Sources of Energy
Sources of Energy
Sources of Energy
Energy
• Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform
work. Energy exists in several forms such as heat, kinetic
or mechanical energy, light, potential energy, electrical, or
other forms.
Natural Gas
Natural gas in its purest form is pure methane but before
it is refined, it also contains varying amount of ethane,
propane, butane and carbon dioxide. When refined, it is
colorless and odorless but can be burned to release large
amounts of energy.
Conventional Energy Sources
Coal
Coal releases large amounts of energy when it is burned
because of the density of hydrocarbons in the material. Coal
is formed by dead plants being put under significant
pressure and temperature for millions of years. There are
four grades of coal: lignite, subbituminous, bituminous coal
and anthracite. Bituminous coal is the best for releasing
energy and is the most commonly mined type of coal .
Conventional Energy Sources
Petroleum
Petroleum is formed from the compression of animal and plant remains over millions of
years. Petroleum has to be drilled for because it is usually located deep below the earth's
surface and is then refined to produce a number of different products including gasoline,
heavy fuel oil and diesel fuel.
Conventional Energy Sources
Wind power
Airflows can be used to run wind
turbines. Modern wind turbines range
from around 600 kW to 5 MW of rated
power, although turbines with rated
output of 1.5–3 MW have become the
most common for commercial use; the
power output of a turbine is a function of
the cube of the wind speed, so as wind
speed increases, power output
increases dramatically.
WIND ENERGY
In general there are two main approaches to using plants for energy
production: growing plants specifically for energy use, and using the residues
from plants that are used for other things. The best approaches vary from
region to region according to climate, soils and geography.
Biomass
Biomass
Biomass
Tidal Energy
Liquid biofuel is usually either bio alcohol such as bioethanol or an oil such as
biodiesel. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of
plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With
advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees and
grasses, are also used as feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used
as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive
to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel
can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a
diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and
hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or
fats using trans esterification.
Biofuel
Geothermal energy
Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and
biomass. The most common advantage of each is that they are renewable and
cannot be depleted.
They are clean energy, as they don't pollute the air, and they don't contribute to
global warming or greenhouse effects.
Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also
require less maintenance on their plants.
Disadvantages of Renewable energy sources
• Rivers : Dams are expensive to build and disrupt the environment. They have also
caused earthquakes.
• Geothermal : Difficult to drill two or three kilometers down into the earth.
• Biofuel : Often uses crop lands and crops (like corn) to produce the bio-alcohol.
This means that more land has to be cleared to grow crops, or there is not enough
food, or that food becomes more expensive.
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