Chemistry For Engineers

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CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERS

REVIEWER

date: 09/06/24

FUEL CELLS

Fuel cells
- operate in a continuous process and are not reversible.
- the reactants—often hydrogen and oxygen fed continuously to the cell from the outside.

Portable systems that are typical fields of applications of electrochemical storage


systems:
1. Cellular phones
2. Notebooks
3. Cordless powertools
4. SLI (Starter-Light-Ignition)
5. Batteries for cars
6. Electrically powered vehicles

Stationary applications of electrochemical energy:


1. Emergency current
2. Energy storage systems for renewable sources (wind, solar, etc.)

Secondary systems/ cells/ batteries


- considered for economic and environmental considerations or concerns.

Other conversions of chemical energy to other form of energy:


1. Combustion process - the chemical energy of combustions of fuel and air is converted
to mechanical energy of an engine.
2. Nuclear power plants - chemical energy of nuclear fission is converted to heat and then
to electricity.

Nuclear fission - occurs when a neutron collides / slams into a larger atom, such as uranium
atom, forcing to excite and split into two or more smaller atoms or nuclei releasing a large
amount of energy in the form of heat and radiation.

Fusion - when two atoms or nucleus slam together or combine together to form a single heavier
atom or nuclei, while releasing massive amounts of energy.

date: 09/11/24

B. NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY AND ENERGY


Nuclear chemistry - the sub-field of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes,
and transformation in the nuclei of atoms, such as nuclear transmutation and properties.

Radioactive decay (or nuclear decay, or radioactivity, or radioactive disintegration, or


nuclear disintegration) - the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by
radiation.

Radioactive - a material containing unstable nuclei.

Three most common types of decay:


1. Alpha decay
2. Beta decay
3. Gamma decay

Nuclear Chemistry - also the chemistry of radioactive elements such as the actinides, radium
and radon together with the chemistry associated with equipment (such as nuclear reactors)
which are designed to perform nuclear processes.
examples:
1. Corrosion of surfaces
2. Behavior under conditions of both normal and abnormal operation (such as during
nuclear and radioactive accidents).
3. Behavior of objects and materials after being placed into a nuclear waste storage or
disposal site.

Nuclear Chemistry - also includes the study of the chemical effects resulting from the
absorption of radiation within living animals, plants, and other materials.

Radiation Chemistry - controls much of radiation biology as radiation has an effect on living
things at the molecular scale.

date: 09/16/24

HISTORY

Wilhelm Roentgen - discovered X-rays in 1895 after whom many scientists began to work on
ionizing radiation.

Ionization - the process in which an atom/molecule acquires a positive/negative charge by


losing or gaining electrons.

Ions - the resulting species that carry charges.

2 TYPES OF IONS:
1. Cations - the positively charged species.
2. Anions - the negatively charged species.

Henri Becquerel - investigated the relationship between phosphorescence and the blackening
of photographic plates.

Phosphorescence - type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence, in which when


exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow,
absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength.
When Becquerel (working in France) discovered that with no external source of energy, the
Uranium generated rays which could blacken (or fog) the photographic plate, radioactivity was
discovered.

Marie Sklodouska Curie (working in Paris) and her husband Dievve Curie - isolated two
new radioactive elements from uranium ore.

1901 - it was noted that high doses of radiation could cause an injury in humans.

Ernest Rutherford (working in Canada and England)


- showed that radioactive decay can be described by a simple equation, implying that a
given radioactive substance has a characteristics "half-life".
- also coined the terms alpha, beta and gamma rays.
- he also separated oxygen from nitrogen.

Half-life - the time taken for the amount of radioactivity present in a source to diminish by half.

date: 09/20/24

Marie Curie

Marie Salomea Skladowska Curie (Simply known as Marie Curie (Nov 7, 1867- July
4,1939)
- a Polish and naturalized French physicist and chemist who conducted on pioneering
research on radioactivity.
- the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the first person to win a Nobel prize twice, and the
only person to win a Nobel prize in two scientific fields.

Dievve Curie - the husband of Marie Curie, who was her co-winner of her first Nobel Prize,
making them the first married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family
legacy of five Nobel Prizes.

Irene Joliot-Curie (Marie Curie's daughter) and Frederic Joliot Curie (Marie Curie’s
son-in-law) - first to create artificial radioactivity.
NUCLEAR ENERGY

Nuclear Energy - a form of energy released from the nucleus, the core of atoms in which the
energy can be produced in two ways: fission or fusion

TWO WAYS OF PRODUCING NUCLEAR ENERGY:

1. Fission - when nuclei of atoms split into several parts, and the one commonly used in
nuclear power plants to produce electricity.
2. Fusion - when nuclei fuse or combine together, but the technology to generate electricity
from this process is at the R&D (Research and Development) phase.

NUCLEAR FISSION

Nuclear Fission - a reaction where the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei
while releasing energy.

Chain reaction - release of energy in the form of heat and radiation—heat is connected to
electricity in a nuclear power plant.

Inside Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear reactors contain and control chain reactions – produce heat – the heat warms the
cooling agent (ex: U- atom) to produce steam – steam spins the turbine – generator to create
electricity.

date: 09/27/24

C. FUELS

Fuel - any substance that can provide heat and produce energy when it is burned, in which the
energy released is generally in the form of chemical energy and heat energy.

USES OF HEAT ENERGY THAT FUELS RELEASES:


1. Cooking
2. Heaters
3. Many industrial and manufacturing purposes.

Engine - used to convert the heat energy into Mechanical energy.

Example of Fuels
1. Methanol
2. Gasoline
3. Diesel
4. Natural Gas
5. Hydrogen
6. Biodiesel

TYPES OF FUEL
1. Solid Fuel - solid material that combust to produce energy.
example:
a. coal
b. charcoal
c. soot
d. wood
2. Liquid Fuel - fuels we burn to produce mechanical and kinetic energy.
example:
a. crude oil
b. liquid biofuels
(ex: l. ethanol ll. Hydrogen fuel)
3. Fuel Gas - fuels that are in a gaseous state under normal conditions
example:
a. methane
b. carbon monoxide
c. propane
d. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) - used in kitchen via pipes that is used for cooking.
4. Biofuel - derived from Biomass, so essentially derived from living matter that can be
replenished; can be solid, liquid, or gas.
example: ethanol
5. Fossil Fuel - conventional fuels that are formed over thousands of years in the Earth's
core where fossilized remain of animals and plants have been exposed to high pressure
and temperatures and are also non-replenishable.

3 MAIN TYPES OF FOSSIL FUELS


a. coal
b. petroleum (ex: crude oil, diesel, gasoline, and kerosene)
c. natural gas

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