Nucleus of an Atom and Atomic Mass

Nucleus of an Atom
The nucleus of an atom is the central region of an atom where the majority of the mass is concentrated.
Through the scattering of alpha particles experiment by Rutherford, we learned that the nucleus of an
atom contains a majority of the mass of the atom. Numerically speaking, the nucleus of an atom
occupies almost 10-14 times the volume of the atom but contains 99.99% of the atomic mass. The
nucleus of an atom is so small that if you expanded an atom to fill up a room, the nucleus of an atom
would still be no larger than a pinhead!

Nucleus of an Atom – atomic mass

An atom is tiny and therefore its mass is also proportionally minute. A regular unit of mass such as a
Kilogram (Kg) cannot be used to weigh something as small as an atom and to address this issue,
scientists have created a new unit of mass. It is called the Atomic Mass Unit (u). Its reference is taken
as Carbon-12 and 1 Atomic Mass unit is equal to 1/12th the weight of one atom of Carbon 12.

1 u = one atom of C-12/ 12 = 1.992647 10-26/ 12 kg

1 u = 1.660539 10-27 kg
This is the mass of a hydrogen atom! Surprisingly except for a few elements, most of them are whole
multiples of the weight of the Hydrogen atom.

Nucleus of an Atom – Composition

The Nucleus of an atom consists of a tightly packed arrangement of protons and neutrons. These are
the two heavy particles in an atom and hence 99.9% of the mass is concentrated in the nucleus. Of the
two, the protons possess a net positive charge and hence the nucleus of an atom is positively charged
on the whole and the negatively charged electrons revolve around the central nucleus. Since the mass
concentration at the nucleus of an atom is immense the nuclear forces holding the protons and the
neutrons together are also large. The protons are in such close vicinity to each other inside the tiny
nucleus and therefore the electrostatic forces of repulsion also act inside the nucleus. Nuclear energy
relies on nothing but releasing the energy trapped in the nucleus of an atom. The total number of
protons in a nucleus is equal to the number of electrons revolving around the nucleus and hence the
atom, on the whole, is electrically neutral.
Nuclear Binding Energy
During the 20th century, the popular Albert Einstein came up with the revolutionary theory, “the theory
of relativity”. The theory explained that mass and energy are interconvertible; the mass can be
converted into energy and vice-versa. This new dimension to physics helped to resolve plenty of
unsolved problems and formed a forum for lot of new theories. One among them is the existence of
Nuclear Binding energy. Thereby giving a clear insight into nuclear mass and inter-nuclei interactions.

Mass Defect and Binding Energy

An atom comprises a nucleus at the center and electrons revolving around it in an orbital fashion.
Nuclei constitute of Protons and Neutrons, Combined called nucleons. Thus, we expect that mass of
the nucleus will be the same as the sum of individual masses of neutrons and protons. But it is not true.
The total mass of the nucleus(mnuc) is less than the sum of individual masses of neutrons and protons
which in fact constitutes it. This difference in the mass is called mass defect given by,

Where,
Zmp is the total mass of the protons.
(A-Z)mn is the total mass of the neutrons.
mnuc is the mass of the nucleus.

Now imagine the situation of breaking the nucleus. To attain this, a certain amount of energy is
put into the system. The amount of energy required to achieve this is called nuclear binding energy.
Thus, we can define nuclear binding energy as,

“The minimum energy required to separate nucleons into its constituent protons and neutrons.”
and is given by-

Thus, the difference in the mass is converted into Nuclear binding energy.
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fission is the process of splitting a heavy nucleus, such as uranium or plutonium, in two smaller
nuclei of nearly the same mass. During this process, the unstable radioactive nucleus is split into two
smaller nuclei. Nuclear fission can occur spontaneously in some cases or can be induced by the
bombardment on the nucleus with a variety of particles (e.g., protons, or neutrons or alpha particles)
or by gamma rays radiation.

• During this fission process, a huge amount of energy is produced further giving rise to
radioactive elements as well as the release of many neutrons.
• These neutrons can further induce chain fission reaction in the nucleus of the uranium or
plutonium and release more neutrons.
• This can result in an uncontrolled chain reaction till all the starting material is exhausted where
a large amount of energy is also produced.

Nuclear Fission Energy

As mentioned above the splitting of neutrons results in the release of a large amount of energy.
During this process, there is a strong repulsion force between the protons. But, they are also bound
together by the strong nuclear force. Typically, each proton applies a repulsion force of 20N on every
other proton and that is equal to the force of a hand resting on a person’s lap. This is really a very
large force for these atomic particles.

• Due to such large force inside the small nucleus, it leads to the production of a large amount
of energy and is enough to cause a considerable reduction in mass. This implies that the total
mass of each of the fission fragments is less than the mass of the starting nucleus. Here the
missing mass is called the mass defect.
• It is easy to understand the amount of energy that binds all the nuclei together. Every nucleus
has this binding energy except hydrogen. Therefore, the binding energy available to each
nucleon is simply called the binding energy per nucleon. The same amount of energy is
actually required per nucleon to split a nucleus.

The products formed after fission are more stable means further splitting is very hard. As this
binding energy for fission products is very high, the nucleonic mass becomes lower. The result of
this large binding energy and lower mass results in the release of energy. Nuclear binding energy and
mass defects are also used interchangeably.

Basics of Nuclear Fission

When a nucleus fissions reaction takes place, the neutron breaks the target nucleus into further
smaller products. These fission products are nearly equal to half the original mass. Two or three
neutrons are also emitted.
Interestingly the total sum of the masses of products is less than the initial nuclei mass. This ‘missing’
mass (which is about 0.1 % of the initial mass) is converted into energy according to Einstein’s
equation: E = mc2. Fission always occurs when neurons are bombarded on a nucleus of a heavy atom,
or it can happen spontaneously.

When Uranium-235 atom is bombarded with a neutron, it splits into two lighter nuclei Barium and
Krypton.
Nuclear Fission Reactor
A nuclear reactor is the most important part of a nuclear power plant. This is the place where nuclear
chain reactions occur that produce energy by fission. The heat thus produced can be used to produce
electricity.

The main purpose of a reactor is to contain and control energy released. Uranium is used as the
nuclear fuel in the reactors. The uranium is treated with ceramic pellets and they are sealed in the
form of metal tubes called fuel rods. Generally, about 200 such rods are assembled together to form a
fuel assembly. When a hundred of such assemblies are assembled together, it is called the core.

The fuel rods are dipped in water in the reactor, which functions as both a coolant and moderator.
The job of the moderator is to slow down the neutrons produced by fission to control the chain
reaction. Control rods may be immersed in the reactor core to reduce the reaction rate or pulled out
to increase the same. The heat produced by such reactions converts the water into steam, which
further converted into carbon-free electricity by the help of turbines. Nuclear Fission Reactor is as
below:
Nuclear Fusion
Fusion is the process occurring within the plasma core of our Sun in which the nuclei of lighter atoms
link to form a heavier atom. For example, when hydrogen nuclei collide, they can fuse into heavier
helium nuclei and release tremendous amounts of energy in the process. What we see as light and feel
as warmth coming from the Sun is the result of this fusion reaction process.

Since the Sun is a huge plasma ball made up primarily of hydrogen, it is the fusion of hydrogen into
helium that is responsible for 85% of the Sun’s energy output. The fusion of hydrogen to form helium
is a proton–proton chain reaction.

Proton–proton chain reaction

A proton–proton chain reaction is one of the ways by which stars fuse hydrogen into helium. It is the
reaction that dominates in stars the size of the Sun.

Where does the energy come from?

Careful analysis of these reactions shows that the mass of the resulting helium-4 nucleus is very
slightly less than the sum of the masses of the reactant particles involved.
This lost mass reveals itself as energy released, conforming to Einstein’s formula E=mc². The tiny bit
of lost mass (m), multiplied by the square of the speed of light (c²), results in a very large amount of
energy (E) created by a fusion reaction.

What fuels the Sun?

It is nuclear fusion that fuels the Sun. He then goes on to explain in simple terms how this process
works by fusing lighter elements into heavier elements.

The Sun converts about 600 million tonnes of hydrogen into helium every second, releasing an
enormous amount of energy. Of this, it has been calculated that the ‘lost mass’ is 0.7%.

Using these figures, the energy production per second can be calculated as follows:
E = mc²
E = [0.007 x 600 x 106 x 103] x [3 x 108]2
E = 3.78 x 1026 J = 3.78 x 1023 kJ

Given that this is occurring every second, it means that the power output of the Sun is close to 4 x
1023 kW.

Fusion on Earth
Fusion reactions release colossal amounts of energy. Over the last 50 years, scientists have
thoroughly investigated these reactions in the hope of developing nuclear fusion reactors that can
transform fusion energy into electrical energy for public consumption.

Progress has been slow, and the main reasons for this are linked to making, controlling and
containing extremely high-temperature plasma within which hydrogen nuclei can fuse to form
heavier helium nuclei.

Inside JET

Inside the doughnut-ring shaped reactor of the JET. It is designed to heat hydrogen gas to a high-
temperature plasma state. Control of the plasma is achieved with large magnetic fields.
One of the largest nuclear fusion plasma physics experimental facilities (established in 1960) is
located in Oxfordshire in the UK. Known as JET, which stands for Joint European Torus, it is a
tokamak reactor within which fusion reactions are made to occur. Tokamak is a Russian word
meaning ‘toroidal chamber with a magnetic field’.

The reactor has a doughnut-ring shape and is designed to heat hydrogen gas to a very high-
temperature plasma state (150,000,000°C). Very large magnetic fields are also generated to control
and contain the plasma.

D-T fusion

In D-T fusion, two isotopes of hydrogen – deuterium (2H) and tritium (3H) – are brought together. The
fusion reaction generates helium (4He), a neutron and large amounts of energy.

The most efficient fusion reaction to reproduce in the reactor is that between two hydrogen isotopes –
deuterium (D) and tritium (T). This D-T fusion reaction produces the highest energy gain at the lowest
operating temperatures.

Since the helium nucleus carries an electric charge, it remains within the plasma. However, the neutron
is not charged and can be absorbed by the walls of the tokamak if they are coated with neutron-
absorbing materials. Since the neutrons carry 80% of the energy produced in this reaction as kinetic
energy, when the walls absorb them, this energy is transformed into heat.

This can then be used to boil water into steam, which in turn is used to drive a turbine that then
generates electrical energy. Many of the scientific obstacles in fusion have now been overcome, and
the experiments conducted with JET have proved the technical feasibility of fusion using deuterium
and tritium.
What is a Nuclear Reactor?
A nuclear reactor is the most important part of a nuclear power plant. It is where the nuclear chain
reactions occur that produce energy by fission. The heat thus produced can be used to produce
electricity.

The main purpose of a reactor is to contain and control the energy released. Uranium is used as the
nuclear fuel in the reactors.

The heat produced by nuclear reactions is used to convert the water into steam, which is further
converted into carbon-free electricity with the help of turbines.

Main Components of a Nuclear Reactor

The main components of a nuclear reactor are listed below.

•
o The Core: It contains all the fuel and generates the heat required for energy production.
o The Coolant: It passes through the core, absorbing the heat and transferring into
turbines.
o The Turbine: Transfers energy into the mechanical form.
o The Cooling Tower: It eliminates the excess heat that is not converted or transferred.
o Neutron Moderator: Moderators are used for reducing the speed of fast neutrons
released from the fission reaction and making them capable of sustaining a nuclear
chain reaction.
▪ Usually, water, solid graphite, and heavy water are used as a moderator in
nuclear reactors.
▪ Commonly-used moderators include regular (light) water (in 74.8% of the
world’s reactors), solid graphite (20% of reactors), heavy water (5% of
reactors).
o The Containment: The enveloping structure that separates the nuclear reactor from the
surrounding environment.

• Neutron Poison: A neutron poison (also called a neutron absorber or a nuclear poison) is a
substance with a large neutron absorption cross-section.
The Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

In a typical design concept of a commercial PWR, the following process occurs:

1. The core inside the reactor vessel creates heat.

2. Pressurized water in the primary coolant loop carries the heat to the steam generator.
3. Inside the steam generator, heat from the primary coolant loop vaporizes the water in a
secondary loop, producing steam.
4. The steamline directs the steam to the main turbine, causing it to turn the turbine generator,
which produces electricity.

The unused steam is exhausted to the condenser, where it is condensed into water. The resulting
water is pumped out of the condenser with a series of pumps, reheated, and pumped back to the
steam generator. The reactor's core contains fuel assemblies that are cooled by water circulated using
electrically powered pumps. These pumps and other operating systems in the plant receive their
power from the electrical grid. If offsite power is lost, emergency cooling water is supplied by other
pumps, which can be powered by onsite diesel generators. Other safety systems, such as the
containment cooling system, also need electric power. PWRs contain between 150-200 fuel
assemblies.

Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

In a typical design concept of a commercial BWR, the following process occurs:

1. The core inside the reactor vessel creates heat.

2. A steam-water mixture is produced when very pure water (reactor coolant) moves upward
through the core, absorbing heat.
3. The steam-water mixture leaves the top of the core and enters the two stages of moisture
separation where water droplets are removed before the steam is allowed to enter the
steamline.
 4. The steamline directs the steam to the main turbine, causing it to turn the turbine generator,
which produces electricity.

The unused steam is exhausted to the condenser, where it is condensed into water. The resulting
water is pumped out of the condenser with a series of pumps, reheated, and pumped back to the
reactor vessel. The reactor's core contains fuel assemblies that are cooled by water circulated using
electrically powered pumps. These pumps and other operating systems in the plant receive their
power from the electrical grid. If offsite power is lost, emergency cooling water is supplied by other
pumps, which can be powered by onsite diesel generators. Other safety systems, such as the
containment cooling system, also need electric power. BWRs contain between 370-800 fuel
assemblies.

Breeder reactor
Breeder reactors are a type of nuclear reactor which produce more fissile materials than they
consume. They are designed to extend the nuclear fuel supply for the generation of electricity,[1] and
have even been mistakenly called a potential renewable energy source.[2] Breeder reactors certainly
have the ability to make nuclear fuels quite sustainable though which was Dr. Cohen's main point, see
renewable and sustainable energy for a more thorough explanation. Concerns about nuclear weapons
proliferation have been one large impediment to creating commercial breeder reactors.
Unlike normal reactors which only use uranium-235 as their fuel, which is only available in scarce
concentrations of around 0.7% of natural uranium without enrichment, breeder reactors also make use
of natural uranium-238 which is much more common. They can use approximately 70% of the
uranium-238 for production of power, whereas normal reactors can only use around 1% of it. They
can also use thorium-232 to breed uranium-233, another fissionable product.
The most common breeding is of plutonium-239, which is bred through the process seen in Figure 1
below.

Figure 1. The breeding of 239Pu in a breeder reactor. The neutrons are supplied by the decay of 235U,
which transmute 238U to plutonium.

The first experimental breeder reactor (EBR-1) developed was in 1951 in Idaho, U.S.A. Subsequently
Russia, Japan, Great Britain and France all developed experimental breeder reactors, however no
nation has developed one suitable for high-capacity commercial use.[1] So far, France has made the
largest implementation of breeder reactors with their Super-Phenix fast breeder reactor.[3]

Types
There are two categories of breeder reactors, based on the speed of the neutrons. Fast breeder reactors
which use uranium-238 as fuel and thermal breeder reactors which use thorium-232 as fuel. Fast
breeders do not require moderation since the neutrons need to be moving fast, whereas thermal
breeders make us of moderation to achieve slower-moving neutrons.
Fast
The most promising type of breeder reactor is the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR),
which operates by using liquid sodium as its coolant, and breeds plutonium from uranium-238. It works
by using highly enriched uranium, between 15-20% uranium-235 content, surrounded or "blanketed"
by natural uranium-238 in the reactor core. No moderator is used to slow down the neutrons, because
fast neutrons transmute uranium-238 much more efficiently than slow neutrons.
Using water as a coolant would reduce the neutron abundance, since neutrons are absorbed by water.
Therefore liquid sodium is used instead. This immediately raised concerns of safety when initially
thought of, since sodium is a highly reactive element. It is important to keep the liquid sodium from
contact with air or oxygen to avoid explosions, however they aren't any more dangerous than
pressurized water reactors. This is because the sodium doesn't need to be pressurized to remain in a
liquid state like water does; its boiling point is 892oC. This makes the bursting of pipes far less likely
than in other water-reactors. Liquid sodium is also a very good choice because of its heat transfer
capabilities, due to its high specific heat capacity.

Figure 2. Liquid metal fast breeder reactor.[4]

Other fast breeder types include supercritical water cooled reactors, molten salt reactors, and gas-
cooled reactors.
Thermal
The possibility to breed fissile material in slow neutron reactors is unique to thorium, as uranium
cannot use thermal neutrons to do so. These reactors would need a fissile material to start the breeding
just like fast breeder reactors, however the neutrons produced from this fissile material would need to
be slowed down by a moderator.
The technology is much simpler than that of the liquid metal fast breeder; light water is used as the
coolant to remove the heat produced by the continuous series of fission reactions rather than a liquid
metal system.
Thorium hasn't been used in large scale reactors, however some reactors have used it successfully in
the past. A light water breeder reactor in Shippingport, Pa. USA operated for 5 years, and by the end
of its operation it had 1.4% more fissile fuel than it began with.
Breeding ratio
An important concept for a breeder reactor is how much fissionable fuel is being produced compared
to how much fuel is being used. This is known as the breeding ratio. For example for the breeding of
plutonium, the ratio would be the amount of plutonium produced to the amount of uranium-235 used.
In the liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR), the breeding ratio is 1.4, however the actual achieved
ratio is around 1.2.
The number 1.4 is based off of the average number of neutrons given off by a fission reaction of
uranium-235, which is 2.4. Only 1 neutron is needed for the fission chain reaction to be stable, so the
remaining 1.4 neutrons (on average) could be used for the breeding of uranium-238.

Doubling time
The amount of time for a breeder to produce enough material to fuel a second reactor is called its
doubling time. Present goals for a breeder reactor's doubling time is 10 years, which means it would
operate for 10 years producing energy and breeding fissionable material, after which this material
could be used to produce the same energy output for another 10 years.

Nuclear Power Program of India

India’s 3 stage Nuclear Power Program was devised in 1954. Homi J Bhabha, the father of India’s
Nuclear program, devised India’s Three Stage Nuclear Power Program.

The objective behind formulating the Three Stages Nuclear Power Program

1. India has only 2% of World’s Uranium reserves, on the other hand, India has 25% of the
World’s Thorium reserves.
2. Since India was not part of some of the International Nuclear treaties, India was prevented
from taking part in international trade in the Nuclear field.
3. India has a huge population and growing economy, to meet the energy demands India had to
rely heavily on imports of coal, and crude oil.
4. Hence India had to devise methodologies to be self-sufficient in meeting energy demands
arising due to a burgeoning population and economy; the 3 stage Nuclear Power Program was
one of the answers to it.

India has approximately 400 thousand tonnes of thorium reserves, close to 25% of Global Thorium
reserves. Thorium is not a fissile material, but it can be converted into Uranium – 233, which can
then undergo fission to produce energy.
The nuclear reactors used in different stages are different and the byproducts of one stage will be
used in succeeding stages.
Below table gives details on different stages and the process involved in those stages
Stages Process

1. Use natural Uranium to fuel a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR).

Stage 1 2. The byproduct, Plutonium (Pu) – 239 is used in Stage 2.

1. Develop Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) to produce excess, Pu-239, which will then
Stage 2 lead to the conversion of Thorium (Th – 232) to fissile Uranium U-233.

1. Develop Breeder Reactors, these are Thorium-based Nuclear reactors.

Stage 3
Location of Nuclear Reactors in India

State Location

Rajasthan Rawatbhata

Kudankulam
Tamil Nadu
Kalpakkam
Gujarat Kakrapar

Uttar Pradesh Narora

Karnataka Kaiga

Maharashtra Tarapur

Fuel Cell
Fuel cells require a continuous input of fuel and an oxidizing agent (generally oxygen) in order to
sustain the reactions that generate the electricity. Therefore, these cells can constantly generate
electricity until the supply of fuel and oxygen is cut off.

Despite being invented in the year 1838, fuel cells began commercial use only a century later when
they were used by NASA to power space capsules and satellites. Today, these devices are used as the
primary or secondary source of power for many facilities including industries, commercial buildings,
and residential buildings.

A fuel cell is similar to electrochemical cells, which consists of a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte.
In these cells, the electrolyte enables the movement of the protons.

Working of Fuel Cell

The reaction between hydrogen and oxygen can be used to generate electricity via a fuel cell. Such a
cell was used in the Apollo space programme and it served two different purposes – It was used as a
fuel source as well as a source of drinking water (the water vapour produced from the cell, when
condensed, was fit for human consumption).

The working of this fuel cell involved the passing of hydrogen and oxygen into a concentrated solution
of sodium hydroxide via carbon electrodes. The cell reaction can be written as follows:

Cathode Reaction: O2 + 2H2O + 4e– → 4OH–

Anode Reaction: 2H2 + 4OH– → 4H2O + 4e–

Net Cell Reaction: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

However, the reaction rate of this electrochemical reaction is quite low. This issue is overcome with
the help of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium. In order to increase the effective surface area, the
catalyst is finely divided before being incorporated into the electrodes.

A block diagram of this fuel cell is provided below.

The efficiency of the fuel cell described above in the generation of electricity generally approximates
to 70% whereas thermal power plants have an efficiency of 40%. This substantial difference in
efficiency is because the generation of electric current in a thermal power plant involves the conversion
of water into steam, and the usage of this steam to rotate a turbine. Fuel cells, however, offer a platform
for the direct conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy.

Types of Fuel Cells

Despite working similarly, there exist many varieties of fuel cells. Some of these types of fuel cells are
discussed in this subsection.

The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell

• These cells are also known as proton exchange membrane fuel cells (or PEMFCs).
• The temperature range that these cells operate in is between 50oC to 100oC
• The electrolyte used in PEMFCs is a polymer which has the ability to conduct protons.
• A typical PEM fuel cell consists of bipolar plates, a catalyst, electrodes, and the polymer
membrane.
• Despite having eco-friendly applications in transportation, PEMFCs can also be used for the
stationary and portable generation of power.

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell

• These fuel cells involve the use of phosphoric acid as an electrolyte in order to channel the H+
• The working temperatures of these cells lie in the range of 150oC – 200oC
 • Electrons are forced to travel to the cathode via an external circuit because of the non-
conductive nature of phosphoric acid.
• Due to the acidic nature of the electrolyte, the components of these cells tend to corrode or
oxidize over time.

Solid Acid Fuel Cell

• A solid acid material is used as the electrolyte in these fuel cells.

• The molecular structures of these solid acids are ordered at low temperatures.
• At higher temperatures, a phase transition can occur which leads to a huge increase in
conductivity.
• Examples of solid acids include CsHSO4 and CsH2PO4 (cesium hydrogen sulfate and cesium
dihydrogen phosphate respectively)

Alkaline Fuel Cell

• This was the fuel cell which was used as the primary source of electricity in the Apollo space
program.
• In these cells, an aqueous alkaline solution is used to saturate a porous matrix, which is in turn
used to separate the electrodes.
• The operating temperatures of these cells are quite low (approximately 90oC).
• These cells are highly efficient. They also produce heat and water along with electricity.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

• These cells involve the use of a solid oxide or a ceramic electrolyte (such as yttria-stabilized
zirconia).
• These fuel cells are highly efficient and have a relatively low cost (theoretical efficiency can
even approach 85%).
• The operating temperatures of these cells are very high (lower limit of 600oC, standard
operating temperatures lie between 800 and 1000oC).
• Solid oxide fuel cells are limited to stationary applications due to their high operating
temperatures.

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

• The electrolyte used in these cells is lithium potassium carbonate salt. This salt becomes liquid
at high temperatures, enabling the movement of carbonate ions.
• Similar to SOFCs, these fuel cells also have a relatively high operating temperature of 650oC
• The anode and the cathode of this cell are vulnerable to corrosion due to the high operating
temperature and the presence of the carbonate electrolyte.
• These cells can be powered by carbon-based fuels such as natural gas and biogas.

Applications of fuel cell

Fuel cell technology has a wide range of applications. Currently, heavy research is being conducted in
order to manufacture a cost-efficient automobile which is powered by a fuel cell. A few applications
of this technology are listed below.
 • Fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, use clean fuels and are therefore more eco-friendly than
internal combustion engine-based vehicles.
• They have been used to power many space expeditions including the Appolo space program.
• Generally, the byproducts produced from these cells are heat and water.
• The portability of some fuel cells is extremely useful in some military applications.
• These electrochemical cells can also be used to power several electronic devices.
• Fuel cells are also used as primary or backup sources of electricity in many remote areas.

Coal liquefaction
Coal liquefaction is a process in which coal is converted into liquid fuels or petrochemicals. There
are several processes used to accomplish this task, the two most common being the "indirect route"
and the "direct route".

The indirect route is composed of 2 steps: First, coal is gasified with steam and oxygen to produce a
synthesis gas (syngas), which is then cleaned to rid of dust, tar, and acid gases. The second step reacts
the synthesis gas with a catalyst in the Fischer-Tropsch process, which converts the syngas into a range
of hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline, diesel and methanol.

In the direct route, coal is pulverized and reacted with a catalyst, then hydrogen is added under high
pressures and temperatures in the presence of a solvent to produce a raw liquid fuel. This raw fuel
requires refining in order to yield acceptable transportation fuels.

Coal Gasification
▪ Process: Coal gasification is a process in which coal is partially oxidised with air, oxygen,
steam or carbon dioxide to form a fuel gas.
o This gas is then used instead of piped natural gas, methane and others for deriving
energy.
o In-situ gasification of coal – or Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) – is the
technique of converting coal into gas while it is still in the seam and then extracting it
through wells.
▪ Production of Syngas: It produces Syngas which is a mixture consisting primarily of
methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
vapour (H2O).
o Syngas can be used to produce a wide range of fertilizers, fuels, solvent and synthetic
materials.
▪ Significance: Steel companies typically use coking coal in their manufacturing process.
Most of the coking coal is imported and is expensive.
o To cut costs, plants can use syngas, which comes from coal gasification plants in the
place of coking coal.
o It is primarily used for electricity generation, for the production of chemical
feedstocks.

o The hydrogen obtained from coal gasification can be used for various purposes such
as making ammonia, powering a hydrogen economy.
Steam Turbine Plan
The steam turbine is one kind of heat engine machine in which steam's heat energy is converted to
mechanical work. The construction of steam turbine is very simple. There is no piston rod, flywheel
or slide valves attached to the turbine. So maintenance is quite easy. It consists of a rotor and a set of
rotating blades which are attached to a shaft and the shaft is placed in the middle of the rotor. An
electric generator known as steam turbine generator is connected to the rotor shaft. The turbine
generator collects the mechanical energy from the shaft and converts it into electrical energy. Steam
turbine generator also improves the turbine efficiency.

WORKING PRINCIPLE OF STEAM TURBINE

Working principle of steam turbine depends on the dynamic action of steam. A high-velocity steam is
coming from the nozzles and it strikes the rotating blades which are fitted on a disc mounted on a shaft.
This high-velocity steam produces dynamic pressure on the blades in which blades and shaft both start
to rotate in the same direction. Basically, in a steam turbine pressure energy of steam extracts and then
it converted into kinetic energy by allowing the steam to flow through thew nozzles. The conversion
of kinetic energy does mechanical work to the rotor blades and the rotor is connected to a steam turbine
generator which acts as a mediator. Turbine generator collects mechanical energy from the rotor and
converts into electrical energy. Since the construction of steam turbine is simple, its vibration is much
less than the other engine for same rotating speed. Though different types of governing system are
used to improve turbine speed.
TYPES OF STEAM TURBINE

According to the working principle, there are different types of steam turbine.
1. According to the working principle steam turbines are mainly divided into two categories :
a)Impulse Turbine
b).Reaction Steam Turbine
When steam strikes the moving blades through nozzles called Impulse Turbine and when it
strikes the moving blades under pressure via guide mechanism called Reaction Turbine.

2. According to the direction of steam flow, it may be classified into two categories:-
a).Axial Flow Steam Turbine:-
b).Radial Flow Steam Turbine:-
When the flow of steam inside the casing is parallel to the rotor shaft axis then it is called Axial Flow
Steam Turbine and flow of steam inside the casing is radial to the rotor shaft axis called Radial Flow
Steam turbine.

3. According to the exhaust condition of steam, it is further divided into two categories:-
a)Back Pressure or Non-Condensing types Steam Turbine:-
b)Condensing type Steam Turbine:-
After expansion of steam it is exhausted into atmosphere called back pressure steam turbine or non-
condensing types steam turbine otherwise it exhausted into a condenser called condensing turbine.

4. According to pressure of steam, it may be divided following categories:-

a)High-pressure or pass-out or Extraction steam turbine:-
b)Medium-pressure or back pressure steam turbine:-
c)Low-pressure turbine:-
High, medium and low-pressure steam is supplied into the turbine, called high-pressure steam turbine
or medium pressure steam turbine or back pressure steam turbine and low- pressure steam
turbine.These turbines are used for various manufacturing and heating process.

5. According to the number of stages, it may be divided following categories:-

a)Single stage steam turbine:-
b)Multi-stage steam turbine:-
Steam is coming from nozzles when passed through a single set of moving blades called single
stage steam turbine and to flow multi-stages of moving blades called multi-stages steam turbine.
6. According to the blade and wheels arrangement, it may be divided following categories:-
a)Pressure Compounding Steam Turbine
b)Velocity Compounding Steam Turbine
c)Impulse-Reaction Combined Steam Turbine
d)Pressure-Velocity Compounding Steam Turbine

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