EIS Chapter 2 - Energy

CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
World Energy Need Projection
Today
http://www.nea.fr/html/pub/newsletter/2001/19-1-complete.pdf
The different sources are:-
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Fossil fuels
Hydro power plant
Biomass
Wind energy
Solar energy
Geo thermal energy
Ocean thermal energy
Tidal energy
Wave energy
Nuclear energy
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1 TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Grave concern on harmful effects of technology on
environment
Some pollutions are limited in effect but some are out of
control
Some pollutions will go beyond national boundary and
thus environmental issues are addressed at international
level
Professional engineer must be sensitive of impact of
technology on environment
Air Pollution
Burning fossil fuels causes air pollution from waste
products
Particulates: small bits of burned fuel, causing
smog
Ozone: nitrogen oxide & other gases react to
create ozone near the earths surface
Sulfur dioxide: causing acid rain
Carbon monoxide: displaces O2 in blood,
deprives brain, heart, etc. of O2
Air Pollution Causes Health

Problems
Short Term
Can irritate the eyes, throat, and lungs
Bronchitis or pneumonia
Can aggrevate asthma
Long Term
Chronic respiratory disease
Lung cancer
Heart disease
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/asthma/triggers/085.html
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=6067
Air Pollution Causes

Environmental Damage
Acid rain
Kill plants
Kill fish
Prevent fish eggs from hatching
Ruin soil nothing grows
Damage to buildings/monuments
Crop damage due to ozone (O3)
smog - $ billions/year
Trees killed by acid rain
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Waldschaeden_Erzgebirge_3.jpg
Fossil Fuel Extraction Causes

Environmental Damage
Adverse environmental effects due to drilling,
leakages, and spills include
Surface and ground water pollution

Drilling fluid (called mud) releases
Land subsidence
Land and wildlife disruption
Oil spills
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2387
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oiled_bird_3.jpg
http://www.masstech.org/cleanenergy/important/envother.htm
Clean Air Act

Were getting better!
Clean Air Act - resulted in significant
improvements in the U.S.
Pollution 20 cars today = 1 car from 1960s

Emissions reduced: CO by 33%, sulfur dioxide by
38%, volatile organic compounds by 42%, particulate
matter by 75%, lead by 98%
Overall air pollution reduction approximately
48%
Hot spots of bad air pollution still exist
http://www.dispatchesfromchina.com/2010/06/pass_the_mask.html
Can You Name The Main

Greenhouse Gases?
Can You Name The Main

Greenhouse Gases?
GHGs in Atmosphere
Water Vapor (H2O)
36%-72%
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Methane (CH4)
Fluorocarbons (CFCs)
Ozone (O3)
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
http://nlc-echs-groupthree.co.uk/greenhousegasses.aspx
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Engineers must take leading role to search solution to the
environmental problems
Continuous demand of energy is the root of most
environmental problems
Two most controversial sources of energy are fossil fuels
and nuclear fission
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2 FOSSIL FUELS
What is Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are carbon-based fuels found in the
earths crust that formed million years ago by
anaerobic decomposition of plants and animals under
intense hear and pressure
Examples coal, oil, natural gas
They are major source of energy since industrial
revolution
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It has been predicted that energy demand will be

increased by 50% from 2007 to 2030 and the majority
from come from the fossil fuels
Sources of energy in 2007
Petroleum 36%
Coal 25.3%
Natural gas 23%
Hydroelectric 6.3%
Nuclear 8.5%
Others (renewable energy) 0.9%
Thus fossil fuels = 84.3%
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Non-renewable Energy
Fossil fuels are non-renewable source of energy as it

takes million of years to form
Reserves are now depleting at faster rate than it is
being formed
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Coal
Coal is combustible rock and it occurs naturally
underground and be extracted via mining
More than 80% of coal extracted is used to generate
electricity
Balance is used in production of plastic and textiles
Total world reserves 847 billion tons
Sufficient for another 164 years
FYI
Coal gasification is the process of producing coal gas, a
type of syngasa mixture of carbon monoxide (CO),

hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour
(H2O)from coal and water. Coal gas, which is a
combustible gas, was traditionally used as a source of
energy for municipal lighting and heat before the advent of
industrial-scale production of natural gas, while the
hydrogen obtained from gasification can be used for
various purposes such as making ammonia, powering a
hydrogen economy, or upgrading fossil fuels. Alternatively,
the coal gas (also known as "town gas") can be converted
into transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel
through additional treatment via the Fischer-Tropsch
process.
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Oil
Oil is liquid fossil fuel composed of delayed organic

matters that occur naturally underground
Extracted as crude oil and separated in oil refinery as
kerosene, diesel, petrol and aviation fuel
Majority of oil is used in power generation and
transportation
Worlds oil reserve 1,238 billion barrels
May last for 43 years
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Natural Gas
Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly
methane (CH4). Others are ethane, propane, nitrogen,
carbon dioxide
It is extracted from reservoirs of gas stream or can be
separated from other crude oil during refining process
It can be used in gas form or compressed into
liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transportation
Application transportation, industrial, commercial,
residential
World reserve 177 trillion m3
May last for 60-70 years
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3 Nuclear Energy
What is Nuclear Energy

Energy produced by splitting one atoms into 2 or more
atoms nuclear fission
When nuclei of certain atom (such as Uranium 235 or
Plutonium 239) absorb a free neutron, it becomes
unstable and split apart and release 1 or more
neutrons which will hit another atom again
The process is repeated, creating a self-sustained
chain reaction and produced large amount of energy
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Two typical fission reactions are shown below with

average values of energy released and number of
neutrons ejected:
Energy produced
E = MC2
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As at 2007, nuclear power provides 8.5% of worlds

energy and 15% of worlds electricity
USA, France and Japan amounting to 60% of nuclear
generated electricity
In 2007, there are 439 nuclear power reactors in
operation in 31 countries
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Nuclear Power Plants

Main application of nuclear energy is power generation
In 2008, USA has 104 nuclear reactors that provides
20% of the nations electricity
When Uranium 235 or Plutonium 239 absorb a free
neutron, nuclear fission occurs and energy is produced
The nuclear chain reaction can be controlled by using a
moderator consisting of water or graphite which speeds
up reaction
The boron control rods which absorb neutrons will slow
down the reaction
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Reactor will have automatic and manual system to

shut down the plant if unsafe conditions are detected
A cooling system is designed to remove heat from
reactor core and transfer the heat to another system
to produce electricity
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Advantages of Nuclear Energy

There are many positive environmental effects of
nuclear energy
It does not produce any greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
which are normally produced by burning fossil fuels
Thus will not bring about greenhouse effect to our
environment
Nuclear energy is the largest source of low-carbon
dioxide fuel
Played important role in combating climate change
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It is also one of most cost competitive among other

energy sources
This is even more advantages in view of increase of
oil prices
As we face the historically unprecedented environmental threat of
devastating climate, triggered primarily by atmospheric CO2 emissions,

the most important aspect of sustainable (suitable) energy sources is
that they deliver energy services without emitting CO2.
If nuclear were merely one among many equally suitable energy
sources for quantity of energy and for being CO2 emission-freed it
could be argued that, if we dont employ nuclear power, we can always
use one or more of the many CO2-free energy harvesting technologies
proposed these days from intermittent renewables like sunlight, wind
and tides, to continuous-supply renewables like like biomass and
biomass is not truly CO2-emission free.
Yet none of these alternative sources can supply energy in the
quantities that will be needed without unacceptable codicil problems.
So any realistic energy system that could, in time, achieve major
reductions in anthropogenic CO2 emissions, must employ nuclear
power as a major contributor.
Thats because, especially with next-generation and breeder
technologies, nuclear can deliver effectively unlimited power.
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Problems of Nuclear Energy

Despite above advantages, growth of nuclear energy
has been modest due to various problems such as
following
Nuclear reactor accident
Risks of human life by exposing to radiation
Environmental problems in treating radioactive wastes
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Environmental Impact
Concerns over the environmental impact of nuclear
energy, from meltdown of reactor core to minor
accidents that release small amount of radioactive
substances
It also requires huge amount of water to transfer the
heat produced and cooling 17,950 gallons of water
per 1 million BTU of heat produced
This is a huge amount of water used- though most of
the water is returned to the source
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Disposal of Nuclear Wastes
General
Radioactive wastes are produced in all stages of
nuclear fuel cycle, from mining and preparation of
uranium ore to its use and reprocessing in nuclear
power plants
Wastes are in the form of gases, liquid or solid
In addition need to dispose nuclear wastes originating
from the decommissioning of obsolete nuclear
reactors
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Gaseous and liquid nuclear waste normally contain

low levels of radioactivity and they can be released
directly into atmosphere or sea
These radioactive substances will be diluted and
cause no harm to humans
For solid waste, there are classified into 3 classes
low, intermediate and high level
They are generally more radioactive than gaseous
and liquid waste
Thus need to take great care when disposing the solid
nuclear waste
CHAPTER 2 ENERGYfission
products
Solid waste mainly consists of:
Unconverted uranium
Transuranic actinides (mostly Plutonium and Curium)
Transuranic elements=elements with atomic number
greater than 92
Actinides = elements with atomic no between 89 103
and they aare all radioactive
The actinides are responsible for long term

radioactivity
Fission products (uranium fragments) account for the
short term radioactivity
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Low Level Radioactive Waste

This type of waste has very low radioactivity
Nuclear power plants produce large quantities of low
level radioactive wastes in the form of contaminated
items such as protective clothing, hand tools, water
purifier resins and building materials of
decommissioned nuclear plant
In USA government allows these types of wastes to
be handled like normal waste , ie by land filled or
recycled as consumer items
Normally stored in special containers
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In USA, nuclear wastes from hospital, research

institutions and industries normally store the waste on
site
When quantity is large enough, then will be shipped to
one of 3 waste storage facilities in USA
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Intermediate Radioactive Waste

It comprises mainly materials from fuel reprocessing
operations
Will require long isolation period, in thousand of years
in order not to cause any harm to humans
Process:
Encapsulate with solid compound such as bitumen,

plastic or cement
Buried underground to a depth of more than 100 m or
under seabed accessed by tunnels
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Hydrology of buried site must be studied carefully so

that nuclear waste will not enter into water level and
also affect food chain
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High Level Waste

About 95% of total radioactivity produced is contained
in high level waste from fuel reprocessing operations
eg spent fuel
It requires sophisticated and safe handling method
Disposal of high level radioactive waste is very
controversial and hotly debated
Most scientists agree that best way to store the waste
is to have a permanent geologic depository site
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Two options to handle and store the spent fuel:
Reprocess the fuel and to extract remaining energy and to

separate out fission products, actinide elements and
fissionable materials
Storage and final disposal without reprocessing
When a fuel rod has been reacted for about 5% then it is

no longer able to be used as fuel due to built-up of
fission products
Today scientists still experimenting on how to recycle
these rods so as to reduce waste and to reuse them as
fuels
Large scale reprocessing of spent fuels are now done by
many countries
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A typical 1000 MW nuclear reactor produces about 20

m3 of spent fuel each year
All spent fuels produced by nuclear power plants in
USA alone can cover a football field to a depth of 1 m
Spent fuel is very highly radioactive
Must be handled with great care
However it will reduce over time
After 40 years, 99.9% of radiation will be dissipated
But this 0.1%is still dangerous to human beings
It will take 10,000 years for the radioactivity to fall to
level which will not cause any harm to humans
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(a) Storage
Firstly spent fuel rods are stored in shielded basins of

water, usually located on site
The water provides both cooling for the still decaying
fission products and shielding from the continuing
radioactivity
After some times (about 5 years in USA), they are
stored in steel and concrete containers and normally
stored at the site while permanent disposal methods are
discussed and explored
As of 2011, USA has stored 72,000 tons of spent
nuclear fuel
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Permanent underground storage has been proposed to

be in Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository
But this project has been effectively cancelled in 2011
due to political problem
Thus USA currently has no permanent storage site and
all spent fuels are now stored on-site at various nuclear
facilities
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(b) Reprocessing
Spent fuels can be reduced by reprocessing the rods.

Even so, the remaining waste will remain substantially
radioactive for at least 300 years if the actinides are
removed or up to thousands of years if the actinides are
left inside
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Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors

The first generation of nuclear reactors was built in the
1950s and 1960s
Now more and more reactors are reaching their
design life and need to be decommissioned
Nuclear decommissioning is dismantling of nuclear
power plants and decontamination of the site so that it
is safe to the public
The plant is taken down to pieces to remove any
hazardous materials and to dispose any debris safely
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Nuclear decommissioning is very expensive

In UK estimated will cost 70 billion pounds to
decommission 19 sites
In France decommission of a small 70 MW plant
costs 117 million Euros
In Germany decommission of a 100 MW plant costs
143 million Euros
Decommission of nuclear plants also take time due to
radioactivity in reactor structure and need to be
carried out in stages
Generally will take 5 10 years
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Nuclear Reactors Accidents
Public very concerns over nuclear accidents

Two earlier serious accidents and lately another
catastrophic mishap in Japan
Nuclear power plants have good safety record but
when they fail, they will fail catastrophically
Consequences of nuclear accidents:
Damages to reactors
Risky to site personnel
Release of radioactivity into environment
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Three Miles Island Nuclear Power Station (USA)
28/03/1979 several water pumps stopped working in

pressurized water reactor 2
Reactor core was badly damaged
Radioactive fission products escaped into environment
Many suffer from depression, hostility and other psychological
disorders due to fear of radioactivity
The plant is only re-operated 6 years later
Reasons for the accident:
Mechanical error
Human error
Institutional error (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission)fail to set acceptable safety level
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Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor (Russia)
Most serious nuclear accident in history level 7 INES

26/04/1986 reactor 4 exploded due to human error
Explosion severely damaged the core
Large quantity of radioactive contaminations were released
into atmosphere, which spreads much of Western Russia
and Europe
Total deaths 4,057
300,00 people were evacuated
To contain the radioactive contaminations, over 500,000
people were involved with costs of 18 billion Rubles
Estimated 1 million people has died between 1986 and 2004
as result of radioactive contamination
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Causes of accidents:
Shortcoming of design of reactor
Operators failed to follow standard operating procedure

they override protection devices (safety valve)
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Fukushima Power Plant (Japan)
11/03/2011 earthquake and tsunami hit east coast of

Japan
Cooling system failed to operate
Explosion and fire resulted due to overheating of reactor
140,000 people within 20 km radius were evacuated
Radioactive materials such as Iodine-131 and Caesium134 were released to atmosphere in Japan and rest of the
world (USA, Canada, Austria etc)
Now rated level 7 INES
May takes 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely
removed from reactor
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Reasons for the accident Design faults!
Designers focused only to overcome the earthquake but

not tsunami
The plant was constructed 25 m below ground so that

the reactors can be grounded on solid rock.
The standby generator for supplying emergency power

was located at basement, hence flooded easily
The wall built to overcome oceon wave is only 6 m highthe wave created by tsunami is about 15 16 m, hence
the wall is totally helpless
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Status of nuclear power projects
Due to potential disastrous problem to our environment, many

countries had adopted conservative policy in the development
of nuclear power plants:
Japan
Nuclear power 31% of total power supply
Total 54 nuclear reactors
35 reactors had stopped operation
19 reactors may be closed down by end 2012
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France
Nuclear power 75% of total power supply (highest in the

world)
France is world largest net power exporter due to its very

low cost of production
Income to the country Euro 3 billion per year
The General Directorate for Nuclear Safety and

Radiological Protection was instructed to carry out safety
audit to all power reactors and to submit reports
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Germany
Total 17 power plants
8 power plants shut down by end 2011
6 power plants to be shut down by 2021
3 power plants to be shut down in 2022
Germany will abandon nuclear policy completely
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Switzerland
Nuclear power 40% of power supply

No new nuclear power plants to be constructed
Existing nuclear power plants to be shut down:
1 plant 2019
1 plant - 2021
1 plant 2022
1 plant - 2029
1 plant - 2034
Thus by 2034 all nuclear plants to be shut down
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Italy
Italy has had 4 nuclear reactors but all closed down in 1990
after Chernobyl accident
Italy is the only G8 country without any nuclear power plant
The country proposed in 2008 to build nuclear power plants
with goal of 25% power comes from nuclear plants by 2030
But this proposal was rejected in a referendum held in June
2011
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Spain

Spain had stopped construction of new nuclear power
plants
Belgium

Government is considering to shut down all power plants by
2015
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UK

In October 2010, government had given go-ahead to
construct 8 new nuclear plants
USA
USA is the world's largest producer of nuclear power,

accounting for more than 30% of worldwide nuclear
generation of electricity.
Nuclear power 20% of power supply
Plans to construct new nuclear plants will carry on
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China
Total - 14 nuclear power reactors in operation

Under construction 26 and 8 more about to start
construction soon
Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, the State
Council, announced on March 16 that it would suspend
approvals for new nuclear power stations and
conduct comprehensive safety checks of all nuclear
projects, including those under construction
It also suspended work on four approved units due to start
construction in 2011
About 34 reactors were already approved by the central
government of which 26 were being built.
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Malaysia
Currently no nuclear power plant

Plan to construct 2 nuclear power plants of 1000 MW each
and to be operational by 2021 and 2022
Strong objections from some environmental NGOs (14 of
them)
Government is still studying whether to proceed with the
plan
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RENEWABLE ENERGY
What is Renewable Energy

Renewable energy are energies come from natural
resources such as wind, solar, water, geothermal heat etc
which are renewable, i.e. they can be replenished
naturally
They are derived from natural processes via sun, wind,
water
2008- 19% of total energy consumed are from
renewables
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Electricity 18% from renewables
15% global electricity come from hydropower
Common types of renewable energy:
Solar energy
Wind energy
Hydropower
Biomass energy
Geothermal energy
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Advantages of Renewable Energy
Two main advantages
It is free
Sources are from the sun, wind and water

These energy are free and supplies are unlimited
No need to import and pay for it
No pollution
Some renewable energy such as wind ,solar and water do

not emit any smoke or gases when used
Biomass will produce much less carbon dioxide as
compared to fossil fuels
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Disadvantages of Renewable Energy
Two main drawbacks
Capital costs
Initial capital cost (such as wing turbine and solar panels) to

produce electricity is high as compared to fossil fuels
However if we will to consider future fuel cost(as the prices
will continue to increase), future operating and
maintainance cost, decommissioning cost, then the
difference may be not so great
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Not available readily
Sources of energy are not always available

Solar no sunlight due to cloudy day
Wind no wind on calm day
Hydropower no water during drought season
Inconsistent supply will hamper use of such power for
commercial and industry use
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Solar Energy
Solar energy is derived from suns radiation and is

enormous
Energy from sun that reaches the Earth in one hour is
more than the global energy consumed in a year
Most common way to use the energy is to transform it to
electricity
Two common ways to generate electricity:
Solar panels (photovoltaics)

Heat engines
Active Solar Techniques
Solar Roof tiles

(Solar Grants now available)
Roof mounted solar
panels (Solar century)
Integrated solar tiles installed by Solar Century on a

current development in Milton Keynes by English
partnership and Bloor homes
Innovative SunSlates installation by

Solar century for Liang Homes
Solar Thermal Energy

Harnessing solar energy for thermal energy.
Low-temperature collectors for heating water for

residential and commercial use.
High-temperature collectors. Concentrate sunlight

using mirrors or lenses for generating steam for
electric power production.
80
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Two types of photovoltaic technology
Photovoltaic Panels (PV)

Photovoltaic Concentrators
PV Panels
use photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy to electricity

Efficiency 12 to 25%
Assume 15% efficiency and 7854 million m2 of available
rooftop spaces in USA , this would generate 1.9 trillion KWh
per year
This is about 50% of USA electricity consumption in a year
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Photovoltaic Concentrator
It reflects or focuses sunlight from a wide area onto a small

photovoltaic panels
It moves with the sun and hence able to produce more
energy
More efficient than PV
Heat engine
It converts heat to mechanical work

Example steam engine
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Wind Energy
Wind is used to drive a wind turbine and to produce

electricity
Wind turbines - 600 KW to 15 MW
Power output is a function of cube of wind speed
Energy captured depends on location of turbines
Normally sited near coasts, inland area with open terrain
or edge of lake
This is worlds fastest growing source of energy
For past 10 years, it is expanding at 30% growth rate
Wind Power
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Reasons for such fast growth rate:
Improved technology on wind turbine

Higher fossil fuel cost
Concern over government action to reduce carbon
emissions
Wind energy is abundant with zero fuel cost and zero

emissions
Problems
Wind speed not consistent

Direction of wind may change
Electricity grid cannot cope with huge fluctuation of power

input
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Also surplus wind power cannot be stored
Interesting project:
Bahrain World Trade Center completed in 2008

3 wind turbines each rated at 225 KW were installed
between 2 buildings of 240 m high
The turbine produces 15% of electricity consumed by the 2
buildings
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Hydropower
It is the largest form of renewable energy

It represents about 90% of all renewable energy
generated
The energy can be stored by constructing a dam
World electricity 15% from hydropower
65 countries 50% electricity from hydro
32 countries 80% from hydro
13 countries 100% from hydro
Hydropower
Hydropower, hydraulic power or water power
is power that is derived from the force or

energy of moving water
Tidal power
Wave power
Hydropower Facility Plant
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Largest hydro 18,200 MW in Three Gorges Dam
(China)
Largest hydro in Malaysia 2,400 MW in Bakun Dam,
Sarawak
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Benefits of Hydropower
Major advantage no emission of greenhouse gases

Example saving in gas emission by using hydro in 1997
amounts to all the cars on the planet (in terms of fossil fuels
generation)
Social and environmental impact of hydro
Construction of dam will have social and environmental

impact
If the implementation of such project is carefully

planned, then can take relevant steps to avoid, mitigate
or compensate for the losses due to construction of
dam
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Social Impact
Social impact are:
Land is acquired compensation must be sufficient

Relocation of people living in reservoir area
Relocation has many challenges such as local culture,
religious belief, burial sites etc
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Environmental Impact
Construction of hydro plant has many environmental

problems
Thus it is common that a study on the impact on the
environment to be done before the construction of
dam
In Malaysia, it is a requirement that an Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) report must be carried out
for construction of dams
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Common problems of construction of dams are:
Sedimentation
Fish protection
Water quality
Sedimentation
Sedimentation occurs when rock, organic materials etc

are trapped in the reservoir
Over time, these sediments will build up and will take up

a significant volume of the reservoir
In addition, the soils cannot refresh the river downstream

of the dam
This will have great impact on sustainability of vegetation

and use of land for agriculture
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Fish Protection
Dam will have great impact on the fish quality,

availability and fish passage
During construction of dam, fishes will reduce

tremendously
Water quality
Water quality such as dissolved oxygen, dissolved

gases etc will be affected by the dam
To overcome this, draw-off of water from the dam may

be designed with multi-level draw off type so that water
near the surface can be used
Dam Construction at Mekong

River
The 3-S River Basin (Sekong, Sesan and SrePok Rivers),
borders Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and supports 20% of the

Mekong River water flows, ensuring food and water security for
millions of people living in the basin. It also contains some of the
region's most unique and rare biodiversity including yellow
cheeked gibbons and Asian arowana (dragon fish), among
many other endangered and charismatic species.
Principally our concern is for the people who rely on the water
flows of the lower Mekong River for their food, health, income
and other essential livelihood securities. This includes the
people who live in the 3-S River Basin, the 1.1 million people
that depend on the Tonle Sap and another 60 million people
living on the Mekong Delta.
Our economic concern is that dams on the Lower Mekong will
likely reduce the productivity of the region's agriculture and

aquaculture industries, particularly in Cambodia and Laos, and
plunge them back into even more severe poverty then they
currently suffer.
In Cambodia fish provide 85% of the population's protein needs
and an essential source of fat. Right now the Cambodian per
capita in-take of fats is the lowest in Southeast Asia and the
most essential of these, the omega-3 fats which come from fish,
are the least available. If there was a reduction in fish
populations, nutrition and health will decline on a national scale
and further deepen Cambodia's current situation of severe
poverty.
Before the construction of the Pak Moon dam in Ubon
Ratchathani province, Thailand, the waterway

contained over 250 species of fish.
This plummeted over 80% when the dam began
operation, and a decade later, through extensive
government investment to restock the river, the
species number is still less than half the original
amount.
More than 20,000 people have been affected by this
loss of fish. This dam was anticipated to have a
production capacity of 136 megawatts, but it can
barely generate 20 megawatts during high-demand
months.
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Biomass
What is Biomass?
Biomass is the burning of organic matters such as crops &

grasses to produce heat or electricity
This is a renewable source as the crops can be re-planted
later and to replenish the supply
The crops will absorb carbon dioxide with the help of
sunlight and this will off-set the carbon dioxide gas
produced while burning to produce electricity
So biomass function like a natural battery that stores the
solar energy
Biomass
Bio-fuel
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Sources of biomass
Three main sources:
Energy crops
Residues of plant
Municipal & Industrial wastes

Energy crops
Plants are grown specifically for energy use
They are grown so as not to compete with or reduce

food production e.g. grown in marginal land, as double
crops etc
Typical energy crops are trees and grasses
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Crops Residue
Typical crop residues are wheat straws and corn stover
These are waste and can be burnt to produce electricity

Wood and Forest Residue
sawdust, or other byproducts of timber factories and

paper mills are currently the largest source of biomass
fuel
Municipal/Industrial wastes
Municipal wastes consist of human wastes can be

converted into energy by anaerobic digesters
The digester will produce biogas which can be burnt
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Environmental Risks
Use of biomass does produce carbon dioxide when burnt

However this can be balanced out by planting new crops
which will adsorb CO2
Overall, there is still a reduction of CO2
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Geothermal Energy
This is obtained by tapping the heat from the earth core

The heat is extracted few kilometers deep into earths
crust in volcanic active areas.
Initial capital cost to build power plants that use
geothermal energy but the operating cost is low
Sometimes we can tap underground steam or hot water
near to the surface of Earth
Such geothermal power sources exist in certain
geologically unstable areas such as Chile, Iceland, NZ,
USA etc
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
What is sustainable Development ?
It means development that lasts

Brundland Report defined it as development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Sustainable energy systems are integral to sustainable

development and have great impact on
Economy
Development
Environment
These 3 areas are main pillars of sustainable development
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Energy Demand
Energy is lifeblood of modern society

However current energy system s are not able to cope with
demand in sustainable way
Thus we need to explore and find new methods of producing
energy which are sustainable
Renewable energy is the key elements
Growth rate for electricity demand is 2.8% per year and total
demand will double in every 25 years
This demand cannot be met by using fossil fuels
Two approaches to address this:
To improve efficiency of use of energy

To increase use of renewable energy
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Economic Reason for using Renewable
In the past use of fossil fuels is seen to be cheaper than

that of renewable energy
However if we will to take into account environmental
problems and future cost of fossil fuels, the gap is now
narrowing
Some renewables such as hydro and wind power are
becoming more competitive
In fact market for renewable energy is growing very fast
today
These renewables are wind and solar energy
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Development reason for Renewable
About 2 billion people (1/3 of world population) are still

without electricity today
Renewable energy will provide important social and
economic benefits to these rural areas
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
Environmental benefit of Renewables
Renewable energy are environmentally friendly.

Some of them such as hydro, solar and wind power do not
emit any greenhouse gases
The impact on environment, if any, is very small as
compared to fossil fuels
CHAPTER 2 ENERGY
END

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CHAPTER 2 ENERGY

World Energy Need Projection

The different sources are:-

Air Pollution Causes Health

Air Pollution Causes

Trees killed by acid rain

Fossil Fuel Extraction Causes

leakages, and spills include

Surface and ground water pollution

Clean Air Act

improvements in the U.S.

Pollution 20 cars today = 1 car from 1960s

Overall air pollution reduction approximately

Can You Name The Main

Can You Name The Main

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

What is Fossil fuel

It has been predicted that energy demand will be

Thus fossil fuels = 84.3%

Fossil fuels are non-renewable source of energy as it

type of syngasa mixture of carbon monoxide (CO),

Oil is liquid fossil fuel composed of delayed organic

What is Nuclear Energy

Two typical fission reactions are shown below with

As at 2007, nuclear power provides 8.5% of worlds

Nuclear Power Plants

Reactor will have automatic and manual system to

Advantages of Nuclear Energy

It is also one of most cost competitive among other

As we face the historically unprecedented environmental threat of

devastating climate, triggered primarily by atmospheric CO2 emissions,

Problems of Nuclear Energy

Disposal of Nuclear Wastes

Gaseous and liquid nuclear waste normally contain

Solid waste mainly consists of:

The actinides are responsible for long term

Low Level Radioactive Waste

In USA, nuclear wastes from hospital, research

Intermediate Radioactive Waste

Encapsulate with solid compound such as bitumen,

Hydrology of buried site must be studied carefully so

High Level Waste

Two options to handle and store the spent fuel:

Reprocess the fuel and to extract remaining energy and to

When a fuel rod has been reacted for about 5% then it is

A typical 1000 MW nuclear reactor produces about 20

Firstly spent fuel rods are stored in shielded basins of

Permanent underground storage has been proposed to

Spent fuels can be reduced by reprocessing the rods.

Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear decommissioning is very expensive

Nuclear Reactors Accidents

Public very concerns over nuclear accidents

Three Miles Island Nuclear Power Station (USA)

28/03/1979 several water pumps stopped working in

Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor (Russia)

Most serious nuclear accident in history level 7 INES

Shortcoming of design of reactor

Operators failed to follow standard operating procedure

Fukushima Power Plant (Japan)

11/03/2011 earthquake and tsunami hit east coast of

Reasons for the accident Design faults!

Designers focused only to overcome the earthquake but

The plant was constructed 25 m below ground so that