ch.16 vocab Flashcards
petrochemicals
Chemicals obtained by refining petroleum - e.g. plastics, fertilizers, pesticides, synthetic fibers, paints, medicines, etc.
tar sands
mixture of clay, sand and water and bitumen (tarlike oil)
shale oil
Fine-grained rock containing various amounts of solid hydrocarbon compounds.
liquified petroleum gas
LPG is tapped, propane, and butane gases liquefied under high pressure and removed as this. Terrible net energy yield
hydrocarbon
a compound of hydrogen and carbon, such as any of those that are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas.
methane hydrate
unconventional source: methane trapped in icy water molecules, buried under tundra/deep ocean bottom. Currently costs too much money to get natural gas and releasing it would speed up global warming
lignite
Lowest grade of coal containing only about 30% carbon.
bitumunous coal
Medium-grade coal containing about 70% carbon.
anthracite coal
Highest grade of coal containing about 95% carbon. Some of the largest deposits in the world are in eastern PA.
synfuels
synthetic gaseous and liquid fuels produced from solid coal or sources other than natural gas or crude oil
light water reactor
most common reactor. very inefficient, losing 83% energy available as waste heat
control rods
pellets of uranium dioxide packed into closed pipes called
neutron-absorbing rods that help control fission reactions by limiting the number of free neutrons; located inside the nuclear reactor
chernobyl
Nuclear reactor site of the worst nuclear accident in history (northern Ukraine). Large radioactive plumes of smoke were emitted when one of the reactors exploded and materials burned at the site in 1986.
nuclear fusion
Nuclear change in which two nuclei of isotopes of elements with a low mass number are forced together
bitumen
Gooey, black, high-sulfur, heavy oil extracted from tar sand and then upgraded to synthetic fuel oil. thickest form of petroleum.
