Transcript Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and the Issue of

Geologic Resources:
Nonrenewable Mineral and
Energy Resources
Chapter 15
“Mineral resources are the building blocks on which
modern society depends. Knowledge of their physical
nature and origins, the web they weave between all
aspects of human society and the physical earth, can lay
the foundations for a sustainable society.”
Ann Dorr
Key Concepts
Types of mineral resources
Formation and location of mineral resources
Extraction and processing of mineral resources
Increasing supplies of mineral resources
Major types, acquisition, advantages and
disadvantages of fuel resources
Nature and Formation of Mineral
Resources
Mineral resources
Metallic
Nonmetallic
Energy Resources
Magma
Hydrothermal
Weathering
Fig. 15-2 p. 339
Finding and Removing Nonrenewable
Mineral Resources
Satellite imagery
Aerial sensors (magnetometors)
Gravity differences
Core Sampling
Seismic surveys
Chemical analysis of water and plants
Removing Nonrenewable Mineral
Resources
Surface Mining
Overburden
Spoil
Open Pit
Dredging
Strip Mining
Subsurface Mining
Room-and-pillar
Longwall Mining
Refer to Figure 15-4 (page
341) and Figure 15-5 (page
342)
Environmental Effects of Extracting
Mineral Resources
Fig. 15-6 pg 343
Environmental Effects of Processing
Mineral Resources
Ore mineral
Gangue
Tailings
Smelting
Fig. 15-7 p. 344
Environmental Effects of Using Mineral
Resources
Disruption of land surface
Subsidence
Erosion of solid mining waste
Acid mine drainage
Air pollution
Storage and leakage of liquid mine waste
Supplies of Mineral Resources
Economic Depletion
Depletion time
Reserve-to-production ratio
Foreign resources
Economics
Environmental Concerns
Mining the Oceans
Fining substitutes
Fig. 15-9 pg 346
Evaluating Energy Resources
Renewable energy
Nonrenewable energy
Future availability
Net energy yield
Cost
Environmental
effects
Fig. 15-12 pg 351
Important Nonrenewable Energy
Resources
Fig. 15-10 pg 350
North American Energy Resources
Fig. 15-20, p 356
Oil
Petroleum (crude oil)
Primary recovery
Secondary recovery
Tertiary recovery
Petrochemicals
Refining
Transporting
Fig. 15-18, p 355
Oil Shale and Tar Sands
Oil Shale
Kerogen
Tar Sands
Bitumen
Fig. 15-28, p 361
Natural Gas
50-90% methane
Conventional gas
Unconventional gas
Methane hydrate
Liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG)
Liquefied natural
gas (LNG)
Approximate 200
year supply
Fig. 15-29, p 362
Coal
Stages of coal formation
Primarily strip mined
Used mostly for generating electricity
Enough coal for about 1000 years
Highest environmental impact
Coal gasification and liquefaction
Coal
Fig. 15-30, p 363
Burning Coal More Cleanly
Fluidized-Bed
Combustion
Fig. 15-33, p 364
Nuclear Energy
Fission reactors
Uranium-235
Potentially
dangerous
Radioactive
wastes
Fig. 15-35, p 366
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Fig. 15-36, p 367
Dealing With Nuclear Waste
Low-level waste
High-level waste
Underground burial
Disposal in space
Burial in ice sheets
Dumping into
subduction zones
Burial in ocean mud
Conversion into
harmless materials
Fig. 15-40, p 370
Nuclear Alternatives
Breeder nuclear fission reactors
Nuclear fission
New reactor designs
Storage Containers
Fuel rod
Primary canister
Ground Level
Unloaded from train
Personal
elevator
Air shaft
Nuclear waste
shaft
Lowered down shaft
Fig. 15-42
p. 376
Overpack
container
sealed
Underground
Buried and capped