Environmental Science - Fossil Fuels

What are the 2 reasons why power plant owners object to dry cask storage?

1. such facilities are extremely expensive to build 2. once waste is transferred to dry cask storage, it is much safer than when it was stored in water.

A barrel of oil from the oil sands produces __________ more GNGs than a conventual barrel of oil.

14%.

At current rates of use, it is estimated that we have between _________ and _________ years world of coal resources remaining?

200 to 1000.

The oil sands are seen as a major source of GNGs and account for _____ of all of Canada's emissions.

7% and 14% by 2030.

Fluidized-bed combustion?

A clean-coal technology in which crushed coal is mixed with limestone to neutralize the acidic sulfur compounds produced during combustion.

What is coal?

A combustible solid composed of carbon, water, and trace elements found in Earth's crust formed from ancient plants that lived millions of years ago.

What is a nuclear reactor?

A device that initiates and maintains a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction to produce energy for electricity.

What is subbituminous?

A dull black coal. It gives off a little more energy (heat) than lignite when it burns. It is mined mostly in Montana, Wyoming and other western states.

What is tidal energy?

A form of renewable energy that relies on the ebb and flow of the tides to generate electricity.

In arid regions, the creation of a reservoir results in?

A greater evaporation of water because the reservoir has a large and slow moving surface area as compared to the original stream or river. Serious water loss and increased salinity of the remaining water may occur.

What us synfuel?

A liquid or gaseous fuel synthesized from coal or other naturally occurring resources and used in place of oil or natural gas.

What is solar thermal electricity generation?

A means of producing electricity in which the sun's energy is concentrated by mirrors or lenses to either heat a fluid filled pipe or drive a stirling engine. Sunlight is focused on oil-filled pipes, and heat the oil. Hot oil is circulated to a water storage steam and used to change water into superheated steam, which turns a turbine to generate electricity. The heat is used to power a stirling engine.

What are photovoltaics?

A method of converting sunlight to electricity using layer of minerals that either readily give up or absorb electrons. Arranged on large panels that absorb sunlight, even on cloudy or rainy days.

What is natural gas

A mixture of energy-rich gaseous hydrocarbons that occurs, often with oil deposits, in Earth's crust.

What is coal liquefaction?

A nonalcohol liquid fuel similar to oil can be produced from coal. It is less polluting.

What is acid mine draining?

A process in which the acids naturally held within many rock types are not disturbed so much that they begin to enter nearby water sources.

What is active solar heating?

A system of putting the sun's energy to use in which a series of collectors absorb the solar energy, and pumps or fans distribute the collected heat.

What is passive solar heating?

A system of putting the sun's energy to use without requiring mechanical devices to distribute the collected heat. Solar energy heats buildings without the need for pumps or fans to distribute the heat. Certain design features are incorporated into a passive solar heating system to warm building in winter and help them remain cool in the summer. (glass brings in light and it is transformed into heat - the sunlight entering through the windows provides heat that is then stored in floors and walls made of concrete or stone, or in containers of water. Stored heat is transmitted throughout the building naturally by convection, the circulation that occurs because warm air rises and cooler air sinks.

What is oil?

A thick, yellow to black, flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture found in Earth's crust; formed from the remains of ancient microscopic aquatic organisms.

What is acid deposition?

A type of air pollution in which acid falls from the atmosphere to the surface as precipitation (acid precipitation) or as dry acid particles.

What is a solar cell?

A wafer or thin film of solid-state materials, such as silicon or gallium arsenide, that is treated with certain metals so that it generates electricity, a flow of electrons - when it absorbs solar energy.

What are the benefits of fossil fuels?

Abundance of energy, affordable products from rubber, plastic and other fossil fuel based products, economic activity and production, economic activity and production.

What is a meltdown?

Accidents can happen in which dangerous levels of radiation are released into the environment and result in human casualties. At high temperatures, the metal encasing the uranium fuel can melt, releasing radiation.

In both types of mining, precautions need to be taken to what?

Acid mine draining.

What is anthracite?

Anthracite is the hardest cold and gives off a great amount of heat when it burns. There is little in the US. The US reserves of anthracite are located primarily in pennsylvania.

What are solar thermal plants more significant in their benefits to the environment?

Because they do not produce air pollution or contribute to acid rain or global climate change.

What is biogas?

Biogas is usually composed of a mixture of gases (mostly methane), is stored and transported like natural gas. It is possible to convert biomass to biogas.

What is cleaner, biomass or biogas?

Biogas. (less pollution).

How is biomass fuel used for energy?

Biomass fuel, which can be a solid, liquid, or gas, is burned to release its energy. Solid biomass such as wood is burned directly to obtain energy.

What are the disadvantages of biomass?

Biomass production requires land, water, and energy, the energy used to produce biomass often requires some use of fossil fuels.

What are the problems associated with hydropower?

Building a dam changes the natural flow of a river.

Burning of coal also produces ________, the GNG at the centre of climate change caused by humans?

CO2.

300 Million years ago the Earth's atmosphere contained extremely high levels of ______________ allowing plant species to thrive?

Carbon Dioxide.

Burning of fossil fuels represents the completion of the ________________, part of a natural system?

Carbon cycle.

What do the local/rural groups say about wind-energy?

Claim that they are ugly and noisy, and cause health problems. Only will contribute a small part of the climate change solution.

What are highwalls?

Cliffs of excavated rock were left exposed. Acid and toxic mineral drainage from coal mines of this type, along with the removal or topsoil, which was buried or washed away by erosion, prevented most plants from naturally recolonizing the land.

What is an advantage of coal gas over solid coal?

Coal gas burns almost as cleanly as natural gas.

What does mercury in coal do?

Coal is not always pure, and sometimes contains other substances such as mercury, which settle from smoke stakes into water and soil.

What are the 3 types of fossil fuels

Coal, oil, and natural gas.

In the 18th century ___________ began to replace _____________ as the dominant fuel source in industrializing economies.

Coal, wood.

What are fossil fuels?

Combustible deposits in Earth's crust, composed of the remants (fossils) or prehistoric organisms that existed millions of years ago. Coal, oil (petroleum), and natural gas are three types of fossil fuels.

Geothermal energy is employed to heat and cool?

Commercial and residential buildings.

Where do radioactive wastes accumulate?

Commercially operated nuclear power plants store their spent fuel in huge indoor pools of water on-site.

Negatives of GHPs?

Cost a lot to install.

What are tailing ponds?

Currently covering almost 200 kms in the area. Large toxic ponds affect local wildlife, emit harmful pollutants, and there is fear over the risk of overland spills or ground intrusion.

What are disadvantages of natural gas?

Deposits are often located far from where the energy is used. Because it is a gas and is less dense than a liquid, natural gas costs four times more to transport through pipelines than crude oil.

What is hydraulic fracturing?

Extraction of natural gas that is tightly bound in shale deposits by applying chemical and water under high pressure.

Some radioactive wastes are produced directly from the ___________ reaction.

Fission.

What are isotopes?

Forms of single element that differ in atomic mass.

What are geothermal heat pumps?

GHPs take advantage of the difference in temperature between Earth's surface and subsurface.

What is more plentiful, oil or gas?

Gas.

The use of natural gas is increasing in what three main areas?

Generation of electricity, transportation, and commercial cooling.

What are the health problems of wind energy?

Health problems are likely psychosomatic, caused by annoyances ( and injusticies).

GNPs are the most _________________ heating system available?

Heating.

What is the worlds main renewable source of electrical generation?

Hydropower.

Conventional use of geothermal energy relies on?

Hydrothermal reservoirs - that is, on groundwater - to bring the heat to the surface.

What are hydrothermal reservior's?

Hydrothermal reservoirs contain hot water and possibly steam, depending on the temperature and pressure of the fluid. Arises from groundwater which is heated in volcanic areas.

What do the regional/global groups say about wind-energy?

Impacts from climate change is enough to support their implementation. Reduces negative health impacts associated with burning of fossil fuels.

Intensive use of wood for energy has resulted?

In severe damage to the environment, including soil erosion, deforestation and desertification, air pollution, and degradation of water supplies.

Where is coal primarily found?

In the Northern Hemisphere.

How can radioactive waste be disposed?

In the long term, most waste experts conclude that deep geologic burial is the best solution. Appropriate storage site must have geologic stability and little or no water flow nearby, which might cause containers to corrode and transport the waste away.

What is cogeneration?

In which natural gas is used to produce both electricity and steam the heat of the exhaust gases provides the energy to make steam from water to be used for heating.

Combustion of biomass, wood, and other organic matter is an example of?

Indirect solar energy because green plants, which use solar energy for photosynthesis, store the energy in biomass. Biomass contains chemical energy that comes from the sun's radiant energy, which photosynthetic organisms use to form organic molecules.

What is coal gasification?

Is the production of the combustible gas methane from coal by reacting it with air and steam.

A major challenge for liquid biomass fuels is that?

It can take large amounts of energy to produce them. It is not always "climate-neurtral" since more CO2 may be produced than captured.

What are the pros of nuclear energy?

It has fewer routine environmental impacts than do fossil fuels, nuclear power emits no emissions directly into the atmosphere and is a carbon-free source of electricity.

Solar energy differs from fossil fuels how?

It is perpetually available and dispersed all over the place, not just in one area.

What organisms create coal?

Largely vegetation, including trees.

Solar radiation varies in intensity depending on?

Latitude, season of the year, time of day, and cloud cover.

What are the 4 types of coal?

Lignite, subbituminous, bituminour, and anthracite.

What can lime scrubbers do?

Lime scrubbers is a desulfurization system (because of salt from coal) are chemical spray of water and lime neutralizes acidic gases such as sulfur dioxide, which remain behind as a calcium sulfate sludge that becomes a disposal problem.

To transport natural gas over long distances, it is first compressed to form?

Liquefied natural gas (LNG), then carried on specially constructed refrigeration ships.

Biomass can be converted into?

Liquid fuels, especially methanol and ethanol which can be used in internal combustion engines.

What is biodiseal?

Made from plants and animal oils (used for oil produced at restaurants).

What are salt domes?

Many important oil and gas deposits are found in association with salt domes. Salt domes develop when extensive salt deposits form at Earth's surface because of the evaporation of water. All surface water contains dissolved salts.

Coal burning has contributed to the increase in what?

Mercury levels in water, food webs and humans,.

What few different hydrocarbons does natural gas contain?

Methane and smaller amounts of ethane, propane, and butane.

What are gas hydrates?

Methane hydrates, are reserves of ice-encrusted natural gas located deep underground in porous rock. Massive deposits are found in the arctic tundra, deep under the permafrost, and in the deep-ocean sediments of the continental slope and ocean floor.

How is rock made?

Millions of years ago, dead plant matter fell into swampy water and over time, a thick layer of dead plants lay decaying the bottom of the swamps. Over time, the surface and climate of the Earth changed, and more water and dirt washed in, halting the decay process, forming peat. Eventually the mass of dead plants is covered by massive layers of rock, causing intense heat and pressure that altered the plant material and turned it into a rocky substance.

Is fluidized-bed combustion more or less efficient than traditional coal burning?

More efficient. It produces more heat from a given amount of coal and therefore reduces CO2 emissions per unit of electricity produced.

What is bituminous coal?

More energy, sometimes called soft coal. In the United States, it is found primarily East of the Mississipi River in Midwestern states like Ohio and Illinois and int he appalachian mounatin range from the kentucky to pennsylvania.

How is natural gas formed?

Natural gas is formed similar to crude oil, generally that same oxygen-free conditions except at much greater temperatures (greater than 100 degrees celsius). The dead organic material underwent thermal breakdown, lightweight hydrocarbon gases collected above the material. If there is a geological cap, the gas will be trapped and pool into reserves.

Is geothermal energy a good form or energy?

No because it is difficult to extract.

Are scrubbers need when coal gas is burned?

No because sulfur is removed during coal gasification.

Can biomass replace fossil fuels?

No.

Fossils fuels are what kind of resource?

Nonrenewable resource.

Who consumes most of the natural gas?

North America, Central/Eastern Europe, Asia/Oceania.

What is NIMBY?

Not in my backyard.

Does Nova Scotia or Ontario approve Wind Turbines more?

Nova Scotia.

What are dry cask storage?

Nuclear wastes are being transferred from onsite wet storage to dry cask storage.

How are waves a source of energy?

Ocean waves are produced by winds, which are caused by the sun; wave energy is therefore considered an indirect form of solar energy. Wave power has the potential to turn a turbine thereby generating electricity.

What is atomic mass?

Of an element is equal to the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

How is oil made?

Oil is formed when large numbers of microscopic aquatic organisms died and settled in the sediments. As these organisms accumulated, their decomposition depleted the small amount of oxygen present in the sediments. This resulted in oxygen-deficient environment prevented further decomposition.

What is mountaintop removal?

One of the most land-destructive types of surface mining where enormous chunks of mountain are removed (eventually the entire mountaintop).

The sun produces a large amount of energy, but?

Only a small portion reaches Earth.

What are the negatives of nuclear energy?

Opponents argue that the underlying problems with fossil fuels and nuclear power are similar (large-scale technologies have unpredictable but potentially large-scale consequences, nuclear energy generates radioactive waste, such as spent fuel.

Why does a sam have a limited life span?

Over time the reservoir fills in with silt until is cannot hold enough water to generate electricity. This trapped silt, which is rich in nutrients is prevented from enriching agricultural lands downstream.

In remote areas that are not served by electric power plants, such as rural areas of developing countries, it is more economical to use what type of electricity?

PV solar cells for electricity than to extend power lines. The cost of manufacturing PV modules has steadily declined.

What happens in entombment?

Permanently encasing the entire power plant in concreate, viable option because the tomb would have to remain intact for at least 100 years. Easy for leaks to occur.

A large amount of the worlds oil reserves are in countries surrounding the?

Persian gulf.

What happens during petroleum refining?

Petroleum (or crude oil) is a liquid composed of hundreds of hydrocarbon compounds. During petroleum refining, the compounds are separated into different products -- such as gases, gasoline, heating oil, diesel oil, and asphalt.

What do fossil fuels results from?

Photosynthesis that captured solar energy millions of years ago.

What is biomass?

Plant material, including undigested fiber in animal waste, used as fuel.

What is peak oil?

Point at which global oil production has reached a maximum rate.

What is acid mine drainage?

Pollution caused when sulfuric acid and dissolved materials such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium wash from coal and metal mines into nearby lakes and streams.

Atoms are composed of?

Positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and electrically neutral neutrons. Protons and neutrons, which have approximately the same mass, are clustered in the center of the atom, making up its nucleus.

What is crude oil extraction?

Primary recovery (natural pressure), secondary recover (enhanced pressure), and tertiary recovery, enhanced mobility.

What is atomic number?

Protons per atom.

What are high-level radioactive wastes?

Radioactive solids, liquids, or gases that give off large amounts of ionizing radiation. HLRW's are produced during nuclear fission are spent fuel rods and assembles. Include high weapons and human-made hazardous wastes.

What are low-level radioactive wastes?

Radioactive solids, liquids, or gases that give off small amounts of ionizing radiation. Include glassware, tools, paper, water, and other materials contaminated by radioactivity.

What are advantages of biomass use?

Reduces dependence on fossil fuels and often uses wastes, burned to produce energy so the pollution problems of fossil-fuel combustion, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, are not completely absent in biomass combustion, low levels of sulfur and ash produced by biomass combustion, possible to offset the CO2 released into the atmosphere from biomass combustion by increasing tree planting.

Clouds both scatter incident light and absorb some of the sun's energy thereby?

Reducing its intensity.

When biogas conversion is complete, the solid remains are?

Removed from the digester and used as fertilizer. Although the technology for biogas digesters if simple, the condition inside the digester, such as moisture level and pH, must be carefully monitored if the bacteria are to produce biogas as an optimum level.

The largest producers of Crude Oil are where?

Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

Where is the highest global natural gas reserves?

Russia.

What can scrubbers do?

Scrubbers can remove sulfur from a power plant's exhaust. As polluted air passes through a scrubber, chemicals in the scrubber react with the pollution and cause it to precipitate (settle) out.

What are oil shales?

Sedimentary rocks containing a mixture of hydrocarbons known collectively as kerogen. Oil shales are crushed and heated to yield their oil, and the kerogen is refined after it is mined.

What is Ontario's policy - Feed in Tariff Program?

Set prices for renewable development, turbines built by corporations; eliminated municipal input and control.

Large amounts of natural gas have been found in ____________ formations around the world. Which might cause what?

Shale. Removing shale gas can be more expensive and environmentally disruptive.

What is Nova Soctia's Approach - COMFIT program?

Smaller, community-owned projects. Requires municipal approval and involvement. Has never been a political issue.

Wind energy is an indirect form of?

Solar energy. Radiant energy from the sun is transformed into mechanical energy - the movement of air molecules.

What is vitrification?

Solidifying liquid waste into solid glass or ceramic logs.

What is unconventional natural gas?

Sources are trapped in shale formations, or within tight sandstone.

What are the three options when a nuclear power plant is closed?

Storage, entombment, and decommissioning.

What is propane and butane from natural gas used for?

Stored in pressurized tanks as a liquid called liquefied petroleum gas, and used primarily as fuel for heating and cooking in rural areas.

What are the 2 types of coal mining?

Surface mining and subsurface mining.

What is bitumen?

Tar sands, or oil sands, are underground sand deposits permeated with bitumen, a thick, asphalt-like oil. Bitumen in tar sands deep in the ground cannot be pumped our unless it is heated underground with steam to make it more fluid. Once bitumen is obtained from tar sands, it must be refined like crude oil

What is fusion of stars?

The atomic reaction that powers the stars, may one day be an important source of energy.

What are the biggest constraints on wind?

The biggest contraints on wind are cost and public resistance.

What is radioactive decay?

The emission of energetic particles or rays from unstable atomic nuclei; includes positively charged alpha particles, negatively charged beta particles, and high-energy, electromagnetic gamma rays. As a radioactive element emits radiation, its nucleus changes into the nucleus of a different, more stable element.

What is nuclear energy?

The energy released by nuclear fission or fusion.

What is subsurface mining?

The extraction of mineral and energy resources from the deep underground.

What is surface mining?

The extraction of mineral and energy resources near Earth's surface by first removing the soil, subsoil, and overlying rock strata.

What is fusion?

The joining of two lightweight atomic nuclei into a single heavier nucleus, accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy.

What is lignite coal?

The largest portion of the world's coal reserves is made up lignite, a soft brownish-black coal that forms the lowest level of the coal family. You can even see the texture of the original wood in some pieces of lignite that is found in the west Mississippi River.

What is geothermal energy?

The naturally occurring heat within Earth. Arises from the ancient heat within Earth's core, from friction where continental plates slide over one another, and from the decay or radioactive elements.

What is resource recovery?

The process of removing any material-sulfur or metals from polluted emissions or solid waste and selling it as a marketable product. Processes like (farmers using calcium sulfate sludge for fertilization is an example).

What is nuclear fuel cycle?

The processes involved in producing the fuel used in nuclear reactors and in disposing the radioactive (nuclear) wastes.

What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)?

The removal or carbon from fossil-fuel combustion and storage of the carbon, usually underground.

What is fission?

The splitting of an atomic nucleus into two smaller fragments, accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy.

What drives the hydrologic cycle?

The sun's energy.

What is radioactive half-life?

The time required for one-half of the total amount of radioactive substance to change into a different material.

What is a major difficult aspect of the oil market?

The world's major oil producers are not its major oil consumers.

What are the environmental impacts of synfuel's?

Their combustion releases enormous quantities of CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to global warming and air pollution, also require large amounts of land.

What are the parts of the pressurized water reactor?

These have 4 main parts: the reactor core, the steam generator, the turbine, and the condenser.

Over the past century, we have released so much CO2 into the atmosphere that?

Through consumption of fossil fuels the Earth's CO2 equilibrium has been disrupted.

What is decommission?

To dismantale an old nuclear power plant after it closes.

What is conventional natural gas?

Typically pools above layers of crude oil. Wher

Large conventional oil deposits probably exist where?

Under the continental shelves, the relatively flat underwater areas that surround continents, and in deepwater areas adjacent to the continental shelves. Many countries engage in offshore drilling for oil.

What are structural traps?

Underground geologic structures that tend to trap any oil or natural gas if it is present. Oil and natural gas deposits are usually discovered indirectly by the detection of structural traps. Structural traps are formed when reservoir rock (sandstone) is shifted.

High-level liquid wastes are dangerously?

Unstable and difficult to monitor. They are converted to solid form before they are stored.

What is fluidizied-bed combustions?

Use limestone to neutralize the acidic nature of coal emissions.

What is methane used for?

Used to heat residential and commercial buildings, to generate electricity in power plants, and for a variety of purposes in the organic chemistry industry.

Geothermal energy is typically associated with?

Volcanism.

Geothermal heating system can be modified to provide?

Warm heat, cold, and supplemental hot water.

What organisms make oil?

Water based organisms who sunk into growing layers of sediment. As layers of rock pulled on the sediment, the organisms began to cook into a material as the heat and pressure compressed the organic material into an oily substance-crude oil.

What are ocean temperature gradients?

We may generate power using ocean temperature gradients, the differences in temperature at various ocean depths. Ocean temperature gradients are the result of solar energy warming the surface of the ocean.

What needs to happen to make solar energy useful?

We must collect it.

Does wind produce emissions?

Wind produces no waste and is a clean source of energy. It produces no emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen oxides.

GHPs have an underground arrangement of pipes containing circulating fluids to extract natural heat in the ___________, when Earth acts as a heat source, and to transfer excess heat underground in the summer when Earth acts as a ___________ sink.

Winter, summer.

What is Ocean thermal energy conversion?

Would take advantage of this temperature difference to produce electricity or to cool buildings.

Are synfuels more expensive make?

Yes.

As the radioisotpes in spent fuel decay, they produce?

considerable heat, are extremely toxic to organisms, and remain radioactive for thousands of years.