Renewable Energy for All

Renewable Energy for All

Renewable Energy for All

Ajit Dubashi

Renewable Energy for All

Ajit Dubashi

ISBN - 9789361525131

COPYRIGHT © 2025 by Educohack Press. All rights reserved.

This work is protected by copyright, and all rights are reserved by the Publisher. This includes, but is not limited to, the rights to translate, reprint, reproduce, broadcast, electronically store or retrieve, and adapt the work using any methodology, whether currently known or developed in the future.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, or similar designations in this publication does not imply that such terms are exempt from applicable protective laws and regulations or that they are available for unrestricted use.

The Publisher, authors, and editors have taken great care to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information presented in this publication at the time of its release. However, no explicit or implied guarantees are provided regarding the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the content for any particular purpose.

If you identify any errors or omissions, please notify us promptly at [email protected] & [email protected] We deeply value your feedback and will take appropriate corrective actions.

The Publisher remains neutral concerning jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Published by Educohack Press, House No. 537, Delhi- 110042, INDIA

Email: [email protected] & [email protected]

Cover design by Team EDUCOHACK

Preface

The book is divided into ten chapters with multiple subsections that cover all the necessary facts about renewable energy sources, their uses and benefits, how they can be extracted, and finally, their impact on our prevailing environment. The book also tries to shed light on the importance of the enhancement, improvement, and development of technologies associated with the mobilization of renewable energy. In Chapter 1, the fundamental aspects of renewable energy sources, as well as the consequences of fuel combustion, are accurately presented. Facts about thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermochemistry, heat engine, and power plants are divulged in an organized manner in chapter 2. Chapter 3 divulges the most important facts about solar energy application, and chapter 4 is an in-depth exploration of wind energy. The types of wind turbines, their efficiencies, and limitations, as well as the potential and density of wind power, have been elaborately discussed. An elementary introduction to hydropower, as well as an intensive analysis of a hydroelectric power plant, has been given in chapter 5. Chapter 6 touches the key aspects of geothermal energy as well as the fundamental elements of geothermal applications, heating, cooling, heat pump systems, power production, and cogeneration. Chapter 7 presents multiple techniques to harness it. Chapter 8 discusses hydrogen and fuel cells, and chapter 9 gives a broad analysis of the economical aspects of renewable energy. Lastly, the widespread implications of energy and the environment have been broadly discussed in chapter 10, and one can find a comprehensive overview of pollutants and emission from automobiles as well as a factual inquiry and meticulous research on the greenhouse effect, stratospheric ozone depletion and nuclear waste.

Table of Contents

1 A Review on Renewable Energy 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Why Renewables? 2

1.3 Fossil Fuels 2

1.3.1 Why Fossil Fuels are considered as

Non-renewable Sources of Energy? 3

1.3.2 Fossil Fuel: A boon or a curse 3

1.3.3 Consequences of Fossil Fuel Combustion 4

1.3.4 Renewable Energy Sources 5

1.3.5 Hydropower 5

1.3.6 Geothermal Energy 6

1.3.7 Wind Energy 7

1.3.8 Marine Energy 8

1.3.9 Bioenergy 8

1.3.10 Solar Energy 9

1.4 Fossil Fuel and Nuclear Energy 11

1.4.1 Coal 11

1.4.2 Natural Gas 14

1.4.3 Petroleum 18

1.4.4 Nuclear Energy 20

1.5 Electricity 21

1.6 References 21

2 Introduction to Thermal Science 22

2.1 Introduction 22

2.2 Thermal Science 23

2.3 Thermodynamics 24

2.3.1 Heat and other forms of Energy 25

2.3.2 Specific Heats of Gases, Liquids, and Solids 27

2.3.3 Energy Transfer 30

2.3.4 The First Law of Thermodynamics 31

2.3.5 Energy Transfer for a Closed System 33

2.3.6 Energy Transfer for Steady-flow System 33

2.3.7 Saturation Temperature and Saturation Pressure 33

2.4 Heat Transfer 35

2.4.1 Conduction 36

2.4.2 Thermal Conductivity 36

2.4.3 Convection 37

2.4.4 Radiation 38

2.5 Fluid Mechanics 39

2.5.1 Viscosity 40

2.5.2 Pressure Drop in Fluid Flow in Pipes 42

2.6 Thermochemistry 43

2.6.1 Fuels and Combustion 44

2.6.2 Theoretical and Actual Combustion Process 44

2.6.3 Enthalpy of Combustion 45

2.6.4 First-law Analysis of Reacting Systems 45

2.7 Heat Engines and Power Plants 46

2.7.1 Thermal Efficiency 46

2.7.2 Overall Plant Efficiency 47

2.8 Refrigerators and Heat Pumps 47

2.9 Conclusion 48

2.10 References 48

3 Implications of Solar Energy 49

3.1 Introduction 49

3.2 Conservation of Solar Energy 50

3.2.1 Flat Plate Solar Collector 50

3.2.2 Concentrating Solar Collector 51

3.2.3 Solar Power Tower 55

3.2.4 Solar One 56

3.2.5 Solar Two 56

3.2.6 Solar Pond 61

3.2.7 Passive Solar Building Design 64

3.2.8 Passive Energy Gain 65

3.3 References 70

4 Wind Energy 71

4.1 Introduction 71

4.1.1 Wind Energy: The Technology 73

4.1.2 Efficiency and Application 74

4.1.3 Wind Electricity 75

4.1.4 Wind Pumps 75

4.1.5 An overview of Wind Energy 76

4.2 Development of Wind Energy 77

4.2.1 Potentials 77

4.2.2 Challenges 78

4.3 Types of Wind Turbines 79

4.3.1 Horizontal Axis 80

4.3.2 Vertical Axis 81

4.3.3 Ducted Wind Turbines 83

4.4 Power Performance Curve 84

4.5 Potential of Wind Power 86

4.6 Issues with Wind Energy 88

4.7 Wind Power Density 89

4.8 Wind Turbine Efficiency 90

4.9 References 91

5 Hydropower 93

5.1 Introduction 93

5.2 Working of Hydropower? 95

5.3 The Economy of Running

a Hydroelectric Power plant 96

5.4 Impulse Turbines 97

5.4.1 Impulse Turbines and its Types 97

5.4.2 Impulse Turbines and their Various Components 98

5.4.3 Working Mechanisms of an Impulse Turbine 99

5.5 Turbines Specific Speed 99

5.6 Run-of-River plants 101

5.6.1 Advantages of run-of-river Projects 102

5.6.2 Disadvantages of the run-of-river 103

5.6.3 Major concerns of the run-of-river 104

5.7 Water wheels 104

5.7.1 Types of Water Wheel 105

5.7.2 Various types of Water Wheel 109

5.7.3 Various Water Developments 110

5.8 Conclusion 112

5.9 Reference 112

6 Geothermal Energy 113

6.1 Introduction 113

6.2 Advantages of Geothermal Energy 114

6.3 Application of Geothermal Energies 114

6.4 Heating Via Geothermal Process 121

6.4.1 Annual Energy Consumption using

degree-day Method 121

6.5 Geothermal Cooling 128

6.5.1 Absorption Cooling System 129

6.6 Geothermal Heat Pump System 132

6.6.1 Heat Pump System 132

6.6.2 Heat Pump Systems that use Groundwater Source 133

6.7 Power Production Via Geothermal Methods 134

6.8 Geothermal Cogeneration 137

6.9 Reference 138

7 Ocean Energy 139

7.1 Introduction 139

7.1.1 Potential 140

7.1.2 Technology 141

7.1.3 Purposes of Technology 143

7.2 Tidal Energy 144

7.2.1 Various Advantages and Disadvantages

of Tidal Energy 145

7.2.2 Technologies used in Conservation 146

7.3 Wave Energy 146

7.4 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion 148

7.5 Marine Energy 151

7.6 Various forms of Ocean Energy 152

7.7 Development in the Fields of Marine Energy 154

7.8 Environmental Effects 154

7.9 Economical Impacts 155

7.10 Ocean Energy and its Benefits 155

7.11 Blockades of Ocean Energy 156

7.12 Conclusion 156

7.13 References 158

8 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 159

8.1 Introduction 159

8.1.1 Energy Sources 160

8.1.2 Uses of Hydrogen 162

8.2 Hydrogen- An Energy Carrier 162

8.2.1 Hydrogen and its Utilization 167

8.2.2 Relationship of Hydrogen and Automobiles 168

8.3 Production of Hydrogen 169

8.3.1 Hydrogen Production from Hydrocarbons 171

8.3.2 Hydrogen from non-hydrocarbons Production 171

8.3.3 Using Integrated Processes in

Hydrogen Production 175

8.3.4 Final thoughts on Hydrogen Production Processes 175

8.4 Storage of Hydrogen and its Distribution 176

8.5 Fuel Cells 177

8.5.1 Fuel cells and its types 180

8.5.2 Fuel cell and its Thermodynamics 182

8.6 References 185

9 Renewable Energy and Their Economics 186

9.1 Introduction 186

9.2 Renewable Energy Sources 188

9.3 Economics of Engineering 190

9.4 The Time Value of Money 193

9.4.1 Inflation and Taxation on interest rates

and their Effects 194

9.5 Analysis of Life Cycle Costs 195

9.5.1 Analysis of Cost Benefits 197

9.5.2 Product Cost per Unit 200

9.5.3 Comparison of Projects Based on Life Cycle Analysis 200

9.6 Analysis of Payback Period 205

9.7 Conclusion 207

9.8 References 207

10 Environment and Energy 208

10.1 Introduction 208

10.2 Air Pollutants 210

10.2.1 Particulate Matter 213

10.2.2 Sulfur Dioxide 214

10.2.3 Nitrogen Oxides 216

10.2.4 Acid Rain, Ozone and Smog 217

10.3 Automobiles and Their Emissions 219

10.3.1 Catalytic Converters 221

10.4 The Greenhouse Effect 222

10.4.1 Production of Carbon Dioxide 224

10.5 References 226

Index 227

Chapter

1 A Review on Renewable Energy

1.1 Introduction

The energy that can be naturally replenished like that from solar or wind, thermal or geothermal, and from tide or waves are referred to as renewable energy. This renewable energy can be used in some core areas like electricity generation, cooking, transportation, etc. These are more efficient and cheaper as related to the energy sources that are non-renewable in nature. Renewable energy sources are very abundant in nature as compared to fossil fuel (non-renewable), which are only concentrated on certain parts of the globes only. Electrification with renewable energy is very efficient, thus reducing the primary energy requirements. Prior to the utilization of coal, all the energy was renewable. The ancient use of renewable energy was the usage of biomass to fuel fires, while the second ancient most use of renewable energy was harnessing the breeze to drive the boat through the sea. Considering the present scenario across the globe, we are in great need to replace all the non-renewable energy with renewable energy considering its effect on the environment.

1.2 Why Renewables?

Pollution turns out to be the most prominent cause of the growing need for renewable energy these days. Fossil fuels are the biggest source of combustion across the globe. The consumption of fossil is also increasing day by day with an increase in its demand. As more amount of fossil fuel will be consumed, more will be its combustion, and more will be its emission into the environment. Excessive emission of fossil fuel into the environment is impinging on the atmosphere of the earth. As a result, serious damages are posing to the earth’s atmosphere, which in turn, causing a tremendous effect on the health of the human along with other living beings. The air in the atmosphere gets intoxicated by the rigorous emission of harmful toxicants into the atmosphere; as a result, many broad level changes such as global warming, greenhouse effects are also observed to take place. The most desirable feature of renewable energy is that it is highly abundant in this nature, to be more specific, it is actually infinite. Investment required for renewable energy sources is the cost of man and material required for building and maintaining the facilities to retain these energies rather than spending on their costlier imports. These days people are more aware of the obnoxious consequences of burning fossil fuel due to the technological advancements of mass communication educating people about the demerits of excessive fossil fuel consumption. Such pollution causes various respiratory illnesses and death in living creatures. An abrupt increase in the recurrence of acid rain is also encountered these days.

1.3 Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are nothing but the hydrocarbons consisting of oils, coal, and natural gas. This are formed from the anaerobic breakdown of a buried lifeless organism containing energy. Such an organism getting converted to fossil takes about millions of years. A higher percentage of carbon, along with petroleum, coal, and natural gas, can be seen in fossil fuel. Kerosene and propane are the most commonly used derivatives of fossil fuel. This is the result of the dead remains of plants by exposure to the enormous pressure and heat in the Earth’s crust over millions of years. The term fossil fuel was first mentioned in the work of German chemist Caspar Neumann in 1759. Fossil fuel contributes to around 85% share in the major energy consumption in the world.

1.3.1 Why Fossil Fuels are considered as Non-renewable Sources of Energy?

The formation of fossil fuel is a completely natural process where decomposition of dead material into fossil yields the desired fuel. But the reason for which this is considered as non-renewable energy is that the time involved in the total process is around millions of years. Also, the consumption rate is far higher than the rate of replenishment, which results in causing a great depletion in the level of fossil fuels in the viable reserves.

1.3.2 Fossil Fuel: A boon or a curse

The importance of fossil fuel lies in the production of a significant amount of energy per unit mass. Our history advocates the most diverse predated use of coal in that reign of time. In the melting of metal, ore coal was used to run furnaces, and the semi-solid hydrocarbons were used mostly for waterproofing and embalming. The inception of commercial use of petroleum began from the 19th century, mainly in the oil lamps. Gradually, the exploitation of fossil went more extensive, ranging from use in transportation to various other vital sectors in the lifestyle. Now, the combustion of fossil fuel produces numerous air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds. This intoxicant poses harmful hazards to the environment in terms of acid rain. This acid rain corrodes the sculptures and monuments made of marble and limestone. The deleterious consequences on human health ranges from chronic bronchitis to acute respiratory illness, premature death, and decreased lung function. Such that it can be concluded that at the inception, fossil fuel was perhaps the greatest boon that could have ever happened to mankind, but nowadays, it is shaping more as an unwanted curse to the society.

1.3.3 Consequences of Fossil Fuel Combustion

As discussed earlier, the consequences of excessive fossil combustion range from its apparent extinction in the near future to the harmful effects it poses to the surroundings and to the well-being of the living creatures. A higher carbon dioxide concentration is released into the atmosphere due to excessive combustion of fossil fuel. Carbon dioxide being a greenhouse gas, is remarkably responsible for global warming along with other gases participating in this causal. Global warming is an elevation in the overall heat of the Earth’s surface area. This happens because the heat obtained from the sunlight is trapped by carbon dioxide; this process is referred to as greenhouse effect, which eventually leads to global warming. Global warming, in turn, is responsible for the melting of polar ice and the rise in sea levels. The climate of the Earth can badly get affected by the rise in the sea level. Such a rise in the sea level results in the submerging of the coastal area underwater. Burning coal and natural gas liberate sulfur dioxide, which is very corrosive in nature. Unlike coal, petrol liberates oxides of nitrogen. The continuous accumulation of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen in the atmosphere causes acid rain. Acid rain is very much detrimental to living beings and all the sculptures and monuments made of marble and limestone. Increased burning of fossil fuel alters the chemistry of the ocean, making it more acidic. As the ocean grows more acidic, a significant weakening of the shells of many marines can be encountered, which eventually imperils the food chain. Improper burning of fossil fuels liberates carbon monoxide, which is very poisonous and dangerous and poses a deleterious effect on human health. The unburnt carbon particle released from the burning of fossil fuel is the dangerous pollutant capable of inducing serious respiratory damages to human health in the form of asthma. The sea route of transportation, being the highest transporter of crude oils or petroleum across numerous boundaries in the world are subject to cause oil spills into the sea due to any sort of leakage. This causes water pollution and poses an egregious threat to the lives of marine organisms.

1.3.4 Renewable Energy Sources

The sources contributing to renewable energy are inexhaustible. With technological advancement coming into place these days, we have many ways to use these energy sources. Following are the renewable energy sources which are used globally:

1.3.5 Hydropower

Among all other sources, hydropower is the most prolific source of renewable energy contributing to about 10% of the nation’s electricity across the globe. Water dams are the most common forms of hydropower, which retains an extensive volume of water for the production of electricity. Hydropower plants produce electricity by converting the energy exerted by the flow of water onto the turbine into the desired electrical energy. Under such kind of practice, no air emission is witnessed; however, the water quality and the aquatic lifestyle might get altered. The number of fish-killing is reduced by using improved turbines, which assists the fish with migration. The improvement to the wildlife’s river habitat can be brought into practice by changing the direction of a portion of flow around the dams, which mimics the river’s natural flow. Flexibility is one of the biggest promising features of hydropower setups. Hydropower plants are very much adaptive to the desired energy requirement. These power plants have quite long lives in terms of economy, not only shrugging off the recurrent operational cost but also reduces the necessities of frequent water storage due to their large and extensive water reservoirs. These dams can be used for various sectors such as water sports, aquacultures, irrigation support in agriculture, and so on. But in many cases, it can be observed that large reservoirs tend to submerge the low lying areas near the dam. This causes a great loss to the livelihood of that particular area. Sometimes changes in the flow of the river also alter the amount of energy produced by the dam. The probability of flow shortage can be due to the climatic change. Power plants in tropical areas are seen to emit methane, and this is because of the decomposition of plant material in an anaerobic environment forming methane. Local resident’s relocation shapes as one of the major disadvantages while setting up a hydropower plant. The future prospects for hydropower are significantly higher than the present scenario, and this may be due to the increasing threat contributed by fossil fuels to this environment.

1.3.6 Geothermal Energy

The energy which is generated and stored by the Earth’s crust is referred to as geothermal energy. This energy aids in determining the temperature of matter. The formation of this energy is the resultant plant’s formation and radioactive degradation of the material. The temperature may reach up to 4000°C at Earth’s core-mantle boundary. These heats can be trapped in the reservoirs and can be converted to energy, which is reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable, and environment-friendly. The buildings can be heated or cooled by means of the geothermal heat pumps (GHPs). During summer, the GHPs discharges the heat from interiors of a house into the ground, and during winter, a reciprocal process is carried out where heat is drawn from the ground into the building. GHPs turns out to be three times more efficient when compared to the energy-saving heaters available in the market today.

In geothermal electricity production, the hot water is drawn up to run a steam turbine that delivers energy to an electric generator. In such a setup, water is generally recycled in order to subsidize renewable succession. There are, namely, three kinds of geothermal power plants in use – binary cycles, dry steam, and flash steam. Both the binary cycle and flash steam extracts from the hot water while the dry steam draws from the stream. Binary cycle is capable of functioning at a lower temperature of 225°F to 360°F as they transfer the heat from water to the working fluid.

Temperature ranging from 70°F to 302°F can be directly put into service for direct-use application of geothermal temperatures. Generally, a well is bored into a geothermal reservoir in a direct-use system providing unvarying stream of hot water. The use of heat exchanger in some systems differentiates water from the working fluid. It is the working fluid that distributes the heat for the intended use. Geothermal direct use finds its application in the field of agriculture ranging from fish farms to food processing. It can also be used in district heating procedures where many architectural structures are reheated.

The resources that are drawn from the earth for geothermal application contains a lot of intoxicants such as carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia. These constituents impart obnoxious odors and also contributes enormously to global warming. Furthermore, a trace amount of toxic elements such as mercury, boron, arsenic, and antimony can reside in scorching water from geothermal springs. The chances of an earthquake stand high with excessive geothermal systems. The energy required to drive a GHP might contribute to the global pollution scenario. Despite such disadvantages, the minimal requirement of land and freshwater for geothermal plants delivers a humongous privilege to the world.

1.3.7 Wind Energy

The kinetic energy of air in motion is referred to as wind energy. This kind of energy uses the flow of air for generating mechanical energy to run the electric generator and subsequently performing other works such as milling, pumping, etc. The features like abundance in nature, lower impact on the environment holds wind as a fascinating renewable source of energy. The incorporation of windmills for producing energy is an age-old process. Nowadays, these processes are revamped with wind turbines, which are more efficient than windmills. The amount of electricity generated ranges from 50KW to 1 or 2 MW. Wind energy is the rapidly expanding renewable source of energy, expanding at a rate of 25 percent per year. Wind used for generating electricity is of two types: offshore wind and onshore wind. Onshore wind is one of the cheap sources of electric power, and sometimes it is even economical than gas or coal plants. Offshore wind requires a larger input of capital for its construction and maintenance. On the other hand, the onshore wind sometimes results in habitat loss due to their expansion over a large area of land, while the offshore farms induce less graphical impact and are firmer and robust than on land for the production of electricity, such as wind farms, supports numerous wind turbines in the same place. Wind power induces lower environmental effects when compared with the influences of fossil fuel. Wind turbines have