Energy Sources and the Environment Flashcards
How do nuclear power stations work? (General)
Mostly the same as a fossil fuel power station but with nuclear fission of uranium / plutonium producing the heat to make steam to drive turbines to drive a generator. .
Nuclear power stations take the [ ] of all the power stations to start up.
[ ] power stations take the shortest time of all the fossil fuel power stations
longest time
Natural gas
What do fossil fuels release when burned? Which fuel is the worst? What does this cause?
CO” is released into the atmosphere when they’re burned. For the same energy produced, coal releases the most CO2 then oil then gas.
This CO2 adds to the greenhouse effect, and contributes to global warming
What does burning coal and oil release (as well as CO2)? What effect does this have?
Sulfur dioxide is released which causes acid rain. Acid rain can be harmful to trees + soils and can have far-reaching effects in ecosystems.
Acid rain can be reduced by taking the [ ] out before the fuel is [ ], or cleaning up the [ ]
sulfur
burned
emissions
Oil spillages cause…
Serious environmental problems affecting mammals and birds that live around the sea
Nuclear power is [ ] but the [ ] is very dangerous and difficult to [ ] of
clean
nuclear waste
dispose
Nuclear fuel is relatively [ ] but the overall cost of nuclear power is [ ] due to the cost of the power plant and [ ].
Nuclear power always carries the risk of a major catastrophe like the [ ] disaster in 1986
cheap
high
final decommissioning
Chernobyl
What are the advantages of BIofuels?
Relatively quick and ‘natural’ source of energy
Supposedly carbon neutral.
What are the environmental disadvantages to biofuels?
1) In some regions, large areas of forest have been cleared to make room to grow biofuels, resulting in lots of species losing their natural habitats.
2) The decay and burning of this vegetation also increases CO2 and methane emissions
What does carbon neutral mean? (In relation to Biofuels)
The plants that grew to produce the waste absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they were growing. When they were burnt, this CO2 is released into the atmosphere. So it has a neutral effect of the atmospheric CO2 levels
What is Carbon capture and storage (CCS) used for?
Used to reduce the amount of CO2 building up in the atmosphere and reduce the strength of the greenhouse effect
How does CCS work?]
Works by collecting the CO2 from power stations before it’s released into the atmosphere
What is done with the captured CO2?
The captured CO2 can then be pumped into empty gas fields and oil fields like those under the North sea. It can be safely stored without it adding to the greenhouse effect
What new ways of capturing CO2 are there?
Storing CO2 dissolved in seawater at the bottom of the ocean
Capturing CO2 with algae, which can then be used to produce oil that can be used as a biofuel
