Geology Exam #3 Flashcards
(140 cards)
1
Q
What is a source of energy you are familiar with in your daily life?
A
Solar, Geothermal, (get more from slides)
2
Q
Society is ______ on a continuous flow of energy.
A
dependent
3
Q
Why has the demand for energy consumption increased?
A
new technology and larger population
4
Q
How much more is personal consumption now compared to early humans?
A
100X
5
Q
Collectively, how much more energy does society use than in 1865?
A
70X
6
Q
True or False: No energy source is 100% clean?
A
True, but some sources are cleaner than others.
7
Q
What human activities require energy?
A
Heat/cooling buildings, illuminating buildings/streets, gas up or charge cars, plant/harvest/ship food.
8
Q
How was energy sourced a century ago vs now?
A
A century ago, energy was sourced from wood, peat, and dung (biomass). Now, it is sourced by fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.
9
Q
What are the factors that energy sources can be evaluated on?
A
concentration, availability, versatility, cost to obtain and process, safety/hazard potential, and environmental damage.
10
Q
True or False: global energy consumption has increased dramatically since 1970 as well as differs between developing and developed countries.
A
True
11
Q
Who is the leading consumer and producer of primary energy in the world? How much do they consume/produce?
A
The United States consumes about 25% more energy than it produces. It is the leading CS of primary energy in the world. Additionally, much of the US energy comes from fossil fuels.
12
Q
What three aspects of consumption take up the most energy from the US’s total production?
A
Electricity, rejected energy (waste), and Transportation.
13
Q
What is a large portion of the energy sector devoted to supplying for consumers?
A
Electricity to run electrical appliances, lighting, heating, etc.
14
Q
How are most commercial power plants described?
A
By the type of primary energy used to operate turbine-driven generators.
15
Q
Electricity is generated by the flow of what in metal wire?
A
electrons
16
Q
Electricity can be generated from almost any energy source through the use of a turbine. What is the process?
A
- Energy source turns a turbine
- Turbine turns a generator.
- magnet spins around copper wires causing electrons to move from atom to atom in a wire.
This creates electricity in homes!
17
Q
Where does power plant environmental impact occur?
A
Impacts can occur far away from those who use the energy, but power plants are less efficient with distance.
18
Q
True or False: Utilities often have less generating capacity than actually needed most of the time.
A
False. There is actually a surplus of capacity that provides a reserve of energy ready to meet any peak demand.
19
Q
True or False: Hard technologies are small-scale plants that are complex, expensive, and centralized requiring energy transport.
A
False. Hard tech is large scale. Everything else is true.
20
Q
True or False: Soft technologies are small-scale generation and applications that are evenly distributed, flexible, and usually more efficient.
A
True
21
Q
Energy efficiency is the amount of _____ energy in a source that is converted into useful work (not wasted).
A
available
22
Q
Energy efficiency ranges from 0-100% availability; there is room for improvement in most cases. List different energy efficiency examples.
A
Natural gas stove ~40%
Electric induction stove ~84%
Natural gas electricity ~60%
Incandescent bulbs ~2-3%
Fluorescent bulbs ~10%
Light-emitting diodes (LED) ~100%
23
Q
What is Cogeneration?
A
The production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel. This is more effective on a small-scale.
Ex: Capturing waste heat from electricity generation and using it to make hot water for another process.
24
Q
How can homes be built with energy efficiency at point-of-use?
A
Super-insulated buildings, south facing windows, insulating glass, and using high “thermal mass” materials such as concrete floors.
25
True or False: Net zero energy buildings produce as much or more energy than they consume.
True
26
What are things humans can do to reduce energy use?
Reduce commute lengths, use public transportation/bike, turn off lights when not in use, and reduce temperature on the thermostat at night.
27
Many energy resources are not available when we want them. Provide some examples and give a solution.
Too little: Solar and wind energy can be intermittent.
Too much: Large coal and nuclear plants are most efficient with constant energy output.
Solution: storage of unused energy
28
What are some examples of energy storage?
Electrochemical Energy Storage (batteries)
Pumped Hydroelectric Storage
Compressed Air Energy Storage
Thermal Energy Storage
29
True or False: Fossil fuels are buried organic deposits formed from plants and microscopic organisms that are stored in solar energy.
True. They are NOT the remains of dinosours.
30
Fossil fuels are a major component of global energy resources. How are fossil fuels made?
Associated with sedimentary rocks, fossil fuels were converted to crude oil, coal, and natural gas by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over millions of years.
31
What are carbon-based energy sources three primary forms?
Solid (coal, lignite), Liquid (oil), and Gas (methane)/gas hydrate.
All three represent stored solar energy that can be accessed through oxidation of a carbon-based molecule (burning or combustion).
32
Fossil Energy is primarily what?
hydrocarbons (CH). These are formed from the preservation and biogeochemical alteration of organic material after burial such as plant matter (coal) and plankton (petroleum & gas).
33
How does coal form?
Plants grow and die in dense accumulations in low-lying, coastal areas. The sediment deposition shifts due to changes in sea-level and the organic matter get buried where it is compacted into peat.
34
Coal products are divided into four separate categories based on carbon content and material. Water and gas (volatiles) are removed with each step.
Peat: 1-25%
Lignite: ~35%
Bituminous: 45-85%
Anthracite: >85%
35
What does accessing coal deposits depend on?
the method depends on depth of seam in Earth
36
True or False: coal exists as layered deposits and is not always exposed at the surface.
true
37
What is an overused method when accessing coal deposits?
strip mining
38
Where are active Tenessee coal fields?
Claiborne, Campbell, and Anderson counties
39
True or False: fossil fuels (and coal) may continue to be part of the energy mix for the next 30+ years, despite renewables increasing rapidly.
True
40
Electricity generation in _____ nations will require much more energy "on the grid" leading to extended use of fossil fuels like coal.
developing
41
How much longer could coal last based on the "bubble patter" of non-renewable resources.
400-600 years
42
Coal is pulverized and combusted in traditional power plants to heat water into what?
steam
43
Products of _____ rise with waste heat out of the "smokestack"
combustion
44
Sometimes a flux (limestone chips) is added to help capture what?
toxins
45
What reduces toxic emissions by forcing condensation in the tower (Clean Air Act)?
Scrubbers
46
What impacts are associated with coal?
harmful environmental pollutants from mining to storage to usage
47
Burning coal releases what into the atmosphere leading to acid rain (pH < 5.6)/snow and acid deposition.
Sulfur and nitrogen
48
Coal also impacts the hydrosphere. Abandoned mines are sources of ____ mine drainage (AMD), caused by water mixing with pyrite and other minerals exposed in the coal.
acid
49
Some examples of after effects of coal impact are...
coal ash & sludge
abundant toxic metals: arsenic, mercury, chromium, and cadmium
Half is stored in coal power plant waste centers and can be reused while the other half is stored in retention ponds.
50
Where is the biggest coal plant in TN?
Kingston
51
In 2008, what retention pond failed caused 4.1 million cubic meters of sludge to flood into local TN rivers?
The Kingston Retention Pond
52
How was the Kingston plant spill cleaned up?
berms, vacuum trucks were used to pick up concentrated pollutants that caused life-threatening deformities in local organisms.
53
Why were workers involved in the clean up of the Kingston plant spill affected?
Having to interact with the waste for years caused many of them to form major health issues.
54
Why does it matter where the toxic sludge was placed from the Kingston plant spill?
This toxic waste was placed in a predominantly low-income African American community in Alabama. Though the waste is considered hazardous in TN, it is not considered as such in AL. Thus, exposing many of these locals to toxic substances.
55
Globally, who contributes the most CO2 emissions? What is most of it from? What is the current trend?
China & the US; burning coal; continuous increase
56
What are some raw materials for Oil & Gas Formation?
Plankton, algae, spores, and pollen when in contact with heat & extreme pressure create kerogen: a brown, waxy substance.
57
Planktonic organisms that use photosynthesis live in the ____,____ part of the ocean where they store _____ energy by "fixing" carbon into their cells & tissues before they die and sink to the bottom of the ocean.
sunny/upper; solar
58
In deep water, what makes up most of the sediments at the bottom?
Plankton; there is a high concentration of organic matter vs. sediments
59
Eventually, organic-rich shale formed through burial compaction and lithification become insoluble solids that require "maturation" at _____ temperatures and ____ time.
high; long
60
Hydrocarbons are leased from the plankton on the bottom of the ocean floor and migrate upward due to low _____. The mature oil and gas accumulate in "reservoir rocks" that have open, connected pore spaces allowing flow of material.
density
61
Reservoirs must be "______' by rocks that hold the oil and gas at depth (not permeable) - able to go through
capped
62
What is often the only evidence of an oil or gas well on the land surface?
pumps/pump jacks
63
Where can oil rise naturally to the surface?
"seeps" along fault lines
64
Seeps are the source of some ____ pollution in oceans and on land.
oil
65
As oil gets "denatured" due to different processes (biodegradation, water "washing," etc.) it becomes a sticky _____
tar
66
On April 22, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded due to _____ and a failed _____.
overpressure; safety device
67
The Deepwater Horizon Rig (BP) drilled a well that blew out and ______ for three months before capping succeeded.
leaked
68
In 1989, the Exxon Valdez tanker ship hit a reef in Alaska and spilled 11 million gallons of _____ oil into Prince William Sound. This led to the _______ Act of 1990 which established a ______ financed by a tax on oil companies to clean up and respond when responsible.
crude; Oil Pollution; trust
69
What's more damaging: a single massive oil spill or the routine production & use of fossil fuels?
the routine production & use of fossil fuels.
70
Unconventional production is the extraction of a resource that normally would not be considered recoverable. Where can this be found?
The Athabasca Oil Sands (tar sands) in Alberta.
71
True or False: oil sands must be intensively processed to yield oil.
True.
72
What is the "energy return on investment" or NET Yield for oil types?
Oil sands: 5:1
shale gas: 7:1
Conventional Oil: 25:1
73
Fracking or Hydraulic Fracturing has been used for decades to enhance the recovery of ___ and ____ in otherwise low permeability rocks. Now with ______ drilling, reservoirs can be exploited for greater yield.
oil; gas; directional
74
What is the key to safe operation with a fracking well design?
Casing filled with cement that keep shallow aquifers sealed off from gas and fluid.
75
What are some problems/routine mistakes with fracking?
Poorly installed wells allowing methane into shallow aquifers & the atmosphere; surface water contamination from waste containment ponds; lack of state oversight; and earthquakes from wastewater injection wells (induced seismicity).
76
Why can oil fracking cause induced seismicity?
Human activity requires waste disposal, and deep well injection can drive fluids into a fault plane that pushes the faces apart to overcome friction ultimately causing slippage.
77
True or False: Oil reserves are evenly distributed around the world.
False; uneven distribution globally. The concern over the uneven distribution is has driven innovation in both domestic exploration and renewable energy in recent years.
78
Where is about half of the world's oil reserves located?
the Middle East.
79
True or False: Natural Gas reserves are evenly distributed around the world.
False; uneven distribution globally. European energy concerns heightened with Russian takeover of Ukraine's Crimea (another country) in 2014 and aggression against Ukraine today.
80
Where is about 40% of the world's natural gas reserves located today?
Russia and Iran
81
True or False: Oil is a non-renewable resource.
TRUE
82
What is the trend for recently discovered gas & oil reservoirs?
Small with diminishing returns. Big oil reservoirs are not expected to be found in the future.
83
Is there an imminent shortage of oil and gas?
No, but the economics may not work for much longer.
84
What can be done about the shrinking availability of gas & oil?
Shifting the fuel mix toward non-carbon energy sources.
85
What are the two categories of oil/gas traps?
Structural: anticline trap & fault trap
Stratigraphic: facies change
86
Alternative energy supplies:
can be renewable OR non-renewable. They are implied to have low impact, but this varies.
87
Alternative energy supplies must have ______ for growth and wide use.
potential. They must also be economically competitive.
88
Renewable energy supplies ideally have ____ impact on the environment, are ideally inexhaustible, and must be at least partially _______.
low; sustainable
89
Are shifts currently happening in the renewable sector?
yes
90
Energy consumption trends:
Non-renewables:
(oil & natural gas consumption up, coal steep decline, nuclear slight decline)
Renewables:
(industrial use & electricity consumption are driving the use)
91
In the US, wind has the potential to meet ____% of the electricity demand.
20%
92
Where is the first commercial use of wind power in the southeastern US located?
Buffalo Mountain Wind Park in Anderson County, TN has enough energy to supply 3,525 homes. It is run by TVA.
93
What are some advantages and disadvantages of wind energy?
Uses wind (inexhaustible, clean resource), can be located on/offshore, and turbine turned directly without steam.
Needs sustained winds and long transmission lines. Noise, bird deaths, and aesthetics are negative externalities.
94
True or False: wind turbines kill more birds than buildings.
False
95
What are the two main uses of solar energy?
Trapping solar heat; direct/indirect conversion to electricity.
96
Passive solar systems are windows, walls, and floors made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of ____ in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This design _____ rely on mechanical/electrical devices.
heat; does not
97
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) are on a utility or residential scale. They use direct conversion through the photoelectric effect to generate electricity. There are two types:
n-type and p-type (silicon)P
98
Photovoltaic Solar Suitability is perfect for what area in the US?
The southwest.
99
With "Net Metering," you ____ the energy you make first, then ____ the extra to your electrical utility.
own; sell
100
What are solar thermal concentrators?
utility scale; indirect conversion that focuses on sunlight with mirrors to generate steam and electricity. It requires direct sunlight.
101
Advantages/disadvantages of solar energy:
sunlight is abundant & infinite, generation process is clean, and SE is portable/can work in small, distributed areas independently.
Sunlight is variable in duration and intensity, needs to be stored until needed, efficiency is low (~23%), large land areas needed, and requires outside tech.
102
Walls built in river valleys raise the water level increasing energy _______. The water is then pulled down by gravity to sea-level. Water flows from the _______ into penstock where it turns a turbine. The generator then distributes energy to the grid.
potential; reservoir
103
What is the 4th largest source of electric power in the US?
Hydroelectric
103
Hydroelectric dams use _____ to do work.
gravity
104
_______ Storage facilities act like hydroelectric "batteries"
Pumped; they are used in times of high demand. Water is pumped up to a high elevation during low demand. Intakes are opened to generate electricity when needed.
105
TVA was federally mandated to ______ electricity and development to the Tennessee Valley after the ________. There are ______ power-generating dams dating back to the 1930s. The TN River system includes tributaries like the Holston and French Broad.
provide; Great Depression; 29
106
How much of the electricity in this room is provided by hydro power?
10%
107
According to TVA, what is the expected trend for renewable energy by 2030?
expected to increase from 13% to 20% of TVA energy mix.
108
What are some advantages of hydropower?
electrical power generation; irrigation & drinking water; flood control; navigation; and recreation (fishing, swimming, and boating.)
109
What are some disadvantages of hydropower?
Expensive; ecologically disruptive downstream and in reservoir; displacement of people; loss of cultural resources; potential for catastrophic failures; evaporation from reservoir.
110
What is the future of hydropower?
Large-scale hydropower continues in developing countries - developed nations have used most good locations. Small-scale facilities continue to grow worldwide. Hydropower is likely to increase over the next several decades, but it is unlikely to contribute as much energy as fossil fuels.
111
Geothermal techniques harness energy otherwise ______ through the crust. This comes from residual heat of ______ formation, friction, and radioactivity.
lost; planet
112
For efficiency, geothermal energy plants look for areas of _____ geothermal gradient. They are also typically near sources of ______ that are shallow.
high; magma
113
Volcanic regions, like _____ and ____, can generate electricity through geothermal energy. Groundwater can be used in the same way to heat and cool things more ____.
Idaho; Iceland; efficiently
114
A large portion of the US's geothermal energy comes from which area?
The western part of the US
115
True or False: People in Iceland predominantly heat their homes using geothermal energy.
True
116
What are some advantages and disadvantages of geothermal energy?
Clean (mainly steam as a waste product); efficient conversion of energy to electricity
only suitable at certain locations; usually far away from where electricity is needed; expensive up front due to abundant drilling
117
Which carbon loop does biomass energy come from?
The "living carbon" loop.T
118
The living carbon loop mainly consists of _______ that is combusted (burned) directly or converted to a fuel that is burned.
vegetation
119
Biomass energy is renewed _____. It contributes as much carbon to the atmosphere at it removes. How much biomass is consumed worldwide?
rapidly;11-15%; up to 90% of energy in LESS developed countries
120
A large percentage of the overall energy consumption in terms of biomass energy comes from what?
fuelwood
121
Major sources of biomass energy include:
wastes (paper/wood trash that are combusted); standing vegetation (forests, grass, dung); energy crops (ethanol from crops); and methane from landfills (produced by anaerobic bacteria)
122
Biomass can be used in several ways. To name a few:
Direct combustion; thermochemical conversion (methanol syngas); and biochemical conversion (ethanol, biogas)
123
In Mongolia, ______ is used as source of energy for cooking and heating. While in the U.S., livestock _____ is being collected and processed into methane (natural gas).
dried animal dung; manure
124
In biochemical conversion of ethanol, the U.S uses corn while Brazil uses sugarcane. Both can be mixed with gasoline. Though useful, they may not be ______. Energy is used for tractors/fertilizers; depletes soil nutrients; and competes with food crops.
sustainable
125
What are some disadvantages of biomass?
limited supply and using new cooking oil would drive up the prices.
126
Tate & Lyle (UK) maize processing plant in Loudon, TN was originally designed to make ethanol from corn. However, ethanol prices dropped. Purchased by DuPont, the plant now makes other bio-based products as ______ for industry.
feedstock
127
What are some major disadvantages of biomass?
air pollution, deforestation/soil degradation, low overall conversion efficiency, and total U.S. corn crop would only yield 20% of our ethanol/gasoline need.
128
By _____ the US could potentially reach 100% clean renewable status. If each state would focus on its most abundant source. The infrastructure is estimated to cost roughly 15 trillion.
2050
129
Energy storage is a major obstacle to the widespread use of renewable energy. Why?
Less "portable" than oil or gas; high energy usage periods vary daily and seasonally--need to store electricity for use during those times; limited options for electric storage (batteries, fuel cells)
130
Batteries are _____ with _____ energy storage. They also produce hazardous _____ and chemicals.
bulky; low; waste
131
What is the simplest and cheapest way of stretching our energy resources?
Making the shift to renewables. This requires economic incentives, moral persuasion, and commitment. Tax breaks/subsidies as well as the promotion of efficient transportation/car sharing also help.
132
Today, TVA power is ____% carbon-free.
54%
133
Atoms of elements have two parts:
orbiting electrons (negative charge, almost no mass) and the nucleus (protons +, neutrons no charge)
134
Isotopes: atoms of ____ element with ______ mass numbers.
same; different
135
Some isotopes are _____.
Unstable; spontaneous changes to nucleus of atom due to mass imbalances; emissions released as they decay; radioactivity
136
Fusion is the _____ of isotopes of a light element into a heavier element and the ____ of energy.
joining; release
137
Nuclear fusion produces a LOT of energy, but extremely difficult to initiate and control fusion. The ____ is powered by fusion.
sun
138
Power from atoms is not yet feasible for _____ scale production (research on going)
large scale
139
