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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ENERGY RESOURCES

NUCLEAR REACTOR TECHNOLOGY

The nuclear reactor (or atomic reactor) is a kind of furnace for carrying out the controlled
fission of a radioactive material like uranium-235 for producing atomic power. It is in the
reactor that the heat energy is produced from fission reactions, which is then taken out and
converted into electricity.

Applications of Nuclear Technology

▪ Used as a tracer for chemical reactions. You can put an isotope in a living organism and it
will do the same reactions as the regular element but you will be able to trace what it reacts
with and where it goes
▪ Detecting how old something is by seeing how much of the isotope of the element is
left → Carbon Dating → C 14 (Used for living organisms) & Uranium dating → For non-
living organism ex. rocks
▪ Used for finding out the faults in metal structures esp. in airplanes → radioactive material
will penetrate more through the cracked areas
▪ Act as a fuel for nuclear reactors to produce electricity
▪ Some isotopes are used in the treatment of cancer→ to kill the cancer mutated cells
▪ Some isotopes are used to study the proper functioning of internal organs
▪ Gamma radiations are used to sterilize the surgical instruments
▪ Radio phosphorous is used for studying the rate of phosphorous assimilation by the plant
▪ Preservation of food grains and seeds
▪ Used for preparing synthetic elements (artificial transmutation)
▪ Detecting leaks in natural gas pipes

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Solar Energy
photovoltaic technology
Solar energy can be converted directly into electrical energy (direct current, DC) by
photovoltaic (PV) cells commonly called solar cells. Photovoltaic cells are made of silicon
and other materials.

solar thermal concentrator

Active solar heating and cooling systems rely on solar collectors which are usually mounted
on roofs. Such systems also require pumps and motors to move the working fluids or blow air
by fan in order to deliver the captured heat.

Wind Energy

To produce electricity wind is used to turn the shaft of a turbine which is attached to a
generator that produces electricity. Thus, wind turbines transform wind energy into
mechanical power which can be used to generate electricity.

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Biomass Energy
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Bagasse as biofuel
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Indian sugar mills are rapidly turning to bagasse, the leftover of cane after it is crushed and
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its juice extracted, to generate electricity.

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Biogas plant
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The biogas plant consists of two components: a digester (or fermentation tank) and a gas
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holder. Cowdung or faeces are collected and put in a biogas digester or fermenter (a large
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vessel in which fermentation can take place). A series of chemical reactions occur in the
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presence of methanogenic bacteria (CH4 generating bacteria) leading to the production of

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CH4 and CO2.

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Biomass Gasification
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Biomass gasification is thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into a combustible gas

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mixture (producer gas) through a partial combustion route with air supply restricted to less
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than that theoretically required for full combustion.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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Hydro Power Project Classification
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Hydro power projects are generally categorized in two segments i.e. small and large hydro. In
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India, hydro projects up to 25 MW station capacities have been categorized as Small Hydro
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Power (SHP) projects.

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Ocean Energy
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Wave Energy
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Wave energy is generated by the movement of a device either floating on the surface of the
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ocean or moored to the ocean floor. Many different techniques for converting wave energy to
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electric power have been studied. Wave conversion devices that float on the surface have
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joints hinged together that bend with the waves. This kinetic energy pumps fluid through
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turbines and creates electric power.

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Current Energy
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Marine current is ocean water moving in one direction. This ocean current is known as the
Gulf Stream. Tides also create currents that flow in two directions. Kinetic energy can be
captured from the Gulf Stream and other tidal currents with submerged turbines that are very
similar in appearance to miniature wind turbines.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

Ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC, uses ocean temperature differences from the
surface to depths lower than 1,000 meters, to extract energy. A temperature difference of only

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

20°C can yield usable energy. Research focuses on two types of OTEC technologies to
extract thermal energy and convert it to electric power: closed cycle and open cycle. In the
closed cycle method, a working fluid, such as ammonia, is pumped through a heat exchanger
and vaporized. This vaporized steam runs a turbine. The cold water found at the depths of the
ocean condenses the vapor back to a fluid where it returns to the heat exchanger. In the open
cycle system, the warm surface water is pressurized in a vacuum chamber and converted to
steam to run the turbine. The steam is then condensed using cold ocean water from lower
depths.

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Tidal Energy
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The tidal cycle occurs every 12 hours due to the gravitational force of the moon. The
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difference in water height from low tide and high tide is potential energy. Similar to
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traditional hydropower generated from dams, tidal water can be captured in a barrage across
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an estuary during high tide and forced through a hydro-turbine during low tide. To capture
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sufficient power from the tidal energy potential, the height of high tide must be at least five
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meters (16 feet) greater than low tide.

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Geo-Thermal Energy

Our ancestors knew the value of geothermal energy; they bathed and cooked in hot springs.
Today we have recognized that this resource has potential for much broader application.
Geothermal energy is natural heat from the interior of the earth that can be used to generate
electricity as well as to heat up buildings.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The core of the earth is very hot and it is possible to make use of this geothermal energy.
These are areas where there are volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers, and methane under the
water in the oceans and seas.

GSHP

Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP’s) use the earth's relatively constant temperature between
16 - 240C at a depth of 20 feet to provide heating, cooling, and hot water for homes and
commercial buildings. GSHP harvests heat absorbed at the Earth's surface from solar energy.
The temperature in the ground below 6 metres (20 ft) is roughly equal to the mean annual air
temperature at that latitude at the surface It uses the earth as a heat source (in the winter) or a
heat sink (in the summer).

HYDROGEN FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY

Fuel cells are highly efficient power-generating systems that produce electricity by
combining fuel (hydrogen) and oxygen in an electrochemical reaction or fuel cells are

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electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly and very

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efficiently into electricity (DC) and heat, thus doing away with combustion. gm
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Hydrogen fuelled small power generating sets, two-wheeler (motor cycles), three-wheeler
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and catalytic combustion systems for residential and industrial sectors and fuel cell buses
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have also been developed and demonstrated.

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Other Conventional Energy Sources

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Shale gas
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Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped within shale rock formations. Shale gas has
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become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of
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this century, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world.
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Coalbed methane (CBM)

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CBM is a form of natural gas extracted from coal bed. Unlike much natural gas from
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conventional reservoirs, coalbed methane contains very little heavier hydrocarbons such
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as propane and butane.

Gas hydrate

Gas hydrate is a solid ice-like form of water that contains gas molecules in its molecular
cavities1. In nature, this gas is mostly methane. Methane gas hydrate is stable at the
seafloor at water depths beneath about 500 m.

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