Renewable Energy Sources

(18EE653)
Module 3
1. HYDROGEN ENERGY
1. HYDROGEN ENERGY
 Hydrogen Energy
O Simplest element(1 P & 1e)
O Available in combination with other elements, eg: Water, hydro
carbons, etc..
O Hydrogen energy can be thought of usable form, next to electrical
energy in future
Benefits of Hydrogen Energy
O Use of Hydrogen greatly reduces pollution
O Hydrogen can be produced locally from numerous sources
O A sustainable production system if hydrogen is produced from water
 Hydrogen Production
technologies
O The choice of production method depends on the required purity of
hydrogen
The methods are:
O 1.Thermochemical production
O 2.Electrolytic production
O 3.Photolytic Production
1.Thermochemical Production
Technologies
O Hydrogen bound in water and organic matter constitutes
70% of it on the earths surface
Different Thermochemical production methods are:
O A. Steam Reforming
O B. Partial Oxidation or Ceramic Membrane Reactor
O C. Biomass Gasification and Pyrolysis
 Steam Reforming
O This process uses thermal energy to separate hydrogen from
methane and methanol
O Involves the reaction of these fuels with steam on catalytic surfaces
O Steam reforming of natural gas is normally used
O Natural gas is cleared from sulphur components
O It is mixed with steam and send over a Nickel Aluminia Catalyst
inside a heated tubular reactor
 The two steps involved in Steam reforming are
O Step 1:Decomposition of fuel into CO and H2

O Step 2:Shift reaction changes CO and water to

CO2 and H2
 Partial Oxidation or Ceramic
Membrane Reactor
O Natural gas (or other hydrocarbons) and oxygen are injected into a high pressure
reactor
O The oxygen to carbon ratio is optimised to minimise soot

O The large amount of heat generated is removed

O The next step is shift reaction to combine CO and water to form CO2
and H2
O Since the reactions are there is no need to supply external heat
 Partial Oxidation or Ceramic
Membrane Reactor
O The process needs oxygen which is usually provided by a distillation
plant
O Partial Oxidation helped by a oxidation catalyst is called as catalytic
partial oxidation
O Less energy efficient than steam reforming
 Biomass Gasification and
Pyrolysis
O Biomass pyrolysis produces a liquid product (bio-oil)
O Bio oil consists of a wide spectrum of highly reactive oxygenated
components that can be separated into valuable chemicals and fuels
including hydrogen
 2. Electrolytic Production
Technologies
O Separates the hydrogen and oxygen from water by passing
electrical current in an electrochemical cell
O Addition of electrolyte improves efficiency of
process by enhancing conductivity
O The charge breaks the chemical bond between the hydrogen and
oxygen and creates ions
O Hydrogen ions gets collected at cathode and oxygen ions at anode
 Two types of cells
1.Alkaline Electrolyser
O A solution of sodium or potassium chloride is
used

2.Proton Exchange Membrane(PEM)

O Electrolyte is a proton conducting membrane

O Mobile ions are protons
 Methods of Electrolytic
Production
O Water Electrolysis
O Steam Electrolysis
O Photo Electrolysis
O Thermochemical water splitting
O By product of KCl and NaCl Electrolysis
O Reversible Fuel Cells
1.Water Electrolysis
O Splits water into hydrogen and oxygen by current
passage
2.Steam Electrolysis
O Variation of conventional process
O Energy needed to split the water is provided by heat
instead of electricity
O More efficient
O At 2500 degree Celcius,water decomposes into
hydrogen and oxygen
O Chance of recombination is high at high
temperatures
O 3.Thermochemical water splitting
O Uses bromine or iodine assisted by heat
O Causes water molecules to split
O 4. By product of KCl and NaCl Electrolysis

O 5.Photo Electrolysis
O Uses solar power for providing necessary
current for electrolysis
O 6.Reversible Fuel Cell
O Operating PEM fuel Cell in reverse mode will yield
hydrogen
3. Photolytic Production Process
There are two methods
O 1.Photo electrochemical cell(PEC)
Using soluble metal
O As the metal dissolves in water ,it will absorb solar energy and produces an electric charge
which drives water splitting to produce hydrogen
Using semiconductor electrode(anode)
O A semiconductor metal is used as anode
O It absorbs photons of sufficient energy
O Electrons are transferred from valence band to conduction
band producing current flow to split water
Limitations
O Light induced corrosion limits useful life of the semiconductor
 2. Biological and Photo biological processes
O Uses algae and bacteria to produce hydrogen
O Under specific conditions the pigments in certain types of algae absorb
solar energy
O The enzyme in the cell acts as catalyst to split the water molecules
O Bacteria requires substrate to grow on
O These organisms can clean up pollution as well
 Hydrogen Energy Storage
Hydrogen can be stored in

O 1.Compressed Gas and liquid hydrogen Storage tanks

O Liquefied hydrogen is denser than gaseous
hydrogen
O Tanks are required to be insulated to prevent hydrogen loss
O 2.Material based storage
O Hydrogen can be stored on the surface of solids(adsorption) or
within them(absorption)
Methods of hydrogen energy Storage

1.Compression
O Hydrogen can be compressed into containers or reservoirs
O Higher the pressure higher the energy density
O Simple technology, but low energy density and efficiency(65-70%)
O Most common method for transport industry(at 700 bar) The
energy required for compression is a major drawback
2.Liquefied Hydrogen
O Can be liquefied by pressurising and cooling
O Here energy density is improved ,it is still less than conventional
petrol
O It must be kept below 20.27K

3.Metal Hydrides
O Certain metal hydrides and several types of carbon can absorb
hydrogen
O By absorbing, hydrogen can be easily transported and stored
O Once required, the hydrogen is removed from parent metal
O The extra material required to store is the major issue here
Both metal hydride an carbon based absorption need to use thermal
 Applications
At home sector
O Fuel cells are Ideal for residential zones
Silent operation
No moving parts
Provide reliable power
At work sector
O Fuel cells can be used to power up office buildings
No need of backup power generators as fuel cell power does not rely on
transmission lines
O Transport and industrial sector
O Fuel cells can power cars ,buses, airplanes, cell phones, laptops,
and more
O Can replace conventional power generators such as combustion engines or even
large batteries in cars, submarines, etc..
 Advantages of Hydrogen Energy
O Uncoupling of primary energy source and utilization
O It is easier to store than to store electricity
O It can be obtained from any primary energy source , including renewable energy
source
O Decentralized production is possible. Hydrogen is viewed as capable of providing
services where electricity is not available, in particular as a fuel for vehicles and
energy storage in remote areas
O Very efficient when used in fuel cells
O Very good experience of hydrogen as a chemical
reactant
O Very good safety records
 Disadvantages of Hydrogen Energy
O Poor overall energy efficiency
O Very low density and poor specific volume energy density
O Need for high pressures and very low temperatures when stored in liquid
state
O Specific safety problems and poor public acceptance
O No existing infrastructures for transport , distribution and storage
O Rather high cost(till today)
 Problems associated with Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen Storage
O Should be stored under high pressure and low temperature
O A container with such specifications are larger than a storage tank
High Reactivity of Hydrogen
O Hydrogen is extremely reactive .It is combustible and flammable.
 Problems associated with Hydrogen Energy
Cost and methods of hydrogen fuel production
O Current methods of production of hydrogen involves usage of
fossil fuels
O New clean technology or hydrogen production methods will need
to be developed for hydrogen vehicles to make sense
Consumer Demand
O The major transport companies will not start the manufacture
of hydrogen vehicles until there is consumer demand
O Nobody will opt for Hydrogen vehicles which are highly
expensive
Cost of changing Infrastructure
To accommodate hydrogen equipment and appliances
2. WIND ENERGY
 Installed wind capacity by state as of 31 October 2019
State Total Capacity (MW)

Tamil Nadu 9231.77

Gujarat 7203.77

Maharashtra 4794.13

Karnataka 4753.40

Rajasthan 4299.73

Andhra Pradesh 4077.37

Madhya Pradesh 2519.89

Telangana 128.10

Kerala 62.50

Others 4.30

Total 37090.03
Turbine Height
 Consideration and guidelines for site selection
•Wake
•Hill effect
•Turbulence
•Wind Shear
•Tunnel effect
•Wind Obstacles
•Variations in wind speed
•Roughness or the amount of friction that earth’s surface exert on wind
Wind turbine power output variation with steady wind speed
•Cut in speed
•Cut out speed
•Rated speed
Blade Count
3. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy
 Utilize temperature of the
earth’s core.
• 70% comes from the decay of
radioactive nuclei like uraniu
m with long half lives that
are embedded within the
Earth
• Some energy is from residual
heat left over from Earths
for mation.
• The rest of the energy comes
from meteorite impacts.
Geothermal Systems
 Under the earths crust there is a layer of hot and molten rock
called magma
 Heat is continuously produced here
 The amount if heat within 10 km of the earths surface
contain s 50,000 times more energy than all oil and natural
gas reservoirs in the world.
Geothermal Systems
 The temperature gradient between magma and earths surface causes magma’s heat to
flow slowly towards the surface where it is lost to atmosphere
 The cooled magma forms the crust
 If magma breaks through weak spots in the crust ,the result is a volcano
 In some places, the crust permits surface water to come into contact with the hot
magma
 The molten magma itself contains water which it releases as it solidifies
 The heated water or steam rises to the surface forming hot springs and geysers
Geothermal Reservoirs
Locations
 Ring of Fire
 Over 20 countries:
Iceland, U.S., Italy,
France, China, Japan,
ect.
 The United States is
the country with
the greatest
geothermal energy
production
Classifications
Dry Steam geothermal Systems(Vapour Dominated)
 In this case a hole dug into the ground can cause
steam to come to the surface.
Hot Water Geothermal Systems(Liquid Dominated)
 As the name implies these are reservoirs of hot
underground water.
 Water under pressure will be found in liquid state ,but
when it comes t o the low pressure surface, will
vapourise into steam
 These systems were found in countries like New
Zealand and in Mexico
Geothermal Energy Utilization
 Direct Use of Low grade Geothermal Energy
 Aquaculture and horticulture
 Fish farming, green houses, etc..
 Industry and Agriculture
 Drying fruits, vegetables, wood, drying wool, extraction of gold
and silver from ore, etc..
 Food Processing
 Sterilizing of equipment
 Residential use
 Space heating, Air conditioning
Electricity Generation
 Dry Steam Power Plant: Uses the superheated,
pressurized steam (180°- 350°C)
 Steam produced directly from the reservoir runs the turbines that
power the generator
 Dry steam systems are simple

Requires
 steam condensate injection piping

 minimal steam cleaning devices

 Rock catcher to remove large solids

 Centrifugal separator to remove condensate and small solid

particulates
 Final scrubber
Electricity Generation
 Flash Steam Power Plant: use hot water
above 182°C (360°F) from geothermal
reservoirs.
 The fluid is sprayed into a flash tank, which is held at a much lower pressure than
the fluid, causing it to vaporise (or flash) rapidly to steam.
 The steam is then passed through a turbine coupled to a generator as for dry steam
plants.
Electricity Generation
 Binary Cycle Power Plant:
 Insufficiently hot resource to efficiently
produce steam
 Too many chemical impurities to allow
flashing.
 In the binary cycle process, the geothermal fluid is passed through a heat
exchanger.
 The secondary fluid, which has a lower boiling point than water (eg isobutane or
pentane), is vaporised, and expanded through a turbine to generate electricity.
 The working fluid is condensed and recycled for another cycle.
 All of the geothermal fluid is reinjected into the ground in a closed-cycle
system.
Binary cycle power plants can achieve higher efficiencies than flash steam
plants, and they allow the utilisation of lower temperature resources.
 In addition, corrosion problems are avoided.
 However, binary cycle plants are more expensive, and large pumps are required
which consume a significant percentage of the power output of the plants.
Heat Pumps
 Utilizes constant
temperature of upper
10 feet of the Earth’s
surface.
 Similar to ordinary
heat pumps, but they
rely on more stable
source than air.
Problems Associated with Geothermal Energy
 Estimation of power life of the reservoir
 Separation of steam from steam water mixture and its transport
through pipelines to power houses
 The origin of geothermal systems that yield dry steam and why
they differ from hot water systems are unknown
 Selection of materials suitable for geothermal systems
 Multi purpose Total Energy Utilization of geothermal
Resources
 Steam separated in a conventional manner and used to
supply cheap water
 CO2 extracted from the gases are used for refrigeration and
fo od processing
 Hydrogen Sulphide refined to obtain sulphur
 Hot waters could supply a desalination plant
 The hot water would also provide air conditioning
and refrigeration
Global Geothermal Energy
Scenario
Prospects of Geothermal Energy in India
 More than 300 hotsprings scattered all over the country
 Mostly in Bihar, Bombay, Ratnagiri, Himachal Pradesh
and Ladakh
 Indian geothermal field is mainly a liquid dominated
field(hot
water)
 Streams of water under depths 11 – 32m
 Studies are essential to determine whether such low temperat
ure and low pressure water could be used for electricity
gener ation
Major ones are;
 Puga(Ladakh,50-110 degree celcius,25MW),

 Manikaran(HP,69-93 degree Celcius),

 Rajgir(35-42.5 degree Celcius)

 Surajkund(87 degree Celcius)

 Ratnagiri.
Environmental Effects
Gaseous and Particulate Emission
 Emits CO2,H2S,CH4,NH3,Mercuric components, lead 210 and radon 222, and
dissolved arsenic ,boron, and antimony
 Contributes to global warming, acid rain, and noxious smells if released
Land Pollution
 Degradation of usable soil
 Disposition of pollutant on surface may harm plant, soil sterility and may enter into
the food chain
Subsidence Effect
 Lowering of ground level when fluids are removed
Seismic Hazards
 Geothermal resources are mostly associated with the regions of high geologic
activity, which is manifested commonly as earthquakes
 Researches are directed towards the effects of geothermal fields on the
seismic hazards
Water Pollution
 Contamination of surface water and ground water by geothermal fluid is a big risk
 Specific research is required to identify those chemical constituents,
which may have adverse effect
Biological Effects
 Numerous unknown effects exists regarding the impact of ge othermal
operation on the bionature
 It is considered that the delicate balance of environment may be affected
due to the chemical changes in soil and water caus ed by geothermal
fields
Social Effects
 Problems of noise and land use
4. SOLID WASTE AND
AGRICULTURE REFUSE
 Residential wastes
 Municipal services wastes
 Industrial and commercial wastes
 Building and construction demolition
 Agriculture
 Heat energy generation
 Bioenergy generation
 Recycling
 Fuel and energy generation from agricultural
and municipal waste
1. Incineration
2. Pyrolysis
3. Anaerobic digestion
4. Recycling
5. Bioenergy
Conversion
 A furnace where waste is burnt to produce energy
 Incinerator combustion temperature is about 1000 degree Celsius
 Burning of waste in incinerator will only reduce its volume,
but does not dispose the toxic substances in the waste and
creates the largest source of dioxins
 Modern incinerators are equipped with pollution control
systems
 To remove dangerous chemicals flue gases are sent through
scrubbers
1. Auditing of waste
2. Proper incinerator selection
3. Proper operation of incinerator
4. Removal of dangerous chemicals and toxic
gases
5. Safe handling and disposal of incinerator
residues
Advantages
• Minimizes high transport costs of
waste to landfills
• Large reduction in volume of waste
• Cost effective solution
• Can be used for electricity generation
• Used for Hazardous and clinical waste
treatments
• Can be operated under any weather
conditions
• Long life span
• Cheaper in operation
Disadvantages
• Generates hazardous gases such as
furans and dioxins, which causes
cancer, affects hormones an damages
immune system
• Generates CO2 and odour
• Requires high energy
• Expensive to build
Process:
Organic waste is burnt at relatively low temperature
Chemical mining of waste
Chemical decomposition of waste materials by heat in
the absence of oxygen under pressure and operating
temperature above 430 degree Celsius
Transforms organic materials into gases, small
quantities of liquid and a solid residue containing
carbon and ash
By Products :
Combustible gases, including CO, Hydrogen and methane
and other hydrocarbons
If the off gases are cooled ,liquids condense producing an
oil or tar residue and contaminated water
Pyrolysis liquids can be used directly or refined for high
quality fuels, chemicals, adhesives and other products
Direct pyrolysis liquids can be toxic or corrosive
Advantages Disadvantage
• Significant reduction in volume of • Generates possible toxic residues such as
waste inert mineral ash, inorganic compounds
• By Products are very useful and unreformed carbon
• Storable and transportable fuel or • Possible toxic air emissions such as acid
feedstock is obtained gases, dioxins , furans, nitrogen
• Environment friendly than oxides,SO2,and particulates
incineration • Requires a certain amount of materials
• Environmental Problem is reduced to work efficiently
• More efficient than incineration
• Sustainable process
• Modular plants, Hence easy to
operate
• Easy to control the contaminated air
emissions
• Replaces coal and natural gas as viable
fuel sources
Pyrolysis
• Thermal degradation in the absence of
oxygen
• Carried out at lower temperatures,
and there is no combustion
• Produces liquid fuel of useful high
quality although the syngas is rich in CO
and hydrogen as well
• Controlled chemical Process in order to
produce valuable secondary raw
material
• Excellent Performance in controlling
the emission of harmful substances
Incineration
• Requires oxygen in the form of air
• Carried out at higher temperatures
and combustion takes place
• Produces energy as heat that can be
used to create steam for power
generation
• It is done to reduce the volume of
waste
• Produces toxic gases
 Series of processes in which microorganisms break down
biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen
 Anaerobic digester is an airtight chamber in which organic
waste is decomposed and transformed into biogas
 One of the end products is biogas ,which is combusted to
produce electricity and heat,or can be processed into
renewable natural gas and transportation fuels
 Conversion of biomass or biogas to usable form
Electricity
Liquid Fuels(ethanol or methanol)
 The production of usable energy through algal and similar
crops include the following steps
1. Photosynthesis production of organic matters
2. Collection and processing of plant materials
3. Fermentation leading to liquid and gaseous fuels and storage
 The following issues must be investigated before the economic
viability of a RDF(Refuse Derived Fuel)scheme
 Collection of waste
 The volume and nature of waste to be processed
 The type of efficient RDF process required and market
for fuel products
 Potential users and Revenue obtainable
 Utilization of solar thermal energy for increasing the
temperature of digesters
 Economy for the alternate method of refusal of waste
 Involves the collection of used and discarded
materials in order to process them and make them
into new products
 Results in waste reduction
 It is a tool for economic development as well as for
environment
 Reuse , recycling and waste reduction offer direct
development opportunities for communities
Advantages Disadvantages
• Reduced damage to • High cost of recycling
environment • Durability and small
• Reduced energy life span of
consumption recycled items
• Reduction in pollution • Unsafe and unhygienic
• Mitigate global process
warming
• Promotes
sustainable
utilization of
resources
 Recycling rate for different types of plastics differ greatly
 Plastics are very good asset to recycling program
 Two categories
Thermosets: Solidifies or sets irreversibly when heated.
 durable and strong.
 Uses : automobiles, construction,adhesives,inks
Thermoplastics:
 Softens when exposed to heat and returns to original condition
at room temperature
 Can be easily shaped
 Uses: milk jugs, floor coverings, credit cards, etc
 Important agenda in the three R’s
Process:
1. Collection of plastic wastes
2. Collected waste goes to material recovery facility where they
are sorted by type and baled
3. Sent to reclaiming facility, where any trash or dirt is sorted
out , plastics are washed and ground into small flakes
4. A flotation tank may be used to separate contaminants based on
their densities
5. Flakes are then dried , melted ,filtered and formed into pellets
6. Pellets are then shipped into manufacturing plants,where they
are made into new products
 Energy and natural resource conservation
 Environmental protection
 Reducing the dumping spaces
 Energy conservation
 Method to convert waste plastics into usable form
 A catalytic pyrolysis process to convert waste plastic to liquid
hydrocarbons, coke and gas, which then can be used as boiler
fuel for power generation
 Complex organic materials are reduced into light crude oil
 Under pressure and heat , long chain polymers of
hydrocarbons ,oxygen and carbon decompose into short chain
petroleum hydrocarbons
 Essential steps in the pyrolysis of plastics
1. Evenly heating the plastic to a narrow
temperature range without excessive
temperature variations
2. Purging oxygen from pyrolysis chamber
3. Managing the carbon rich char by product before
it acts as a thermal insulator
4. Careful condensation and fractionation of
the pyrolysis vapours to produce distillate of good
quality and consistency
 Surat will be the first in the state of Gujarat to convert
plastic waste into crude oil and pellets
 Process:
1. Forced air, heated by a gas burner is used to indirectly
heat the feedstock inside the process vessel
2. The process vessel is isolated from oxygen and
exposed to vacuum
3. The energy from the burner is used for
depolymerisation
4. The oil obtained is refined for use
 Double tank combustor design
 Plastic waste is first processed in an uppertank
through pyrolysis which converts solid plastic into
gas
 The gas flows to a lower tank where it is burned
with oxidants to generate heat and steam
 The heat sustains the combustor and the steam
can be used to generate electricity
Thankyou