ENST-105 Exam #3
What is the Mass Number?
# of Protons + # of Neutrons
What pollutants does burning Oil release?
- CO2 Production: Global Warming (43% of Global Carbon Emissions from transportation use) - NOx results in Acid Rain & Smog - Carbon Monoxide - Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): Smog, a mix of stuff
How do Coal-Powered Electricity Plants work?
1) We ship coal and put it in a giant furnace that produces heat 2) The heat boils water, which creates steam 3) The steam makes the turbine spin and produce electricity - Natural Gas, Nuclear Plants, Wind, Solar, and Water all work the same way.
What is the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill? What happened?
11 million gallons of of crude oil spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound. Was the biggest oil spill in US history until Deepwater Horizon Spill happened in 2010.
___/___ of proven natural gas reserves are in Russia & Middle East
2/3
US has ___% of the world's coal supply
25%
What fuel does do nuclear power plants use to start the chain reaction?
3% enriched U-235
Coal is responsible for ___% of global CO2 emissions
40%
Subsurface Mining accounts for ___% of mining used, while Surface Mining accounts for ___% of mining used
40%; 60%
Currently, nonrenewable fossil fuels supply over ___% of the world's commercial energy needs
80%
Per capita, energy use is still __x higher in developing countries. ______ & ______ are the biggest/capita consumers of energy
8; US & Canada
What is Bitumen?
A viscous mix of long chain hydrocarbons -> Thick oil
What is Kerogen?
A waxy mixture of hydrocarbons in oil shale
What does the SMCRA 1977 regulate?
Act states that mining companies must restore land after it has been surfaced mined. They also have to monitor the nearby streams to look for acid mine drainage. However, the new landscape isn't anything like the original ecosystem that was there
What is a Fission Chain Reaction?
An atom is split into 2 atoms of different elements
Coal releases particulates such as _____ & _____
Ash & Soot
______ ______ has the total energy highest consumption. But the ______ has the highest/capita use
Asia Pacific; USA
The _____ number NEVER changes
Atomic
The _____ number defines what the atom is and its place on the table. If this number changes, the atom is no longer that element.
Atomic
What is an Isotope?
Atoms of the same element with different # of neutrons (& mass #), but the # protons remain the same
What are some health consequences to Subsurface Mining?
Black Lung Disease & Cancer
What is Biomass Combustion Energy?
Burning of wood, peat moss, and dung, was used in the pre-industrial age, and about half of people in developing countries still use biomass combustion to heat homes/cook food. Renewable but still needs to be used sustainably.
What is CCS (Carbon Sequestration)?
Carbon Capture & Storage; Puts CO2 emissions into a solid or liquid form and then burry it underground. Now ready for current use.
Natural Gas is viewed as the cleanest fossil fuel because it only releases _____
Carbon Dioxide
Coal is a solid fossil fuel that formed from woody plant remains buried during the Coal Age, also called the _______ _______.
Carboniferous Period
What are VOCs?
Chemical compounds that form toxic fumes
After wood had its use during the Industrial Revolution, during the 1800s-1940s, what was now the main source of fuel?
Coal
_____ is the dirtiest fossil fuel out of the three.
Coal
______ releases more CO2/unit heat energy than any of the other fossil fuels
Coal
______ ______ is the main source of Mercury pollution. Mercury is persistant, bioaccumulates, and biomagnifies in the environment.
Coal Burning
_____ _____ are when seams of coal catch on fire that burn underground. They are hard to put out and can burn for hundreds of years. This can happen with both subsurface and surface mining. They also release a lot of CO2 and other toxic chemicals.
Coal Fires
______ contributse to acid rain where the rainwater is polluted and now acidic.
Coal pollutants
What makes coal attractive to use over wood and other energy sources?
Coal produces more energy/lbs than burning wood & is also cheap, abundant, but very dirty
Fossil Fuels include what three nonrenewable resources?
Coal, Oil, & Natural Gas
______ also releases Radioactive Material that releases ___x more than a nuclear plant
Coal; 100x
Inudstrial Revolution primarily used _____ as the main energy source, while modern day, we use ______.
Coal; Crude Oil/Petroleum
What is Spent Fuel. What is the issue with spent fuel?
Concentrated U-235 that isn't enough to fuel the centrifuge, so needs to be removed and stored somewhere. Highly deadly, radioactive, also has plutonium. We need to find long term storage for it because it's so radioactive and deadly.
What is the nucleus in an atom?
Contains the protons and neutrons
The MIddle East is known to have more ______ oil reserves
Conventional
What are the drawbacks of Hydraulic Fracturing?
Dangerous for groundwater and air pollution. Exempt from Safe Drinking Water Act as well. Not great for human health.
During the Coal Age, carbon dioxide ______ during this age because lots of photosynthesis was occurring. This brought temperatures ______. The Rise of Dinosaurs followed.
Decreased; down
Why is energy use increasing?
Demographic Transition (3-->4) & Population Growth
What is Diesel Fuel? Is it dirtier or cleaner than other options?
Diesel fuel is heavier, less refined, dirtier when burned, and releases more pollutants such as SOx and NOx.
All living and nonliving things are composed of _____
Elements
What is Nonrenewable Energy?
Energy sources that are finite and cannot be quickly nor easily replenished
What is Renewable Energy?
Energy sources that can continously be replenished
What is Combustion Energy?
Energy when you burn something
What does Nuclear Energy use to provide the heat source for energy?
Fission Chain Reactions
How are Oil and Natural Gas formed?
From the pressure-cooked remains of plankton that lived 100-500 million years ago
Over 92% of coal burned in the US is used for ______ ______.
Generating Electricity
What are Slurry Ponds?
Hold the wastewater from washing coal, creates so much toxic sludge. They build a pond with a dam, but that dam can sometimes break.
What is Half-Life?
In years, the average time it takes for 1/2 of the radioisotope to decay. Atoms decay at different rates. Once it decays, it is safe to be around and stable
During the Coal Age, oxygen______ during this age because little cellular respiration was occurring.
Increased
Globally, commerical energy use is ______ as the human population increases and developing countries (India & China) modernize
Increasing
In the late 1800s, what 3 things were discovered that allowed oil to take off and push for automobiles and planes?
Internal Combustion Engines, Oil Drilling, & Oil Refinery
What are some environment consequences of Subsurface Mining?
Land Subsidence & Coal Fires (which can also occur during surface mining too)
Molecules at the top of the tower are more or less refined? Are they at room temperature?
Liquids at room temperature are highly refined, at the top of the tower, and cleaner when burned.
Coal has pockets of ______ that were produced during the decomposition process. Mining releases this and can be highly explosive, this is also odorless.
Methane
Natural Gas is essentially _____
Methane
Although natural gas is seen as the cleaner fossil fuel, it is mainly methane. What is the issue with methane and greenhouse gases?
Methane is the second GHG emitter and is 20-70x MORE potent GHG than CO2. So if too much methane leaks from natural gas combustions, environmental benefits are lost
The _____ _____ countries has 50% of worldwide oil reserves
Middle Eastern (Persian Gulf)
Although subsurface mining is less damaging to the environment, it is more/less dangerous for workers.
More dangerous, workers face risks of black lung disease and cancer
Nuclear Energy doesn't use combustion, therefore, does it emit any GHG or CO2?
NO, which is a benefit of Nuclear Energy, no pollutants are released.
Explain which molecules are at the top of the oil refining tower and which are at the bottom? What is the problem with molecules at the bottom?
Natural Gas and Gasoline are highly refined and at the top of the tower. Whereas Asphault, Lubricants and Diesel are at the bottom. These oils are less refined than regular gas and have more pollutants because it's part of what's left at the bottom. It's heavier and dirtier when burned, also releases more particulates, SOx, and NOx.
Do Electrons have a positive or negative charge? What is its mass?
Negative; mass = 0
Do Neutrons have a positive or negative charge? What is its mass?
No Charge! Mass = 1
Nuclear Energy is a ______ source
Nonrenewable
What is Extreme Drilling?
Oil companies are drilling in increasingly remote and risky places such as deepwater ocean drilling and possibility of drilling in the Arctic
What is a Control Rod in a Nuclear Power Plant?
On/Off switch and absorbs the neutrons to shut down the reaction
Crude Oil is also known as _____
Petroleum
What is the issue with Carbon Monoxide?
Poisonous gas released from combusting oil that is odorless but deadly
Do Protons have a positive or negative charge? What is its mass?
Positive, mass =1
During the ______ ______ age, agricultural societies were based on human and animal muscle power, wind, water, & biomass as energy sources. These were relatively renewable energy sources.
Pre-Industrial
What is the process of Oil Refining?
Process separates hydrocarbons based on size and bioling point in distillation towers. Lower boiling points are cleaner because they get more refined. Natural Gas purely contains methane and nothing else, which is why it's clean to burn.
The _____ _____ leads to air pollutation and is energy intensive
Refinery Process
Subsufrace Mining uses a technique called ______ & ______ to mine the coal
Room & Pillar
Coal releases acid deposition such as ______ & ______
SOx (sulfur oxide) & NOx (nitrogen oxide) that creates sulfuric and nitrogen acid
What are Tar Sands?
Sands composed of sand + shale particulates coated with bitumen, a viscous mix of long chain hydrocarbons. Energy Intensive & Expensive
What are Oil Shales?
Sedimentary rock rich in Kerogen, contains pockets of oil and gas. Not as popular as the other unconventional oil source, tar sands. Produces 2x as much CO2/unit of energy as conventional oil. Fracking.
What is Reprocessing?
Separating the components of spent fuel from plutonium to the rest
What is Decommissioning/Mothballing?
Shutting down a nuclear power plant because it's too fragile now. Adds to expenses
Nitrogen Oxide especially contributes to ______ a classification of air pollution and a result of oil combustion.
Smog
Burning coal releases additional toxic chemicals called ______ which contribute to air pollution and are a big problem
Soot
During the Industrial Revolution (late 1700's), what was invented? What energy source did it primarily use?
Steam Engine was invented, which burned wood as fuel to create steam that drove energy
What two methods does Surface Mining use?
Strip Mines & Moutain Top Removal
Venezuela and Canada are known to have _____ _____ that are more unconventional sources of oil
Tar Sands
What is Hydraulic Fracturing?
The fracking for "tight oil and gas" in shale deposits. Inside these shale deposits are pockets of oil and natural gas that are tightly in there and must be pressurized to break the rocks apart.
What is the Atomic Number?
The number of Protons of the element.
What is Enrichment?
The process of concentrating U-235 using Centrifuge Technology
What are Petrochemicals? What are examples?
The raw material (OIL) for plastics, paint, medicines, synthetic fibers (nylon), pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial chemicals. When prices of oil goes up, so does everything else!
What is an Atom?
The smallest possible unit of an element
What is signficicant about these countries?: USA, Russia, China, India, Australia, Germany, & South Africa
They have the most coal reserves
What are Containment Buildings?
Thick and super strong, keeps radiation safe; accidental meltdowns are contained
While nuclear energy, coal, natural gas, and even renewables are used for electricity, oil is primarily used for ______.
Transportation
T/F Fracking is allowed because these oil companies are excluded in the Safe Drinking Water Act
True
What is U-235 equaution when it undergoes a fission chain reaction?
U-235 à X + Y + Several Neutrons + HEAT
What is the one benefit of Hydraulic Fracturing?
US reliance on petroleum imports have declined greatly due to the increase in domestic supply mostly because of fracking. The US is now a net exporter of oil.
What are Radioisotopes?
Unstable isotopes that will decay spontaneously and release a form of energy called radiation (C-14 will shed its neutron and become C-13 which is stable)
______ is used in nuclear power plants, it's heavy and dense.
Uranium
Why is water necessary for fission chain reactions to take place? What other function does water serve in a nuclear power plant?
Water makes the neutrons fly at the right speed for reaction to take place. Water is also a coolant to remove some heat from reaction
Surface Mining contributes to ______ pollution. And is allowed to still occur because mining waste is called "______ ______" that isn't technically considered a pollutant.
Water; "Fill Material"
What is the idea around a "bridge fuel?"
We can use natural gas or even nuclear energy that's less damaging to the environment as we switch to alternatives
What are neutral atoms?
Where # of Electrons = # of Protons
What is the electron shell in an atom?
Where electrons circle around the nucleus
What is the Deepwater Horizon Spill? (aka BP Oil Spill)
Where they drilled a mile down in the ocean, explosion on a rig spilled 5 billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and took over 4 months to plug, largest accidental marine oil spill
In subsurface mining, Coal Seams are where the.... And Pillar are the...
Woody plant concentrations are; Pillars are the coal left behind so the mine doesn't collapse. 50% is left behind.