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Environmental Science > Ch. 9 > Flashcards

Ch. 9 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are fossil fuels? (3)

A
  1. coal
  2. oil
  3. natural gas
    - supply 80% of world’s energy
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2
Q

What are reserves?

A

known deposits from which materials can be extracted profitably with existing technology under prevailing economic conditions

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3
Q

Reserves of Coal

A

remains of plants

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4
Q

Formation of coal

A

transformed into coal with time, pressure, and heat

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5
Q

Reserves of oil and gas

A

derived from microscopic marine organisms

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6
Q

Formation of oil and gas

A

transformed to oil and gas through time, pressure, and heat

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7
Q

2 types of mining

A
  1. surface - easier; remove layers of overburden (soil, vegetation, etc.)
  2. subsurface - shafts and tunnels (underground)
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8
Q

define mountain top removal

A

surface mining; bulldoze top of mountain off

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9
Q

safety components of subsurface mining (5)

A
  1. more labor-intensive
  2. time-consuming
  3. support structure
  4. need enough air
  5. flooding/water
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10
Q

product of combustion of coal

A

air pollutants

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11
Q

transportation of coal

A
  • freight and trains

- expensive

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12
Q

issues related to extraction and use of coal (3)

A
  1. health and safety issues with mining
  2. transportation
  3. environmental issues
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13
Q

health and safety issues related to mining coal (2)

A
  1. explosions

2. black lung disease

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14
Q

transportation issues related to mining coal (1)

A
  1. expensive
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15
Q

environmental issues related to mining coal (4)

A
  1. landscape disturbance, subsidence (ground starts to sink down)
  2. acid mine drainage - coal = high amount of sulfur with water = sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
  3. air pollution - combustion of coal releases sulfur dioxide gas and water = H2SO4 and acid rain
  4. generates particulates (produces haze and reduces air quality)
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16
Q

reclaimed mines

A

must replace overburden, cleanup toxins, plants, and return to previous state

17
Q

extraction of oil

A
  • drilling operations extract oil and bring it to the surface
  • drilling tower = huge expense
    • has many wells to try and get as much out of tower as possible
18
Q

processing oil

A

crude oil is refined to make many different products

19
Q

what happens at oil refineries?

A

oil is heated and elements of crude oil boils, vapors captured and you get oil

20
Q

products of processed oil (14)

A
  1. fuel gas
  2. liquified gas
  3. propane
  4. butane
  5. kerosene
  6. jet fuel
  7. residual fuel
  8. oil and lubricants
  9. petrochemical compounds
  10. gasoline
  11. diesel
  12. furnace
  13. asphalt
  14. coke
21
Q

issues of extracting oil (2)

A
  1. oil spills (pipelines and tankers)
    • less spills from ’70s to ’00s
  2. air pollution - emissions of CO2 (with all fossil fuels
    • not as bad as coal
22
Q

Extraction of natural gas

A

extraction procedures similar to oil

23
Q

transportation of natural gas

A
  • difficult

- some gas transported as liquified natural gas (LNG)

24
Q

environmental issues of natural gas (3)

A
  • less environmental impacts than oil or coal
    1. little waste production during extraction
    2. little possibility of harm during transport (if liquified)
    3. combustion produces less air pollutants
25
Q

nuclear fission

A

some atoms are radioactive and spontaneously decompose

26
Q

process of nuclear energy (3)

A
  1. decomposition releases large amounts of energy (radiation) and subatomic particles
  2. after decomposition, atom becomes different kind of atom
  3. release of subatomic particles initiates chain reaction, causing other atoms to also decompose and release energy
27
Q

why is nuclear energy a chain reaction

A

self-sustaining reaction, but can get out of control

28
Q

nuclear reactors

A

reactors allow for a sustained, controlled nuclear fission chain reaction

29
Q

components of nuclear reactors (5)

A
  1. fuel rods - contains uranium - 235
  2. *control rods - control rate of fission reaction
  3. *coolant - moderates temp; cools water
  4. moderator - steam produces from heat of fission reaction, separates turbine that produces electricity
    - as control rods go deeper, it slows reactions down; keeps control
    * critical components
30
Q

nuclear fuel cycle (7) (diagram)

A
  1. uranium mining
  2. uranium enrichment
  3. fuel fabrication
  4. nuclear fission
  5. used fuel rods
    1. re-processing
    2. waste
31
Q

issues related to use of nuclear fuels (4)

A
  1. exposure to ionizing radiation (radioactivity)
    • damage to DNA or other biological molecules
  2. accidents at nuclear reactors
  3. decommissioning nuclear plants
  4. nuclear waste disposal
32
Q

3 popular nuclear reactor accidents

A
  1. 3 Mile Island (Harrisburg, PA; 1979)
  2. Chernobyl (Ukraine; 1986)
  3. Fukushima Dai’ichi (Japan; 2011)
33
Q

describe 3 Mile Island accident

A
  • coolant pump malfunctioned

- shut down reactors and contained radioactivity

34
Q

describe Chernobyl accident

A
  • running tests
  • uncontrolled chain reaction
  • control rods didn’t fit anymore
  • explosion and death
35
Q

describe Fukushima Dai’ichi accident

A
  • tsunami
  • reactor shut down
  • wave hit
  • partial meltdowns
  • lots of contaminants released

Environmental Science (11 decks)

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