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Basics of Energy and Environment

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Ocean Energy
(A) Ocean Wave Energy
Ocean wave energy is captured directly from surface waves or from pressure
fluctuations below the surface. Waves are caused by the wind blowing over the
surface of the ocean. In many areas of the world, the wind blows with enough
consistency and force to provide continuous waves along the shoreline. Ocean
waves contain tremendous energy potential. Wave power devices extract
energy from the surface motion of ocean waves or from pressure fluctuations
below the surface.
Wave power varies considerably in different parts of the world. Areas of the
world with abundant wave power resource include the western coasts of
Scotland, northern Canada, southern Africa, Australia, and the northwestern
coast of the United States, particularly Alaska.
While an abundance of wave
energy is available, it cannot
be fully harnessed
everywhere for a variety of
reasons, such as other
competing uses of the ocean
(i.e. shipping, commercial
fishing, naval operations) or environmental concerns in sensitive areas.
Therefore, it is important to consider how much resource is recoverable in a
given region.

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The wave energy devices being developed and tested today are highly diverse,
and a variety of technologies have been proposed to capture the energy from
waves. Some of the more promising designs are undergoing demonstration
testing at commercial scales.
Wave energy is renewable and pollution free. Also, the energy density of wave
energy is greater than that of wind as well as solar. However, with present state
of technologies wave power is expensive.
(B) Ocean thermal energy conversion
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature difference
between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface seawaters to run a heat
engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. The resource
potential for OTEC is considered to be much larger than for other ocean energy
forms without affecting the ocean’s thermal structure.
OTEC uses working fluids that are typically thought of as refrigerants such
as ammonia or R-134a. These fluids have low boiling points, and are therefore
suitable for powering the system’s generator to generate electricity. The most
commonly used heat cycle for OTEC to date is the Rankine cycle, using a low-
pressure turbine.
A heat engine gives greater efficiency when run with a
large temperature difference. In the oceans the temperature difference
between surface and deep water is greatest in the tropics, although still a
modest 20 to 25 °C. It is therefore in the tropics that OTEC offers the greatest

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possibilities. OTEC has the potential to offer global amounts of energy that are
10 to 100 times greater than other ocean energy options such as wave power.

For OTEC to be viable as a power source, the technology must have tax and
subsidy treatment similar to competing energy sources. Because OTEC systems
have not yet been widely deployed, cost estimates are uncertain.
Environmental Impact
Carbon dioxide dissolved in deep cold and high-pressure layers is brought up to
the surface and released as the water warms.
Mixing of deep ocean water with shallower water brings up nutrients and makes
them available to shallow water life. This may be an advantage for aquaculture
of commercially important species, but may also unbalance the ecological
system around the power plant.
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(C) Tidal Energy
Tidal power or tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy
obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity.
Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity
generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power.
Among sources of renewable energy, tidal power has traditionally suffered from
relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal
ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability.
Because the Earth's tides are ultimately due to gravitational interaction with the
Moon and Sun and the Earth's rotation, tidal power is practically inexhaustible
and classified as a renewable energy resource. Tidal power is taken from the
Earth's oceanic tides. Tidal forces are periodic variations in gravitational
attraction exerted by celestial bodies.

Biomass Energy
Biomass is an industry term for getting energy by burning wood, and
other organic matter. Burning biomass releases carbon emissions, around a
quarter higher than burning coal, but has been classed as a "renewable" energy
source, because plants can be regrown. It has become popular among coal
power stations, which switch from coal to biomass to comply with the law.
Biomass most often refers to plants or plant-based materials that are not used
for food or feed. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via

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combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms
of biofuel.
Wood remains the largest biomass energy source today; examples include
forest residues (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings,
wood chips and even municipal solid waste. Harvested wood may be used
directly as a fuel or collected from wood waste streams to be processed
into pellet fuel or other forms of fuels. In the second sense, biomass includes
plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibers or other
industrial chemicals, including biofuels. Industrial biomass can be grown from
numerous types of plants,
including miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarc
ane, bamboo, and a variety of tree species, ranging from eucalyptus to oil
palm (palm oil).
Based on the source of biomass, biofuels are classified broadly into two major
categories. First-generation biofuels are derived from sources such as sugarcane
and corn starch. Sugars present in this biomass are fermented to
produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel which can be used directly in a fuel cell to
produce electricity or serve as an additive to gasoline. However, utilizing food-
based resources for fuel production only aggravates the food shortage
problem.
Second-generation biofuels, on the other hand, utilize non-food-based biomass
sources such as agriculture and municipal waste. Despite being the favored

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alternative, economical production of second-generation biofuel is not yet
achieved due to technological issues.
Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy like methane gas or
transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Rotting garbage, and agricultural
and human waste, all release methane gas, also called landfill gas or biogas.
Crops such as corn and sugarcane can be fermented to produce the
transportation fuel ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation fuel, can be
produced from leftover food products like vegetable oils and animal fats.
Questions
Q: What are the advantages of Biomass as a source of energy?
1. Its storage and transportation is possible
2. It is ecologically safe and is inoffensive
3. Can be developed with present man and material abilities
4. Low capital input required
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1,2,3 & 4 (b) 1,2 & 3 only (c) 1,3 & 4 only (d) 2,3 & 4 only
(2019)
Solution: (C)

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