Chapter 17

Question 1

net energy

Answer 1

total amount of useful energy available from an energy resource or energy system over its lifetime, minus the amount of energy used (first energy law), automatically wasted (second energy law), and unnecessarily wasted in finding, processing, concentrating, and transporting it to users.

Question 2

net energy ratio

Answer 2

the higher the ratio, the greater the net energy. When the ratio is ess than 1, there is a net energy loss.

Question 3

petroleum (crude oil)

Answer 3

gooey liquid consisting mostly of hydrocarbon compounds and small amounts of compounds containing oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen. extracted from underground accumulations, it is sent to oil refineries, where it is converted to heating oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, tar, and other materials.

Question 4

conventional oil (light oil)

Answer 4

provide us with food grown with the help of hydrocarbon-based fertilizers and pesticides.

Question 5

heavy crude oil

Answer 5

remaining heavy crude oil is too difficult or expensive to recover. as oil prices rise, it can become economical to remove about 10-25% of this reming heavy oil by flushing the well with steam and water.

Question 6

refinery

Answer 6

after crude oil is extracted, it is transported to a refinery by pipeline, truck, or ship (oil tanker. there it is heated and distilled in gigantic columns to separate it into components with different boiling points.

Question 7

petrochemicals

Answer 7

some products of oil distillation, are used as raw materials in manufacturing pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, paints, medicines, and many other products.

Question 8

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)

Answer 8

contains more than one-fifth of all land in the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System.

Question 9

oil sand (tar sand)

Answer 9

is a mixture of clay, sand, water, and a combustible organic material called bitumen.

Question 10

bitumen

Answer 10

a thick and sticky heavy oil with a high sulfur content and that smells like asphalt.

Question 11

shale oil

Answer 11

slow-flowing, dark brown, heavy oil obtained when kerogen in oil shale is vaporized at high temperatures and then condensed. Shale oil can be refined to yield gasoline, heating oil, and other petroleum products.

Question 12

natural gas

Answer 12

is a mixture of 50-90% by volume of methane (CH4), the simplest hydrocarbon. also contains smaller amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H10) and small amounts of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

Question 13

conventional natural gas

Answer 13

lies above most reservoirs of crude oil.

Question 14

unconventional natural gas

Answer 14

is found in other underground sources.

Question 15

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG )

Answer 15

when a natural gas field is tapped, propane and butane gases are liquefied and removed.

Question 16

liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Answer 16

at very low temperature natural gas can be converted to LNG. highly flammable liquid can then be shipped to other countries in refrigerated tanker ships.

Question 17

coal

Answer 17

is a solid fossil fuel formed in several stages as buried remains of land plants that lived 300-400 million years ago were subjected to intense heat and pressure over many millions of years.

Question 18

area strip mining

Answer 18

is used to extract coal found close to the earth’s surface on flat terrain.

Question 19

contour strip mining

Answer 19

is used to extract coal on hilly or mountainous terrain. in some cases entire mountaintops are removed and dumped into valleys below to expose seams of coal.

Question 20

peat

Answer 20

(not a coal) partially decayed plant matter in swamps and bogs, low heat content

Question 21

lignite

Answer 21

(brown coal) low heat content; low sulfur content; limited supplies in most areas.

Question 22

bituminous coal

Answer 22

(soft coal) extensively used as a fuel because of its high heat content and large supplies; normally has a high sulfur content.

Question 23

anthracite

Answer 23

(hard coal) highly desirable fuel because of its high content and low sulfur content; supplies are limited in most areas.

Question 24

synthetic natural gas (SNG)

Answer 24

gaseous fuel containing mostly methane produced from solid coal

Question 25

coal gasification

Answer 25

conversion of solid coal to synthetic natural gas

Question 26

coal liquefaction

Answer 26

conversion of solid coal to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel such as synthetic gasoline or methanol

Question 27

light water reactors (LWRs)

Answer 27

produce about 85% of the world’s nuclear-generated electricity (100% in the United States)

Question 28

uranium oxide fuel

Answer 28

in each pellet consists of about 97% non fissionable uranium-238 and 3% fissionable uranium-23.

Question 29

control rods

Answer 29

made of neutron-absorbing materials, such as boron or cadmium, are moved in and out of the spaces between the fuel assemblies in the core to absorb neutrons.

Question 30

moderator

Answer 30

slows down the neutrons emitted by the fission process to keep the chain reaction going.

Question 31

pressurized water reactors

Answer 31

the moderator can be liquid water (used in 75% of the world’s reactors.)

Question 32

coolant

Answer 32

usually water, circulates through the reactor’s core to remove heat to keep the fuel rods and other materials from melting and to produce steam for generating electricity.

Question 33

containment vessel

Answer 33

used as a further safety backup, with very thick and strong walls surrounds the reactor core. designed to keep radioactive materials from escaping into the environment in case of an internal explosion or core meltdown within the reactor and to protect the core from external threats.

Question 34

water filled pools (dry casks)

Answer 34

with thick steel walls are used for on-site storage of highly radioactive spent fuel rods removed when reactors are refueled.

Question 35

high level radioactive waste

Answer 35

give off large amounts of harmful ionizing radiation for a short time and small amounts for a long time.

Question 36

decommissioned

Answer 36

retired, if a plant’s life cannot be extended by expensive renovation, it will be retired.

Question 37

low level radioactive waste

Answer 37

give off small amounts of ionizing radiation and must be stored safely for 100-500 years before decaying to safe levels.