COURSE MATERIAL

IV Year B. Tech II- Semester

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
AY: 2022-23

Renewable Energy Sources

 RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES(CORE
ELECTIVE–VI)
Objectives:
▪ To explain concept of various forms of Non-renewable and renewable
energy
▪ To outline division aspects and utilization of renewable energy sources
for both domestics and industrial applications
▪ To analysis the environmental and cost economics of using renewable
energy sources compared to fossil fuels.
▪ At the end of the course, the students are expected to identify the new
methodologies / technologies for effective utilization of renewable
energy
UNIT-I

Introduction:
Solar Radiation: Principles of Solar Radiation: Role and potential of new and renewable
source, the solar energy option. Environmental impact of solar power – Physics of the sun,
the solar constant, extraterrestrial and terrestrial solar radiation, Solar radiation on titled
surface, Instruments for measuring solar radiation and sun shine, solar radiation data.

UNIT – II
Solar Energy Collection: Flat plate and concentrating collectors, classification of
concentrating collectors, orientation and thermal analysis, advanced collectors.
Solar Energy Storage and Applications: Different methods, sensible, latent heat and
stratified storage, solar ponds. Solar applications – solar heating? cooling techniques, solar
distillation and drying, Photovoltaic energy conversion.

UNIT – III
Wind Energy: Sources and potentials, horizontal and vertical axis windmills, performance
characteristics.
Bio-Mass: Principles of Bio-Conversion, Anaerobic /aerobic digestion, types of Bio-gas
digesters, gas yield, combustion characteristics of bio-gas, utilization for cooking, l.C.
Engine operation, and economic aspects.

UNIT –IV
Geothermal Energy: Resources, types of wells, methods of harnessing the energy,
potential in India. OTEC: Principles, utilization, setting of OTEC plants, thermodynamic
cycles.
Tidal and Wave Energy: Potential and conversion techniques, mini-hydel power plants,
their economics.

UNIT-V
Direct Energy Conversion: Need for DEC. Carnot cycle, limitations, Principles of DEC.
Thermo-electric generators, Seebeck, Peltier and Joule Thompson effects, figure of merit,
materials, applications, MHD generators, principles, dissociation and ionization, hall effect,
magnetic flux, MHD accelerator, MHD engine, power generation systems, electron gas
dynamic conversion, economic aspects. Fuel cells, principle, faraday’s laws,
thermodynamic aspects, selection of fuels and operating conditions.

TEXT BOOKS:
Renewable Energy Sources I Twidell & Weir / Taylor and Francis / 2nd Special Indian
Edition.
Non- conventional Energy Sources / G.D. Rai / Dhanpat Ral and Sons.
Renewable Energy Resources I Tiwari and Ghosal I Narosa.

REFERENCE BOOKS:
Energy Resources Utilization and Technologies /Anjaneyulu & Francis/ BS
Publications/2012.
Principles of Solar Energy / Frank Krieth & John F Kreider / Hemisphere Publications.
Non-Conventional Energy / Ashok V Desai I Wiley Eastern.
Non-Conventional Energy Systems / K Mittal / Wheeler.
Renewable Energy Technologies I Ramesh & Kumar / Narosa.

OUTCOMES:
Understanding of commercial energy and renewable energy sources
Knowledge in working principle of various energy systems
Capability to do basic design of renewable energy systems
Upon completion of this course, the students can able to identify the new
methodologies / technologies for effective utilization of renewable energy sources.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT I
Solar Radiation
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Objectives:
▪ To explain concept of various forms of Non-renewable and renewable energy
▪ To outline division aspects and utilization of renewable energy sources for both
domestics and industrial applications
▪ To analysis the environmental and cost economics of using renewable energy
sources compared to fossil fuels.
▪ At the end of the course, the students are expected to identify the new
methodologies / technologies for effective utilization of renewable energy

UNIT-I
Introduction:
Solar Radiation: Principles of Solar Radiation: Role and potential of new and renewable source, the solar energy
option. Environmental impact of solar power – Physics of the sun, the solar constant, extraterrestrial and
terrestrial solar radiation, Solar radiation on titled surface, Instruments for measuring solar radiation and sun
shine, solar radiation data.

UNIT – II
Solar Energy Collection: Flat plate and concentrating collectors, classification of concentrating
collectors, orientation and thermal analysis, advanced collectors.
Solar Energy Storage and Applications: Different methods, sensible, latent heat and stratified storage,
solar ponds. Solar applications – solar heating? cooling techniques, solar distillation and drying,
Photovoltaic energy conversion.

UNIT – III
Wind Energy: Sources and potentials, horizontal and vertical axis windmills, performance
characteristics.
Bio-Mass: Principles of Bio-Conversion, Anaerobic /aerobic digestion, types of Bio-gas digesters, gas
yield, combustion characteristics of bio-gas, utilization for cooking, l.C. Engine operation, and economic
aspects.

UNIT –IV
Geothermal Energy: Resources, types of wells, methods of harnessing the energy, potential in India.
OTEC: Principles, utilization, setting of OTEC plants, thermodynamic cycles.
Tidal and Wave Energy: Potential and conversion techniques, mini-hydel power plants, their
economics.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT-V
Direct Energy Conversion: Need for DEC. Carnot cycle, limitations, Principles of DEC. Thermo-electric
generators, Seebeck, Peltier and Joule Thompson effects, figure of merit, materials, applications, MHD
generators, principles, dissociation and ionization, hall effect, magnetic flux, MHD accelerator, MHD
engine, power generation systems, electron gas dynamic conversion, economic aspects. Fuel cells,
principle, faraday’s laws, thermodynamic aspects, selection of fuels and operating conditions.

TEXT BOOKS:
Renewable Energy Sources I Twidell & Weir / Taylor and Francis / 2nd Special Indian
Edition.
Non-conventional Energy Sources / G.D. Rai / Dhanpat Ral and Sons.
Renewable Energy Resources I Tiwari and Ghosal I Narosa.

REFERENCE BOOKS:
Energy Resources Utilization and Technologies /Anjaneyulu & Francis/ BS
Publications/2012.
Principles of Solar Energy / Frank Krieth & John F Kreider / Hemisphere Publications.
Non-Conventional Energy / Ashok V Desai I Wiley Eastern.
Non-Conventional Energy Systems / K Mittal / Wheeler.
Renewable Energy Technologies I Ramesh & Kumar / Narosa.

OUTCOMES:
Understanding of commercial energy and renewable energy sources
Knowledge in working principle of various energy systems
Capability to do basic design of renewable energy systems
Upon completion of this course, the students can able to identify the new
methodologies / technologies for effective utilization of renewable energy sources.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT-I

PRINCIPLES OF SOLAR RADIATION

Role and potential of new and renewable source

India has a vast supply of renewable energy resources, and it has one of the largest programs in
the world for deploying renewable energy products and systems. Indeed, it is the only country in the world
to have an exclusive ministry for renewable energy development, the Ministry of Non- Conventional
Energy Sources (MNES). Since its formation, the Ministry has launched one of the world’s largest and most
ambitious programs on renewable energy. Based on various promotional efforts put in place by MNES,
significant progress is being made in power generation from renewable energy sources. In October, MNES
was renamed the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Specifically, 3,700 MW are currently powered by renewable energy sources (3.5 percent of total
installed capacity). This is projected to be 10,000 MW from renewable energy by 2012.

The key drivers for renewable energy are the following:

o The demand-supply gap, especially as population increases
o A large untapped potential
o Concern for the environment
o The need to strengthen India’s energy security
o Pressure on high-emission industry sectors from their shareholders
o A viable solution for rural electrification

Also, with a commitment to rural electrification, the Ministry of Power has accelerated the Rural
Electrification Program with a target of 100,000 villages by 2012.

Introduction In recent years, India has emerged as one of the leading destinations for investors
from developed countries. This attraction is partially due to the lower cost of manpower and good quality
production. The expansion of investments has brought benefits of employment, development, and
growth in the quality of life, but only to the major cities. This sector only represents a small portion of the
total population. The remaining population still lives in very poor conditions.

India is now the eleventh largest economy in the world, fourth in terms of purchasing power. It is
poised to make tremendous economic strides over the next ten years, with significant development
already in the planning stages. This report gives an overview of the renewable energies market in India.
We look at the current status of renewable markets in India, the energy needs of the country, forecasts of
consumption and production, and we assess whether India can power its growth and its society with
renewable resources.

The Ministry of Power has set an agenda of providing Power to All by 2012. It seeks to achieve
this objective through a comprehensive and holistic approach to power sector development envisaging a
six level intervention strategy at the National, State, SEB, Distribution, Feeder and Consumer levels.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Environmental impacts of solar energy:

Every energy generation and transmission method affects the environment. As it is obvious
conventional generating options can damage air, climate, water, land and wildlife, landscape, as well as
raise the levels of harmful radiation. Renewable technologies are substantially safer offering a solution
to many environmental and social problems associated with fossil and nuclear fuels (EC,1995,1997). Solar
energy technologies (SETs) provide obvious environmental advantages in comparison to the conventional
energy sources, thus contributing to the sustainable development of human activities
Not counting the depletion of the exhausted natural resources, their main advantage is related to the
reduced CO2 emissions, and, normally, absence of any air emissions or waste products during their
operation. Concerning the environment, the use of SETs has additional positive implications such as:

* reduction of the emissions of the greenhouse gases (mainly CO2,NO x) and prevention of toxic
Gas emissions (SO2,particulates)
* reclamation of degraded land;
* reduction of the required transmission lines of the electricity grids; and
* improvement of the quality of water resources

The basic research in solar energy is being carried in universities and educational and research
institutions, public sector institution, BHEL and Central Electronic Limited and carrying out a coordinated
program of research of solar energy.

The application of solar energy is

1. Heating and cooling residential buildings

2. Solar water heating
3. Solar drying of agricultural and chemical products.
4. Solar distillation of a small community scale
5. Salt production by evaporation of sea water
6. Solar cookers
7. Solar engines for water pumping
8. Food refrigeration
9. Bio conversion and wind energy and which are indirect source of solar energy
10. Solar furnaces
11. Solar electric power generation by
i) Solar ponds
ii) Steam generators heated by rotating reflectors
iii) reflectors with lenses and pipes for fluid circulation
12. solar photovoltaic cells which can be used for conversion of solar energy directly into electricity
(or) for water pumping in rural agriculture purposes.

PRESENT SENERIO:
TPP - 65.34%
HYDRO - 21.53%
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

NUCLEAR - 2.7%
RENEWABLE - 10.42%
WIND CAPACITY - 14550 MW.
20,000 MW solar by 2022.
Installed power generation capacity of India 181.558 GW
Per capita energy consumption stood at 704 KW.
1/3 GW of installed capacity by 2017

Solar Radiation

Solar energy, received in the form of radiation, can be converted directly or indirectly in to other
forms of energy, such as heat and electricity. The major draw backs of the extensive application of solar
energy of
1. the intermittent and variable manner in which it arrives at the earth’s surface and
2. the large area require to collect the energy at a useful rate.
Energy is radiated by the sun as electromagnetic waves of which 99% have wave lengths in the
range of 0.2 to 4.0 micro meter (1 micro meter = 10-6 meter)
Solar energy reaching the top of the earth’s atmosphere consists of about
• 8% ultra violet radiation [short wave length >0.39 micrometer]
• 46% visible light [0.39 to 0.78 micrometer]
• 46 % infrared [0.78 micro meter above]

Solar constant

The sun is a large sphere of very hot gases, the heat being generated by various kinds of fusion
reactions. Its diameter is 1.39 X 106 km while that of earth is 1.27 X 104 km. the mean distance between
the two is 1.5 X 108 km. although the sun is large, its subtends angle of only 32 min. at the earth’s surface.

The brightness of the sun varies from its center to its edge. However the calculation purpose the
brightness all over the solar disc is uniform.

The total radiation from the sun is 5762 degrees K

The rate at which solar energy arise at the top of the atmosphere is called the solar constant I sc . This
is the amount of energy received in unit time on a unit area perpendicular to the sun’s direction at the
mean distance of the earth from the sun.

The solar constant value varies up to 3 % throughout the year, because the distance between the
sun and the earth varies little throughout the year.

The earth is close set of the sun during the summer and farthest during the winter.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

This variation in distance produces sinusoidal variation in the intensity of solar radiation I that
reaches the earth.

ISC = 1367 watts/m2

360
= 1+0.033 cos . where n is the day of the year.
𝐼𝑆𝐶 365

Spectral distribution of solar radiation intensity at the outer limit of the atmosphere

The luminosity of the Sun is about 3.86 x 1026 watts. This is the total power radiated out into
space by the Sun. Most of this radiation is in the visible and infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum,
with less than 1 % emitted in the radio, UV and X-ray spectral bands. The sun’s energy is radiated uniformly
in all directions. Because the Sun is about 150 million kilometers from the Earth, and because the Earth is
about 6300 km in radius, only 0.000000045% of this power is intercepted by our planet. This still amounts
to a massive 1.75 x 1017 watts. For the purposes of solar energy capture, we normally talk about the
amount of power in sunlight passing through a single square meter face-on to the sun, at the Earth's
distance from the Sun. The power of the sun at the earth, per square meter is called the solar constant
and is approximately 1370 watts per square meter (W m-2).

The solar constant actually varies by +/- 3% because of the Earth's slightly elliptical orbit around
the Sun. The sun-earth distance is smaller when the Earth is at perihelion (first week in January) and larger
when the Earth is at aphelion (first week in July). Some people, when talking about the solar constant,
correct for this distance variation, and refer to the solar constant as the power per unit area received at
the average Earth-solar distance of one “Astronomical Unit” or AU which is 149.59787066 million
kilometers. There is also another small variation in the solar constant which is due to a variation in the
total luminosity of the Sun itself. This variation has been measured by radiometers aboard several
satellites since the late 1970's.

The graph below is a composite graph produced by the World Radiation Centre and shows that
our Sun is actually a (slightly) variable star. The variation in the solar constant can be seen to be about
0.1% over a period of 30 years. Some researchers have tried to reconstruct this variation, by correlating
it to sunspot numbers, back over the last 400 years, and have suggested that the Sun may have varied in
its power output by up to one percent. It has also been suggested that this variation might explain some
terrestrial temperature variations. It is interesting to note that the average G-type star (the class of star
the Sun falls into) typically shows a much larger variation of about 4%.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Solar Radiation Measuring Instruments (Radiometers)

A radiometer absorbs solar radiation at its sensor, transforms it into heat and measures the
resulting amount of heat to ascertain the level of solar radiation. Methods of measuring heat include
taking out heat flux as a temperature change (using a water flow pyrheliometer, a silver-disk
pyrheliometer or a bimetallic pyranograph) or as a thermo electromotive force (using a thermoelectric
pyrheliometer or a thermo electric pyranometer). In current operation, types using a thermopile are
generally used.

The radiometers used for ordinary observation are pyrheliometers and pyranometers that
measure direct solar radiation and global solar radiation, respectively, and these instruments are
described in this section. For details of other radiometers such as measuring instruments for diffuse sky
radiation and net radiation, refer to ”Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Observation Methods” and
“Compendium of Lecture Notes on Meteorological Instruments for Training Class III and Class IV
Meteorological Personnel “published by WMO.

Pyrheliometers

A pyrheliometer is used to measure direct solar radiation from the sun and its marginal periphery.
To measure direct solar radiation correctly, its receiving surface must be arranged to be normal to the
solar direction. For this reason, the instrument is usually mounted on a sun-tracking devicecalled an
equatorial mount.

The structure of an Angstrom electrical compensation pyrheliometer is shown in Figure.

This is a reliable instrument used to observe direct solar radiation, and has long been accepted
as a working standard. However, its manual operation requires experience.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

This pyrheliometer has a rectangular aperture, two manganin-strip sensors (20.0 mm × 2.0 mm
×0.02 mm) and several diaphragms to let only direct sunlight reach the sensor The sensor surface is
painted optical black and has uniform absorption characteristics for short-wave radiation. A copper-
constantan thermocouple is attached to the rear of each sensor strip, and the thermocouple is connected
to a galvanometer. The sensor strips also work as electric resistors and
generate heat when a current flows across them.

When solar irradiance is measured with this type of pyrheliometer, the small shutter on the front
face of the cylinder shields one sensor strip from sunlight, allowing it to reach only the other sensor. A
temperature difference is therefore produced between the two sensor strips because one absorbs solar
radiation and the other does not, and a thermo electromotive force proportional to this difference induces
current flow through the galvanometer. Then, a current is supplied to the cooler sensor strip (the one
shaded from solar radiation) until the pointer in the galvanometer indicates zero, atwhich point the
temperature raised by solar radiation is compensated by Joule heat. A value for direct solar irradiance is
obtained by converting the compensated current at this time. If S is the intensity of direct solar irradiance
and i is the current, then S =Ki2,
Where K is a constant intrinsic to the instrument and is determined from the size and electric
resistance of the sensor strips and the absorption coefficient of their surfaces. The value of K is usually
determined through comparison with an upper-class standard pyrheliometer.

Pyranometers:

A pyranometer is used to measure global solar radiation falling on a horizontal surface. Its sensor
has a horizontal radiation-sensing surface that absorbs solar radiation energy from the whole sky (i.e. a
solid angle of 2π sr) and transforms this energy into heat. Global solar radiation can be ascertained by
measuring thisheat energy. Most pyranometers in general use are now the thermopile type, although
bimetallic pyranometers are occasionally found.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Thermoelectric pyranometer is shown in Figure. The instrument’s radiation-sensing element has

basically the same structure as that of a thermoelectric pyrheliometer. Another similarity is that the
temperature difference derived between the radiation-sensing element (the hot junction) and the
reflecting surface (the cold junction) that serves as a temperature reference point is expressed by a
thermopile as an thermoelectromotive force. In the case of a pyranometer, methods of ascertaining the
temperature difference are as follows:

1) Several pairs of thermocouples are connected in series to make a thermopile that detects
thetemperature difference between the black and white radiation-sensing surfaces.
2) The temperature difference between two black radiation-sensing surfaces with differing areas
is detected by a thermopile.
3) The temperature difference between a radiation-sensing surface painted solid black and a
metallic block with high heat capacity is detected by a thermopile.

Sunshine recorder

The duration of bright sunshine in a day is measured by means of sun shine recorder. The sun’s
rays are focused by a glass sphere to a point on a card strip held in a groove in spherical bowl mounted
concentrically with the sphere. Whenever there is a bright sun shine the image formed is intensive
enough to burn a part on the card strip. throughout the day as sun moves across the sky, the image
moves along the strip. Thus, a burnt trace whose length is proportional to the duration of sun shine is
obtained on the strip.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Solar Radiation Data

Most radiation data is measured for horizontal surfaces. As shown in figure. It is seen a fairly,
smooth variations with the maximum occurring around noon is obtained on a clear day. In contrast
anirregular variation with many peaks and valleys may be obtained on a cloudy day.

• Peak values are generally measured in April or May with parts of Rajasthan or Gujarat
receivingover 600 Langley’s per day.
• During the monsoon and winter months, the daily global radiation decreases to about 300- 400
longley per day.
• Annual average daily diffuse radiation received over the whole country is around 175longlays
per day.
• The maximum value is about 300 langleys in Gujarat in July, while the minimum values between
75 and 100 langleys per day, are measured over many parts of the country during November and
December as winter sets in.

Solar radiation on tilted surface:

The rate of receipt of solar energy on a given surface on the ground depends on the orientation of
the surface with reference to the sun. A fully sun – tracking surface that always faces the sun receives
the maximum possible solar energy at the particular location.

A surface of the same area oriented in any other direction will receive a smaller amount of radiation
because solar radiation is such a dilute form of energy, it is desirable to capture as much as possible on a
ground area. Most of the solar collectors or solar radiation collecting devices are tilted at an angle to
horizontal surface with Y=0 facing south for tilted surface.

Cosθ = Sinδ Sin (ф – s) + Cos δ Cos ω Cos (ф – s)

For horizontal surfaces Cos θZ= Sin ф Sin δ + Cos ф Cos δ Cos ω

Tilt factor for beam radiation

Ύb = Cosθ
Cos θZ

Ύd= [1+Cos s]
2
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT II
Solar Energy Collection & Storage
and Applications
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT-II

SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTION, STORAGE AND APPLICATIONS

Sensible heat storage:

The use of sensible heat energy storage materials is the easiest method of storage. In practice,
water, sand, gravel, soil, etc. can be considered as materials for energy storage, in which the largest heat
capacity of water, so water is used more often. In the 70’s and 80’s, the use of water and soil for cross-
seasonal storage of solar energy was reported. But the material’s sensible heat is low, and it limits energy
storage.

Latent heat-storage:

Latent heat-storage units are storing thermal energy in latent (= hidden, dormant)mode by
changing the state of aggregation of the storage medium. Applicable storage media are called "phase
change materials" (PCM).. Commonly salts crystal is used in low-temperature storage, such as sodium
sulfate decahydrate /calcium chloride, sodium hydrogen phosphate 12-water. However, we must
solve the cooling and layering issues in order to ensure the operating temperature and service life.
Medium solar storage temperature is generally higher than 100 ℃but under 500 ℃, usually it is around
300 ℃. Suitable for medium temperature storage of materials are: high-pressure hot water, organic
fluids, eutectic salt. Solar heat storage temperature is generally above 500 ℃,the materials currently
being tested are: metal sodium and molten salt. Extremely high temperature above 1000 ℃storage, fire-
resistant ball alumina and germanium oxide can be used.

Chemical, thermal energy storage:

Thermal energy storage is making the use of chemical reaction to store heat. It has the advantage
of large amount in heat, small in volume, light in weight. The product of chemical reaction canbe stored
separately for a long time. It occurs exothermic reaction when it is needed. it has to meet the needs of
below conditions to use chemical reaction in heat reserve: good in reaction reversibility,
no secondary reaction, rapid reaction, easy to separate the resultant and reserve it stably. Reactant and
resultant are in noxious , nonflammable, large in heat of reaction and low price of reactant. Now some
ofthe chemical endothermic reaction could meet the needs of above conditions. Like pyrolysis
reaction of Ca(OH)2, Using the above endothermic reaction to store heat and release the heat when it is
necessary. But the dehydration reaction temperature in high atmospheric pressure is higher than 500
degrees. I t is difficult to use solar energy to complete dehydration reaction. We can use catalyst to
decrease the reaction temperature, but still very high. So it is still in testing time of heat14reserve in
chemistry.

Plastic crystal thermal energy storage:

In 1984, the U.S. market launched plastic crystal materials for home heating. Plastic crystal’s
scientific name is Neopentyl Glycol (NPG), it and the liquid crystal are similar to three-dimensional periodic
crystals, but the mechanical properties are like plastic. It can store and release thermal energyin the
constant temperature, but not to rely on solid-liquid phase change to store thermal energy, it stores the
energy through the plastic crystalline molecular structure occurring solid - solid phase change.When
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

plastic crystals are at constant temperature 44c, it absorbs solar energy and stores heat during the day,
and releases the heat during the night.

Solar thermal energy storage tank:

Solar pond is a kind of a certain salt concentration gradient of salt ponds, and it can be used for
acquisition and storage of solar energy. Because of its simple, low cost, and it is suit to large-scale applied
so it has attracted people's attention. After the 60’s, many countries have started study on solar pond,
Israel has also built three solar pond power plants.

Solar Collectors

Solar collectors are the key component of active solar-heating systems. Solar collectors gather the
sun's energy, transform its radiation into heat, then transfer that heat to water, solar fluid, or air.The
solar thermal energy can be used in solar water heating systems, solar pool heaters, and solar space-
heating systems. There are several types of solar collectors:
• Flat-plate collectors
• Evacuated-tube collectors

Residential and commercial building applications that require temperatures below 200°F typically
use flat-plate collectors, whereas those requiring temperatures higher than 200°F use evacuated-tube
collectors.

Flat-plate collectors

Flat-plate collectors are the most common solar collector for solar water-heating systems in
homes and solar space heating. A typical flat-plate collector is an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic
cover (called the glazing) and a dark-colored absorber plate. These collectors heat liquid or air at
temperatures less than 180°F.Flat-plate collectors are used for residential water heating and hydronic
space-heating installations.

Liquid flat-plate collector’s heat liquid as it flows through tubes in or adjacent to the absorber plate. The
simplest liquid systems use potable household water, which is heated as it passes directly through the
collector and then flows to the house. Solar pool heating this home in Nevada has an integral collector
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

storage (ICS) system to provide hot water. Also uses liquid flat-plate collector technology, but the
collectors are typically unglazed as in figure below.

Unglazed solar collectors typically used for swimming pool heating.

Air flat-plate collectors are used primarily for solar space heating. The absorber plates in air collectors can
be metal sheets, layers of screen, or non-metallic materials. The air flows past the absorber by using
natural convection or a fan. Because air conducts heat much less readily than liquid does, less heat is
transferred from an air collector's absorber than from a liquid collector's absorber, and air collectors are
typically less efficient than liquid collectors.

Air flat-plate collectors are used for space heating.

Evacuated-tube collectors

Evacuated-tube collectors can achieve extremely high temperatures (170°F to 350°F), making
them more appropriate for cooling applications and commercial and industrial application. However,
evacuated-tube collectors are more expensive than flat-plate collectors, with unit area costs about twice
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

That of flat-plate collectors. Evacuated-tube collectors are efficient at high temperatures. The collectors
are usually made of parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. Each tube contains a glass outer tube and
metal absorber tube attached to a fin. The fin is covered with a coating that absorbs solar energy well, but
which inhibits radiative heat loss. Air is removed, or evacuated, from the space between the two glass
tubes to form a vacuum, which eliminates conductive and convective heat loss. A new evacuated- tube
design is available from the Chinese manufacturers, such as: Beijing Sunda Solar Energy Technology Co.
Ltd. The "dewar" design features a vacuum contained between two concentric glass tubes, with the
absorber selective coating on the inside tube. Water is typically allowed to thermo syphon down and back
out the inner cavity to transfer the heat to the storage tank. There are no glass-to-metal seals. This type
of evacuated tube has the potential to become cost-competitive with flat plates.

Concentrating collectors

Unlike solar (photovoltaic) cells, which use light to produce electricity, concentrating solar power
systems generate electricity with heat. Concentrating solar collectors use mirrors and lenses to
concentrate and focus sunlight onto a thermal receiver, similar to a boiler tube. The receiver absorbs
and converts sunlight into heat. The heat is then transported to a steam generator or engine where
it is converted into electricity. There are three main types of concentrating solar power systems:
parabolic troughs, dish/engine systems, and central receiver systems.

These technologies can be used to generate electricity for a variety of applications, ranging
fromremote power systems as small as a few kilowatts (kW) up to grid-connected applications of 200-
350 megawatts (MW) or more. A concentrating solar power system that produces 350MW of electricity
displaces the energy equivalent of 2.3 million barrels of oil.

Trough Systems

Fig. 1 A parabolic trough

These solar collectors use mirrored parabolic troughs to focus the sun's energy to a fluid- carrying
receiver tube located at the focal point of a parabolically curved trough reflector (see Fig.1 above). The
energy from the sun sent to the tube heat soil flowing through the tube, and the heat energy is then used
to generate electricity in a conventional steam generator. Many troughs placed in parallel rows are called
a "collector field." The troughs in the field are all aligned along a north south axis so they can track the sun
from east to west during the day, ensuring that the sun is continuously focusedon the receiver pipes.
Individual trough systems currently can generate about 80 MW of electricity. Trough
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

designs can incorporate thermal storage—setting aside the heat transfer fluid in its hot phase— allowing
for electricity generation several hours into the evening. Currently, all parabolic trough plants are
“hybrids," meaning they use fossil fuels to supplement the solar output during periods of low solar
radiation.

Dish Systems

Fig.2 Dish Systems

Dish systems use dish-shaped parabolic mirrors as reflectors to concentrate and focus the sun's
rays onto receiver, which is mounted above the dish at the dish center. A dish/engine system is a
standalone unit composed primarily of a collector, a receiver, and an engine (see Fig.2 above). It works by
collecting and concentrating the sun's energy with a dish shaped surface onto a receiver that absorbs the
energy and transfers it to the engine. The engine then converts that energy to heat. The heat is then
converted to mechanical power, in a manner similar to conventional engines, by compressing theworking
fluid when it is cold, heating the compressed working fluid, and then expanding it through a turbine or
with a piston to produce mechanical power. An electric generator or alternator converts
the mechanical power into electrical power.

Dish/engine systems use dual-axis collectors to track the sun. The ideal concentrator shape is
parabolic, created either by a single reflective surface or multiple reflectors, or facets. Many options
existfor receiver and engine type, including Sterling cycle, micro turbine, and concentrating photovoltaic
modules. Each dish produces 5 to 50 kW of electricity and can be used independently or linkedtogether
to increase generating capacity. A 250-kWplant composed of ten 25-kW dish/engine systems requires less
than an acre of land. Dish/engine systems are not commercially available yet, although ongoing
demonstrations indicate good potential. Individual dish/engine systems currently can generate about 25
kW of electricity. More capacity is possible by connecting dishes together. These systems can be combined
with natural gas, and the resulting hybrid provides continuous power generation.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Central Receiver Systems

Central receivers (or power towers) use thousands of individual sun-tracking mirrors called
"heliostats" to reflect solar energy onto a receiver located on top of at all tower. The receiver collectsthe
sun’s heat in a heat-transfer fluid (molten salt) that flows through the receiver. The salt’s heat energy is
then used to make steam to generate electricity in a conventional steam generator, located at the foot of
the tower. The molten salt storage system retains heat efficiently, so it can be stored for hours or even
days before being used to generate electricity. Therefore, a central receiver system is composed of five
main components: heliostats, receiver, heat transport and exchange, thermal storage, and controls (see
Fig. 3). Solar One, Two, “Tres” The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and a consortiumof U.S. utilities and
industry, built this country's first two large-scale, demonstration solar power towers in the desert near
Barstow, California. Solar One operated successfully from this concentrating solar power system uses
mirrors to focus highly concentrated sunlight onto a receiver that converts the sun’s heat into energy.
Receiver and generator Concentrator Individual dish/engine systems currently can generate about25 kW
of electricity.

Power tower plants can potentially operate for 65percent of the year without the need for a back-
up fuel source. Solar Two—a demonstration power tower located in the Mojave Desert—can generate
about 10 MW of electricity. In this central receiver system, thousands of sun-tracking mirrors called
heliostats reflect sunlight onto the receiver. Molten salt at 554ºF (290ºC) is pumped from a cold storage
tank through the receiver where it is heated to about 1,050ºF (565ºC). The heated salt then moves on to
the hot storage tank. When power is needed from the plant, the hot salt is pumped to a generator that
produces steam. The steam activates a turbine/generator system that creates electricity. From the steam
generator, the salt is returned to the cold storage tank, where it stored is and can be eventually reheated
in the receiver. By using thermal storage, power tower plants can potentially operate for 65percent of the
year without the need for a back-up fuel source. Without energy storage, solar technologies like this are
limited to annual capacity factors near25 percent. The power tower's ability to operate for extended
periods of time on stored solar energy separates it from other renewable energy technologies. Hot salt
storage tankSteamgenerator1,050˚FCold salt storage tank Condenser cooling tower554˚FSystem
boundary Substation Steam turbine and electric generator
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Applications of Solar Energy

Solar energy can supply and or supplement many farm energy requirements. The following is a
brief discussion of a few applications of solar energy technologies in agriculture.

Crop And Grain Drying

Using the sun to dry crops and grain is one of the oldest and mostly widely used applications of
solar energy. The simplest and least expensive techniques is to allow crops to dry naturally in the field,
orto spread grain and fruit out in the sun after harvesting. The disadvantage of these methods is that the
crops and grains are subject to damage by birds, rodents, wind, and rain, and contamination by wind
blown dust and dirt. More sophisticated solar dryers protect grain and fruit, reduce losses, dry faster
andmore uniformly, and produce a better quality product than open air methods.

The basic components of a solar dryer are an enclosure or shed, screened drying trays or racks,
and a solar collector. In hot, arid climates, the collector may not even be necessary. The southern side of
the enclosure itself can be glazed to allow sunlight to dry the material. The collector can be as simple as
aglazed box with a dark coloured interior to absorb the solar energy that heats air. The air heated in the
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

solar collector moves, either by natural convection or forced by a fan, up through the material being
dried. The size of the collector and rate of airflow depends on the amount of material being dried, the
moisture content of the material, the humidity in the air, and the average amount of solar radiation
available during the drying season.

There is a relatively small number of large solar crop dryers around the world. This is because the
cost of the solar collector can be high, and drying rates are not as controllable as they are with natural gas
or propane powered dryers. Using the collector at other times of the year, such as for heating farm
building, may make a solar dryer more cost effective. It is possible to make small, very low cost dryers
outof simple materials. These systems can be useful for drying vegetables and fruit for
home use.

Space And Water Heating

Livestock and diary operations often have substantial air and water heating requirements.
Modern pig and poultry farms raise animals in enclosed buildings, where it is necessary to carefully control
temperature and air quality to maximize the health and growth of the animals. These facilities need to
replace the indoor air regularly to remove moisture, toxic gases odors, and dust. Heating this air, when
necessary, requires large amount of energy. With proper planning and design solar air/space heaters can
be incorporated into farm buildings to preheat incoming fresh air. These systems can also be used to
supplement

Solar Energy Applications for Agriculture

Natural ventilation levels during summer months depending on the region and weather. Solar
water heating can provide hot water for pen or equipment cleaning or for preheating water going into a
conventional water heater. Water heating can account for as much as 25 percent of a typical family’s
energy costs and up to40 percent of the energy used in a typical dairy operation. A properly-sized solar
water heating system could cut those costs in half.

There are four basic types of solar water-heater systems available. These systems share three
similarities: a glazing (typically glass) over a dark surface to gather solar heat; one or two tanks to store
hot water; and associated plumbing with or without pumps to circulate the heat-transfer fluid from the
tank to the collectors and back again.

(a) Drain down systems pump water from the hot water tank through the solar collector,
where it is heated by the sun and returned to the tank. Valves automatically drain the system when
sensors detect freezing temperatures.

(b) Drain back systems use a separate plumbing line filled with fluid, to gather the sun’s heat.
These systems operate strictly on gravity. When the temperature is near freezing, the pump shuts off and
the transfer fluid drains back into the solar storage tank.

(c) Anti-freeze closed-loop systems rely on an antifreeze solution to operate through cold and
winter months. Anti-freeze solutions are separated from household water by a double-walled heat
exchange.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

(d) Bread box batch systems are passive systems in which the storage tank also functions as the
collector. One or two water tanks, painted black, are placed in a well-insulated box or other enclosure that
has a south wall made of clear plastic or glass and titled at the proper angle. This allows the sun to shine
directly on the tank and heat a batch of water. An insulated cover can provide freeze protection.

Greenhouse Heating

Another agricultural application of solar energy is greenhouse heating. Commercial greenhouse

typically rely on the sun to supply their lighting needs, but are not designed to use the sun for heating.
They rely on gas or oil heaters to maintain the temperatures necessary to grow plants in the colder
months. Solar greenhouse, however are designed to utilize solar energy both for heating and lighting.
A solar greenhouse has thermal mass to collect and store solar heat energy, and insulation to retain this
heat for use during the night and on cloudy days. A solar green house is oriented to maximize southern
glazing exposure. Its northern side has little or no glazing and is well insulated. To reduce heat loss, the
glazing itself is also more efficient than single-pane glass, and various products are available ranging from
double pane to cellular glazing. A solar greenhouse reduces the need for fossil fuels for heating. A gas or
oil heater may serve as a back-up heater, or to increase carbon dioxide levels to induce higher plant
growth.

Passive solar greenhouses are often good choices for small growers, because they are accost-efficient way
for farmers to extend the growing season. In colder climates or in areas with long periods of cloudy
weather, solar heating may need to be supplemented with a gas or electric heating system to protect
plants against extreme cold. Active solar greenhouses use supplemental energy to move solar heated air
or water from storage or collection areas to other regions of the greenhouse.

Remote Electricity Supply (Photovoltaic)

Solar electric, or photovoltaic (PV), systems convert sun light directly to electricity. They work any
time the sun is shining, but more electricity is produced when they sun light is more intensive and strikes
the PV modules directly (as when rays of sunlight are perpendicular to the PV modules). They can also
power an electrical appliance directly, or store solar energy in a battery. In areas with no utility lines,PV
systems are often cheaper and require less maintenance than diesel generators, wind turbines, or
batteries alone. And where utilities charge for new lines, a PV generating system is often much cheaper
for the land owner than paying for a new line. PV allows for the production of electricity– withoutnoise or
air pollution-from a clean, renewable resource. A PV system never runs out of fuel. Solar electricpower
comes in very handy on farm and ranches, and is often the most cost-effective and low maintenance
solution at locations far from the nearest utility line. PV can be used to power lighting, electric fencing,
small motors, aeration fans, gate-openers, irrigation valve switches, automatic supplement feeders. Solar
electric energy can be used to move sprinkler irrigation systems. PV systems are also extremely well-suited
for pumping water for livestock in remote pasture, where electricity from power lines is unavailable. PV
is often much less-expensive than the alternative of extending power linesinto these remote areas.

Water Pumping

Photovoltaic (PV) water pumping systems may be the most cost-effective water pumping option
in locations where there is no existing power line. They are exceptionally well suited for grazing operations
to supply water to remote pastures. Simple PV power systems run pumps directly when the
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

sun is shining, so they work hardest in the hot summer months when they are needed most. Generally,
batteries are not necessary because the water is stored in tanks or pumped to fields and used in the day
time. Larger pumping systems may include batteries, inverters, and tracking mounts to follow the sun.
When properly sized and installed, PV water pumps are very reliable and require little maintenance. The
size and cost of a PV water pumping system depends on the quality of solar energy available at the site,
the pumping depth, the water demand, and system purchase and installation costs, PV systems are very
cost-effective for remote livestock water supply, pond aeration, and small irrigation systems. For example,
a system that includes a 128 watt PV array and a submersible pump can produce 750-1000 gallons of water
per day from 200 foot drilled well.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT III
Wind Energy
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT-III
WIND ENERGY
History of Wind-Mills:

The wind is a by-product of solar energy. Approximately 2% of the sun's energy reaching
the earth is converted into wind energy. The surface of the earth heats and cools unevenly,
creating atmospheric pressure zones that make air flow from high- to low pressure areas. The
wind has played an important role in the history of human civilization. The first known use of
wind dates back 5,000 years to Egypt, where boats used sails to travel from shore to shore. The
first true windmill, a machine with vanes attached to an axis to produce circular motion, may
have been built as early as 2000 B.C. in ancient Babylon. By the 10th century A.D., windmills with
wind-catching surfaces having 16 feet length and 30 feet height were grinding grain in the areas
in eastern Iran and Afghanistan. The earliest written references to working wind machinesin
western world date from the12th century. These too were used for milling grain. It was not until
a few hundred years later that windmills were modified to pump water and reclaim much of
Holland from the sea.

The multi-vane "farm windmill" of the American Midwest and West was invented in the
United States during the latter half of the l9th century. In 1889 there were 77 windmill factories
in the United States, and by the turn of the century, windmills had become a major American
export. Until the diesel engine came along, many transcontinental rail routes in the U.S.
depended on large multi-vane windmills to pump water for steam locomotives. Farm windmills
are still being produced and used, though in reduced numbers. They are best suited for pumping
ground water in small quantities to livestock water tanks. In the1930s and 1940s, hundreds of
thousands of electricity producing wind turbines were built-in the U.S. They had two or three
thin blades which rotated at high speeds to drive electrical generators. These wind turbines
provided electricity to farms beyond the reach of power lines and were typically used to charge
storage batteries, operate radio receivers and power a light bulb. By the early 1950s, however,
the extension of the central power grid to nearly every American household, via the Rural
Electrification Administration, eliminated the market for these machines. Wind turbine
development lay nearly dormant for the next 20 years.

A typical modern windmill looks as shown in the following figure. The wind-mill contains three
blades about a horizontal axis installed on a tower. A turbine connected to a generator is fixed
about the horizontal axis.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Like the weather in general, the wind can be unpredictable. It varies from place to place, and
from moment to moment. Because it is invisible, it is not easily measured without special
instruments. Wind velocity is affected by the trees, buildings, hills and valleys around us. Wind
isa diffuse energy source that cannot be contained or stored for use elsewhere or at another
time.

Classification of Wind-mills:

Wind turbines are classified into two general types: Horizontal axis and Vertical axis. A
horizontal axis machine has its blades rotating on an axis parallel to the ground as shown in the
above figure. A vertical axis machine has its blades rotating on an axis perpendicular to the
ground. There are a number of available designs for both and each type has certain advantages
and disadvantages. However, compared with the horizontal axis type, very few vertical axis
machines are available commercially.

Horizontal Axis:

This is the most common wind turbine design. In addition to being parallel to the
ground, the axis of blade rotation is parallel to the wind flow. Some machines are designed
tooperate in an upwind mode, with the blades upwind of the tower. In this case, a tail vane
is usually used to keep the blades facing into the wind. Other designs operate in a downwind
mode so that the wind passes the tower before striking the blades. Without a tail vane, the
machine rotor naturally tracks the wind in a downwind mode. Some very large wind turbines
use a motor-driven mechanism that turns the machine in response to a wind direction
sensormounted on the tower. Commonly found horizontal axis wind mills are aero-turbine
mill with35% efficiency and farm mills with 15% efficiency.

Vertical Axis:

Although vertical axis wind turbines have existed for centuries, they are not as common as their
horizontal counterparts. The main reason for this is that they do not take advantage of the higher
wind speeds at higher elevations above the ground as well as horizontal axis turbines. The basic
vertical axis designs are the Darrieus, which has curved blades and efficiency of 35%, the Giromill,
which has straight blades, and efficiency of 35%, and the Savonius, which uses
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

scoops to catch the wind and the efficiency of 30%. A vertical axis machine need not be oriented
with respect to wind direction. Because the shaft is vertical, the transmission and generator can
be mounted at ground level allowing easier servicing and a lighter weight, lower cost tower.
Although vertical axis wind turbines have these advantages, their designs are not as efficient at
collecting energy from the wind as are the horizontal machine designs. The following figures
show all the above mentioned mills.

There is one more type of wind-mill called Cyclo-gyro wind-mill with very high efficiency of about
60%. However, it is not very stable and is very sensitive to wind direction. It is also very complex
to build.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Main Components of a wind-mill :

Following figure shows typical components of a horizontal axis wind mill.

Rotor:

The portion of the wind turbine that collects energy from the wind is called the rotor. The
rotor usually consists of two or more wooden, fiberglass or metal blades which rotate about an
axis (horizontal or vertical) at a rate determined by the wind speed and the shape of the blades.
The blades are attached to the hub, which in turn is attached to the main shaft.

Drag Design:

Blade designs operate on either the principle of drag or lift. For the drag design, the wind
literally pushes the blades out of the way. Drag powered wind turbines are characterized by
slower rotational speeds and high torque capabilities. They are useful for the pumping, sawing
or grinding work. For example, a farm-type windmill must develop high torqueat start- up in
order to pump, or lift, water from a deep well.

Lift Design:

The lift blade design employs the same principle that enables airplanes, kites and birds to
fly. The blade is essentially an airfoil, or wing. When air flows past the blade, a wind speed
andpressure differential is created between the upper and lower blade surfaces. The pressure
at thelower surface is greater and thus acts to "lift" the blade. When blades are attached to a
central axis, like a wind turbine rotor, the lift is translated into rotational motion. Lift-powered
wind turbines have much higher rotational speeds than drag types and therefore well suited for
electricity generation.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Tip Speed Ratio:

The tip-speed is the ratio of the rotational speed of the blade to the wind speed. The
larger this ratio, the faster the rotation of the wind turbine rotor at a given wind speed. Electricity
generation requires high rotational speeds. Lift-type wind turbines have maximum tip-speed
ratios of around 10, while drag-type ratios are approximately 1.Given the high rotational speed
requirements of electrical generators, it is clear that the lift-type wind turbine is most practical
for this application.

The number of blades that make up a rotor and the total area they cover affect wind
turbine performance. For a lift-type rotor to function effectively, the wind must flow smoothly
over the blades. To avoid turbulence, spacing between blades should be great enough so that
one blade will not encounter the disturbed, weaker air flow caused by the blade which passed
before it. It is because of this requirement that most wind turbines have only two or three blades
on their rotors.

Generator:

The generator is what converts the turning motion of a wind turbine's blades into
electricity. Inside this component, coils of wire are rotated in a magnetic field to produce
electricity. Different generator designs produce either alternating current (AC) or direct current
(DC), and they are available in a large range of output power ratings. The generator’s rating, or
size, is dependent on the length of the wind turbine's blades because more energy is captured
by longer blades.

It is important to select the right type of generator to match intended use. Most home
and office appliances operate on 240 volt, 50 cycles AC. Some appliances can operate on either
AC or DC, such as light bulbs and resistance heaters, and many others can be adapted to run on
DC. Storage systems using batteries store DC and usually are configured at voltages of between
12 volts and 120 volts.

Generators that produce AC are generally equipped with features to produce the correct
voltage of 240 V and constant frequency 50 cycles of electricity, even when the wind speed is
fluctuating.

DC generators are normally used in battery charging applications and for operating DC
appliances and machinery. They also can be used to produce AC electricity with the use of an
inverter, which converts DC to AC.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Transmission:

The number of revolutions per minute (rpm) of a wind turbine rotor can range between
40 rpm and 400 rpm, depending on the model and the wind speed. Generators typically
requirerpm's of 1,200 to 1,800. As a result, most wind turbines require a gear-box transmission
to increase the rotation of the generator to the speeds necessary for efficient electricity
production. Some DC-type wind turbines do not use transmissions. Instead, they have a direct
link between the rotor and generator. These are known as direct drive systems. Without a
transmission, wind turbine complexity and maintenance requirements are reduced, but a much
larger generator is required to deliver the same power output as the AC-type wind turbines.

Tower:

The tower on which a wind turbine is mounted is not just a support structure. It also raises
the wind turbine so that its blades safely clear the ground and so it can reach the stronger winds
at higher elevations. Maximum tower height is optional in most cases, except where zoning
restrictions apply. The decision of what height tower to use will be based on the cost of taller
towers versus the value of the increase in energy production resulting from their use. Studies
have shown that the added cost of increasing tower height is often justified by the added power
generated from the stronger winds. Larger wind turbines are usually mounted on towers ranging
from 40 to 70 meters tall.

Towers for small wind systems are generally "guyed" designs. This means that there are
guy wires anchored to the ground on three or four sides of the tower to hold it erect. These
towers cost less than freestanding towers, but require more land area to anchor the guy wires.
Some of these guyed towers are erected by tilting them up. This operation can be quickly
accomplished using only a winch, with the turbine already mounted to the tower top. This
simplifies not only installation, but maintenance as well. Towers can be constructed of a
simpletube, a wooden pole or a lattice of tubes, rods, and angle iron. Large wind turbines may
be mounted on lattice towers, tube towers or guyed tilt-up towers.

Towers must be strong enough to support the wind turbine and to sustain vibration,
wind loading and the overall weather elements for the lifetime of the wind turbine. Their costs
will vary widely as a function of design and height.

Operating Characteristics of wind mills:

All wind machines share certain operating characteristics, such as cut-in, rated and cutout
wind speeds.

Cut-in Speed:

Cut-in speed is the minimum wind speed at which the blades will turn and generate
usable power. This wind speed is typically between 10 and 16 kmph.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Rated Speed:

The rated speed is the minimum wind speed at which the wind turbine will generate its
designated rated power. For example, a "10 kilowatt" wind turbine may not generate 10kilowatts
until wind speeds reach 40 kmph. Rated speed for most machines is in the range of 40 to 55
kmph. At wind speeds between cut-in and rated, the power output from a wind turbineincreases
as the wind increases. The output of most machines levels off above the rated speed. Most
manufacturers provide graphs, called "power curves, “showing how their wind turbine output
varies with wind speed.

Cut-out Speed:

At very high wind speeds, typically between 72 and 128 kmph, most wind turbines cease
power generation and shut down. The wind speed at which shut down occurs is called the cut-
out speed. Having a cut-out speed is a safety feature which protects the wind turbine from
damage. Shut down may occur in one of several ways. In some machines an automatic brake is
activated by a wind speed sensor. Some machines twist or "pitch" the blades to spill the wind.
Still others use "spoilers," drag flaps mounted on the blades or the hub which are automatically
activated by high rotor rpm's, or mechanically activated by a spring loaded device which turns
the machine sideways to the wind stream. Normal wind turbine operation usually resumes when
the wind drops back to a safe level.

Betz Limit:

It is the flow of air over the blades and through the rotor area that makes a wind turbine
function. The wind turbine extracts energy by slowing the wind down. The theoretical maximum
amount of energy in the wind that can be collected by a wind turbine's rotor is approximately
59%. This value is known as the Betz limit. If the blades were 100%efficient, a wind turbine would
not work because the air, having given up all its energy, would entirely stop. In practice, the
collection efficiency of a rotor is not as high as 59%.A more typical efficiency is 35% to 45%. A
complete wind energy system, including rotor, transmission, generator, storage and other
devices, which all have less than perfect efficiencies, will deliver between 10% and 30% of the
original energy available in the wind.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

The following plot gives the relationship between wind speed in KMPH and the powerdensity.

In the last column of the table, we have calculated the output of the turbine assuming that the
efficiency of the turbine is 30%. However, we need to remember that the efficiency of the turbine
is a function of wind speed. It varies with wind speed.

Now, let us try to calculate the wind speed required to generate power equivalent to 1square
meter PV panel with 12% efficiency. We know that solar insolation available at the PV panel is
1000 watts/m2at standard condition. Hence the output of the PV panel with 12% efficiency
would be 120 watts. Now the speed required to generate this power by the turbine with 30%
efficiency can be calculated as follows:
Turbine output required = 120 Watts/m2

Power Density at the blades = 120/ (0.3) = 400 watts/m2

Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

BIOMASS:

Introduction:

Biomass is the term used to describe all the organic matter, produced by photosynthesis that
exists on the earth’s surface. The source of all energy in biomass is the sun, the biomass acting as a kind
of chemical energy store. Biomass is constantly undergoing a complex series of physical and chemical
transformations and being regenerated while giving off energy in the form of heat to the atmosphere. To
make use of biomass for our own energy needs we can simply tap into this energy source, in its simplest
form we know, this is a basic open fire used to provide heat for cooking, warming water or warming the
air in our home. More sophisticated technologies exist for extracting this energy and converting it into
useful heat or power in an efficientway.

The exploitation of energy from biomass has played a key role in the evolution of mankind.
Until relatively recently it was the only form of energy which was usefully exploited by humans and is
still the main source of energy for more than half the world’s population for domestic energy needs.
Traditionally the extraction of energy from biomass is split into 3 distinct categories:

Solid biomass - the use of trees, crop residues, animal and human waste (all though not strictly a solid
biomass source, it is often included in this category for the sake of convenience), household or industrial
residues for direct combustion to provide heat. Often the solid biomass will undergo physical processing
such as cutting, chipping, briquetting, etc. but retains its solid form.

Biogas - biogas is obtained by anaerobically (in an air free environment) digesting organic material to
produce a combustible gas known as methane. Animal waste and municipal waste are two common feed
stocks for anaerobic digestion.

Liquid Biofuels - are obtained by subjecting organic materials to one of various chemical or physical
processes to produce a usable, combustible, liquid fuel. Biofuels such as vegetable oils or ethanol are often
processed from industrial or commercial residues such as bagasse (sugarcane residue remaining after the
sugar is extracted) or from energy crops grown specifically for Micro-organisms , like all living things,
require food for growth . Biological sewage treatment consists of a step-by-step, continuous, sequenced
attack on the organic compounds found in wastewater and upon which the microbes feed.

Aerobic Digestion

Aerobic digestion of waste is the natural biological degradation and purification process in which bacteria
that thrive in oxygen-rich environments break down and digest the waste.

During oxidation process, pollutants are broken down into carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), water (H 2 O), nitrates,
sulphates and biomass (microorganisms). By operating the oxygen supply with aerators, the process can
be significantly accelerated. Of all the biological treatment methods, aerobic digestion is the most
widespread process that is used throughout the world.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Biological and chemical oxygen demand

Aerobic bacteria demand oxygen to decompose dissolved pollutants. Large amounts of pollutants require
large quantities of bacteria; therefore the demand for oxygen will be high.

The Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure of the quantity of dissolved organic pollutants that
can be removed in biological oxidation by the bacteria. It is expressed in mg/l.

The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) measures the quantity of dissolved organic pollutants than can be
removed in chemical oxidation, by adding strong acids. It is expressed in mg/l.

The BOD/COD gives an indication of the fraction of pollutants in the wastewater that is biodegradable.

Advantages of Aerobic Digestion

Aerobic bacteria are very efficient in breaking down waste products. The result of this is; aerobic
treatment usually yields better effluent quality that that obtained in anaerobic processes. The aerobic
pathway also releases a substantial amount of energy. A portion is used by the microorganisms for
synthesis and growth of new microorganisms.

Path of Aerobic Digestion

Aerobic Decomposition

A biological process, in which, organisms use available organic matter to support biological activity. The
process uses organic matter, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen, and produces stable solids, carbon dioxide,
and more organisms. The microorganisms which can only survive in aerobic conditions are known as
aerobic organisms. In sewer lines the sewage becomes anoxic if left for a few hours and becomes
anaerobic if left for more than 1 1/2 days. Anoxic organisms work well with aerobic and anaerobic
organisms. Facultative and anoxic are basically the same concept.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Anoxic Decomposition

A biological process in which a certain group of microorganisms use chemically combined oxygen such as
that found in nitrite and nitrate. These organisms consume organic matter to support life functions. They
use organic matter, combined oxygen from nitrate, and nutrients to produce nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide,
stable solidsand more organisms.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Anaerobic Digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a complex biochemical reaction carried out in a number of steps by several types
of microorganisms that require little or no oxygen to live. During this process, a gas that is mainly
composed of methane and carbon dioxide, also referred to as biogas, is produced. The amount of gas
produced varies with the amount of organic waste fed to the digester and temperature influences the rate
of decomposition and gas production.

Anaerobic digestion occurs in four steps:

• Hydrolysis : Complex organic matter is decomposed into simple soluble organic molecules using water
to split the chemical bonds between the substances.

• Fermentation or Acidogenesis: The chemical decomposition of carbohydrates by enzymes, bacteria,

yeasts, or molds in the absence of oxygen.

• Acetogenesis: The fermentation products are converted into acetate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide by
what are known as acetogenic bacteria.

• Methanogenesis: Is formed from acetate and hydrogen/carbon dioxide by methanogenic bacteria.

The acetogenic bacteria grow in close association with the methanogenic bacteria during the fourth stage
of the process. The reason for this is that the conversion of the fermentation products by the acetogens
is thermodynamically only if the hydrogen concentration is kept sufficiently low. This requires a close
relationship between both classes of bacteria.

The anaerobic process only takes place under strict anaerobic conditions. It requires specific adapted bio-
solids and particular process conditions, which are considerably different from those needed for aerobic
treatment.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Path of Anaerobic Digestion

Advantages of Anaerobic Digestion

Wastewater pollutants are transformed into methane, carbon dioxide and smaller amount of bio-solids.
The biomass growth is much lower compared to those in the aerobic processes. They are also much more
compact than the aerobic bio-solids.

Anaerobic Decomposition

A biological process, in which, decomposition of organic matter occurs without oxygen. Two processes
occur during anaerobic decomposition. First, facultative acid forming bacteria use organic matter as a food
source and produce volatile (organic) acids, gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, stable
solids and more facultative organisms. Second, anaerobic methane formers use the volatile acids as a food
source and produce methane gas, stable solids and more anaerobic methane formers. The methane gas
produced by the process is usable as a fuel. The methane former works slower than the acid former,
therefore the pH has to stay constant consistently, slightly basic, to optimize the creation of methane. You
need to constantly feed it sodium bicarbonate to keep it basic.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Biogas - Digester types

In this chapter, the most important types of biogas plants are described:
· Fixed-dome plants
· Floating-drum plants
· Balloon plants
· Horizontal plants
· Earth-pit plants
· Ferrocement plants

Of these, the two most familiar types in developing countries are the fixed-dome plants and thefloating-
drum plants. Typical designs in industrialized countries and appropriate design selection criteria have also
been considered.

Fixed-dome plants
The costs of a fixed-dome biogas plant are relatively low. It is simple as no moving parts exist.
There are also no rusting steel parts and hence a long life of the plant (20 years or more) can be expected.
The plant is constructed underground, protecting it from physical damage and saving space. While the
underground digester is protected from low temperatures at night and during cold seasons, sunshine and
warm seasons take longer to heat up the digester. No day/night fluctuations of temperature in the
digester positively influence the bacteriological processes.

The construction of fixed dome plants is labor-intensive, thus creating local employment.
Fixed-dome plants are not easy to build. They should only be built where construction can be supervised
by experienced biogas technicians. Otherwise plants may not be gas-tight(porosity and cracks).
The basic elements of a fixed dome plant (here the Nicarao Design) are shown in the figure below.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Figure 1: Fixed dome plant Nicarao design: 1. Mixing tank with inlet pipe and sand trap.2. Digester. 3.
Compensation and removal tank. 4. Gasholder. 5. Gaspipe. 6. Entry hatch, with gastight seal.
7. Accumulation of thick sludge. 8. Outlet pipe. 9. Reference level.
10.Supernatant scum, broken up by varying level.

Function
A fixed-dome plant comprises of a closed, dome-shaped digester with an immovable, rigid gas-
holder and a displacement pit, also named ’compensation tank’. The gas is stored in the upper part of the
digester. When gas production commences, the slurry is displaced into the compensating tank. Gas
pressure increases with the volume of gas stored, i.e. with the height difference between the two
slurry levels. If there is little gas in the gasholder, the gas pressure is low.

Figure 2: Basic function of a fixed-dome biogas plant, 1 Mixing pit, 2 Digester, 3 Gasholder, 4 Displacement
pit, 5 Gas pipe
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Digester:
The digesters of fixed-dome plants are usually masonry structures, structures of cement and
ferro-cement exist. Main parameters for the choice of material are:

. Technical suitability (stability, gas- and liquid tightness);

.cost-effectiveness;
· availability in the region and transport costs;
· availability of local skills for working with the particular building material.

Fixed dome plants produce just as much gas as floating-drum plants, if they are gas-tight. However,
utilization of the gas is less effective as the gas pressure fluctuates substantially. Burners and other simple
appliances cannot be set in an optimal way. If the gas is required at constant pressure (e.g., for engines),
a gas pressure regulator or a floating gas-holder is necessary.

Gas-Holder:

Figure 3: Fixed-dome plant in Tunesia. The final layers of the masonry structure are being fixed.

The top part of a fixed-dome plant (the gas space) must be gas-tight. Concrete, masonry and cement
rendering are not gas-tight. The gas space must therefore be painted with a gas-tight layer (e.g. ’Water-
proofer’, Latex or synthetic paints). A possibility to reduce the risk of cracking of the gas-holder consists in
the construction of a weak-ring in the masonry of the digester. This "ring" is a flexible joint between the
lower (water-proof) and the upper(gas-proof) part of the hemispherical structure. It prevents cracks that
develop due to the hydrostatic pressure in the lower parts to move into the upper parts of the gas- holder.

Types of fixed-dome plants

· Chinese fixed-dome plant is the archetype of all fixed dome plants. Several million have been
constructed in China. The digester consists of a cylinder with round bottom and top.

· Janata model was the first fixed-dome design in India, as a response to the Chinese fixed dome plant. It
is not constructed anymore. The mode of construction lead to cracks in the gasholder - very few of these
plant had been gas-tight.

· Deenbandhu the successor of the Janata plant in India, with improved design, was more crack-proof and
consumed less building material than the Janata plant. with a hemisphere digester
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

· CAMARTEC model has a simplified structure of a hemispherical dome shell based on a rigid foundation
ring only and a calculated joint of fraction, the so-called weak / strong ring. It was developed in the late
80s in Tanzania.

Figure 4: Chinese fixed dome plant

Figure 5: Fixed dome plant CAMARTEC design

Climate and size

Fixed-dome plants must be covered with earth up to the top of the gas-filled space to counteract the
internal pressure (up to 0,15 bar). The earth cover insulation and the option for internal heating makes
them suitable for colder climates. Due to economic parameters, the recommended minimum size of a
fixed-dome plant is 5 m3. Digester volumes up to 200m3 are known and possible.

Advantages: Low initial costs and long useful life-span; no moving or rusting parts involved; basic design
is compact, saves space and is well insulated; construction creates local employment.

Disadvantages: Masonry gas-holders require special sealants and high technical skills for gas-tight
construction; gas leaks occur quite frequently; fluctuating gas pressure complicates gas utilization;
amount of gas produced is not immediately visible, plant operation not readily understandable; fixed
dome plants need exact planning of levels; excavation can be difficult and expensive in bedrock.
Fixed dome plants can be recommended only where construction can be supervised by experienced
biogas technicians.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Figure 6: Installation of a Shanghai fixed-dome system near Shanghai, PR China Floating-drum plants

Floating – drum plants

Figure 7: Floating-drum plant in Mauretania

The drum
In the past, floating-drum plants were mainly built in India. A floating-drum plant consists of a cylindrical
or dome shaped digester and a moving, floating gas-holder, or drum. The gas-holder floats either directly
in the fermenting slurry or in a separate water jacket. The drum in which the biogas collects has an internal
and/or external guide frame that provides stability and keeps the drum upright. If biogas is produced, the
drum moves up, if gas is consumed, the gas holder sinks back.

Size
Floating-drum plants are used chiefly for digesting animal and human feces on a continuous feed mode of
operation, i.e. with daily input. They are used most frequently by small- to middle-sized farms (digester
size: 5-15m3) or in institutions and larger agro-industrial estates(digester size: 20-100m3).

Advantages: Floating-drum plants are easy to understand and operate. They provide gas at a constant
pressure, and the stored gas-volume is immediately recognizable by the position of the drum. Gas-
tightness is no problem, provided the gasholder is de-rusted and painted regularly.
Disadvantages: The steel drum is relatively expensive and maintenance-intensive. Removing rust and
painting has to be carried out regularly. The life-time of the drum is short (up to 15 years; in tropical coastal
regions about five years). If fibrous substrates are used, the gas-holder shows a tendency to get "stuck" in
the resultant floating scum.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Types of floating-drum plants

There are different types of floating-drum plants (see drawings under Construction):
· KVIC model with a cylindrical digester, the oldest and most widespread floating drum biogas plant from
India.
· Pragati model with a hemisphere digester
· Ganesh model made of angular steel and plastic foil floating-drum plant made of pre-fabricated
reinforced concrete compound units floating-drum plant made of fiber-glass reinforced polyester
· BORDA model: The BORDA-plant combines the static advantages of hemispherical digester with the
process-stability of the floating-drum and the longer life span of a water jacket plant.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT IV
Geothermal Energy & Tidal and
Wave Energy
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT-IV

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Introduction

The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (Earth) and thermo(heat). Geothermal
energy is heat from within the Earth. Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth’s core, almost
4,000miles beneath the Earth’s surface. The double-layered core is made up of very hot magma (melted
rock) surrounding a solid iron center. Very high temperatures are continuously produced inside the Earth
by the slow decay of radioactive particles. This process is natural in all rocks.

Surrounding the outer core is the mantle, which is about 1,800 miles thick and made of magma
and rock. The outermost layer of the Earth, the land that forms the continents and ocean floors, is called
the crust. The crust is three to five miles thick under the oceans and15 to 35 miles thick on the continents.
The crust is not a solid piece, like the shell of an egg, but is broken into pieces called plates. Magma comes
close to the Earth’s surface near the edges of these plates. This is where volcanoes occur. The lava that
erupts from volcanoes is partly magma. Deep underground, the rocks and water absorb the heat from
this magma. We can dig wells and pump the heated, underground water to the surface. People around
the world use geothermal energy to heat their homes and to produce electricity. Geothermal energy is
called a renewable energy source because the water is replenished by rainfall and the heat is continuously
produced deep within the Earth. We won’t run out of geothermal energy.

Geothermal energy is defined as heat from the Earth. It is a clean, renewable resource that
provides energy in the United States and around the world. It is considered a renewable energy resource
because the heat emanating from the interior of the Earth is essentially limitless. The heat continuously
flowing from the Earth’s interior is estimated to be equivalent to 42 million megawatts of power.5 One
megawatt is equivalent to 1million watts, and can meet the power needs of about 1,000 homes. The
interior of the Earth is expected to remain extremely hot for billions of year to come, ensuring an
essentially limitless flow of heat. Geothermal power plants capture this heat and convert it to energy in
the form of electricity. The picture below shows the source of geothermal electric power production, heat
from the Earth. As depth into the Earth’s crust increases, temperature increases as well.

Figure 1: Earth’s Temperatures

Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Like all forms of electric generation, both renewable and non-renewable, geothermal power
generation has environmental impacts and benefits. By comparison to other forms of electricity
generation, this paper highlights the benefits of choosing geothermal energy over other sources. Topics
discussed include air emissions, noise pollution, water usage, land usage, waste disposal, subsidence,
induced seismicity, and impacts on wildlife and vegetation. In addition, common environmental myths
associated with geothermal energy are addressed throughout the paper. Geothermal energy. whether
utilized in a binary, steam, or flash power plant, cooled by air or water systems, is a clean, reliable source
of electricity with only minimal environmental impacts, even when compared with other renewable
energy sources.

Wherever comparisons with other energy technologies are used, they are intended to provide a
context for the reader. Every effort has been made to use comparable data from companies, industry
groups, and government agencies. In providing these comparisons, we recognize that energy technologies
have many different attributes, all of which should be considered

Converting Geothermal Energy into Electricity

Heat emanating from the Earth’s interior and crust generates magma (molten rock).Because
magma is less dense than surrounding rock, it rises but generally does not reach the surface, heating the
water contained in rock pores and fractures. Wells are drilled into this natural collection of hot water or
steam, called a geothermal reservoir, in order to bring it to the surface and use it for electricity production.

The three basic types of geothermal electrical generation facilities are binary, dry steam (referred
to as .steam.),and flash steam (referred to as .flash.). Electricity production from each type depends on
reservoir temperatures and pressures, and each type produces somewhat different environmental
impacts. In addition, the choice of using water or air cooling technology in the power plants has economic
and environmental trade-offs.

The most common type of power plant to date is a flash power plant with a water cooling system,
where a mixture of water and steam is produced from the wells. The steam is separated in a surface vessel
(steam separator) and delivered to the turbine, and the turbine powers a generator. In a dry steam plant
like those at The Geysers in California, steam directly from the geothermal reservoir runs the turbines
that power the generator, and no separation is necessary because wells only produce steam. Figure 2
shows a flash and dry steam plant.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Figure 2: Flash and Dry Steam Power Plant Diagrams

Recent advances in geothermal technology have made possible the economic production of
electricity from lower temperature geothermal resources, at 100o C (212o F) to 150o C(302 o F). Known
as binary geothermal plants, these facilities reduce geothermal energies already low emission rate to near
zero.

In the binary process, the geothermal water heats another liquid, such as isobutene, that boils
at a lower temperature than water. The two liquids are kept completely separate through the use of a
heat exchanger used to transfer the heat energy from the geothermal water to the .working-fluid." The
secondary fluid vaporizes into gaseous vapor and (like steam) the force of the expanding vapor turns the
turbines that power the generators. If the power plant uses air cooling (see next paragraph) the
geothermal fluids never make contact with the atmosphere before they are pumped back into the
underground geothermal reservoir, effectively making the plant emission free.

Developed in the1980s, this technology is already in use in geothermal power plants throughout
the world in areas that have lower resource temperatures. The ability to use lower temperature resources
increases the number of geothermal reservoirs that can be used for power
production. Figure 3 shows a binary power plant.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Figure 3: Binary Power Plant

A cooling system is essential for the operation of any modern geothermal power plant. Cooling
towers prevent turbines from overheating and prolong facility life. Most power plants, including most
geothermal plants, use water cooling systems. Figure 4 below shows a more complex diagram of a
geothermal power plant, complete with a water(evaporative) cooling system. Figures 2 and 3 simplify the
process of electricity production, while figure 4 shows greater detail and accuracy. Water cooled systems
generally require less land than air cooled systems, and are considered overall to be effective and efficient
cooling systems.

The evaporative cooling used in water cooled systems, however, requires a continuous supply of
cooling water and creates vapor plumes. Usually, some of the spent steam from the turbine (for flash- and
steam-type plants) can be condensed for this purpose. Air cooled systems, in contrast to the relative
stability of water cooled systems, can be extremely efficient in the winter months, but are less efficient
in hotter seasons when the contrast between air and water temperature is reduced, so that air does not
effectively cool the organic fluid. Air cooled systems are beneficial in areas where extremely low emissions
are desired, or in arid regions where water resources are limited, since no fluid needs to be evaporated
for the cooling process.

Air cooled systems are preferred in areas where the view shed is particularly sensitive to the
effects of vapor plumes, as vapor plumes are only emitted into the air by wet cooling towers and not air
cooling towers. Most geothermal air cooling is used in binary facilities.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Figure 4: Geothermal Power Plant with Water Cooling System

A combination of flash and binary technology, known as the flash/binary combined cycle, has been
used effectively to take advantage of the benefits of both technologies. In this type of plant, the flashed
steam is first converted to electricity with a back pressure steam turbine, and the low-pressure steam
exiting the backpressure turbine is condensed in a binary system. This allows for the effective use of air
cooling towers with flash applications and takes advantage of the binary process. The flash/binary system
has a higher efficiency where the well-field produces high pressure steam, while the elimination of vacuum
pumping of non condensable gases allows for 100 percent injection.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

OCEAN ENERGY
OTEC
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) generates electricity indirectly from solar energy by
harnessing the temperature difference between the sun-warmed surface of tropical oceans and the colder
deep waters. A significant fraction of solar radiation incident on the ocean is retained byseawater in
tropical regions, resulting in average year-round surface temperatures of about 283C. Deep, cold water,
meanwhile, forms at higher latitudes and descends to Show along the sea shoor toward the equator. The
warm surface layer, which extends to depths of about 100}200m, is separated from the deep cold water
by a thermo cline. The temperature difference, T, between the surface and thousand- meter depth ranges
from 10 to 253C, with larger differences occurring in equatorial and tropical waters is that a differential of
about 203C is necessary to sustain viable operation of an OTEC facility.

Since OTEC exploits renewable solar energy, recurring costs to generate electrical power are
minimal. However, the fixed or capital costs of OTEC systems per kilowatt of generating capacity are very
high because large pipelines and heat exchangers are needed to produce relatively modest amounts of
electricity. These high fixed costs dominate the economics of OTEC to the extent that it currently cannot
compete with conventional power systems, except in limited niche markets. Considerable effort has been
expended over the past two decades to develop OTEC by-products, such asfresh water, air conditioning,
and Mari culture, that could offset the cost penalty of electricity generation

OTEC power systems operate as cyclic heat engines. They receive thermal energy through heat
transfer from surface sea water warmed by the sun, and transform a portion of this energy to electrical
power. The Second Law of Thermodynamics precludes the complete conversion of thermal energy in to
electricity. A portion of the heat extracted from the warm sea water must be rejected to a colder thermal
sink. The thermal sink employed by OTEC systems is sea water drawn from the ocean depths by means of
a submerged pipeline. A steady-state control volume energy analysis yields the result that net electrical
power produced by the engine must equal the difference between the rates of heat transfer from the
warm surface water and to the cold deep water. The limiting (i.e., maximum) theoretical Carnot energy
conversion efficiency of a cyclic heat engine scales with the difference between the temperatures at which
these heat transfers occur. For OTEC, this difference is determined by T and is very small; hence, OTEC
efficiency is low. Although viable OTEC systems are characterized by Carnot efficiencies in the range of 6-
8%, state-of-the-art combustion steam power cycles, which tap much higher temperature energy sources,
are theoretically capable of converting more than 60% of the extracted thermal energy into electricity.

The low energy conversion efficiency of OTEC means that more than 90% of the thermal energy
extracted from the ocean’s surface is ‘wasted’ and must be rejected to the cold, deep sea water. This
necessitates large heat exchangers and seawater Sow rates to produce relatively small amounts of
electricity. In spite of its inherent inefficiency, OTEC, unlike conventional fossil energy systems, utilizes a
renewable resource and poses minimal threat to the environment. In fact, it has been suggested that
widespread adoption of OTEC could yield tangible environmental benefits through avenues such as
reduction of greenhouse gas CO2 emissions; enhanced uptake of atmospheric CO2 by marine organism
populations sustained by the nutrient-rich, deep OTEC sea water; and preservation of corals and hurricane
amelioration by limiting temperature rise in the surface ocean through energy extraction and artificial
upwelling of deep water. Carnot efficiency applies only to an ideal heat engine. In real power generation
systems, irreversibility will further degrade performance. Given its low theoretical efficiency, successful
implementation of OTEC power generation demands careful engineering to
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

minimize ir-reversibilities. Although OTEC consumes what is essentially a free resource, poor
thermodynamic performance will reduce the quantity of electricity available for sale and, hence,
negatively affect the economic feasibility of an OTEC facility. An OTEC heat engine may be configured
following designs by J.A. D’Arsonval, the French engineer who first proposed the OTEC concept in 1881,
or G. Claude, D’Arsonval’s former student. Their designs are known, respectively, as closed cycle and
open cycle OTEC.

Closed Cycle OTEC

D’Arsonval’s original concept employed a pure working fluid that would evaporate at the
temperature of warm sea water. The vapor would subsequently expand and do work before being
condensed by the cold sea water. This series of steps would be repeated continuously with the same
working fluid, whose Sow path and thermodynamic process representation constituted closed loops and
hence, the name ‘closed cycle.’ The specific process adopted for closed cycle OTEC is the Rankine, or vapor
power, cycle. Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a closed cycle OTEC system. The principal
components are the heat exchangers, turbo generator, and seawater supply system, which, although not
shown, accounts for most of the parasitic power consumption and a significant fraction of the capital
expense. Also not included are ancillary devices such as separators to remove residual liquid downstream
of the evaporator and subsystems to hold and supply working fluid lost through leaks or contamination.
In this system, heat transfer from warm surface sea water occurs in the evaporator, producing a

saturated vapor from the working fluid. Electricity is generated when this gas expands to lower pressure
through the turbine. Latent heat is transferred from the vapor to the cold sea water in the condenser and
the resulting liquid is pressurized with a pump to repeat the cycle. The success of the Rankine cycleis a
consequence of more energy being recovered when the vapor expands through the turbine than is
consumed in re-pressurizing the liquid. In conventional (e.g., combustion) Rankine systems, this yields net
electrical power. For OTEC, however, the remaining balance may be reduced substantially by an amount
needed to pump large volumes of sea water through the heat exchangers. (One misconception about
OTEC is that tremendous energy must be expended to bring cold sea water up from depths approaching
1000 meters. In reality, the natural hydrostatic pressure gradient provides for most of the increase in the
gravitational potential energy of a fluid particle moving with the gradient from the ocean depths to the
surface.)
Irreversibilities in the turbo machinery and heat exchangers reduce cycle efficiency below the
Carnot value. Irreversibilities in the heat exchangers occur when energy is transferred over a large
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

temperature difference. It is important, therefore, to select a working fluid that will undergo the desired
phase changes at temperature established by the surface and deep sea water. Insofar as a large number
of substances can meet this requirement (because pressures and the pressure ratio across the turbine and
pump are design parameters), other factors must be considered in the selection of a working fluid
including: cost and availability, compatibility with system materials, toxicity, and environmental hazard.
Leading candidate working fluids for closed cycle OTEC applications are ammonia and various
fluorocarbon refrigerants. Their primary disadvantage is the environmental hazard posed by leakage;
ammonia is toxic in moderate concentrations and certain fluorocarbons have been banned by the
Montreal Protocol because they deplete stratospheric ozone.

The Kalina, or adjustable proportion fluid mixture (APFM), cycle is a variant of the OTEC closed
cycle. Whereas simple closed cycle OTEC systems use a pure working fluid, the Kalina cycle proposes to
employ a mixture of ammonia and water with varying proportions at different points in the system. The
advantage of a binary mixture is that, at a given pressure, evaporation or condensation occurs over a range
of temperatures; a pure fluid, on the other hand, changes phase at constant temperature. This additional
degree of freedom allows heat transfer-related irreversibilities in the evaporator and condenser to be
reduced. Although it improves efficiency, the Kalina cycle needs additional capital equipment and may
impose severe demands on the evaporator and condenser. The efficiency improvement will require some
combination of higher heat transfer coefficients, more heat transfer surface area, and increased seawater
Sow rates. Each has an associated cost or power penalty. Additional analysis and testing are required to
confirm whether the Kalina cycle and assorted variations are viable alternatives.

Open Cycle OTEC

Claude’s concern about the cost and potential bio-fouling of closed cycle heat exchangers led him
to propose using steam generated directly from the warm sea water as the OTEC working fluid. The steps
of the Claude, or open, cycle are: (1) flash evaporation of warm sea water in a partial vacuum; (2)
expansion of the steam through a turbine to generate power; (3) condensation of the vapor by direct
contact heat transfer to cold sea water; and (4) compression and discharge of the condensate and any
residual non condensable gases. Unless fresh water is a desired by-product, open cycle OTEC eliminates
the need for surface heat exchangers. The name ‘open cycle’ comes from the fact that the working fluid
(steam) is discharged after a single pass and has different initial and final thermodynamic states; hence,
the Sow path and process are ‘open.’ The essential features of an open cycle OTEC
system are presented in Figure 2.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

The entire system, from evaporator to condenser, operates at partial vacuum, typically at
pressures of 1-3% of atmospheric. Initial evacuation of the system and removal of non condensable gases
during operation are performed by the vacuum compressor, which, along with the sea water and
discharge pumps, accounts for the bulk of the open cycle OTEC parasitic power consumption. The low
system pressures of open cycle OTEC are necessary to induce boiling of the warm sea water. Flash
evaporation is accomplished by exposing the sea water to pressures below the saturation pressure
corresponding to its temperature.

This is usually accomplished by pumping it into an evacuated chamber through spouts designed
to maximize heat and mass transfer surface area. Removal of gases dissolved in the sea water, which will
come out of solution in the low-pressure evaporator and compromise operation, may be performed at an
intermediate pressure prior to evaporation.

Vapor produced in the flash evaporator is relatively pure steam. The heat of vaporization is
extracted from the liquid phase, lowering its temperature and preventing any further boiling. Flash
evaporation may be perceived, then, as a transfer of thermal energy from the bulk of the warm sea water
of the small fraction of mass that is vaporized. Less than 0.5% of the mass of warm sea water entering the
evaporator is converted into steam.

The pressure drop across the turbine is established by the cold seawater temperature. At 43C,
steam condenses at 813 Pa. The turbine (or turbine diffuser) exit pressure cannot fall below this value.
Hence, the maximum turbine pressure drop is only about 3000Pa, corresponding to about a 3:1 pressure
ratio. This will be further reduced to account for other pressure drops along the steam path and
differences in the temperatures of the steam and seawater streams needed to facilitate heat transfer in
the evaporator and condenser.

Condensation of the low-pressure steam leaving the turbine may employ a direct contact
condenser (DCC), in which cold sea water is sprayed over the vapor, or a conventional surface condenser
that physically separates the coolant and the condensate. DCCs are inexpensive and have good heat
transfer characteristics because they lack a solid thermal boundary between the warm and cool fluids.
Surface condensers are expensive and more difficult to maintain than DCCs; however, they produce a
marketable freshwater by-product

Effluent from the condenser must be discharged to the environment. Liquids are pressurized to
ambient levels at the point of release by means of a pump, or, if the elevation of the condenser is suitably
high, can be compressed hydrostatically. As noted previously, non condensable gases, which include any
residual water vapor, dissolved gases that have come out of solution, and air that may have leaked into
the system, are removed by the vacuum compressor. Open cycle OTEC eliminates expensive heat
exchangers at the cost of low system pressures.

Partial vacuum operation has the disadvantage of making the system vulnerable to air in- leakage
and promotes the evolution of non condensable gases dissolved in sea water. Power must ultimately be
expended to pressurize and remove these gases. Furthermore, as a consequence of the low steam
density, volumetric Sow rates are very high per unit of electricity generated. Large components are
needed to accommodate these Sow rates. In particular, only the largest conventional
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

steam turbine stages have the potential for integration into open cycle OTEC systems of a few megawatts
gross generating capacity. It is generally acknowledged that higher capacity plants will require a major
turbine development effort.

The mist lift and foam lift OTEC systems are variants of the OTEC open cycle. Both employ the sea
water directly to produce power. Unlike Claude’s open cycle, lift cycles generate electricity with a hydraulic
turbine. The energy expended by the liquid to drive the turbine is recovered from the warm sea water. In
the lift process, warm seawater is flash evaporated to produce a two-phase, liquid}vapor mixture and
either a mist consisting of liquid droplets suspended in a vapor, or a foam, where vapor bubbles are
contained in a continuous liquid phase. The mixture rises, doing work against gravity. Here, the thermal
energy of the vapor is expended to increase the potential energy of the fluid. The vapor is then condensed
with cold sea water and discharged back into the ocean. Flow of the liquid through the hydraulic turbine
may occur before or after the lift process. Advocates of the mist and foam lift cycles contend that they are
cheaper to implement than closed cycle OTEC because they require no expensive heat exchangers, and
are superior to the Claude cycle because they utilize a hydraulic turbine rather than a low pressure steam
turbine.

Hybrid Cycle OTEC

Some marketing studies have suggested that OTEC systems that can provide both electricity and
water may be able to penetrate the marketplace more readily than plants dedicated solely to power
generation. Hybrid cycle OTEC was conceived as a response to these studies. Hybrid cycles combine the
potable water production capabilities of open cycle OTEC with the potential for large electricity generation
capacities offered by the closed cycle.

Several hybrid cycle variants have been proposed. Typically, as in the Claude cycle, warm surface
seawater is Sash evaporated in a partial vacuum. This low pressure steam flows into a heat exchanger
where it is employed to vaporize a pressurized, low-boiling-point fluid such as ammonia. During this
process, most of the steam condenses, yielding desalinated potable water. The ammonia vapor Sows
through a simple closed-cycle power loop and is condensed using cold sea water. The uncondensed steam
and other gases exiting the ammonia evaporator may be further cooled by heat transfer to either the
liquid ammonia leaving the ammonia condenser or cold sea water. The non condensables are then
compressed and discharged to the atmosphere. Steam is used as an intermediary heat transfer medium
between the warm sea water and the ammonia; consequently, the potential for bio-fouling in the
ammonia evaporator is reduced significantly. Another advantage of the hybrid cycle related to freshwater
production is that condensation occurs at significantly higher pressures than in an open cycle OTEC
condenser, due to the elimination of the turbine from the steam Sow path. This may, in turn, yield some
savings in the amount of power consumed to compress and discharge the non condensable gases from
the system.

These savings (relative to a simple Claude cycle producing electricity and water), however, are
offset by the additional back work of the closed-cycle ammonia pump. One drawback of the hybrid cycle
is that water production and power generation are closely coupled. Changes or problems in either the
water or power subsystem will compromise performance of the other. Furthermore, there is a risk that
the potable water may be contaminated by an ammonia leak. In response to these concerns, an
alternative hybrid cycle has been proposed, comprising decoupled and water production components.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

The basis for this concept lies in the fact that warm sea water leaving a closed cycle evaporator
is still sufficiently warm, and cold seawater exiting the condenser is sufficiently cold, to sustain an
independent freshwater production process. The alternative hybrid cycle consists of a conventional
closed-cycle OTEC system that produces electricity and a downstream Sash-evaporation-based
desalination system. Water production and electricity generation can be adjusted independently, and
either can operate should a subsystem fail or require servicing. The primary drawbacks are that the
ammonia evaporator uses warm seawater directly and is subject to bio fouling; and additional equipment,
such as the potable water surface condenser, is required, thus increasing capital expenses.

Tidal and Wave Energy

Tidal Power is the power of electricity generation achieved by capturing the energy contained in
moving water mass due to tides. Two types of tidal energy can be extracted: kinetic energy of currents
between ebbing and surging tides and potential energy from the difference in height between high and
low tides.

All coastal areas experience high and low tide. If the difference between high and low tides is
more than 16 feet, the differences can be used to produce electricity. There are approximately 40 sites on
earth where tidal differences are sufficient. Tidal energy is more reliable than wave energy because it
based on the moon and we can predict them. It is intermittent, generating energy for only 6-12 hours in
each 24 hour period, so demand for energy will not always be in line with supply.

Types of Tidal Energy

Kinetic energy from the currents between ebbing and surging tides
>This form is considered most feasible
>Potential energy from height differences between high and low tide

Density of water is much higher than air, so ocean currents have much more energy than wind currents.

• Barrage or Dam
Using a dam to trap water in a basin, and when reaches appropriate height due to high tide,
release water to flow through turbines that turn an electric generator.
• Tidal Fence
Turnstiles built between small islands or between mainland and islands. The turnstiles spin due
to tidal currents to generate energy.
• Tidal turbine
Look like wind turbines, often arrayed in rows but are under water. Tidal currents spin turbines
to create energy
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Like wave energy, tidal energy is used for electricity, with the ultimate goal of connecting to local utility
grids. A single 11-meter blade tidal turbine outside of Britain’s Devon coast will be capable of
generating300 kW of electricity (enough to power approximately 75 homes)

Tidal turbine

Tidal turbines look like wind turbines. They are arrayed underwater in rows, as in some wind
farms. The turbines function best where coastal currents run at between 3.6 and 4.9 knots (4 and 5.5
mph). In currents of that speed, a 15-meter (49.2-feet) diameter tidal turbine can generate as much energy
as a 60-meter (197-feet) diameter wind turbine. Ideal locations for tidal turbine farms are closeto shore
in water depths of 20–30 meters (65.5–98.5 feet).

There are different types of turbines that are available for use in a tidal barrage. A bulb turbine
is one in which water flows around the turbine. If maintenance is required then the water must be stopped
which causes a problem and is time consuming with possible loss of generation. The La Rance tidal plant
near St Malo on the Brittany coast in France uses a bulb turbine.

Bulb Turbine

When rim turbines are used, the generator is mounted at right angles to the to the turbine blades,
making access easier. But this type of turbine is not suitable for pumping and it is difficult to regulate its
performance. One example is the Straflo turbine used at Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia.

Rim Turbine

Tubular turbines have been proposed for the UK’s most promising site, The Severn Estuary, the
blades of this turbine are connected to a long shaft and are orientated at an angle so that the generator
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

is sitting on top of the barrage. The environmental and ecological effects of tidal barrages have halted any
progress with this technology and there are only a few commercially operating plants in the world, one of
these is the La Rance barrage in France.

Tubular turbines

Category of generation
Ebb generation

The basin is filled through the sluices and freewheeling turbines until high tide. Then the sluice
gates and turbine gates are closed. They are kept closed until the sea level falls to create sufficient head
across the barrage and the turbines generate until the head is again low. Then the sluices are opened,
turbines disconnected and the basin is filled again. The cycle repeats itself. Ebb generation (also known as
outflow generation) takes its name because generation occurs as the tide ebbs.

Flood generation

The basin is emptied through the sluices and turbines generate at tide flood. This is generally
much less efficient than Ebb generation, because the volume contained in the upper half of the basin
(which is where Ebb generation operates) is greater than the volume of the lower half (the domain of
Flood generation).

Two-way generation

Generation occurs both as the tide ebbs and floods. This mode is only comparable to Ebb
generation at spring tides, and in general is less efficient. Turbines designed to operate in both directions
are less efficient.

Pumping

Turbines can be powered in reverse by excess energy in the grid to increase the water level in the
basin at high tide (for Ebb generation and two-way generation). This energy is returned during generation.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

Two-basin schemes

With two basins, one is filled at high tide and the other is emptied at low tide. Turbines are placed
between the basins. Two-basin schemes offer advantages over normal schemes in that generation time
can be adjusted with high flexibility and it is also possible to generate almost continuously. In normal
estuarine situations, however, two-basin schemes are very expensive to construct due to the cost of the
extra length.

Schematic diagram of double basin tidal power generation

Wave Energy

Wave energy is an irregular and oscillating low frequency energy source that can be converted to
a 50 Hertz frequency and can then be added to the electric utility grid. Waves get their energy from the
wind, which comes from solar energy. Waves gather, store, and transmit this energy thousands of
kilometers with very little loss. Though it varies in intensity, it is available twenty four hours a day all round
the year. Wave power is renewable, pollution free and environment friendly. Its net potential is better
than wind, solar, small hydro or biomass power. Wave energy technologies rely on the up-and- down
motion of waves to generate electricity. There are three basic methods for converting wave energy to
electricity.

1. Float or buoy systems that use the rise and fall of ocean swells to drive hydraulic pumps. The object
can be mounted to a floating raft or to a device fixed on the ocean bed. A series of anchored buoys rise
and fall with the wave. The movement is used to run an electrical generator to produce electricity which
is then transmitted ashore by underwater power cables.

2. Oscillating water column devices in which the in-and-out motion of waves at the shore enters a column
and force air to turn a turbine. The column fills with water as the wave rises and empties as it descends.
In the process, air inside the column is compressed and heats up, creating energy. This energyis harnessed
and sent to shore by electrical cable.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

3. Tapered channel rely on a shore mounted structure to channel and concentrate the waves driving them
into an elevated reservoir. Water flow out of this reservoir is used to generate electricity using standard
hydropower technologies.

The advantages of wave energy are as follows:

1. Because waves originate from storms far out to sea and can travel long distances without significant
energy loss, power produced from them is much steadier and more predictable day to day and
season to season.
2. Wave energy contains about 1000 times the kinetic energy of wind.
3. Unlike wind and solar energy, energy from ocean waves continues to be produced round the clock.
4. Wave power production is much smoother and more consistent than wind or solar resulting in higher
overall capacity factors.
5. Wave energy varies as the square of wave height whereas wind power varies with the cube of air
speed. Water being 850 times as dense as air, this result in much higher power production from
waves averaged over time.
6. Because wave energy needs only 1/200 the land area of wind and requires no accessroads,
infrastructure costs are less.
Renewable Energy Sources Lecture Notes

UNIT V
Direct Energy Conversion
 UNIT – V

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION

It is the method of transformation of one type of energy into another without passing through
the intermediate stage such as steam, generators etc. Most of these energy converters, sometimes called
static energy-conversion devices, use electrons as their “working fluid” in place of the vapour or gas
employed by such dynamic heat engines as the external combustion and internal-combustion engines
mentioned above.

In recent years, direct energy-conversion devices have received much attention because of the
necessity to develop more efficient ways of transforming available forms of primary energy into electric
power. Direct energy-conversion devices are of interest for providing electric power in spacecraft because
of their reliability and their lack of moving parts. As have solar cells, fuel cells, and thermoelectric
generators, thermionic power converters have received considerable attention for space applications.
Thermionic generators are designed to convert thermal energy directly into electricity.

Direct Energy Conversion devices like thermionic and thermoelectric converters are heat engines
The heat engine operates between two reservoirs to and from which heat can be transferred. We put heat
into the system from the hot reservoir and heat is expelled in to the cold reservoir.

The Carnot cycle:

The Carnot cycle is a theoretical thermodynamic cycle proposed by Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot .
It can be shown that it is the most efficient cycle for converting a given amount of thermal energy into
work, or conversely, creating a temperature difference (e.g. refrigeration) by doing a given amount of
work. Every single thermodynamic system exists in a particular state. When a system is taken through a
series of different states and finally returned to its initial state, a thermodynamic cycle is said to have
occurred. In the process of going through this cycle, the system may perform work on its surroundings,
thereby acting as a heat engine.

A system undergoing a Carnot cycle is called a Carnot heat engine, although such a "perfect"
engine is only a theoretical limit and cannot be built in practice The Carnot cycle when acting as a heat
engine consists of the following steps:

1. Reversible isothermal expansion of the gas at the "hot" temperature, T1 (isothermal heat
addition or absorption). During this step the gas is allowed to expand and it does work on the
surroundings. The temperature of the gas does not change during the process, and thus the expansion is
isothermal. The gas expansion is propelled by absorption of heat energy Q1 and of entropy ∆S=Q1/T1
from the high temperature reservoir.

2. Isentropic (reversible adiabatic) expansion of the gas (isentropic work output). For this step the
mechanisms of the engine are assumed to be thermally insulated, thus they neither gain nor lose heat.
The gas continues to expand, doing work on the surroundings, and losing an equivalent amount of internal
energy. The gas expansion causes it to cool to the "cold" temperature, T2. The entropy remains
unchanged.
 3. Reversible isothermal compression of the gas at the "cold" temperature, T2. (isothermal heat
rejection) Now the surroundings do work on the gas, causing an amount of heat energy Q2 and of entropy
∆S=Q2/T2 to flow out of the gas to the low temperature reservoir. (This is the same amount of entropy
absorbed in step 1, as can be seen from the Clausius inequality.)

4. Isentropic compression of the gas (isentropic work input). Once again the mechanisms of the
engine are assumed to be thermally insulated. During this step, the surroundings do work on the gas,
increasing its internal energy and compressing it, causing the temperature to rise to T1. The entropy
remains unchanged. At this point the gas is in the same state as at the start of step 1.

Principles of DEC:

The pioneer in thermos electrics was a German scientist Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770-1831)
Thermoelectricity refers to a class of phenomena in which a temperature difference creates an electric
potential or an electric potential creates a temperature difference. Thermoelectric power generator is a
device that converts the heat energy into electrical energy based on the principles of Seebeck effect. Later,
In 1834, French scientist, Peltierand in 1851, Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) described the thermal effects on
conductors

Seebeckeffect:

When the junctions of two different metals are maintained at different temperature, the emf is
produced in the circuit. This is known as Seebeck effect.

Peltier effect:

Whenever current passes through the circuit of two dissimilar conductors, depending on the
current direction, either heat is absorbed or released at the junction of the two conductors. This is known
as Peltier effect.

Thomson effect:

Heat is absorbed or produced when current flows in material with a certain temperature gradient.
The heat is proportional to both the electric current and the temperature gradient. This is known as
Thomson effect.

Thermoelectric effect:

The thermoelectric effect, is the direct conversion of heat differentials to electric voltage and vice
versa The good thermoelectric materials should possess large Seebeck coefficients, high electrical
conductivity and low thermal conductivity

Principle, construction and working of Thermoelectric power generator:

Thermoelectric power generator based on the principle of Seebeck effect that when the junctions
of two different metals are maintained at different temperature, the emf is produced in the circuit.
Construction:

Thermoelectric power generation (TEG) devices typically use special semiconductor materials,
which are optimized for the Seebeck effect. The simplest thermoelectric power generator consists of a
thermocouple, comprising a p-type and n-type material connected electrically in series and thermally in
parallel. Heat is applied into one side of the couple and rejected from the opposite side. An electrical
current is produced, proportional to the temperature gradient between the hot and cold junctions. For
any TEPG, there are four basic component required such as Heat source (fuel), P and N type semiconductor
stack ,Heat sink (cold side) and electrical load (output voltage)

Working:

When the two sides of semiconductor are maintained with different temperature, the emf flows
across the output circuit

MAGNETO-HYDRODYNAMIC GENERATOR (MHD)

A magneto-hydrodynamic generator (MHD generator) is a magneto-hydrodynamic device that

transforms thermal energy and kinetic energy into electricity. MHD generators are different from
traditional electric generators in that they operate at high temperatures without moving parts. MHD was
developed because the hot exhaust gas of an MHD generator can heat the boilers of a steam power
plant, increasing overall efficiency. MHD was developed as a topping cycle to increase the efficiency of
electric generation, especially when burning coal or natural gas. MHD dynamos are the complement of
MHDpropulsors, which have been applied to pump liquid metals and in several experimental ship engines.

An MHD generator, like a conventional generator, relies on moving a conductor through a

magnetic field to generate electric current. The MHD generator uses hot conductive plasma as the moving
conductor. The mechanical dynamo, in contrast, uses the motion of mechanical devices to accomplish
this. MHD generators are technically practical for fossil fuels, but have been overtaken by other, less
expensive technologies, such as combined cycles in which a gas turbine's or molten carbonate fuel cell's
exhaust heats steam to power a steam turbine.

Principle of MHD Generation

The principal of MHD power generation is very simple and is based on Faraday’s law of
electromagnetic induction, which states that when a conductor and a magnetic field moves relative to
each other, then voltage is induced in the conductor, which results in flow of current across the terminals.
As the name implies, the magneto hydro dynamics generator shown in the figure below, is
concerned with the flow of a conducting fluid in the presence of magnetic and electric fields. In
conventional generator or alternator, the conductor consists of copper windings or strips while in an MHD
generator the hot ionized gas or conducting fluid replaces the solid conductor.

A pressurized, electrically conducting fluid flows through a transverse magnetic field in a channel
or duct. Pair of electrodes are located on the channel walls at right angle to the magnetic field and
connected through an external circuit to deliver power to a load connected to it. Electrodes in the MHD
generator perform the same function as brushes in a conventional DC generator. The MHD generator
develops DC power and the conversion to AC is done using an inverter.

The power generated per unit length by MHD generator is approximately given by,

Where, u is the fluid velocity,

B is the magnetic flux density,

σ is the electrical conductivity of conducting fluid and

P is the density of fluid.

It is evident from the equation above, that for the higher power density of an MHD generator
there must be a strong magnetic field of 4-5 tesla and high flow velocity of conducting fluid besides
adequate conductivity.
MHD Cycles and Working Fluids

The MHD cycles can be of two types, namely

1. Open Cycle MHD.

2. Closed Cycle MHD.

Open Cycle MHD System

In open cycle MHD system, atmospheric air at very high temperature and pressure is passed
through the strong magnetic field. Coal is first processed and burnet in the combustor at a high
temperature of about 2700oC and pressure about 12 ATP with pre-heated air from the plasma. Then a
seeding material such as potassium carbonate is injected to the plasma to increase the electrical
conductivity. The resulting mixture having an electrical conductivity of about 10 Siemens/m is expanded
through a nozzle, so as to have a high velocity and then passed through the magnetic field of MHD
generator. During the expansion of the gas at high temperature, the positive and negative ions move to
the electrodes and thus constitute an electric current. The gas is then made to exhaust through the
generator. Since the same air cannot be reused again hence it forms an open cycle and thus is named as
open cycle MHD.

Closed Cycle MHD System

As the name suggests the working fluid in a closed cycle MHD is circulated in a closed loop. Hence,
in this case inert gas or liquid metal is used as the working fluid to transfer the heat. The liquid metal has
typically the advantage of high electrical conductivity, hence the heat provided by the combustion
material need not be too high. Contrary to the open loop system there is no inlet and outlet for the
atmospheric air. Hence, the process is simplified to a great extent, as the same fluid is circulated time and
again for effective heat transfer.

Advantages of MHD Generation

The advantages of MHD generation over the other conventional methods of generation are given below.

1. Here only working fluid is circulated, and there are no moving mechanical parts. This reduces
the mechanical losses to nil and makes the operation more dependable.

2. The temperature of working fluid is maintained by the walls of MHD.

3. It has the ability to reach full power level almost directly.

4. The price of MHD generators is much lower than conventional generators.

5. MHD has very high efficiency, which is higher than most of the other conventional or non-
conventional method of generation.

Fuel Cell: A fuel cell is an electric cell which produces electrical energy from chemical energy; through an
oxidation reaction of provided fuel.
The main difference between normal secondary batteries and fuel cell is that; in secondary batteries the
chemical energy is stored in the electrodes of the cell, but in Fuel cell the chemical energy is stored in a
fuel. And the fuel, oxidizing agent are stored outside of the cell and fed into the cell when electricity is to
be produced. Example of fuel cell is Hydrogen Fuel cell or Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel cell.

Construction of a Fuel Cell:

A fuel cell consists of two porous electrodes separated by an electrolytic solution in between. The fuel
which is usually Hydrogen or Carbon monoxide is fed into one of the electrodes and a Reacting agent;
which is usually Oxygen or Air;is fed into another electrode. The electrodes are porous enough to pass
through both fuels and electrolyte and also conduct electricity. The fuel and reacting agent reacts inside
the fuel cell and produced electricity which can be obtained through terminals connected to the
electrodes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Fuel Cell:

The electrode materials in a Fuel Cell are not changed during chemical reaction so a Fuel Cell does not
requires recharging, they can be used as a continuous generator as long as the fuel and oxidizing agent
are supplied. Also, fuel cells does not have any moving parts; so, unlike normal generators they does not
produce sound , requires very little maintenance and produces no gasses or fumes. Fuel cell’s efficiency
and cost per KW of power is independent of their size; so, they also offer a design flexibility and a room
for further research and development.

But, the initial design and manufacturing cost of fuel cell is very high. They produce small voltages and
also, their service life is not much as compared to other cells.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell:

Hydrogen Fuel cell or Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel cell is one of the most basic type of fuel cell. Hydrogen fuel
cell uses Hydrogen (H) as the fuel and Oxygen(O) is the oxidizing agent.

The basic construction of a Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel cell is:

The electrodes are made up of sintered Nickel plates having a coarse pores surface and a fine pores
surface ; the two surfaces for gas and electrolyte respectively. A solution of KOH is used as
electrolyte. The water vapor formed during the reaction is passed back by condensation from the
opening for passing hydrogen into the cell.

A continuous flow of Hydrogen and oxygen is maintained, The oxygen and hydrogen reacts with
potassium hydroxide at the surface of electrodes to produce electricity.
 Renewable energy sources
Assignments questions

UNIT-1
1. What is renewable energy?

2. Explain the need of renewable energy?

3. Classify the renewable energy sources?

4. What is energy storage management?

5. Explain the effect of use fossil fuel on Climate change and global warming?

6. Write and Explain sensible heat and latent heat?

7. What is green house effect?

UNIT -2

1 .Explain with neat figure solar radiation?

2. Explain sun and earth relationship in solar radiation?

3. Explain effect of sun and earth movement on solar radiation?

4. Explain concept of solar geometry?

5. Explain thermo syphon system for water heating?

6. Explain forced Circulation system in water heating’s?

7. Explain flat plate collector with neat figure?

8. Explain evacuated tube collector with neat figure?
9. State application of solar thermal energy?
10. Explain brief P-V conversion?
11. Explain working principle of solar cells?
12. State the application of solar photovoltaic system?

13. Explain solar cooker?

 UNIT 3
1. Write the characteristic’s of wind energy?

2. Describe the types of wind mills with sketches.

3. Details the bio mass conversion.

4. Explain the various types of bio gas digestors.

5. What are the types of wind mills?

6. Write the types of wind machines?

UNIT 4

1. Write the classification of Tidal power plants?

2. What are the Advantages and disadvantages of Geothermal Energy over other Energy forms?
3. Write the application of geothermal energy?
4. What are the five general categories of geothermal sources?
5. Define –Tidal power plant?
6. What are the advantages and limitation of Tidal power generation? Advantages.

UNIT 5
1. Define See beck effect?
2. What is working principle of thermionic?
3. Write a short notes on MHD –generator?
4. Write a short notes on Fuel cell?
5. Write the advantages of MHD systems?