Fossil Fuels & Energy Flashcards
What’s the first step of the carbon cycle?
There’s carbon dioxide in the atmosphere just floating around
What’s the 2nd Step of the carbon cycle?
Atmospheric CO2 is converted to organic matter by plants, plankton and algae using photosynthesis which is endothermic
What’s the formula for photosynthesis?
6CO2 + 6H2O -sunlight–> C6H12O6 + 6O2
What’s the 3rd step of the carbon cycle?
The organic matter can be converted back to CO2 and be returned to the atmosphere through aerobic respiration, combustion or decomposition.
What’s the formula of aerobic respiration?
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O
What process does the landfill do to return carbon to the atmosphere?
Anaerobic decomposition, but it releases bad CH4!
What is fossil fuels
Mixtures of compounds with mainly organic and inorganic components
How is fossil fuels formed?
Over millions of year through anaerobic breakdown of dead plants and animals buried under da earth.
Why are fossil fuels non-renewable?
Reserves are depleted more quickly than they are formed
What are the 3 main types of fossil fuels?
Coal, crude oil (petrol, diesel) and natural gas
How can energy be achieved through fossil fuels though?
BURN with complete/incomplete combustion
What do you have to do with crude oil before it can be used?
Has to go through physical and chemical processes in refinely like fractional distillation, cracking and reforming
What is the product for complete combustion
Carbon dioxide and water
What do you need for complete combustion?
A good supply of oxygen
What’s the products for incomplete combustion
Carbon (soot) and carbon monoxide
What do you need for incomplete combustion?
limited oxygen
Why is the products for incomplete combustion bad?
Kills your lungs (soot) and can literally kill you from getting rid of the oxygen in your body (carbon monoxide)
What’s biofuels?
Derived from recently living organisms or their products (POO)
Why are they carbon neutral?
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? ;)
How do you get the ethanol to make bioethanol?
Fermentation of biomass of glucose from sugars (sugar cane, beet and mollasses), starch (corn, wheat, grain) or cellulose (Forest products).
What’s the fermentation equation for glucose?
C6H12O6 –enzyme–> 2C2H5OH + 2CO2
How can biodiesel be produced?
From vegetable oil, animal fat/oil, waste cooking oil. And convert these to transferification
What’s the equation to make biodiesel?
Glyceride + alcohol (methanol/ethanol) –OH-catalyst–> esters (biodiesel) + Glycerol (by product)
What’s the advantages of using fossil fuels as sources of heat energy?
- High energy density
- Large reserves
- Easily mine at low cost
What’s the disadvantages of using fossil fuels as sources of heat energy
- 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?)
What’s the advantages of biofuels as sources of heat energy?
- Renewable
- Emit less harmful pollutants than fossil fuels
What’s the disadvantages of biofuels in general?
- Currently non-renewable fossils are being used to make them
- water shortages
- excess fertilizers causes environmental problems
