APES Unit 6: Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Nonrenewable Energy

Resources that exist in a finite quantity on Earth and cannot be easily replaced on a human time scale.

Renewable Energy

Resources that can be replenished naturally at or near the rate of consumption.

Potentially Renewable

Resources like biomass that are renewable only if not consumed faster than they grow back.

Commercial Energy Sources

Energy sources that are bought and sold, heavily used in developed nations.

Subsistence Energy Sources

Energy sources gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs, prevalent in developing nations.

EROEI

Energy Return on Energy Investment, a measure of energy efficiency.

Fossil Fuels

Energy sources formed from ancient biological material, includes coal, oil, and natural gas.

Coal

A solid fuel formed from the remains of ancient plants; the most abundant fossil fuel.

Peat

Partially decomposed organic matter; the precursor to coal.

Lignite

A type of coal with low heat content; often referred to as brown coal.

Bituminous Coal

A type of coal with high heating capacity and sulfur content, widely used for electricity generation.

Anthracite

The hardest, oldest, and cleanest-burning coal with the highest heating capacity.

Petroleum

A fluid mixture of hydrocarbons that must be refined for use.

Fractional Distillation

A process that separates crude oil into different products based on boiling points.

Natural Gas

A fossil fuel primarily composed of methane, used for heating and electricity generation.

Hydraulic Fracturing

A method to extract natural gas from shale rock.

Cogeneration

The use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat simultaneously.

Nuclear Energy

Energy produced by fission of Uranium, a nonrenewable resource.

Fission

The process of splitting a large atomic nucleus to release energy.

Control Rods

Inserted between fuel rods to absorb excess neutrons in a nuclear reactor.

Half-Life

The time it takes for one-half of an original radioactive parent atom to decay.

Three Mile Island

A partial meltdown in 1979 due to human error, increased fear of nuclear power.

Chernobyl

The worst nuclear accident in history, occurring in 1986 with massive radiation release.

Fukushima Daiichi

A disaster resulting from a tsunami in 2011 that caused a meltdown.

Resource vs. Reserve

A 'Resource' is the total amount in the ground; a 'Reserve' is the economically extractable amount.

Confusion Between Fission and Fusion

Fission is the splitting used in current nuclear plants; fusion involves combining and powers the sun.