Module 5

Energy sources and sustainability

Dr. Thamim. M

Department of Chemistry
VIT Bhopal University
Energy Resources
 Why energy resources in EVS
Of the 15 methods proposed by a Princeton University study to
stabilize Carbon Dioxide emissions, 13 of them relate energy use.
Implementation of any 7 would accomplish the goal of stabilizing
emissions.
1. Efficient vehicles
2. Reduced use of vehicles
3. Efficient buildings
4. Efficient coal power plants
5. Gas instead of coal power plants
6. Capture CO2 at base load power plant
7. Nuclear power for coal power
8. Wind power for coal power
9. Photovoltaic power for coal power
10. Capture CO2 at H2 plant
11. Capture CO2 at coal-to-synfuels plant
12. Wind H2 in fuel-cell car for gasoline in hybrid car
13. Biomass fuel for fossil fuel
Typical Energy Use for a Car

8% 12%
6%

Momentum
13%
Exhaust
Cylinder cooling
Engine friction
32% Transmission and axles
Braking

29%
 Energy Resources
99% of heat comes from the sun
Without the sun, the earth would be –240 0C (-400 0F)

• Renewable • Non-renewable
– Solar – Oil
– Wind – Natural gas
– Falling, flowing water – Coal
– Biomass – Nuclear power
 Sources of Energy
Chemical
• Fossil fuels (Combustion)
Non-Renewable
Nuclear
• Uranium (Fission of atoms)

Chemical
Energy • Muscular (Oxidization)
Nuclear
• Geothermal (Conversion)
• Fusion (Fusion of hydrogen)
Renewable Gravity
• Tidal, hydraulic (Kinetic)
Indirect Solar
• Biomass (Photosynthesis)
• Wind (Pressure differences)
Direct Solar
• Photovoltaic cell (Conversion)
 Examples of energy resources
❖ Fossil fuels: Coal, Lignite, Crude oil, Natural gas, etc.
❖ Nuclear fuels: Uranium, Thorium, Deuterium etc.
❖ Hydro energy: The energy of falling water
❖ Geothermal: The heat from the underground streams
❖ Solar energy: Electromagnetic radiation from the sun
❖ Wind energy: The energy from moving air
❖ Tidal energy: The energy associated with the tidal waters
❖ Ocean Thermal energy: The temperature gradient existing
naturally in oceans
❖ Biomass : Anaerobic degradation of organic/animal waste
 Evolution of Energy Sources
Mid 21st
Century

Late 20th Animal

Century Biomass
Coal
Early 20th
Oil
Century
Natural Gas
Mid 19th Nuclear
Century Hydrogen

15th Century

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

 India’s Energy Scenario
India is the 7th largest country and 4th largest power producing and
3rd biggest primary energy consumption country.

To maintain the growth rate, need rapid growth in energy sector.

66% of the electricity comes from Thermal power plants.

Total energy produced in the form of

electricity is 66% from coal, 21% from
hydro power, 2.5% from nuclear and
10.8% from renewable energy.
• 66% of the total energy requirement in India is delivered by
commercial fuels and non-commercial fuel contributes the rest 34%.
• In India, coal contributes about 66% of total energy requirement.
India with 68 billion tonnes of coal is the third largest coal producing
country in the world.
• With current rate of mining, 323 million tonnes per year our coal
reserve will be sufficient for about 200 years.
• Oil with stock of 250000 million tonnes, would suffice only for 100
years in India.
• Our reserves of natural gas about 700 billion meter3 will suffice only
for next 20 years.
Need of non-conventional sources in
addition to conventional sources!!!
OIL and NATURAL GAS
OIL and NATURAL GAS
 Oil
• Petroleum (crude oil)
• Costs:
• Recovery
• Refining
• Transporting
• Environmental
• Highest risks are in transportation

• Refining yields many products

• Heating oil
• Diesel
• Petrochemicals
• Gasoline
Coal – What is it?
Coal Formation and Types
 Conventional Oil
Advantages
• Relatively low cost
• High net energy yield
• Efficient distribution system

Disadvantages
• Running out (42-93 years)
• Low prices encourage waste
• Air pollution and greenhouse gases
• Water pollution
 Coal – what do we use it for?
• Stages of coal formation
– 300 million year old forests
– peat > lignite > bituminous > anthracite
– Primarily strip-mined
• Used mostly for generating electricity
– Used to generate 62% of the world’s electricity
– Used to generate 52% of the U.S. electricity
• Enough coal for about 200-1000 years
• High environmental impact
• JHARIA COAL FIELDS.mp4
What waste do fossil fuels produce?
 Coal: Trade-offs

World’s most abundant fossil

fuel
Mining and burning coal has a
severe environmental impact
Accounts for over 1/3 of the
world’s CO2 emissions
 Nuclear Energy
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that
release nuclear energy to generate heat, which most
frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce
electricity in a nuclear power plant.

Nuclear reactions are of two type-

a) Nuclear Fusion

b) Nuclear Fission
 Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is an atomic reaction
in which multiple atoms combine to
create a single, more massive atom.
The resulting atom has a slightly
smaller mass than the sum of the
masses of the original atoms.

The difference in mass is released in the form of energy during

the reaction, according to the Einstein formula E = m c 2 ,

Where,
E = Energy in joules
m = mass difference in kg
c = Speed of light (3 x 10 8 m/sec).
 Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom
splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei).
The fission process often produces free neutrons and gamma photons
and releases a very large amount of energy.
Nuclear fission is used in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. Heat
from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which
runs through steam turbines

U235 + n1 → Kr 92 + Ba141 + 3 n1 + Energy

92 0 36 56 0
The products of nuclear
fission reactions are
radioactive, but the
energy released from
these reactions is less
harmful to the
environment than the use
of fossil fuels.
The products are intensely
radioactive and must be
treated and/or stored.
 Nuclear Power Plant

Production and storage Suitable site (NIMBY) Large quantities

Uranium Reactor Water

Fission
Waste storage and
disposal Steam

Turbine

Electricity
Nuclear Power Plant
Advantages of Nuclear Power
• Clean
• Plentiful Supply
• High energy content in uranium
– Small fuel pellet
– Can provide base load power
– Energy savings in transportation
• Operating cost is low after construction
Drawbacks to Using Nuclear Power
• Initial construction costs
• Radioactive waste byproduct
• Storage
• Natural disasters
• Public perception
 Nuclear power plants
• Nuclear power plants
– 430 operating nuclear power plants (civilian) worldwide.
– Very few new plants coming on line:
• Public resistance (NIMBY syndrome).
• High costs.
• Nuclear waste disposal.
– 30 countries generate nuclear electricity:
• About 17% of all electricity generated worldwide.
– United States:
• 109 licensed nuclear power plants; about 20% of the electricity.
• Licenses are usually given for a 40 year period.
• Many US plants will be coming up for license extensions by 2006.
• No new nuclear power plant built since 1979 (Three Mile Island incident).
– China:
• Plans to had 2 new nuclear reactor per year until 2020.
 Indian Prospect
• Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of
electricity in India after coal, gas,
hydroelectricity and wind power.
• As of 2016, India has 22 nuclear reactors in
operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having a total
installed capacity of 6,780 MW.
• Nuclear power produced a total of 35 TWh of
electricity in 2016.
• 6 more reactors are under construction with a
combined generation capacity of 4,300 MW.
 Energy Efficiency
• Energy efficiency is key to ensuring a safe, reliable,
affordable and sustainable energy system for the future.
• Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the
same level of energy. It is therefore one method to reduce
human greenhouse gas emissions.
• Efficient energy use is achieved primarily by means of a
more efficient technology or process.
• Energy efficient buildings, industrial processes and
transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in
2050 by one third, and help controlling global emissions of
greenhouse gases.
 Need of Alternate Energy Resources
• Emergence
– Received increasing attention since the first oil crisis in 1973:
• Attention varies with fluctuations in the price of oil.
– Several alternate sources need further research before they can
become truly viable alternatives.
– Moving from carbon-based sources to non-carbon based:
• Europe: 22% of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2010.
• Unsustainability of fossil fuels
– The resource itself is finite.
– Use contributes to the global warming problem.
– Some 35% of the carbon emissions in the USA is attributable to
electric power generation.
– Employing substitutes for fossil fuels in that area alone would help
alleviate our greenhouse gas problem.
 Renewable Energy
• Renewable energy source are those which are
virtually inexhaustible and can be replenished after
their use.

• Renewable energy sources are sunlight, wind,

tides, waves, ocean thermal energy, hydrogen,
biomass and geothermal heat.
 Solar Energy
• Sun is the ultimate source of energy. The nuclear fusion
reaction occurring in the sun releases enormous quantity of
energy in the form of light and heat.
• 1.4 kJ/sec/m2 solar energy is received by the near earth
space.

Use
• Drying clothes, Food grains
• Preservation of eatables
• Obtaining salt from sea water
 Application of Solar Energy
1. Solar Water Heating
2. Solar cell
3. Solar cooker
4. Solar Desalination
5. Solar Pond
6. Solar power plant
7. Solar Green House
 Solar Water Heater
• Solar water heating (SWH) is the
conversion of sunlight into heat for
water heating using a solar thermal
collector.
• The basic element of solar water
heater are solar plate and insulated
storage tank.
• The solar plate consist of a
blackened metal plate containing Sun
metal tubing for the water flow
and a layer of insulator at the Mirrors
beneath of the plate. A glass solar Concentration
plate is provided to capture the Water
sun light.
 Solar Cell (or) Photovoltaic cell (PV)
• It is made of semiconductor materials such as Silicon and
Germanium.
• One is a p-type semiconductor and another one is a n-type
semiconductor.
• When sun light falls on them, difference in potential produced
causes the flow of electrons and produces electricity.
• A group of solar cells can be combined together in a definite
pattern to form a solar panel which can be used to harness the
solar energy to run street light, irrigation water pump, traffic
signals etc
Flow of current
Solar
radiation

n-type e
-

p-type
Flow of
electron
 Solar Cooker
Solar cooker makes use of solar heat by
reflecting the solar radiations to the vessel
where the raw food is kept using a spherical
or concave reflector.
Process:
Concentrating sunlight: A mirrored surface with high
specular reflectivity is used to concentrate light.
Designed to achieve temperature range of 65 °C to
400 °C).
Converting light energy to heat energy: Solar cookers
concentrate sunlight onto a receiver such as a cooking
pan. The interaction between the light energy and the
receiver material converts light to heat.
Solar Furnace
Trapping heat energy: It is important to reduce
convection by isolating the air inside the cooker from the
air outside the cooker. Simply using a glass lid on your pot
enhances light absorption and minimizes convection loss.
 Solar desalination
Solar desalination is a technique to
desalinate water using solar
energy.
Solar energy can be used to convert
saline water into distilled water. The
pure water can be obtained by
distillation in the solar still known as
the basin type solar still.
Solar power plant
Sun

Solar cells Mirrors

Concentration

Water
Conversion Evaporation

Steam

Turbine

Electricity
 Solar power plant

Parabolic troughs.

Large number of PV cells are arranged in a definite pattern to collect heat energy from
solar radiation and used to produce steam and the steam turbine drives a generator to
produce electricity.
 Solar Pond
• In an ordinary pond, the sun’s rays heat the water and the heated
water from within the pond rises and reaches the top but loses the
heat into the atmosphere. The net result is that the pond water
remains at the atmospheric temperature.
• The solar pond restricts this tendency by dissolving salt in the bottom
layer of the pond making it too heavy to rise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHCheEghok0
 Solar pond
• A solar pond has three zones. The top zone is the surface zone,
which is at atmospheric temperature and has little salt content.
• The bottom zone is very hot, 70°– 85° C, and is very salty. It is this
zone that collects and stores solar energy in the form of heat, and is,
therefore, known as the storage zone.
• Separating these two zones is the important gradient zone. Here the
salt content increases as depth increases, thereby creating a salinity
or density gradient.
• This gradient zone acts as a transparent insulator permitting sunlight
to reach the bottom zone but also entrapping it there. The trapped
(solar) energy is then withdrawn from the pond in the form of hot
brine from the storage zone.
• In India the Bhuj Solar Pond is a research, development, and
demonstration project. The construction of the 6000 m2 pond started
in 1987 at Kutch Dairy, Bhuj.
 Solar Green House
Unlike regular
greenhouses, solar
greenhouses enable
gardeners to grow out-of-
season vegetables and
fruits since the solar
greenhouses retain solar
heat.
 Wind Energy
❖ Due to the virtue of motion, wind possesses kinetic energy
which called as “Wind Energy”
❖ The kinetic energy of the winds can be harnessed using
wind mills
❖ The blades of the wind mills are continuously rotating due
to the force of striking wind
❖ The rotational motion of the blades drives number of
machines like water pumps, flour mills and electric
generators.
❖ Large number of wind mills can be installed to create a
wind farm to produce more electrical energy
❖ These wind farms are located in coasted region, open
grassland, hilly region where the wind is strong and steady.
❖ Minimum wind speed should be 15 km/hr
❖ The largest wind farm in our country is Kanyakumari,
Tamil Nadu generating 380 MW electricity
❖ Highly pure, no pollution, cheap
 Wind Energy Conversion System
Parts of WECS-
1. Rotor
2. Windmill Head
3. Transmission
4. Generator
5. Controls

Wind Power Plant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45Xh7FKS9nM
 Hydro power
The water stored in a dam is allowed to fall from a height. The blades of the turbine
located at the bottom of the dam moves very fast with the fast moving water. The
moving blades of the turbine rotates the generator and produces electricity

❑ India is the 7th largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world.

❑ As of 30 April 2017, India's installed utility-scale hydroelectric capacity
was 44,594 MW, or 13.5% of its total utility power generation capacity.
❑ India's hydroelectric power potential is estimated at 148,700 MW at 60%
load factor.
❑ The hydro-electric power plants at Darjeeling and Shivanasamudram
were among the first in Asia.
 Ocean Thermal Energy
The energy obtained due to the
difference in the temperature of
water at the surface level of the
tropical oceans and at deeper
levels is called OTE. A difference of
20oC is required.

OTE work on thermodynamic principle that if heat source is

available at higher temperature and heat sink at lower
temperature then this temperature difference can be utilized
in running a turbine (convert heat energy to mechanical
energy) & hence into electrical energy.
Ocean Thermal Energy Plant
 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
The sources of Geothermal
energy are magnetic or
radioactive decay process
occurring within the interior of the
earth.

Geothermal energy resource are-

1) Hydrothermal fluids- Hot water, steam and associated gases
2) Geopressured Brine-Methane dissolved in hot water existing
at high pressure
3) Hot Dry Rocks- Water free rocks at high temperature, found
in the areas of recent volcanic activity
4) Magma- Completely or partially molten rocks with
temperature 650-1200ºC, found in the areas of recent
volcanic activity
Cold water is passed in to the hot rocks of the earth which
vaporizes the water and produces steam. The steam produced
used to rotate the turbine.
 Tidal energy
Ocean tides are produced by the gravitational forces of sun and moon. The ‘high
tide’ and ‘low tide’ refers to the rise and fall of the water in the ocean.

Tidal Examples
barrage/fence
The Bay of Fundy, Canada has
17-18m high tides – 5000 MW
The tidal mill at La Rance
France,
In India, Gulf of Cambay, Gulf of
Kutch etc
 Energy from Biomass
Biomass is the Organic matter produced by the plants and animals which includes wood,
crop residues, cattle dung, manure agricultural waste etc
It can be produced form
1. Energy plantations : sugarcane, sugar beet, aquatic weeds, potato etc – produces gas
fermentation
2. Petro-crops: Latex-containing plants like EUPHORBIAS and OIL PALMS which are rich
in carbohydrate and can produce OIL LIKE substance under HT and HP. Produce
gasoline
3. Agri- and urban waste biomass: crop residues, coconut shells, peanut hulls, cotton
stalks produce energy by burning. Poultry waste, cow dung etc can be used.
Pyrolysis of wood yield methanol which can be used as
additive. Gasoline mixed with 20% of methanol is
known as Gasohol.
Alcohols like ethanol and methanol can be produced by
fermentation and can be used as a fuel. Carbohydrate
rich substance like sugar cane and corn can be used to
produce bio fuels.
 Bio Gas
Biogas is a mixture of CH4, CO2, H2 and H2S. The major
constituent is CH4. It is produced by the anaerobic
degradation of animal wastes (plant waste) in the
presence of water – Breakdown of organic matter
by bacteria in the absence of oxygen.
It is clean, non-polluting and cheap and no storage
problem.
Two types of plants are used to produce biogas

1. Floating gas holder type biogas plant

2. Fixed dome type biogas plant
 Solar Hydrogen Revolution
➢ Hydrogen production from water splitting
or electrolysis derived from renewable
energy, such as solar (photovoltaic) or wind
energy, is sustainable and provides an
environmentally-friendly pathway to
contribute towards meeting the constantly
growing demand for energy supply and
storage.
➢ Conversion of intermittent or excess solar
(photovoltaic, PV) electrical energy into
chemical energy by water electrolysis into
hydrogen fuels can be used to store surplus
solar energy during peak generation
periods. During low generation periods (e.g.,
the night), these H2 fuels can then be used to
efficiently re-generate electricity via fuel
cells.
➢ Fuel cells are energy conversion devices that
electrochemically convert fuels such as
hydrogen into electricity with high power
density, high efficiency, and low GHG
emissions