Energy Resources Flashcards
Chernobyl
site of must serious nuclear power plant accident
happened April 1986
test of emergency cooling systems led to overheating of the reactor
roof of containment structure blown off sending cloud of radioactive dust and gas into the atmosphere
non-renewable energy
coal, oil, gas, nuclear
renewable energy
solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal
global energy statistics
oil 33% coal 30% gas 23% water 6.5% nuclear 4.9% renewables 1.6%
national energy statistics
electricity generation coal 39% natural gas 27% nuclear 19% renewables 12% other 1%
net energy
the amount of high quality usable energy available from a resource after subtracting the energy needed to make it available for use
crude oil
complex mixture of hundreds of combustible hydrocarbons, sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen impurities
light oil
type of crude oil that flows freely at room temperature
receives higher price because it refines to greater amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel
refining
process of separating crude oil into components with different boiling points
products include gasoline, heating oil, diesel fuel, propane, jet fuel, asphalt
Artic National Wildlife Refuge
tundra biome home to a diverse community of species including polar bears, arctic foxes, musk oxen, and peregrine falcons
U.S. companies have been lobbying Congress for permission to carry out exploratory drilling in the coastal plain
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
oil sand and oil shale
source of oil
pros: large supplies, easily transported, distribution systems in place, well developed technology
cons: low net energy yield, uses large amount of water, severe land disruption
liquefied petroleum gas
hydrocarbon gas used in heating, cooking, transporation
propane and butane are common types
types of coal
peat lignite sub-bituminous bituminous anthracite
differs in heat content, carbon content, moisture content, sulfur content
synthetic natural gas
product of the conversion of coal through the process known as coal gasification
coal gasification
1
nuclear reactor
structure which encloses the nuclear fuel which heats water to generate steam which turns a turbine
uranium fuel is processed into pellets which are then put into the fuel rods
control rods can be lowered over the fuel rods to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction
nuclear waste
byproducts of nuclear power generation
includes spent fuel rods, materials used in the maintenance of the plant, structural materials of the plant
takes thousands of years to decay to safe levels
Yucca Mountain
site in Nevada identified as a potential long term storage site for high-level nuclear waste
the project was cancelled in 2012
breeder nuclear fission
process of bombarding a radioactive isotope, usually of uranium, with neutrons causing the atom to break apart, releasing a great deal of energy
nuclear fusion
using very high levels of heat energy (100 million deg C) to force two different atomic isotopes of hydrogen to fuse together
in the process of fusing they form helium and release a great deal of energy
liquefied natural gas
1
second law of thermodynamics
describes how the universe tends toward entropy (chaos, disorder, randomness)
original energy amount is no longer available in its original form but has changed to another form
energy efficiency
1
life cycle cost
1
inefficiency energy conversion devices
1
net energy efficiency
1
principles of energy conservation
1
cogeneration
1
energy efficiency in transportation
1
CAFE
1
hybrid technology
1
fuel cell
1
LEED
1
passive and active solar heating pros/cons
1
solar for high temp electricity pros/cons
1
solar cells pros/cons
1
large scale electro-power pros/cons
1
wind power pros/cons
1
solid biomass pros/cons
energy is released as heat when plants (biomass) are burned
40% of the worlds population uses wood or charcoal as a main energy source
ethanol fuel pros/cons
1
methanol fuel pros/cons
methanol is wood alcohol
geothermal energy pros/cons
1
hydrogen pros/cons
1
micropower
1
