Energy Flashcards
Roman case study
Energy shocks have been common throughout history. Romans experienced shocks when they ran out of wood to heat their homes. Eventually harnessed solar power
Peak oil
The time when half of all oil on Earth will have been extracted.
Fossil fuels
Fuels such as coal, oil, and gas formed by the alteration and decomposition of plants and animals from a previous geologic time.
joule
The basic unit for energy expenditure
Coal
A sedimentary rock formed from plant material that has been buried, compressed, and changed.`
strip mining
open-pit mining
mountain-top removal
Coal is mined from tops of mountains, and the waste rock from mining is placed in valleys, where coal sludge produced from processing the coal is stored behind coal-waste sludge dams
coal sludge
a thick sludge composed of water, with particles of coal, rock, and clay.
Oil
When referring to energy resources, may also be known as petroleum or crude oil; a liquid hydrocarbon generally extracted from wells.
Natural gas
Sometimes also referred to as natural energy gas or hydrocarbons that include ethane, propane, butane, and hydrogen.
source rock
Oil and natural gas originate primarily in fine-grained, organic-rich sediment, referred to as source rock. It is buried to depths of 1 to 3 km (0.6 to 2 mi) and subjected to heat and pressure that physically compress it.
biogenic gas
Natural gas that forms close to the surface of Earth by biological processes
reservoir rocks
porous, permeable rocks, such as sandstone or fractured limestone
cap rock
relatively impervious barrier that impeded the upward migration of oil and gas`
Primary recovery
uses natural reservoir pressure to move the oil to the well, where it can then be pumped to the surface
enhanced recovery methods
The enhancement manipulates reservoir pressure by injection of natural gas, water, steam, chemicals, or some combination of those, into the reservoir, pushing petroleum to wells where it can be lifted to the surface by means of the familiar “horse head” bobbing pumps, submersible pumps, or other lift methods.
Coal-bed methane
Methane stored on surfaces of organic matter in coal.
tight gas
Devonian shale buried 1 km or so beneath northern Appalachia contains as much as 500 trillion ft3 of natural gas, of which 10 percent is a potential resource. The methane, known as tight gas, is distributed in very small tight openings throughout the black shale. Tight gas is an unconventional reservoir compared to conventional natural gas reservoirs where methane is in pockets related to geologic structure
Methane hydrate
white, ice-like material composed of molecules of methane gas surrounded by “cages” of frozen water.
Oil shale
fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter that, when heated, yields significant amounts of oil and gas
destructive distillation
Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter that, when heated, yields significant amounts of oil and gas—oil yield is generally 100 to 200 L per ton of oil shale—that are otherwise insoluble in ordinary petroleum solvents. This process is known as destructive distillation
Tar sands
rocks that are impregnated with tar oil, asphalt, or other petroleum materials
Wet acid deposition
occurs when pollutants, acid precursors such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), react with water vapor in the atmosphere, producing acids.
Dry acid deposition
ccurs when the particles containing acid precursors fall to Earth and then react with water to produce acids.
Acid rain
Rain made artificially acidic by pollutants, particularly oxides of sulfur and nitrogen; natural rain water is slightly acidic owing to the effect of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water.
. Buffering
refers to the ability of a material to neutralize acids
Nuclear energy
Generation of electricity using a nuclear reactor.
Nuclear fission
the splitting of atomic nuclei by neutron bombardment
radioisotopes
Some isotopes, called radioisotopes, are radioactive and spontaneously undergo nuclear decay. Nuclear decay occurs when a radioisotope undergoes a nuclear change while emitting one or more forms of radioactive radiation.
The three major kinds of radiation
alpha particles (α), beta particles (β), and gamma radiation (γ)
enriched uranium
Naturally occurring uranium is processed to increase the amount of U-235 from 0.7 percent to about 3 percent before it is used in a reactor. The processed fuel is called enriched uranium.
burner reactors
Most reactors today consume more fissionable material than they produce and are known as burner reactors
meltdown
refers to a nuclear accident in which the nuclear fuel becomes so hot that it forms a molten mass. The containment of the reactor fails, and radioactivity contaminates the environment.
Three Mile Island.
One of the most serious events in the history of U.S. nuclear power occurred on March 28, 1979, at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The malfunction of a valve and human errors at the nuclear plant resulted in a partial core meltdown, with the release of radioisotopes into the environment
Radioactive waste management,
the safe disposal of radioactive waste
Low-level radioactive wastes
contain only small amounts of radioactive substances
Transuranic waste
nuclear waste composed of human-made radioactive elements heavier than uranium
High-level radioactive wastes
produced as fuel assemblages in nuclear reactors become contaminated or clogged with large quantities of fission products.
tuff
a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash
nuclear fusion
combines the nuclei of lighter elements to produce heavier ones
Geothermal energy
The use of geothermal energy—natural heat from Earth’s interior—is an exciting application of geologic knowledge and engineering technology.
geothermal gradient
Temperature increases with depth below Earth’s surface; it is measured in degrees per kilometer and is referred to as the geothermal gradient.
Vapor-dominated hydrothermal convection systems
convection systems are geothermal reservoirs in which both water and steam are present
hot-water hydrothermal convection systems
In the United States, hot-water hydrothermal convection systems are about 20 times more common than vapor-dominated systems. Hot-water systems, with temperatures greater than 150°C (300°F), have a zone of circulating hot water that, when tapped, moves up to a zone of reduced pressure, yielding a mixture of steam and water at the surface. The water must be removed from the steam before the steam can be used to drive the turbine.
Alternative energy
Refers to energy sources that are alternative to the commonly used fossil fuels.
Nonrenewable alternative energy sources
include nuclear energy and geothermal energy, which were discussed previously.
Solar energy
Energy that is collected from the Sun.
Passive solar energy systems
involve architectural design that enhances absorption of solar energy and takes advantage of the natural changes in solar energy that occur throughout the year without requiring mechanical power
Active solar energy systems
require mechanical power, usually pumps and other apparatuses, to circulate air, water, or other fluids from solar collectors to a heat sink, where the heat is stored until used.
Solar collectors
Solar collectors are usually flat panels, consisting of a glass plate over a black background where water is circulated through tubes
photovoltaics
The technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity, using a solid semiconductor material, is known as photovoltaics.
Fuel cell
A device that produces electricity directly from a chemical reaction; commonly uses hydrogen as a fuel to which an oxidant is supplied.
Water power
Use of flowing water such as in a reservoir to produce electrical power.
Tidal power
With respect to energy resources, refers to the useful conversion of tidal currents to produce electrical power.
Wind power
Technology (mostly windmills) used to extract electrical energy from the wind.
Biofuel
A number of fuels, including ethanol (alcohol), derived from plants.
girdling
Girdling involved cutting through the bark all the way around the base of a tree. After girdling had killed the tree, the settlers would then burn the forests to clear the land for farming
best-known and most widely used biofuel
Firewood
Efficiency
entails designing and using equipment that yields more power from a given amount of energy, while wasting less energy
cogeneration
refers to a number of processes that capture and use some of the waste heat produced by power generation and industrial operations, rather than simply releasing it into the atmosphere or into water, where it may cause thermal pollution.
sustainable energy policy
finding useful sources of energy that can be maintained and that do not pollute the atmosphere, cause climatic perturbations, such as global warming, or present unacceptable risk.
