8.

1 Energy Sources
Primary energy
Energy found in nature that has not yet been subject to processing of any kind. i.e. energy stored
in fuels such as crude oil, coal and natural gas; solar energy and wind energy.

Secondary energy
When primary energy is processed or exploited, secondary energy is produced. It must be
suitable for use in machines which perform mechanical work; it could also be electricity.

Example: kinetic energy of particles of air in wind (primary energy) can be extracted by a windmill
and perform mechanical work – such as raising water from a well, or turning a generator to
produce electricity

Specific energy (ES): the amount of energy that can be extracted from a unit mass of fuel; Jkg-1

Energy density (ED):the amount of energy that can be extracted from a unit volume of fuel; Jm-3

• The higher the specific energy or energy density, the more desirable the fuel.

Example: a) show that 𝐸" = 𝜌𝐸% , where 𝜌 is the density of the fuel. b) Use the above table to
estimate the density of coal.
Non-renewable energy sources

Finite energy sources; they are being depleted much faster than they can be produced and so
will run out. i.e. fossil fuels and nuclear fuels

Renewable energy sources

Include solar energy (wind energy and wave energy) and tidal energy.

World average energy production in 2011

Fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas)

• They are produced by the decomposition of buried animal and plant matter under the
combined action of the high pressure of the material on top and bacteria.
• In a typical fossil fuel power plant, energy is produced by burning coal, which turns water
into steam in boilers. The pressurised steam forces a turbine to turn, which makes the
coils of generator rotate in a magnetic field, creating electricity by electromagnetic
induction.
• Cold water condenses the steam into liquid water that can again be heated in the boilers.
Sankey diagram : an arrow block diagram representing energy flows. The width of the arrow is
proportional to the amount of energy being transferred.

• 100 units of energy created

by the burning of coal enter the
system
• 20 units are lost through the
boilers; 40 units are lost as steam
condenses into water
• 5 units are lost because of
friction in the turning turbine
and generator
• only 35 units of energy have
been produced as electricity.

Efficiency (e)

𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
𝑒=
𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟

34
efficiency of this power plant is: 𝑒 = = 35%
566

• fossil fuel power plants are primarily responsible for atmospheric pollution and
contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
• Natural gas power plants have higher efficiencies, reaching almost 60% and have
much smaller greenhouse gas emissions.

Example: A power plant produces electricity by burning coal. The thermal energy produced is
used as input to a steam engine, which makes a turbine turn, producing electricity. The plant
has a power output of 350 MW and operates at an overall efficiency of 35%.
a) Calculate the rate at which thermal energy is provided by the burning coal.
b) Calculate the rate at which coal is burned (use a coal specific energy of 32 MJkg-1).
 c) The thermal energy discarded by the power plant is
removed by water. The temperature of the water
must not increase by more than 50C. Calculate the
rate at which the water must flow.

Fossil Fuels advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
• Relatively cheap
• High power output (high energy density)
• Variety of engines and devices use them directly and easily
• Extensive distribution network is in place
Disadvantages
• Will run out
• Pollute the environment
• Contribute to greenhouse effect by releasing greenhouse gases into atmosphere
• Higher costs due to large mass and volume at extensive storage facilities
Nuclear power
Nuclear reactor: a machine in which nuclear fission reactions take place; there are generally
two types of nuclear reactors

5@6
5
6𝑛 + =34
<=𝑈 → 4@𝑋𝑒
<@
+ 3B 𝑆𝑟 + 2 56𝑛

• The fuel of a nuclear reactor is typically uranium-235; in induced fission, neutrons

initiate the reaction
• The reaction is self-sustaining because the neutrons produced can be used to collide
with other nuclei of uranium -235 in the reactor, producing more fission, more energy
and more neutrons. This is called a chain reaction.
• The minimum mass of uranium – 235 present in order for the chain reaction to get going
is called the critical mass: about 15 kg for pure uranium-235 and 130 kg for fuels
containing 10% uranium-235.
• Neutrons produced in the fission reactions must be slow enough for uranium -235 to
capture. This process is achieved through collisions of the neutrons with atoms of the
moderator (material surrounding the fuel rods – tubes containing uranium.). Moderator
material can be graphite or water.
• As neutrons collide with moderator atoms, they transfer energy to the moderator,
increasing its temperature. A heat exchanger such as cold water can extract the heat
from the moderator. This can be done by circulating cold water in pipes throughout the
moderator.
• The water is turned into steam at high temperature and pressure. It is then used to turn
the turbines of a generator, producing electricity.
• The rate of the reactions is determined by the number of neutrons available to be
captured by uranium – 235. Too few neutrons would result in the reaction stopping,
while too many neutrons would lead to an uncontrollably large release of energy.
• Control rods can absorb neutrons when too many are present, or can be removed when
the rate of reaction needs to be increased.
Example: One kilogram of uranium -235 releases a quantity of energy equal to 7 x 1013 J.
Natural uranium (mainly uranium -238) contains about 0.7% of uranium – 235 (by mass).
Calculate the specific energy of natural uranium.

Risks with nuclear power

• Non-fissionable material (uranium-238) can be converted to fissionable material
(plutonium-239), which can be used as the nuclear fuel in other reactors.

• The spent fuel in reactor and the products of the reactions are highly radioactive with
long half-lives. They need to be disposed of properly.
Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power
Advantages:
• High power output
• Large reserves of nuclear fuels
• Nuclear power stations do not produce greenhouse gases
Disadvantages:
• Radioactive waste products are difficult to dispose of
• Major public health hazard should “something go wrong”
• Problems associated with uranium mining
• Possibility of producing materials for nuclear weapons

Example: A nuclear power plant produces 800 MW of electrical power with an overall efficiency
of 35%. The energy released in the fission of one nucleus of uranium – 235 is 170 MeV.
Estimate the mass of uranium used per day.
Solar power
• Nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun sends out energy at a rate of 3.9 x 1026 W.
• The Earth receives about 1400 Wm-2 at the outer atmosphere.
• With direct sunlight on a clear day, about 1000 Wm-2 (1kWm-2) reaches the surface of
Earth.
Solar panels
• A blackened surface below the glass collects sunlight and
water circulating in pipes underneath is heated
• These simple collectors are cheap and can be put on the
roof of a house but they tend to be bulky and cover too
much space

Photovoltaic cells
• A device using sunlight to produce electricity
• It can convert sunlight directly into direct current (dc) at an efficiency approaching 30%.
• Sunlight incident on the cell releases electrons and establishes a potential difference
across the cell.
Advantages and disadvantages of solar power
Advantages:
• Free
• Inexhaustible
• Clean
Disadvantages
• Works during the day only
• Affected by cloudy weather
• Low power output
• Requires large areas
• Initial costs high
Example: The average intensity of solar radiation incident on the Earth surface is 245 Wm-2. In
an array of photovoltaic cells, solar energy is converted into electrical energy with an efficiency
of 25%. Estimate the area of photovoltaic cells needed to provide 3.5 kW of electrical power.
Hydroelectric power

• The power derived from moving water masses

• Consider a mass m of water that falls down a vertical height h. The potential energy of
the mass mgh is converted into kinetic energy.
𝑚𝑔ℎ 𝜌∆𝑉 𝑔ℎ ∆𝑉
𝑃= = =𝜌 𝑔ℎ
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 ∆𝑡
∆K
𝑄 = (volume flow rate)
∆L
𝑃 = 𝜌𝑄𝑔ℎ (power available for generating electricity or to convert into some other
mechanical form)

Advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power

Advantages:
• Free
• Inexhaustible
• Clean
Disadvantages:
• Very dependent on location
• Requires drastic changes to environment
• Initial cost high

Example: Find the power developed when water in a waterfall with a flow rate of 500 kgs-1 falls
from a height of 40 m.

• In a pumped storage system, water that flows to lower heights in pumped back to its
original height. This requires electrical energy that can be supplied at off-peak times, it is
the only way to store energy on a large scale for later use.
Wind power
• the kinetic energy of wind is converted into other form of energy
• about 30% of power carried by the wind can be converted into electricity

• Consider some air pass through a tube of cross-

sectional area A with velocity v in time ∆t.
𝑚 = 𝜌𝐴𝑣∆𝑡
1 1
𝐸O = 𝜌𝐴𝑣Δ𝑡 𝑣 = = 𝜌𝐴Δ𝑡𝑣 3
2 2
𝐸O 1
𝑃= = 𝜌𝐴𝑣 3
∆𝑡 2
• Power is proportional to the cube of wind speed and the area spanned by the blades.

Example: Air of density 1.2 kgm-3 and speed 8.0 ms-1 is incident on the blades of a wind turbine.
The radius of the blades is 1.5 m. Immediately after passing through the blades, the wind speed
is reduced to 3.0 ms-1 and the density of air is 1.8 kgm-3. Estimate the power extracted from the
wind.

Wind power advantages:

• Free
• Inexhaustible
• Clean
Disadvantages:
• Dependent on local wind conditions
• Aesthetic problems
• Noise problems