Energy Resources

Types of energy

● Non-renewable energy resources cannot be replaced

● Once they are used up, they will not be restored (or not for
millions of years).
● accumulation of organic matter (animal or plant remains),
preservation of organic matter to prevent it from oxidising
(exclusion of air, for example, by being in the sea or a swamp)
and conversion of organic matter into a fossil fuel
● Renewable energy is energy produced from sources that do not
deplete or can be replenished within a human’s life time.
 Types of energy

● 82% of commercial energy comes from

nonrenewable energy source.
● 76% from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and
● coal) and 6% from nuclear power
● Remaining 18% of the commercial energy comes
from renewable energy resource
biomass,hydropower, geothermal, wind, and solar
energy
●
 Petroleum/crude oil

● combustible hydrocarbons along with small amounts of

sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen impurities
● the most commonly found molecules are alkanes (paraffins),
cycloalkanes (naphthenes), aromatic hydrocarbons, or more
complicated chemicals like asphaltenes.
● Deposits of crude oil and natural gas often are
trapped together under a dome deep within the earth’s crust
on land or under the seafloor
● heated and distilled to separate it into components
with different boiling points in a process called refining
●
Refining crude oil
● OPEC(Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries )
● Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Libya,Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates,and Venezuela.
●
 Advantage/disadvantage

●
 Heavy Oils from Oil Sand

● Oil sand, or tar sand, is a mixture of clay, sand,

water,and a combustible organic material called
bitumen.
● High sulfur content.
● Three fourth in Canada under a boreal forest.
●

●
 disadvantages

● 4 metric tons of overburden are removed to produce

1 metric ton of bitumen.
● More CO2 produced.
● More water is required during refining.
● Large amounts of toxic sludge.
 Oil shales

● Oily rock/oil shale

contain a solid
combustible mixture of
hydrocarbons called
kerogen.
● Net energy is low,
● More water,
● More pollution
 Natural gas

● Natural gas is a mixture of gases of which 50–90%

is methane (CH4).
● ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10), and
small amounts of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S).
● propane and butane gases are liquefied and removed as
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
● water vapor is removed, cleansed of poisonous
hydrogen sulfide and other impurities, and pumped into
pressurized pipelines for distribution .
● US has the largest reserves)
●

●
 coal

● Coal is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel.

● Coal is a solid fossil fuel that was formed from the
remains of land plants that were buried 300–400
million years ago and subjected to intense heat and
pressure over many millions of years
china has the largest reserve.
● coal is burned in power plants to generate
electricity.
● China,US,India
Forms of coal
● Produces CO2 and SO2.
● Burning coal also releases large amounts of
particulates (soot), the greenhouse gas CO2, and
trace amounts of toxic mercury and radioactive
materials
●
 Syn fuels

● Solid coal can be converted into synthetic natural

● gas (SNG) by a process called coal gasification and
into a liquid fuel such as methanol or synthetic
gasoline by coal liquefaction.
● Low to moderate yield
● Requires 50% more coal
● More CO2 emmissions
● More water is required.
 Nuclear energy

● Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms in a

reactor to heat water into steam, turn a turbine and
generate electricity (NEI)
● they do not burn anything to create steam
● Nuclear reactors are designed to sustain an ongoing
chain reaction of fission.
● Solid uranium fuel is used.
Nuclear fission
 New Nuclear Reactor Technology

● small modular reactors (SMRs)

● do not use water for cooling; instead they use other
materials like liquid metal, molten salt or helium to
transfer heat to a separate supply of water and make
steam.
● SMRs are advanced reactors that produce 300
megawatts or less of electricity
● applications like water desalination and hydrogen
production.
 Nuclear waste

● Once removed from a reactor, used fuel assemblies initially

cool down in a storage pool. The concrete and steel pool and
the water shield workers from radioactivity.
● When cool enough that it no longer needs to be stored
underwater,typically for 2 to 5 years after removal from the
reactor ,used fuel is transferred and stored in dry casks,
which are large steel-reinforced concrete containers.
● These casks are designed for long term storage until a site is
available for permanent disposal.
Advantages/disadvantages
 Renewable energy

● reducing energy waste is the quickest,cleanest, and usually the

cheapest, way to provide more energy, reduce pollution and
environmental degradation, slow global warming, and increase
economic and national security
● An incandescent lightbulb uses only 5–10% of the electricity it draws
to produce light, while the other 90–95% is wasted as heat.
● A motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine wastes about 94%
of the energy in its fuel.
● A nuclear power plant , wastes about 83% of the energy in its fuel.
● A coal-fired power plant wastes 66% of the energy released .
 Types of renewable energy

● Solar energy
● Hydroelectric energy
● Wind
● Tidal energy
● Geothermal energy
● Biomass energy
● Hydrogen and fuel cells
 Solar energy

● Solar Energy can be classified as two types 1. Passive solar

and 2. Active solar.
● Passive solar energy is making direct and indirect use of
thermal energies from the sun.
● A central receiver is used called a power tower. Huge arrays of
computer-controlled mirrors called heliostats track the sun and focus
sunlight on this central heat collection tower.
● In another type of system, sunlight is collected anD focused on oil-
filled pipes running through the middle of a large array of curved solar
collectors This concentrated sunlight can generate temperatures high
enough to produce steam for running turbines and generating
electricity.
●
● Active Solar Energy is the use of the sun’s Electro magnetic radiation
in generating Electrical Energy.
● Generally semi-conductor silicon Boron solar chips are used
● The cells can be connected to existing electrical grid systems or to
batteries that store the electrical energy
Advantages /disadvantages
 Hydroelectric power

● Hydropower is the world’s leading renewable energy source

used to produce electricitY
● water stored in the reservoir is allowed to flow down a
natural gradient , spinning turbines and producing
electricity
● Canada,China, Brazil, the United States, and Russia.
 Advantages/disadvantages

● Submergence of large areas of forest and

agricultural lands
● Silting of rivers reduces life of projects
● Navigation and fishing becomes difficult.
● Large dams induce seismic activity.
● Resettlement of displaced persons difficult.
 Wind energy

● Earliest energy source.

● Drawwater irrigation and grinding grains.
● Wind passing over the blades is converted in to
mechanical power, which is fed through
transmission to an electrical generator.
● China is the largest producer
● India ranks fourth.
●
● No environmental impact
● Kills birds,noise,effect on tv perception,aesthetic
objection.
● Intermittent source
 Tidal wave power

● Ocean currents and waves

● Energy of waves that crash on the land of all
continents-2 to 3 million megawatts
● Barrage is placed across an estuary and forcing tidal
flow to pass through turbines.
● One way system,two way system
● Destroys habitat of water birds,fisheries
● Blocks flow of polluted water to the sea.
● Navigational hazards
 Geothermal energy

● Geothermal power plants use high temperatures

deep underground to produce steam, which then
powers turbines that produce electricity.
● Heat arising from magma heats underground pools
called geothermal reservoirs.
● By using drills,this hot water is tapped.
● Water contains corrosive minerals
● Its location is limited.
 Biomass energy

● Stored form of solar energy

● Wood,agriculture waste,sugarcane waste.
● Directly burned to produce heat and electricity
● biomass is heated to about 200° to 320° Celsius and compressed
into briquettes
● If pyrolysis is done in absence of oxygen,syngas produced.
● Changed to gas like fuel such as methane in anaerobic
conditions.
● Changed into liquid fuel like methanol and ethanol by
fermenting biomass rich in carbohydrates.
● Biodiesel by mixing ethanol with animal fat/vegetable oil.
● Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oil extracted
from soybeans, rapeseeds, sunflowers, oil palms,
and jatropha shrubs, and fats such as used vegetable
oils from restaurants.
● European Union countries (primarily Germany,
France, and Italy) produce about 95% of the world’s
biodiesel, mostly from rapeseeds and sunflower
seeds
mospi.gov.in
 Power plants in india

● Conventional power plants:

● Nuclear power- 21 nuclear reactors at seven sites
● Total capacity of 6680 MW.
● Nuclear power corporation of India
● Tarapur in maharashtra,Kakrapar in gujarat,Kundankulam in tn
● Kaiga in karnataka,madras,rajasthan,narora in up,gorakhpur in
haryana.
● Thermal power plants
● Largest source of power in india
● National thermal power corporation
● Mostly coal based,62%
● Gas based-24500 MW
● Diesel based-900 MW
 Renewable energy based

● 7th largest producer of hydroelectric power

● Total capacity-44594 MW
● National hydroelectric power corporation
● Solar power in india-30GW,karnataka first
● Largest solar power plant is kamuthi in tn.
● Wind power mainly TN,maharashtra
● Muppandal windfarm in tn-1500 mw,jaisalmer wind
park in rajastan second.
 Ecology

● Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with

one another and with their physical environment of
matter and energy.
An ecosystem (from ‘ecological system’) is a
collection of living things and the environment in
which they live.
● ecosystem can be large (a rainforest) or small (a
pond)
● all ecosystems involve:
● living organisms
● a physical environment (land, water, air)
● a source of energy to make the whole thing work.
 What makes biotic factors different?

● Life.Living organisms reproduce themselves. Even

the simplest bacteria produce copies of their single
cells.
● Origin of life
● no one was there to observe it and much of the
relevant evidence has been lost in the intervening
3.5 billion years or so.slowly piecing together a
picture of how life originated.
 Origin of life

● First, organic molecules(molecules containing carbon)

developed, then macromolecules, then protocells.
● Early Earth might have had a reducing atmosphere that, along
with energy from ultraviolet radiation or volcanic explosions,
could create organic molecules(oparin and haldane)
● In 1953 Miller-Urey experiment simulated early Earth's
atmosphere with nothing more than water, hydrogen, ammonia,
and methane and an electrical charge standing in for lightning,
and produced complex organic compounds like amino acids.
At some point,concept of RNA world came in.
 Proteins/RNA

● biologists were stumped by a "chicken and egg"

problem: in all modern organisms, nucleic acids
(DNA and RNA) are necessary to build proteins,
and proteins are necessary to build nucleic acids
● Which came first?
● RNA store genetic information, copy itself, and
perform basic metabolic functions.
● These replicating molecules evolved and began to
undergo natural selection.
● Replicating molecules became enclosed within a cell membrane.
● the products of the genetic material could be kept close by and the
internal environment of this proto-cell could be different than the
external environment
● out-competed "naked" replicators.
● Some cells began to evolve modern metabolic processes and out-
competed those with older forms of metabolism.DNA (which is more
stable than RNA) became the genetic material, proteins (which are
often more efficient promoters of chemical reactions than RNA)
became responsible for basic metabolic reactions in the cell, and RNA
was demoted to the role of messenger, carrying information from the
DNA to protein-building centers in the cell.
● Multicellularity evolved.
 Levels of organisation

● Atom: It is the most basic and fundamental unit of

matter. It consists of a positively charged nucleus
that is made up of protons and neutrons, and
revolving around them are the negatively charged
electrons. An atom that consists of an equal number
of protons and electrons is neutral and stable. In case
of unequal number of protons and electrons, it is
termed as an ion. Ions are either positive or
negative.
● Molecule: The formation of chemical bonds between two or
more atoms leads to the formation of a molecule. It is one of the
most fundamental and stable components of matter. Chemical
compounds exist as molecules.
● Organelle: It is the subunit of a cell, and consists of a group of
functioning biomolecules. Organelles take part in the chemical
reactions and interactions in the cellular processes of an
organism. Organelles in eukaryotic cells are different from those
in prokaryotic ones. A few examples include nucleus and
chloroplasts (plant cells), and golgi bodies and mitochondria
(animal cells).
● Cell: It is considered as the basic unit and building block of life. It is
bound by a cell membrane, and possesses a nucleus which acts as its
brain. Cytoplasm surrounds the nucleus, which contains cell
organelles like mitochondria, ribosomes, vacuole, endoplasmic
reticulum, chloroplasts, peroxisomes,. The average number of cells in
a human body is 100 trillion. They are known to bring about
conversion of nutrients into energy, reproduction (cell division), and
to carry out specialized functions. Basically, they are of 2 types;
prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Prokaryotic cells have a smaller size and
simpler form, and lack a nucleus. Eukaryotic cells are more
specialized in structure than the prokaryotic ones. Moreover, they are
larger in size (by almost 15 times).
● Tissue: an ensemble of similar cells and their extracellular matrix
having the same origin. Different types are the nervous, muscle,
connective, and epithelial tissues. Connective tissues are fibrous in
nature, and they are made up of cells that are separated by an
extracellular matrix. Muscle tissues are actively contractile, and useful
for producing force and motion. Nervous tissues form organs like the
brain and the spinal cord. Epithelial tissues cover the surface of body
organs.
● Organ: It performs certain functions with the help of different tissues.
The major organs of animals include lungs, brain, liver, etc., whereas
roots, stem, and leaves are the different organs of plants. Organs can
be classified on the basis of the functions they perform. For example,
in case of animals, the tongue, ears, eyes, skin, and nose are sensory
organs. Flowers and seeds are the reproductive parts of plants. These
units are formed by tissues that serve a common function. There are
two types of tissues that form an organ; the main and sporadic tissues.
For example, in the heart, myocardium is the main tissue, while the
blood, nerves, and connective tissues are sporadic.
● Organ System: Organs working together to perform
certain functions form organ systems. Examples are
the circulatory system in animals, and the vascular
system in plants. The organs in an organ system are
interdependent, i.e., they work in harmony to carry
out various body functions. For example, the
digestive system that carries out the process of
digestion consists of salivary glands, stomach,
esophagus, gallbladder, liver, intestines, pancreas,
rectum, and anus.
● Organism: An organism could either be unicellular or
multicellular. The ones that are closely related can be grouped
together under a single genus. An organism can be defined as the
fully functional form of a living being that can thrive in a
particular environment.
● Population: It is the term used in reference to a group of
organisms which belong to the same species. They undergo
interbreeding, and share food and space. The population of a
particular species indicates a close interaction between its
organisms.
● Community: Two or more populations together
constitute a community. It is characterized by
interactions that take place between constituent
populations of different species. There are various
ways like competition, parasitism, predation,
commensalism, and mutualism, by which
populations belonging to different species interact
with each other. A community can thrive in the
same region, but within the territory marked by the
particular constituent populations.
● Ecosystem: As we move up on this ladder of
organization, the complexity tends to increase. The
term ecosystem is defined as an area or
environment, where one or more communities can
thrive and flourish. However, this stage is not the
same as community. In fact, it is a greater entity that
provides space for different communities. Thus, the
populations of many species can together thrive in a
particular ecosystem like a desert, grassland,
rainforest, etc.
● Biome: It is an entity that is similar to an ecosystem.
The definition of this stage is made in terms of the
conditions (and not just space) that are suited to a
group of communities (plants, animals, microbes,
etc.). Classification of this level is carried out on the
basis of certain criteria like the environmental
conditions in which the constituent organisms
thrive. The structure of plants is an important
criterion used for classifying biomes. It divides the
plants into groups like shrubs, trees, grasses, etc.
● Biosphere: It is simply defined as the place, area,
and zone where the entire life on Earth exists. The
hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere, along
with all the above-mentioned levels, together
constitute the biosphere. It is the amalgamation of
all the life forms on Earth, right from the
microscopic viruses, bacteria, algae, etc., to the
largest animals like blue whales and elephants.
● An ecosystem is a community of different species
interacting with one another and with their nonliving
environment of soil, water, other forms of matter, and
energy, mostly from the sun.
● Ecosystems can be natural or artificial (human created)
● Terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems.
● Ecosystems do not have clear boundaries and are
not isolated from one another.
● Matter and energy move from one ecosystem to another.
● Components of the ecosystem
● Abiotic
● Physical factors
:temp,humidity,light,pressure,edaphic
● Inorganic factors:water,oxygen,CO2,nitrogen,other
elements
● Organic factors:proteins,carbohydrates and lipids
● Biotic components
● Producers
● Consumers
● Decomposers
ultimate source of energy is the sun
one-way flow of high-quality energy from the sun
nutrient cycling
gravity
 Photosynthesis

● First interaction takes place between sun and plants

through photosynthesis
● Photosynthesis (photo-light; synthesis-to put
together) is the process by which green plants, in
the presence of light combine water and carbon
dioxide to form carbohydrates, oxygen is
released as a by product.
● 6 CO2+ 12H2O + solar energy C6H12O6
+6h20+ 6O2
 chemosynthesis

● specialized bacteria, can convert simple inorganic

compounds from their environment into more
complex nutrient compounds without using sunlight,
through a process called chemosynthesis.
●
● limiting factor principle: Too much or too little of
any abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a
population, even if all other factors are at or near the
optimal range of tolerance.
●
● Organisms can be classified based on how they obtain energy and how they
obtain carbon
● A.energy source
● 1.chemotrophs-can only get energy directly from chemical compounds
● 2.phototrophs- can get energy directly from light (these organisms can use
chemical compounds as energy sources as well)
● B.carbon source
● 1.autotrophs-can fix carbon dioxide, thus they can use CO
● as a carbon source
● Heterotrophs cannot fix CO2,they use organic molecules from other
organisms as a carbon source
●
 photoautotrophscarry out photosynthesis
● (use light energy to fix CO2 storing energy in chemical bonds of organic
● mol
● ecules); includes green plants, algae, and some bacteria

●
 Factors sustaining life on earth

● one-way flow of high-quality energy

● cycling of matter or nutrients
● Gravity,
Solar energy