60% to 70%

    • bituminous - at higher temperature lignite becomes dull, black, and mid-rank coal composed of 70% to 80% carbon

    • anthracite - when the temperature continues to increase, the bituminous coal is transformed into a shiny, black, high-rank coal composed of 95% carbon

  3. petrolium - comes from the word “petra” which means rock and “oleum” which means oil; oil was formed from the remains of marine animals and plants that lived millions of years ago that accumulated on the sea bottom and went through geologic forces and formation

  4. natural gas - formed when layers of decomposing organic material are exposed to higher temperatures and pressures generated within earth

renewable energy

  • this includes geothermal, flowing water, wind, solar, and biomass

  • energy that can be replenished faster than fossil fuels

types of renewable energy

  1. biomass - refers to biological or plant and animal material used as fuel for the generation of electricity, other forms of fuel, and heat

  2. hydroelectric power - it converts the kinetic fast moving water into electricity

  3. solar energy - energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy

  4. geothermal energy - is thermal energy extracted from the earth’s crust

  5. wind energy - used to produce electricity by converting the kinetic energy of air in motion into electricity