Class -10th Sources of Energy

Energy comes in different forms and one form can be converted into another.

A source of energy is one which provide adequate amount of energy in a convenient form over
a long period of time.

Sun is the ultimate source of energy.

We need energy for:

 For making food

 For lightning
 For transport
 For running machines
 For industrial and agricultural activities.

Qualities of a good source of energy

A good source of energy should have the following qualities.

1. It should do a large amount of work per unit volume or mass.

2. It should be easy to store and transport .
3. It should not cause environmental pollution .
4. It should be economical and easily available .
5. It should be easy to store and transport.
6. It should be safe to handle and use.

Fuels
The materials which are burnt to produce heat energy are known as fuels.
Eg- Wood , coal , LPG , Kerosene etc.
Characterstic of a good fuel
1. High Calorific Value- It should give more heat Per unit mass.
2. It should burn without giving out any smoke or harmful gases.
3. It should be easily available at an economic rate.
4. It should be easy to handle and safe to transport .
5. Easy to store.
Sources of Energy can be divided into two types

1. Conventional sources – Sources which are known to most of the people and are being
used since long time .
Eg – Fossil fuels, Hydro powerplants , thermal power , Bio mass, Wind energy .

2. Non Conventional Sources – Sources whose use has started recently.

Eg – Solar energy , Wave energy etc.

Sources can be categorize in one more way

Renewable Sources of Energy Non Renewable Sources of Energy

1. These are the energy sources which are
inexhaustible.
2. They can be replenished and can be used
to produce energy again & again.
3. They are mostly environmental friendly.
Eg – Solar energy , wind energy etc.
1. These are the Energy resources which are
exhaustible .
They cannot be replenished after being once
consumed.
They are the main cause of pollution.
Eg – Coal , petroleum etc.

Conventional Sources of Energy

Fossil Fuels
These are the fuels formed from remains of dead plants and animals under the earth
crust due to excessive pressure and temperature for millions of year.They are available
in limited amount.
Eg- Coal , Petroleum (Petrol , Diesel , kerosene , LPG ) , Natural gas etc.

LPG is Liquefied petroleum gas. It is a mixture of Propane , butane , propylene and

butylenes.
They are used in cooking , vehicles and to produce electricity in thermal power plant.

Disadvantages
1. Burning of fossil fuel causes air pollution .
2. Poisnous gases like oxides of sulphur, nitrogen , carbon are released . These
oxides lead to acid rain which adversely affect water and soil resources.
3. Carbon dioxide gas also causes green house effect in atmosphere.
4. The are exhaustible.
 Thermal Power Plant

In thermal power plant , large amount of fossil fuels are burnt every day to heat up
water to produce steam which further runs the turbine to generate electricity.

Transmission of electricity is more efficient than transporting coal or petroleum over the
same distance therefore many thermal plant are setup near coal or oil fields.

Hydro Power Plant

In Hydro power plant ,electricity is generated using the energy of falling and runnig

Water .

Working of Hydro power plant

Dam is made over a river to collect water in large amount by obstructing the river flow. The
stored water possesses potential energy. Water from the top of dam is made to fall over the
turbines blades located at the bottom of dam and makes the turbine rotate. Moving turbine
rotates the armature of electric generators so as to produce electricity.

Advantages

1. Once a dam is constructed ,Electricity can be produced at a constant rate.

2. Occurrence of floods can be controlled by constructing dams.
3. The available water is used for irrigation purposes.
4. Hydropower is a renewable source of energy and causes no environmental pollution

Disadvantages

1. Dams can be constructed at a limited number of places only.

 2. Large areas of land get submerged when dams are built on rivers. This causes many
long term environmental and social problems.
3. It adversely affects the ecosystem of adjoining as well as downstream regions.
4. It created the problems of satisfactory rehabilitation of displaced people .

Bio Mass

Bio mass is a source of energy that is directly obtained from plants and animals such as wood ,
agricultural waste , cow dung . It produces less energy and releases a lot smoke.

(i) Wood

It is a biomass and used as fuel for a long time.

Disadvantages-

1. Produces a lot of smoke on burning

2. Do not produces much heat.

Wood can be converted into Charcoal for better fuel efficiency.

(ii) Charcoal
When wood is burned in limited oxygen , it looses water and other volatile
substances leaving charcoal behind.

Charcoal is better than wood because :-

1. It has higher calorific value than wood ie. Higher heat generation
2. Does not produce smoke while burning .
3. It is a compact fuel , easy to handle and convenient to use.

(iii) Cow dung

It is a bio mass but it is not good to burn cow dung directly as fuel because-

1. It produces lot of smoke

2. Cow dung does not burn completely, produces lot of ash as residue
3. Low calorific value
4. By making bio gas or gobar gas from cow dung, we get a smokeless fuel.

Bio gas plant

Animal dung, crop residue, vegetable waste and sewage constitute the bio-mass. In a bio-gas
plant slurry of animal dung or other types of bio-waste and water is made in the mixing tank
and then fed into the digester. The digester isusually a closed underground tank. In digester,
the action of micro-organisms decomposes the complex compounds of the bio-mass in the
slurry. In the presence of water anaerobic micro-organisms degrade the bio-mass in the
digester. As anaerobic micro-organisms do not requireoxygen, the digester is designed like a
sealed chamber. The complete degradation process takesfew days, during which bio-gases are
produced. Now the bio-gas can be supplied to consumers through pipes. Periodically the
slurry, that is left behind in the digester, is removed and it serves as an excellent manure.

Advantages of Bio gas

Wind Energy

Unequal heating of the landmass wand water bodies by solar radiations generate air
movement and causes wind to blow.

Working of Wind mill

The energy in the wind turns the turbine blades around the rotor. A shaft connectsthe rotor to
a generator. So when the rotor turns, it spins a generator to makeelectricity. The electrical
energy from the generator is transmitted along cables to asubstation. Individual wind turbines
can be used to generate electricity on a small scale. To generate electricity on much larger
scale, a large number of wind turbines grouped together sometimes known as wind farms.
Advantages:

 Eco friendly and efficient source of renewable energy.

 No recurring expenses for production of electricity.

Disadvantages:

 Wind farms can only be established at those places where the wind speed is greater
than 15 km/hr.
 Wind energy farms need large area of land. *Requires large area around 1 MW-2
Hectare land.
 Initial cost of establishing wind energy farm is very high.
 Towers and specially blades are exposed to rough weather. So blades get damaged and
increases the cost of maintenance.

Alternate or Non Conventional sources of Energy

Reasons for Alternate sources of energy

1. Solar Energy
2. Energy from the Sea-
 i. Tidal energy
ii. Wave Energy
iii. Ocean Thermal Energy
3. Geothermal Energy
4. Nuclear Energy

1. SOLAR ENERGY :

Sun is the ultimate source of energy.The Sun has an endless reservoir of energy which would
be available as long as the solar system is in existence.

Solar Energy Devices :- a. Solar Cooker

b. Solar Panels

1. Solar Cooker:

A solar cooker is a device which uses the energy of direct sunlight to cook food. Interior of
cooker is usually black in color as black color absorbs most of the energy. concave mirror is
fixed at top side of cooker. On the other side a transparent glass is placed. The light reflected
from the mirror concentrates the solar energy inside the solar cooker which generates
enough heat to cook food.

Solar Panel:
Solar panels are devices that convert solar light into electricity. Solar panels are comprised of
several individual solar cells which are themselves made of silicon. The more light that hits a
cell, the more electricity it produces.

Semiconductors like silicon and gallium are used in solar cell.

Uses of Solar Panel:

 Used in satellites and mars probe

 Used in traffic signals and street lights
 Used in houses
 In calculators and toys
 Used in TV stations and radio stations in remote location.

Advantages of Solar Panel:

 No moving parts
 Required little maintenance
 Can be used in remote locations where there no connection of light.
 It is a renewable source of energy.

Disadvantages of Solar Panel:

 Can produce electricity only on sunny days.

 Special grade silicon is required for making solar cells.
 Manufacturing is expensive.
 Produces low energy.

2. Energy from Sea

a. Tidal Energy:-

Due to gravitational attraction of moon(and even sun to some extent), the level of
water in ocean changes twice in a day. When level of water is high, tides are high.
When level of water is low, tides are low.
Dams or reservoirs are built near seashores to collect the water which comes during
a high tide. Turbines in the barrier generate electricity as the tide floods into the
reservoir. Once the tide outside the barrier has receded, water retained can then be
released through turbines into ocean, again generating electricity.
 b. Wave Energy:
Waves are created due to movement of wind on ocean surface. A variety of
technologies have been proposed to capture the energy from waves. They can
Used in several ways to rotate rotor of dynamo to generate electricity.

c. Ocean Thermal Energy:

Ocean thermal energy is a renewable energy technology that harnesses the solar
energy absorbed by the oceans to generate electric power. The Sun's heat warms
the surface water a lot more than the deep ocean water, which creates the ocean's
naturally available temperature gradient, or thermal energy.
Working:
For ocean thermal plant, temperature difference between hot and cold layer should
be at least 20°C to vaporize a working fluid, which has a low boiling point, such as
ammonia. The vapor expands and spins a turbine coupled to a generator to produce
electricity.
The vapor is then cooled by seawater that has been pumped from deeper ocean
layer. That condenses the working fluid back into a liquid, so it can be reused. This
is a continuous electricity generating cycle

3. Geothermal Energy
Geo means ‘earth’ and thermal means ‘ heat’ . Geothermal energy is the heat energy from
hot rocks present inside the earth. The regions where this heat energy is present , are
known as hot spot .
When under ground water comes in contact with ‘ hot spot’ , steam is generated . Steam
trapped in rocks is routed through pipes to a turbine and used to generate electricity.
4. Nuclear Energy

In a nuclear power reactor , the nuclear fuel (compound of uranium and plutonium) is a
part of a self- sustained nuclear fission chain reaction . Thus, energy is released at a
controlled rate. The released energy is used to prouduce steam . Steam drives the turbine
of electric generator and generates electricity.

U + n ---------> Ba + Kr + Energy
 Advantages of Nuclear Energy
 Production of large amount of useful energy from a very small amount of nuclear fuel. 1kg coal can light up
1 bulb for 8 hours while 1 kg uranium can light up bulb for 3 x 104 years.
 Does not produces Green house gases like CO2.

Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy

 The most important problem is the storage and disposal of spent or used fuel because it is highly radioactive.

Improper nuclear waste storage and disposal may lead to environmental contamination.

 There is a risk of accidental leakage of nuclear radiation from the nuclear reactor.

 Cost of installation of a nuclear power plant is very high.

Environmental Consequences

No source of energy is pollution free. It’s good to use sources with less pollution. For example , solar cells may be

pollution free but the assembly of the device would have cause some environmental damage.

 CNG creates much lesser pollution than petrol and diesel.

 LPG is the best choice for cooking purpose because it releases more energy per unit mass, smoke less .

Sun is the ultimate source of energy. For example,

1. Plants convert light energy from sun into chemical energy as food by process of photosynthesis. Animals eat

plants and use that energy for all their activities. The fossil fuel that we use comes from dead animals and plants.

2. Heat energy from the sun causes changing weather patterns that producewind. That we use as wind energy.
3. Hydroelectricity is produced from moving water, and water flows because heat energy from the sun causes

evaporation that keeps water moving through the water cycle.