Fossil Fuels & Energy

Question 1

What’s the first step of the carbon cycle?

Answer 1

There’s carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just floating around

Question 2

What’s the 2nd Step of the carbon cycle?

Answer 2

Atmospheric CO2 is converted to organic matter by plants, plankton and algae using photosynthesis which is endothermic

Question 3

What’s the formula for photosynthesis?

Answer 3

6CO2 + 6H2O -sunlight–> C6H12O6 + 6O2

Question 4

What’s the 3rd step of the carbon cycle?

Answer 4

The organic matter can be converted back to CO2 and be returned to the atmosphere through aerobic respiration, combustion or decomposition.

Question 5

What’s the formula of aerobic respiration?

Answer 5

C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O

Question 6

What process does the landfill do to return carbon to the atmosphere?

Answer 6

Anaerobic decomposition, but it releases bad CH4!

Question 7

What is fossil fuels

Answer 7

Mixtures of compounds with mainly organic and inorganic components

Question 8

How is fossil fuels formed?

Answer 8

Over millions of year through anaerobic breakdown of dead plants and animals buried under da earth.

Question 9

Why are fossil fuels non-renewable?

Answer 9

Reserves are depleted more quickly than they are formed

Question 10

What are the 3 main types of fossil fuels?

Answer 10

Coal, crude oil (petrol, diesel) and natural gas

Question 11

How can energy be achieved through fossil fuels though?

Answer 11

BURN with complete/incomplete combustion

Question 12

What do you have to do with crude oil before it can be used?

Answer 12

Has to go through physical and chemical processes in refinely like fractional distillation, cracking and reforming

Question 13

What is the product for complete combustion

Answer 13

Carbon dioxide and water

Question 14

What do you need for complete combustion?

Answer 14

A good supply of oxygen

Question 15

What’s the products for incomplete combustion

Answer 15

Carbon (soot) and carbon monoxide

Question 16

What do you need for incomplete combustion?

Answer 16

limited oxygen

Question 17

Why is the products for incomplete combustion bad?

Answer 17

Kills your lungs (soot) and can literally kill you from getting rid of the oxygen in your body (carbon monoxide)

Question 18

What’s biofuels?

Answer 18

Derived from recently living organisms or their products (POO)

Question 19

Why are they carbon neutral?

Answer 19

During the growth of plants to make biofuels, CO2 is removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. When the biofuel is combusted, the same amount of CO2 will be released to the atmosphere, giving a no net increase in carbon dioxide.

SORRY it’s long but it’s like a proper answer ykwim? ;)

Question 20

How do you get the ethanol to make bioethanol?

Answer 20

Fermentation of biomass of glucose from sugars (sugar cane, beet and mollasses), starch (corn, wheat, grain) or cellulose (Forest products).

Question 21

What’s the fermentation equation for glucose?

Answer 21

C6H12O6 –enzyme–> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

Question 22

How can biodiesel be produced?

Answer 22

From vegetable oil, animal fat/oil, waste cooking oil. And convert these to transferification

Question 23

What’s the equation to make biodiesel?

Answer 23

Glyceride + alcohol (methanol/ethanol) –OH-catalyst–> esters (biodiesel) + Glycerol (by product)

Question 24

What’s the advantages of using fossil fuels as sources of heat energy?

Answer 24

• High energy density
• Large reserves
• Easily mine at low cost

Question 25

What’s the disadvantages of using fossil fuels as sources of heat energy

Answer 25

• Non-renewable
• Combustion products cause pollution (CO2, C (Soot))
• They’re the feedstock to manufacture other things like dyes, plastics and pharmaceuticals (can’t use it all for cars yk?)

Question 26

What’s the advantages of biofuels as sources of heat energy?

Answer 26

• Renewable
• Emit less harmful pollutants than fossil fuels

Question 27

What’s the disadvantages of biofuels in general?

Answer 27

• Currently non-renewable fossils are being used to make them
• water shortages
• excess fertilizers causes environmental problems