NAME: APAGU JONAH WABBA

MATRIC NO: UJ/2015/EN/0023

DEPARTMENT: ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
COURSE: EEE 401- POWER ENGINEERING II
DATE: 17TH MAY 2019
FIRST SEMESTER 2018/2019SESSION
ASSIGNMENT
QUESTION
Write a short note on energy and the environment putting into prospective the emission of
air pollutions such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxide (N20), carbon monoxide (CO), and
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) by power plants.

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Energy which is the ability to do work comes in different forms heat(thermal),
light(radiant), motion(kinetic), electrical, chemical, Nuclear energy, gravitational.
Environment is everything that makes up our surrounding and affects our ability to
live on the earth- the air we breathe, the water that covers most of the earth’s surface, the
plant and the animals around us and much more. It encompasses all living and non-living
things.
In recent years, constant increase in demand and use of energy by humans for
domestic and industrial purposes has led to increased use of energy sources and creation of
various power plants. The use of these energy sources and power plants have various
effects on the environment, the type and size of the effects vary according to the energy
source and its method of conversion for use.
One of the major ways human quest for meeting their various energy demands has
had an effect on the environment is in the emission of gasses which are harmful to the
overall state of the environment including humans. As of 2016, fossil fuels were the source
of about 76% of total human-caused green house gas emissions this gasses include carbon
dioxide (CO2) from burning of fossil fuels, Methane (CH4) from landfills, coal mines, oil and
natural gas operations, nitrous oxide (N2O), and chloflurocarbons (CFC) which is a high
global warming potential (GWP) gas because it destroys the Ozone layer resulting in the
direct passage of ultraviolet rays from the sun in to our environment.
In power plants, and other industrial facilities combustion of fossil fuels also emits
sulphur dioxide (SO2) to the environment which affects the respiratory system of humans
when breathed in, the incomplete combustion of carbon containing fuels such as gasoline,
natural gas, oil, coal in some power plants leads to the release of a silent killer called carbon
monoxide (CO) into the environment.
Energy prices and government policies can affect the sources and types of energy
consumed thus having significant effect on the impact of energy on the environment. The
use of cleaner energy sources such as hydro and solar power e.t.c in commercial and
consumable quantities having little negative impact on the environment should be the goal
of every power engineer and government of every nation.