Chapter 19 - Fossil Fuels, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation

Question 1

oil sands (tar sands)

Answer 1

deposits that can be mined from the ground, consisting of moist sand and clay containing 1-20% bitumen. Oil sands represent crude oil deposits that have been degraded and chemically altered by water erosion and bacteria decomposition widely envisioned as a replacement for crude oil as this resource is depleted

Question 2

oil shale

Answer 2

sedimentary rock filled with kerogen that can be processed to produce liquid petroleum. oil shale is formed by the same processes that form crude oil but occur when kerogen was not buried deep enough or subjected to enough pressure and heat to form oil

Question 3

electricity

Answer 3

a secondary form of energy that can be transferred over ling distances and applied for a variety of uses

Question 4

net energy

Answer 4

the quantitative difference between energy returned from a process and energy invested in the process. Positive energy values means that a process produces more energy than is investedd

Question 5

EROI (energy returned or invested)

Answer 5

the ratio determined by dividing the quantity of energy returned from a process by the quantity of energy invested in the process . Higher EROI ratios means that more energy is produced from each unit of energy invested

Question 6

aerobic

Answer 6

occurring in an environment where oxygen is present. for example, the decay of a rotting log proceeds by aerobic decomposition

Question 7

coal

Answer 7

our most abundant fossil fuel. A hard blackish substance formed from organic matter (generally woody plant material) that was compressed under very high pressure and with little decomposition, creating dense, solid carbon structures

Question 8

crude oil (petroleum) (oil)

Answer 8

a fossil fuel produced by the conversion of organic compounds by heat and pressure. Crude oil is a mixture of hundreds of different types of hydrocarbon molecules characterized by carbon chains of different lengths

Question 9

natural gas

Answer 9

a fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane (CH4) and including varying amounts of other volatile hydrocarbons

Question 10

shale oil

Answer 10

a liquid form of petroleum extracted from deposits of oil shale

Question 11

methane hydrate

Answer 11

an ice-like solid consisting of molecules of methane embedded in a crystal lattice of water molecules. most is found in sediments on the continental shelves and in the Arctic. Methane hydrate is a potential alternative fossil fuel

Question 12

refining

Answer 12

process of separating the molecules of the various hydrocarbons in crude oil into different size classes and transforming them into various fuels and other petrochemical products

Question 13

proven recoverable reserve

Answer 13

the amount of a given fossil fuel in a deposit technologically and economically feasible to remove under current conditions

Question 14

reserve-to-production ratio (R/p ratio)

Answer 14

the total remaining reserves of a fossil fuel divided by the annual rate of production (extraction and processing)

Question 15

peak oil

Answer 15

term used to describe the point of maximum production of petroleum in the world (or a given nation) after which oil production declines. this is also expected to be roughly the midway point of extraction of the world’s oil supplies

Question 16

Hubbert’s peak

Answer 16

the peak in production of crude oil in the U.S., which occurred in 1970 just as shell oil geologist M, King Hubbert had predicted in 1956

Question 17

primary extraction

Answer 17

the initial drilling and pumping of the most easily accessible crude oil

Question 18

secondary extraction

Answer 18

the extraction of crude oil remaining after primary extraction by using solvents or by flushing underground rocks with water of steam

Question 19

hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) (fracking)

Answer 19

a process to extract shale gas, in which a drill is sent deep underground and angled horizontally into a shale formation; water, sand, and chemicals are pumped in under great pressure, fracturing the rack; and gas migrates up through the drilling pipe and sand holds the fractures open

Question 20

clean coal technologies

Answer 20

a wide array of techniques, equipment, and approaches that seek to remove chemical contaminants (such as sulfur) during the process of generating electricity from coal

Question 21

carbon capture

Answer 21

technologies, or approaches that remove carbon dioxide from power plants or other emissions. in an effort to mitigate global climate change

Question 22

carbon storage (sequestration)

Answer 22

technologies or approaches to sequestration, or storage, carbon dioxide from industrial emissions (underground where it will not seep out, in an effort to mitigate global climate change. we are a ling way from developing adequate technology for this

Question 23

acid drainage

Answer 23

a process in which sulfide minerals in newly exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rain water to produce sulfuric acid. which causes chemical runoff as it leaches metals from the rocks. acid drainage is a materail phenomenon, but mining greatly accelerates it by expanding many new surfaces

Question 24

directional drilling

Answer 24

a drilling technique in which a drill bares down vertically and then bends horizontally in order to follow layered deposits for long distance from the drilling site. this enables us to extract more fossil fuels with less environmental impacts at the surface

Question 25

eminent domain

Answer 25

a policy in which a government pays landscapes for their land at market rates and the land owners have no recourse to refuse. in eminent domain, courts set aside private property rights to make way for projects judged to be good for the public

Question 26

energy efficiency

Answer 26

the ability to obtain a given result or amount of output while using less energy input. technology permitting greater energy efficiency are one main route to energy conservation

Question 27

energy conservation

Answer 27

the process of reducing energy use as a way of extending the life time of our fossil fuels supply, of being less wasteful, and of reducing our impact on environment. conservation can result from behavioral decisions or from technologies that demonstrate energy efficiency

Question 28

cogeneration

Answer 28

a practice in which the extra heal generated in the production of electricity is captured and put to use heating workplace and homes, as well as producing other kinds of power

Question 29

rebound effect

Answer 29

the phenomenon in which gains in energy efficiency from better technology are partly offset when people engage in more energy consuming behavior as a result. this common psychological effect can sometimes reduce conservation and efficiency efforts substantially