Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8: ENERGY
PRODUCTION
TOPIC 8: ENERGY PRODUCTION
8.1 – ENERGY SOURCES
Primary energy sources
A primary energy source is an energy source, such
as coal, wind, oil, gas, or water, which is used directly
by the consumer.
EXAMPLE: A wood-burning stove or a
furnace convert the chemical energy in
wood or natural gas to heat, through
burning. The heat is used directly.
EXAMPLE: A windmill or waterwheel can

directly convert the kinetic energy of the
wind or water into mechanical motion of
wheels to grind wheat grain into flour.
You should have a good idea of these percentages,
from memory.
Fossil CO
2
fuels
Secondary energy sources
A secondary energy source is an energy
source, such as electricity or hydrogen,
which has been transformed from a primary
energy source before use by the consumer.
EXAMPLE: Electricity is by far the most common of the
secondary energy sources because of its convenience
in both use and transport.
EXAMPLE: Hydrogen is a
growing secondary energy
source, and is being
developed because its
consumption produces only water as a by-product.
Specific energy and energy density of fuel sources
Most of our energy comes from fuels. Here is the
energy yield of various fuels:
Fuel Fuel Type Specific energy (MJ / kg)
Protons Nuclear 300,000,000
Uranium-235 Nuclear 90,000,000
Petrol Fossil 46.9
Diesel Fossil 45.8
Biodiesel Fossil 42.2
Crude Oil Fossil 41.9
Coal Fossil 32.5
Sugar Fossil 17.0
Wood Fossil 17.0
Cow Dung Fossil 15.5
Household Waste Fossil 10.0
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources
Renewable resources can be replaced in a
reasonable amount of time (or are not depleted).
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources
Renewable energy is better than non-renewable
because it will not run out.
Oil and gas are better than coal because they burn
more efficiently and produce less CO2.
Coal is cheaper and more plentiful than gas and oil.
Nuclear power does not produce CO2.
Hydroelectric systems are useful to have in a grid
because they can be used to store extra energy.
Burning biomass alleviates landfills.
Nuclear waste lasts for thousands of years.
Wind turbines and photovoltaic cells depend on the
weather conditions and have small output.
Sankey diagrams
Continuous conversion of energy into work requires a
cyclical process and the transfer of energy from the
system.
If you've ever camped out you've probably
used a campfire in these two obvious ways:
- for cooking, and for warmth.
In both cases:
(1) It is the heat released during combustion
(a chemical reaction) that is used.
(2) The heat is used directly.
(3) Some heat is lost to the
environment or wasted.
Sankey diagrams
Continuous conversion of energy into work requires a
cyclical process and the transfer of energy from the
system.
If you want to convert the heat to useful work,
some sort of engine must be designed.
For example, the potential energy of a hot air
balloon can be changed with heat…
And to make an electricity-producing engine…
Once the water is used up, the balloon must
cool down, descend, and refill its water supply.
Then it can repeat the motion in a cyclical
process that will keep producing electricity.
Sankey diagrams
The second law of thermodynamics states that
although it is possible to convert mechanical energy
completely into thermal energy, it is NOT possible to
convert all heat energy into mechanical energy.
The balloon example demonstrates the second part of
the law: Much energy is lost or wasted.
And the example of kicking the block shown next
demonstrates the first part:
All of the block’s kinetic energy became friction heat.
Obviously, this heat cannot ever be used to give the
block back its original kinetic energy!
This loss of energy during conversion from one
form to another is called energy degradation.
Sankey diagrams
Energy degradation in systems can be shown
with an energy flow diagram called a Sankey
diagram.
For the hot-air balloon example we have the
following Sankey diagram:
CHEMICA POTENTIAL KINETIC ELECTRICAL
L ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY
The degraded energy is represented by the yellow bent

arrows, and shows energy lost by the system.
Sankey diagrams
CHEMICA POTENTIAL KINETIC ELECTRICAL
L ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY
70 MJ 50 MJ
80 MJ
100 MJ
Sankey diagrams show the efficiency of each energy

conversion.
Suppose the actual energy values are as shown:
The efficiency of a conversion is given by
efficiency = output / input efficiency
For example, the efficiency of the first energy
conversion (chemical to potential) is
efficiency = 80 MJ / 100 MJ = 0.80 or 80%.
Electricity as a secondary and versatile form of energy
Electricity is one of the most useable forms of
(secondary) energy we have because it is
so easily transportable and distributed.
You may recall that moving
electrons produce a
magnetic field. ammeter
It turns out that the 0
process is symmetric: - +
A moving magnetic field
produces moving electrons
(an electromotive force).
Essentially, an electromotive force (emf) is a voltage
that can drive an electrical current.
Electricity as a secondary and versatile form of energy
The wire coils in a generator experience
reversing magnetic fields as they rotate
through action of a turbine of some sort,
usually driven by a primary energy
source.
This changing field produces the emf.
This emf drives the charges and creates a current.
Note how the direction of the current keeps alternating.
This is why your current at home is alternating current
(AC). B-Field
Electrons
Wire
Describing fossil fuel power stations
The most common way to generate electrical power is
the coal-burning power plant.
Chemical energy in coal is released by burning.
Heat boils water.
Steam rotates
a turbine.
The turbine turns
a coil of wire in a Turbine
Generator
magnetic field.
Electrical power
is produced.
Coal Condenser
Boiler
Describing nuclear power stations
Nuclear power stations are the same as fossil fuel
stations, from the turbine on down.
 Heat  Kinetic  Electrical

To work properly, a reactor needs a higher proportion
of the U-235 isotope of uranium than occurs naturally.
One slow and expensive means of enrichment for
uranium is called gaseous diffusion.
Uranium is purified and
combined with fluorine to
produce a gas called
uranium hexafluoride UF6.
The different isotopes of
uranium will lead to slightly
different UF6 masses.
The process of diffusion
uses many stages of membrane filters.
To work properly, a reactor needs a higher proportion
of the U-235 isotope of uranium than occurs naturally.
Another slow and expensive means of enrichment for
uranium is called centrifuging.
Centrifuging spins the UF6
gas and the heavier isotopes
are decanted while the lighter
ones are sent to further stages.
FYI
Because of the energy
expenditure of the enrichment
process, it is often included in
the Sankey diagram.
Nuclear fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into
two smaller (daughter) nuclei.
An example of fission is
235
92
U + 1
0
n  ( 236
92
U*)  140
54
Xe + 38
94
Sr + 2(
0
1
n)
In the animation, 235U is hit by a
neutron, and capturing it,
becomes excited and unstable:
It quickly splits into two smaller
daughter nuclei, and two neutrons,
each of which can split another
nucleus of 235U.
94
Sr 140
Xe
Note that the splitting was triggered by a single neutron
that had just the right energy to excite the nucleus.
235
92
U + 1
0
n  ( 236
92
U*)  140
54
Xe + 38
94
Sr + 2(
0
1
n)
Note also that during the split, two more neutrons were
released.
If each of these neutrons splits subsequent nuclei, we
have what is called a chain reaction.
1
2 Primary
4 Secondary
8 Tertiary
Exponential Growth
We call the minimum mass of a fissionable material
which will sustain the fission process by itself the
critical mass.
·Note that 238U is
not even in this list.
·This is why we
must enrich
naturally-occurring
uranium for
reactor usage.
In a nuclear reactor, a controlled nuclear reaction is
desired so that we merely sustain the reaction without
growing it.
In a nuclear bomb, an uncontrolled nuclear reaction is
desired so that we have an immense and very rapid
energy release.
Half of the product neutrons are
absorbed by the control rods
controlled
Few of the product
neutrons are absorbed
uncontrolled
Recall that a typical fission of 235U will produce two
(and sometimes 3) product neutrons.
These neutrons have a wide range
of kinetic energies EK.
If the EK value of a neutron is too
high, it can pass through a 235U
nucleus without causing it to split.
If the EK value is too small, it will
just bounce off of the 235U nucleus
without exciting it at all.
too too
slow fast
Most of the neutrons produced in a 1-2 MeV
reactor are fast neutrons, unable to average
split the 235U nucleus.
0 5 10
These fast neutrons will eventually Neutron energy / MeV
fuel rod
be captured by 238U, or they will
leave the surface of the fuel rod,
without sustaining the fission
reaction.
Moderators such as graphite, light
moderator
moderator
moderator
moderator
water and heavy water slow down
these fast neutrons to about 0.02 eV
so that they can contribute to the
fission process.
In order to shut down, start up,
and change the reaction rate in
a reactor, neutron-absorbing
control rods are used.
Retracting the control
rods will increase the
reaction rate.
Inserting the control
rods will decrease the
moderator
moderator
moderator
moderator
reaction rate.
Control rods are made
of cadmium or boron
steel.
The whole purpose of the reactor
core is to produce heat through fission.
The fuel rods, moderator and
control rods are all surrounded
by water, or some other thermal
absorber that can be circulated.
Some reactors use liquid sodium!
The extremely hot water from
the reactor core is sent to the
moderator
moderator
moderator
moderator
heat exchanger which acts like
the boiler in a fossil fuel power
plant.
The heat exchanger extracts heat from the circulating
reactor coolant and makes steam to run the turbine.
turbine generator
control
rods
heat
exchanger
cooling
tower
condenser
Discussing nuclear safety issues and risks
There are three isolated water circulation zones whose
purpose is to protect the environment from radioactivity.
Zone 1: Reactor
coolant
Zone 2: Heat
exchanger
Zone 3:
Cooling tower
Describing wind generators
Heated land air becomes less dense, and rises.
Cooler air then fills the low pressure left behind.
A convection current forms.
Wind turbines can use the wind to make electricity.
Air Falls Air Rises
Convection Current
Partial Vacuum Low Pressure

Land (c is small)
Wind
Turbine Heats/cools QUICKLY
Water (c is big)
Heats/cools SLOWLY
Describing hydroelectric systems
We can divide hydroelectric power production into two
groups:
Sun-derived uses sun-driven potential energy.
Moon-derived uses tidal-driven potential energy.
Hoover Dam: Rance Tidal Barrage:
1.5109 W 2.4108 W
Describing hydroelectric systems – sun-driven
A typical hydroelectric
dam:
Sun-driven evaporation
and rainfall place water
at a high potential energy.
During times of less
energy demand, excess
power plant electricity can be used to pump water back
up into the reservoir for later use.
This is called the pumped storage scheme.
FYI
If electrical supply and demand differ by 5%, a
blackout occurs. Pumped storage alleviates this.
Describing hydroelectric systems – tide-driven
A typical tidal barrage:
The turbine can be driven both ways during a tidal
cycle.
Ocean side Estuary side

Solving problems relevant to energy transformations
In the sun- or tide-driven scheme there is a conversion
of the potential energy of the water into the kinetic
energy of a turbine and thus to electricity.
ENERGY IN POTENTIAL KINETIC ELECTRICITY

SUNLIGHT / ENERGY IN ENERGY OF
OR TIDE TURBINE
RESERVOIR
FRICTION
FRICTION
EVAPORATION
FROM RESERVOIR
Describing solar energy systems
The energy of the sun produced
the fossil fuels.
Hydroelectric dams operate
using sun-lifted water.
Wind turbines use sun-driven
wind currents.
In a sense, all of these energy
sources are indirectly due to the sun.
When we speak of solar power it is in the direct sense,
meaning energy gotten directly from the sun's rays.
The two direct solar energy devices we will discuss are
solar heating panels and photovoltaic cells.
Solving problems relevant to energy transformations
The intensity also varies with the season, which is due
to the tilt of Earth.
Describing solar energy systems – photovoltaic cells
The photovoltaic cell converts
sunlight directly into electricity.
The cell is made of crystalline
silicon (a semiconductor) doped
with phosphorus and boron
impurities.
N-type silicon
P-type silicon
Describing solar energy systems – heating panels
The heating panel
converts sunlight
sunlight
directly into heat.
The slower the water
is circulated, the glass
hotter it can get.
t ion
ula
ins
black
cold absorber water pipe
water hot water out
in

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CHAPTER 8: ENERGY

EXAMPLE: A windmill or waterwheel can

The degraded energy is represented by the yellow bent

Sankey diagrams show the efficiency of each energy

 Heat  Kinetic  Electrical

Partial Vacuum Low Pressure

Ocean side Estuary side

ENERGY IN POTENTIAL KINETIC ELECTRICITY

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