Renewable and Non-Renewable Flashcards
Crude Oil
Non-Renewable Mixture of hydrocarbons that formed from remains of plants and animals millions of years ago.
Hydrocarbon
Simple Organic Compound made completely of hydrogen and carbon.
Petroleum
Refined crude oil consisting of Gasoline and distillates: diesel fuel, heating oil jet fuel, lubricants ect.
Natural Gas
Non-Renewable Main Ingredient “Methane” gas atom composed of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. Organic matter trapped beneath san and rock creating pressure and turning the matter into coal, crude oil, and natural gas.
Whats another name for plant and animal remains.
Diatoms: a single-celled alga that has a cell wall of silica. Many kinds are planktonic, and extensive fossil deposits have been found
How do we get natural gas?
geologist locate rock likely to contain oil deposits then a hole is drilled and oil and gases are extracted.
Coal
Combustible black or brownish sedimentary rock composed primarily of carbon.
Anthracite
Coal containing 85-97% carbon and generally has the highest heating values from all ranks of coal.
Bituminous
Coal containing 45-85% carbon. 1-300 million years old. accounts for nearly 48% of total us coal production. most of this coal extracted in the united states is in WV, Kentucky, Illinoi, and PA.
subbituminous
35-45% carbon had lower heating value. close to a million yeas old.
Nuclear Energy
Energy in the nucleus of the core of an atom.
Atoms
Tiny particles that make up every object in the universe. Enormous amounts of energy stored in the bonds of atoms.
Fusion
Atoms are combined or fused together to form larger atoms creating energy. This is how the sun produces energy.
Fission
Atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms releasing energy. Mainly used in power plants.
Uranium
Non-Renewable chemical found in rock worldwide. Power plants use u-235 uranium.
Fission reaction with uranium.
small particles called neutrons hit uranium atoms and splits them releasing energy in the form of heat radiation. chain reaction continues the process.
PV solar conversion
Changes sunlight directly into energy.
Solar Thermal
Generate power by concentrating solar energy to heat fluid and produce steam.
Solar Benefits
Does not produce air pollutants or carbon dioxide. When located on buildings they have a minimal environmental impact.
How is wind created?
Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. Because the earth’s surface is made of different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates
What is a winds cycle?
During the day, the air above the land heats up faster than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water.
What is geothermal electricity?
The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). Geothermal energy is heat from within the earth. We can recover this heat as steam or as hot water and use it to heat buildings or to generate electricity
Where is geothermal energy generated?
Geothermal energy is generated in the earth’s core. Temperatures hotter than the sun’s surface are continuously produced inside the earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process that happens in all rocks.
Dry steam plant
Dry steam plants use steam piped directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn generator turbines. The first geothermal power plant was built in 1904 in Tuscany, Italy, where natural steam erupted from the earth.
