Energy Resources

• Energy is one of the most important building blocks for human life on Earth and the economic development of a country
• The demand for energy resources is increasing day by day in the development of industries, transportation, and agricultural activities
• Fuels (matter that stores energy) are used in the modern world that can produce heat, power life, move objects, generate electrical energy, or for other forms of energy conversion processes
• Renewable energy resources


  Also known as non-conventional energy resources which can be regenerated continuously
• Renewable energy


  • Can be used again and again in an endless manner because these resources are available in large amounts
• Solar energy


  Radiant energy emitted by the Sun
• How solar energy is captured and converted into electricity

  1. Using solar panels

  2. Created by nuclear fusion in the Sun's core
• Two main ways to harvest solar energy

  • Photovoltaics
  • Concentrated solar energy
• Photovoltaics


  Generate electricity directly from sunlight via an electronic process and can be used to power anything from small electronics
• Concentrated solar energy


  Uses lenses and mirrors to focus (concentrate) sunlight from a large area into a much smaller one; this intense area of radiation heats a fluid, which in turn generates electricity or fuels another process
• Hydroelectric energy


  The energy of moving water can be harnessed using dams and turbines to generate electricity
• Hydroelectric energy is currently the largest source of renewable energy
• Three types of hydroelectric energy plants

  • Impoundment facility
  • Diversion facility
  • Pumped-storage facility
• Impoundment facility


  Dams store water (reservoir) and release it on demand; gravity spins a turbine with flowing water, generating energy
• Diversion facility

  Uses a series of canals to channel flowing river water toward the generator-powering turbines
• Pumped-storage facility

  Acts like a battery, storing excess renewable energy by pumping water uphill and generating electricity when needed by releasing the water back down
• Geothermal energy


  Heat from the Earth's core can be used to generate electricity or directly heat buildings
• Two ways of harvesting geothermal energy

  • Heating and cooling
  • Electricity
• Low-temperature geothermal energy


  Obtained from pockets of heat about 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit), most pockets are found just a few meters below ground
• Co-produced geothermal energy


  Uses heat obtained from the steam and hot water produced as a byproduct of petroleum and natural gas wells
• Flash steam power plant


  Takes high-pressure hot water (around 180 degrees Celsius) from deep inside the Earth and convert it to steam to drive generator turbines
• Dry steam power plant

  Underground steam is used to rotate turbine which derive generator to produce electricity
• Wind energy


  Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of moving air into electricity
• How wind energy is generated

  1. The wind blows the blades of the turbine, which are attached to a rotor

  2. The rotor then spins a generator to create electricity
• Biomass energy


  Organic matter like wood chips, agricultural waste, or even landfill gas can be burned to produce electricity or heat
• Ways biomass energy can be converted

  • Thermal conversion
  • Biomass power generation
  • Biofuel
  • Gasification
• Thermal conversion


  Burning the biomass to produce heat, which can be used for space heating, hot water heating, or industrial process heat
• Biomass power generation

  Biomass is burned in a boiler to produce steam, which is then used to drive a turbine to generate electricity
• Biofuel


  Biomass can be converted into liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel
• Gasification


  A biomass feedstock is heated more then 700 degrees Celsius (1,300 degrees Fahrenheit) with a controlled amount of oxygen, the molecules break down, and produce syngas and slag
• Non-renewable energy resources


  Also known as conventional (traditional) energy resources, cannot be replenished when these sources are exhausted because these resources are present in limited amounts and take a long period of time to resynthesize
• Fossil fuels

  Made from decomposing plants and animals, found in Earth's crust and contain carbon and hydrogen which can be burned for energy
• Coal


  A material usually found in sedimentary rock deposits where rock and dead plant and animal matter are piled up in layers
• Oil


  Originally found as a solid material between layers of sedimentary rock, like shale, liquid mixture of hydrocarbons formed from the decomposed remains of marine organisms, heated to produce thick oil that can be used to make gasoline
• Natural gas


  Gas mixture of hydrocarbons formed from the decomposed remains of marine organisms, can also be found in sedimentary rocks layers that don't contain oil, primarily made up of methane
• Nuclear energy


  Energy in the nucleus, or core, of an atom, produced by the nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction which starts with the decay of radioactive elements like uranium, thorium, radium, etc.
• Uranium is the fuel most widely used to produce nuclear energy since uranium atoms split apart relatively easily, the specific type of uranium (U-235) used is rare
• Nuclear fission

  Heavy atomic nucleus is bombarded with a neutron, causing it to split into two smaller nuclei, releasing neutrons and a significant amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation, this chain reaction powers nuclear reactors
• Nuclear fusion

  Lighter atomic nuclei, typically isotopes of hydrogen, are forced together under extreme temperatures and pressure, if they overcome the electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged protons, they fuse into a heavier nucleus, releasing neutrons and a tremendous amount of energy