Nonrenewable Resources (PDF)

**How do we use nonrenewable energy resources?** By the end of this lesson, you should be able to describe how humans use energy resources and the role of nonrenewable energy resources in society. The energy that lights up this city and powers the vehicles comes from energy resources. Most of our e...

**How do we use nonrenewable energy resources?** By the end of this lesson, you should be able to describe how humans use energy resources and the role of nonrenewable energy resources in society. The energy that lights up this city and powers the vehicles comes from energy resources. Most of our energy resources are being used up faster than natural processes can replace them. **Be Resourceful! Do the Math You Try It.** Nonrenewable Energy Resources Consumed in the U.S. in 2009 Fossil Fuels 90.37%. Nuclear Fuel 9.63% 5 Calculate In 2009, 86.8 quadrillion BTUs of the energy used in the United States was produced from nonrenewable energy resources. Using the graph above, calculate how much of this energy was produced from nuclear fuel. **What are the two main types of nonrenewable energy resources?** An energy resource is a natural resource that humans use to generate energy and can be renewable or nonrenewable. Renewable resources are replaced by natural processes at least as quickly as they are used. Nonrenewable resources are used up faster than they can be replaced. Most of the energy used in the United States comes from nonrenewable resources. **Fossil Fuels:** A fossil fuel is a nonrenewable energy resource that forms from the remains of organisms that lived long ago. Fossil fuels release energy when they are burned. This energy can be converted to electricity or used to power engines. Fossil fuels are the most commonly used energy resource because they are relatively inexpensive to locate and process. **Nuclear Fuel:** The energy released when the nuclei of atoms are split or combined is called nuclear energy. This energy can be obtained by two kinds of nuclear reactions---fusion and fission. Today\'s nuclear power plants use fission, because the technology for fusion power plants does not currently exist. The most common nuclear fuel is uranium. Uranium is obtained by mining and processing uranium ore, which is a nonrenewable resource. **Compare Fill in the Venn diagram to compare and contrast fossil fuels and nuclear fuel.** **What are the three main types of fossil fuels?** All living things contain the element carbon. Fossil fuels form from the remains of living things, so they also contain carbon. Most of this carbon is in the form of hydrocarbons, which are compounds made of hydrogen and carbon. Fossil fuels can be liquids, gases, or solids. Fossil fuels include petroleum, natural gas, and coal. **Active Reading 7 Identify As you read, underline the state of matter for each fossil fuel.** **Petroleum:** Petroleum, or crude oil, is a liquid mixture of complex hydrocarbon compounds. Crude oil is extracted from the ground by drilling then processed for use. This process, called refining, separates the crude oil into different products such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. More than 35 percent of the world\'s energy comes from crude oil products. Crude oil is also used to make products such as ink, bubble gum, and plastics. **Natural Gas:** Natural gas is a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons. Most natural gas is used for heating and cooking, but some is used to generate electricity. Also, some vehicles use natural gas as fuel. Methane is the main component of natural gas. Butane and propane can also be separated from natural gas. Butane and propane are used as fuel for camp stoves and outdoor grills. Some rural homes also use propane as a heating fuel. This crude oil will be refined into gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, kerosene, and other products. Natural gas is a popular fuel for cooking because it is inexpensive. **Coal:** The fossil fuel most widely used for generating electrical power is a solid called coal. Coal was once used to heat homes and for transportation. In fact, many trains in the 1800s and early 1900s were pulled by coal-burning steam locomotives. Now, most people use gasoline for transportation fuel. But more than half of our nation\'s electricity comes from coal-burning power plants. Coal is a fossil fuel often used to generate electricity. **How do fossil fuels form?** How might a sunny day 200 million years ago relate to your life today? If you traveled to school by bus or car, you likely used energy from sunlight that warmed Earth that long ago. Fossil fuels form over millions of years from the buried remains of ancient organisms. Fossil fuels differ in the kinds of organisms from which they form and in how they form. This process is continuing, too. The fossil fuels forming today will be available for use in a few million years! **Petroleum and Natural Gas Form from Marine Organisms:** Petroleum and natural gas form mainly from the remains of microscopic sea organisms. When these organisms die, their remains sink and settle on the ocean floor. There, the dead organisms are gradually buried by sediment. The sediment is compacted by more layers of dead organisms and sediment. Over time the sediment layers become layers of rock. Over millions of years, heat and pressure turn the remains of the organisms into petroleum and natural gas. The petroleum and natural gas, along with groundwater, flow into pores in the rock. A rock with pores is a permeable rock. Permeable rocks become reservoirs where the petroleum and natural gas are trapped and concentrated over time. Humans can extract the fuels from these reservoirs. **Petroleum and Natural Gas Formation:** 1. Microscopic marine organisms die and settle to the bottom of the sea. 2. Layers of sediment slowly bury the dead marine organisms. 3. Heat and pressure on these layers slowly turn the remains of these organisms into petroleum and natural gas. 4. Petroleum and natural gas flow through permeable rocks, where they are trapped and become concentrated into reservoirs. **Coal Formation:** 1. Peat Partially decayed swamp plants sink and change into peat. 2. Lignite As sediment buries the peat, increases in temperature and pressure change peat to lignite. 3. Bituminous Coal As sediment builds, increased temperature and pressure change lignite to bituminous coal. Coal Forms from Plant Remains 4. Anthracite As sediments accumulate and temperature and pressure rise, bituminous coal changes to anthracite. **Identify As you read, underline the factors that convert the buried plants into coal.** Coal is formed over millions of years from the remains of swamp plants. When the plants die, they sink to the swamp floor. Low oxygen levels in the water keep many plants from decaying and allow the process of coal formation to begin. Today\'s swamp plants may eventually turn into coal millions of years from now. The first step of coal formation is plant matter changing into peat. Peat is made mostly of plant material and water. Peat is not coal. In some parts of the world, peat is dried and burned for warmth or used as fuel. Peat that is buried by layers of sediment can turn into coal after millions of years. Over time, pressure and high temperature force water and gases out of the peat. The peat gradually becomes harder, and its carbon content increases. The amount of heat and pressure determines the type of coal that forms. Lignite forms first, followed by bituminous coal and, finally, anthracite. Anthracite is highly valued because it has the highest carbon content and gives off the most energy as heat when burned. Today, all three types of coal are mined around the world. When burned, coal releases energy as heat and pollutes the air. The greater the carbon content of the coal, the fewer pollutants are released and the cleaner the coal burns. **Compare What is similar about the way petroleum and coal form? What is different?** Identify As you read, underline the uses of fossil fuels. **How are fossil fuels used as energy sources?** In the United States, petroleum fuels are mainly used for transportation and heating. Airplanes, trains, boats, and cars all use petroleum for energy. Some people also use petroleum as a heating fuel. There are some oil-fired power plants in the United States, but most are found in other parts of the world. Natural gas can be used as transportation fuel but is mainly used for heating and cooking. The use of natural gas as a source of electrical power is increasing. The U.S. Department of Energy projects that most power plants in the near future will use natural gas. Today, coal is mainly used in the U.S. to generate electricity, which we use for lighting and to power appliances and technology. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **How is energy produced from nuclear fuels?** During "fission", the nuclei of radioactive atoms are split into two or more fragments. A small particle called a neutron hits and splits an atom. This process releases large amounts of energy as heat and radiation. Fission also releases more neutrons that bombard other atoms. The process repeats as a chain reaction. Fission takes place inside a reactor core. "Fuel" rods containing uranium, shown in green below, provide the material for the chain reaction. Control rods that absorb neutrons are used to regulate the chain reaction. The energy is released, which is used to generate electrical power. A closed reactor system contains the "radioactivity". Nuclear wastes are contained separately for disposal. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **How can we evaluate nonrenewable energy resources?** There are advantages and disadvantages to using nonrenewable energy resources. Nonrenewable resources provide much of the energy that humans need to power transportation, warm homes, and produce electricity relatively cheaply. But the methods of obtaining and using these resources can have negative effects on the environment. **The Pros and Cons of Nuclear Fuel:** Nuclear fission produces a large amount of energy and does not cause air pollution because no fuel is burned. Mining uranium also does not usually result in massive strip mines or large loss of habitats. However, nuclear power does have drawbacks. Nuclear power plants produce dangerous wastes that remain radioactive for thousands of years. So the waste must be specially stored to prevent harm to anyone. Harmful radiation may also be released into the environment accidentally. Hot water released from the power plant can also be a problem. This heated water can disrupt aquatic ecosystems. So the hot water must be cooled before it is released into local bodies of water. **Why do you think nuclear fuel rods are usually transported by train instead by trucks?** Used nuclear fuel rods must be transported in specially built steel containers. They are too heavy. **The Pros and Cons of Fossil Fuels:** Fossil fuels are relatively inexpensive to obtain and use. However, there are problems associated with their use. Burning coal can release sulfur dioxide, which combines with moisture in the air to form acid rain. Acid rain causes damage to structures and the environment. Coal mining also disturbs habitats, lowers water tables, and pollutes water. Environmental problems are also associated with using oil. In 2010, a blown oil well spilled an estimated 126 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. The environmental costs may continue for years. Burning fossil fuels can cause smog, especially in cities with millions of vehicles. Smog is a brownish haze that can cause respiratory problems and contribute to acid rain. Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can lead to global warming. Some coal is mind by removing the tops of mountains to expose the coal. This damaged habitats and can cause water pollution as well.