David Hochreiter

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Energy and safety
David Hochreiter Agriscience
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Energy and Agriculture

• Energy is required to maintain all forms of life
  and to drive all growth and production processes.
• Energy is never lost. It simply takes different
  forms as it is used.
• Humans use large quantities of energy for
  agricultural production.
• Vast quantities of energy are captured through
  photosynthesis in agricultural production.

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Major Sources of Energy
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• Oil (petroleum) comes from domestic wells in
  California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alaska.
• Provides high quality source of energy.
• Refined into gasoline, diesel, and other fuels.
• Easily transported.
• Primarily used for transportation, heating, and
  industrial processes.

OIL
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Dangers of oil use

• Hundreds of oilfield workers are injured every
  year in this labor intensive business.
• Ecosystems can be devastated by oil spills

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Ways to use oil safely

• Use new technology
• Follow safe drilling practices
• Know emergency procedures
• Government regulation

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OIL

• ADVANTAGES
• Cheap
• Versatile

• DISADVANTAGES
• Causes air pollution
• Non-renewable resource

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Natural Gas

• Very high quality energy source used primarily
  for electrical production
• Natural gas power plant located in Gleason TN

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Dangers of natural gas

• Natural gas is very explosive
• Special rubber coated tools must be used on gas
  lines to keep sparks from happening.

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Natural Gas

• ADVANTAGES
• Cheap
• Relatively clean

• DISADVANTAGES
• Difficult / Dangerous to handle
• Non-renewable

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Hydro - Electric

• This is produced by turbine generators driven by
  the force of falling water.
• Hydro-electricity is used for residential.
  Agriculture and industry needs.

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Kentucky Dam

• Just north of Paris TN lies Kentucky Dam. It
  produces electricity by falling water though
  turbines like this one to turn a generator.

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Hydro - Electric

• ADVANTAGES
• Cheap
• Clean

• DISADVANTAGES
• Less versatile
• Limited geographically

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Dangers of hydro electric dams

• Large valves must be used to regulate how much
  water is allowed to flow through turbines
• Dangers of produce electricity near water
  increase chances for electrocution.
• Dams can cause water conditions up and down river
  to change in minutes

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Nuclear

• Derived from the controlled breakdown of
  fissionable materials such as uranium.
• Heat generated from this process drives steam
  turbines which in turn produce electricity.

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Tennessees nuclear plants

• Tennessee has 3 nuclear power plants located in
  East Tennessee

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Nuclear

• ADVANTAGES
• Fuel is plentiful
• Produces no hydrocarbon by-products

• DISADVANTAGES
• Expensive technology
• Produces long-lived radioactive waste products

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Solar

• Solar produces either thermal energy or
  electricity.
• Primarily used for space heating and water
  heating.
• Current costs high, however new technology in
  future expected to lower costs.

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Solar

• ADVANTAGES
• Very clean
• Plentiful

• DISADVANTAGES
• Undependable (seasonal effects)
• Non-versatile expensive electricity

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Check on learning!

• What does TVA stand for?
• Oil can be refined into what?
• Where is the closest natural gas power plant?
• What will help bring down the cost of solar
  energy?

• Tennessee Valley Authority
• Gas, diesel, engine oil
• Gleason TN
• New technology

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Wind

• Modern windmills produce a significant amount of
  electricity in the Midwest and are becoming more
  abundant in other parts of the country as well.

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Free energy from the wind

• Very clean, but requires a significant investment
  in equipment up front.

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Wind

• ADVANTAGES
• Clean
• Renewable

• DISADVANTAGES
• Undependable
• Limited geographically (to windy areas)

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BioMass

• More use is now being made of fuels such as
  firewood, and agricultural and industrial waste
  products to generate electricity.

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BioMass

• ADVANTAGES
• Uses waste products
• Cheap

• DISADVANTAGES
• Can cause air pollution
• Expensive to transport biomass

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GeoThermal

• This energy technology taps heat from deep below
  the earths surface to superheat steam used to
  drive turbines.

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GeoThermal

• ADVANTAGES
• Clean

• DISADVANTAGES
• Limited geographically
• Non-versatile

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Major Types of Energy Consumption in Ag

• Gas and diesel fuels for farm power and
  transportation
• Electricity for pumping irrigation water,
  processing and refrigeration.
• Natural gas for producing fertilizer, heating
  greenhouses, and processing food products.

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Alternative Energy Sources in Agriculture

• BioMass Many farmers are now using agricultural
  by products to provide heat and electricity.
• Fuel Alcohol Crops high in starch and sugar
  (corn and sugar cane) can be processed and
  fermented to provide ethanol. It can also be
  blended in with other fuels or even used on its
  own to power machinery.

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Alternative Energy Sources in Agriculture

• Methane For many years farmers have captured
  methane gas produced by decomposing manure or
  crop residues to run machinery or to ship or
  resale.
• Solar and Wind Power Used by agriculturists for
  applications in remote areas not served by
  electricity.

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