EEEQ524-Energy Conservation and Management

Lecture 1-Part 1-Energy and the Environment

1.1 Introduction

There are environmental costs associated with the continued use of fossil fuels and these are
causing a reappraisal of the way in which energy is used. This lecturer investigates the global use
of energy and its impact on economies and the environment.

Those of us living in developing countries don’t take energy for granted as compared to those
who live in the developed countries. Nevertheless, we may not understand exactly what energy is
but we certainly use it. Consider for a moment the number of everyday items of equipment, tools
and appliances that run on electricity – lamps, washing machines, televisions, radios, computers
and many other ‘essential’ items of equipment – which all need a ready supply of electricity in
order to function.

Imagine what life would be like without electricity. Both our home and our working lives would
be very different. Indeed, our high-tech, computer-reliant society would cease to function;
productivity would fall drastically and gross domestic product (GDP) would also be greatly
reduced.

1.2 Politics and Self-Interest

Any serious investigation of the subject of energy supply and conservation soon reveals that it is
impossible to separate the ‘ technical ’ aspects of the subject from the ‘ politics ’that surround it.
This is because the two are intertwined; an available energy supply is the cornerstone of any
economy and politicians are extremely interested in how economies perform. Politicians like
short-term solutions and are reluctant to introduce measures that will make them unpopular.
Also, many political parties rely on funding from commercial organizations. Consequently,
political self-interest often runs counter to
collective reason.

It is clear that the management and conservation of energy is strongly influenced by the
collective mindset of society. With respect to this, we cannot ignore the role played by human
nature, as it influences both politicians and consumers alike, and does not necessarily lead to
outcomes that benefit either society or the environment.

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1.3 What is Energy?

Consider a mass of 1 kg which is raised 1 m above a surface on which it was originally resting. It
is easy to appreciate that in order to raise the weight through the distance of 1 m, someone, or
some machine, must have performed work. In other words, work has been put into the system to
raise the mass from a low level to a higher level. This work is the amount of energy that has been
put into the system. So, when the weight is in the raised position, it is at a higher energy level
than when on the surface. Indeed, this illustration forms the basis for the International System
(SI) unit of energy, the ‘joule ’, which can be defined as follows:

One joule (J) is the work done when a force of 1 newton (N) acts on an object so that it moves 1
metre (m) in the direction of the force.

One newton (N) is the force required to increase or decrease the velocity of a 1 kg object by 1 m
per second every second.

The number of newtons needed to accelerate an object can be calculated by:

= × 1.1

where m is the mass of the object (kg) and a is the acceleration (m/s2). Given that the
acceleration due to gravity is 9.81 m/s2, a mass of 1 kg will exert a force of 9.81 N (i.e.1kg 9.81
m/s2). Therefore the energy required to raise it through 1 m will be 9.81 J.

If the 1 kg mass is released it will fall through a distance of 1 m back to its original position. In
doing so the potential energy stored in the 1 kg mass when it is at the higher level will be
released. Notice that the energy released is equal to the work put into raising the weight. For this
reason the term work is sometimes used instead of energy.

Perhaps a good way of viewing energy is to consider it as stored work. Therefore, potential
energy represents work that has already been done and stored for future use.

Potential energy can be calculated by:

= × ×ℎ 1.2

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where m is the mass of the object (kg), g is the acceleration due to gravity (i.e. 9.81m/s2) and h is
the height through which the object has been raised (m).
As the weight falls it will possess energy because of its motion and this is termed kinetic energy.
The kinetic energy of a body is proportional to its mass and to the square of its speed. Kinetic
energy can be calculated by:

= 0.5 × × 1.3

where v is the velocity of the object (m/s).

We can see that during the time the mass takes to fall, its potential energy decreases whilst its
kinetic energy increases. However, the sum of both forms of energy must remain constant during
the fall. Physicists and engineers express this constancy in the ‘law of conservation of energy’,
which states that the total amount of energy in the system must always be the same

It should be noted that the amount of energy expended in raising the weight is completely
independent of the time taken to raise the weight. Whether the weight is raised in 1 second or 1
day makes no difference to the energy put into the system. It does, however, have an effect on the
‘power’ of the person or machine performing the work. Clearly, the shorter the duration of the
lift, the more powerful the lifter has to be.

Consequently, power is defined as the rate at which work is done, or alternatively, the rate of
producing or using energy. The SI unit of power is the watt (W). Therefore, a machine requires a
power of 1 W if it uses 1 J of energy in 1 second (i.e. 1 W is 1 J per second). In electrical terms,
1 W is the energy released in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere passing through a resistance of 1
ohm.

1.4 Units of Energy

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

The kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a particularly useful unit of energy which is commonly used in the
electricity supply industry and, to a lesser extent, in the gas supply industry. It refers to the
amount of energy consumed in 1 hour by the operation of an appliance having a power rating of
1 kW.

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Therefore:

1 ℎ = 3.6 × 10 1.4

British thermal unit (Btu)

The British thermal unit (Btu) is the old imperial unit of energy. It is still very much in use and is
particularly popular in the USA:

1 = 1.055 × 10 1.5

Therm

The therm is a unit that originated in the gas supply industry. It is equivalent to 100,000 Btu:

1 ℎ = 1.055 × 10 1.6

Tonne of oil equivalent (toe)

The ‘ tonne of oil equivalent ’ (toe) is a unit of energy used in the oil industry:

1 toe = 4.5 × 10 1.7

Barrel
The barrel is another unit of energy used in the oil industry. There are 7.5 barrels in 1 toe:

1 = 6 × 10 1.8

Calorie
In the food industry the calorie is the most commonly used unit of energy. It is in fact the amount
of heat energy required to raise 1 g of water through 1 ° C:

1 calorie = 4.2 × 10 1.9

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1.5 The Laws of Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the study of heat and work, and the conversion of energy from one form into
another.

The first law of thermodynamics.

The first law of thermodynamics is also known as the law of conservation of energy. It states that
the energy in a system can neither be created nor destroyed. Instead, energy is either converted
from one form to another, or transferred from one system to another.
The term ‘system’ can refer to anything from a simple object to a complex machine. If the f rst
law is applied to a heat engine, such as a gas turbine, where heat energy is converted into
mechanical energy, then it tells us that no matter what the various stages in the process are, the
total amount of energy in the system must always remain constant.

The second law of thermodynamics

While the first law of thermodynamics refers to the quantity of energy that is in a system, it says
nothing about the direction in which it flows. It is the second law that deals with the natural
direction of energy processes. For example, according to the second law of thermodynamics,
heat will always fl ow only from a hot object to a colder object.
In another context, it explains why many natural processes occur in the way they do.
For example, iron always turns to rust; rust never becomes pure iron. This is because all
processes proceed in a direction which increases the amount of disorder, or chaos, in the
universe. Iron is produced by smelting ore in a foundry, a process which involves the input of a
large amount of heat energy. So, when iron rusts it is reverting back to a ‘low-energy’ state.
Although it is a difficult concept to grasp, disorder has been quantified and given the name
‘entropy’. Entropy can be used to quantify the amount of useful work that can be performed in a
system. In simple terms, the more chaotic a system, the more difficult it is to perform useful
work.
In an engineering context it is the second law of thermodynamics that accounts for the fact that a
heat engine can never be 100% efficient. Some of the heat energy from its fuel will be
transferred to colder objects in the surroundings, with the result that it will not be converted into
mechanical energy.

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The third law of thermodynamics.

The third law of thermodynamics is concerned with absolute zero (i.e. 273 ° C). It simply states
that it is impossible to reduce the temperature of any system to absolute zero.
The first and second laws of thermodynamics are well illustrated by the ideal heat engine shown
in Figure 1.1. Heat engines are devices, such as internal combustion engines and gas turbines,
which convert thermal energy into mechanical work. They do this by exploiting the temperature
gradient between a hot ‘source’ and a cold ‘sink’. As heat flows from the hot ‘source’ to the cold
‘sink’ it passes through the ‘working’ part of the engine where it is converted into mechanical
energy.

FIG 1.1 Schematic diagram of an ideal heat engine.

If it is assumed that no energy is stored, then by applying the first law of thermodynamics it is
possible to write down an energy balance for the system:

= − 1.10

where W is the mechanical work produced by the engine (J), QH is the heat absorbed
from the high-temperature ‘ source ’ (J), and QL is the heat rejected to the low temperature ‘ sink
’ (J).

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Similarly, the efficiency, η, of the heat engine can be expressed thus:

1.11
= =

=1−

Because the respective heat flows are proportional to the absolute temperature of the hot ‘source’
and the cold ‘sink’, it is possible to express the efficiency of an ideal heat engine as:

1.12
= 1−

Given that the second law of thermodynamics dictates that heat must fl ow from hot to cold, it
can be seen from Eqn 1.12 that if no temperature difference exists between the hot ‘ source ’ and
the cold ‘ sink ’ , then heat cannot flow and the efficiency of the engine must therefore be zero.

Conversely, if a large temperature difference exists between the hot ‘source’ and the cold ‘sink’,
then the heat flow will be much greater, with the result that the efficiency of the cycle will be
high.

So all-embracing is the second law of thermodynamics that it can be used to explain how the
communities and ecosystems on Earth behave when they consume energy.

If environmental pollution is low and only renewable energy sources are used, then the Earth
should remain relatively stable, allowing a low-entropy ecosystem to survive and prosper. If,
however, fossil fuels, such as petroleum, coal and natural gas, are consumed, then ‘concentrated
energy’ from the sun, laid down in biomass hundreds of thousands of years ago, is suddenly
released into the atmosphere. In thermodynamic terms, the energy trapped in fossil fuels is in a
highly ordered low-entropy form. When burnt, this highly ordered energy is dispersed into the
environment raising its entropy, which is exactly what the second law of thermodynamics
predicts. So as more and more non-renewable fossil fuels are consumed the Second Law tells us
that entropy-related problems, such as pollution and global warming, will inevitably increase.

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It is impossible to ‘buck’ the second law of thermodynamics – entropy will always increase in
the end! Even nuclear power, which some think might solve the Earth’s energy crisis, conforms
to the second law of thermodynamics. While nuclear power offers almost unimaginable amounts
of energy from very small masses of uranium, the Second Law tells us that once this highly
ordered energy is consumed it will inevitably be dispersed into the environment raising its
overall entropy. This increase in entropy may, in part, explain why the safe disposal of nuclear
waste has proven to be a considerable problem.

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