Non-Renewable Energy Flashcards
Crude Oil/Petroleum supplies how much of the world’s energy
1/3 of the world’s energy
Where does crude oil/petroleum form
Forms where heat and pressure transforms decomposed plant matter
Where is most U.S. oil
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
What are the 3 advantages of Oil
1) Fairly Cheap
2) transported easily
3) very versatile
What are the 3 disadvantages of Oil
1) Highly polluting to air when burned
2) Oil spills cause hydrosphere and biosphere pollution
3) affordable supplies depleted in 40-80 years
Natural gas supplies how much of the world’s energy?
1/5 of the world’s energy
Where does natural gas form?
Forms over oil deposits; collected or burned
Where is the newest potential source of natural gas being exploited in the U.S.
PA; Marcellus Shale
How is Marcellus Shale extracted?
Extracted by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling
How is shale fracture?
By injecting fresh water and a small amount of sand under incredibly high pressure into formation
Advantages of natural gas?
1) burns hotter and produces less air pollution than any other fossil fuel
2) versatile
3) easily transported through a pipeline
Disadvantages of Natural Gas?
1) must be converted to liquid form before it can be shipped
2) expensive and dangerous process
3) loses 1/4 of its energy potential upon conversion
Coal supplies how much of the world’s energy?
supplies 1/4 of the world’s energy
What is the most abundant, widely distributed fossil fuel?
coal
Where does coal form
forms where heat and pressure transform decomposed plant matter buried on land
What is Peat Coal
Brown and very soft coal
What is ignite coal
dark brown to black; burns with little or no smoke
What is bituminous coal
black, high sulfur; used to make coke which is the source of heat and steel production
What is anthracite coal
dense, black and hard; most rare, most expensive, most desirable
What is coal most used for?
to generate electricity
Advantages of Coal
1) most abundant fossil fuel in the US and world
2) due to its high heat production, best for industry and electrical generation
3) inexpensive to use
Disadvantages of coal
1) coal mining is dangerous
2) coal mining and burning is highly polluting
3) due to solid form, difficult to transport and not suitable as fuel for vehicles
What are oil tar sands
crude oil deposits that are degraded or chemically altered by water erosion and/or bacterial decomposition
How are oil tar sands removed?
By strip mining
What is Oil shale
results when organic matter is not buried deep enough or subjected to enough heat from oil
Price Anderson Act of 1957
removed all liability for the utilities industry from any accident occurring in a nuclear power plant
Advantages of Nuclear energy
1) nuclear plants dont cause air pollution
2) water and soil pollution are minimal
3) multiple safety systems reduce likelihood of a major accident
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
1) produces electricity only
2) construction and operation costs are expensive
3) disagreement about where radioactive waste can be stored
What is the fuel used for nuclear energy?
Uranium
Nuclear Waste Policy Act
a waste disposal program for high-level, extremely toxic, nuclear waste
What is the favored method to deal with high level radioactive waste
bury it deep underground
5 ways we can deal with high level radioactive waste
1) Bury it deep underground
2) Shoot it into space or into the sun
3) Bury it under antartic ice sheets
4) dump it into deep ocean sediments
5) change it into harmless isotopes
