Lecture 30: Energy Resources Flashcards
-Energy Cycle and Demand -Types of Energy Resource Deposits -Environmental Impacts of Energy Consumption
What are the three primary energy resources?
- Solar
- Hydrothermal
- Tidal
What are the two categories of non-renewable energy resources?
1) Hydrocarbons - coal, oil, and natural gas
2) Nuclear fuels
How much of the of the world’s energy is supplied by non-renewable energy?
90%
What are some examples of renewable energy sources?
- Hydroelectric
- Solar
- Wind
- Wave
- Alcohol
- Wood
How much energy is lost during the production/use of said energy?
51%
Which continent has the biggest per capita users of energy?
North America
What is the average amount of coal used per person on Earth per year?
2.7 metric tons
What are fossil fuels?
They are a class of energy resources that is formed from organic matter that is buried by sedimentary processes and is thus altered by heat, pressure, and the activity of microorganisms.
How is coal formed?
The deposition of vegetation in bogs and swamps over centuries and millennia leads to the formation of peat.
- Burial must be rapid enough to prevent oxidation of organic carbon, and the material cannot be eroded away.
- If there is sufficient pressure, temperature, and time peat turns into various grades of coal
What conditions is lignite coal formed in, what percent is carbon, and how valuable is it?
- Low pressure and temperature (shallow burial)
- 60%
- Least valuable
What conditions is bituminous coal formed in, what percent is carbon, and how valuable is it?
- Medium pressure and temperature (medium burial)
- 80%
- Average value
What conditions is anthracite coal formed in, what percent is carbon, and how valuable is it?
- High pressure and temperature (deep burial)
- 95%
- Most valuable
What is coalbed methane (CBM)?
Methane that becomes trapped in fractures within a coal seam.
How is the CBM recovered?
Water is pumped from the coal seam which reduces pressure and allows the methane to flow to the surface where it is compressed and transported by pipeline for use.
What organic matter is preserved black shale in small concentrations?
Phytoplankton
What is kerogen?
The organic matter in sediment
What happens when kerogen matures?
It gives off liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, including bitumen and tar, oil, light condensates, and natural gas
What are petroleum traps?
Geological structures that prevent the escape of oil and gas from a source rock.
What are pools?
The result bodies of hydrocarbons from petroleum traps, they are held in place by an impermeable cap rock