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Essay on Energy
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Energy
- Essay on the Characteristics of Energy
- Essay on Energy and Thermodynamics
- Essay on Electrical Energy and Power
- Essay on Cogeneration System
- Essay on the Classification of Energy Resources
- Essay on Energy Parameters
- Essay on Energy Planning
- Essay on Energy Audit
- Essay on the Energy Scenario in Indian Context
Essay # 1. Introduction to Energy:
Energy has always been a vital resource in the development of any nation. The prosperity of a nation is measured in terms of per capita energy consumption besides GDP, GNP, etc. While the world has seen hectic industrial activity in the past century it has also come face to face with serious problems arising out of haphazard utilization of the energy resources.
The concept was ‘More the resources (energy), more the development’. Low fuel costs did not encouraged efficient utilization of energy. During the intensive process of industrialization the world observed consumption of majority stock of its energy resources and deterioration of the global environment. Energy made up a very small component of the total production cost and monopolized business enabled recovery of high cost of energy.
The Gulf War came as an eye opener for all developed and developing countries. It was then the first time that nations importing petroleum products felt the shock when the petro-nations demanded higher price. The energy crisis of 1973 forced the world to look for an alternative arrangement to ensure energy sufficiency. This need obviously pointed at improvement of energy efficiency.
The concept changed to ‘More efficiency, more productivity and reduced production cost’. This promised an immediate, long term and multi-faced solution to the problems immerging from increased energy demands against short supplies. Energy management has since become the key word for any profitable industrial unit. Besides now the ‘energy’ accounts for a sizable share in the cost of production in most of the industries.
As a result of this, positive trends have been noticed over the past decade in the energy use pattern the world over. Countries like the United States, Japan and France have managed to raise their GNP while maintaining the same energy consumption levels. In many cases while the GNP has gone up the energy consumption has exhibited reducing trends.
Introduction of energy efficient technologies and effective energy management has made this possible. Efficiency of energy utilization needs to be a continuous activity as there is lots unproductive energy utilization generally observed in Indian industrial sector.
The world is moving towards a sustainable energy future with an emphasis on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources. A finite planet cannot support infinitely increasing consumption of resources and hence the motto of present times must be to “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”.
Besides this the environmental implications of haphazard energy utilization also need to be closely studied. The process of energy generation, transport and utilization leads to environmental pollution. In-efficient use of energy has stretched the global environment to its limits as can be seed from the unprecedented and unpleasant responses of the nature in the past few years.
Green -house effect, global warming, acid rain, smog, deforestation, shift in climatic conditions, etc. are some of the indications. The carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere increased from 280 ppm in 1850 to 360 ppm at present. The average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere is likely to increase by 1.5 to 4°C in the next 50 years. Such temperature rises may lead to unpredicted consequences.
Setting up additional generating capacities to meet increasing energy demands would not only cost dearly but it would also add to further degradation of the environment while energy conservation would act as a ‘double sided sword’. Energy conservation promises solutions to the approaching double trouble of energy and environment. Implementation of an effective energy management program, as far as India is concerned, would lead to energy sufficiency and environmental safety.
Essay # 2. Characteristics of Energy:
Energy possesses the following characteristics:
a. It can be stored.
b. It can neither be created nor destroyed.
c. It is available is several forms.
d. It does not have absolute value.
e. It is associated with a potential. Free flow of energy takes place only from a higher potential to a lower potential.
f. It can be transported from one system to other system or from one place to another place.
g. The energy is measured in Nm or in joules.
The forms of energy are graded as per their availability or energy content.
The total mass and energy in the closed system remains unchanged (as per law of conservation of energy).
Essay # 3. Energy and Thermodynamics:
“Thermodynamics” is a branch of energy which deals with conversion of heat into work or vice versa:
More than 30 per cent energy conversion processes involve thermodynamics, while more than 30 per cent energy conversion processes involve electromagnetic energy and more than 30 per cent involve chemical energy.
In most of the energy conversion processes, First law and Second law of thermodynamics are applicable:
a. First law of thermodynamics relates to conservation of energy and throws light on concept of internal energy.
b. Second law of thermodynamics indicates the limit of converting heat into work and introduces the principle of increase of entropy.
Following statements are based on this law:
i. Spontaneous processes are irreversible.
ii. The internal energy of the environment is worthless for obtaining useful work.
iii. All forms of energy are not identical with reference to useful work.
iv. Every energy conversion process has certain ‘losses’.
Essay # 4. Electrical Energy and Power:
A. Electrical Energy:
It is an essential gradient for the industrial and all-round development of any country.
It is preferred due to the following advantages:
(i) Can be generated centrally in bulk.
(ii) Can be easily and economically transported from one place to another over long distances.
(iii) Losses in transport are minimum.
(iv) Can be easily sub-divided.
(v) Can be adapted easily and efficiently to domestic and mechanical work.
Electrical energy is obtained, conventionally, by conversion from fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), the nuclear and hydro sources. Heat energy released by burning fossil fuels or by fusion of nuclear material is converted to electricity by first converting heat energy to the mechanical form through a thermocycle and then converting mechanical energy through generators to the electrical form.
Thermo-cycle is basically a low efficiency process— highest efficiencies for modern large size plants range up to 40%, while smaller plants may have considerably lower efficiencies. The earth has fixed non-replenishable resources of fossil fuels and nuclear materials. Hydro-energy, though replenishable, is also limited in terms of power.
In view of the ever increasing per capita energy consumption and exponentially rising population, the earth’s non-replenishable fuel resources are not likely to last for a long time. Thus a coordinated world-wide action plan is, therefore, necessary to ensure that energy supply to humanity at large is assured for a long time and at low economic cost.
The following factors need to be considered and actions to be taken accordingly:
(i) Energy consumption curtailment;
(ii) To initiate concerted efforts to develop alternative sources of energy including unconventional sources like solar, tidal, geothermal energy etc.;
(iii) Recycling of nuclear wastes;
(iv) Development and application of anti-pollution technologies.
Decentralised and Dispersed Generation:
Decentralised Generation:
It covers a local energy source to generate electric power for distribution to consumers in particular area. These may be mini/ microlevel hydel or wind turbine units.
“Keylong”, the district headquarters of Lahaul (H.P.) was electrified in 1964 by (2 x 50) kW hydel units.
“Sunderbans” in West Bengal was not accessible to grid power but was electrified during 1997 by solar power 410 kW by SPV modules, and biomass-based power plant of (5 x 100) kW.
Dispersed Generation:
It refers to the use of generating units of less than 25 kW output to serve individual homes, business and defence installation in remote areas.
Examples:
Diesel generators, solar PV installations, kiosk type mini hydro-plants, fuel cells and wind generators etc.
B. Power:
Any physical unit of energy when divided by a unit of time automatically becomes a unit of power. However, it is in connection with the mechanical and electrical forms of energy that the term “power” is generally used.
The rate of production or consumption of heat energy and, to a certain extent, of radiation energy is not ordinarily thought of as power. Power is primarily associated with mechanical work and electrical energy. Therefore, power can be defined as the rate of flow of energy and can state that a power plant is a unit built for production and delivery of a flow of mechanical and electrical energy.
In common usage, a machine or assemblage of equipment that produces and delivers a flow of mechanical or electrical energy is a power plant. Hence, an internal combustion engine is a power plant, a water wheel is a power plant, etc.
However, what we generally mean by the term is that assemblage of equipment, permanently located on some chosen site which receives raw energy in the form of a substance capable of being operated on in such a way as to produce electrical energy for delivery from the power plant.
Essay # 5. Cogeneration System:
In a cogeneration system, mechanical work is converted into electrical energy in an “electrical generator”, and the discharge heat, which would otherwise be dispersed to the environment, is utilised in an “industrial process” or in other ways. The net result is an overall increase in the efficiency of fuel utilisation.
Cogeneration is the simultaneous generation of electricity and steam (or heat) in a single power plant.
It is highly energy efficient and is especially suitable for sugar mills, textile, paper, fertilizer and crude oil refining industries.
Cogeneration is advisable for industries and municipalities if they can produce electricity cheaper, or more conveniently than brought from a utility. It is not usually used by large utilities which tend to produce electricity only.
Cogeneration (from energy resource point of view) is beneficial only if it saves primary energy when compared with separate generation of electricity and steam or heat.
Cogeneration of heat and electricity can be dealt with in the following two ways:
a. Topping Cycle:
In this mode, fuel is burnt to generate electric power and the discharged heat from the turbine is supplied as ‘process heat’. The requirements of process steam pressure vary widely between 0.5 bar and 40 bar.
This cycle can provide true savings in primary energy.
b. Bottoming Cycle:
In this mode, fuel is consumed to process heat, and waste heat is then utilised for power generation.
Essay # 6. Classification of Energy Resources:
A. The various sources of energy can be classified as follows:
1. Commercial (or Conventional) Energy Sources:
(i) Coal
(ii) Lignite
(iii) Oil and natural gas
(iv) Hydroelectric
(v) Nuclear fuels.
These sources form the basis of industrial, agricultural transport and commercial development in the modern world. In the industrialised countries, commercialised fuels are predominant source not only for economic production, but also for many household tasks of general population.
2. Renewable Energy Sources:
(i) Solar photo-voltaic
(ii) Wind
(iii) Hydrogen fuel-cell.
3. New Sources of Energy:
Most prominent new sources of energy as identified by UN are:
(i) Tidal energy
(ii) Ocean waves
(iii) OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion)
(iv) Geothermal energy
(v) Peat
(vi) Tar sand
(vii) Oil shales
(viii) Coal tar
(ix) Draught animals
(x) Agricultural residues etc.
As per Planning Commission of India, the geographical distribution of various energy resources available in the country are given in Table 1.1:
Bt = Billion tonnes; Mt = Million tonnes; BCM = Billion cubic metres; TWH = Trillion Watt hours.
The production of commercial primary energy resources is shown in Table 1.2:
B. The energy sources can also be classified as follows:
1. Primary Energy Sources:
These sources are obtained from environment.
Examples:
Fossil fuels, Solar energy, Hydro energy and Tidal energy.
These resources can further be classified as:
(a) (i) Conventional Energy Sources:
Coal, oil, gas, uranium and hydro are commonly known as “commercial” or “conventional energy sources”. These represent about 92% of the total energy used in the world.
Examples- Thermal power and hydel power,
(ii) Non-Conventional Energy Sources:
Firewood, animal dung and agricultural waste etc. are called as “non-commercial energy sources”. These represent about 8% of the total energy used in the world.
Examples- Wind energy, Geothermal energy, Solar energy and Tidal energy.
(b) (i) Renewable Energy Sources:
These sources are being continuously produced in nature and are inexhaustible.
Examples:
Wood, Wind energy, Biomass, Biogas, Solar energy etc.
(ii) Non-Renewable Energy Sources:
These are finite and exhaustible.
Examples:
Coal, petroleum etc.
2. Secondary Energy Resources:
These resources do not occur in nature but are derived from primary energy resources.
Examples- Electrical energy from coal burning, H2 obtained from hydrolysis of H2O.
Fossil fuel as a Conventional Energy Source:
Some of the fossil fuels are discussed briefly below:
1. Coal:
It is a conventional energy source and is formed due to conversion of vegetable matter. It is composed of mainly carbon and hydrocarbons. It is found in Jharkhand, UP, MP, Bihar etc. in India.
Use of Coal:
1. It is used to generate electricity. Power plants use coal for heating the water to generate steam which runs the turbines to generate electricity.
2. It is heated in a furnace to make coke, which is used to smelt iron for making steel.
3. The heat obtained from coal is used by various industries in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibre, etc.
Environmental Problems:
(i) Due to combustion of coal, CO2 is produced which is responsible for causing global warming,
(ii) Coal also produces SO2 which is a cause for acid rain.
2. Natural Gas:
It is one of the fossil fuels and is formed by decomposition of remains of dead animals and plants buried under the earth. It is mainly composed of methane (CH4) with small amount of propane and ethane. When refined; it is colourless and odorless, but can be burned to release large amount of energy. It is the cleanest fossil fuel.
Merits of Gas:
1. It has a high calorific value and it burns without smoke.
2. It can be easily transported through pipelines.
Uses of Gas:
1. It is used in thermal power plants for generating electricity.
2. It is used as domestic and industrial fuel.
Reserves and Production of “Petroleum” and “Natural Gas” in India with problem areas:
Almost 40 per cent of the energy needs of the world are met by oil. The rising prices of oil has brought a considerable strain to the economy of world, more so in the case of the developing countries that do not possess oil resources enough for their own consumption.
With today’s consumption and a resource amount of 2.5 x 105 million tonnes of oil, it is estimated that it may suffice for about 100 years unless more oil is discovered. As such, the world must start thinking of a change from a world economy dominated by oil.
Petroleum:
India is not particularly rich in petroleum reserves. Our fuel oils are produced by refitting petroleum or crude oil. The potential oil-bearing areas are located in Assam, Tripura, Manipur, West Bengal, Ganga Valley, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, eastern and western coastal areas (in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala), Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and in the continental shelves adjoining these areas.
Gas:
Gas is incompletely utilised at present and huge quantities are burnt off in the oil production process because of the non-availability of ready market. The reason may be the high transportation cost of the gas. Transporting gas is costlier than transporting oil. Large reserves are estimated to be located in inaccessible areas.
Gaseous fuels can be classified as:
(i) Gases of fixed composition such as acetylene, ethylene, methane etc.;
(ii) Composite industrial gases such as producer gas, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas etc.
Note:
Energy cannot be economically stored in electrical form in large quantities. Energy in large quantities is stored in conventional forms (Hydro-reservoirs, coal stocks, fuel stocks, nuclear fuel stocks). Electrical energy is generated, transmitted and utilised almost simultaneously without intermediate storage in electrical form.
Hence a large electrical network. As formed to pool up electrical energy available from various generating stations and to distribute to various consumers over the large geographical area. Consumers draw power as per their load requirement (e.g. lighting, heating, mechanical drives etc.)
Essay # 7. Energy Parameters:
In order to conserve fuel, it is imperative to adopt measures for maximising economic development with minimum energy consumption.
a. Energy Intensity:
The term ‘energy intensity’ is defined as energy consumption per unit of Gross National Product (GNP).
When the per unit energy consumption for the production of energy intensive raw materials, like steel and aluminium, is reduced, there may be a marginal fall in energy (GNP ratio) with continuation of the downward trend.
Developed countries have reduced ‘energy intensity’, resulting in less energy consumption and at the same time achieving higher production.
b. Energy-GDP Elasticity:
It is defined as the percentage growth in energy requirement for 1% growth in GDP. The lower the value of elasticity, the higher is the overall efficiency.
The value of elasticity for the developed countries ranges from 0.8 to 1.0 whereas for India it is about 1.2.
Essay # 8. Energy Planning:
It is an essential management tool that decides various activities in advance with reference to resources and time frame. This includes forecasts, budget, infrastructure, technology, planning etc. The energy policies are framed for the purpose of energy planning and to be followed by the higher to lower hierarchy level.
Energy planning includes the following steps:
(i) To collect data.
(ii) To evaluate trends.
(iii) To determine demand.
(iv) To determine availability of resources,
(v) To plan entire energy route for each sector:
a. Exploration/Extraction/Conversion
b. Processing/By product/Cleaning
c. Storage/Transport or Transmission
d. Distribution/Supply.
(vi) To evaluate economic viability and decide tariff/rates.
(vii) To formulate short-term/mid-term/long-term plans.
Essay # 9. Energy Audit:
“Energy audit” is an official survey/study of energy consumption/processing/supplying aspects related with an organisation, system, process, plant, equipment.
The objectives of the ‘Energy Audit’ are to recommend “steps” to be taken by the management for:
(i) Improving the energy efficiencies,
(ii) Reducing the energy costs, and
(iii) Improving the productivity without sacrificing quality, standard of living/comforts and environmental balance.
The Energy Audit is officially recommended by the Management and is carried out by the Energy Audit Group headed by the Energy Auditor.
Energy audit is usually carried out in following three stages within certain agreed time frame:
1. Simple Walk – through energy audit.
2. Intermediate Energy audit.
3. Comprehensive/Exhaustive energy audit.
The procedure of ‘Energy Auditing’ is dictated by the size, complexity and recurring energy costs of the plant.
For energy intensive processes/plants, thorough comprehensive energy audit and high investments in Energy Conservation Measures are justified.
Essay # 10. Energy Scenario in Indian Context:
For all socio-economic activities, “energy” is a primary source. The consumption of energy of a nation is considered as an index of development. All sectors such as industry, transport, telecommunication, agriculture, household services etc. depend on energy.
With the increase in population, the ‘energy demand’ is increasing and the energy sources are becoming scarce. The main sources of energy in India are coal, oil, and water. Commercial consumption of energy is mostly from coal and petroleum and the other sources are natural gas and water.
The maximum portion of energy available from traditional energy sources such as fuelwood, agricultural waste, animal residue is used by the industrial sector. A large amount of petroleum products is used by the transport sector. As a result of modernisation, the consumption of energy by agricultural sector has also grown rapidly.
Due to growing population, it becomes necessary to look for alternate sources of energy to meet the future demands of the growing economy.
Energy Position in India:
The total power generation capacity in India in 1947 was only 1360 MW and in 1991 it grew to 65,000 MW, of which 45,000 MW (69%) was generated in thermal plants. Table 1.3, shows the power generating capacity by different types of generating plants.
Table 1.4. below exhibits the renewable energy potential and installed capacity in India (2009):
