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ENERGY RESOURCES
Chapter 12
Nonrenewable Energy
Nonrenewable
a. once used up, cannot be replenished
b. supplies are finite
2 main categories
a. fossil fuels
- coal, oil, and natural gas
b. nuclear fuels
- derived from radioactive materials
that give off energy
Worldwide Patterns
a. US greatest energy consumption
Energy kWh
Power W or kW
Energy carrier
a. moves and delivers energy in a convenient
and usable
form
Generation of Electricity
a. example coal burning power plant
1. fuel is delivered to boiler
2. steam is produced
3. KE within steam transferred to turbine
4. turbine turns generator creating electricity
5. electricity transported along electrical grid
6. steam is cooled or discharged to nearby
water
Efficiency of Generation of Electricity
a. capacity factor
1. the fraction of the time a plant is
operating
Cogeneration
a. use of a fuel to generate electricity AND
heat
b. used by steam users to create greater
efficiency
Fossil Fuels
Provide MOST of the energy in both
developed and developing countries
g. disadvantages
1. releases carbon dioxide
2. contains sulfur, mercury, lead and arsenic
3. potential for oil leak/spill or runoff
Natural Gas
a. 80-95% methane
b. electricity generation and industrial processes
c. nitrogen fertilizers, fuel for cooking, water heaters
d. advantages
1. contains fewer impurities
e. disadvantages
1. methane escapes from unburned natural gas
2. groundwater contamination
Other fossil fuels
a. oil sands
1. bitumen (tar)
2. extracted through surface mining
3. extend petroleum supply
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear Reactors
a. Uranium-235 fuel source
b. undergoes fission
c. product heat
* used to generate
steam
Nuclear Reactor Structure
Advantages of Nuclear
a. no air pollution
b. achieve independence from imported oil
Disadvantages
a. potential accidents (Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl)
b. disposal of radioactive waste
Nuclear Accidents
Three Mile Island
a. March 28 1979
b. closed cooling water valve
c. lack of cooling water around reactor
core, led to
partial meltdown
Chernobyl
a. April 26, 1986
b. violation of safety precautions
c. disconnected emergency cooling systems
d. removed control rods
e. led to explosion
f. winds blew radiation across most of Europe
g. increase counts of cancer afterwards
(Thyroid)
Radioactive Waste
Emitted radioactivity after enough heat is
produced
High-level, low-level, uranium mine tailings
Uranium-235 half-life: 704 million years
Disposal of waste
a. required to store spent fuel at the plant itself
b. cannot be incinerated, destroyed by chemicals,
dumped in ocean
Half-Life Example
Strontium-90 is a radioactive waste
product from nuclear reactors. It has a
half-life of 29 years. How many years
will it take for a quantity of strontium-90
to decay to 1/16 of its original mass?
Nonrenewable Energy
Resource Recap
Renewable Energy
a. biomass potentially renewable
b. solar, wind, geothermal,
hydroelectric, and tidal
- nondepletable
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/friedlandapes/#668210__690868_
Facts about Renewable Energy
a. 13% of energy used worldwide
b. biomass most widely used today
c. 7% of energy use in US (biomass and
hydroelectricity)
d. more sustainable than nonrenewable, but
still has
environmental impacts
Using Energy Less
Energy Conservation and Efficiency
a. conservation ways to use the source less
1. locally
- turning down thermostat when out of house
- turning off lights when not in the room
2. government
- taxing electricity, oil, and natural gas
- offer rebates or tax credits
3. can increase efficiency by conserving
- get the same amount of work from using less
energy
b. sustainable design
1. passive solar heating
- solar radiation maintaining building
temperatures
- carefully placed windows (heating and
lighting)
- dark-colored roofs v. light-colored roofs
2. green roofs
3. recycled denim insulation in walls and ceilings
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/green-rooftop.htm
Biomass
Fuel Types
a. wood, charcoal, animal wastes, plant
remains,
and municipal solid waste (MSW)
b. ethanol and biodiesel (biofuels)
United States
a. 2/3 wood
b. 1/3 MSW and biofuels
Solid Biomass
a. wood
1. heating, pulp and paper industries, power plants
2. sustainable if forest growth is able to keep up
b. charcoal
1. contains more energy than wood
2. produces less smoke
c. manure
1. indoor heating and cooking
2. reduces risk of disease transmission, but does give
off pollutants causing respiratory illnesses
Biofuels
a. ethanol
1. derived from mostly corn products
2. sugarcane, wood chips, crop waste, or switchgrass
3. US world leader in production of ethanol, Brazil
second
4. Gasohol
- ethanol mixed with gasoline
- produces less air pollutants
- reduces gas
b. biodiesel
1. derived from soybean oil or
processed
vegetable oil
2. typically diluted to B-20
3. lower emissions of CO compared to
petroleum diesel
http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/05/27/benefuel-flint-hill-resources-to-develop-us-
biodiesel-projects/