Renewable And Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences Essay

Renewable And Non Renewable Energy Sources Environmental Sciences EssayWe bath not use our feet to antecedent our cars corresponding the flinst angiotensin converting enzymes. So, how do cars move about? Energy what is susceptibility? energy is the ability to do work. All living things need energy to grow, plants use light from the sun to grow, also light is a type of energy we use all the time, we get most of the light from the sun, but at night we make our own light using other energy reference known as electricity. Energy makes things move, cars run on the energy stored in triggermanoline sail boats atomic number 18 pushed by the energy in the wind. It takes energy to run our televisions, computers, and video games in the form of electricity, we use electricity all mean solar day long, it gives us light and heat, it makes things operate. After a long day dont you feel too tired to move? Well you have ran out of energy, you need or so food to re dismiss. Imagine what yo ur life would be without electricity? in that location be twain principal(prenominal) types of energy renewable and non-renewable, basically Most of the energy we use comes from fogey fuels, such as coal, rude(a) gas and petroleum. uracil is another nonrenewable source, but it is not a fogy fuel. Uranium is converted to a fuel and used in nuclear power plants. at a time these natural resources are used up, they are gone forever. The process of gathering these fuels can be harmful to the biomes from which they come. Fossil fuels are put through a process called combustion in order to produce energy. Combustion releases pollution, such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, which may contribute to acid rain and worldwide warming. Other than Renewable sources of energy can be used over and over again. Renewable resources include solar energy, wind, geothermal energy, biomass and hydropower. They generate much less(prenominal) pollution, both in gathering and production, than n onrenewable sources. But it is believed that petroleum in particular impart not be depleted as it is generated in the stocky sedimentary basins even if it will take thousands of years but it will be generated and petroleum will still be one of main and of the essence(p) sources of energy and the source upon which countries economies depend on, in the following report we will try to identify different energy sources purchasable in the world.Scientific primer coatRenewable energy is defined () to be those energy source which do not deplete. They are basically natural sources of energy like sun, wind, -whereas nonrenrenewable energy sources renewable energy sources are the sources which when used will not be depleted from the world.selective information surveyThe following section will demonstrate non-homogeneous examples from around the world to show energy sources uses and applications. The first example is from (http//www.renewable-energy-sources.com/)SMA Expands North America n Utility-Scale PV Inverter Line Sunny Central 500HE and 630HE Ideal for Medium Voltage tie-up SMA America LLC, the U.S.-based subsidiary of global solar technology leader SMA solar Technology AG, has expanded its U.S. line of utility products with the Sunny Central High ability (HE) line of solar inverters. The new 500 and 630 kilowatt inverters provide integratorsAbengoa Solar Reaches Total of 193 Megawatts OperatingAbengoa Solars third parabolic trough solar power plant, Solnova 4, successfully passed its three day production and operation tests.UNI-SOLAR Power Tilt(TM) Solar Roof System Featured on German DIY Retail Store Innovative Solar Roofing System Gaining Traction in European Markets United Solar, a leading global manufacturer of building-integrated and rooftop photovoltaics under its UNI-SOLAR brand and a wholly have subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices (NasdaqENER) announced that its innovative PowerTilt solar roof system was recently installed at Hagebaumarkt, a German DIY retail franchiseCentro solar Presents New 54-cell PV Panel with up to 225 Wp output at the EUPVSECPremium solar module achieves higher output thanks to novel cell matrix CENTROSOLAR AG is showing the new 54-cell module with increased output at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EUPVSEC) from September 6 10 in Valencia, SpainREpower Launches First Wind Farm with System Certificate in line with German System Service Ordinance (SDLWindV)Kronprinzenkoog wind farm one of the bounteousgest repowering projects in Northern Ger numerous Total wind farm output increased from 12.3 MW to 30.75 MW Hamburg, 2 August 2010. REpower Systems AG (WKN 617703) has launched a wind farm project in the district of Dithmarschen (Schleswig-Holstein) with Repowering Kronprinzenkoog GbRNon-renewable energy sourcesnon-renewable energy sources are the sources which when used will be depleted from our world and then we will have to find alternative sources.Data surveyT he following section will also demonstrate various examples of non renewable energy sources extracted from (http//www.lshc.co.uk/downloads/Nonrenewable.pdf), such as1-fossil fuelsFossil fuels are compounds made from the chemical elements carbon and hydrogen. Fossil fuels formed millions of years ago, during the Carboniferous Period, from the remains of plants and animals. As the plants and animals that inhabited the swamps died, they were buried under sand and mud which stopped them from decaying. Over time, more sediments covered the remains and pressure, together with heat, turned them into coal, oil and natural gas deposits.Today, fossil fuels are used in power stations to generate electricity. inbred gas is also commonly used in homes to cook food and heat piddle, and compressed natural gas can power specially intentional vehicles. Oil is the main source of power for vehicles, in the form of petrol or diesel.74% of the UKs electricity is generated from fossil fuels.Most of the worlds oil (13%) comes from Saudi Arabia.Russia is the main producer of natural gas, extracting nearly 22% of the total produced each year. The UK is 5th with 3.2%.China leads the way in coal production, mining 38% of the worlds coal.2-Nuclear powerIn most electric power plants, water is heated and converted into steam, which drives a turbine-generator to produce electricity. Fossil-fueled power plants produce heat by burning coal, oil, or natural gas. In anuclear power plant, thefission of uranium atomsin the nuclear reactor provides the heat to produce steam for generating electricity.Several commercial reactor designs are currently in use in the United States. The most widely used design consists of a heavy steel pressure vessel ring a reactor core. Thereactor corecontains the uranium fuel, which is formed into cylindrical ceramic pellets and sealed in long metal tubes calledfuel rods. Thousands of fuel rods form the reactor core. Heat is produced in a nuclear reactor wh en neutrons strike uranium atoms, causing them to split in a continuous chain reaction.Control rods, which are made of a material such as boron that absorbs neutrons, are placed among the fuel assemblies.When the neutron-absorbing control rods are pulled out of the core, more neutrons become available for fission and the chain reaction speeds up, producing more heat. When they are inserted into the core, fewer neutrons are available for fission, and the chain reaction slows or stops, reducing the heat generated. Heat is outback(a) from the reactor core area by water flowing through it in a closed pressurized loop topology. The heat is transferred to a second water loop through a heat exchanger. The water also serves to slow down, or moderate the neutrons which is necessary for sustaining the fission reactions. The second loop is kept at a lower pressure, allowing the water to boil and create steam, which is used to power the turbine-generator and produce electricity.Originally, nu clear energy was expected to be a clean and cheap source of energy. Nuclear fission does not produce atmospheric pollution or greenhouse gases and it proponents expected that nuclear energy would be cheaper and last longer than fossil fuels. Unfortunately, because of construction represent overruns, poor management, and numerous regulations, nuclear power ended up being much more expensive than predicted. The nuclear accidents at trio Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in the Ukraine raised concerns about the safety of nuclear power. Furthermore, the problem of safely disposing spent nuclear fuel remains unresolved. The United States has not built a new nuclear facility in over twenty years, but with continued energy crises crosswise the country that situation may change.19% of the UKs electricity comes from nuclear power(http//cnx.org/content/m16730/latest/)3-CoalAt the present rate of use, the known coal supplies will last about 300 years and oil may no t last for more than about 50 years. A great deal of fossil fuel is burnt in power stations. The coal is burnt to boil water which in turn produces steam. The steam drives the fans of a large turbine (a very big dynamo) which then generates electricity. The electric current is transported to our houses by large power cables. The whole process is an example of how energy is transformed from chemical energy to heat energy tokinetic energy and then finally to electrical energy.Figure (1)Problems with non-renewable energyThe main source of energy today is fossil fuel. However, there are two main problems associated with this type of fuel the limited availability of fossil fuels and climate change. There are also safety concerns linked to the use of nuclear power and the radiation that is produced.Limited availability of fossil fuelsFossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy, so they could one day run out. Alternative sources of energy are needed. As supplies decrease, the cost of buying fossil fuels may increase causing economic problems as wellClimate changeWhen fossil fuels are burnt they produce the gas carbon dioxide ( carbon dioxide). Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas because it traps heat from the sun, much like the glass in a greenhouse, preventing it from escaping out of the Earths atmosphere into space. Greenhouse gases are found naturally in the atmosphere and they are essential for keeping the Earth warm. However, through the activities of humans, mainly as a leave behind of burning fossil fuels, the amount of these gases in the atmosphere is increasing. As a result, global warming is occurring as the temperature of the Earth rises.Global warming is leading to climate change.Polar ice-caps are melting, causing a rise in sea level around the world.Rainfall patterns are changing and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and droughts, are more frequent in some parts of the world.The UK is one of 170 countries that have signed an agreement called the Kyoto Protocol, which sets out targets for reducing CO2 emissions.There are also some environmental problems with fossil fuels such asoil SpillsOil has to be transported from oil fields to where it is needed. Oil tankers, which can carry many tens of thousands of tons of oil, are regularly used to transport the oil. Unfortunately, accidents can and do happen and the oil spills that result from these accidents have caused some study environmental headaches. Local birds, fish and animals such as sea otters and seals are very vulnerable to oil spills. Although the immediate damage can often search horrific, with the help of careful human clean-up operations and with natural processes that help clean the environment, the marine ecosystem can usually recover well.Figure(2)Acid RainWhen coal burns, it produces gases like carbon dioxide, which are then released into the atmosphere. Other harmful gases produced by coal burning are sulphur dioxide and some nitrogen oxi des. These dissolve in the water in the atmosphere to create weak solutions of sulphuric acid and nitric acid, which can then return to Earth as acid rain. Unfortunately many trees and plants cannot thrive when the water they need is acidic like this and large areas of forest can be affected. In the worst cases the vegetation may be killed. remnantIn the end we must understand how energy is something we can not make do without as without energy there is no life. As for some harmful energy sources then we have to find and start looking for alternative energy sources which are clean and non harmful, we should also start to depend on renewable energy sources as we know that they will not be all depleted in the future.