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Energy
Types of Energy
Fossil Fuels
1. Petroleum
► Oil
was formed from the decomposed
bodies of plankton buried in the muds of
shallow seas.
► Over millions of years, these organic liquids
were transformed by pressure and chemical
reactions into small drops of petroleum.
► The oil mostly accumulated into petroleum
traps
Petroleum
Advantages
► Plentiful
► Relatively cheap
source of energy
► Easy to transport
Disadvantages
► Pollution
► Becoming more
expensive
► “addiction to oil”
► nonrenewable
2. Natural Gas
► Like
oil, natural gas is formed from the
remains of plankton that fell to the sea
bottom and were covered by fine muds and
silts.
► These remains were altered over millions of
years into gasses.
► They accumulated into the same traps that
contain the oil.
► Natural
gas was regarded as a useless by
product for years, however since the 1950’s
it has gained prominence.
Natural Gas
Advantages
► Cleaner burning than
oil. Less pollution
► Many known reserves
Disadvantages
► Difficult to transport
(pipelines or LNG)
► Still create pollution
issues. Add to global
warming
► nonrenewable
3. Coal
► Coal
is the third nonrenewable fossil fuel.
► It was formed from the remains of ancient
forests and swamps.
► As trees and other plants died, leaves and
branches fell into the swamps.
► Unable to decay in the waters they
accumulated to form thick layers of
vegetable remains
► These
were buried over millions of years by
sediments and the remains of other
swamps.
► Pressure and chemical changes turned the
sediments into sedimentary rocks and the
vegetable remains into coal.
Three types of coal
1.
Anthracite - produced under areas of high
pressure and is carbon rich.
2.
Bituminous – softer than anthracite, it
contains more impurities, and was formed
under less pressure.
3.
Lignite – a soft, low value coal formed
close to ground level where pressure was
greatly reduced.
Coal
Advantages
► For many years it was
cheap, readily
available, and easy to
transport
Disadvantages
► Highly polluting
► Reserves are getting
more expensive to
mine
► nonrenewable
Thermal Power
► Thermal
power is considered a secondary
energy source.
► It uses a primary energy resource such as
the fossil fuels to create the energy.
► The fossil fuels are burned to heat water to
create jets of hot steam under high
pressure.
► The steam forces the turning of turbine
blades which then turn generators which
produce electicity.
Thermal Power
Advantages
► It can be produced
from a variety of fuels.
► It can be cheaper than
many other forms of
electricity
► Plants can be located
close to high demand
areas
► Plants can be shut
down or restarted as
needed.
Disadvantages
► Pollution from the
burning of fossil fuels.
► Scrubbers are
expensive to install
► They rely on
nonrenewable sources
of energy.
Nuclear Power
► Another
secondary energy source.
► The methods are similar to thermal power.
► The main difference is the heat source is
generated by splitting atoms of radioactive
materials, such as uranium-235, in a
process called nuclear fission.
Nuclear Power
Advantages
► Originally considered
to be low cost. And
pollution free.
Disadvantages
► Complex safety and
back-up systems
needed to guard
against break downs in
the reactors have
made the cost
expensive
► Overall safety concerns
Hydroelectric Power
► Dams
are constructed to raise water levels
and create an artificial drop.
► The falling water turns tubines, which in
turn drive the generators that convert the
mechanical energy of moving water into
electrical energy.
Hydroelectric Power
Advantages
► Clean and safe
► Abundant in some
areas
Disadvantages
► Lack of suitable rivers
in many areas
► Expensive initial
investment
► Disruption of wildlife
habitats
► Destruction of forests
and ecosystems