Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
5/14/2018 2
Renewable energy is growing in importance and popularity
• In view of all this and other factors, governments worldwide support renewables
with various incentives
5/14/2018 3
The main types of renewable energy
• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Biofuels
• Geothermal energy
There are many sources of renewable energy, but all of them, except geothermal
energy, are more or less directly related to the sun: the main source of clean and
sustainable energy for the earth.
5/14/2018 4
Solar energy
• Solar Energy is the radiant energy which is transmitted to the earth through
space by electromagnetic radiation in quanta of energy called photons, which
interact with the earth's atmosphere and surface.
• Solar cells really called photovoltaic or photoelectric cells convert light directly in
to electricity.
• Solar energy can be converted directly into electrical energy by photovoltaic (PV)
cells (often referred as solar cells). Sunlight falling on a solar cell – a transparent
silicon wafer thinner than a sheet of paper - releases a flow of electrons when they
strike5/14/2018
silicon atoms, creating an electrical current. 5
Cont’d
Solar cells are semiconductor devices that produce electricity from sunlight via
the photovoltaic effect.
Sunlight strikes the cell, photons with energy above the semiconductor bandgap
impart enough energy to create electron-hole pairs.
This separation induces a fixed electric current and voltage in the device. The
electricity is collected and transported by metallic contacts on the top and bottom
surfaces of the cell.
5/14/2018 6
How PV cell work
An electrical field is created near the top surface of the cell where these two
materials are in contact, called the P-N junction.
When sunlight strikes the surface of a PV cell, this electrical field provides
momentum and direction to light-stimulated electrons, resulting in a flow of
current when the solar cell is connected to an electrical load
5/14/2018 7
Advantages Disadvantages
• Reduce air pollution (99% less than coal) • Making solar cells produces toxic
chemicals
• Greatly reduce 𝐶𝑂2 emission
• Take large amounts of land because of
• Reduce dependence on imported oil
diffuse nature of sun light
• Solar energy is free- it needs no fuel and
• Need buck up system
produces no waste or pollution
• It is costly
• In sunny countries, solar power can be
• doesn’t work at night
used where there is no easy way to get
• Can be unreliable unless you are in a
electricity to a remote place.
5/14/2018
sunny climate 8
5/14/2018 9
Wind energy
• Wind energy, the kinetic energy of moving air masses, is another resource that
can be utilized to produce electricity.
• Wind farms on land can be built in a short period of time and can be expanded as
needed
• Almost all wind turbines producing electricity consist of rotor blades that rotate
around a horizontal hub. The hub is connected to a gearbox and generator, which
are located inside the nacelle.
5/14/2018 10
Cont’d
• The nacelle houses the electrical components and is mounted at the top of a tower
that is approximately the same height of the rotor diameter.
• All wind turbines start operating at a wind speed of 4-5 meters per second and
reach maximum power at about 15m/s.
• Turbines can range in capacity from several kilowatts to several Megawatts. The
crucial parameter is the diameter of the turbine - the longer the blades, the larger
the areas swept by the rotor and the greater the energy output.
5/14/2018 11
5/14/2018 12
Advantage Disadvantage
5/14/2018 13
Hydropower
• Building a dam across a river to create a reservoir and allowing some of the water
stored in the reservoir to flow through pipes at controlled rates to spin turbines
and produce electricity summarized the process required to generate hydropower.
Depending on the size of the river, natural height difference, and dam structure the
scale of the power generation changes.
5/14/2018 14
Advantages Disadvantages
5/14/2018 15
Biomass
5/14/2018 16
Cont’d
• Biomass can be considered as a renewable resource as long as the trees and plants
are not harvested faster then they grow back. No net increase in atmospheric CO2
takes place as long as the rate of removal and burning of trees and plants do not
exceed the rate of replenishment.
• Various forms of solid biomass can be converted by bacteria and various chemical
processes into gaseous and liquid biofuels such as biogas, ethanol, and methanol.
Liquid methanol and ethanol will become more competitive with gasoline and
diesel fuel as fossil fuel prices increase, and technologies for bio-fuel production
mature.
5/14/2018 17
Advantages Disadvantages
• Non-renewable if harvested
• No net CO2 increase if harvested and
unsustainably
burned sustainably
• Moderate to high environmental
• Plantation can help restore degraded impact
lands
• CO2 emissions if harvested and
• Can make use of agricultural and burned unsustainably
urban wastes • Soil erosion, water pollution, and loss
5/14/2018 of wild life habitat 18
Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal energy is the heat contained in underground rocks and fluids and is
another important source of energy. Dry- and wet-steam and hot water produced
by the geothermal energy from earth’s mantle are currently being used to heat space
and water, for industrial purposes and in some cases to produce electricity.
5/14/2018 19
Cont’d
5/14/2018 20
Advantages Disadvantages
Sustainability has to do with preserving resources and energy over the long
term5/14/2018
rather than exhausting them quickly to meet short term needs or goals.
Sustainable energy technology 28
Cont’d
The most widely quoted definition of sustainability comes from the Brutland
Commission of the UN in 1987, which defined sustainability as meeting “the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”.
• Sustainability Clarified: Satisfying lives for all within the means of nature—now
and in the future.
• Something
5/14/2018 is 'sustainable' if it has theenergy
Sustainable capacity
technology to continue 30
Cont’d
• Only when all three of these pillars are incorporated can an activity
or enterprise be described as sustainable.
• Causes changes
• Two forms
• Gravitational Energy
“up high”
Energy stored in an
pull on an object
• Nuclear Energy
Together.
Chemical Energy
Mechanical Energy
(Motion)
Movement of objects or substances
from one place to another.
Electrical Energy
Movement of electrons
in one direction
Thermal Energy
(Heat)
Substance.
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 43
Why energy is a concern?
• poverty alleviation
• climate change
• environmental and food security
• Current energy systems don’t meet the needs of the world’s poor
Energy systems
Forms of energy
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 48
Basic facts and concepts on Energy (1)
Is an energy form found in nature that has not been subjected to any human
engineered conversion or transformation process.
Energy carriers are energy forms which have been transformed from primary
energy sources. Electricity is one of the most common energy carriers being
transformed from various primary energy sources such as coal, oil, natural gas
and 5/14/2018
wind. Sustainable energy technology 52
Primary Energy Sources
Non-Renewable Sources
• Fossil Fuels
• Mineral fuels
Natural Uranium
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 53
Basic concepts … (3)
• The term energy refers only to heat or power, which are obtained from
burning of fuel
• Secondary: All energy commodities which are not primary but produced
from primary commodities. Secondary energy comes from the
transformation of primary or secondary energy.
• The generation of electricity by burning fuel oil is an example
I. Renewable, and
II. Non-Renewable
• Renewable energy: is energy which is generated from natural sources. i.e sun,
wind, rain, tides and can be generated again and again as and when required.
• They are available in plenty and by far most the cleanest sources of energy
available on this planet.
• Energy generated by using wind, solar, tides, geothermal heat and biomass
including farm and animal waste is known as non-conventional energy. All these
sources are renewable or inexhaustible and do not cause environmental pollution.
Moreover they do not require heavy expenditure.
Non-renewable energy: is energy which is taken from the sources that are
available on the earth in limited quantity and will vanish 50-60 years from now.
Non-renewable sources are not environmental friendly and can have serious
effect on our health.
• They are called non-renewable because they can not be regenerated within a short
span of time. Non-renewable sources exist in the form of fossil fuels, natural gas,
oil and coal.
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 62
Cont’d
• The sun, wind, geothermal, ocean energy are available in the abundant quantity
and free to use
• Renewable resources are replaced through natural processes at a rate that is equal
to or greater than the rate at which they are used, and depletion is usually not a
worry.
• The non-renewable sources of energy that we are using are limited and are bound
to expire one day
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 64
Cont’d
• Non-renewable resources are exhaustible and are extracted faster than the rate at
which they formed
• Renewable sources have low carbon emissions, therefore they are considered as
green and environment friendly.
Non-Renewable Energy Resources-Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and nuclear
fuels.
The burning fuel from coal transfers energy to water, which becomes steam.
The kinetic energy contained within the steam is transferred to the blades of a
turbine, a large device that resembles a fan.
As the energy in the steam turns the turbine, the shaft in the center of the
turbine turns the generator
Coal, petroleum and natural gas are called fossil fuel as these are formed by
the decomposition of the remains of dead plants and animals buried under
the earth for a long time.
Their reserves are limited and are considered very precious. These should be
used with care and caution to let them last long. These are also contributing
to the global environmental pollution.
Coal- a solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns and other
plant materials that were preserved 280-380 million years ago.
found buried deeply in the ground or under the seabed, or close to the
surface
Four types of coal ranked from lesser to greater age, exposure to pressure, and
energy content.
Its characteristics vary widely according to its biological origin (forests, low
growing vegetation, swamps, animals) and geological history (age, overburden,
temperature, pressure).
Thus, the chemical and physical characteristics of coal are also highly
variable, such as the content of moisture, minerals (ash), sulfur, nitrogen,
and oxygen; heat value, porosity, hardness, etc
The world total coal reserves are estimated at 1.037E(12) metric tons.
About one-half is bituminous and anthracite coal, whereas the other half
is sub-bituminous and lignite coal.
Oil and Gasoline make this ideal for mobile combustion, such as vehicle.
Formed from the remains of ocean – dwelling phytoplankton that died 50-150
million years ago.
Countries with the most petroleum are Saudi Arabia, Russia, US, Iran, China,
Canada and Mexico.
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 84
Cont’d
found in geological reservoirs under the ground or under the seabed at depths up
to several thousand meters.
the world’s reserve is estimated as 1.6 E(12) barrels (1 barrel= 159 litres)
The combustible part of natural gas (NG) consists mainly of methane (CH4)
with some admixture of heavier hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, and butane).
Frequently noncombustible gases are also found mixed with natural gas,
namely, 𝑁2 and 𝐶𝑂2 .
It is easy to combust because, being a gas, it readily mixes with air. Thus, the
combustion is rapidly completed, and the boiler or furnace volume is smaller
than that required for oil or coal combustion.
The combusted gas can directly drive a gas turbine with applications in power
generation.
natural gas produces one-half the amount of CO2 per unit heating value as
does coal, and it produces three-quarters as much as oil.
the world’s natural gas reserves is estimated as 6.75 E(15) cubic feet.
Ample supply
When unburned
High net energy yield
methane escapes in to the
Less air pollution than other fossil fuels and lower
atmosphere
carbon dioxide
Contain fewer impurities and therefore emits gas has the potential of
Countries can limit their need for Disposal of the radioactive waste
imported oil
Burning fossil fuels creates waste products that can act as pollutants and have
harmful environmental effects.
Carbon dioxide- this greenhouse gas is the main waste product of burning
fossil fuels. Increased levels of carbon dioxide due to human activities are
thought to be connected with global warming.
Sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide- these gaseous pollutants contribute to the
formation of smog and acid rain.
This waste solid is disposed of in landfill sites.
5/14/2018 Sustainable energy technology 98