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Environmental Science > Exam 4 > Flashcards

Exam 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

electrical power

A

the amount of work done by an electric current over given time

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2
Q

energy carrier

A

transfers energy from primary energy source to point of use

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3
Q

cons of solar power

A
  • not continuously available
  • incineration of birds
  • solar panels include cadmium, mercury, lead
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4
Q

LOCA

A
  • Loss of Cooling Accident
  • sudden loss of cooling water from around the reactor
  • could lead to meltdown
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5
Q

fuel elements/rods

A

rods filled with enriched urainium dioxide pellets and arranged in a geometric pattern necessary for fission

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6
Q

condenser

A

converts turbine exhaust steam into water

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7
Q

conservation reserve

A

an imaginary source of energy that results from policies promoting greater efficiency of energy use, resulting in a reduced energy requirement

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8
Q

active safety

A

relies on operator-controlled action, external power, electric signals, etc.

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9
Q

natural gas advantages

A

cleanest form of stored energy

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10
Q

meltdown

A

uncontrolled decay that releases enough heat energy to melt materials in the core (can also cause steam explosion)

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11
Q

ocean thermal-energy conversion

A

use the different temperatures of the surface and deep water to harness energy

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12
Q

radioactive wastes

A
  • direct products of fission (high-level)
  • materials in reactor converted to unstable isotopes (low-level)
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13
Q

Energy Policy Act of 2005

A
  • signed by George W. Bush
  • tax credit
  • insurance for regulatory delays
  • federal loans
  • funds for Next Gen plants
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14
Q

oil shale

A

fine sedimentary rock containing a mixture of solid, waxlike hydrocarbons: kerogen

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15
Q

radioisotopes

A
  • direct products of fission
  • generally unstable
  • become stable by ejecting subatomic particles, high-energy radiation, or both
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16
Q

supply-side policies

A

increase available fossil fuels

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17
Q

two ways to control fusion reaction

A
  1. laser beams
  2. Tokamak: magnetic field

both use more energy than they produce

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18
Q

enhanced recovery

A

injecting carbon dioxide which breaks up oil droplets and enables them to flow again

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19
Q

recent demand-side policies

A
  • increasing vehicle mileage standards
  • increasing energy efficiency of lighting, appliances, buildings
  • encouraging industries to use combined heat and power (CHP) tech
  • promoting greater use of non-fossil fuel sources
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20
Q

Second Law of Thermodynamics

A

in every energy transformation, some usable energy is lost to the system

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21
Q

gasohol

A

10% ethanol and 90% gas

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22
Q

enrichment

A

changing U238 to U235 (technically difficult, which is why some countries haven’t figured it out)

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23
Q

chain reaction

A

radioactive decay releases a neutron, which may split another element, which releases a neutron, which may split another element, etc…

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24
Q

Atomic Energy Commission, now Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

A

agency in the US Dept of Energy

sets and envorces safety standards

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25
Q

fission

A

splitting uranium-235 into two smaller atoms

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26
Q

balance-of-trade deficit

A

a deficit in money flow resulting from purchasing more from other countries than is sold to other countries

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27
Q

embrittlement

A

metal in the reactor vessel becoming brittle from neutron bombardment

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28
Q

corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)

A

fuel efficiency requirements for vehicles

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29
Q

solar generation of electricity

A
  • PV cells
  • tower
  • updraft tower
  • concentration (trough, power)
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30
Q

primary energy source

A

can be used in the form in which they are found in nature (sun, geothermal, coal, wood, nuclear)

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31
Q

mass number

A

sum of the number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom

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32
Q

U235

A
  • unstable isotope of uranium
  • will undergo fission easily
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33
Q

primary energy use categories

A
  1. transportation
  2. industrial processes
  3. commercial and residential use (heating, coooling, lighting, appliances)
  4. generation of electrical power
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34
Q

natural gas disadvantages

A

storage and transporation more difficult

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35
Q

electricity advantages and disadvantages

A
  • advantage: clean at point of use
  • disadvantage:
    • dirty at point of generation
    • conversion losses
    • storage
    • transmission
    • doesn’t address transportation needs significantly
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36
Q

Global

A
  • 437 reactors operating
  • 69 under construction
  • 13.5% world electricity
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37
Q

Energy Independence and Security Act

A
  • 2007
  • EI
  • addressed demand-side
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38
Q

moderator

A

slows down the neutrons that produce fission so that they are traveling at the right speed to trigger another fission

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39
Q

integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant

A

coal mixed with water and oxygen, heated under pressure to produce a synthetic gas (syngas) then burned in gas turbine. CO2 waste concentrated then injected into oil wells to help production

40
Q

fuel cells

A

devices in which hydrogen or some other fuel is chemically combined with oxygento produce electrical potential rather than burning

41
Q

corrosion

A

chemicals in water corrode pipes, causing them to crack

42
Q

oil disadvantages

A
  • environmental impact at every step
  • security
  • economic threat
43
Q

electrolyzer

A

in a solar receptor that is designed to produce fuel from water using solar energy

44
Q
A
45
Q

ethyl alcohol

A
  • ethanol
  • produced by fermentation and distillation
  • usually more expensive than gas
46
Q

passive safety

A
  • engineering devices and structures that make it impossible to fail
  • depends on simple gravity, resistance to high temps, etc
47
Q

hurdles of solar use

A
  • collection
  • conversion
  • storage
  • cost
48
Q

coal advantages

A
  • cheapest
  • convenient
49
Q

opposition

A
  • distrust of tech
  • safety and trust issues
  • high construction cost and short operational lifetimes
  • mistakes too dangerous
  • targets for terrorists
  • disposal
50
Q

oil sand

A

sedimentary material containing bitumen, an extremely viscous, tar-like hydrocarbon

51
Q

Energy Policy Act

A
  • intended to establish energy policy for years to come
  • PA
  • 2005
  • recommendations from Bush administration
  • increase energy supply, other initiatives
52
Q

electrolysis

A

use of electrical energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, resulting in hydrogen and oxygen gas

53
Q

low-level waste

A
  • indirect products of fission (reactor materials)
  • hospital and industry waste
54
Q

demand-side provisions

A
  1. raising CAFE
  2. requiring increase in efficient lightbulbs
  3. ecouraging Energy Star appliences
  4. tax credits for energy efficient building improvements
  5. promoting hybrid and hydrogen fuel vehicles
  6. encouraging waste-energy recovery
55
Q

Carter Doctrine

A

1980 - Carter stated that the US would use military force if necessary to ensure our access to Persian Gulf Oil

56
Q

biodiesel

A

made from veggie oil and diesel

57
Q

proved reserves

A

fairly accurate estimate after exploratory drilling

58
Q

U238

A

isotope of uranium

will NOT readily undergo fission

93% of all uranium found in nature

59
Q

fission products

A
  • lighter atoms
  • nuetrons
  • energy
60
Q

turbine

A

sophisticated paddle wheel

61
Q

supply-side provisions

A
  • RFS for ethanol and biodiesel
  • funding for research and development
  • tax credits for electricity generated by alt energy
  • tax credits for investment in alt energy
62
Q

fusion reactors

A
  • hydrogen abundant
  • helium inert, nonpolluting, nonradioactive gas
  • now can only use d-t reaction (deutrerium, tritium which is radioactive)
63
Q

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

A
  • 2009
  • supply and demand policies
  • lowering dependence on foreign oil
  • security
  • solving climate change
64
Q

First Law of Thermodynamics

A

energy is never created or destroyed, only converted

65
Q

undiscovered resources

A

educated guess about where oil/natural gas may be located and how much

66
Q

recent supply-side policies

A
  • exploring and developing domestic sources
  • increasing use of coal
  • removing environmental and legal obstacles
  • providing access to remote sources of natural gas
67
Q

geothermal heat pump

A

a system that involves loops of buried pipes filled with antifreeze or refrigerant, circulated by a pump and air handler to move air through a building

68
Q

hydrogen economy

A

an economy in which hydrogen is the major energy carrier

69
Q

E = mc2

A
  • Energy = mass x speed of light squared
  • mass of the product is less than the mass of the starting material and the lost mass is converted to energy
70
Q

secondary recovery

A

injecting brine or steam (up to 50%)

71
Q

smart grid

A

self-healing, able to monitor problems in real time, react, isolate trouble areas to prevent cascading black and brown-outs

72
Q

History of Nuclear Power – WWII -> present

A
  1. 1950s - research, development, promotion of plants and weapons
  2. 1960s - building plants
  3. 1975 - 53 plants, 9% of nations electricty, 170 in planning or construction
  4. After 1975 - no new construction (protests, no possible evaculation, poor safety records, etc)
  5. 2014 - 100 reactors (not projected 2000), 20% US power
73
Q

tidal barage

A

dam with turbines built across mouth of a bay to harness tidal energy

74
Q

oil advantages

A
  • cheap
  • convenient
75
Q
A
76
Q

electric generator

A

Coil of wire that rotates in a magnetic field, or remains stationary while magnetic field is rotated around it. Converts mechanical energy to electrical.

77
Q

demand-side policies

A

lower the use of fuels through efficiency or alternative energy sources

78
Q

biomass energy

A
  • derived from photosynthesis
  • firewood, waste, methane, ethyl alcohol, biodiesel
79
Q

primary recovery

A

conventional pumping (up to 25%)

80
Q

turbogenerator

A

combined turbine and generator

81
Q

sources of energy that depend on the sun

A
  • hydropower
  • wind power
  • biomass
  • solar (obviously)
82
Q

power tower

A

array of sun-tracking mirrors that focues sunlight onto a receiver tower, transfers heat to salt liquid, which flows to heat exchanger that drives a turbine, or to storage

83
Q

fussion

A

fusing hydrogen into helium (occurs on the sun)

84
Q

renewable fuel standard

A
  • (RFS)
  • minimum volume of renewable fuel in gas
85
Q

production / recovery

A

extraction of materials from Earth

86
Q

isotopes

A

forms of elements based on different numbers of neutrons (but same original number of protons and electrons)

87
Q

equivalent to an energy source with the greatest potential for creating new energy supplies and the least number of environmental costs

A

conservation

88
Q

thermal pollution

A

waste heat energy discharged into natural waterways

89
Q

solar constant

A

the radiant energy from the sun reaching the top of the atmosphere at 1,366 watts per square meter

90
Q

control rods

A

filled with neutron-absorbing material and inserted between the fuel ros to control the chain reaction by withdrawing and inserting rods as necessary

get HOT

91
Q

coal disadvantages

A

greatest impact of all fossil fuels

92
Q

geothermal energy

A

uses naturally heated water to drive turbogenerators

93
Q

peak oil

A

the highest point in the curve of oil and gas production

94
Q

energy

A

the capacity to do work (heat, light, electricity, motion, chemical bonds in compounds like fuel)

95
Q

photovoltaic cell

A
  • PV
  • solar cell
  • 2 thin semicoductor layers separated by junction layer of atoms exchanging electrons

Environmental Science (6 decks)

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