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Energy and its transformation(ง°ل͜°)ง (Energy sources (The energy can be…
Energy and its transformation
(ง°ل͜°)ง
Energy sources
The energy can be consumed in different uses:
HouseHold uses:
The operating of electncal appliances, heating systems, hot water systems, heat for cooking and for means of transport, for example.
Industrial uses:
The operating of factones and companies, construction, agriculture and so on.
Are natural resources from which we obtain different forms
of energy that can be transformed for a specific use
Electricity
Is the most widely used form of energy in industrialised societies for two reasons:
It can be easily transformed into other forms of energy, such as
light and heat.
It can be transported long distances inexpensively and with very
little energy being lost.
Electric Power Plants
Electric power plants are facilities where primary or secondary energy
is transformed into electricity, Once electricity is generated, it must be transported to towns, cities or industrial parks.
Electrical power plants use an external source of energy to produce
electricity. To do this, they rely on a turbine-alternator system.
The turbine converts mechanical energy into the rotating movement
of a shaft.
An alternator has a fixed part, called a stator, and a moving part,
called a rotor, connected to the turbine shaft
Conventional electric power plants
Nuclear power plants:
Tis type of plant includes a nuclear fission reactor that produces the
pressurised steam needed to move the turbine rotor
Fossil fuel thermal power plants
At this type of power plant, water is heated in a boiler by the heat generated from the combustion of a fossil fuel, usually natural gas or coal. The steam that's generated moves the turbine connected to the generator.
Combined cycle power plant
Efectricty ts generated as a result of two combined cycles, a cycle that uses air and gas, and a conventional thermal cycle During the first cycle, a gas turbine is used that includes a compressor.
Air is mixed with the gas and is burnt, which generates electricity in the turbine-alternator system. The combustion gases are transported
to a boiler, where they transfer their energy to the water during the second cycle.
Hydroelectric power plants
This type of power plant uses the potential energy provided by the height of the stored water in a dam, converting it mto kinetic energy. This energy moves the blades of the turbine.
Depending on the destination of the water, hydraulic power plants are divided into two types, gravity or pump
Gravity-driven hydraulic power plants
:
Water used follows the course of a river and will not be reused
Pump-dniven hydraulic power plants
:
Water descends into a reservoir located at a lower height, then pumped to a higher reservoir to reuse it.
Non-conventional electric power plant
The environmental problems caused by conventional power plants have led to the creation and development of non-conventional or alternative energy power plants.
The main disadvantage of these power plants is that they generate
much less energy, since they use diffuse energy sources.
The ir advantages are that they contaminate much less than conventional power plants, they use renewable sources and they reduce the energy dependence of petroleum and natural gas.
Wind power plants and wind farms
These power plants use the kinetic energy of the wind to move the blades of a rotor at the top of a tower, this is referred to as the wind turbine. Wind farms are a clean form of generating electricity However, they
can only be installed in places with appropriate wind conditions.
Solar power plants
These plants use the energy from the sun. There are two main types of installations:
Photovoltaic power plants.
In these power plants, solar radiation is transformed directly into electricity by panels of photovoltaic cells.
These power plants consist of large areas of photovoltaic panels. There are also isolated power plants that are very small in size, which are used to supply electricity to homes in rural areas.
Photo-thermal power plant
In this type of power plant, the heat generated by solar radiation produces steam that is used to move the rotor in generator.
To do this, they use special mirrors, called heliostats, that reflect sunlight and concentrate it at one point, where it reaches a high temperature.
Environmental impact
The building and operating of an electrical power plant results in an ecological change in region. This is due to both to construction of necessary infrastructure and the waste that this activity generates.
Geothermal power plants
These plants use the heat found at deep levels in the earth. This may reach the surface in the form of steam, gases or hot water.
Geothermal energy may be used directly — for hot water and heating, Industrial use and so on-and indirectly-the heat generates steam, wich produces energy.
Biomass thermal power plants
Biomass consists of all organic compounds that are produced through natural processes. They may come from following sources.
Specific crops, such as sunflowers and cougar beet.
Biomass is subjected to different physical and chemical processes in order to produce fuel such as charcoal, alcohol or biogas.
kyraste from agri-food industries
Forestry and agricultural waste
Ocean power plants
These power plants use the energy from the seas and the oceans. The concept is to use three types of energy from the sea.
The mechanical energy from the tides:
The mechanical energy from the waves.
The energy from the ocean's thermal gradient.
Environmental impact assessment
As part of a technicaj proiect, it's mandatory to carry out an environmental impact assessment to find out what changes it would
provoke in the environment.
An environmental study must also assess both the economic and social consequences of the project in the area, to decide whether or not to go ahead with the plan.
The main characteostii.s of each type of power plant and the impact
they have on the environment are shown below:
Hydroelectric.
Solar.
Fosil fuel thermal power plants.
Wind power.
Biomass.
Nuclear.
Ocean power.
Environmental impacts*
Energy consumption is preceded by a long process, consisting of several stages, each of which has an environmental cost.
Electricity generation
Large hydroelectric power plants require water reservoirs covering large areas, which protoundly change the natural cycle of rivers, flood large land areas and destroy ecosystems, in addition to
mcreasing the nsk of accidents.
C onventional thermal power plants can cause numerous problems
and environmental hazards.
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They produce air pollution — suspended particles, CO2, heavy
metal molecules and so on.
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They emit large amounts of COa which increases rhe greenhouse
effect.
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Extraction of natural resource
The explotation of fossil fuels and nuclear power means the depletion of resources, wich makes it necessary to find new ones.
Fuel extraction processes are sometimes harmful to the environment. In particular, timber extraction has led to the disappearance of large areas of forest, a process that is continuing even today.
Fuel transport
Oil is transported by means of oil pipelines and oil tankers.
Oil pipehnes can suffer accidents caused by nature or human error,
which result in uncontrolled spills.
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Final energy use
Thc fuels we use in vehicles and heating systems emit gases and
part«.les similar to those generated by convenuonal thermal power plants.
When we turn on an electric appliance, we' re consumrng energy that has already caused several environmental problems dunng its extraction, generation and transportation.
Waste Treatment
To reduce the waste generated by thermal power plants, as well astheir effects, several measures can be taken.
Install special filters on the pipes at the power plant to capture some of the gas pollutants.
Use coal with a low sulphur content, to reduce acid rain.
Ma intain and increase the size of large forested areas, since they absorb carbon dioxide.
Waste from nuclear power plants is stored in drums with thick
that do not let the nuclear radiation escape. These are then stored in ocean trenches and underground.
The use of ocean trenches has its own problems, because there's the nsk
of the drums c.urroding and the radioactive matenal leaking out of them.
Some solutions
Below is a summary of different possible solutions to alleviate some of
the environmental problems described.