Topic 8: Energy production

8.1 – Energy sources

Learning objectives:
Solve problems with specific energy and energy density.

Distinguish between primary and secondary energy

resources and renewable and non-renewable energy
resources.
Describe fossil fuel power stations, nuclear power
stations, wind generators, pumped storage hydroelectric
systems, solar powers cells and solar panels.
Solve problems involving energy transformations in the
systems above.
 Primary and secondary energy.

Primary energy is energy found in nature that has not yet been
subject to processing of any kind.

Can you think of any examples?

Examples: Energy stored in fuels such as crude oil, coal and natural
gas, as well as solar energy, wind energy and so on.

When a primary energy is processed or exploited, secondary energy

is produced.
Secondary energy must be suitable for use in machines which
perform mechanical work.
Example: the kinetic energy of the wind being used to turn a wind
turbine connected to a generator, producing electrical energy.
 Specific Energy and Energy Density

How much energy can be extracted from a fuel defines the fuel’s
specific energy and energy density.

Specific energy, , is the amount of energy that can be extracted

from a unit mass of fuel; it is measured in .

Energy density, , is the amount of energy that can be extracted

from a unit volume of fuel; it is measured in .
 Question

1. (a) Show that where is the density of the fuel.

(b) Use the table below to calculate the density of
gasoline(petrol).
 Answer.
is the amount of energy/unit volume: So, where is the energy
released from the fuel and is the volume.

Density, so,

Hence,

So, where is the energy released from the fuel and is the mass.
Therefore, where is the density of the fuel.
How is choice of fuel influenced by energy density?

Fuels with higher energy density cost less to transport and store.

Other considerations: cost of production, political, social and

environmental factors.
Question:
The energy released by one atom of carbon-12 during combustion is
approximately 4 eV. The energy released by one atom of uranium-235
during fission is approximately 180 MeV.

Based on this information, determine the ratio of the specific energy of

uranium-235 to that of carbon-12.

Remember: 12g of Carbon-12 contains 6.02 x 1023 atoms

 Non-renewable and renewable.

We can classify energy sources into two large classes, non-

renewable and renewable.
Can you define these two terms?

Non-renewable energy sources are finite sources, which are

being depleted much faster than they can be produced and so
will run out.

Renewable sources include solar energy (and the other forms

indirectly dependent on solar energy, such as wind energy and
wave energy) and tidal energy, etc. In principle, they will be
available as long as the Sun shines.
Can you think of any other sources of renewable energy?
What are the main sources of energy and what is the percentage of
the total energy produced by each one?
Fuel Percentage of total energy Carbon dioxide emission
production (%) (gMJ-1)
Oil 32 70
Coal 27 90
Natural gas 21 50
Biofuels 10 ---
Nuclear 6 ---
Hydroelectric 2 ---
Others <2 ---

Energy sources and the percentage of the total energy production for each. The third
column gives the mass of carbon dioxide emitted per unit energy produced from a particular
fuel.

Fossil fuels account for about 80% of the total energy production.

Note: the figures are world averages for 2011 and are approximate.
http://
www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-Electricity-Generation-by-Energy-Source#tspQvC
hart
 Energy Flow (Sankey) diagrams

• An arrow drawn left to right represents Energy Change

• The width of the arrow represents quantity of energy or power

involved in each stage

• An arrow up or down represents degraded energy

Electric lamps
Ordinary electric lamps contain a thin metal filament that glows
when electricity passes through it. However, most of the
electrical energy is transferred as heat energy instead of light
energy. This is the Sankey diagram for a typical filament lamp.
Efficiency of power stations (coal)
The energy produced by burning fuel is transferred as heat and stored
in water as steam. The energy in steam is transferred to movement in
a turbine, then to electrical energy in the turbine. Energy is lost to the
environment at each stage. Here is a Sankey diagram to show these
losses.

Note that only about a third of the energy stored in the fuel was transferred as electrical
energy to customers.
Conservation of energy – what does it mean?
The law of conservation of energy states that the total amount of
energy in a system remains constant over time. A consequence of this
law is that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed: it can only
be transformed from one state to another.
The only thing that can happen to energy in a system is that it can
change form: for instance chemical energy can become kinetic
energy.
What do we mean by energy degradation?

Energy degradation: The fact that

energy, while conserved, becomes less
useful for the purpose of performing
mechanical work.
 The first law of thermodynamics. 
The first law of thermodynamics (law of
conservation of energy) states that the change in
the internal energy of a system is equal to the sum
of the heat added to the system and the work done
on it.
 The second law of thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics is a general principle which places

constraints upon the direction of heat transfer and the attainable efficiencies of
heat engines. In so doing, it goes beyond the limitations imposed by the first
law of thermodynamics. It's implications may be visualized in terms of the
waterfall analogy.

Heat can be completely converted into work in a single process, but continuous
conversion of heat into work requires a cyclical process and the rejection of
some heat to the surroundings.
Qualitative Statements: Second Law of Thermodynamics

The second law of thermodynamics is a profound principle of nature which affects the
way energy can be used. There are several approaches to stating this principle
qualitatively. Here are some approaches to giving the basic sense of the principle.

1. Heat will not flow spontaneously from a cold object to a hot object.

2. Any system which is free of external influences becomes more disordered with time.
This disorder can be expressed in terms of the quantity called entropy.

3. You cannot create a heat engine which extracts heat and converts it all to useful work.
Degradation of energy: the transformation of energy into some form in which
it is less available for doing work.

Thermal energy is the most degraded form of energy and and we have seen that
to convert thermal energy into mechanical energy we must always transfer
some of the thermal energy to the cold surroundings. Once energy becomes
thermal energy we can never get it all back. All energy eventually turns to heat.
Taking this to extremes means that the end of the Universe will be when
everything is at the same temperature; it will then be impossible to do any work.
Disorder (Entropy) increases to maximum value and we have heat death of the
Universe.
 Producing Electricity

Like all steam turbine generators, the force of steam is used to spin the turbine
blades which spin the generator, producing electricity.
A simple a.c generator. The two slip rings rotate in tandem
with the armature. Carbon brushes connect the armature to
the external circuit. Can you explain how the generator
produces electricty?
 How Does an Electric Generator Work?
The turning of a coil in a magnetic field produces motional emfs in
both sides of the coil which add. Since the component of the velocity
perpendicular to the magnetic field changes sinusoidally with the
rotation, the generated voltage is sinusoidal or AC. This process can
be described in terms of Faraday's law when you see that the rotation
of the coil continually changes the magnetic flux through the coil and
therefore generates a voltage.
 Solar Power
Solar heating panel converts solar energy from Sun into thermal
energy. Cold water flows into the panel and hot water flows out.

Uses: heating and hot water

The heating panel converts sunlight directly into heat.
The slower the water circulated, the hotter it can get.

sunlight
glass

t ion
ula
ins
black
cold absorber water pipe
water hot water out
in
Photovoltaic cell (solar cell): converts light energy from Sun
into electrical energy.

What are the advantages of solar heating

panel over solar cell?
They require less (storage) area, are
cheaper and are more efficient.

The amount (intensity) of sunlight varies

with:
• Time of day
• Season (angle of incidence of sunlight –
altitude of Sun in sky – Earth’s distance
from Sun)
• Length of day 
• Latitude
Which way(thickness of atmosphere)
should a solar panel or cell be facing in the Northern
hemisphere? Why?
Advantages:

1. Renewable source of energy.

2. Source of energy is free.
3. No global warming effect – no CO2 emissions (but CO2 emissions
when solar panels or cells are manufactured.
4. No harmful waste products.

Disadvantages:

1. Large area needed to collect energy.

2. Only provides energy during daylight.
3. Amount of energy varies with season, location and time of day.
4. High initial costs to construct/install.
Question: An active solar heater whose efficiency is 32% is used to heat
1400 kg of water from 20 °C to 50 °C. The average power received from
the Sun in that location is 0.90 kW/m2.

a) How much energy will the solar heater need to provide to heat the
water?

b) How much energy will be needed from the Sun to heat the water?

c) Calculate the area of the solar heater necessary to heat the water in
2.0 hours.

a) Using E = mcΔT, E = 1400 x 4200 J/kg°C x 30°C = 176.4 MJ

b) Energy from Sun x 0.32 = 176.4 MJ

Energy from Sun = 551 MJ

c) In 2 Hrs., Energy from the Sun = 0.90 x 103 W x 2 x 60 x 60 = 6.48 MJ/m2

Therefore area = 551/6.58 = 85 m2

 Basic features of a horizontal axis wind
Wind Power turbine:
• Tower to support rotating blades.
• Blades that can be rotated to face into
the wind.
• Generator.
• Storage system or connection to a
distribution grid

Energy transformations:

Solar energy heating Earth . . .

Kinetic energy of air . . . kinetic
energy of turbine . . . electrical
energy
 Determine the power of the air delivered to a wind generator:

Let us assume that all of the kinetic

energy of the wind is given to the wind
turbine.

Let us consider the mass of air that can

pass through a turbine of cross-sectional
area, with velocity in time
Let be the density of air. The distance the wind travels in time is
equal to .

This column of air will have a volume equal to

The mass of this column of air is equal to

Hence, the kinetic energy of this column of air,
So, the kinetic energy of this column of air,

The kinetic energy per unit time is the power, and so by dividing by
we find:

This shows that the power carried by the wind is proportional to the
cube of the wind speed and proportional to the cross-sectional area
swept out by the blades.
Question:
Assuming a wind speed of 8.0ms-1, and an air density of 1.2kgm-3 and
a blade radius of 1.5m, find the maximum theoretical power of this
wind turbine.

Why is the actual power of a turbine much less that the theoretical
maximum power? Try to come up with 5 reasons.
Why is it impossible to extract all power from air?

• Speed of air cannot drop to zero after impact with blades.

• Frictional losses in generator and turbulence around blades.

Why are turbines not placed near one another?

 
• Less KE available for next turbine
• Turbulence reduces efficiency of next turbine

Advantages:
1. Renewable source of energy
2. Source of energy is free
3. No global warming effect – no CO2 emissions
4. No harmful waste products

Disadvantages:
1. Large land area needed to collect energy since many turbines are needed
2. Unreliable since output depends on wind speed
3. Site is noisy and may be considered unsightly
4. Expensive to construct
Question:
A wind turbine has blades 20 m long and the speed of the wind is 25 ms-1 on
a day when the air density is 1.2 kg/m3. Calculate the power that could be
produced if the turbine is 30% efficient.

From data book:

Power for a WIND TURBINE (100% efficient) (W)

A = Cross-sectional area swept out by blades (m2)

ρ = Density of Air (kg m-3) (1.2 kg m-3 at 20 °C)

v = speed of wind (ms-1)

So, A = πr2 = 3.14 x 202 = 1256 m2

Therefore, Power (100% efficient) = 0.5 x 1256 x 1.2 x 252 = 471 kW

Finally, power output of wind turbine = 471 x 0.3 = 141 kW

Solving problems relevant to energy transformations
 Answer:

(a) Because of the tilt of Earth’s axis southern exposures get more
sun in the northern hemisphere, and northern exposures get more sun
in the southern hemisphere.
(b) From Topic 3 the energy needed for ∆T = 25 K is:

But .

Since then PIN = POUT / Eff. = 681/0.35 = 1944 W.

From we get so that .

 Homework
Produce a presentation (8 minutes) about one of the following methods of producing
electricity.
Nuclear power: Fission (Sebastian)
Nuclear power: Fusion
Coal, Oil and Gas (Juan Domain)
Hydroelectric power including pumped storage system
Tidal Power (Gabriel)
Biomass (Brenda)
Geothermal (Nicholas)
Wind (Liah)
Solar
Make sure that you include the advantages and disadvantages associated with your
energy source, and include some physics.

You will present to the class next Tuesday (23rd May). It will be assessed by the
following rubric.
   Exemplary (3) Accomplished (2) Developing (1) Beginning (0)
Organization Information presented in Information in logical Difficult to follow Cannot understand
logical, interesting sequence presentation--student presentation--no
sequence jumps around sequence of information

Subject Knowledge Demonstrates an excellent Demonstrates a good Demonstrates a simplistic Demonstrates a poor
understanding of the topic understanding of the topic understanding of the understanding of the
and answers class and answers class topic and is able to topic. Cannot answer
questions with clear questions with good answer only rudimentary questions about subject
explanations and explanations but does not questions
elaborations. elaborate

Graphics Explain and reinforce
screen text and
presentation
Research Uses a variety of reliable
sources which are all fully
and correctly referenced
Relate to text and Occasionally uses Uses superfluous
presentation graphics that rarely graphics or no graphics
support text and
presentation
Uses a variety of sources Uses a limited amount of No evidence of different
which are referenced. sources of which some sources being used.
are referenced.

Content: Advantages and Includes an excellent Includes a good discussion Includes a limited or Does not include any
disadvantages discussion on the on the advantages and simplistic discussion on discussion on the
advantages and disadvantages of the energy the advantages and advantages and
disadvantages of the source. disadvantages of the disadvantages of the
energy source. energy source. energy source.

Oral Presentation Maintains eye contact and Maintains eye contact most Occasionally uses eye Reads with no eye
Elocution/Eye Contact pronounces all terms of the time and pronounces contact, mostly reading contact and incorrectly
precisely. All audience most words correctly. presentation, and pronounces terms.
members can hear Most audience members incorrectly pronounces Speaks too quietly
can hear presentation terms. Audience
members have difficulty
hearing
Total (18)