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Enviromental Science > Energy booklet > Flashcards

Energy booklet Flashcards

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1
Q

impact of coal mining

A

habitat lose, noise, dust, turbid or acid drainage water, spoil heaps

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2
Q

impact of oil extraction

A

marine seismic surveys disturbs whales, land seismic surveyors lead to habitat destruction by being bulldozed, oil spills

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3
Q

impact of fuel processing eg coal washing

A

coal is washed with water to remove chemicals and impurities before combusted - creates coal slurry, stored in ponds that can leak or spill, increasing turbidity of water and release toxic metals eg mercury

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4
Q

impact of fuel processing eg oil refining

A

gaseous emissions eg carbon dioxide, NOx, particulates and hydrocarbon vapours are produced

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5
Q

impact of equipment manufacture

A

any equipment used to harness energy will cause habitat loss from material extraction and pollution from manufacture eg metals, concrete, plastics

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6
Q

what are the main impacts of resource exploitation

A

pollution, atmospheric pollution (caused by fossil fuels) ash, oil pollution, radioactive waste, noise pollution, thermal pollution, habitat damage

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7
Q

what are the main causes of habitat destruction during resource exploitation

A

fuel extraction eg open cast mining, power station and equipment location eg wind turbines, pipelines and cables eg digging the ground to lay them

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8
Q

disadvantages of using wind turbines

A

need to be spread over a large area (habitat destruction) noise is stressful to wildlife, bird strikes, bat lungs explode due to low pressure zone around turbine

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9
Q

what is a tidal power scheme

A

captures energy from tides, dams trap water trap water at high tides and release it through defined channels that carry it through a turbine

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10
Q

what are 5 ecological impacts of tidal power schemes

A

mining- for construction, reduced tidal range, fish barrier, pollutants build up behind the barrage, sedimentation- areas of slower flow sediment begins to settle

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11
Q

explain the affect of the ecological impact of tidal power schemes; reduced tidal range

A

restricted flow through barrage reduces tidal range behind the barrage - high tides not as high low tides not as low - areas near high tide mark would dry out and marks of low tide would never be uncovered, reducing mudflat feeding areas for birds

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12
Q

explain the affect of the ecological impact of tidal power schemes; sedimentation

A

water flow in and out of lagoon behind the barrage is only possible through the channels, so there are areas of very fast flow where sediment is eroded, in other areas of slow flow sediments deposit and build up and, also due to extended periods of static water at low and high tide, sediment settles and general turbidity is lower. light can penetrate deep water, increasing temperature allowing more photosynthetic organisms to survive

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13
Q

name 2 ecological impacts of hydro electric power schemes (HEP)

A

flooding of previous terrestrial habitats, changes in the river

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14
Q

how does a constant flow in a HEP impact the environment

A

dry season sandbanks used by birds and turtles are lost, high flow periods lost so sediment builds up losing gravel fish spawning sites, height of river level downstream stops seasonal flooding which may be essential for plants breeding fish and other aquatic animals

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15
Q

how does a sudden flow increase in a HEP impact the environment

A

increased turbidity makes it difficult for fish eating birds to see their food, reduced light penetration makes photosynthesis by aquatic plants more difficult, species that cannot resist high flow rates may be washed away

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16
Q

what is a resource

A

all material theoretically available for exploitation, including deposits that cannot be exploited

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17
Q

what is a reserve

A

all materials that can be exploited now, economically, using existing technology

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18
Q

what are the three main ways of extracting oil from the ground

A

primary oil recovery (best) , secondary oil recovery and tertiary oil recovery

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19
Q

what is primary oil recovery

A

crude oil contains natural gas so the oil rushes to the surface under it’s natural pressure

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20
Q

how can primary oil recovery go wrong

A

an oil rig blowout

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21
Q

what is secondary oil recovery

A

the extraction fo crude oil where the pressure is maintained by pumping water or natural gas into the reservoir

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22
Q

what is tertiary oil recovery

A

the extraction of crude oil where the viscosity of the oil is reduced using methods such as injecting steam, solvents or bacteria

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23
Q

what is the advantage of directional drilling as an improvement of oil recovery

A

many wells can be drilled from a single platform, you can drill underneath locations where drilling rigs couldn’t be placed, can follow weaker or softer rock to make drilling quicker and target small reservoirs - significantly increasing total recovery rates

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24
Q

how can oil shale be extracted

A

mining the rock and then heating it or heating the oil shale underground and then piping up the liquid oil

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25
Q

how to tar sands work

A

the sand is mined and mixed with hot water. the oil floats to the top and can be removed before refining

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26
Q

what are the disadvantages of oil shales and tar sands

A

duet to mining and complex processing there’s a huge energy input and thus a huge carbon footprint

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27
Q

what is CCS

A

carbon capture storage, pumping waste carbon dioxide from industry underground for storage in an attempt to reduce global climate change

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28
Q

how is CCS a specialised form of secondary oil recovery

A

the carbon dioxide underground builds up pressure that can force nearby crude oil to the surface

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29
Q

why do we need hydraulic fracturing

A

large volumes of crude oil and natural gas are trapped in pore spaces in shale rock that have low permeability, so by opening fissures in surrounding rock oil and natural gas can flow towards a recovery well

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30
Q

what is hydraulic fracturing made of and how do they contribute

A

high pressure fluid made of water, sand and various chemicals - sand stops the fissures closing up

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31
Q

name some concerns about fracking

A

setting of small earthquakes, fracking chemicals natural gas or toxic metals from rock contaminate aquifer water, and the huge volume of water needed for the process

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32
Q

what is underground coal gasification

A

coal too deep or fragmented is burnt underground by pumping air to provide oxygen and steam for heat, which produces a mixture of combustible fuels eg hydrogen and methane that can be piped up the the surface

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33
Q

what is a disadvantage to underground coal gasification and how is it dealt with

A

it has a waste product go carbon dioxide but this can be pumped back into the ground as part of CCS

34
Q

what happens if you have too much or too little oxygen whilst performing UCG

A

too much- hydrogen and methane become useless carbon dioxide and water, too little- and the coal won’t ignite

35
Q

what is coal liquefaction

A

conversion of coal to liquid hydrocarbons which have applications that solid coal cannot perform eg liquid vehicle fuels

36
Q

how is coal liquefaction performed

A

converting liquids directly using solvents or indirectly using gasification then chemical changes to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen to hydrocarbons

37
Q

what are methane hydrates

A

solid ice-like chemical deposits formed from methane and water in cold, high-pressure, deep ocean sediments

38
Q

how is methane removed from the methane sediments

A

melted out with hot water, ‘sucked’ out using a pump to create low pressure in the pipe or displaced using carbon dioxide. then pumped to shore in pipes and combusted as a fuel

39
Q

what is polymer adsorption

A

uranium dissolved in seawater adsorbs onto certain polymers that are placed in the sea. uranium can then be washed off using acid then collected and concentrated

40
Q

which is the desired isotope of uranium

A

U-235 (92 protons + 143 neutrons)

41
Q

what is nuclear fission

A

the splitting of an atom through a chain whereby neutrons split

42
Q

what is nuclear fission used for

A

a form of energy, where the heat energy produced is during the fission chain reaction boils water to steam which turns a turbine, attached to a generator

43
Q

what’s a disadvantage to using the U-235 isotope in nuclear fission

A

they’re extremely radioactive and require special disposal

44
Q

what’s the difference between fresh nuclear fuel and spent (used) fuel

A

fresh isn’t actually that radioactive and can be handled with gloves, used is so deadly it has to be handled by robots

45
Q

what is phosphate mining

A

uranium is often present in phosphate deposits and can be separated from the material extracted in phosphate mines

46
Q

what is coal ash

A

uranium can be extracted from coal ash. this will become economic if the price of uranium rises enough

47
Q

what is the non-fissile isotope called

A

U-238

48
Q

what is a plutonium reactor

A

U-238 makes up most of the bulk of uranium placed in nuclear fission reactor, but during the U-235 chain reaction, some neutrons will bombard U-238 and convert it to plutonium-239

49
Q

what does plutonium-239 do

A

be used for electricity production

50
Q

what is a fertile fuel

A

non-fissile isotope, such as U-238, that can be converted into a fissile fuel

51
Q

what is the name of the reactor that is designed to produce more P-239

A

fast breeder reactor (FBRs)

52
Q

what is a fast breeder reactor

A

nuclear fission reactor that contains U-235 and U-238 that produces so much P-239 they end up with more fissile fuel than they started with

53
Q

what is the disadvantage to fast breeder reactors

A

they’re extremely complex and expensive, never really became popular as more uranium reserves were found and improve uranium enrichment reduced fuel cost

54
Q

what is shale gas extraction

A

an example of hydraulic fracturing where water, sand and chemicals are injected into the well to create fissures and gas can flow out

55
Q

how is plutonium-230 produced

A

U-238 absorbs a neutron to become U-239, this is a beta emitter, and decays to produce neptunium-239, np-239 decays to produce plutonium-230

56
Q

what does thorium-232 do

A

it’s another non-fissile fuel, that can be bombarded with neutrons to breed into U-233, which is fissile.

57
Q

what is U-233 used for

A

it’s purified to create fuel rods for electricity production

58
Q

name 3 advantages of thorium reactors

A

there’s 3 more thorium in the earth’s crust than uranium, there’s less radioactive waste and the waste has a shorter half life, there is no U-238 present so no P-239 can be produced so thorium reactors are less useful for nuclear weapon production

59
Q

name 3 disadvantages of thorium reactors

A

breeding rate of uranium-233 is slow so fuel is expensive, uranium-233 releases alpha radiation so it’s very hazardous, it’s less-developed technology that uranium reactors so production cost is still high

60
Q

what is nuclear fusion

A

a type of nuclear power that involves the joining of the nuclei of small atoms eg H2 and H3, with the release of a substantial amount of energy that could heat water to steam for electricity to generate

61
Q

what does deuterium hydrogen + tritium hydrogen =

A

helium + neutron + energy

62
Q

where do you get H-2 and H-3 from

A

H-2 is extracted from water and H-3 i produced by bombarding lithium with neutrons

63
Q

what 4 conditions are needed for fusion to occur

A

hydrogen in the form of plasma, a heavy nuclei, a very high temperature and a vacuum

64
Q

why do you need hydrogen in the form of plasma for fusion

A

the repelling negatively charged electrons around the nuclei must be removed so the nuclei can collide

65
Q

why do you need a heavy nuclei for fusion

A

greater mass means greater momentum so are more likely to overcome the repelling positive nuclei

66
Q

why do you need a very high temperature for fusion

A

to increase the kinetic energy of the nuclei and increase the chance of nuclei colliding

67
Q

why does nuclear fusion require a vacuum

A

sinnce hydrogen nuclei colliding with air will slow the H nuclei down, cooling the plasma reducing fusion success

68
Q

why is a magnetic field needed for fusion

A

to stop the H nuclei colliding with the sides of the reactor, which will slow the H nuclei down, cooling plasma and reducing success

69
Q

what are the two main techniques of nuclear fusion

A

toroidal reactors and laser fusion

70
Q

what are toroidal reactors

A

nuclear fusion reactor in which hydrogen plasma is held in a chamber surrounded by magnetic coils in a torus, injecting fuel and leaving into a boiler

71
Q

what is laser fusion

A

a small sphere of H-2/H-3 is bombarded with laser beams , the hot outer layer expands in all discretions including inwards compressing the middle, fusion starts in the compressed middle, spreading throughout the sphere releasing much more energy than was used in heating

72
Q

name 3 renewable energy technologies

A

solar, hydroelectric and wind

73
Q

how does photothermal solar power work

A

cold water runs along a thermostatically controlled pump, with demineralised water, into a black pipe filled with water, and an incident solar radiation at 90degrees to the panel and a sheet of glass (produces a greenhouse effect) out comes hot water which goes into a heat exchanger

74
Q

what is a heat pump

A

transfers heat energy from a source of heat to a destination called a ‘heat sink’, heat source is at ground depth where the temp is fairly constant all year around - indirect photo thermal power beaches the ground was heated by the sun

75
Q

how does a heat pump work

A

ground loop, pipes buried in the ground, transfers heat to a working fluid in the heat pump, at the expansion valve the working fluid expands causing it to cool, at the compressor increasing the pressure raises the vapour temperature, distribution system is underfloor heating or radiators and heat is transferred to this

76
Q

name all types of solar power

A 
photothermal solar power
heat pumps
photovoltaic solar power
multi-junction photovoltaic cells
anti-reflective surfaces
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP).
77
Q

how does a photovoltaic solar power work

A

converts light energy directly into electricity

78
Q

name 3 effective photovoltaic solar powers

A

crystalline silicon cells- higher efficiency than amphorus silicon cells, anti-reflective textured surfaces- reduce reflection of sunlight thus increasing absorption, multi-junction photovoltaic cells, multiple layers of different non-silicon, absorb different wavelengths of light so greater amount of available light is absorbed and converted to electricity

79
Q

how is light from parabolic reflectors used

A

light is absorbed by tubes of oil used to heat molten salt in stored large insulated tanks. salt is heated up to 550degrees which boils water and drives team turbines when electricity is required

80
Q

name 2 types of concentrating solar power

A

parabolic reflectors and solar power towers

81
Q

how do solar power towers work

A

use mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a receiver on a tower which contains molten salt for steam generation to power turbines

82
Q

what are the two generators of hydroelectric power

A

low head turbines and helical turbines

Enviromental Science (12 decks)

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