NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Non-renewable resources can also be used as a source to produce electricity

Most non-renewable resources are made from fossil fuels

Fossil fuels take millions of years to form and are therefore NOT easily replaced

Fossil fuels are made from parts of animals and plants after they have decayed

We will learn about three types of non-renewable resources

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is produced from the breaking down of an atom (the smallest particle of matter)

The most common material used is uranium

Canadian scientists have developed a special type of nuclear reactor called the CANDU reactor

The CANDU reactor converts energy given off from the breakdown of matter into heat to convert water to steam

The steam is used to spin turbines (generators) to create electricity

Cost of uranium is cheap, nuclear power plants do not produce air pollution

Saskatchewan has one of the largest reserves of uranium, however we do not currently have a power plant

Power plants are expensive to build and the waste of a power plant is radioactive

Coal

Almost half of the world’s electricity comes from burning coal

Coal is burned to heat water into steam. The steam is used to spin generators to produce electricity

Using coal is relativity cheap and there are other products of using coal such as fertilizers, paints and plastics

Some negative aspects of using coal is that mining coal is dangerous and harmful to the environment Burning coal is harmful to the environment Coal is also non-renewable, which means

that eventually it will get used up

Natural Gas

Natural gas is mostly methane, a flammable gas that can be extracted underground

Natural gas is very clean burning and has

little air pollution given off

Natural gas is burned to create steam, which spins a generator to produce electricity

However natural gas can also be used to cook food, heat water, etc

Mining natural gas also disrupts the environment and there is the risk of an explosion