Part 2: Water, Soil, Mineral & Rock and Energy Flashcards
is the most heavily used metal and it is also one of the most common metals.
Iron
is another relatively common metal, and it is the second most widely used.
Aluminum
is primarily used for electrical applications because it is an excellent conductor of electricity.
Copper
is used in batteries; among its many other applications, it is a component of many solders and is used in paints and ceramics.
Lead
coating on steel cans keeps the cans from rusting, and zinc is also used in the manufacture of brass and other alloys
Zinc
is used not only for jewelry, in the arts, and in commerce, but also in the electronics industry and in dentistry. It is particularly valued for its resistance to tarnishing.
gold
principal single use is for photographic materials (for example, film), and the next broadest applications are in electronics.
Silver
is an excellent catalyst, a substance that promotes chemical reactions.
Platinum
may be recovered from petroleum during refining, from volcanic deposits and from evaporites.
Sulfur
or rock salt, is used principally as a source of the sodium and chlorine of which it is composed, and secondarily for road salt, either directly or through the production of other salts from it
Halite
is essential to the manufacture of plaster, Portland cement, and wallboard for construction.
Gypsum
are key ingredients of the synthetic fertilizers
Phosphate rock and potassium-rich potash
is not a single mineral, but a group of layered hydrous silicates that are formed at low temperature, commonly by weathering, and that are abundant in sedimentary deposits in the United States.
Clay
were used in construction, especially in making cement and concrete
sand and gravel
was used in industry, particularly for
glassmaking
quartz-rich sand
One might replace a very rare metal with a more abundant one. The extent to which this is likely to succeed is limited, since reserves of most metals are quite limited.
Substitutions
are generally much less apparent than surface mines. They disturb a relatively small area of the land’s surface close to the principal shaft(s).
Underground mines
consist of either open-pit mining (including
quarrying) or strip-mining.
Surface-mining activities
is practical when a large, three-dimensional ore body is located near the surface. Most of the material in the pit contains the valuable commodity and is extracted for processing.
Open-pit mining
more often used to extract coal than mineral resources, is practiced most commonly when the material of interest occurs in a layer near
and approximately parallel to the surface.
Strip-mining,
usually involves regarding the area to level the spoil banks and to provide a more gently sloping land surface; restoring the soil; replanting grass, shrubs, or other vegetation
Reclamation
is commonly used to extract gold from its ore
cyanide
to extract metals from ores may, depending on the ores involved and on emission controls, release arsenic, lead, mercury, and other potentially toxic elements along with exhaust gases and ash
Smelting
also releases the sulfur oxide gases that are implicated in the production of acid rain
Sulfide-ore processing
refers to any remains or evidence of ancient life.
Fossil
are those energy sources that formed from the remains of once living organisms. These include oil, natural gas, coal, and fuels derived from oil
shale and tar sand.
Fossil fuels
In the final stages, most or all of the petroleum is further broken down into very simple, light, gaseous molecules-that is the
natural gas
Some of the heavier hydrocarbons may also be broken up during refining into smaller, lighter molecules through a process called
cracking
are among the non-renewable energy sources.
oil and natural gas
Recovery using no techniques beyond pumping is
primary recovery.
is when flow falls off, water may be pumped into the reservoir, filling empty pores and buoying up more oil to the well.
Secondary recovery
is contained in most coal deposits. This methane has been treated as a hazardous nuisance, potentially explosive, and its incidental release during coal mining has contributed to rising methane concentrations in the atmosphere.
Coal-bed methane
are crystalline solids of gas and water molecules. These have been found to be abundant in arctic regions and in
marine sediments
Gas (methane) hydrates
- are the large, sudden, catastrophic spills
- spills represent the largest negative impacts from the extraction and transportation of petroleum
Oil spills
oil spills occur in two principal ways: (2)
- from accidents during drilling of offshore oil wells and
- from wrecks of oil tankers at sea.
is formed from the remains of land plants
Coal
The process requires anaerobic conditions, in which oxygen is absent or nearly so, since reaction with oxygen destroys the organic matter.
coal formation
In coal formation process, the first combustible product formed under suitable conditions is
peat
Further burial, with more heat, pressure, and time, gradually dehydrates the organic matter and transforms the spongy peat (1) into soft brown coal called ______________ (2) and then to the harder coals _____________ and ______________
- lignite
- bituminous and anthracite
As the coals become harder, their carbon content increases, and so does the
amount of heat released by burning a given weight of coal. The hardest, high-carbon coals (especially _______________) are the most desirable as fuels because of their potential energy yield.
anthracite
The heat to which coals can be subjected is limited, overly high temperatures lead to metamorphism of coal into
graphite
(1) The estimated world reserve of coal is
(2) The total resources are estimated at
- about one trillion tons
- over 10 trillion tons.
Coal can be converted to liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, gasoline or natural gas, by causing the coal to react with steam or with hydrogen gas at high temperatures. The conversion processes are called ____________ when product is gaseous
gasification
Coal can be converted to liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, gasoline or natural gas, by causing the coal to react with steam or with hydrogen gas at high temperatures. The conversion processes are called ____________ when product is liquid fuel
liquefaction
A major problem posed by coal is the pollution associated with its mining and
use. Coal produces _______________ when burned. It produces significantly
carbon dioxide (CO2)
are poisonous and are extremely irritating to
eyes and lungs. The gases also react with water in the atmosphere to produce sulfuric acid, a very strong acid. This acid then falls to earth as acid rainfall.
sulfur dioxide (SO2)
- consists mostly of noncombustible silicate minerals, also contains toxic metals.
- could cause sediment pollution.
ash
is notoriously dangerous, as well as expensive.
Mines can collapse; miners may contract black lung disease from breathing the dust; there is always danger of explosion from pockets of natural gas that occur in many coal seams
Underground mining
can pollute area ground and surface waters, killing aquatic plants and animals in lakes and streams and contaminating the water supply.
acid runoff
is formed from the remains of plants, algae, and bacteria.
Kerogen
also known as oil sands, are sedimentary rocks containing a very thick, semisolid, tarlike petroleum
Tar sands
thick, semisolid, tarlike petroleum
bitumen
is the splitting apart of atomic nuclei into smaller ones, with the
release of energy. This is the commercially feasible nuclear power
process.
Fission
is the combining of smaller nuclei into larger ones, also releasing
energy.
Fusion
The fissionable nucleus of most interest in modern nuclear power reactors is
the isotope of uranium with 92 protons and 143 neutrons
uranium-235.
Worldwide, 95% of known uranium reserves are found in
sedimentary or
metasedimentary rock
A major concern regarding the use of fission power is
reactor safety
the flow of cooling water to the reactor core would be interrupted.
loss of coolant event
in which the fuel and core materials would deteriorate into a molten mass that might or might not melt its way out of the containment building and thus release high levels of radiation into the environment, depending upon the design of the reactor and containment building
core meltdown
is often important for cooling purposes but makes water pollution in case of mishap more likely.
Proximity to water
Miners exposed to the higher radiation levels in uranium mines have experienced higher occurrence rates of
cancer
is both radioactive and chemically toxic
Plutonium
- is the process by which two or smaller atomic nuclei combine to form a larger one, with an accompanying release of energy
- It is the process by which the sun generates its vast amounts of energy. In the sun, simple hydrogen nuclei containing one proton are fused to produce helium
Fusion
is plentiful because it is a component of water; an essentially inexhaustible supply of the necessary fuel for fusion.
Hydrogen
hydrogen isotopes that is easy to achieve for fusion on earth: (2)
- deuterium (nucleus, 1 proton and 1 neutron)
- tritium (1 proton and 2 neutron)
- principal product of the projected fusion reactions
- is a nontoxic, chemically inert, harmless gas.
Helium
is a means of generating electricity in stationary power plants only.
Fusion
- essentially pollution-free in the sense that the
absorption of sunlight for heat or the operation of a solar cell for electricity is very “clean” processes. - it produces no hazardous solid wastes, air or water pollution, or noise.
Solar Energy
typically combines direct use of sunlight for warmth with some provision for collecting and storing additional heat to draw on when the sun is not shining.
Solar space heating
- The simplest approach that does not require mechanical assistance.
- The building design should allow the maximum amount of light to stream in through south and west windows during the cooler months.
Passive-solar heating
- The system usually involves the mechanical circulation of solar-heated water.
- The flat solar collectors are water-filled, shallow boxes with a glass surface to admit sunlight and a dark lining to absorb sunlight and help heat the water.
Active-solar heating
- Direct production of electricity using sunlight is accomplished through
- have no moving parts and, like solar heating systems, do not emit pollutants during operation.
photovoltaic cells (solar cells)
The earth contains a great deal of heat, some of it left over from its early history, some continually generated by decay of radioactive elements in the earth.
Geothermal Energy
Temperatures tend to remain nearly constant only a few tens of feet underground. This is the key fact that makes possible a type of geothermal technology that can address both heating and cooling needs at the scale of
individual buildings.
Geothermal heat pumps
The magma-warmed waters may escape at the surface in
geysers and hot springs
has the highest concentration of thermal
features of any single geothermal area in the world, but because of its scenic value and uniqueness, the decision was made years ago not to build geothermal power plants there.
Yellowstone National Park
The energy of falling or flowing water which has been used for centuries.
Hydropower
According to the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the country’s first Pico hydro power generation system was put up by
Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative (SOLECO)
Three different approaches to extract energy from Earth’s oceans: (3)
- Tidal and wave energy
- Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)
- up-and-down motion of the water
It exploits the temperature difference between warm surface water and the cold water at depth.
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)
A commercial tidal-power electricity-generating plant requires at least ______________ difference between high and low tides for efficient generation of electricity
5 meters
are ultimately powered by the sun, _________ can be regarded as a variant of solar energy.
Wind energy
are required to generate as much power as a sizable conventional coal- or nuclear powered electric generating plant by wind generators
1000 1-megawatt
has become a catchall for various ways of deriving energy from biomass, from organisms or from their remains.
Biofuels
is ultimately solar energy, since most biofuels come from plant materials, and plants need sunlight to grow
Biomass-derived energy
biofuels fall into three broad categories: (3)
- wood
- waste
- alcohol fuels.
biomass fuels that involve agricultural or other wastes that would historically have been burned in a field or dumped in a landfill.
Waste-Derived Fuels
general term for fuels derived from vegetable oil or animal fats.
biodiesel
are suitable sites for methane production as
organic wastes in the refuse decay.
Sanitary-landfill operations
- Alcohol was extensively developed mainly for incorporation into
- a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% alcohol
Gasohol
most common type of fuel
alcohol)
ethanol
