Conventional and Sustainable

Energy

© Clynt Garnham Energy/Alamy Stock Photo

Outline (Chapter 19) – Conventional
Energy
Energy Resources and Uses
Coal
Oil
Natural Gas
Nuclear Power
• Nuclear Fission.
• Reactors Types.
• Waste Management.
• Nuclear Fusion.
How Do We Measure Energy?
Work - application of force over distance
(measured in joules)
Energy - the capacity to do work
Power - rate at which work is done
(measured in watts)
• Newton - force needed to accelerate 1 kg 1 meter
per second.
• Joule - amount of work done when a force of 1
newton is exerted over 1 meter.
• Watt - one joule per second.
Measuring Energy
Lighting a standard
Typical energy uses in the home
100 watt light bulb
for 10 hours uses Uses kWh/year*
1000 watt-hours of Computer 100
power or 1 kilowatt- Television 125
hour. 100 W light bulb 250
15 W fluorescent bulb 40
The average Dehumidifier 400
American home Dishwasher 600
uses 11,000 Electric stove/oven 650
kilowatt-hours of Clothes dryer 900
electricity per year. Refrigerator 1100
* Averages shown; actual rates vary greatly.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy.
Fossil fuels supply much of the
Global Energy Production
Currently, fossil fuels supplies more than 80% of the world’s
commercial energy needs.

• Renewables only make up about 10%

Transportation uses more than 90% energy from petroleum

U.S. consumption
of energy by sector
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and U.S. Department of Energy, 2018
Per Capita Consumption
Richest countries have
consumed nearly 80% of all
commercial energy despite
having only 20% of
population.
➢ Each person in a rich
country consumes nearly
as much oil in a day as
the poorest people in the
world consume in a year. http://www.vectorfree.com/oil-consumption-vectors

Experts predict that by 2035

emerging countries such as
China and India will consume
60% of commercial energy.
Coal
Fossilized plant material
preserved by burial in
sediments and compacted
and condensed by
geological forces into
Carboniferous period forest
carbon-rich fuel.

• Most laid down during

Carboniferous period (286
million to 360 million
years ago).
• Because coal took so
long to form, it is a
nonrenewable resource.
Coal Mining Is Dirty, Dangerous and
Destructive
Underground Mining

Between 1870 and 1950, more than 30,000 American coal

miners died of accidents and injuries in Pennsylvania alone.

Strip mining is cheaper and safer than underground mining.

• Often makes land unfit for other use.

• Acid drainage damages streams.

Coal-burning plants emit radioactivity from uranium and

thorium.
Coal mining: Mountain Top Removal

© Melissa Farlow/National Geographic/Getty Images

Oil
Petroleum is formed in a similar
way to by marine planktonic
organisms buried in sediment and
subjected to high pressure and
temperature.
• An “Oil pool” is usually
composed of individual droplets https://www.sirendivinglembongan.com/licence-to-krill-the-story-of-
or a thin film permeating spaces plankton/

in porous sandstone (like water

in a sponge).
• Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”)
can release oil and gas from
“tight” formations through which
passage of liquid and gas would
otherwise be obstructed.
Oil reserves
Like Other Fossil Fuels, Oil Has
Negative Impacts: Canadian Tar Sands

© Larry MacDougal/Canadian Press via AP Images

Oil Shales
Oil shale is sedimentary rock rich in kerogen.
Kerogen can be heated and extracted.

Large reservoirs of oil shales occur in western U.S.

Might yield several trillion gallons of oil

Mining is expensive, uses vast quantities of water

(which is a scarce resource in the west), contributes
to air and water pollution, and produces huge
quantities of waste.
Natural Gas 1

World’s third largest

commercial fuel
• 25% of global energy
consumption.
• Composed primarily of
methane (a powerful
Natural Gas Reserves
greenhouse gas).
• Produces half as much CO2
as equivalent amount of coal.
• Most rapidly growing energy
source.
Unconventional Gas Sources
Methane hydrate - Small individual
molecules of natural gas trapped in a
crystalline matrix of frozen water.

• Found in arctic and beneath ocean.

• Difficult to extract, store, and ship.

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Nuclear Power 1

In 1953, President Dwight

Eisenhower gave his famous
“Atoms for Peace” speech.

Nuclear-powered electrical
generators would provide power
“too cheap to meter.”

• Between 1970 and 1974, New York’s Indian Point

American utilities ordered 140 power plant located on
the Hudson River only 24
new reactors for power plants. miles north of Manhattan
• But construction costs were
high and there were safety
fears.
How Do Nuclear Reactors Work? 1

Most commonly used fuel is U235, a naturally occurring

radioactive isotope of uranium.
• Occurs naturally at 0.7% of uranium ore, but must be
enriched to 3%.

Formed in cylindrical pellets (1.5 cm long) and stacked in

hollow metal rods (4 m long)

About 100 rods are bundled together to make a fuel

assembly.
• Thousands of fuel assemblies, containing 100 tons of
uranium, are bundled in reactor core.
How Do Nuclear Reactors Work? 2

Reaction is moderated in a power plant by neutron-absorbing

cooling solution

In addition, control rods composed of neutron-absorbing

material are inserted into spaces between fuel assemblies to
control reaction rate.

• Water or other coolant is circulated between the fuel rods

to remove excess heat.
• Greatest danger is a cooling system failure resulting in a
meltdown and release of radiation.
Under normal operating conditions, a pressurized water
reactors (PWR) releases very little radioactivity.
Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor
There Are Various Kinds of Reactors 2

A simpler, but more

dangerous design, is a
boiling water reactor.

Water from core boils to

make steam, directly
driving turbine generators.

• Highly radioactive water

and steam leave
containment structure
and chances of accident
https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/bwrs.html
are high.
There Are Various Kinds of Reactors 3

Graphite moderated
reactors - operate
with a solid
moderator instead
of a liquid
• These are
common in
Britain, France
and former Soviet
countries. http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/sarkisian2/
We Lack Storage for Radioactive
Wastes 1

Production of 1,000
tons of uranium fuel
typically generates
100,000 tons of
tailings and 3.5 million
liters of liquid waste.
There are now https://theweek.com/articles/485781/radioactive-fuel-rods-silent-threat

approximately 200
million tons of A water filed tank in Virginia used
radioactive waste in to cool and store used up
radioactive fuel rods
piles around mines
and processing plants
in the U.S.
We Lack Storage for Radioactive
Wastes 2

U.S. Department of Energy

announced plans to build a
high-level waste repository
near Yucca Mountain Nevada
in 1987.
http://wilsonweb.physics.harvard.edu/publications/pp747/techa_cor.htm

• Radioactive waste would be

buried deep underground.
• Funding for the project was cut
off in 2009 after 20 years and
over $100 billion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak
Decommissioning Old Nuclear Plants

Most plants have only a 30 year operating life.

Reactors must be disassembled and the parts

removed by remote controlled robots.

The debris must be stored as nuclear waste for

thousands of years.

Decommissioning all the U.S. reactors currently

in use could cost between 200 billion and 1 trillion
dollars.
Changing Fortunes of Nuclear Power
Chernobyl
Public opinion has fluctuated over
the years.

• When Chernobyl exploded in

1985, less than 1/3 of Americans
favored nuclear power.
• In Japan, where nuclear reactors
provided about 1/3 of the country’s
electricity, there were plans to
expand nuclear energy to about https://www.google.com/search?q=chernobyl&source=lnms&tbm=i

half the nation’s power supply. sch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjX9s3V_KPvAhWGZs0KHYyOBOEQ_A

UoAnoECBIQBA&biw=1252&bih=558#imgrc=HESTAMa_0FSYrM

➢ That changed with the magnitude 9 earthquake and huge

tsunami that hit the northeast coast of Japan on March 11,
2011
Changing Fortunes
With oil and gas prices soaring, advocates are once
again promoting nuclear reactors.
Some prominent environmental conservationists
now promote nuclear as a clean power source that
doesn’t emit greenhouse gases.
• Over the past 50 years, the U.S. government has
provided $150 billion in nuclear subsidies, but less
than $5 billion to renewable energy research.
• Where might we be now if the ratio had been
reversed?
Sustainable Energy

© peart/E+/Getty Images
Outline (Chapter 20)

Solar Energy
• Passive versus
Active.
• High Temperature
Solar Energy.
• Photovoltaic Cells

Wind
Hydropower
Biomass
Geothermal Energy
Solar Energy 1

A Vast Resource
Average amount of solar energy
arriving on top of the atmosphere
is 1,330 watts per square meter.
• Amount reaching the earth’s
surface is 10,000 times more
than all commercial energy
used annually.
➢ Until recently, this energy
source has been too diffuse
and low intensity to
capitalize for electricity.
Average solar radiation
Solar Collectors Can Be Passive or
Active
Passive Solar Heat - using absorptive structures with no
moving parts to gather and hold heat
• Greenhouse Design.
Active Solar Heat – a system that pumps a heat-
absorbing medium through a collector, rather than
passively collecting heat in a stationary object
• Water heating consumes 15% of U.S. domestic
energy budget. A flat panel of m2 can provide hot
water for an average family
• China produces 80% of the solar water heaters in the
world.
Concentrating Solar Power Systems
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)
systems use parabolic mirrors that are
curved reflective surfaces to collect light
and focus it onto a concentrated point.
Two techniques:
• Long curved mirrors focused on a
central tube containing a heat-
absorbing fluid.
• Small mirrors arranged in concentric
rings around a tall central tower track
the sun and focus light on a heat
absorber on top of the tower where
molten salt is heated to drive a
steam-turbine electric generator.
Photovoltaic Cells 1

Capture solar energy

and convert it directly
to electrical current by
separating electrons
from parent atoms and
accelerating them
across a one-way
electrostatic barrier.

Today Photovoltaic
(PV) cells are
competitive with fossil
fuels in their cost.
Capacity and Efficiency
Conversion efficiency is how much of the energy
input is converted to useful work.
• A wind turbine converts 60%
• PV cells: 15 to 20%
• Coal: 34%
Wind
The Global Energy Council
calculates that wind could supply
40x the total current global
electrical supply if all the potential
was tapped.
Theoretically up to 60 percent https://www.greenbiz.com/article/just-energy-transition-action-
developing-1g-wind-power-tribes

efficient, modern windmills typically

produce about 35 percent of peak
capacity under field conditions.
When conditions are favorable,
electric prices typically run as low
as 3 cents / kWh (cheaper than
coal and nuclear).
Wind Resource

The U.S. resource map

Offshore Wind Is Growing

wangsong/123RF
Wind Power Pros and Cons
Pros:
• No fuel costs or emissions.
• Generates income for farmers who rent land for
turbines or sell electricity.
• Short planning and construction time.
Cons:
• Intermittent source.
• Not enough wind everywhere.
• Bird mortality (lower than fossil fuel pollution).
• Power lines needed to transmit the electricity.
Wind Power as Rural Income

Dave G Kelly/Getty Images

Hydropower
In 1925, falling water generated 40% of world’s
electric power.
Hydroelectric production capacity has grown 15-fold
but fossil fuel use has risen so rapidly that
hydroelectric only supplies 20% of electrical
generation.
Norway uses hydropower for 99% of its electricity
supply.
Untapped resources are abundant for hydropower in
Latin and Central America, Africa, India and China
Hydropower Dams Produce Clean
Energy

© menabrea/Getty Images RF
Tidal and Wave Energy
Ocean tides and waves contain
enormous amounts of energy
that can be harnessed.
Tidal Station - tide flows
through turbines, creating
electricity.
• Requires a high tide/low-tide
differential of several meters. http://www2.eng.ox.ac.uk/tidal

Wave energy could meet local needs in coastal areas of

Scotland, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the US
(Hawaii).
Biomass
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/586312445220347174/

Plants capture
about 0.1% of all
solar energy that
reaches the
earth’s surface.
• About half of this
energy is used in
metabolism and
the rest is stored
in biomass.

https://sciencing.com/importance-plant-cells-5686115.html
We Can Burn Biomass
• As recently as 1850, wood supplied 90% of the
fuel used in the United States.
• In poor countries it is still a major source of energy
and its use can result in habitat destruction.
• Even in rich countries wood burning stoves are
becoming popular in response to rising oil prices.
• The Danish islands of Samsø and Ærø get about
½ of their heating from agricultural wastes and
biomass crops.
• Some utilities are installing flex-fuel boilers that
burn a mixture of coal and biomass.
Methane From Biomass Is Clean &
Efficient
Methane is the main component of natural gas.
Produced by anaerobic decomposition.
• Burning methane produced from manure provides more
heat than burning dung itself, and left-over sludge from
bacterial digestion is a nutrient-rich fertilizer.
➢ Methane is clean, efficient fuel.
o Municipal landfills contribute as much as 20% of
annual output of methane to the atmosphere.
✓ This could be burned for electricity.
Methane From Biomass

https://chemicalengineering185.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/converting-cow-manure-to-energy-2/#jp-carousel-32
Ethanol & Biofuels Can Enhance Fuel
Supplies

• Currently ⅕ of all corn grown in the U.S. is used for

ethanol production.

• Crops with high oil content like soybeans, rape seed,

sunflower and palm oil can be used to produce biodiesel
fuel.
• Some countries in Southeast Asia are creating palm oil
plantations for biodiesel production, BUT forests are
burned and habitats of endangered animals are destroyed
in the process.
Could Algae Be A Hope For The
Future?
• Algae might be an even
more better biofuel crop.
• They could be grown next
to conventional power
plants where carbon
dioxide from burning fossil
fuels could be captured and
used for algae growth.
• Some algae also produce
hydrogen gas which could
be used in fuel cells.
Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal Energy - tap energy from hot springs,
geysers.
• Few places have geothermal steam, but can use
Earth’s warmth everywhere by pumping water
through buried pipes using heat pumps.
• Deep wells for community geothermal systems are
being developed.
• Heat from Earth’s crust is never exhausted.
• Can reduce heating costs by one-half.
Geothermal Energy 2
Meet Energy Needs with a
Combination
A Renewable Energy Scenario for World
Energy Consumption 2050