Fossil Fuels/Non-Renewable Energy Sources Used to Generate Electricity

1
Fossil Fuels/Non-Renewable Energy Sources Used to
Generate Electricity
2
Fossil fuels

• Formed many hundreds of millions of years ago
  before the time of the dinosaurs that is why
  they were name fossil fuels.

3
How Did Fossil Fuels Form?

• As the trees and plants died, they sank to the
  bottom of the swamps of oceans. They formed
  layers of a spongy material called peat. Over
  many hundreds of years, the peat was covered by
  sand and clay and other minerals, which turned
  into a type of rock called sedimentary.
• More and more rock piled on top of more rock, and
  it weighed more and more. It began to press down
  on the peat. The peat was squeezed and squeezed
  until the water came out of it and it eventually,
  over millions of years, it turned into one of 3
  types of fossil fuels.

4
Why are fossil fuels non-renewable?

• Fossil fuels take millions of years to make. We
  are using up the fuels that were made more than
  300 million years ago before the time of the
  dinosaurs.
• Once they are gone they are gone.
• We can save fossil fuels by conserving energy and
  by using renewable resources to make electricity.

5
There are 3 major forms of fossil fuels

• Coal
• Oil
• Natural Gas

6
Coal

• A hard, black colored rock-like substance.
• It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
  nitrogen and varying amounts of sulphur, oil and
  natural gas.

www.freefoto.com
7
Oil

• Formed more than 300 million years ago.
• Some scientists say that tiny diatoms are the
  source of oil.
• Diatoms are sea creatures the size of a pin head.
  They do one thing just like plants they can
  convert sunlight directly into stored energy.

ncgogreen.myncblogs.com
8
Natural gas

• Natural gas is mostly made up of a gas called
  methane.
• Methane is a simple chemical compound that is
  made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It's
  chemical formula is CH4 - one atom of carbon
  along with four atoms hydrogen.
• This gas is highly flammable.

www.energy.gov.ab.ca
9
How are fossil fuels used to make electricity?

• Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning
  coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam.
  The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a
  turbine, which spins a generator to produce
  electricity.
• The steam is cooled, condensed back into water,
  and returned to the boiler to start the process
  over.

10
Coal
http//www.tva.gov/power/coalart.htm
11
Oil and Natural Gas

• Combustion turbines are designed to start quickly
  to meet the demand for electricity during peak
  operating periods. They are normally run with
  natural gas as a fuel, although low-sulfur fuel
  oil can also be used as needed.
• The turbines operate like a jet engine they draw
  in air at the front of the unit, compress it, mix
  it with fuel, and ignite it. The hot combustion
  gases then expand through turbine blades
  connected to a generator to produce electricity.

12
Oil Natural Gas.
http//www.tva.gov/power/coalart.htm
13
Over 70 0f Electricity is Produced by Fossil
Fuels
http//www.treepower.org/quickfacts.html
14
Advantages of Fossil Fuels

• capacity to generate huge amounts of electricity
  in just a single location. 
• When coal is used in power plants, they are very
  cost effective. Coal is also in abundant supply. 
  
• Transporting oil and gas to the power stations
  can be made through the use of pipes making it an
  easy task. 
• Power plants that utilize gas are very
  efficient. 
• Power stations that make use of fossil fuel can
  be constructed in almost any location. This is
  possible as long as large quantities of fuel can
  be easily brought to the power plants. 
• e. Information on how important is this source
  likely to become in the future.

15
Disadvantage of Fossil Fuels

• Pollution is a major disadvantage of fossil
  fuels.
• This is because they give off carbon dioxide when
  burned thereby causing a greenhouse effect.
• This is also the main contributory factor to the
  global warming experienced by the earth today. 
• Coal also produces carbon dioxide when burned
  compared to burning oil or gas. Additionally, it
  gives off sulphur dioxide, a kind of gas that
  creates acid rain. 
• Environmentally, the mining of coal results in
  the destruction of wide areas of land. Mining
  this fossil fuel is also difficult and may
  endanger the lives of miners. Coal mining is
  considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the
  world. 
• Power stations that utilize coal need large
  amounts of fuel. Use of natural gas can cause
  unpleasant odors and some problems especially
  with transportation. 
• Use of crude oil causes pollution and poses
  environmental hazards such as oil spills when oil
  tankers, for instance, experience leaks or drown
  deep under the sea.
• Crude oil contains toxic chemicals which cause
  air pollutants when combusted. 

16
References

• Tennessee Valley Authority. Fossil-Fuel
  Generation. 8 May 2009. lthttp//www.tva.gov/power/
  fsslfax.htmgt.
• Alternative Energy Sources. 9 May
  2009.lthttp//www.alternativeenergysecret.com/fossi
  l-fuels.htmlgt.
• California Energy Commission. April 22,
  2002Energy Story. 9 May 2009. lthttp//www.energyq
  uest.ca.gov/story/index.htmlgt.
• Energy Matters. 1998. 9 May 2009.
  http//library.thinkquest.org/20331/types/fossil/a
  dvant.html.