CH3150 Renewable Energy Sources

Conventional Energy Technologies

Lecture 4

Prof. Raghuram Chetty

Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Renewable/ Sustainable/ Alternative
 Meeting the needs of the present generation without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.

 It contributes little to manmade climate change

 It is capable of providing power for many generation
without significant reduction in the size of the resource
 It dose not leave burden to future generations

 Solar
 Wind
 Wave
 Tidal
 Small-scale hydropower
 Biomass
 Geothermal
Unsustainable Energy

 Fossil fuels
 coal, oil, gas

 Non-conventional hydrocarbons
 oil shale - fine dark coloured rock rich in bituminous
material (called kerogen). The kerogen in oil shale can be
converted to oil through pyrolysis.
 tar sand/oil sand- is a type of bitumen deposit, naturally
occurring mixtures of sand/clay, water and an extremely
dense and viscous form of petroleum.

 Large-scale hydropower
 involve construction of large dams and the flooding of
valleys have a substantial environmental and social
consequences.

 Nuclear reactors
Comparison of Renewable & Non-renewable Energy

Renewable Non Renewable

These are natural process that

Can be replaced by natural
either cannot be replaced or
process in a short amount of
may take millions of years to
time
replace by natural process

Can be reused or recycled

Cannot be reused or recycled
and used multiple times

No harm done to the Huge harm done to the

environment because of its environment because of the
use harmful emissions

e.g. solar, wind, hydro,

e.g. coal, petrol, natural gas.
biomass, geothermal
Renewable & Non-renewable Energy
World Electricity Production by Source
Formation of Fossil fuels

Decayed remains of ancient plants

and/or animals were buried by
sediments. Through the action of
heat and pressure over millions of
centuries, they were chemically
changed.

Coal was formed from

the remains of ferns,
trees, and grasses that
grew in great swamps
350 million years ago.
Formation of Fossil fuels
Coal
 Coal is a readily combustible sedimentary rock
normally occurring in coal beds

 have formed by biological peatification (partially decayed

vegetation), which might have taken 10 to 15 thousand
years.

12C6H10O5 → C62H72O54 + 20H2O + 8CO2 + 2CH4

Name Carbon (%) Hydrogen Calorific value

(%) (MJ/kg)

Anthracite 95-98 2.9-3.3 > 32.5

Bituminous 82-92 4.2-5.6 26.7 - 32.5
Sub-bituminous 78-82 5.2-5.6 19.3 - 26.7
Lignites 73-78 5.2-5.6 < 19.3
Coal
World Coal Reserves

Country Share %

USA 27.1
Russia 17.3
China 12.6
India 10.2
Australia 8.6
South Africa 5.4
Ukraine 3.8
Kazakhstan 3.4
Poland 1.5
Brazil 1.1

Top ten world coal reserves at the end of 2006

Installed Power Generation Capacity In India
Schematic of Coal-fired Plant
Thermal Power Plants in India
Vindhyachal Thermal Power
Station, Singrauli, Madhya
Pradesh (4,760 MW)

Mundra Thermal Power

Station, Kutch, Gujarat
(4,620 MW)

Mundra Ultra Mega Power

Plant, Kutch, Gujarat (4,000
MW)

Sasan Ultra Mega Power

Plant, Singrauli , Madhya
Pradesh (3,960 MW)

Tiroda Thermal Power Plant,

Maharashtra (3,300 MW).
Combustion of Coal

 Coal burn as

 C +O2 → CO2
 H2 + ½ O2 → H2O
 S + O2 → SO2
 N (from fuel & atmosphere) O2 → NOx

 For anthracite this leads to a production of 98

kg of CO2/ GJ of energy.
Coal to Liquid Fuel
 Two basic approaches to convert coal to a
liquid fuel

 Direct Liquefaction:
 Dissolves coal in a solvent at elevated
temperature and pressure
 Combined with hydrogen gas and a catalyst

 Indirect Liquefaction:
 Involves first gasifying coal, followed by
reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen
together
Indirect Liquefaction

 Coal can be gasified by heating it in the presence of

steam to give a mix of carbon monoxide and hydrogen
(synthesis gas)
 Heat + C +H2O → CO + H2

from which liquid petroleum products are formed by

purification, suitable catalyst, high temperature and
high pressure.

 With more steam

 CO +H2O → CO2 + H2 + Heat

 Can also be converted to methane

 CO +3H2 → CH4 + H2O + Heat

 Comparison of Processes
Direct Liquefaction
 Adds hydrogen to break down
the coal
 Dissolves in a solvent
followed by hydrocracking
 Operates at 450oC and 170
bar
 Light products are distilled
 Medium and heavy distillates
obtained from vacuum
distillation
 Liquid yields of 70% of the
dry weight of coal feed
 Further upgrade is needed for
use as transportation fuels
Indirect Liquefaction
 Complete breakdown of
coal with steam and oxygen
 Sulfur is removed from the
syngas
 Syngas react over catalyst
at 300oC and 20 bar
 Produces a lighter suite of
products; high quality
gasoline and
petrochemicals
 Oxygenated chemicals
Indirect Liquefaction

Fischer-Tropsch Indirect Liquefaction Process

Fischer-Tropsch Process
Different coal liquefaction processes

Schematic diagram of different coal liquefaction processes.

 Oil Reserves and Production

The middle east has the dominant

oil resource ~62% of the world.

India’s oil demand-to-reserve ratio

vs. the world = 6.6
(i.e. India consumes 3.1% of
world’s oil with 0.5% reserves)

China is at par with India: 6.7

(9% consumption & 1.3% reserves)

USA is still worse: 9.7

(24.1% consumption & 2.5%
reserves)

Source: IEA (International Energy Agency) January 2007

 Oil Consumption

At 5.6 billion barrels of oil, India’s proven oil

reserves are 0.5% of the world’s total, placing
India at 22nd position in the world,
while India is 4th largest oil consumer.
Source: IEA (International Energy Agency) January 2013
Refineries in India
Crude oil extraction & distillation

Steam-assisted gravity drainage process

Natural Gas
 Natural gas is a highly valued fuel. It burns cleanly, easy to
transport. Often found above oil deposits.

 Usually 80-90% methane, with small amount of ethane,

butane, propane, N2, H2S, CO2, depending upon the
location.

 Natural composition is standardised to 95% methane,

with small amount of ethane, propane, butane-
distributed as liquid natural gas (LNG).

Gas Chemical Calorific value

formula (MJ/kg)
Methane CH4 55.6
Propane C3H 8 50.4
Butane C4H10 49.5

Propane and butane are classified as liquefied petroleum gas

Geology of natural gas resources
Gas extraction

Fracking: The process of hydraulic fracturing involves pumping a fluid

made of water mixed with chemicals at high pressure into a well that
has been drilled. The fluid creates fractures in the rock, making it
possible to get the gas out.
Offshore Drilling Platforms
Natural gas reserves in India
World natural gas reserves
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power

 Nuclear power alone won’t get us to where we

need to be, but we won’t get there without it.

 Despite its controversial reputation, nuclear

power is efficient and reliable

 Nuclear power is economically feasible and meets

14% of the world’s demand for electricity.

 CO2 emissions from a nuclear power plant are by

two orders of magnitude lower than those of
fossil-fuelled power plants.
Nuclear Power

 Nuclear energy is the only electricity source that

can generate electricity 24/7 reliably, efficiently
and with no greenhouse-gas emissions.

 Concerns about rising electricity demand and

clean air are among the factors driving interest in
new nuclear plants.

 The first commercial nuclear power stations

started operation in the 1950s.
Nuclear share of electricity generation

Nuclear plants provide about 14% of the world's

electricity as continuous, reliable base-load power, and
their efficiency is increasing.
Nuclear Plants
 There are now over 440 commercial nuclear power
reactors operating in 30 countries, with 377,000
MWe of total capacity.
Comparison for Coal vs. Nuclear
Source Coal Nuclear
Fuel is inexpensive
Energy generation is the most
concentrated source
Inexpensive
Advantages Waste is more compact than any
Relatively easy to recover
source
No greenhouse or acid rain
effects

Requires expensive air

pollution controls (e.g. Hg,
Requires larger capital cost
SO2)
because of emergency,
Disadvantages Significant contributor to acid
containment, radioactive waste
rain and global warming
and storage systems
Requires extensive
transportation system
Requirement of coal for a
Requirement of natural uranium
Comparison 1000 MWe Coal fired plant:
for a 1000 MWe Nuclear Power
~2.6 million t / Year (i.e. 5
Plant: ~ 160 t /Year
trains of 1400 t /Day)
Energy Vision 2020
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam quoted that
“No nation can aspire to be modern and developed
without the availability of quality power for all. No
modern machinery can run without uninterrupted and
quality power systems. The whole magic wand of Indian
information technology will be at naught if there is no
electric power. Imagine New York or London or Tokyo
having just one day without power or a week of
interrupted power supply. It just cannot happen. If it
did, it could bring down the government. When we look
at the power situation in India, “depressing” or “gloomy”
appear to be mild words to describe it. Hundreds of
thousands of precious human hours are lost because of
lack of quality electric power.”
India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium
Indian Nuclear Development
 Homi Jehangir Bhabha
colloquially known as "father of
Indian nuclear programme“.
 In 1945, he established the Tata
Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR) in Bombay, and
Trombay Atomic Energy
Establishment (BARC). In 1948,
served as first chairman in the
Atomic Energy Commission.
 In the 1950s, Bhabha
represented India in
(International Atomic Energy
Agency) IAEA conferences, and Homi Bhabha (1909-1966)
served as President of the United
Nations Conference on the
Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy
in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955.
Uranium
 In the reactors common today,
only about 0.7 % of the uranium
(U235) delivered from the mine is
actually used (fissioned).
 So, for every kilogram of natural
uranium, 993 grams is left over
as depleted uranium and highly
radioactive spent fuel. (This is
shown in the image right where
the used fuel is blue and the
waste is red). Natural Uranium :
 When the fissile content of the 99.3 % U238 +
0.7 % U235
fuel in the reactor falls below a
given value, the fuel has to be
replaced by fresh fuel.
Thorium
Thorium, is much more abundant than uranium and emits only
low-level alpha particles. It has one isotope and therefore, does
not require an enrichment cycle to be used as fuel. It is many
times more energy efficient than uranium.
Thorium Fuel Cycle

By itself, thorium-232 is not fissile, but if a neutron source is

provided (such as uranium-233), it can "jumpstart" thorium-232
into a fission chain reaction by causing it to absorb a neutron
and become thorium-233.
Thorium-233 has a half-life of twenty two minutes at the end of
which it emits an electron, causing it to decay into proactinum-
233.
After 27 days, proactinum releases a second electron and
becomes uranium-233.
Indian Nuclear Programme

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) | The Fast Breeder Test

Reactor (FBTR) | Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)
Three Stage Indian Nuclear Programme
3 Stage Indian Nuclear Programme

Stage I : PHWR Stage II Stage III and Beyond

• 15 - Operating Fast Breeder Reactors
Thorium Based Reactors
• 3 - Under construction • 40 MWt FBTR Operating
• Several others planned since 1985 • 30 kWt KAMINI- Operating
• Scaling to 700 MWe • Technology Objectives realised • 300 MWe AHWR-Being
• POWER POTENTIAL  Launched
320 GWe/Y • 500 MWe PFBR-
Under Construction • POWER POTENTIAL IS
155,000 GWe/Y
LWRs • Technology development for
• 2 BWRs Operating closing the fuel cycle
• Participation in ITER for
• 2 VVERs under • POWER POTENTIAL  fusion energy
construction 42,000 GWe/Y

Kalpakkam - unique nuclear site in the world housing all three

stages & closed fuel cycle facilities
Types of Nuclear Fuel

0.7% U235

2 to 5% U235

Pu 239 or U 233
Piecing Together a Reactor

1. Fuel
2. Moderator
3. Control Rods
4. Coolant
5. Steam Generator
6. Turbine/Generator
7. Pumps
8. Heat Exchanger
Working of a Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear Reactor Types
Pressurized Water Reactor
Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor

PHWR (Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor) is Canadian heavy water

cooled and moderated reactor, commonly named as CANDU.
VVER – Russian PWR

(Water-Cooled,
Water-Moderated,
Energy Reactor)

Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reactor (VVER)

Boiling Water Reactor
 Types of Nuclear Reactor
 Reactor types vary according to the moderator used to control
the speed of neutrons, the coolant employed to transfer heat to
the generating cycle, and by the degree of U-235 enrichment in
the nuclear fuel. These characteristics are inter-related: natural
uranium fuel without enrichment needs a more effective
moderator that can slow neutrons to a speed where more fission
events can take place.

 The reactors can be classified into the following broad categories:

 The Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) – approximately 60%

of reactors world-wide. This reactor type uses ordinary ‘light’
water as a moderator and also as the coolant. It has two
separate coolant loops, one to remove heat from the reactor and
the other to provide steam to a turbine that drives an electrical
generator. The primary loop (which is in closest contact with the
reactor core) is maintained under high pressure to keep it from
boiling.
Types of Nuclear Reactor (cont’d)
 The Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) – approximately 20% of
reactors world-wide. This type also uses light water as a
moderator and coolant, but has a single coolant loop in which
the water is allowed to reach boiling temperature and
produce steam.
 The Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) –
approximately 11% of reactors world-wide. This type is
predominantly based upon the CANDU reactor developed in
Canada. It uses heavy water as a moderator and coolant,
and natural uranium fuel. Like the PWR it uses two separate
coolant circuits, one to remove heat from the reactor and the
other to provide steam to a turbine that drives an electrical
generator. The primary loop cooling the reactor is maintained
at high pressure to limit the amount of boiling.
 Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) – A breeder reactor is capable
of generating more fissile material than it consumes. FBR use
liquid metal as primary coolant, to transfer heat from the
core to steam to power the electricity generating turbines.
Types of Nuclear Power Plants in Operation
Nuclear Power Plants in India