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biol 381 > Lecture 3: Non-renewable resources > Flashcards

Lecture 3: Non-renewable resources Flashcards

1
Q

resource=

A

anything we use to live/ live comfortably
- eg food, water, medicine, electricity

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2
Q

renewable resources=
give examples

A

can be replenished over short periods of time
- sunlight
- wind
- organic matter
- ground water

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3
Q

non-renewable resources=
give examples

A

cannot be replenished or take a very long time to be replenished

  • fossil fuels
  • minerals
  • aquifer water (underground)
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4
Q

non-renewable resources can never be used in a ___ fashion… they can only be ____

A

sustainable
mined

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5
Q

sustainability=

A

the process of living within the limits of available physical, natural, and social resources in ways that allow the living systems in which humans are embedded to thrive in perpetuity

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6
Q

fossil fuels=

A

highly combustible substances formed over remains of organisms that accumulate over time in sediments (get compressed and turn into fossil fuels)

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7
Q

Fossil fuels are _____ resources
What are the 3 main fossil fuels?

A

non-renewable

  • gas
  • coal
  • oil
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8
Q

natural gas=

A

mostly methane (CH4) with some additional volatile hydrocarbons (organic HC compounds that can become gaseous easily- has high vapour pressure)

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9
Q

What are the 2 types of natural gas

A
  1. Biogenic
  2. thermogenic
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10
Q

explain how biogenic natural gas is formed

A

-formed at shallow depths
- formed via anaerobic decomposition of organic material by bacteria

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11
Q

explain how thermogenic natural gas is formed

A
  • formed at deeper depths
  • formed via compression and heating of organic materials (under sediments that eventually turn into rock)
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12
Q

what are the 5 steps of modern natural gas extraction (drilling) ?

A
  1. water acquisition
  2. chemical mixing
  3. well injection
  4. flow back and produced water (wastewaters)
    - gas naturally moves up in the well b/c of pressure
  5. wastewater treatment and waste disposal
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13
Q

pumpjacks pump out ___ and ___ (at the same time)

A

oil and gas

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14
Q

how does fracking work to extract natural gas?

A

water, sand, and chemicals are injected into the well
- this cracks the rocks that contain the natural gas
- gas flows out of the well to the surface

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15
Q

What are 2 pros of hydraulic fracking to extract natural gas?

A
  • get natural gas/ other fuels that are otherwise locked up
  • provides economic benefits (jobs, revenue for community)
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16
Q

what are 2 cons of hydraulic fracking to extract natural gas?

A
  • potential environmental implications
    (earthquakes, groundwater contamination- can’t control where cracks occur, pond spills)
  • very loud and ugly - can’t build close to cities
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17
Q

What are 2 non-traditional natural gas sources?

A
  1. Landfills
  2. Farms
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18
Q

how is natural gas produced in landfills (landfill gas)?

A

produced when organic material is in the landfill & breaks down under non-oxygen conditions

  • 50% methane and 50% CO2- can turn landfill gas into electricity

problem: methane is poisonous! and explosive

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19
Q

How is natural gas produced on farms?

A

“cow power”

  • manure collected and store in tanks (“digesters”)
  • manure sits in digesters at 101F for 21 days
  • methane gas rises to top of tank
  • generator converts the methane gas into electricity
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20
Q

What are 3 problems with thermogenic natural gas?

A
  1. it’s getting harder to extract
  2. fracking-based methods can be dangerous to enviro & human health
  3. we’re running out!
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21
Q

___ ___ has the lowest CO2 release of all fossil fuels
BUT…

A

natural gas

but methane is released

22
Q

coal=

A

organic material (with minimal decomposition) that has been so compressed it has become rock

23
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

23
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

23
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

23
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

23
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

24
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

24
Q

the precursor to coal is ___
what is it?

A

peat
= compressed soil with decomposed organic matter (mostly decayed plants)
- under high P and temp, it undergoes physical & chemical changes to become coal

25
Q

How was coal formed?

A
  • plants that lived in swamps millions of years ago accumulated after death in soil/ sediments
  • over millions of years, the dead plant matter was buried under water and sediments
  • increasing heat and P as more sediments form above turn the dead plants into coal
26
Q

when peat is under high heat/ pressure, but not yet coal, it is called:

A

lignite

27
Q

What are the 2 types of coal mining?
explain each

A
  1. subsurface mining
    - traditional technique
    - dig or blast out the coal
    - used in Nova Scotia- there have been accidents
  2. Strip mining
    - for deposits closer to surface (most common in CAN)
    - remove everything above coal to get to it
    - safer for workers, but bad enviro effects
28
Q

The problems with mining coal:
- Subsurface mining is very ___ for workers
- Strip mining (esp mountaintop removal) causes massive ___ and __ drainage

A

dangerous

erosion
acid drainage

29
Q

how is aid mine drainage produced?

A

= outflow of acidic water from mines
- sulfuric acid is produced when material/ rocks containing sulfide compounds are exposed to the elements (esp air).
- caused by all types of mining
- can leach metals from soils into water

30
Q

____ produces the highest amount of CO2 per unit heat produced

A

coal (no matter which type of coal)

31
Q

what is clean coal?

A

NOT that clean, just cleaner
- uses methods to reduce the amount of SO2 and NOx emissions

32
Q

how and when was oil discovered?

A

1858
were looking for water, found oil (discovered by accident!)

33
Q

oil and gas are formed by:

A

sediments in a marine enviro
- anaerobic decay and kerogen formation, then kerogen turns into fossil fuels

34
Q

explain the depths of kerogen, gas, and oil

A

kerogen: found near surface (0-5km) small quantities of early methane
- subsurface process= diagenesis

oil (complex H-C): 2-5km deep
- subsurface process= katagenesis (zone of oil generation)

gas (simple H-C, methane): Found deepest (3-6km)
- subsurface process= metagenesis

35
Q

how is oil extracted

A

pump jacks
- oil is drawn up b/c oil is pressurized
- if pressure drops, need to pull up/ push with salt water

36
Q

how is oil extracted

A

pump jacks
- oil is drawn up b/c oil is pressurized
- if pressure drops, need to pull up/ push with salt water

37
Q

tailing ponds=

A

dumps of sandy chemicals used to extract the oil
* we don’t know exactly what’s being used! problematic

38
Q

what is “peak oil”?

A

The Hubbert Peak Theory=
- point of max global production of oil
- oil production will eventually decline until all oil is depleted

  • peak oil should be right about now
39
Q

T/F
all metals are in unlimited quantities

A

false
limited!

40
Q

the mining of diamonds and gemstones is done mostly in Canada’s ____

A

arctic
- destroying it :(

41
Q

nucelar fuels decay through ____ into lighter elements, and use the released heat energy to produce ____ (and then ____)

A

fission

steam –> electricity

42
Q

in-situ leach mining=

A

mining of nuclear fuels (uranium etc)
1. injection wells (pump chemical solution in)
2. recovery well (dissolved uranium pumped back to surface)
3. sent to processing plant —> uranium yellowcake
4. monitoring wells= checked regularly to ensure there’s no leaching (chemicals/ uranium) into the enviro

43
Q

phosphate is mined as ___, but also for use in: (3 things)

A

ore

  • inorganic fertilizers
  • animal feed supplements
  • pesticides
44
Q

T/F
ALL mining is unsustainable

A

true

45
Q

the only sustainable energy source is ___ energy (list 3 examples)

A

renewable energy
- wind
- hydro
-solar

biol 381 (22 decks)

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