Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

GLGY202 Applications of Geoscience > Energy and the Environment > Flashcards

Energy and the Environment Flashcards

1
Q

From the simplest algal scum, to the most complex ecosystem, energy is essential to life

A
  • Convert food into energy everyday to power our bodies

- Use fuels to power our stuff

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Throughout history, humans have discovered ways to take various sources of energy and use them to their advantage

A
  • The trend has been towards bigger and better sources of energy, from burning wood to nuclear energy
  • Keep seeking out more efficient and economical ways to make life easier
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Renewable Energy Resources

A
  • Hydropower
  • Solar energy
  • Biomass energy
  • Wind energy
  • Ocean energy
  • Geothermal energy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Non-renewable Energy Resources

A
  • Nuclear
  • Oil
  • Coal
  • Gas
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Energy Consumption

A
  • Oil, coal, and gas (fossil fuels) are high in consumption, but non-renewable and the demand continues to increase
  • Need new energy sources, and it’s a global problem
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

C makes up less than 0.1% by weight of the Earth’s crust, but the basis of all life

A
  • C is our principal source of energy and the raw material of many manufactured goods
  • Combustion is a reaction with O2
  • Combustion of carbon-based fuels produces CO2, water, and energy
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Coal

A
  • Fossil fuel produced from accumulation, burial, and compaction of plant matter in soils
  • Can be fossilized O horizon
  • Largest source of energy electricity worldwide (cheap, abundant)
  • The quality/rank of coal increases with depth of burial/temperature: peat: lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite
  • Burning coal adds a significant amount of CO2 to the atmosphere every year
  • Adds SO2 (an indirect GHG and component of acid rain) to the atmosphere
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Anthracite is the most energy dense coal. Where do we expect it to form?

A

Where mountain building is occurring/occurred

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Safest and cleanest sources of energy (least to most):

A
  • Coal, oil, natural gas, biomass, hydropower, nuclear energy, wind, solar
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

So why do we keep using coal if it is the least safe and clean?

A

Abundant and cheap!

- Waiting for technology to make solar, wind, nuclear, hydro, more affordable and accessible!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Petroleum: crude oil

A
  • Made of hydrocarbons in liquid form
  • Naturally occurring yellow to black liquid that forms in the subsurface
  • Used for: energy, plastics, fertilizers, insecticides, synthetic fibres, paints, cosmetics
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What would life look like without petroleum products?

A

Insanely different especially due to plastics, but currently shifting away from it!

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How petroleum and natural gas were formed

A
  • Tiny sea plants and animals died and were buried on the ocean floor
  • Over time, they were covered by layers of sediment and rock
  • Over millions of years, the remains were buried deeper and deeper.
  • The enormous heat and pressure turned them into oil and gas
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Natural Gas

A
  • Primarily methane (CH4)
  • From the same source material as petroleum, but tends to form under higher P and T, so it forms at a greater depth than crude oil
  • Gas is less dense than oil, so once it forms, it may migrate upwards until it is above the oil
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Four conditions to form and preserve a petroleum deposit:

A
  1. Source rock
  2. Reservoir Rock
  3. Caprock
  4. Trap
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Source rock

A

Often organic-rich sedimentary rock with commercial quantities of hydrocarbons (typically rocks formed under anoxic condition)

17
Q

Reservoir rock

A

Where petroleum migrates to; porous and permeable

18
Q

Caprock

A

Impermeable rock prevents oil from migrating further upward (like a lid)

19
Q

Traps

A

Geological structure that “traps” the oil

  1. Anticline
  2. Salt dome
  3. Stratigraphic trap
20
Q

Anticline

A

Convex upward fold (can occur with fault trap)

21
Q

Salt dome

A

Petroleum gets trapped along sides and near top of dome

  • Salt forms from evaporation of sea water in a restricted marine basin
  • The addition of freshwater is limited, so the sea water becomes super concentrated in salts, leading to precipitation and deposition of layers of salt
  • > 500 salt domes in US and Mexico Gulf Coast
22
Q

Stratigraphic trap

A

formed as a result of lateral and vertical variation in the thickness, texture, porosity, or lithology of the reservoir rock

23
Q

Major salt deposits (potash) also formed in western Canada as a result of

A

evaporation of a restricted portion of a Devonian inland sea

24
Q

Carboniferous deposits (and domes) are known from

A

the Canadian Arctic and the Maritime Provinces. Some of these have produced significant oil and gas.

25
Q

Coal Mining:

A
  • Extracted by underground mining, mountaintop removal, contour mining, and strip mining
  • HIGH costs for extraction
26
Q

Future coal use:

A

Converting coal into a synthetic replacement for oil and natural gas = syngas

  • Syngas is essentially methane, but has half the energy density of methane
  • May still be economically viable because it is cheap to make
  • In converting coal to syngas, CO2 and SO2 can be captured and then sequestered (stored) underground
27
Q

Oil Production: Drilling

A

Oil is extracted through drilling wells

  • Reservoirs are under pressure
  • Oil moves from high to low pressure
  • Most wells require pumping
  • In many cases, oil and gas are produced together
  • Pressure of the reservoir decreases over time
  • Wells can be vertical, horizontal, extended-reach horizontal, or multilateral
28
Q

Secondary Recovery

A

May be used to increase pressure and therefore production

  • Gas injection
  • Water (or water + chemicals) injection
29
Q

Enhanced recovery increases the mobility of oil to increase recovery

A
  • Steam injection

- Adding surfactants reduces surface tension between water and oil

30
Q

Once oil is produced, it needs to be transported to a refinery

A
  • Transported via pipe, rail, truck, cargo ships
  • Trucks and rail are safest for humans
  • Boats, trucks, and rail are the least safe for the environment
31
Q

Unconventional Fossil Fuels

A
  • Oil sands -> steam into ground?

- Fracking

32
Q

As fossil fuels run out/environmental pressures increase,

A

the race is on to find alternative energy sources

GLGY202 Applications of Geoscience (9 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions