P3.1 - Energy demands Flashcards
Main energy resources:
- coal
- oil
- gas
Inside a power station, what happens?
- burning of fuel is used to heat water
- turns to steam
- steam drives turbine
- this turns on an electricity generator
fossil fuels
-fuels that come from long-dead animals/plants
biofuel definition
-fuel from living/recently living organisms
Example of biofuel
-methane when produced by cows to be used in small gas-fired power stations
Where can biofuels be used for?
- instead of fossil fuels
- in modified engines for transport/generators in power stations
Biofuel pros:
- renewable
- carbon-neutral
Why is biofuel renewable?
- as it is a biological source
- either regrows/replenished by natural processes
- so it used at the same rate that it’s replaced at
Why are biofuels carbon-neutral?
- in theory, carbon that organisms absorb from the atmosphere
- will balance the amount that is released when biofuel is burnt
nuclear fuel
takes energy from atoms
Why is nuclear power better than burning fossil fuels?
-more energy is released per kg from uranium atoms than from burning fossil fuels
What is the fuel in nuclear power stations
uranium atoms
-which is sealed in cans in a core reactor
How does nuclear power involve uranium atoms?
- as the nucleus of the atom is unstable = splits into 2
- which transfers energy
What happens in a nuclear power station after energy is transferred from atoms?
- energy is transferred from the core by a fluid (coolant)
- coolant is very hot as it leaves the core
- coolant flows through a pipe to a heat exchanger, then back to the reactor core
- energy transferred is used to heat water into steam
what is the fluid which is pumped through the core in a nuclear power station to retrieve the enrgy?
coolant
