Vittoria International School, Torino

Natural science course

From fossil fuels to alternative energy sources

Professor

Elena V. Tibaldi

UTILIZZARE SPAZIO PER INSERIRE FOTO/IMMAGINE DI RIFERIMENTO LEZIONE

Why do we need energy?

transportationcooking gas

electricityhouse heating

Which are the traditional energy sources?

Traditional sources

Traditional sources:• depleted by use• widely used at present• exhausted in near future

coalpetroleum

(oil)

natural gas

What is coal?

Solid fossil fuel, responsible for the development of Western

industrial growth.

Coal is used for:

•production of electricity in thermal power stations

• production of chemical compounds

CO2 emission upon combustion environmental pollution

What is petroleum?

Petroleum is a mixture of

different hydrocarbons

derived from

decomposition of organic

matter in anaerobic

conditions

http://www.crati.it/mostra/pan7/petrolio.htm#

http://www.educational.rai.it/corsiformazione/multimediascuola/esperienze/mito_macchina_movimento/ceccano/lemacchine/petrolio.htm

Through fractional distillation, crude oil is boiled and condensed over several fractions to give the desired mixture of compounds

natural gas

gasoline

lubricating oil

diesel fuel

Crude oil

Bitumen, asphalt

kerosene

fuel oil

What is natural gas?

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly methane

In its pure form, natural gas

is colourless and odourless.

Worlwide natural gas reserves

www.naturalgas.org

For safety reason,

mercaptan

is added to the gas

before delivering

Which are the problems related to the use of hydrocarbons?

CO2 production Environmental pollution

Consumption of world reserves increase of costs

Extraction and transportation environmental disasters

Nuclear energySolar energy

Tidal energyBiomass energy Geothermal energy

Wind energy

Hydro-electric energy

Alternative sources

Renewable sources

Solar energy

Hot water production(solar thermal energy) Electricity production

(photovoltaic solar energy)

Wind energy

Conversion of wind energy into electricity

by using turbines and generators.

kinetic energy

electric energy

wind farms groups of wind turbines in the same location

Geothermal energy

Technological improvements no geographical limitation

Exploiting endogenous heat inside the Earth

Hydroelectric energy

www.earthsci.org

Gravitational force of falling or flowing water

Potential energy of

dammed water drives a

water turbine and a

generator

Tidal energy

Daily rise and fall of tides

www.mywindpowersystem.com

Saint-Malo, France:

13,5 m gap between low

and high tide

Nuclear energy

Controversial issue:

disposal of radioactive waste

Fission of uranium

Water heating

Steam production

Production of electricity

Thermal energy release

www.oncor.com

Biomass energy

www.ecofriendlymag.com

garbage, wood, waste, landfill

gases and alcohol fuels

heat and electricity

conversion technologies

In conclusion, in this video we revised

the most important traditional

energy sources as well as alternative

sources of energy.

Good bye and good energy to everyone!