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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
Q

What happened to power station after the shift in energy generation?

A

These power stations closed as they became increasingly inefficient and unprofitable

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26
Q

What is a district heating system?

A

System for distributing heat generated in a centralised location through a system of insulated pipes

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27
Q

What can district heating systems be used for?

A

Residential and commercial e.g., airport and uni campuses

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28
Q

Why are district heating plants good?

A

District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localised boilers

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29
Q

What is ozone?

A

Ozone is a gas found naturally in high levels in the stratosphere, in a region also known as the ozone layer

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30
Q

Why is O_3 dangerous?

A

Can cause cancerous melanomas

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31
Q

What has contributed massively to the depletion of the ozone layer?

A

CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)

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32
Q

What refrigerant was banned in 1987?

A

CFCs

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33
Q

What is ozone pollution?

A

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
Q

How is the tropospheric ozone formed?

A

Tropospheric ozone is formed by the interaction of sun radiations and primary pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide

35
Q

What are VOCs?

A

Volatile organic compound

36
Q

What is photochemical pollution?

A
  • Photochemical pollution, or smog, happens when sunlight reacts with air pollutants, creating harmful ozone near the ground.
  • Urban areas, industrial
37
Q

Where does Photochemical Pollution occur?

A

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
Q

What state has very high ozone levels despite improvement?

A

LA

39
Q

What added to the acidity of rain when dispersed through chimneys?

A

SO and NO

40
Q

What is an example of an accumulative type of pollution?

A

Acid rain

41
Q

What is accumulative?

A

Damage still there when you stop

42
Q

What is non-accumulative?

A

Stops when you stop emitting

43
Q

When does acid rain occur?

A

Acid rain results when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere and transported by wind and air currents

44
Q

What can acid rain affect?

A

Cause harmful effects on soil, forests, lakes

45
Q

What are some environmental consequences of low-carbon / renewable technologies that you can think of?

A
  • Large hydrodams - local ecological systems affected
  • Wind turbines - ecology affected
  • Solar farms - large land footprint
  • Resource extraction
46
Q

What is a strong indicator of energy demand?

A

Greenhouse gas emissions

47
Q

What is responsible for most GHG emissions?

A

Energy production

48
Q

What are the world average GHG emissions?

A

5.5 tonnes CO2e / year / person

49
Q

How much more energy will be needed by 2050 even if energy distribution remains unchanged?

A

The expected increase in population suggests the need for around 50% more energy by 2050.

50
Q

Whats an example shift in the economy?

A

Changes in mobility which is linked to ability to generate economic activity, e.g., transport

51
Q

Climate and Energy Systems

How is energy collected?

A

Energy mined, harvested or extracted

52
Q

What percentage of oil gas and coal is consumed by N. America, Europe and Asia Pacific?

A

Oil - 80%
Gas - 61%
Coal - 89%

53
Q

What is putting pressures on energy demand?

A

Increase in population

54
Q

Why will exports from fuel producing nations decrease?

A

Because as production declines (resources) and local consumption increases

55
Q

What will cause an increase in consumption per capita?

A

Industrialisation and GDP growth

56
Q

What is the average energy consumption as calculated by David Mackay?

A

190kWh/p/day

57
Q

What are the energy types?

A
  • Tidal
  • Deep offshore wind
  • Biomass
  • PV farm
  • Solar
  • Wind
58
Q

What is David Mackay’s heating and cooling estimate?

A

David MacKay’s heating/cooling estimate is 37 kWh / person / day

59
Q

How much renewable resources does David Mackay estimate the UK can find?

A

180 kWh/p/day

60
Q

What is the energy consumption of petrol drivers?

A

10 kWh/litre

61
Q

How many litres does the Boeing tank store?

A

240,000 litres

62
Q

What are the CO2 emissions associated with jet kerosene combustion?

A

240 g CO2 per kWh of chemical energy

63
Q

What is “peak oil”?

A

Peak oil is defined as the point in time where oil production reaches its peak value and after which enters a terminable decline

64
Q

What are the social and economic consequences of peak oil?

A

Higher fuel prices, fuel shortages, conflict

65
Q

How much energy does making one coke require?

A

0.6kWh

66
Q

How much energy does a 500 ml PET water bottle require?

A

0.7 kWh

67
Q

Who made a model for oil production to predict the peak oil in the US?

A

M. King Hubbert in 1956

68
Q

Why’s critical in getting the timing right of when to develop alternative fuel?

A
  • Too late and we risk fuel shortages
  • Too soon and we risk economic damage
69
Q

What does Mtoe mean?

A

Millions of tonnes of oil equivalent

70
Q

Why are we (still) causing climate change?

A
  • Need for a global transformation of energy systems
  • However change is hard
71
Q

Climate and Energy Systems

What needs to be achieved in the future?

A
  • Paris climate conference
  • The international Energy Agency
72
Q

What did they agree in the Paris climate conference in 2015?

A

Agreed to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2ºC

73
Q

What have the IEA looked in to?

A

What would be required to stabilise CO2 concentrations in the range 445-490ppm

74
Q

How do we achieved a peak CO2 emissions?

A
  • Need to provide technological innovation
  • Cleaner tech needs to be deployed more quickly than currently happening
75
Q

What are the three broad and inter-related requirements involved in the transformation process of our energy systems?

A
  1. energy sustainability
  2. energy security
  3. energy equity
76
Q

What’s involved in Energy Sustainability?

A
  • mitigate further climate change
  • minimise other environmental impacts
  • resource consumption
77
Q

What’s involved in Energy Security?

A
  • Provision of “primary” energy resources
  • System capacity
  • System of robustness and resilience
  • Management of demand → efficient usage of energy
78
Q

What is involved in Energy Equity?

A
  • Human welfare
  • Enables and underwrites economic activity (societal benefit)
  • Availability and affordability
  • Often target of energy policy
79
Q

What is good ozone?

A

O_2+O=O_3

80
Q

What is bad ozone?

A

CO / VOC + NOx + Sunlight = O_3

CIVE40010 - Energy and environmental engineering (21 decks)

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