B.

Tech (TES-CHM4601)

Energy resources
Unit 2
Natural Resources
Prepared by; Dr Chittaranjan Panda
Professor, Civil engineering
Subject: Topics in Environmental Studies
Contents
 Introduction to Energy resources
 Growing Energy Demands
 Renewable and Non Renewable Energy
 Solar Energy
 Wind energy, Hydropower
 Tidal energy
 Geothermal and Biomass Energy
 Coal, Petrol, Natural gas, Nuclear power
 Energy Resources
Energy may be defined as the capacity to do
work.
Both energy production and energy utilization
are the indicators of a country’s progress as it is a
primary input for industrial operation.
 Growing energy needs
• Energy is an important input for development.
• It aims at human welfare covering
household ,agricultural transport and industrial
complexes.
• Due to the population explosion the demand for various
forms of energy has got increased many folds.
U.S.A. and Canada constitute about 5% of the world's
population but consume one fourth of global energy
resources.
An average person there consumes 300 GJ (Giga Joules, equal to 60
barrels of oils) per year. By contrast, an average man in a poor country
like Bhutan, Nepal or Ethiopia consumes less than 1 GJ in a year.
 Types of energy consumed
Diesel and Other
Gas 1%
Nuclear power
4%
2%
Hydral power
25%

Thermal power
68%
 Energy demand
• Indian population is still heavily depend on traditional fuel
such as firewood, animal waste and agricultural residue.
• But the share of commercial energy on the total energy
demand has been increasing vastly.
Energy consumption (In India, 1990-1991)

Sector Percentage Coal Oil/Natural Electricity

Industry 51.00 69.96 13.10 17.30

Transport 23.30 9.60 88.90 1.50
Household 13.80 3.90 77.10 19.00
Agriculture 9.60 - 57.10 42.90

Others 2.30 - 29.20 70.80

Growing energy needs
 Primary Energy Resources
• Renewable/Inexhaustible/Non-Conventional sources of
energy.
• Example : Wood, Solar energy etc

Secondary Energy Resources

• Does occur in nature but are derived from
primary energy sources
• Example: Petrol, Hydrogen obtained through
electrolysis of water etc.
 Types of Energy

Alternativ Energy can not regenerate it exhausti

e energy

Renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability to reproduce through

biological or natural processes and replenished with the passage of time and are
inexhaustible
Solar cells (or) photovoltaic cells (or)
PV cells
 Solar cells consist of a p-type semiconductor
(such as Si doped with B) and n-type semi-
conductor (Si doped with P).
 When the solar rays fall on the top layer of p-
type semi-conductor, the electrons from the
valence band get promoted to the conduction
band and cross the p-n junction into n-type semi-
conductor.
 There by potential difference between two layers
is created, which causes flow of electrons (ie.,an
electric current)
Solar cell Uses
 Used in calculators, electronic watches. Street
lights, water pumps to run radios and TVs.
Solar Battery
 When a large number of solar cells are connected
in series it form a solar battery.
 Solar battery produce more electricity which is
enough to run water pump, to run street-light,
etc.,
 They are used in remote areas where
 Solar Energy
Solar cooker: Solar cookers make use of solar heat by reflecting the
solar radiations using a mirror directly on to a glass sheet which covers the
black insulated box within which the raw food is kept
Convex or parabolic
Solar water heater: It consists of reflector
an insulated box painted black from
inside and having a glass lid to
receive and store solar heat.
Inside the box it has black painted
copper coil through which cold
water is made to flow in, which gets
heated and flows out into a storage
Solar furnace: Here thousands of
tank.
small plane mirrors are arranged in
convex reflectors, all of which collect
the solar heat and
produce as high
vi) Solar powera temperature
plant: Solaras
energy is harnessed on a large scale by using
3000°C.
convex reflectors which cause boiling of water to produce steam. The
steam turbine drives a generator to produce electricity. A solar power plant
(50 K Watt capacity) has been installed at Gurgaon,
 Wind energy

 Rotor blades - capture wind's energy

and convert it to rotational energy of
shaft
 Shaft - transfers rotational energy into
generator
 Nacelle - casing that holds the gear
box
 the gearbox includes the
generator which uses rotational energy
of shaft to generate electricity.
 Brakes- stop rotation of shaft in case of
power overload or system failure.
 Tower - supports rotor and nacelle and
lifts entire setup to higher elevation
where blades can safely clear the ground
 Electrical equipment - carries
electricity from generator down through
The
tower minimum wind
and controls speed
many safetyrequired
elements
of 15
is turbine.
km/h
The wind power potential of India is estimated to be about 20,000
MW, while at present we are generating about 1020 MW.
 Hydro power
 An intake: to diverts of the flow
from the water course.
 penstock pipe to convey
the water to the turbine.
 Powerhouse: in which the
turbine and generator convert
the water's energy into
electricity.
 Outflow: through which the
water is released back to the
river or stream.
 Underground cables or
overhead lines: to transmit the
electricity to it's point of use.
These must be short enough to
minimize ‘voltage drop.’
The hydropower potential of India is estimated to be about 4 × 1011
KW-hours.
The Victoria
Dam

The Upper Kotmale Hydro

Power Plant
 Tidal Energy
A difference of several meters is
required between the height of
(A)
high and low tide to spin the
turbines.
The tidal energy can be
harnessed by constructing a
tidal barrage.
(B)

(A) During high tide, the sea-water

flows into the reservoir of the barrage
and turns the turbine, which in turn
produces electricity by rotating the
generators.
(B)During low tide, when the sea-level is low, the sea water stored
in the barrage reservoir flows out into the sea and again turns the
turbines
 Tidal Energy
 The bay of Fundy Canada having 17-18
m high tides has a potential of 5,000 MW
of power generation.
 In India Gulf of Cambay, Gulf of Kutch
and the Sunder bans deltas are the tidal
power sites.
 Ocean thermal energy
 The energy available due to the difference in temperature of
water at the surface of the tropical oceans and at deeper
levels is called Ocean Thermal Energy. Minimum difference
of 20°C needed
 The warm surface water of ocean is used to boil a liquid like
ammonia.
 The high pressure NH3 vapours of the liquid formed by
boiling are then used to turn the turbine of a generator and
produce electricity.
 The colder water from the deeper oceans is pumped to cool
and condense the vapours into liquid.
 Thus, the process keeps on going in cycle continuously for
24 hours a day.
Ocean thermal energy
 Geothermal energy
 Geothermal energy: The energy harnessed from the
hot rocks present inside the earth is called geothermal
energy.
 High temperature, high pressure steam fields exist
below the earth's surface in many places may be due
to fission of radioactive material naturally present in
the rocks.
 In some places, the steam or the hot water comes
out of the ground naturally through cracks in the
form of natural geysers as in Manikaran, Kullu and
Sohana, Haryana.
 Artificially drill a hole up to the hot rocks and by putting
a pipe in it make the steam or hot water gush out
through the pipe at high pressure which turns the
 Geo-thermal Energy
 Temperature of the earth increases at a rate of 20-75 0C per km, when we
move down the earth surface.
 High temperature and high pressure steam fields
exists below the earth’s surface in many places.
 The energy harnessed from the high temperature
present inside the earth is called geothermal energy.
Natural geysers
 In some places, the hot water (or) steam comes out
of the ground through cracks naturally in the form
Artificial geysers
 In some places, we can artificially drill a hole up to
the hot region and by sending a pipe in it, we can
make the hot water or steam to rush out through
the pipe with very high pressure.
 Thus, the hot water (or) steam coming out from the
natural (or) artificial geysers is allowed to rotate the
turbine of a generator to produce electricity.
 Biomass Energy
Biomass is the organic matter
produced by the plants or
animals which include wood,
crop residues, cattle dung,
manure, sewage, agricultural
wastes etc.
iomass energy Types
(a)Energy Plantations:
 Solar energy is trapped by green plants through
photosynthesis and converted into biomass energy.
 Fast growing trees like cottonwood, and Leucaena (Bada
chakunda), non-woody crop plants like sugarcane, sweet
sorghum and sugar beet, and carbohydrate rich potato,
cereal etc. are some of the important energy plantations.
They may produce energy either by burning directly or converted
into fuels by fermentation.
 Petro-crops
 (b) Petro-crops: Certain latex-containing
plants like Euphorbias and oil palms are
rich in hydrocarbons and can yield an oil
like substance under high temperature
Gasoline:paraffins, naphthene
aromatics and olefins
and pressure.
 This oily material may be burned in diesel
engines directly or may be refined to form
gasoline.
 These plants are popularly known as
petro-crops.

oil palms Jatropha Euphorbias

 Biomass Energy
 (c) Agricultural and Urban Waste
biomass: Crop residues, bagasse (sugarcane
residues), coconut shells, peanut hulls, cotton
stalks etc. produce energy by burning.
 Animal dung, fishery and poultry waste and even
human refuse are examples of biomass energy
 In Brazil 30 % of electricity is obtained from
burning bagasse.
 In rural India, animal dung cakes burnt to
produce heat.
 Biogas Energy
 Biogas is produced by anaerobic degradation of
animal wastes, food waste etc

Anaerobic treatment is a
biological process carried
out in the absence of O2 for
the stabilization of organic
materials by conversion to
CH4 and inorganic end-
products such as CO2 and
NH3
Anaerobic microbes
With favorable Temp , pH
Organic materials + Nutrients/Mineral + CO 2 +NH3
+H2O+CH4+H2S+Biomass+ End product
 Biofuels Energy
 Biomass (sugarcane) can be fermented (Yeast) to
alcohols like ethanol and methanol which can be
used as fuels, as compared to petrol its calorific
value is less
 Gasohol (mixture of ethanol and gasoline) is a

common fuel used in Brazil and Zimbabwe and

start trial in India Kanpur.
 Methanol too is a clean, non-polluting fuel.

Methanol can be easily obtained from woody plants

and ethanol
from grain-based or sugar-containing plants by
fermention (Yeast)
 Hydrogen Energy
 Highest calorific value, hydrogen can serve as an excellent fuel.
Moreover, it is non-polluting
 (i) Thermal dissociation: of water (at 3000°K or above)
hydrogen (H2) is produced.
 (iii) Electrolytic method: dissociates water into hydrogen (H2)
and oxygen by making a current flow through it.
 (iv) Photocatalytic methods: of water involves breakdown of
water in the presence of sun light to and semiconducter
photocatalyst release hydrogen.
 However, hydrogen is highly inflammable and explosive in
nature. Hence, safe handling is required for using H2 as a fuel.
Also, it is difficult to store and transport.
 Coal
 Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world.
 Formation: The ancient plants along the banks of rivers and swamps

were buried naturally or earth quake into the soil and due to the heat
and pressure gradually got converted into peat and coal over millions
of years of time.
Types
 Anthracite (hard coal), bituminous (Soft coal) and lignite (brown coal).

 Anthracite coal has maximum carbon (90%) and calorific value (8700

kcal/kg.)
 Bituminous, lignite and peat contain 80, 70 and 60% carbon,

respectively.
 At the present rate of usage, the coal reserves are likely to last for

another 65 years.

India has about 5% of world's coal

 Petroleum
 It is the lifeline of global economy. About
1/4thof the oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia.
 At the present rate of usage, the world's crude
oil reserves are estimated to get exhausted in
just 40 years
 Purified and refined by the process of fractional
distillation, obtain petroleum gas, kerosene,
petrol, diesel, fuel oil, lubricating oil, paraffin
wax, asphalt, plastic etc.
 Petroleum is a cleaner fuel as compared to coal
as it burns completely and leaves no residue.
 Liquefied Petroleum Gas
 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG): Butane,
propane and ethane.
 The petroleum gas is easily converted to
liquid form under pressure as LPG.
 Ethyl mercaptan, added to LPG to check
leakage
 Oil fields in India are located at Digboi
(Assam), Gujarat Plains and Bombay High,
offshore areas in deltaic coasts of Gadavari,
Krishna, Kaveri and Mahanadi.
 Natural gas
 It is mainly composed of methane (95%) with small
amounts of propane and ethane.
 Natural gas deposits mostly accompany oil deposits
because it has been formed by decomposing dead animals
and plants buried under the earth.
 Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel. transported through
pipelines easily. It has a high calorific value of about
50KJ/gm and burns without any smoke.
 World Reservoirs: Russia (40%), Iran (14%) and USA
(7%).
 India: Tripura, Jaisalmer, Off-shore area of Mumbai and the
Krishna Godavari Delta.
 It is used as a fuel in thermal power plants for generating
electricity.
 Nuclear energy
Nuclear Fission:
 Nuclear energy is known for its high destructive

power as evidenced from nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Fission: nucleus of
certain isotopes with large
mass numbers are split into
lighter nuclei on
bombardment by neutrons
and a large amount of
energy is released through
a chain reaction as shown
 Nuclear fusion
(ii) Nuclear fusion: Here two
isotopes of a light element are
forced together at extremely high
temperatures (1 billion °C) until
they fuse to form a heavier
nucleus releasing enormous energy
in the process.

One neutron and a huge amount of

energy.
E = MC2
1.674927471×10−27 X (3X108)2
It is difficult to initiate the process but it releases more energy than
nuclear fission.
There are four nuclear power stations with an installed capacity of
2005 MW.
These are located at Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rana Pratap Sagar near
Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) and Narora (U.P.).
 Nuclear
reactor
 If each neutron releases two
more neutrons, then the
number of fissions doubles
each generation. In that case,
in 10 generations there are
1,024 fissions and in 80
generations about 6 x 10 23 (a
mole) fissions.
 A nuclear reactor is a device in
which nuclear chain reactions
are initiated, controlled, and
sustained at a steady rate,
Nuclear bomb, in which the chain
reaction occurs in a fraction of
Graphite: slow down the newtron
a second and is uncontrolled
and controller is to control the
causing an explosion.
number of neutron
Boron: capable of absorbing many
neutrons and control fission
Lead: molten lead or lead-bismuth
eutectic coolant also absorb alfa, beta