Chapter 15 Flashcards
Nonrenewable Energy Sources, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation
Hydraulic fracturing
drilling deep into the earth and angling horizontally at the shale formation level
Shale gas
bubbles released from shale fractures after water, sand, and chemicals are pumped in
Fossil fuels
oil, coal, and natural gas, which come from stored chemical energy after plants/organisms die and are buried in sediments under particular conditions (nonrenewable source)
What are fossil fuels used for?
transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooking, generating electricity
Net energy
energy returned - energy invested
EROI (energy returned on investment)
energy returned/energy invested (higher when extraction is more efficient, lower when resources are depleted/harder to extract)
Coal
hard blackish substance from compression of woody organic matter into dense, solid, carbon structure
Strip mining
primary method of extracting surface coal
Subsurface mining
excavates large tunnels undergroung
Mountaintop removal mining
mountaintops are blown away to access coal seams, producing huge amounts of rock/soil erosion (used in the Appalachian Mountains)
Crude oil
unrefined oil extracted from the ground
Natural gas
gas consisting mostly of methane (CH4) and other volatile hydrocarbons
Petroleum
oil, oil and natural gas (derived from buried, transformed dead marine plankton)
Exploratory drilling
drilling small, deep underwater holes to find oil/gas formations
Oil sands
mixture of moist sand and clay containing 1-20% bitumen, formed when crude oil deposits are partially degraded by bacteria
Bitumen
thick and heavy form of petroleum
Oil shale
sedimentary rock filled with organic matter, occurring in areas where deposits are not buried deep enough to form oil
Shale oil
processed from oil shale
Methane hydrate
solid consisting of methane molecules embedded in a crystal lattice of water molecules, found in sediments in the Arctic/ocean floor
Technologically recoverable portions
proportions of fuels that are physically accessible to humans
Economically recoverable portion
portion of fuel that depends on costs of extraction/market prices
Proven recoverable reserves
proportions of fuel that are technologically and economically recoverable
Refining
process that separates crude oil molecules by size
Reserves-to-production ratio (R/P ratio)
total remaining reserves/annual rate of production (gives how long remaining oil will last)
Tight oil
oil confined in/near shale, accessed through hydraulic fracturing, increasing reserve levels
Peak oil
extraction of petroleum reaches a peak and declines (usually when reserves are halfway depleted)
Directional drilling
technology that allows drillers to bore down vertically and curve to drill horizontally, allowing a large radius around drill pads without constructing additional drill pads
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking)
pumps chemically treated water under high pressure into layers of rock to crack them
Deepwater Horizon
2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that destroyed wildlife and disrupted tourism
Clean coal technologies
techniques/equipment/approaches to remove chemical contaminants during electricity generation from coal
Gasification
coal is converted to a cleaner synthesis gas (syngas) by reacting it with oxygen/steam at high temperatures
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
capturing carbon dioxide emissions, converting to liquid, then sequestering/storing in the ocean/underground
Energy efficiency
ability to obtain a given amount of output while using less energy input, resulting from improved technology
Energy conservation
practice of reducing wasteful/unnecessary energy use, resulting from behavioral choices
Energy intensity
energy use per dollar of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Cogeneration
excess heat produced in energy generation is captured and used to heat nearby workspaces/homes and produce power
Rebound effect
gains in energy are offset when people, as a result, engage in more energy-consuming behavior
Nuclear power
use of nuclear energy to generate electricity (U.S. has the greatest production, France is most dependent)
Nuclear energy
energy that holds protons and neutrons in the nucleus of atoms
Nuclear reactors
facilities in nuclear power plants where thermal energy is used for electricity
Nuclear fission
splitting apart of atomic nuclei, which drives the release of nuclear energy in nuclear reactors
Moderator
usually water/graphite, used to slow down neutrons emitted in fission so they impact other atoms, creating a fission chain reaction
Control rods
rods made of a neutron-absorbing substance that are inserted/removed from a reactor to control the rate of reaction
Radioactive isotopes
isotopes that emit subatomic particles/high-energy radiation as they decay until becoming stable
Three Mile Island
location of accident from human error/mechanical failure that led to draining of water from the reactor vessel, causing a meltdown
Meltdown
fuel rods melt and release high amounts of radiation
Chernobyl
Ukrainian power plant that exploded in 1986, releasing radioactive debris for 10 days and killing 31 people and sickening thousands
Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant in Japan that had its backup generators (which powered control rods/water pumps) flooded after the 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake
Electricity
secondary form of energy that can be transferred over long distances/applied to many uses
Small modular reactors/SMRs
factory-built reactors that can be used singly or in combination at power plants
