GROUP-1

Fossil fuels are used to produce energy; in the home they are burned to produce heat, in large power stations
they are used to produce electricity and they are also used to power engines. The bonds between the
Hydrogen and Carbon atoms store energy, by burning the compounds in the presence of Oxygen the bonds
are broken and the stored energy is converted to heat energy, forming Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) in the process.
Fossil fuels are non-renewable, this means that their supply is limited and they will eventually run out. Fossil
fuels formed from the decomposition of plants and animals from millions of years ago this is why they are
called fossil fuels. Example of this is coal, Hundreds of millions of years ago, even before the dinosaurs, there
were huge plants and ferns that lived in swamp forests. When these plants and ferns died they decayed and
formed layers at the bottom of the swamps. Water and soil built up on top of these layers and over thousands
of years pressure and high temperatures would cause the decayed plants and ferns to undergo chemical and
physical changes which pushed out the oxygen from the decaying layers. As the plants and ferns continued to
decay in the absence of oxygen they formed coal.

HOW DO WE USE FOSSIL FUELS?

The energy conversion goes from chemical energy stored in the fuels, to heat energy as it burns which is
converted to kinetic energy as it drives large turbines and finally this is converted to electrical energy. The
problem with burning fossil fuels is their effect on the environment. As mentioned, fossil fuels
are Hydrocarbons. When hydrocarbons are burned in the presence of oxygen they release carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a Greenhouse Gas and is a leading cause of Global Warming.

BIOGAS- It's harnessed when organic matter, such as food or animal waste, is broken down by
microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, in a process called anaerobic digestion. Biogas can simply be
burned through the combustion process to produce heat only. Biogas impurities can cause different public
health concerns (like pulmonary paralysis, asthma, respiratory diseases and deaths) and environmental
impacts (such as global warming, climate change and their indirect impacts like drought, flooding, malnutrition
and other disasters). On the other hand, Biogas can reduce farm cost for animal bedding and fertilizer and
generate new revenue streams.

GEOTHERMAL- captures the heat beneath our feet by harnessing hot water or steam from the earth to power
electricity-generating turbines. Its production requires no fossil fuels, and the water can be injected back into
the ground for reuse. It is a stable energy, as it doesn’t depend on wind or sun fluctuations. Geothermal
installations have a low visual impact and don't generate emissions. In addition, they take up a small amount of
land and are compatible with other uses. The largest single disadvantage of geothermal energy is that it is
location specific. Geothermal plants need to be built in places where the energy is accessible, which means
that some areas are not able to exploit this resource.

When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel. This
energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing
electricity to flow.
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HYDROTHERMAL- Hot water from hydrothermal vents is collected into a heat exchanger. The heat from the
water is transferred to another fluid (e.g. isobutane) which evaporates and drives the turbines to generate
electricity. Hydrothermal Energy refers to the electricity or heat energy produced from hydrothermal heat.
Hydrothermal synthesis offers many advantages such as one-step synthetic procedure, environmental
friendliness, and good dispersion in solution.

BATTERIES- To accept and release energy, a battery is coupled to an external circuit. Electrons move through
the circuit, while simultaneously ions (atoms or molecules with an electric charge) move through the
electrolyte. In a rechargeable battery, electrons and ions can move either direction through the circuit and
electrolyte. The main advantages of a battery is it's portability and you have power to use without needing a
connection to reticulated power so no wires. Disadvantages are limited life and the need to either replace,
recharge or both which has ongoing costs associated.
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SOLAR CELLS- When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells
in the panel. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the
cell, causing electricity to flow. Solar energy is a renewable energy source, meaning you don't ever use it
up. Solar energy is clean. It creates no carbon emissions or other heat-trapping “greenhouse” gases. It avoids
the environmental damage associated with mining or drilling for fossil fuels. The disadvantage of this is initial
costs for material and installation and long ROI (however, with the reduction in the cost of solar over the last 10
years, solar is becoming more cost feasible every day) Needs lots of space as efficiency is not 100% yet. No
solar power at night so there is a need for a large battery bank.

BIOMASS- Biopower technologies convert renewable biomass fuels into heat and electricity using processes
similar to those used with fossil fuels. There are three ways to release the energy stored in biomass to produce
biopower: burning, bacterial decay, and conversion to gas/liquid fuel. Direct combustion is the most common
method for converting biomass to useful energy. All biomass can be burned directly for heating buildings and
water, for providing industrial process heat, and for generating electricity in steam turbines, thermochemical
conversion of biomass includes pyrolysis and gasification. The advantage of this
is: renewable, reliable, abundant, waste reduction, and carbon-neutral. On the other hand, burning biomass
creates air pollution that causes a sweeping array of health harms, from asthma attacks to cancer to heart
attacks, resulting in emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths.”