CH-14 SOURCES OF ENERGY

GOOD SOURCE OF ENERGY

 A good source of energy has these characteristics
 which would do a large amount of work per unit volume or mass,
 be easily accessible,
 be easy to store and transport, and
 be economical.

FOSSIL FUELS
DISADVANTAGES
 Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy.
 They are available in a limited amount.
 Much pollution is caused by burning coal and petroleum
 The oxides of Carbon, Nitrogen, and sulphur that are released are acid.
 This causes acid rain.
 Acid rain affects soil and water sources
 Carbon is produced which is a greenhouse gas.

THERMAL POWER PLANTS——(2Marks)

Q-Why are thermal power plants near the coal or oil fields?
Ans-
 A large number of fossil fuels are burnt every day in power stations to heat water to
produce steam which further runs the turbine to generate electricity.
 The transmission of electricity is more efficient than transporting coal or petroleum over
the same distance.
 Therefore, many thermal power plants are set up near coal or oil fields.

HYDROPOWER PLANTS

FOR OBJECTIVE (1Mark)

25%(quarter)of energy requirement in India is met by hydropower plants

ADVANTAGES
  It is a non-polluting source of energy.
 It is a renewable resource of energy.

DISADVANTAGES
 Dams can be constructed on hilly terrains only.
 A large area of agricultural land and human habitation is submerged.
 Large eco-systems are destroyed.
 It creates the problem of satisfactory rehabilitation of displaced people
 The vegetation which is submerged produces methane which is a greenhouse
gas.
 It’s construction cost is very high.

WIND ENERGY

ADVANTAGES
 Wind energy is an environment friendly.
 It is efficient source of renewable energy.
 It requires no recurring expenses for the production of electricity.

DISADVANTAGES

 Wind energy farms can be established only at those places where wind blows for
the greater part of a year.
 The wind speed should be higher than 15 km/h to maintain the required speed of
the turbine.
 There should be some back-up facilities to take care of the energy needs during a
period when there is no wind.
 Establishment of wind energy farms requires large area of land.
 The initial cost of establishment of the farm is quite high.
 It’s maintenance cost is quite high .
SOLAR COOKER
ADVANTAGES
 It does not cause pollution.
 It uses renewable sources of energy.
 Food nutrient’s are maintained during cooking
 Require less maintenance
 Can be carried anywhere
 Fuels can be saved by using it

DISADVANTAGES
 It cannot be used at night time or cloudy days
 It takes more time In cooking
 The direction has to be changed continuously according to sunlight
 It cannot be used for frying
 Manufacturing of it is quite expensive.

OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY (OTE)

Note-The first project of OTE is in 2013 Japan

ADVANTAGES
 It is continuous source of energy
 It is a Renewable Source of energy

DISADVANTAGE
 It is expensive
 Energy obtained is very low
 Only 3% to 4% energy is obtained

SOLAR PANEL

ADVANTAGES
  They have no moving parts.
 Require little maintenance
 Works satisfactorily without the use of focusing device

DISADVANTAGES
 The manufacturing costs is very expensive
 Special Grade Silicon,which is used in making solar panels are limited in
nature.
 It cannot be used at night time or cloudy days

NUCLEAR ENERGY

ADVANTAGES
 It produces much more energy than the other conventional sources.
 Less space is required to harness nuclear energy

DISADVANTAGES
 The high cost of Installation of a nuclear power plant

 Risk of accidental leakage of nuclear radiation ☢️

 It produces radioactive waste.

BIOMASS
 The source of fuels like fire wood, cow-dung cake, etc. is called biomass.
 These fuels are plant and animal products and hence called biomass energy.
 Wood has been used as fuel for a long time
 Charcoal is left as a residue when wood is burnt in limited oxygen
 Charcoal burns without flames and is smokeless
 We are familiar with cow dung cakes which is also used as a fuel for cooking
 These fuels produce much smoke and do not generate much heat
 So, biogas plants are constructed
 Biogas plant has a dome like structure built with bricks.
 A slurry is prepared by mixing cow-dung. residual plant materials, vegetable waste
etc. with water in the mixing tank.
 From the mixing tank, slurry is fed into digester.
 The digester is a sealed chamber in which there is no oxygen.
 Anaerobic microorganisms decompose or break-down complex compounds of the
cow-dung slurry.
 It takes a few days for the decomposition process to complete.
 During the decomposition gases like methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and
hydrogen sulphide are generated.
 The biogas is stored in the gas-tank above the digester from where it is drawn
through pipes for use