How energy is harnessed from different sources

A. Fossils fuels

Fossil fuels - coal, oil, and natural gas - are the most common example of non-renewable
energy resources. Fossil fuels are formed from fossils, the partially decomposed remains
of once living plants and animals. These fossils took millions of years to form. When
fossil fuels are burned for energy, they release pollutants into the atmosphere. Fossil
fuels also release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are causing global
temperatures to rise.

Fossil fuels provide the power for most of the world, primarily using coal and oil.
Oil is converted into many products, the most used of which is gasoline. Natural gas is
starting to become more common, but is used mostly for heating applications although
there are more and more natural gas powered vehicles appearing on the streets. The
issue with fossil fuels is two fold. To get to the fossil fuel and convert it to use there has
to be a heavy destruction and pollution of the environment. The fossil fuel reserves are
also limited, expecting to last only another 100 years given are basic rate of
consumption.

Fossil fuel power plants burn carbon fuels such coal, oil or gas to generate steam that
drives large turbines that produce electricity. These plants can generate electricity
reliably over long periods of time. However, by burning carbon fuels they produce large
amounts carbon dioxide, which causes climate change. They can also produce other
pollutants, such as sulphurous oxides, which cause acid rain.Cottam, coal and gas on the
same site.

Fossil fuels have the advantage of being cheap and transportable, but they cause
environmental damage and will eventually run out. Renewable energy sources, by
definition, will not run out, and most do not cause much pollution. But renewable
energy sources do have a downside, too. Both the advantages and disadvantages of
solar, water, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy will be described in this lesson.

B. Biogas

Biomass/biofuels, which include bioethanol, biodiesel and other liquids from

biomass, are created from biological feedstock such as crops, woody biomass or algae.
Many of these biomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuels are created through a process of gasification
that produces syngas. Once biomass is gasified, the conversion to liquid fuels shares the
same processing steps as CTL and GTL technologies.Demand for biofuels, created in
biorefineries via biochemical or thermochemical processing, is driven largely by the
desire to increase energy security and reduce GHG emissions.

Especially for countries with a wide availability of natural feedstock and minimal
access to crude oil deposits, this fuel source holds promise. In integrated biorefineries,
the possibility exists to generate co-product biochemicals and generate electricity from
heat produced in the conversion process.

Biofuels have the potential to replace fossil fuels for transportation, including in
aviation; many countries already have biofuel-blending programmes that require a
certain percentage of their fuels to be blended with biofuels.

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Estimates show the supply of gasoline substitutes such as ethanol, which is popular in
Brazil, increasing from 100 billion litres in 2010 to 190 billion litres in 2020 and 300
billion litres in 2030.

C. Geothermal

Geothermal energy captures natural sub-surface heat and uses it to generate

electricity. Unlike many renewables, this type of energy is available at a constant rate,
which minimizes some of the storage concerns associated with other renewables.
Regions located close to rift zones or harbouring active volcanoes have a huge potential
for capturing this type of energy. This includes areas of the Pacific and western US, as
well as Iceland, where geothermal power stations produce about 25% of the country’s
electricity.

One way to harness geothermal energy in other regions is to establish enhanced

geothermal systems (EGSs) that would drill deeper into the ground to mimic the design
of natural hotwater and steam reservoirs. Foro Energy, a US-based company, is working
to develop this technology. It has created a transformational drilling platform enabled
by technologies for transmitting high power lasers over long distances and focuses on
step-change drilling performance in ultra-hard rocks to enable economical geothermal
energy production. If technology can be developed that would enable this to be a cost-
effective solution, the potential is massive.

As technology for drilling so deep into the earth’s core becomes cheaper,
investment in this area will become more attractive. Geothermal energy is the energy
that is produced from beneath the earth. It is clean, sustainable and environment
friendly. High temperatures are produced continuously inside the earth’s crust by the
slow delay of radioactive particles. Hot rocks present below the earth heats up the
water that produces steam. The steam is then captured that helps to move turbines.
The rotating turbines then power the generators. Geothermal energy uses heat from
deep within the earth to heat homes or produce steam that turns turbines.

D. Hydrothermal

Hydroelectric power produces relatively inexpensive electricity and has one of

the lowest rates of GHG emissions of any energy source. However, since the most
economical sites for creating dams and plants have already been developed, further
expansion of this renewable energy source will be limited.

Water in reservoirs is used to store energy and can be used to dispatch

electricity when demand is high and kept in the reservoir when it is low.

Additionally, their plant operations may affect water quality by churning up

metal deposits and changing water temperatures and oxygen levels. Hydrogen is
available with water(H2O) and is most common element available on earth. Water
contains two-thirds of hydrogen and can be found in combination with other elements.
Once it is separated, it can be used as a fuel for generating electricity. Hydrogen is a
tremendous source of energy and can be used as a source of fuel to power ships,
vehicles, homes, industries and rockets. It is completely renewable, can be produced on
demand and does not leave any toxic emissions in the atmosphere.

Water from the dams flows through turbines to generate electricity, and then
goes on to flow through rivers below the dam.Hydro dams can generate large amounts
of electricity. However, dry periods can drain the reservoirs. The flooding of reservoirs
behind dams and slowing of the flow of the river below the dam can have a serious

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impact on the ecology around the dam. The number of sites suitable for new dams is
limited.

E. Batteries

Whatever the application, all batteries work on the same principle. They convert
the energy of chemical reactions to electricity. This is not a big step because most
chemical reactions involve the release and uptake of electrons and electricity is a flow of
loose electrons. Electrons are components of atoms, whirling around the nucleus. Some
atoms and molecules easily give up one or more electrons, especially when they
undergo certain chemical reactions. By the same token, other atoms and molecules
readily take up loose electrons that come their way. A battery simply hosts both types of
reactions. The electrons given off by one chemical reaction flow out of the battery,
through a wire into some device and back into the other side of the battery where they
are taken up by the other chemical reaction. The wire that carries the current of
electrons is made of a material whose atoms allow incoming electrons to pass, jumping
from atom to atom. That property is what distinguishes a conductor from an insulator.

The modern form of "dry cell" battery was developed in 1866 by a French
engineer named Georges Leclanche. His design is the basis of the most common
household batteries today. One of Leclanche's advances was to replace the battery's
salty (or sometimes acidic or alkalinic) liquid with a nonleaking paste, producing what
are called dry cells. The basic components of a battery consist of a container of liquid or
paste, called the electrolyte, in which are immersed pieces of two different metals.
When the metals are linked by a wire -- usually it runs out of the battery through some
electrically powered device and back to the battery -- one metal reacts with the
electrolyte and gives off electrons. In chemical terminology, the metal becomes
oxidized. At the same time, the other metal reacts with the electrolyte and takes up
electrons. It goes from an oxidized to an unoxidized or less oxidized state. Technically,
such a device is called a cell. Two or more cells wired in series are called a battery, in
keeping with the traditional use of "battery" to mean a group of things. In a Leclanche-
type cell, one metal is zinc, formed into a can into which the rest of the apparatus fits,
and the other is manganese dioxide. A layer of paper or other porous material lines the
inside of the can, which then is filled with a black paste made chiefly of manganese
dioxide mixed with ammonium chloride as an electrolyte.

F. Solar cells

Solar power is a promising, carbon-neutral energy source. Solar power is

produced in two ways: concentrating solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic. CSP utilizes
focused sunlight to generate heat and steam that powers a standard turbine. When
coupled with storage solutions, CSP may be able to provide dispatchable energy, for
example, energy that can be stored for a several hours and called upon when needed.
Solar PV systems convert sunlight directly into electricity.

While solar is not expected in the near term to take a large share of the energy
portfolio due to its low capacity, it is projected to continue to grow in the foreseeable
future. Lower costs, government incentives and subsidies, and new, more efficient PV
materials (such as organics, ceramics and dye-sensitized cells) will make solar an
attractive energy source to meet growing demand, especially in households and off-grid
communities. Nevertheless, organic PVs are not as efficient as their conventional
counterparts and hence, further research and development is needed.

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 Solar power harvests the energy of the sun through using collector panels to
create conditions that can then be turned into a kind of power. Large solar panel fields
are often used in desert to gather enough power to charge small substations, and many
homes use solar systems to provide for hot water, cooling and supplement their
electricity. The issue with solar is that while there is plentiful amounts of sun available,
only certain geographical ranges of the world get enough of the direct power of the sun
for long enough to generate usable power from this source.

G. Biomass

The food-versus-fuel tension has received a lot of attention. For example, one
statistic notes that in 2009, the amount of corn required for ethanol to fill the fuel tank
of a sport-utility vehicle could feed two people in a developing country for a year.

Biomass is the material that comes from plants and animals that were recently
living. Biomass can be burned directly, such as setting fire to wood. For as long as
humans have had fire, people have used biomass for heating and cooking. People can
also process biomass to make fuel, called biofuel. Biofuel can be created from crops,
such as corn or algae, and processed for use in a car (Figurebelow). The advantage to
biofuels is that they burn more cleanly than fossil fuels. As a result, they create less
pollution and less carbon dioxide. Critics say, however, that the amount of energy,
fertilizer, and land needed to produce the crops used make biofuels only a slightly better
alternative than fossil fuels.

Biomass energy is produced from organic material and is commonly used

throughout the world. Chlorophyll present in plants captures the sun’s energy by
converting carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground into carbohydrates
through the process of photosynthesis. When the plants are burned, the water and
carbon dioxide is again released back into the atmosphere. Biomass generally include
crops, plants, trees, yard clippings, wood chips and animal wastes. Biomass energy is
used for heating and cooking in homes and as a fuel in industrial production. This type of
energy produces large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Biomass energy
uses renewable materials such as wood or grains to produce energy.

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