Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

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Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

• Nuclear Solar
• Biomass Wind
• Hydroelectric Hydrogen

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Nuclear power

• Splitting of atoms produces heat
• U-235 primary fuel in power plants
• Uranium and plutonium used in weapons
• Reactors use heat to produce steam
• Steam turns turbine which is connected to a
  generator

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Basic Nuclear Power Plant
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Pros and cons of nuclear energy

• Advantages
• Little or no air pollution
• Little or no water pollution
• No fossil fuels
• Reliable source of energy

• Disadvantages
• High construction costs
• Expensive safety systems
• Complex operations
• What to do with wastes
• Not used for transportation
• Accidents

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Spent Fuel Storage
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Nuclear accidents of note

• Three Mile Island (1979)
• Chernobyl (1986)

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Biomass (1)

• Wood
• Clean burning woodstoves
• Consider supplies in area
• Wood chips, sawdust
• Dung and methane
• Dung burned directly is inefficient
• Methane produced from dung is efficient

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Biomass (2)

• Alcohol from digestion of sugarcane or grains
• Can be used as additive for gasoline
• May use more energy than it produces
• Crop residues and peat
• Cornstalks, wheat straw, bagasse
• Peat bogs

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Pros and cons of biomass

• Advantages
• Sustainable energy source
• Some form available almost anywhere

• Disadvantages
• Supplies not always available
• Can cause air pollution
• Can take more energy to process than they produce

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Hydroelectric power

• Falling water turns turbines connected to
  generators
• Must build dams

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Typical Hydroelectric Dam
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Pros and cons of hydroelectric power

• Advantages
• Sustainable energy source
• No air or water pollution

• Disadvantages
• Limited appropriate sites
• Expensive dams
• Must be near populations
• Damage to ecosystems

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Solar power

• Passive solar power primarily for heating and
  cooling
• Active solar systems requires the use of pumps
  heating, cooling, water needs

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Architecture that Uses Solar to its Advantage
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Typical solar panel
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Pros and cons of solar power

• Advantages
• Endless power source
• No air pollution
• No water pollution

• Disadvantage
• Technology is currently expensive
• Requires back-up system
• Not currently used for transportation

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Wind power

• Use wind to run turbines connected to generators
• Traditionally has been used for individual needs,
  but is now being established in wind farms

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Typical Wind Farm
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Pros and cons of wind power

• Advantages
• Sustainable energy source
• No air pollution
• No water pollution

• Disadvantages
• Expensive technology
• Sometimes inefficient
• Transmission issues
• Wind farms are eye-sores
• Best areas are not always where people are
• Need back-up

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Hydrogen power

• Uses fuel cells which convert hydrogen gas to
  water
• Efficient process

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Pros and Cons of Hydrogen Power

• Advantages
• Lots of hydrogen
• Zero emissions
• Very efficient use of energy source
• Makes light-weight motors

• Disadvantages
• Explosive nature of hydrogen
• Technology not yet ready to put on market
• Used primarily for transportation at moment