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6-Understanding Planet Earth > Chapter 12: Energy Resources > Flashcards

Chapter 12: Energy Resources Flashcards

1
Q

What is photosynthesis?

A

Solar energy is stored in chemical hydrogen-carbon bonds. H-C bonds are created via photosynthesis by reaction of water and carbon dioxide to form sugar and oxygen.
H-C bonds release stored energy when they are broken (oxidized). They are the fuel for the organic respiration that keeps us (and the rest of the biosphere) alive

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2
Q

What are some sources of energy?

A
  • oil
  • natural gas
  • oil sands
  • coal
  • geothermal
  • solar
  • ocean
  • nuclear
  • biofuels
  • hydrogen
  • fuel cells
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3
Q

How are fuels formed?

A

Buried plants, algae and other organic remains can progressively be converted to fuels. These fuels, which include oil, gas and coal, are called fossil fuels to emphasize that they come from ancient organisms preserved in the rock for geologic time.

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4
Q

What is tidal energy?

A

The flow of water in and out of channels during tidal changes can drive water wheels or turbines that can run machinery or produce electricity.

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5
Q

What is hydro-electrical energy?

A

Gravity also causes water that pools at high elevation from rain to flow downhill.

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6
Q

What are gravitational sourced energy types?

A
  • tidal
  • hydro-electrical
  • wind
  • wave
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7
Q

How is wind a gravitational energy?

A

Gravity also causes wind to blow as cooler air sinks and warmer air rises and the energy harvested by windmills that drive dynamos to produce electricity.

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8
Q

What are other sources of energy other than gravity?

A
  • chemical reactions
  • nuclear fission
  • geothermal
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9
Q

What are Oil and Gas?

A

The primary source of organic chemicals in oil and gas are dead algae and plankton that lived in the ocean or other large bodies of water.

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10
Q

How is oil formed?

A

In the absence of oxygen, the degradation of organic matter is much slower and higher organisms cannot survive. As the organic-rich mud is buried under accumulating sediment, it slowly lithifies and becomes a black organic shale (sapropel). This black shale is referred to as a source rock

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11
Q

What is the oil window?

A

The oil window refers to the depth and temperature conditions necessary for oil generation. Burial below the oil window will break down oil to produce natural gas: the gas window.

Continued heating breaks down the kerogen. Oil and gas form in specific T ranges.
Oil and gas: 90oC to 160oC.
Gas only: 160oC to 250oC.
Graphite: >250oC

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12
Q

Oil forms only in a relatively narrow range of temperatures, called the oil window, which generally can exist only in the topmost ___ to ___ km of the crust, depending on the local geothermal gradient.

A

6 to 9

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13
Q

Today, ______ provide(s) over 75% of the world’s energy.

A.Hydroelectric power
B.Fossil fuels
C.Nuclear energy
D.Solar energy

A

B

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14
Q

The chemicals that make up oil and natural gas are derived from . . .

A.the bodies of dead plankton and algae.
B.accumulations of woody plants and mosses.
C.the bodies of land animals (mainly dinosaurs). D.Accumulations of shells

A

A

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15
Q

To produce oil from kerogen, the following condition must be met:

A.the rock must be saturated with salt.
B.the rock must be completely dry.
C.the temperature must be greater than 400°C, and at a depth of greater than 25 km.
D.the temperature must be between about 90° and 150°C.

A

D

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16
Q

Where are the largest oil reserved found?

A

Regions bordering the Persian Gulf contain the world’s largest reserves

17
Q

A barrel (bbl) of oil is ___ gallons or ____ liters.

A

42 gallons

159 liters

18
Q

The first oil well was drilled in ________, in 1859.

A

Titusville, Pennsylvania

19
Q

Give examples of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves

A
  • tar sands

- oil shale

20
Q

What are tar sands? Features?

A

Tar sands—heavy residual petroleum found in sand.
–Heavy oil (bitumen) is the residue of a former oil field.
–Bitumen hydrocarbons are too viscous to be pumped.
–Tar sands must be mined and processed.
•Difficult, expensive, inefficient; 2 tons yields 1 barrel of oil. •Energy intensive –Extensive deposits in Alberta, Canada, and in Venezuela.

Viscous, tar-like “heavy oil” or bitumen trapped in sand or sandstone.

21
Q

What is oil shale?

A

Organic-rich shale that have not been subjected to temperatures of the oil window, or did not stay within the oil window long enough to complete the transformation to oil, still contain a high proportion of kerogen.

22
Q

How are oil shales converted to liquid hydrocarbons?

A

Oil shales must be heated to 500°C to convert the kerogen into liquid hydrocarbons.

23
Q

What is natural gas? Where is it formed? How is it obtained?

A

Natural gas—short-chain hydrocarbons
–Methane, ethane, propane, butane, and others.
–Form at temperatures just above the oil window.
–Natural gas is more abundant than oil; a cleaner fuel.
–Now being drilled from shale oil, using direction drilling and hydraulic fracturing: “fracking”

24
Q

What is the advantage of using natural gas over oil?

A

Gas burns more cleanly than oil and produces more energy per unit carbon but requires expensive high-pressure pipelines and ships to transport it

25
Q

What is coal? How is it formed? Features?

A

Coal is a black, brittle, carbon-rich sedimentary rock made up of the altered remains of fossil vegetation with minor amounts of quartz and clay.
Coal is an important global energy source and a dominant CO2 emitter. It is only found in rocks younger than 420 Ma (after land plants had evolved).

26
Q

What is the difference between coal and oil?

A

The origin of coal In contrast to oil, coal forms from terrestrial plant material that once grew in swamps.

27
Q

Explain coalification

A
  • For peat to become coal, the peat must be buried deeply, 4 to 10 km, by sediment such as in deep sedimentary basins or following a transgression
  • Anthracite develops on the border of mountain belts where coal-bearing sediments end up to depths of 8-10 km and are heated to temperatures of ~300ºC
28
Q

These alternatives produce little to no CO2 and are renewable:

A
  • Geothermal energy
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Wind energy
  • Solar power
  • Hydrogen fuel cells
29
Q

What are biofuels?

A
  • processed or refined plant matter
  • Semi-renewable
  • Produce CO2 when burned
  • Early humans used biomass (wood, charcoal, dung).
  • Ethanol is the most commonly used biofuel today.
  • Alcohol derived from corn, sugar cane, cellulose, algae, etc.
  • Added to gasoline as a motor vehicle fuel
  • Biodiesel is also an important biofuel.
30
Q

How is biodiesel produced?

A

Produced by chemical modification of fats and vegetable oils

31
Q

What is geothermal energy? Where is it found?

A
  • Energy from Earth’s internal heat.
  • Geothermal gradient: Earth becomes hotter with depth.
  • Hot groundwater pumped to heat buildings, pools, spas.
  • Steam from very hot groundwater can be used for electricity generation.
  • Iceland; New Zealand
32
Q

Explain how hydroelectric power works. Where is the largest plant found?

A
  • Running water represents kinetic energy (KE).
  • Dams halt the flow of water, converting KE to potential energy (PE) by storing water at higher elevation.
  • Water is released, converting PE back to KE, and flows through turbines to create electricity.
  • Largest hydroelectric plant is Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River, China.
  • Quebec has about 40GW installed.
  • Harnessing tidal power is an emerging technology
33
Q

Explain how wind energy works

A
  • Wind power has been used for millennia as a way to provide power for mills and water pumps
  • ## Steady winds drive a large turbine to produce electricity. Wind-derived electricity is renewable and carbon free. High-tech wind farms are sprouting worldwide
34
Q

What are some disadvantages of wind energy

A

Wind power has a number of drawbacks: intermittent! (large, “noisy” towers, the visual effect and hazard to birds and bats

35
Q

Explain solar energy and how it works

A
  • The most abundant energy source at Earth’s surface
  • Can be used to heat water (solar-thermal)
  • Photovoltaic panels is used to convert light to electricity.
  • Two wafers of silicon, one with Boron, one with Arsenic
  • Light strikes surface; As releases electrons, flow to Bo
  • Wire connects the two wafers; electric current is captured

6-Understanding Planet Earth (18 decks)

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