Chapter 16-17 vocab cards Flashcards
30-98% carbon by weight, could have sulfur contaminants. Remains of plants crushed into sedimentary rock.
Coal
Crude heavy oil extracted from tar sands that’s upgraded to Synthetic fuel
Bitumen
Nuclear fission reactor that produces more nuclear fuel than it consumes by converting uranium into plutonium
Breeder nuclear fission reactor
Conversion of solid coal to synthetic natural gas (SNG).
Coal gasification
Conversion of solid coal to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel (such as synthetic gasoline or methanol)
coal liquification
Extracted from underground deposits, turned into heating oil and tar. Mostly made of hydrocarbons
crude oil
Isotope that can split apart when hit by a neutron at the right speed and thus undergo nuclear fission (U-235, P-239)
Fissionable isotope
Found in shale rock, mixture of hydrocarbons
kerogen
Electrical unit, 1000 watts
Kilowatt
Natural gas converted to liquid form by cooling to a very low temperature.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Mix of propane and butane, a fuel
Liquefied petroleum Gas (LPG)
The melting of the core of a nuclear reactor.
Meltdown
Underground deposits of gases consisting mostly of methane
Natural gases
Total amount of useful energy available from an energy resource or energy system over its lifetime minus energy used and minus waste
Net energy
Energy released when atomic nuclei undergo a nuclear reaction such as the spontaneous emission of radioactivity, nuclear fission, or nuclear fusion.
Nuclear energy
Heavy isotopes split into lighter isotopes when struck by a neutron.
Nuclear fission
2 nuclei of low mass are forced together to form a heavier nucleus (high energy)
Nuclear fusion
Mix of clay, sand, water, and bitumen.
Oil/tar sands
How is bitumen extracted?
Heating
Fine grained rock containing various amounts of kerogen
Oil shale
Chemicals obtained by refining crude oil
Petrochemicals
Waste products of nuclear products
Radioactive waste
heavy oil obtained when kerogen in oil shale is vaporized, then condensed.
Shale oil
Synthetic gases and fuels produced from solid coal or sources OTHER than natural gas or crude oil
SNG/ Synthetic natural gas
Impurities removed when minerals are separated from metals in ore
Tailings
Electrical power unit
Watt
Solar collectors, uses pumps to transfer captured heat to storage
Active solar heating system
Gas or liquid fuel (such as ethyl alcohol) made from plant material (biomass).
Biofuel
Production of two useful forms of energy from the same source (ex: heat + electricity)
Cogeneration/combined heat and power
Reducing or eliminating the unnecessary waste of energy.
Energy conservation
Percentage of the total energy input that does useful work and is not converted into useless heat
Energy efficiency
Heat transferred from the earth’s underground concentrations of steam
geothermal
Water pushes turbines, creates energy
hydroelectric power plant
Electrical energy produced by falling or flowing water.
Hydropower
Kilowatt
1000 watts
Initial cost plus lifetime operating costs of an economic good.
Life cycle cost
Systems of small-scale decentralized units that generate 1-10,000 kilowatts of electricity
Micropower systems
System that captures sunlight directly within a structure and converts it into heat
Passive solar heating
Device that converts radiant (solar) energy directly into electrical energy.
Photovoltaic/solar cell
Device for collecting radiant energy from the sun and converting it into heat
Solar collector
House that is heavily insulated and extremely airtight
Superinsulated house
Cluster of wind turbines that capture wind and turn it into energy
Wind farm
