Duurzame ontwikkeling samenvatting hoofdstuk 15 – Nonrenewable energy
15.1 What is net energy and why is it important?
Concept 15-1 Net energy is the amount of high-quality energy available form an energy
resource minus the amount of energy needed to make it available.
First law of thermodynamics: it takes high-quality energy to get high-quality energy
Second law of thermodynamics: some of the high-quality energy used in each step is
automatically wasted and degraded to lower-quality energy
The usable amount of high-quality energy available form a given quantity of an energy
resource is its net energy yield (total amount of useful energy available from an energy
resource minus the energy needed to make it available to consumers)
Net energy ratio
Amount of energy lost due to the second law of thermodynamics
Amount of energy that is unnecessarily wasted we need to reduce this
15.2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using oil?
Concept 15-2A Conventional oil is currently abundant, has a high net energy yield, and is
relatively inexpensive, but using it causes air and water pollution and releases greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere.
Concept 15-2B Heavy oils from tar sand and oil shale exist in potentially large supplies but
have low net energy yields and higher environmental impacts than conventional oil has.
Petroleum / crude oil
Black gooey liquid
Consisting of hundreds of different combustible hydrocarbons (along with small
amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities)
Makes up about 30% of the world’s estimated supply of oil (conventional oil)
Unconventional heavy oil
Consistency of molasses
Thick oil (left behind in wells, tar sands etc.)
Takes considerable energy and money to extract reduces net energy yield
Peak production – oil is being extracting form a well, after a couple of years the production
starts to decline
Global peak production is the point in time when we reach the maximum overall rate of
conventional crude oil production for the whole world once we pass this point the rate of
global production begins to decline price rises
15.1 What is net energy and why is it important?
Concept 15-1 Net energy is the amount of high-quality energy available form an energy
resource minus the amount of energy needed to make it available.
First law of thermodynamics: it takes high-quality energy to get high-quality energy
Second law of thermodynamics: some of the high-quality energy used in each step is
automatically wasted and degraded to lower-quality energy
The usable amount of high-quality energy available form a given quantity of an energy
resource is its net energy yield (total amount of useful energy available from an energy
resource minus the energy needed to make it available to consumers)
Net energy ratio
Amount of energy lost due to the second law of thermodynamics
Amount of energy that is unnecessarily wasted we need to reduce this
15.2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using oil?
Concept 15-2A Conventional oil is currently abundant, has a high net energy yield, and is
relatively inexpensive, but using it causes air and water pollution and releases greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere.
Concept 15-2B Heavy oils from tar sand and oil shale exist in potentially large supplies but
have low net energy yields and higher environmental impacts than conventional oil has.
Petroleum / crude oil
Black gooey liquid
Consisting of hundreds of different combustible hydrocarbons (along with small
amounts of sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities)
Makes up about 30% of the world’s estimated supply of oil (conventional oil)
Unconventional heavy oil
Consistency of molasses
Thick oil (left behind in wells, tar sands etc.)
Takes considerable energy and money to extract reduces net energy yield
Peak production – oil is being extracting form a well, after a couple of years the production
starts to decline
Global peak production is the point in time when we reach the maximum overall rate of
conventional crude oil production for the whole world once we pass this point the rate of
global production begins to decline price rises
