Non-Renewable Energy

Energy

 Is the ability of a system to do work. A system has done work if it has exerted a
force on another system over some distance. When this happens, energy is
transferred from one system to another.

 The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor
destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another.

 Energy can be derived from nuclear, fossil fuels, geothermal, hydro, wind, solar,
and biomass.
Energy fall into two basic categories:

 Kinetic Energy – refers to types of energy associated with motion

 Potential energy – is energy possessed by an object or a system due to its

position in space relative to another object or system and forces between the
two

 Chemical energy describes the potential of a substance to undergo a chemical

reaction and transform other chemical substances, hence it is a form of potential
energy
 Fossil Fuels
 Is the term given to an energy source that has high hydrocarbon content, it is found
in the earth’s crust that was formed in the geologic past, and can be burned easily to
release energy. Currently fossil fuels is the world’s primary source of energy.

 Fossil fuels were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived hundreds of
millions of years ago and were buried and subjected to immense pressure from
overlying earth materials including layers of mud, rock, sand, oceans an lakes.

 To become fossil fuels, the prehistoric organisms should be buried and decomposed
in the right conditions. This “right condition” is called Anaerobic conditions (very low
to no oxygen) and their chemical energy became concentrated.
Fossil fuel types and formation

 There are three main types of fossil fuels – natural gas, crude oil, and coal – and
the specific type formed depends on the combination of organic matter that was
present, how long it was buried, and what temperature and pressure conditions
existed when they were decomposing

 Crude oil and natural gas – were created from organisms that lived in water and
were buried under the ocean or river sediments. Long after the great prehistoric
seas and rivers vanished, heat, pressure and bacteria combined to compress and
transform the organic material under layers of silt or shale rock.
 The first to form was crude oil or petroleum. Crude oil forms within a specific depth, pressure and
temperature range known as “oil window”. If the temperature, depth and pressure exceeds the oil
window, natural gas is formed.
 Over time, this oil and natural gas began working its way upwards through the earth’s crust until they
ran into rock formations called “caprocks”
 Coal – is a fossil fuel that formed from
the remains of trees, ferns, and other
plants that grew in swamps and adjacent
forests 300 to 400 million years ago.

 This swamps and forests are covered by

seawater and as the seas dried up, the
sulfur was left behind the coal.

 Some coal deposits were formed from

freshwater swamps, which had very little
sulfur in them.
 Fossil Fuel Consumption Patterns

 Human prosperity has been directly correlated with energy use. The health and
vitality of world societies critically depends on energy, most of which came from
fossil fuels.

 Energy is unevenly distributed throughout the world. Developed nations

consumes far more energy that the developing regions.

 Fossil fuels can be utilized without being converted or transformed to another

form of energy; this is referred to as primary energy. The use of electricity is a
form of secondary energy.
 Fossil Fuel Consumption Patterns

Four Major Sectors that consume Energy

 Industrial Sector
 Transportation Sector
 Residential Sector
 Commercial Sector

Each of these sectors also consumes electricity produced by the Electric power
sector
 Coal
 Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of
carbon and hydrocarbons.

 To use the potential energy stored in coal, it first must be mined from the ground. It then
undergoes processing to make it suitable for use in coal-fire power plants. Finally, the
processed coal is burned in these power plants.

Four main types of Coal and rank: (Highest to Lowest)

 Anthracite coal
 Bituminous coal
 Subbituminous coal
 Lignite Coal
 Coal Mining and Processing, and Electricity
Generation
1. Extraction
Two methods of coal mining:
 Strip mining – also known as surface mining, this method uses large machines to
remove the soil and layers of rock known as overburden to expose coal seams.
Typically used when the coal is less than 200 ft underground.
Example: Mountaintop Removal

 Underground Mining – also known as deep mining, used when coal is several
hundred ft below the surface. Miners ride elevators down and use large machines
to dig out the coal.
 Coal Mining and Processing, and Electricity
Generation
2. Processing - Coal needs to be processed and cleaned to remove impurities
and other unwanted materials. This process increases the amount of
energy that can be obtained from a unit of coal, known as its heating
value.

3. Transportation – Coal can be transported by train, barge, ship, and truck.

It can also be crushed, mixed with water and sent through a slurry
pipeline.
 Coal Mining and Processing, and Electricity
Generation
4. Electricity Generation
 At the powerplant, coal is pulverized into fine powder, mixed with hot air and
blown into a furnace.
 Purified water pumped through pipes inside a boiler is turned into steam by he
heat from the combustion of coal
 The steam pushes a series of turbines blades that turns the turbine shaft.
 The turbine shaft is connected to the generator to generate electricity.
 After the turbine, the steam is drawn to the condenser. Millions of gallons of
cool water from a nearby source are pumped through a network of tubes
running through the condenser which converts steam back to water.
 Impacts of Coal Mining and Burning

On the Environment:
 Leaves highly visible impacts at the surface due Strip or Surface Mining
 Involves the destruction of substantial amounts of forests and other
ecosystems, destroying natural habitats and threatening biodiversity
 Depositing materials used for mountaintop removal affects the quality
of nearby streams and rivers that can harm aquatic life.
 Underground Mining releases methane gas in the atmosphere.
 Land subsidence
 Acid mine drainage to nearby streams and rivers
 Impacts of Coal Mining and Burning

On the Environment:
 Burning coal emits Sulfur Dioxide and nitrogen oxide that are
associated with Acid Rain
 Carbon Dioxide, another emission of burning coal is associated with
Global Warming
 Ash released when burning coal contributes to particulate matter
air pollution
 Impacts of Coal Mining and Burning
On Human Health:
 Emissions associated with burning coal
contribute to respiratory illnesses
 Underground Miners and coal workers develop
pneumoconiosis (CWP) or black lung is result of
exposure to coal dust; also leads to
inflammation of lungs, fibrosis and tissue death
(necrosis)
 Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification of
methylmercury in marine life like fish. When
contaminated fish is eaten by humans, it will
cause neurological and developmental
problems.
Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Coal Use
Regulations such as Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act require industries to reduce
pollutants released in the air and water.

Below are actions that have been taken to reduce the impacts of coal:

 Clean coal technology - Technology to reduce sulfur and other impurities from coal
burning

 Coal consumers have shifted toward greater use of low sulfur coal

 Power Plants use scrubbers - Scrubbers are air pollution control devices which is used
to remove chemical or particle waste from polluted gases
Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Coal Use

 Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) – CCS are technologies

that separates CO2 from emissions sources and recovers it in a
concentrated stream

 Reuse and recycling can also reduce coal’s environmental impact

Example: - Land used for coal mining can be used again for airports,
landfills, and golf courses.
- Waste products captured by scrubbers can be recycled and
make cements and synthetic gypsum for wallboard
 Oil
 Petroleum oil is currently the most widely used fossil fuel and accounts for
about one third of global energy consumption. Oil is primarily used as fuel
for transportation. It is also used to manufacture plastics and other synthetic
compounds ubiquitous to our everyday life.

 Oil is made up of hydrocarbons, which are molecules that contain hydrogen

and carbon in various lengths and structures

 Hydrocarbons contain a lot of energy and many of the things derived from
crude oil like gasoline, diesel fuel, paraffin wax and so on take advantage of
this energy
 Extraction of Oil
 Oil is mainly obtained by drilling either on land (onshore) or in the
ocean (offshore).

 Offshore oil producers mostly use platforms to drill in the ocean.

Floating platforms are used for deeper waters and are attached to the
ocean floor using large cables and anchors.

 Some platforms stand on stilt-like legs that are embedded in the ocean
floor. These platforms hold all required drilling equipment as well as
housing and storage areas for workers.
Extraction of Oil
 Extraction of Oil
 Offshore oil producers are required to take precaution to prevent spills, pollution,
and significant changes to the ocean.

 This offshore rigs or platforms are designed to withstand hurricanes

 According to regulations, when offshore oil wells are no longer economical, they
are sealed and abandoned.

 Oil harvested from offshore and onshore rigs is heavily traded on the international
market. It can be transported long distances by tanker ship over water, or by
pipeline over land. Both should take extreme precautions when transporting.
Extraction of Oil
 Processing and Refining
 When crude oil is extracted, it initially consists of many
types of hydrocarbons as well as some unwanted
substances such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, dissolved
metals, and water all mixed together.

 Unprocessed crude oil is not generally useful in industrial

applications and must first be separated into different
useable products at a refinery.
Oil Refinery

All refineries perform

three basic steps:
• separation
• conversion
• treatment
 Separation is the process where various products (hydrocarbons)
are separated in to different components (called fractions).

This process is called fractional distillation and involves heating up

the crude, letting it vaporize and then condensing the vapor.

 Conversion is the chemical processing in which some of the

fractions are transformed in to other products; for example, a
refinery can turn diesel fuel into gasoline
3 Types of Conversion
 Cracking-involve breaking larger hydrocarbon chains into
smaller ones
 Unification - combining smaller chains into larger ones.

 Alteration - rearranging the molecules to created desired

products

 Treatment is done to the fractions to remove impurities such

as sulfur, nitrogen and water among others.
 Fracking for Oil
 Hydraulic fracturing , (fracking) is an oil well development process
that typically involves injecting water, sand, and chemicals under high
pressure into a bedrock formation via the well that is commonly done
on low-permeability rocks(tight sandstone & shale) to increase oil
flow to a well.
 This process is intended to create new fractures in the rock as well as
increase the size, extent, and connectivity of existing fractures.
 Fracking fluid flowback – the
fluid pumped out of the well
and separated from oil and
gas which contains chemical
additives used in the drilling
process and also contains
heavy metals, radioactive
materials, volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) and
hazardous air pollutants.
Hydraulic Fracking
 Environmental Impacts of Oil
 Burning petroleum oil products releases air pollutants that impact the
environment as well as the human health.

Some emissions: carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides

 Oil spills:
 Natural oil seepages - significant source of oil that enters the
environment globally

- they are slow, small, and spread out over large

areas, and the ecosystem has adapted to them.
 Human-caused oil spills – Spills from tankers or well spills have
more catastrophic impacts. The quantity of oil spilled during
accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred
thousand tons but even small spills have been shown to have a
great on ecosystems.
 Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on
land, since they can spread for hundreds of nautical miles in a thin
oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil. This can
kill any organism it coats.
 Oilspills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth
dam can be rapidly bulldozed around the spill site before most of
the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily.
 Leaks also happen when we use petroleum products on land.

 When it rains, the spilled products get washed into the gutter and
eventually flow to rivers and into the ocean.
 Natural Gas
 Natural gas is predominately composed of methane (CH4). Some of
the gases that are produced along with methane, such as butane and
propane (by-products), are separated and cleaned at a gas
processing plant.
 Wet Natural Gas - Natural gas withdrawn from a well that contain
liquid hydrocarbons and nonhydrocarbon gases.
 Dry Natural Gas - Natural gas is separated from impure components,
and now the gas is entirely methane
 Fracking for Natural Gas
 Conventional natural gas - found in permeable reservoirs, typically
composed of sandstone or limestone, where extraction is
relatively straightforward because the gas generally flows freely.

 Unconventional gas - found in rocks with extremely low

permeability, which makes extracting it much more difficult.
Extracted by hydraulic fracturing (fracking), similar to that of
fracking for oil.
 Fossil Fuels and Greenhouse
Gases

 Fossil fuels are made up mainly of hydrogen and carbon. When

burned, the carbon combines with oxygen to create carbon dioxide
(CO2).
 Most electricity generated comes from Coal power plants and
consequently resulting to the largest carbon dioxide emission
 Transportation sector (petroleum fuels)

 Industrial Sector (direct fuels use and purchased electricity)

 Residential and Commercial Sectors (fossil energy combustion to

produce electricity)
 Nuclear Energy

 Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom.

 There is enormous energy in the forces that hold protons and

neutrons in the nucleus together. Energy is released when those
forces are broken.
 Nuclear Fission - Nuclear energy released from atoms by splitting
apart the nucleus of an atom to form smaller atoms.

- During nuclear fission, a small atomic particle

called a neutron hits the uranium atom and splits it, releasing a great
amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation.
 Chain Reaction - neutrons go on to bombard other uranium atoms,
and the process repeats itself over and over again.
 Nuclear Fuel Processing
 Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that decays
into daughter isotopes, releasing radiation energy in the process.
They are found in rocks all over the world but is relatively rare and
finite in supply.
 Three (3) naturally occurring isotopes of uranium:
 Uranium-238 - (99.27 %)
 U-235 - (0.72 %)
 U-234 - (0.006 %).
 U-235 is the preferred nuclear fuel WHY? When its atoms are split
(fissioned), they emit heat and high-energy radiation and have
enough neutrons to maintain a chain reaction and provide energy to
power a nuclear power plant.
 Process:
 1. The process begins with exploration for uranium and the
development of mines to extract the discovered ore.
 2. Mining - conventional (underground or open pit)
 - unconventional, such as in-place solution mining or heap
leaching (which use liquid solvents to dissolve and extract the ore)
 3. Milling - a process where Uranium ore from a conventional
mine is refined into uranium concentrate. The ore is crushed and
ground into fine powder that is then reacted with chemicals to
separate the uranium from other minerals.
 Yellowcake (U3O8) - The concentrated uranium product typically
displays bright yellow or orange powder color.
 4. Conversion - the yellowcake is converted into uranium
hexafluoride (UF6) gas.

 5. Enrichment Plant - The gas is then sent to the plant where the
isotope separation takes place and the concentration of U-235 is
increased to about a 4% to 5%.
 6. Fuel fabrication facilities - Here, the enriched UF6 gas is
reacted to form a black uranium dioxide (UO2) powder. The
powder is then compressed and formed into the shape of small
ceramic fuel pellets.
(1 ceramic pellet approximately the same amount of energy as 150 gallons of oil)

 Fuel rods - pellets that are stacked and sealed into long metal
tubes that are about 1 centimeter in diameter.
 Fuel Assembly - fuel rods that are bundled together.
  Fuel Assembly

 Fuel Pellets

 Fuel Rods
 Nuclear Power Plant

 Produces electricity by using fuel assemblies as the source of

energy.
 The most common types of reactors are pressurized water
reactors (PWR), in which water is pumped through the reactor
core and heated by the fission process.
 The water is kept under high pressure inside the reactor so it does not boil.
 The heated water from the reactor passes through tubes inside the steam
generator where the heat is transferred to water flowing around the tubes
in the steam generator.
 The water in the steam generator boils and turns to steam. The steam is
piped to the turbines.
 The force of the expanding steam drives the turbines, which spin a magnet
in coil of wire – the generator– to produce electricity.
 After passing through the turbines, the steam is converted back to water
by circulating it around tubes carrying cooling water in the condenser. The
condensed steam – now water – is returned to the steam generators to
repeat the cycle.
 Benefits of Nuclear Energy
 Nuclear power plants generate electricity without emitting air pollutants
like those emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants.
 Nuclear reactors do not produce carbon dioxide, means that nuclear
energy does not contribute to the global warming problem.
 Uranium generates far more power per unit weight or volume.

 Lessvolume of uranium needs to be mined and consequently the

damage to the landscapes is less especially when compared to the
damage that results from coal mining(mountaintop removal).
 Drawbacks of Nuclear Energy

 Creation of radioactive wastes such as uranium mill tailings.

These materials can remain radioactive and dangerous to human

health for thousands of years.

 Uranium mill tailings contain the radioactive element radium,

which decays to produce radon, a radioactive gas.
A nuclear meltdown, or uncontrolled nuclear reaction in a nuclear
reactor, can potentially result in widespread contamination of
radiation on the atmosphere and water environments.

 When a nuclear reactor stops operating, it must be

decommissioned. This involves safely removing the reactor and all
equipment that has become radioactive from service and reducing
radioactivity to a level that permits other uses of the property.
Renewable Energy
 Renewable Energy
 Renewable energy sources are often considered alternative
enrgy sources.

 Energy derived from natural sources that are replenished

at a higher rate than they are consumed.

 Renewable alternatives can be derived from wind, water,

solar or biomass.
Current levels of energy
consumption and
production are not
sustainable because of
the heavy reliance on
non-renewable energy
sources.
 Why use of Renewable energy
sources

 The majority of renewable energy sources including solar, wind,

water and biomass can be either directly or indirectly attributted to
the sun’s power.
 With appropriate technology, renewable energy sources can allow for
local, decentralized control over their power. Homes, businesses, and
isolated communities can use sources such as solar to produce
electricty without being near a power plant or being connected to an
electrical Grid
 Different forms of Renewable
energy

 Solar Energy

 Wind Power

 Hydroelectric Power

 Geothermal Energy

 Biomass Energy

 Other Renewable Energy Sources

 Solar Energy
 Solar energy is the ultimate energy source driving life on earth and
many human activities.
 Solar energy itself is a renewable energy source when energy from
the sun is converted to heat or electricity.
 Modern technology like Photovoltaic celss has provided a way to
produce electricity from sunlight. In 2017, 6% of the renwable
energy consumed in the US was from solar energy, mostly through
the use of photovoltaic cell technology.
Advantages:
 Solar energy doesn’t produce carbon dioxide.
 It does not effect our environment.

Disadvantages:
 It is nont constant, it depend on weather condition, time and
location.
 Passive and Active solar power
Passive solar power
 Passive solar power manipulates the sun’s energy to provide heating or
cooling, without the use of special devices or modern technology.

 Passive solar involves desgining structures to take advantage of heat

and light from the sun; for example northern homes designed with
south facing windows.
Active Solar Power
 Active solar power systems harnes the sun’s energy through the
use of specialized devices that transform this energy into another
form.

Examples of active solar devices

 Photovoltaic (PV) celss

 Solar thermal collectors

 Solar thermal systems

 Photovoltaic (PV) cells

 Solar photvoltaic (PV) devices, or solar cells, change sunlight

directly into electricty.
 Photovoltaics uses semiconducting materials such as silicon to
produce electricity from sunlight. When light hits the cells, the
material produces free electrons that migrate across the cell,
creating an electric current.
 Solar Thermal Collectors

 Solar thermal collector is a device which absorbs the incoming solar

radiation, converts it into heat, and transfers this heat to a fluid
(ussually air, or water) flowing through the collector to store and
distribute the energy.
 Types of Solar Thermal Collectors

Non-Concentrating collectors
 The whole solar panel absorbs light.

 The surface area that intercepts the solar radiation is the same as
the area absorbing the radiation.
 Flat-plate collectors are the most common type and are used to
heat air or water to temperatures of less than 100 C.
 Types of Solar Thermal Collectors

Concentrating collectors
 The surface area intercepting the solar radiation is greater,
sometimes hundreds of times greater, than the absorber area.
 Concentrating collectors are used for high temperature.
 Solar Thermal Systems
 Use concentrating solar collector systems to collect and
concentrate sunlight to produce the high temperature heat needed
to generate electricity.
 Two main components: Reflectors (mirrors) that capture and focu
sunlight onto a Receiver.
 In most types of systems, a heat transfer fluid is heated and
circulated in the receiver and used to produce steam.
 Steam is converted into mechanical energy in a trubine, which
powers a generator to produce eclectricity.
 Environmental Impacts of solar
energy

 Solar energy has minimal impact on the environment.

 The manufacturing of photovoltaic(PV) cells generates some

hazardous waste from the chemicals and solvents used in the
processing, including sodium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid.
 Some solar thermal systems use potentially hazardous fluids (to
transfer heat) that require proper handling and disposal.
 Large systems and solar farms may be placed on large areas of land.
These often occur in desserts, where the fragile ecosystems could
damged by the presence of large solar panels.
 Concentrated solar systems may need to be cleaned regularly with
water, which is also needed for cooling the turbinegenerator. Using
water from underground wells may affect the ecosystem in some
aric locations.
 Wind Power
 Wind power is a renewable energy source that uses the enery of
moving air to generate electricity.
 Many locations with excellent wind power capacity are found on top
of the ocean, and are beginning to be utilized through the
construction of offshore wind farms.
 The most common way to collect and transform the wind’s energy
into a usable form is through wind turbines.
 Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical

power. Generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

Advantages:
 Environmental Benefits
 Economic Development Benefits

Disadvantages:
 Birds - A serious obstacle
 wind can never be predicted
 cost of wind turbine
 Noise Disturbances
 Environmental Impacts of Wind
Power

 Offshorewind turbines on lakes or the ocean may have smaller

environmental impacts than turbines on land.
A few wind turbines have caught on fire, and some have leaked
lubricating fluids.
 Windturbines do produce noise pollution, which can impact both
human and animal populations.
 Turbines have been found to cause bird and bat deaths particularly
if they are located along the migratory path.
 Overalllife cycle analysis has found that turbines make much more
energy than the amount used to make and install them.
Hydroelectric Power
 Also known as Hydropower
 2nd Largest source of renewable energy
 Uses kinetic energy produced by flowing water
Storage hydropower
Majority of hydropower in the world is in
the form of storage hydropower.
Dams are built across a river to block the
flow of river water. The water stored
behind the dam has potential energy
which when released the potential energy
is converted to kinetic energy. In addition
to providing hydropower, dams creates
reservoir, or manmade lakes.
Storage hydropower
In modern storage hydropower facilities, this
energy is used to turn blades of turbines and
causing a generator to generate electricity.
Electricity generated in the powerhouse of a
dam is transmitted to the electric grid by
transmission lines while the water flows into
the riverbed below the dam and continues
down river.
Although it has very large installed
capacities, most storage hydropower facilities
operate at capacities well below their
maximum potential. This is often due to
limitations such as water flow rate and
capacity of the ecosystem below the dam to
accept large amounts of water at once.
Storage hydropower
Pumped-Storage
Hydropower
It works by pumping water from a lower reservoir
to a higher reservoir and then allowed to flow
downhill through a turbine, generating electricityA
pumped-storage facility uses energy to pump water
from a natural source (ocean, lake, or river) to an
upper basin.
This form of hydropower builds a store of potential
energy in the water in the upper basin. When
energy is needed, water from the upper basin is
released through a controlled channel back into the
natural source. While this is happening, the water
flowing down, out of the upper basin, turns
turbines in the channel, which power a generator to
produce electricity.
Pumped-Storage
Hydropower

Though pumped-storage facilities produce

no net energy, they are useful for storing
energy to use in times of high demand.
The upper basin can be filled during a time
when energy is relatively inexpensive, and
then emptied when energy is costly.
Run-of-river
hydropower
Is considered less disruptive than storage
hydropower facilities. It involves diverting a
portion of the river’s water through a pipe or
channel containing turbines, to power a
generator and produce electricity.
This water is then returned to the river . The
largest environmental benefit to run-of-river
systems is that they do not create a large
reservoir of water above the dam, and allow the
river to flow at its more natural pace.
Environmental impacts of
Hydropower
Hydropower is a renewable source of energy since it
does not directly produce emissions of air pollutants, it
consumes no non-renewable fuel sources, and the
source of power is constantly regenerated. But
hydropower dams, reservoirs, and operation of
generators can have serious environmental impact.
 Can obstruct migration of fish to their upstream
spawning areas in areas where salmon must travel
upstream to spawn.
 Turbines kill and injure some of the fish that pass
through the turbine, though prevention of this is
attempted in most facilities. This problem has
been partially alleviated in some systems by using
fish ladders that help the salmon get up the dams.
Environmental impacts of
Hydropower
 Storage hydropower systems are the most impactful of all forms of hydropower. By
creating a reservoir, it destroys the terrestrial ecosystem that previously inhabited the
reservoir area, and impacts populations of plants and animals on the adjacent land as food
sources and migration paths are disrupted.
 A reservoir and operation of the dam can also affect the natural water habitat due to
changes in water temperatures, chemistry, flow characteristics, and silt loads, all of which
can lead to significant changes in the ecology and physical characteristics of the river
upstream and downstream.
 Carbon dioxide and methane may also form in reservoirs where water is more stagnant
than it would have been in a flowing river, and be emitted to the atmosphere.
Potential of Tidal Power
 Tidal power takes advantage of the natural
kinetic power of the ocean’s tides to turn
turbines and generate electricity.
 Turbines are placed in zones of the ocean with
significant tides and currents, and the power of
flowing water is used to turn the blades of a
turbine to generate electricity. Typically, these
turbines are located along a seawall that extends
from the shore into the ocean.
Geothermal Energy
 Uses heat from the Earth’s internal geologic
processes to produce electricity or provide heating.
 The below surface temperature of the earth
provides an essentially endless energy resource.
 When water is heated by the earth’s heat, hot water
or steam can be trapped in permeable and porous
rocks under a layer of impermeable rock and a
geothermal reservoir can form.
 Geothermal Energy
A geothermal system requires heat, permeability, and water.
To develop electricity from geothermal resources, wells are
drilled in a location with high geothermal potential. This is
typically a region containing naturally superheated
groundwater.
Groundwater percolates down through cracks in the subsurface
rocks until it reaches rocks heated by underlying magma, and
the heat converts the water to steam.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal wells bring the superheated water or steam to
the surface, where its heat energy is converted into
electricity by a generator at a geothermal power plant.
Geothermal energy can be used for electricity production,
for commercial, industrial, and residential direct heating
purposes, and for efficient home heating and cooling
through geothermal heat pumps.
Environmental Impacts of
Geothermal Energy
Depends on how it is being used
 Direct use and heating applications have almost no negative
impact on the environment.
 Geothermal power plants do not burn fuel to generate
electricity, so their emission levels are very low. Some carbon
dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) gas are emitted, but to a
much smaller degree than the combustion of fossil fuels or
biomass.
 Very small quantities of other gases including ammonia and
hydrogen sulfide can also be produced.
Environmental Impacts of
Geothermal Energy
To help mitigate emissions impacts, geothermal plants use scrubber systems
to clean the emissions of the hydrogen sulfide that is naturally found in deep
steam and hot water. They emit 97% less acid rain-causing sulfur compounds
than are emitted by fossil fuel plants.
Even though geothermal energy is renewable, not every plant built to capture
this energy will be able to operate indefinitely because the energy relies on
groundwater recharge. If the heated water is used faster than the recharge rate
of groundwater, the plant will eventually run out of water.
Environmental Impacts of
Geothermal Energy

 Patterns of geothermal activity in the Earth’s crust naturally

shift over time and an area that produces hot groundwater
now may not always so do.The water of many hot springs is
laced with salts and minerals that can corrode equipment,
shorten the lifetime of plants, and increase maintenance
costs.
 Electrical power is restricted to regions where energy can be
tapped from naturally heated groundwater but most areas of
the world are not rich in naturally heated groundwater.
 Biomass energy

 The oldest source of energy ever since prehistoric man discovered fire

 the energy stored in materials of biological origin such as plants and

animals.

 Biomass energy is the oldest energy source used by humans.

 Until the Industrial Revolution prompted a shift to fossil fuels in the mid-
18th century, biomass energy was the world's dominant fuel source.
 Biomass energy

 Currently, about 10 percent of the world's energy comes from biomass.

 Biomass is most frequently used as a fuel source in many less-industrialized

nations, but with the decline of fossil fuel availability and the increase in
fossil fuel prices, biomass is increasingly being used as a fuel source even in
more-industrialized nations.

 Biomass energy may have the potential be considered to be carbon neutral

because the plants that are used to make them take up CO2 from the
atmosphere through photosynthesis as they grow and may offset the
CO2 produced when burned.
 Biomass

 If the biomass is not burned for energy generation, the carbon

contained in the biomass would still be returned to the atmosphere as
CO2 when the organisms die and decompose to complete the cycle.

The concept of carbon neutrality is based on the processes of

photosynthesis and combustion. When plants or algae perform
photosynthesis, they harvest carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
and use the sun’s energy to convert it to biomass.
 Types of biomass energy
I. Direct combustion of solid biomass

 When biomass is burned directly, without the conversion to a liquid or

gaseous form first, this is called direct combustion.

 The most common source for direct combustion is wood, but energy can
also be generated by burning animal manure (dung), herbaceous plant
material (non-wood), peat (partially decomposed plant and animal tissues),
or converted biomass such as charcoal.
 Types of biomass energy

II. Gaseous Biomass

 Sometimes called biogas

 Organic material can be converted to methane, the main component of natural gas,
through the process of bacterial anaerobic decomposition, also known
as fermentation. The methane produced is essentially chemically identical to the
methane harvested as the fossil fuel natural gas.

 Burning methane produced from manure provides more heat than burning the dung
itself, and the sludge left over from bacterial digestion is a rich fertilizer, containing
healthy bacteria as well as most of the nutrients originally in the dung.
 Types of biomass energy

III. Liquid Biofuels

 Biofuels are transportation fuels produced from plant sources and

used to power vehicles.

 The most common ones are ethanol and biodiesel.

Environmental impacts of biomass energy

1. A major challenge of biomass is determining if it is really a more sustainable option.

2. The energy content of some biomass energy sources may not be as high as fossil
fuels, so more must be burned to generate the same energy.

3. Trees that are cut for firewood are frequently not replanted.

4. It may lead to problems such as soil degradation, erosion, and desertification

especially with the practice of monoculture if the production of biomass is not
properly managed.
 Other renewable energy source

I. Hydrogen fuel
 may be an important clean fuel of the future.
 to obtain hydrogen gas for fuel, energy is needed to force these substances
to release their hydrogen atoms.
 One such procedure is known as electrolysis in which an electric current is
passed through water to break down the water molecule into oxygen and
hydrogen.
 Some energy experts believe that combining hydrogen fuel and electricity
could serve as a basis for a clean, safe, and energy efficient energy system.
 Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and we will never
 Hydrogen fuel
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
 Fuel cells are highly efficient miniature power plants that
produce electricity using hydrogen fuel in a chemical reaction
that is a reverse of the electrolysis process that produced the
hydrogen fuel.
 Energy is released by an exothermic electrochemical reaction that
combines hydrogen and oxygen ions through an electrolyte
material to generate electricity and heat.
 Major manufacturers, including Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda.
 Hydrogen fuel
Challenges of hydrogen
 require massive and costly development of facilities to produce,
store, transport, and provide the fuel.
 The environmental impact of hydrogen production itself depends
on the source of material used to supply the hydrogen.
 Some research suggests that leakage of hydrogen from its
production, transport, and use could potentially deplete
stratospheric ozone.
 Other renewable energy source
II. Electric and hybrid vehicles
Electric vehicles

 use electricity to charge an onboard battery, which operates as the primary

fueling source for the vehicle.
 One benefit to electric vehicles over hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is that
electric charging stations are much more prevalent than hydrogen fueling
stations.
 The charging process often takes several hours.
 Electric and hybrid vehicles
hybrid vehicles
 Combination of an electric car battery with a gasoline
engine.
 Eliminates the need for plug-in charging in most hybrid
models.
 Policy and conservation

1. Reducing consumption
2. Increasing efficiency
Sources

 Renewable energy resources. (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.slideshare.net/96hemantyadav/presentation-renewable-energy-
resources-138941071
 Wind power (2015). Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/sanjanaangel16/wind-power-presentation-46038188

 Kern, C. (2020). California Oil Wells [Photo]. California.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2020/09/21/plugging-abandoned-
wells-the-green-new-deal-jobs-plan-republicans-and-democrats-love/
 RHJ (2023). Yellow Cake [Photo].
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4638734-yellow-cake-way-to- play-
uranium-bull-market-discount-to-net-asset-value