GCSE-ESOL Research on energy sources

May 2013

BiomassMohmed Munye

Biomass is carbon based and is composed of a mixture of organic molecules containing hydrogen, usually including atoms of oxygen, often nitrogen and also small quantities of other atoms, including alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metals. These metals are often found in functional molecules such as the porphyrins which include chlorophyll which contains magnesium.

Advantages•Biomass used as a fuel reduces need for fossil fuels for the production of heat steam and electricity for residential industrial and agricultural use•Biomass is always available and can be produced as a renewable resource•Biomass fuel from agriculture wastes maybe a secondary product that adds value to agricultural crop•Growing Biomass crops produce oxygen and use up carbon dioxide•The use of waste materials reduce landfill disposal and makes more space for everything else.

Disadvantages •Agricultural wastes will not be available if the basic crop is no longer grown •Additional work is needed in areas such as harvesting methods•Land used for energy crops maybe in demand for other purposes, such as faming, conservation, housing, resort or agricultural use•Some Biomass conversion projects are from animal wastes and are relatively small and therefore are limitedResearch is needed to reduce the costs of production

Gas as a energy resource

by SAAD ALTAF

DESCRIPTION • Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon

gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulphide.

• It is a major source of electricity generation. It

produce electricity by cogeneration, gas turbines and stream turbines.

• Gas turbine

• gas stream turbine

Pros and Cons Pros • Reliable • Relatively cheaper• Burn more cleaner

than other fossil fuel

• Doesn't release greenhouse gases

• Wide availability

Cons • Pollutant• Co2 emission• Non renewable ,

will run out • Dangerous, can

cause fire or explosion

• Expensive

Gas SAEED HUSSEIN

Description: Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of

methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. Natural gas is an energy source often used for heating, cooking, and electricity generation. It also used as fuel for some vehicles. Natural gas is found in deep underground natural rock formations or associated with other hydrocarbon reservoirs in coal beds and as methane clathrates. Natural gas extracted from oil wells is called casinghead gas or associated gas. The natural gas industry is extracting an increasing quantity of gas from challenging resource types: sour gas, tight gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane.

Gas

Pros • It is burn more clearly than oil or coal.• It is easily transported via pipelines and

fairly easily using tankers. • It can be piped into homes to provide

heating and cooking and to run a variety of appliances. Also It can be used as a fuel for vehicles.

• It is used to produce ammonia for fertilizers, and hydrogen, as well as in the production of some plastics and paints.

• It's also lighter than air, so if there is a leak it will tend to dissipate, unlike propane, which is heavier than air and pools into explosive pockets.

Cons • Even though it is cleaner than coal and oil,

it still contributes a large amount of carbon dioxide to greenhouse gases.

• It can leak, potentially causing an explosion.

• If your house is not properly insulated it can be very expensive.

• By itself natural gas is mostly methane, which is 21 times more dangerous for greenhouse warming than carbon dioxide so any leakage of the gas (from animals, landfills, melting tundra, etc) contributes strongly to greenhouse emissions.

Gas

Hoda Khalel

DescriptionGas is the state of matter that doesn’t have a specific volume or shape. Also the particles of a gas move very quickly and are spread out. Spaced very far apart and bump into each other as they whiz about.

Advantages•It is cheap.

•It is natural.

•Most homes use it so it is poplar.

•Natural gas burns cleanly, it doesn’t leave behind any unpleasant soot ,ash or odours.

•In some sense, natural gas can be a renewable resource.

Disadvantages•It is highly flamed.

•It is toxic if inhaled in large amount.

•It is Non-renewable resources. •It is creating cavities in the earth.

•Natural gas is highly volatile and can be dangerous is handled or transported carelessly.

GAS

HIBAQ DAHIR

DESCRIPTION Natural gas is a made up of a mixture of

hydrocarbons. The main hydrocarbon in natural gas is methane, but there are also small amounts of ethane, propane and butane.

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

It is used to produce ammonia for fertilizers, and hydrogen, as well as in the production of some plastics and paints.

it is faster when used in cooking and water heating and most gas appliances are cheaper than electrical ones.

It is easily transported via pipelines and fairly easily using tankers (land and sea)

Natural gas is reliable because the pipeline system can not be easily damaged by weather.

when gas burns creates CO2 emissions (although not as much as oil or coal.

gas leaking may cause a great problem especially underground eg : sea bed.

Natural gas is highly volatile and can be dangerous is handled or transported carelessly.It’s non renewable source of energy.

Hydroelectricity and pumped storage:kawsar

Hydro comes from Greek word for water. Hydro-electricity or Hydro-power is usually generated by turbines in a dam in a river. The dam means that a great body of water build up in the river behind the

dam. This is released through the turbines when electricity is needed. Hydroelectricity is a renewable resource, the sun provides

the water by evaporation from the sea, and keep going it. Gravitational potential energy is stored in the water above the dam. because of the great high pressure. of the water, it will arrive at the

turbines at high press

Hydroelectricity and pumped storage

• Advantages• It is renewable.• No chemical or waste heat

pollution.• Pollution is rarely created.• Reduce greenhouse

emissions.• Its inexpensive to operate. • Stations can operate and

run for long period of time.

• Disadvantages• Loss of fish species• Dams are expensive to build it,

and due to drought may became useless, or produce much less power than original planned.

• Ecosystems can be destroyed • Dams can break in a massive

flash flood• High investment cost• Sometimes messes up wildlife• Changes in river or stream quality

Nuclear energy

Abdinasir yasim

DescriptionNuclear energy oringinates from splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission at the power plant , the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam ,which turns to turbine to produce electricity.

Advantages Almost 0 emission ( very low green house gas emissions)Very small amount of raw material is required to generate huge amount of nuclear energy.It produces very less mount of pollution. it’s very reliable source of energy, the average life span of a nuclear reactor is approximately 40 years and can be extended to 60 years.Nuclear power stations are usually very compact compared to thermal stations.

Disadvantages the waste produced after fission reactions is highly radio active , so it’s very dangerous to the environment as well as human health.Starting a nuclear plant require huge capital investment and advanced technology.It’s rare form of energy than fossil fuels.The waste produced remains active over many years.Uranium is not renewable and can lead to envionmental problems.

A nuclear power is a form of energy produced by an atomic reaction, capable of producing an alternative source of electrical power to that supplied by coal, gas, or oil.

ADVANTAGES: Nuclear power plants don't require a lot of space - they have to be built on the coast, but do not need a large plot like a wind farm. It doesn't contribute to carbon emissions - no CO2 is given out - it therefore does not cause global warming.It does not produce smoke particles to pollute the atmosphere. Nuclear energy is by far the most concentrated form of energy - a lot of energy is produced from a small mass of fuel. This reduces transport costs - (although the fuel is radioactive and therefore each transport that does occur is expensive because of security implications). It is reliable. It does not depend on the weather. We can control the output It is relatively easy to control the output - although the time factor for altering power output is not as small as for fossil fuel stations.It produces a small volume of waste (although that waste is radioactive - see below)

DISADVANTAGES: Disposal of nuclear waste is very expensive. As it is radioactive it has to be disposed of in such a way as it will not pollute the environment.Decommissioning of nuclear power stations is expensive and takes a long time. (In fact we have not ever decommissioned one!) Nuclear accidents can spread radiation producing particles over a wide area, This radiation harms the cells of the body which can make humans sick or even cause death. Illness can appear or strike people years after they were exposed to nuclear radiation and genetic problems can occur too. A possible type of reactor disaster is known as a meltdown. In a meltdown, the fission reaction of an atom goes out of control, which leads to a nuclear explosion releasing great amounts of radioactive particles into the environment. See Chernobyl. The construction cost of a nuclear reactor is high; according to various studies, the total cost of building and making nuclear power plant operational ranges between $8-17 billion.

The technology used for generating nuclear power can also be used to produce nuclear weapons. Left in the wrong hands, such as terrorist or extremist groups, nuclear technology could lay the foundations of a global disaster.

Nuclear energy

Ahmed mohamed

DescriptionNuclear energy oringinates from splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission at the power plant , the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam ,which turns to turbine to produce electricity.

Advantages Almost 0 emission ( very low green house gas emissions) Very small amount of raw material is required to generate huge amount of nuclear energy. It produces very less mount of pollution. It’s very reliable source of energy, the average life span of a nuclear reactor is approximately 40 years and can be extended to 60 years. Nuclear power stations are usually very compact compared to thermal stations.

Disadvantages the waste produced after fission reactions is highly radio active , so it’s very dangerous to the environment as well as human health. Starting a nuclear plant require huge capital investment and advanced technology. It’s rare form of energy than fossil fuels. The waste produced remains active over many years. Uranium is not renewable and can lead to envionmental problems.

Solar power

Hassan Hassan

Solar power is energy from the sun and without its presence all life on earth would end. Solar energy has been looked upon as a serious source of energy for many years because of the vast amounts of energy that are made freely available, if harnessed by modern technology.

Advantage DisadvantagesThe primary disadvantage to solar energy is the upfront cost. Once installed, you can expect next to nothing on the system during the 40-year life span. The installation, however, can be price .

The power source of the sun is absolutely free.The production of solar energy produces no pollution.The technological advancements in solar energy systems have made them extremely cost effective.

Wind power and wind turbines

Karol Pawlowski

DescriptionWind power is a kinetic energy of

moving air masses. It is classified as a renewable energy

source. It is coverted into

electricity using wind turbines, as

well as mechanical energy used in

windmills and wind pumps.

Advantages:-No combustion and atmospheric emmisions-Wind power will never run out-Environmental protection-Apart from the investment, it is also free energy

Disadvantages:-It may be instability because the wind is variable, so we can not predict how much force will wind blow at a time-To build a wind farm we need a large space, away from urban areas-Wind turbines are a source of noise-High investment

NUCLEAR

GULED ABDULLE

Description

• Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity, in 2012.

Controversy about nuclear

For• Proponents of nuclear power argue

that this is a clean and safe source of energy, with low CO2 emissions. Proponents propagate the idea that nuclear power unlike the burning of fossil fuels produces virtually no air pollution. Proponents emphasize that the risks of storing nuclear waste are small and can be reduced by using the latest technology in newer reactors. They also point out that this energy is less dependent on foreign fuels.

Against• Opponents of nuclear power argue that this

poses many threats to people and the environment. These threats are the health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining, processing and transport, the risk of nuclear proliferation or sabotage, and the unsolved problem of radioactive waste. Critics question the safety of nuclear power plants and indicate previous major disasters. They do not believe that the risks can be reduced by new technology. They also claim that if the entire chain of nuclear power is considered, from uranium mining to nuclear decommissioning, nuclear energy is not a sustainable source of energy with low CO2 emissions.

Hydroelectricityand pumped storage

Florina

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric power generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power. Although the losses of the pumping process makes the plant a net consumer of energy overall, the system increases revenue by selling more electricity during periods of peak demand, when electricity prices are highest.

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity generation – 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010,[1] and is expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.

Hydroelectric power is produced as water passes through a dam, and into a river below. The more water that passes through a dam, the more energy is produced. Once a dam is built, an artificial man-made lake is created behind the dam.

• Advantages vertually polutionless-renewable energy source-doesn't give off green

house gasses such as coal, oil, gas

-requires lowmaintenance

• Disadvantages-apply to dams with reservoirs-the reservoirs displace people- the dams hold back nutrient-rich sediment

Muna ahmed

oil

Description Oil was made over millions of years from tiny plants and animals, called plankton. The plankton on the left would form oil in about 150 million years time if the sea bed is not disturbed.

Disadvantages

its non renewable

When it burns it releases carbon dioxide, powerful greenhouse gas .

The price of oil is rising, especially if the real cost of its carbon is included

Advantages

Easily combustible, and produces high energy upon combustion helping in locomotion and in the generation of electricity.

Widely and easily distributed all over the world through rail and sea tankers.

Oil-fired power stations are very efficient.

it’s also used for cooking.