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CIVE40010 - Energy and environmental engineering > Climate and Energy Systems > Flashcards

Climate and Energy Systems Flashcards

1
Q

What is an energy system?

A
  • A system capable of taking primary energy source and ending up with energy service that you want
  • Combines/transforms numerous ‘types’ of energy
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2
Q

What does an energy system have to do?

A
  • To heat → comfortable, supporting health…
  • access transportation
  • lighting
  • reliability
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3
Q

What is upstream pollution?

A

The fuels that have impacts on the environment from cradle to grave

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4
Q

What are examples of upstream pollution?

A
  • Spoil at mines → disposal problems
  • Oil extraction and transportation → spillage
  • Gas extraction using fracking → risk to groundwater
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5
Q

What’s an example of spoil at mines?

A
  • The Aberfan disaster - colliery spoil tip over the Welsh village
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6
Q

What were the consequences of the colliery spoil tip in Aberfan?

A

Heavy rain built up water which caused a slurry killing 116 kids and 28 adults

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7
Q

What are examples of disasters to do with oil extraction and transportation?

A
  • Piper alpha
  • Deepwater Horizon
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8
Q

What were the consequences of the piper alpha disaster in Aberdeen?

A

An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed Piper Alpha, killing 167 people

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9
Q

Why were was there a need for ventilation like chimneys?

A
  • Burning wood or coal creates smoke which lead to breathing issues
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10
Q

How much of the world cooks over wood fire till this day?

A

50%

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11
Q

How were homes heated back in the day?

A

Houses heated by burning coal and houses discharge something from chimney

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12
Q

How was the issue of emissions from burning solved?

A
  • Build chimney stacks and try disperse emissions from locality
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13
Q

When did dispersion work?

A

Dispersion only worked under right weather conditions

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14
Q

When do temperature inversion events usually happen?

A

Typically occurs when you have night time cooling

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15
Q

What is a temperature inversion event?

A

A temperature inversion is a layer in the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with height

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16
Q

How does temperature inversion occur?

A

By radiative cooling of the ground or when a warmer layer is created by a warm front 1-2km above the surface

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17
Q

What is the behaviour of pressure and temperature under normal conditions?

A

Under normal conditions air pressure and temperature usually decreases with height

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18
Q

Why are temperature inversion events highly undesirable?

A

This is because convection ceases, so no dispersion. Therefore smoke is trapped

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19
Q

When can smog build up increase?

A

Occur mostly in winter when emissions form residential heating is the highest

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20
Q

What were the consequences of the temperature inversion in London in 1952?

A
  • Smog so dense led to 8000 premature deaths
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21
Q

What is introduced to control air pollution?

A

UK Clean Air Acts

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22
Q

What pollutants from burning coal are most harmful to humans?

A

PM2.5, Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide

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23
Q

Why are pollutant from coal so dangerous?

A
  • When inhaled in lungs as aerosols can damage and irritate airways
  • Suffer from lung disease
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24
Q

What was the strategic response to air pollution?

A
  • Tried to disperse industry from the centre
  • Generate power away from urban centres
  • Improve domestic heating systems like e.g., gas
  • Heat using district heating systems
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25
What happened to power station after the shift in energy generation?
These power stations closed as they became increasingly inefficient and unprofitable
26
What is a district heating system?
System for distributing heat generated in a centralised location through a system of insulated pipes
27
What can district heating systems be used for?
Residential and commercial e.g., airport and uni campuses
28
Why are district heating plants good?
District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localised boilers
29
What is ozone?
Ozone is a gas found naturally in high levels in the stratosphere, in a region also known as the ozone layer
30
Why is O_3 dangerous?
Can cause cancerous melanomas
31
What has contributed massively to the depletion of the ozone layer?
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)
32
What refrigerant was banned in 1987?
CFCs
33
What is ozone pollution?
Ozone pollution refers to higher ozone concentration in the troposphere, near the ground ozone is a pollutant and the primary component of summertime smog
34
How is the tropospheric ozone formed?
Tropospheric ozone is formed by the interaction of sun radiations and primary pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide
35
What are VOCs?
Volatile organic compound
36
What is photochemical pollution?
- Photochemical pollution, or smog, happens when sunlight reacts with air pollutants, creating harmful ozone near the ground. - Urban areas, industrial
37
Where does Photochemical Pollution occur?
Occurs in or **near areas with a high traffic density, in the presence of specific climatic conditions that cause the concentration of polluting gases**
38
What state has very high ozone levels despite improvement?
LA
39
What added to the acidity of rain when dispersed through chimneys?
SO and NO
40
What is an example of an accumulative type of pollution?
Acid rain
41
What is accumulative?
Damage still there when you stop
42
What is non-accumulative?
Stops when you stop emitting
43
When does acid rain occur?
Acid rain results when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents
44
What can acid rain affect?
Cause harmful effects on soil, forests, lakes
45
What are some environmental consequences of low-carbon / renewable technologies that you can think of?
- Large hydrodams - local ecological systems affected - Wind turbines - ecology affected - Solar farms - large land footprint - Resource extraction
46
What is a strong indicator of energy demand?
Greenhouse gas emissions
47
What is responsible for most GHG emissions?
Energy production
48
What are the world average GHG emissions?
5.5 tonnes CO2e / year / person
49
How much more energy will be needed by 2050 even if energy distribution remains unchanged?
The expected increase in population suggests the need for around 50% more energy by 2050.
50
Whats an example shift in the economy?
Changes in mobility which is linked to ability to generate economic activity, e.g., transport
51
# Climate and Energy Systems How is energy collected?
Energy mined, harvested or extracted
52
What percentage of oil gas and coal is consumed by N. America, Europe and Asia Pacific?
Oil - 80% Gas - 61% Coal - 89%
53
What is putting pressures on energy demand?
Increase in population
54
Why will exports from fuel producing nations decrease?
Because as production declines (resources) and local consumption increases
55
What will cause an increase in consumption per capita?
Industrialisation and GDP growth
56
What is the average energy consumption as calculated by David Mackay?
190kWh/p/day
57
What are the energy types?
- Tidal - Deep offshore wind - Biomass - PV farm - Solar - Wind
58
What is David Mackay's heating and cooling estimate?
David MacKay’s heating/cooling estimate is 37 kWh / person / day
59
How much renewable resources does David Mackay estimate the UK can find?
180 kWh/p/day
60
What is the energy consumption of petrol drivers?
10 kWh/litre
61
How many litres does the Boeing tank store?
240,000 litres
62
What are the CO2 emissions associated with jet kerosene combustion?
240 g CO2 per kWh of chemical energy
63
What is "peak oil"?
Peak oil is defined as the point in time where oil production reaches its peak value and after which enters a terminable decline
64
What are the social and economic consequences of peak oil?
Higher fuel prices, fuel shortages, conflict
65
How much energy does making one coke require?
0.6kWh
66
How much energy does a 500 ml PET water bottle require?
0.7 kWh
67
Who made a model for oil production to predict the peak oil in the US?
M. King Hubbert in 1956
68
Why's critical in getting the timing right of when to develop alternative fuel?
- Too late and we risk fuel shortages - Too soon and we risk economic damage
69
What does Mtoe mean?
Millions of tonnes of oil equivalent
70
Why are we (still) causing climate change?
- Need for a global transformation of energy systems - However change is hard
71
# Climate and Energy Systems What needs to be achieved in the future?
- Paris climate conference - The international Energy Agency
72
What did they agree in the Paris climate conference in 2015?
Agreed to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2ºC
73
What have the IEA looked in to?
What would be required to stabilise CO2 concentrations in the range 445-490ppm
74
How do we achieved a peak CO2 emissions?
- Need to provide technological innovation - Cleaner tech needs to be deployed more quickly than currently happening
75
What are the three broad and inter-related requirements involved in the transformation process of our energy systems?
1. energy sustainability 2. energy security 3. energy equity
76
What's involved in Energy Sustainability?
- mitigate further climate change - minimise other environmental impacts - resource consumption
77
What's involved in Energy Security?
- Provision of “primary” energy resources - System capacity - System of robustness and resilience - Management of demand → efficient usage of energy
78
What is involved in Energy Equity?
- Human welfare - Enables and underwrites economic activity (societal benefit) - Availability and affordability - Often target of energy policy
79
What is good ozone?
O_2+O=O_3
80
What is bad ozone?
CO / VOC + NOx + Sunlight = O_3

CIVE40010 - Energy and environmental engineering (21 decks)

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