Non-conventional sources of energy

Non-conventional sources of energy

Our world is totally dependent on power, either from sun or from mines. We can assume our world to be in a race to consume more and more power. For natural process, infrared and visible radiations from sun are enough but the world created by us needs petrol, diesel and coal to run. These sources are derived from the deep earth. Though we have huge masses of these resources buried inside the earth, but every treasure has a limit if not recharged. When organic substances like dead bodies and leaves are buried inside the depths of earth by some natural process for millions of years, then the immense pressure and heat converts them into coal and petroleum. These require millions of years to produce, but can be consumed in less than a few hundred years. We have been using these resources since almost 200 years and it is estimated that it will finish within 100 more years if we keep using them at the same pace. Also they are bad for ecosystem since coal and petroleum cause pollution and produce greenhouse gases on burning.

These sources of energy are non-renewable and harmful. Solution to these problems is very easy, we just have turn our heads towards renewable sources of energy as they are cleaner and sustainable. There are various non-conventional sources of energy which are way better than non-renewable ones. They are easily available and clean i.e. they don’t pollute.

Hydro Electricity

In this, electricity is produced by utilizing potential energy of falling water. In this, flowing water is collected in a dam and made to fall on a turbine. This turbine rotates the solenoid coil of a dynamo and produces alternating current. The energy so produced doesn’t produce a single mole of pollution and can serve us for as much time as we need. Though this is not a new phenomenon and is being used from years but its contribution in the total production of energy of the world is very small and needs to be improved. Making a dam is not a simple one and takes years to be constructed.

Wind energy

This is a very powerful source of producing energy. Here the process is similar to hydro power plant but the only difference is that dynamo runs when fast moving wind rotates the wind panel. A good thing about it is that it can be used in most parts of the world. It can also be employed for small scale production of electricity in buildings. Engineers have proposed the installation of number of small wind panels at the corners of skyscrapers, since wind moves faster at the corners.

Solar Panel

There is no part of the earth which is immune to solar radiation. The energy gradient of solar energy is also very high if we utilize all the energy from the sun. Energy produced by conversion of solar energy into electricity by making use of photovoltaic material is called solar energy. There are many other ways also for using solar energy. We can install solar water heaters and solar cookers in our houses and cut our carbon footprint. Cars that run on solar panels have already been produced. Solar energy has a vast scope as we don’t need many arrangements for producing solar energy. The only requirement is to install large number of solar panels on our roofs. Solar energy can be gathered from any place around us and there are no special atmospheric conditions required for their installation.

Tidal Energy

This type of energy is produced by making use of energy of tides. In this process, tidal stream generators or tidal barrages or both are used to rotate the turbine and thus produce electricity. Tidal Stream generators make use of the kinetic energy of tides and Tidal Barrages utilize potential energy of the tides. Though this process has not been used widely till now but it has good potential in future as tides are more predictable than wind and solar energy.

Geothermal Energy

With every kilometer inside the surface of earth, temperature rises by approximately 25 k. This difference in temperature can be used to produce electricity. When water fall inside the hole drilled in the surface of earth then it rotates the turbines. When this water reaches deep inside the earth, it automatically vaporizes due to high temperature and is again collected at the surface, it is then again made to fall and in this way produces electricity using the heat of earth.

Hydrogen based engines

Energy gradient of hydrogen is the highest when compared to hydrocarbons so, hydrogen can be a nice substitute to petroleum. When burnt, it only produces water and no pollution is caused. The only problem this case is that it is explosive in nature and therefore difficult to store. Researchers are trying to resolve that problem but there is another problem that production of hydrogen at a large scale to accommodate all engines is very difficult with renewable methods. These days bio hydrogen has come as good solution for large scale production. There is a large variety of bacteria, algae and enzymes that produce hydrogen.

Biogas

Biogas is the renewable substitute of LPG and CNG. It is produced by decomposition of a mixture of enzymes and bio waste in a decomposition chamber. When this mixture is eaten by bacteria then biogas is produced. The byproduct of this process is manure which is very useful in farming process.

Biodiesel

A tree named jatrofa produces fruits whose juice can be used as biodiesel.