GE2306 Lecture 5 - 2018

Lecture 5: Renewable Energy Sources
(Peta = 1015 )
h"p://en.wikipedia.org/
Electricity from Solar, Wind, and Hydro
Table 12-‐1, p. 388

Yearly Solar fluxes and human Energy Consump?on
Solar 3.85 million EJ
Wind 2250 EJ
Biomass PotenEal 100-‐300 EJ
Primary Energy use (2010) 539 EJ
Electricity (2010) 66.5 EJ
EJ : Exa Joules
(Exa = 1018 )
Solar Energy
•  Advantage
–  Plenty of energy available
–  Clean
–  Renewable
•  Disadvantage
–  Sometimes it’s not available
–  Inefficient with today’s technology (10-15%)
–  Very expensive on large scale
Main difficulties:
•  Don’t have technology to collect it on this scale
•  Don’t have the technology to store, convert and
transport it to the world’s markets
Solar Energy technology initially received a boost since the
1950s through the US Space Program, and continue to be a
main component in international space programs
Skylab Space Station, 1974

The International Space Station, 1974
http://en.wikipedia.org/
science.howstuffworks.com
U.S. and non-‐U.S. photovoltaic (PV) producEon
by year. Cost of PV cells has decreased
significantly over the years and world
producEon has risen above 550 MW.
Fig. 12-‐1, p. 389

Solar Cell Principle: Photoelectric Effect
When light shines on the

negative plate, electrons are
emitted with an amount of
kinetic energy inversely
proportional to the wavelength
of the incident light; discovered
in 1887 by Heinrich Hertz and
explained in 1905 by Albert
Einstein
Electrons escape if the energy

of the incoming photon
Recall exceeds the binding energy of
an electron
Solar Cell Principle: Photoelectric Effect
h"p://solarjourneyusa.com h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_embedded&v=K76r41jaGJg
Solar cell construction
Primary material of choice : Si Fig. 12-‐4, p. 392

Solar cell construction
h"p://www.c-‐changes.com/types-‐of-‐solar-‐panel
Solar cell efficiencies
Conversion efficiency can range upto ~30 %, but is typically ~10- 15 %
•  ~ 55% of the solar spectrum includes wavelengths too long to liberate

photoelectrons from the cell
•  Some solar radiation is too energetic, and the extra energy becomes
heat
•  Some of the radiation is reflected from the cell’s surface
Solar cell efficiencies:
optimized surface design
h"p://www.solarworld-‐usa.com/
h"p://www.howdoessolarenergywork.net
Wind Energy
NASA experimental wind-‐turbine generator in
Ohio. This first large-‐scale unit had an output
of 100 kW in 18-‐mph winds. It was put into
operaEon in 1975. Blades were 125 d in
diameter.
h"p://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NLInrjUtFGI
h"p://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=CqEccgR0q-‐o&feature=related
Fig. 12-‐11, p. 402

Table 12-‐2, p. 403
Anholt offshore wind power plant in Denmark;
started operation in 2013
h"p://www.siemens.com/press/en/feature/
2013/energy/2013-‐09-‐anholt.php
Inside a Wind Turbine
h"p://www.pi".edu/~btb25/trends.html
What moves a Wind Turbine Blade
•  Newton’s Third Law: Every

action has an equal and
opposite reaction
•  Bernoulli Effect: faster moving

air has a lower pressure
Objective: maximize lift; minimize

drag or air resistance
h"p://learn.kidwind.org
Different types of Blade Shape
Wind Turbine Blade: things to ponder
Tangential velocity = Radius *
Angular speed in radians/second
Radius R
Wind energy transferred in

a certain time is proportional
to cube of velocity, v3….
…. but longer blades means

higher velocity at tip and
increased headwind
What are solutions?
Wind Turbine Blade: things to ponder
h"p://www.engineering.com/
Twisted Blades? Hollow Blades?

h"p://www.windstuffnow.com/main/blade_design_help.htm
h"p://learn.kidwind.org/learn

h"p://commons.wikimedia.org/
Hydropower
Model of a medium-‐ to high-‐head
hydroelectric power plant.
Fig. 12-‐20, p. 415

Table 12-‐5, p. 414
Hydropower
Three Gorges Dam on the

Yangtze River. This is China’s
largest construction project since
the nineteenth century. When
completed in 2009, it will provide
10% of China’s electricity.
•  1.2 million people are displaced

•  inundate national treasures
Biomass Conversion
Photosynthesis converts light energy into the chemical energy of
sugars and other organic compounds. Oxygen (O2) is a
byproduct of photosynthesis and is released into the
atmosphere. The following equation summarizes
photosynthesis:
6 CO2 + 6 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2
sugar
Photosynthesis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g78utcLQrJ4
Conversion of biomass into useful fuels.
Fig. 17-‐1, p. 546

Biomass Conversion
•  Biochemical processes
•  decomposition of organic wastes in an oxygen-deficient
atmosphere
•  production of methane gas (anaerobic digestion)
•  controlled fermentation for production of the alcohols
ethanol & methanol
•  Direct combustion
•  the burning of biomass to produce heat
•  for space heating
•  production of electricity through a steam turbine
•  Pyrolysis
•  the thermal decomposition of wastes into a gas or liquid
•  under high temperature (500 to 900 oC) in low oxygen
atmosphere
Biomass Conversion Flow diagram for
Biochemical processes production of ethanol
from corn
Alcohols
•  ethanol; methanol
Ethanol (C2H5OH), grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol
•  colorless liquid, boiling point 78 oC
•  from sugar cane (Brazil), corn (United State),
wheat and sugar beets (France), rye (Germany)
•  uses energy for planting, fertilizing, harvesting
•  can improve vehicle performance, fewer
emissions
•  E10 – a gasohol mixture of 10% ethanol and 90%
regular gasoline
Methanol (CH3OH), grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol

•  colorless liquid, boiling point 65 oC
•  from wood distillation
•  can be produced from virtually any carbon-
containing material
•  a superior fuel for internal combustion engines
Table 17-‐1, p. 552
Anaerobic diges?on
•  bacteria convert organic waste into methane and carbon dioxide gases in
the absence of oxygen
fermenta?on tanks
Ca"le pens, with fermentaEon tanks in the

background, for converEng animal waste into
methane gas.
p. 553
Fixed-container methane digester. Family-
sized digesters using manure are relatively
common in countries such as India and
China. In China, an estimated 4.5 million
biogas digesters are currently in use.
Fertilizer
Raw waste, water,
microorganisms
Biogas digester -‐ Introduc?on -‐ The LiRle Green Monster
hRp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTdreS_HN2Y
Municipal Solid Waste
United States Fig. 17-‐6, p. 558

Incineration Waste-to-energy facility. The steam
produced can be used to drive a
•  Dioxins (from chlorine compounds
turbine-generator or to provide
formed during combustion)
process heat to a nearby customer.
Fig. 17-‐7, p. 562

GE2306 Lecture 5 - 2018

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GE2306 Lecture 5 - 2018

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Lecture 5: Renewable Energy Sources

Table 12-­‐1, p. 388

Skylab Space Station, 1974

Fig. 12-­‐1, p. 389

When light shines on the

Electrons escape if the energy

Primary material of choice : Si Fig. 12-­‐4, p. 392

• ~ 55% of the solar spectrum includes wavelengths too long to liberate

Fig. 12-­‐11, p. 402

• Newton’s Third Law: Every

• Bernoulli Effect: faster moving

Objective: maximize lift; minimize

Wind energy transferred in

…. but longer blades means

Twisted Blades? Hollow Blades?

Fig. 12-­‐20, p. 415

Three Gorges Dam on the

• 1.2 million people are displaced

Fig. 17-­‐1, p. 546

Methanol (CH3OH), grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol

Ca"le pens, with fermentaEon tanks in the

United States Fig. 17-­‐6, p. 558

Fig. 17-­‐7, p. 562

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Table 12-‐1, p. 388

Fig. 12-‐1, p. 389

Primary material of choice : Si Fig. 12-‐4, p. 392

•  ~ 55% of the solar spectrum includes wavelengths too long to liberate

Fig. 12-‐11, p. 402

•  Newton’s Third Law: Every

•  Bernoulli Effect: faster moving

Fig. 12-‐20, p. 415

•  1.2 million people are displaced

Fig. 17-‐1, p. 546

United States Fig. 17-‐6, p. 558

Fig. 17-‐7, p. 562