Paper No.

: 05 Environmental Biotechnology

Module : 16 Renewable and non-renewable Energy

Principal Investigator: Dr Vibha Dhawan, Distinguished Fellow and Sr. Director

The Energy and Resouurces Institute (TERI), New Delhi

Co-Principal Investigator: Prof S K Jain, Professor, of Medical Biochemistry

Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi

Paper Coordinator: Dr Sanjukta Subudhi, Sr. Fellow,

The Energy and Resouurces Institute (TERI), New Delhi

Content Writer: Dr Ranjeet Singh, Associate Fellow,

The Energy and Resouurces Institute (TERI), New Delhi

Content Reviwer: Dr Sanjukta Subudhi, Sr. Fellow,

The Energy and Resouurces Institute (TERI), New Delhi

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 Description of Module

Subject Name Biotechnology

Paper Name Environmental Biotechnology

Module Name/Title Renewable and non-renewable Energy

Module Id 16

Pre-requisites

Objectives • Energy and its resources

• Forms of Energy
• Non-renewable and Renewable Energy
• Bio fuels and Biodiesel
• Advantages and disadvantages of different forms of energy
Keywords Fossil fuel , Renewable energy, Nonrenewable energy, Green house, Bioenergy, biodiesel,

1. Learning Objectives:
This module is intended to apprise students about the developments in the area of renewable and non-
renewable Energy. This module has been designed to serve as an introductory guide for student to
learn about the different types of energy resources, understand the differences between renewable and
nonrenewable resources. This module will help to understand different types of renewable energy
technologies that are currently available, and how they are used to provide energy. We will also learn
to evaluate the environmental impact of extraction and use of various fossil fuels resources and
compare it with alternative energy resources. Hence, at the end of this module you will be able to
known renewable and non-renewable energy resources, fossil resources, comparison of renewable and
nonrenewable resources, and the environmental impact of using fossil fuels, to enumerate the
alternative energy sources, and also covered the advantages and disadvantages of using these
conventional fuels.

2.) Introduction
2.1.) What are energy and its forms?
Energy is the amount of force required to move an object from one place to another place. Energy
exists in every single objects whether it is a living or non-living things e.g. machine, table or a human
beings, animals etc. Energy exist in many forms such as kinetic, potential, light, sound, gravitational,
elastic, or nuclear.

2.2.) What are the Sources of Energy?

Generally all the currently available energy sources fall into following two categories:
I) Nonrenewable resources: These resources are available in limited amount and will vanish in the
future which cannot be replaced within a short period of time. The energy which is generated from
these sources is called nonrenewable energy. These forms of energy are available in form of fossil
fuels deposits. However, these fuels are not environmental friendly and can have serious effect on
human health. Fuels generated from these resources are still the preferred source of all the power used
globally due to high energy content in them.

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 II) Renewable resources: These are natural resources or non-conventional forms of energy sources.
The energy generated from these sources is called renewable energy. These resources are replenished
in a shorter period and are abundantly available. Moreover, these renewable resources are the cleanest
forms of energy in today’s world.

There are five main renewable energy sources:

• Solar energy
• Geothermal energy
• Wind energy
• Plant biomass
• Hydropower energy

Figure 1: Different form of renewable or nonrenewable energy sources. (Source:

http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/renewable-energy/images/renewable-energy-types.jpg)

3.) Main forms of nonrenewable resources:

3.1) Coal: Coal is a type of fossil fuels that converted from the organic remains of living organisms
buried in past millions of years and transform into coal. Uses of coal are in electricity generation,
Industrial Usages, Cooking etc.

3.1.1) Coal and its impact to environment:

When Coal burnt, it releases GHGs that get mixed with oxygen and form CO 2 which is major
contributor of global warming. It also releases SO2, NO and ash which affects the ecosystem and its
sustainability.

3.2) Oil and Natural Gas:

These are a mixture of 50-90% CH4and small fraction of other hydrocarbons. If the natural gas
contains lower hydrocarbons like ethane, then it is called dry gas. However, if it contains the higher
hydrocarbons like propane and butane, then it’s called wet gas. These fuels also contains small
amount of S,O,N and other compounds. Crude oil is a complex mixture consisting of many different
compounds and through distillation; they are separated into different commercial products, ranging
from gas to asphalt.

3.2.1) Natural gas pros and cons

Pros: It has high energy efficiency and low cost. Generally it has less air polluting properties and
lower CO2 emissions with mmoderate climate impact. It can be transportable through pipelines.

Cons: It releases CO2 and CH4 and can be shipped in the form of LNG.

Nuclear Energy:
These are energy present in the nucleus of an atom. There are two fundamental nuclear processes
responsible for energy generation: I) Nuclear fission, II) Nuclear fusion.
Nuclear fission is the splitting of atoms into two smaller atoms to create energy e.g. Uranium or
Plutonium. It is a nonrenewable energy as once the uranium is used it can’t be regenerated.

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 Figure 2: Nuclear fission reaction (source: http://reikamods.wikia.com/wiki/File:Nuclear-fission-
illustration-white-background-35501453.jpg), and nuclear fusion reaction (source:
https://nuclear.duke-energy.com/2013/01/30/fission-vs-fusion-whats-the-difference).

Figure 3: schematic representation of electricity generation by nuclear power plant (source:

http://www.mpoweruk.com/images/nuclear_power_2.gif)

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power to generate electricity?
Advantages: It’s a sustainable source of energy.-as nuclear waste is recyclable. It is ecological as it
emits nothing into the environment except hot water, no CO2, SO2. It’s an independent process so -
cheaper to run once built and no demand of fossil fuels.

Disadvantages: Generation of nuclear waste or radioactive waste. It has a risk of disaster-accidents

could be very dangerous and people may feel uncomfortable.. Its costly to run because the cost of a
nuclear plant is much higher in compare to a coal based plant.

4.) Main Forms of Renewable Energy:

4.1) Solar Energy

Solar energy is the energy derived from the solar radiation where radiation is converted into power,
either directly using photovoltaic system, or indirectly by using solar power cells. The Sun’s energy
comes from nuclear fusion reaction where Hydrogen nucleus fuses into helium nucleus.

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 Pros: it’s a renewable energy source and abundantly available and sustainable as well as
environmentally friendly.

Cons: It is expensive and intermittent source of energy. As access to solar radiation is limited e.g.
morning and night in varies. It requires space and storage and back-up are necessary.

4.2) Wind Energy:

The process by which wind wave is used to generate power where kinetic energy due to moving of air
into get converted into mechanical energy. Preferred locations for wind energy are areas where winds
are more constant and strong.

Wind energy pros and cons

Pros: It’s a clean source of energy (produces zero greenhouse gases). It’s a Renewable Source and
cost effective to build and operate. Provide extra savings for land owners. It has rapid growth and
huge potential for scale up.

Cons: Wind Reliability hence intermittent energy source. It could be a problem to human and birds
. It is responsible for noise and visual pollution. It is expensive to set up. It is suitable source only to
certain locations or regions.

4.3) Hydro Energy:

This form of energy is generated from water dam and the energy obtained is get converted into power.
In a hydroelectric dam, water coming down from a high altitude directly hit the turbines which in turn
rotate and as a result energy is generated with the help of a generator.

Hydro Energy Pros and Cons:

Pros: It is cheaper to produce. It is a reliable source of energy which means it can be used any time.

Cons: It sometimes slightly change the direction of water f low that could be harmful to flora and
fauna in the water.

4.4) Bioenergy (Biofuel):

It is the energy obtained from plant biomass where it can be directly used as fuel. Biomass is organic
material e.g. wood, sugarcane waste, or any plant by-products. There is several form of bioenergy
such as biofuel or bioethanol, Biobutanol, etc.

4.5) Biofuels or bioethanol: Liquid bio-fuels such as bio-ethanol can be produced from agriculture
residues such as lignocellulosic residues through the process of alcoholic fermentation.

Figure 4: Biofuel production process (source: https://www.jbei.org/wp-

content/uploads/2015/09/Bioenergy-page-Biofuels-pipeline-700x350.jpg).

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 Biomass as an energy source: Several types of biomass are considered as an alternative energy
source e.g. Corn/Sugarcane are called 1st generation energy source, Lignocellulosic biomass as 2nd
generation and algal biomass are considered as 3rd generation energy source.

Several other different applications of Biomass:

-Direct heating: This is the traditional method used for cooking.

-Gasification: The biomass is heated and converted into a flammable gas and after purification can be
used as an energy source.

-Microbial decomposition: The biomass used as feedstock for fermentation reaction where it get
converted into organic gaseous materials or biogas, [CH4 (60%) and CO2 (40%)].

4.6) Bio-Diesel: Biodiesel is made from waste oils or fats obtained from plant and animals. It is used
as fuel for vehicles or as diesel additive to minimize the emission levels of particulate matters, CO
and hydrocarbons from diesel run vehicles. Commercially, it is made from soybean, rapeseed and
sunflower oil. It has a great potential to be developed as a world's transport fuel.

4.6.1) Algae based Biofuel: Algae are photosynthetic aquatic organisms that grow in presence
sunlight and take CO2 as carbon source. Nowadays, extensive research is going on to develop algae as
a source of biomass to convert it into biodiesel. Algal biomass will be valuable source of algal oil that
can be converted into biodiesel which will be a viable alternative to conventional fuels. Moreover,
algae-based biodiesel will yields significantly more energy in compare to biofuel from other sources.
The advantage of this technology is that algae can be cultivated on land that is unfit for agricultural
activities.

Figure 5: Schematic diagram of biodiesel production process from algae (source:

http://www.yalescientific.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fulllength-algalfuel-3.jpg).

Advantage of biofuels:
It’s a renewable source of energy and are naturally available in nature in abundant quantity with low
starting cost and can easily be cultivated domestically for energy production. Since it contain low
carbon, so it’s a clean energy source. It can also turn organic waste into fuel, therefore it can help in
minimizing the waste disposal.

Disadvantages: Algal cultivation requires large amount of water for algae to grow and when burned
releases some quantities of harmful gases (NOx, soot, ash, CO, CO2). Probably it could compete with
the food crops for land requirements. The whole process of biodiesel production is very expensive
with costly scale up process.

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 4.7) Geothermal Energy: The earth’s crust at some places contains huge quantity of stored heat
energy that energy can be obtained by trapping the heat energy and that energy obtained is called
geothermal energy. There are two types of geothermal energy deposits: Hydrogeothermal and
petrogeothermal. Hydroresources are the deposits of hot water and steam at lower depths.
Petroresources are the hot dry rocks around 200 °C and depth ~2000 meter depth.

Figure 6: India primary energy consumption by source and sector, 2013.

(Source:http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/2energy_consumption.pn
g).

6.) Global Impacts of using nonrenewable resources:

Since, globally it is known that the consumption of conventional fuels have detrimental effects on our
environment as they are contributing in global warming and climate change. Further, nuclear energy
resources always carry some health and environment risks due to its waste material accumulation in
the environment which is very toxic. Therefore, alternative energy sources have been discovered that
doesn’t depend on fossil fuels and are environment friendly. Recently concerns about our changing
climate conditions have been address at several international organizations e.g. Kyoto Protocol of
1997, and it has been pledges that we will significantly reduce CO2 emissions by minimizing our rate
of fossil fuels consumption.

8.) Global Impact of using renewable resources:

Since, renewable resources and the energy obtained from them are clean energy with no adverse
environmental effects. However, the major concerns with utilizing these clean resources on a large are
the effectiveness. Therefore, it needs to be cost-effective for any country to be used on large scale
basis.

9.) Energy and Environment:

Energy obtained from conventional sources lead to large amounts of destruction of natural landscapes
and habitants through the process of fuel extraction, pollution of soil and climate change. Energy is at
the heart of many of the world’s current environmental problems, and possesses many other problems
for the sustainable development.

10.) Summary:
Generally there are two main sources of energy and the energy obtained from these resources are
classified as renewable energy and nonrenewable energy. Nonrenewable energy sources are widely
used as primary energy in the form of heat or to produce secondary energy e.g. electricity. Crude oil,
natural gas, and coal are called nonrenewable resources formed over millions of years. Wide usages of
fossil fuels create waste products as environmental pollutants that have serious harmful environmental
effects. CO2 is a major GHG emitted due to burning of fossil fuels that contribute in global warming
and as a consequence climate change. The alternative to using nonrenewable resources is to

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy
 use renewable resources such as solar and wind power etc. As a renewable resource can be replaced
or replenished in relatively shorter period of time. The five major renewable energy resources are
solar, wind, water (hydro), biomass, and geothermal.

Environmental Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Renewable and non-renewable Energy