Module 1 Introduction to Energy Science

➢The word energy is derived from Greek word en-egon which means “ in work” .
Therefore, energy may be defined as the ability of do work.
➢As we all know “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed”; it can only be
converted from one form to another.
➢ Energy is an important input for the overall development and is, therefore, vital
for improvement in quality of life. Its use in sectors such as industries, commerce,
transport and telecommunications and wide range of agriculture and house hold
activities.
ENERGY RESOURCE

NON- RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES
FOSSIL
▪ SOLAR ENERGY NON-FOSSIL
▪ WIND ENERGY
▪ TIDAL ENERGY ▪ COAL ▪ NUCLEAR ENERGY
▪ HYDRO ENERGY ▪ PETROLEUM
▪ BIOMASS ENERGY ▪ NATURAL GAS
▪ GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
 RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES
Renewable energy resources are those natural sources that can be replenished
with the passage of time through natural processes. These are environmental
friendly. These are also known as inexhaustible source of energy. These are
available in unlimited amount in nature and are fairly non-polluting and
considered as clean.
SOLAR ENERGY
➢ It is primary source of energy which directly obtained from sun by capturing the solar
radiation and converting it into another form of energy to perform various useful
activities.
➢ For receiving the solar radiation, it is necessary for the collectors to be able to track
the sun to ensure a maximum and continuous reception.
➢ There are two ways of solar energy utilization
1. Conversion of solar energy into thermal energy.
2. Photovoltaic cells
ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY
▪ It is clean, noise free and renewable energy source which cause no pollution.
▪ Low maintenance to keep solar cell running
▪ In long term, there can be a high return on investment due to the amount of free
energy a solar panel can produce.
DISADVANTAGES OF SOLAR ENERGY
▪ Electricity generation depends entirely on the exposure to sunlight; this could be
limited by climate.
▪ Solar power stations do not match the power output of similar sized conventional
power stations; they can also be very expensive to build.
▪ The solar power batteries can often be large and heavy, taking up space and need to
replace time to time.
APPLICATION OF SOLAR ENERGY
1. Photovoltaic cell
2. Solar Cooker
3. Solar Water Heater
4. Solar Power Generation
1. SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM
▪ It consists of cells which convert solar energy directly into electrical energy. These
Photovoltaic (PV) cells are made up of at least two semiconductor layers one positively
charged and other negatively charged.
▪ As a PV cell is exposed to sunlight , photons are absorbed by the cell. When enough
photons are absorbed by the negative layer of the PV cell, electrons are freed from the
negatively charged semiconductor material. These freed electrons migrate to the positively
layer creating a voltage difference. When these two layers are connected to an external
load, the electricity produced.
▪The direct current gets converted to alternate current with the use of inverter
▪ The major uses of PV system have been in space satellites, remote radio-
communication booster stations and marine warning lights. Besides, these
are also used in water pumping, medical refrigeration and for lighting in
remote areas.
▪ The use of PV system, has grown worldwide at an annual rate of about
25% during the past decade , touching nearly 45% in . Through solar PV
system , Power generation of 20 MW/Km²
2. SOLAR COOKER
Solar cooker s are passive solar devices which converte solar energy to heat energy It
utilize the simple principle of reflection, concentration, absorbtion and green house effect.
The steps involved in its working are:
▪ It consists of insulated box with a glass or plastic window.
▪The window acts as a solar energy trap by expoliating the green house effect
▪ Solar radiation passes through window and is absorbed by the walls, the bottom of the
cooker and cooking utnesils.
▪To maximise the heating effect , the walls and outer side of the pots are painted black.
3. SOLAR WATER HEATER
A solar water heater is a device which provides hot water for bathing, washing, cleaning
etc. by using solar energy . The steps involved in its working are:
▪ A solar water heater unit mainly comprises of a Solar collector ( to collect solar energy)
and an insulated tank (to store water.)
▪ A typical collector consists of a blackened metal plate absorber containing metal tubes/
pipes for water to remove the heat and is usually provided with a glass cover and layer of
insulation beneath the plate.
▪ The collector tubing/ piping is connected to a hot storage tank.
▪The collector absorbs solar radiations and transfer the heat to the tank.
▪The collector absorbs solar radiation and transfer the heat to the circulating water (either
by gravity or pump).
▪ This system of water heating is commonly used in hostels, hospitals, hotels etc…
WIND ENERGY
➢Wind Energy, that is moving air, possesses some kinetic energy due to its high speed. Wind
is a result of the solar energy, as heating of land results in movement of air.
➢ It is one of the clean, renewable energy sources that hold out the promise of meeting a
significant portion of energy demand in the direct, grid connected modes as well as remote
application like water, pumping, desalination, telecommunication etc…
➢The wind resource is more intermittent and is strongly influenced by Geographical factors.
Wind Energy Conservation System (WECS)
▪ A WECS is a machine which generates mechanical energy powered by wind energy that
can be directly converted into electrical energy.
▪ The major components of a typical WECS include a wind turbine, a generator,
interconnected apparatus and control system.
▪ The wind turns large turbine blades which spins a generator shaft and produces electricity.
This electricity then charge batteries which can be connected to a building’s main power or
to the power grid.
ADVANTAGES OF WIND ENERGY
▪ Wind Energy is a non polluting and environment friendly source of energy available free of
cost.
▪Power generation is cheaper as there is no shortage of input and recurring expenses are
almost nil.
▪It can be made available easily in many offshore, on shore and remote areas. Thus, helpful
in providing electricity to remote and rural areas.
▪ Land around wind turbines can be used for other uses, e.g. Farming.
DISADVANTAGES OF WIND ENERGY
▪ Wind energy requires expensive storage during peak production time. And also
maintains cost is high
▪ It is unreliable energy source as winds are uncertain and unpredictable.
▪ Requires large open areas for setting up wind farms.
▪ Noise pollution problem is usually associated with wind mills.
▪ Wind energy can be harnessed only in those areas where wind is strong enough and
weather is windy for most parts of the year.
▪ Usually places, where wind power set-up is situated, are away from the places where
demand of electricity is there. Transmission from such places increases cost of electricity.
▪ The average efficiency of wind turbine is very less as compared to fossil fuel power
plants. We might require many wind turbines to produce similar impact.
TIDAL ENERGY
➢ Energy can be extracted from the tides which are formed due to the gravitational
effect of the Sun and Moon on the earth . This gravitational force causes a periodic rise
and fall of the water level of sea which can be used to produce electric power.
➢ It is an indirect form of Solar Energy.
➢ During the high tides, the height of the tide is above that of tidal basin and the turbine
unit operates and generates power. During low tides, the height of tide is lower than that
of the tidal basin and water is allowed to flow out to drive or propel the turbine.
ADVANTAGE OF TIDAL ENERGY
▪ Tidal energy is a pollution free source of energy.
▪ Tidal power plants do not require large areas of valuable land.
▪ It is available all round the year
DISADVANTAGE OF TIDAL ENERGY
▪ Tidal power schemes require low-head turbines, which are larger and more expensive
then high head turbines of similar power production.
▪ Since the tidal range are highly variable , therefore the turbines have to work on a wide
range of head variation.
▪Tidal power plants hamper other natural uses of estuaries such as fishing, migration of
marine organism or navigation
▪ Low power production and complex design system
HYDRO ENERGY
➢Hydro Energy or Hydraulic Energy is the energy of moving water which is obtained
when the gravitational descent of a river is compressed from a long run to a single
location with a DAM.
➢ It is not only a clean and non polluting source of energy, but also one of the most
important sources of energy next only to thermal energy.
➢ The Potential energy of the water stored in the dam gets converted into the Kinetic
energy of the moving water in the penstock. And this kinetic energy of falling water
gets converted into mechanical energy which is coupled with generator that converts
this Mechanical to Electrical Energy.
ADVANTAGES OF HYDRO ENERGY
▪ Hydro energy is a renewable resource in which electricity can be generated
constantly as long sufficient water is available.
▪ Hydroelectric power plant produces no primary waste for pollution.
▪ It has low operating and maintenance cost.
DISADVANTAGES OF HYDRO ENERGY
▪It can only be installed in area where there is sufficient supply of water.
▪ It can induce flooding and submerges large forests.
▪ Takes long time in construction of Dam.
BIOMASS
➢Biomass energy refers to the direct burning of wood, waste paper, manure, agriculture
or converting them into fuel by certain micro organisms when they digest them in the
absence of air. They produce either alcohol or methane gas, which themselves give
energy on combustion.
➢ Electricity can be produced from the biomass in a bioplants.
➢ The most common bioplant is a “biogas plant” wherein combustible gas is produced
by the action of anaerobic bacteria on the organic matter, which can be used to run a
turbine and hence the generator to produce electricity.
➢ Biogas plant consists of two main compartments, a Digester and a gasholder and two
containers on the ground.
➢ The anaerobic digestion or fermentation takes place in a digester.
➢ The slurry mixture of dung and water , is kept in the mixing chamber and connected to
the inlet pipes that goes inside the digester in which slurry undergoes digestion.
➢ The anaerobic digestion produces the biogas and organic fertilizers that are rich in
nutrients.
➢ The other part consists of the out let pipe from where the organic fertilizer is
automatically discharged to the ground.
ADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS ENERGY
▪ The biomass power plants ensure a continuous supply of energy due to their continuous
growth.
▪The energy produced by biomass can be easily stored.
▪These units can be established easily in rural area.
▪ It helps in reducing waste
DISADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS ENERGY
▪ It is low in efficiency.
▪ Relatively large land area is required, hence this method cannot be used where land
cost is high.
▪It is not pollution free. The emission of CO₂, which leads to global warming.
▪ It faces problem of containment and storage.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
➢ The term geothermal energy is derived from two greek word geo which means earth and
thermal which means heat.
➢ Geothermal energy is naturally occurring thermal energy found within rock formation
and the fluid held in those formations.
➢ The temperature at the centre of the earth where the molten rock or magma is found is
nearly 6000⁰C
➢The source of this heat energy are magnetic or radioactive decay processes occur within
the surface of the Earth.
➢ In Geothermal power plant, water to be seeping into the underground over time gains
heat energy from the geothermal reservoirs. This water is heated and then sent through a
steam turbine where the thermal energy (heat) is converted into electricity through a
generator . The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and sending back to the heat
source.
➢ The injection wells ensure that the water that is drawn up is to be returned to the
geothermal reservoir where it regains the thermal energy and this cycle continues
ADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
▪ It is the most versatile and least polluting renewable energy source.
▪It delivers greater amount of net energy than other conventional and non conventional
energy sources.
▪It is relatively inexpensive.
▪ The power generation levels higher for direct uses such as space heating , geothermal heat
pumps, hot water bath stores, aquaculture, greenhouses, industrial processes and enhanced
oil recovery system.
.DISADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
▪ The withdrawal of large amounts of heat may result in surface subsidence.
▪ Drilling operation may be noisy.
▪ Large areas are needed for extraction of geothermal energy.
▪ The steam and hot water gushing out of the earth may contain H₂S, CO₂, NH₃ and radon
gas etc. If these gases are vented out, the air pollution will be real hazard.
 NONRENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES
Non-renewable source of energy is defined as the natural source of energy that can neither
be produced at all nor can be replenished. Their formation is a natural phenomenon that
takes hundreds of years. Therefore, the formation of non renewable source of energy is a
very slow process as compared to its rate of consumption, which makes it Exhaustible.
FOSSIL FUELS
Fossil fuels are primary source of energy. These fuels are formed from the organic remains
of plants and animals that died several years ago. The dead plants and animals were then
buried under sediments and underwent the process of decomposition. The
decomposition in the absence of oxygen and under high heat and pressure converted the
dead matter into hydrocarbons in either of the forms soli, liquid or gases (e.g. Coal,
Petroleum, Natural gas).
➢ COAL
▪ It is a solid fossil fuel formed in several stages as buried remains of plants, trees and
ferns and subjected to intense heat and pressure over many million of years. It is
extracted from underground mines.
▪ It is mainly composed of carbon (98%). It also contains hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
sulphur and other elements in small quantity. It has low calorific value and high
transportation cost. Further it is highly pollutant and when burnt produces CO₂ and CO.
➢ PETROLEUM
▪ It is formed by the decomposition of dead plants and animals buried under ocean or river
sediments or under porous rock. Due to pressure, heat and action of bacteria underneath
the water body, crude oil is formed, which is extracted by drilling and pumping processes.
▪ Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons having different boiling points and is of little use
in this form. Therefore, crude oil is refined and processed to form different types of useful
products such as wax, petrochemicals etc..
▪ The process of separation of crude oil into different hydrocarbons is called “Fractional
Distillation”. Further the products are chemically treated to form more useful fuel such as
Petrol, Diesel, Fuel and Oil etc..

➢NATURAL GAS
▪ It is formed same way as oil by the decomposition of dead plants and animals buried
under the ocean and river sediments, but much deep under the water.
▪ It is found near the coal beds as methane clathrates, which are produced by organisms
present in marshy area and Landfills.
▪ The prime constituent of natural gas is Methane (88.5%), Ethane (5.5%), Propane
(3.7%), Butane (1.8%) and Pentane (0.5%).
▪ It is useful as a fuel only when all constituent except methane are removed.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
➢ The energy released buy a nuclear reaction especially by fission or fusion is known as
nuclear energy. It has the ability to produce electricity without green house emission.
➢ Nuclear energy is cleaner than many other forms of energy production. Essentially,
nuclear power would be “ carbon zero” if the Uranium is mined and transported in a more
efficient way.
➢ Nuclear reactors make use of uranium as fuel and produces huge amounts of energy
from small amount of it. Moreover, other radioactive fules like Thorium are also available
for power generation.
ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
▪ Less amount of fuel offers more energy.
▪ The cost of nuclear fuel is 20% of the cost of energy generated.
▪ The production of electric energy is continuous.
▪ Non-polluting type of energy sources.
DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
▪ Safety is major concern.
▪ Difficulty in the management of nuclear waste. It takes many years to eliminate its
radioactivity and risk.
▪ Nuclear Plants have a limited life.
▪ The investment for the construction of a nuclear plant is very high..
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NUCLEAR FISSION AND NUCLEAR FUSION

1. It is the process of breaking a It is the process of fusing two or

heavy nucleus into two or more more light nuclei into a single nucleus
light fragments with the liberation with the liberation of a large amount
of a large amount of energy. of energy.
2. This process results in the emission This process does not emit any kind
of radioactive rays like α, β, γ of radioactive rays. The end product
radioactive rays. of this process in Helium which is
harmless.
3. This process takes place at This process takes place at very high
ordinary temperature. temperature.
4. This process gives rise to chain This process does not give rise to
reaction chain reaction
5. In, this process, neutrons are In this process positrons are emitted
emitted.