XV - Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Question 1

Commercial energy in less developed countries

Answer 1

41% renewable

59% nonrenewable

Question 2

Commercial energy in more developed countries

Answer 2

10% renewable

90% nonrenewable

Question 3

Renewable energy sources

Answer 3

Biomass
Hydropower
Geothermal power
Solar power

Question 4

Nonrenewable energy sources

Answer 4

Nuclear power
Natural gas
Coal
Oil

Question 5

Energy consumption in the US

Answer 5

Largest user/waster of commercial energy
84% fossil fuel
7% nuclear energy
9% renewable

Question 6

Energy consumption shift in the US

Answer 6

Since the early 1800s, the sources of commercial
energy used in the United States have shifted from
wood to coal to a mix of oil, coal, natural gas, & nuclear

Question 7

Evaluating Energy Resources

Answer 7

Available energy source
Cost
Env'tal impact
Net energy yield
Sustainability

Question 8

Net energy

Answer 8

the total useful energy available from a
resource over its lifetime minus the amount of energy
used, automatically wasted, & unnecessarily wasted to
find, process, & transport it

Question 9

Net energy ratio

Answer 9

ratio of useful energy
produced to the useful energy used to produce it;
the higher the ratio the greater the net energy yield

Question 10

Net energy ratios for space heating

Answer 10

passive solar 5.8
Natural gas 4.9
oil 4.5
Active solar 1.9
coal gasification 1.5

Question 11

Petroleum or

crude oil

Answer 11

complex liquid
mixture of
hydrocarbons, with
small amounts of
sulfur, oxygen, &
nitrogen impurities
produced by the
decomposition of
deeply buried
organic matter from
plants & animals
(fossil fuel)

Question 12

Where is crude oil generally found?

Answer 12

In sedimentary rock layers with oil dispersed in pores and cracks of rock formation

Question 13

Primary oil recovery

Answer 13

drilling a well &
pumping oil that flows by gravity into the bottom of
the well

Question 14

Secondary oil recovery

Answer 14

injecting water in
nearby wells to force remaining heavy oil to the
surface

Question 15

Tertiary or Enhanced Oil Recovery

Answer 15

using steam or CO2 gas to force still more oil into the well

Question 16

Refining of crude oil involves
separating components based
on their

Answer 16

boiling point

Question 17

Gasoline & aviation fuel

Answer 17

most volatile components

Question 18

Heating oil

Answer 18

less volatile, but still

burns readily

Question 19

Diesel oil

Answer 19

less volatile, and is a
common fuel for trucks, buses, &
heavy machinery

Question 20

Grease, wax, & asphalt

Answer 20

the least
volatile, most dense materials
separated

Question 21

Petrochemicals

Answer 21

derived from oil are
used for synthesizing industrial
organic chemicals, pesticides,
plastics, synthetic fibers, paints,
medicines, & many other products.

Question 22

Thirteen countries that make up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have 67%
of the world’s reserves of oil

Answer 22

Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia,
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, & Venezuela

Question 23

Oil in the US

Answer 23

U.S. has only
2.3% of the world’s oil
reserves, but uses
nearly 30% of the oil

Question 24

What is oil mainly used for in the US?

Answer 24

65% of oil in the U.S.
is used for
transportation

Question 25

Why does the US import oil?

Answer 25

Little new oil & natural gas are expected to be found in the U.S.

Question 26

Crude oil prices

Answer 26

``` When the price is adjusted for inflation, oil has remained cheap since 1975 ```

Question 27

How Long Will Oil Supplies Last?

Answer 27

Oil supplies will be 80% depleted within 35–84 | years, depending on the consumption rate

Question 28

Synthetic crude oil

Answer 28

produced from oil shale (involving grinding large | quantities of rock) or from tar sand (shown below)

Question 29

Characteristics of synthetic crude oil

Answer 29

quality is lower, environmental impact higher, & energy yield lower than for oil from conventional sources.

Question 30

Pros of oil

Answer 30

• Oil is still cheap; • Economy is set up around use of oil; • Many useful products can be readily synthesized from oil

Question 31

Cons of oil

Answer 31

• Supply is limited & will be depleted within 35–84 years; • Pollution & environmental degradation result from extraction, processing, transport, & use

Question 32

Conventional natural gas

Answer 32

trapped above oil | deposits

Question 33

Unconventional | natural gas

Answer 33

found in coal beds, tight sands, & dissolved in deep hot water.

Question 34

Natural gas

Answer 34

fossil fuel, produced by decomposition of deeply buried organic matter from plants & animals

Question 35

Liquefied petroleum gas

Answer 35

propane & butane gases removed from natural gas

Question 36

Characteristics of natural gas

Answer 36

Natural gas is a mixture of 50–90% methane (CH4), with smaller amounts of ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), & butane (C4H10), and the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide (H2S) typically transported in pipelines from oil fields to users

Question 37

Natural gas sources

Answer 37

Russia and Kazakhstan have almost 40% of the world's natural gas supply Other countries with large reserves: Iran (15%), Qatar (5%), Saudi Arabia (4%), Algeria (4%), United States (3%), Nigeria (3%), Venezuela (3%)

Question 38

Natural gas sources in US

Answer 38

90–95% of natural gas used in the U.S. is domestic & the remaining 5–10% is from Canada (estimated 411,00 km = 255,00 miles of pipeline).

Question 39

Pros of Natural Gas

Answer 39

• cheaper than oil; • reserves are more abundant than oil: 65–80 years for U.S., 125 years for world at current consumption rates; • easy to transport over land by pipeline; • burns hotter, cleaner, & produces less carbon dioxide than other fossil fuels

Question 40

Cons of Natural Gas

Answer 40

• transport overseas requires conversion to liquid natural gas (LNG), pressurized & highly flammable; • pollution & environmental degradation result from extraction, processing, transport, & use (though less than other fossil fuels)

Question 41

Coal is composed of ...

Answer 41

mostly carbon, with smaller amounts of water, sulfur & trace amounts of radioactive materials

Question 42

Coal is typically extracted by

Answer 42

strip mining or underground coal mining

Question 43

Coal

Answer 43

fossil fuel, produced from the buried remains of | swamp plants that died during the Carboniferous period (geologic era ending 286 million years ago)

Question 44

Stages in coal formation

Answer 44

Peat Lignite Bituminous Coal Anthracite Coal

Question 45

Peat

Answer 45

Not a coal Partially decayed plant matter in swamps & bods Low heat content

Question 46

Lignite

Answer 46

Brown coal Low heat content Low sulfur content Limited supplies in most areas

Question 47

Bituminous coal

Answer 47

Soft coal Extensively used as fuel due to high heat content & large supplies High sulfur content

Question 48

Anthracite

Answer 48

Hard coal Highly desirable fuel because high heat content & low sulfur content Supplies are limited

Question 49

Coal sources

Answer 49

About 66% of the world's proven coal reserves and | 85% of the estimated undiscovered deposits are in the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China.

Question 50

What percentage of commercial electricity is based on coal?

Answer 50

Coal provides about 25% of the world's commercial | electricity (22% in U.S.)

Question 51

What percentage of global electricity is generated by goal?

Answer 51

Used to generate 64% of world's electricity (57% in | U.S.)

Question 52

Synfuels

Answer 52

Coal can be converted into gaseous & liquid fuels | Low net energy yield

Question 53

Coal pros

Answer 53

• most abundant fossil fuel; • U.S. has major reserves, will last 300 years at current consumption rates; • high net energy yield

Question 54

Coal cons

Answer 54

• dirtiest fossil fuel, in terms of air pollution & carbon dioxide released; • major environmental degradation that result from extraction, processing, transport, & use; • burning coal is major threat to human health –– estimated to kill or cause chronic respiratory disease for large numbers of people.

Question 55

Nuclear fission

Answer 55

nuclear change in which certain unstable isotopes of high mass numbers split into lighter nuclei & release energy in the process

Question 56

Nuclear fission reactors

Answer 56

produce electricity from heat released by the fission of atoms such as uranium–235 & plutonium–239

Question 57

Nuclear chain reaction

Answer 57

multiple fissions resulting from a positive feedback loop in which each fission releases neutrons that cause more fissions to occur

Question 58

Controlled fission steps

Answer 58

I - bringing fissionable atoms to critical mass II - converting enriched uranium into fuel pellets which are then stacked into fuel rods, grouped into fuel assemblies, and lowered into reactor III - controlling rate of fission by absorbing excess neutrons with control rods & surrounding the reaction core with coolant

Question 59

Number 2 Three Mile island explosion (1979) | near Harrisburg, PA

Answer 59

• 50,000 people evacuated & another 50,000 fled area; • unknown amounts of radioactive materials were released; • partial cleanup & payment of damage claims cost $1.2 billion so far; • 1997 concluded that increased cancer rates were caused by released radiation

Question 60

Ukraine Chernobyl explosion (1986)

Answer 60

•In 1998 the Ukrainian health ministry reported 3,576 deaths. However, Greenpeace estimates a total death toll of about 32,000; •about 400,000 people were forced to leave their homes; •according to a UN report, some 160,000 sq kilometers (62,00 sq miles) remain contaminated; •over half a million people were exposed to dangerous levels of radioactivity; •the cost of the incident is estimated in excess of $358 billion.

Question 61

Nuclear Energy use in the US

Answer 61

Eventually phasing out • U.S. currently only gets about 7% of energy from nuclear power; • no new power plants ordered since 1978; of 105 commercial nuclear power plants in U.S., 40% expected to be retired by 2015 & all by 2030

Question 62

Nuclear Energy use in France

Answer 62

• France gets about 78% of its energy from nuclear | power plants, & views nuclear energy as essential for their future

Question 63

What contributed to the phasing out of nuclear energy?

Answer 63

• crippled by high & uncertain construction & operating costs, billion dollar overruns; • frequent malfunctions; • false assurances and cover–ups by government & industry officials; • overproduction of energy in some areas; • poor management; • lack of public acceptance

Question 64

Nuclear power pros

Answer 64

* U.S. has major reserves of uranium; * lower mining impacts than coal; * no carbon dioxide emission; * no air pollution/acid-forming emissions; * lower quantity of solid wastes

Question 65

Nuclear power cons

Answer 65

• cost high & recently rising; • possible major release of radioactive contaminants; • mining & processing impacts; • radioactive wastes: short–term containment of short–lived isotopes (now water–filled tanks); transport & long–term containment of long–lived isotopes; • thermal pollution