Unit 6 Flashcards
Fossil fuels
Are fuels derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago
No renewable energy resource
An energy source with a finite supply, primarily fossil fuels and nuclear fuels
Renewable energy resources
Sources of energy that are infinite
Potentially Renewable;e
An energy source that can be regenerated indefinitely as long as it is not overharvested
Non deletable
An energy source that cannot be used up
Commercial Energy Source
Energy sources that are bought and sold, such as coal, oil, and natural gases
Subsistence energy sources
Energy sources gathered by ndividuals foe their own immediate needs including straw, sticks and animal dung.
Energy Intensity
The energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP)
Fossil Fuel Combustion
The chemical reaction between any fossil fuel and oxygen resulting in the production of carbon dioxide, water and the release of energy
Hubert Curve
A graph that represent oil use and projects both when world oil production will reach maximum and when world oil will be depleted
Peak Oil
The point at which oil extraction and use would increase steadily until roughly half the supply had been used up
Energy Conservation
Methods for fining and implementing easy to use less energy
Energy efficiency
The ratio of the amount of energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system
Biofuel
A liquid fuel such as ethanol or biodiesel created from processed or refined biomass
Modern Carbon
Carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere
Fossil Carbon
Old carbon contained in fossil fuels
Carbon neutral
An activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations
Coal
A solid fuel formed primarily form the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials that were reserved 280 million to 360 million years ago
Peat
Made up of partly decomposed organic material, including mosses.
Lignite
A brown coal that is a soft sedimentary rock that sometimes shows traces of plant structure; it typically contains 60 to 70 percent carbon
Bituminous Coal
A bald or dark brown coal that contains bitumen also know as asphalt. Typically is 80% carbon
Anthracite
Hard Coal
- Greater than 90% carbon
It has the highest quantity of energy per volume of coal and the fewest inpurities
Natural Gas
A relatively clean fossil fuel containing 80 to 95 percent of methane and 5 to 20 percent ethane, propane, and butane
Crude Oil
A mixture of hydrocarbons such as oil, gasoline, kerosene as well as water and sulfur that exists in a liquid state underground and when brought to the surface
Tar Sands
Slow-flowing, vicious deposits of bitumen or asphalt, mixed with sand, water and clay (oil sand)
Energy Carrier
An enrgy source such as electricity that can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form to end users
Combined cycle
A feature in some natural gas fired power planets that sues both a steam turbine to generate electricity and a separate turbine that is powered by the exhaust gases from natural gas combustion to turn another turbine to generate electricity
Capacity
The maximum electrical output of something of something such as a power plant
capacity factor
The fraction of time a power plant operates during a year
Cogeneration
The use of a fuel to both generate electricity and deliver heat to a building or industrial process. (COMBINED HEAT AND POWER)
Fracking
Short for hydraulic fracturing, a method of oil and gas extraction that uses high pressure field to force open existing cracks in rock deep underground
Volatile organic compounds
A type of organic compound air pollutants that evaporate at typical atmosphere tempurtures
Turbine
A device that can be turned by water, steam, or wind to produce power such as electricity
Electric grid
A network of interconnected transmission lines
Nuclear power
Electricity generated from the nuclear energy contained in nuclear fuel
Radioactivity
The emission of ionizing radiation or particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei
Fission
A nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat
Fuel Rod
A cylindrical tube that encodes nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor
Control Rod
A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction
Radioactive decay
When a parent radioactive isotope emits alpha or beta particles or gamma rays
Half life
The time it takes for one half of the original radioactive parent atoms to decay
Radioactive waste
Nuclear duel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity
Charcoal
Woody material that has been heated in the absence of oxygen so that water and some volatile compounds are driven off
Particulates
Solid or liquid particles suspended in the air (soot)
Carbon Monoxide
A colorless, odorless gas that is formed during incomplete combustion of most materials
Nitrogen oxides
A by product of combustion of any fuel in the atmosphere
Carbon Dioxide
A by product of all combustion, carbon dioxide form biofuels contains modern carbon from woody material, rather than fossil carbon from fossil fuels
Biofuel
Iiquid fuel created processed or refined biomass
Ethanol
Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars form plants material into alcohol and CO2
Biodiesel
A dill substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants
Active Solar energy
A use of technology that captures and stores the energy of sunlight with electrical equipment and devices
Photovoltaic solar cells
A use of energy form the Sun as light, not heat and converting it directly into electricity
Hydroelectricity
Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water
Water impoundment
the storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam
Tidal energy
energy that comes form the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the moon
Siltation
Sediments from moving water that accumulate on the bottom of a reservoir
Geothermal energy
Heat energy that comes form the natural radioactive decay of element deep within earth
Fuel Cell
An electric chemical device that converts fuel such as hydrogen into an electrical current
Wind energy
Energy generated format he kinetic energy of moving air
Wind turbine
A turbine that converts the kinetic energy of moving air into electricity
Phantom loads
Electrical demand by a device that draws electrical current, even when it is turned off
Peak demand
The greatest quantity of energy used at any one time
Passive solar designs
Construction technique designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology
Thermal Mass
A property of a building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold
