CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY

Those source which has been used by man for long time and still
being tapped & used abundantly. Ex-Coal, petroleum, Natural gas and
hydel power.

COAL:
It is combustible solid rock of organic and
mineral matter. It is formed due to
accumulation of organic matter buried
millions of years ago. Types of Coal:
(1) Anthracite Coal - hardest, shiny, jet black,
best variety. 90% Carbon and burns without
smoke. It has high heating value so it is
preferred for Domestic use.
(2) Bituminous Coal - hard, black, compact, 50% to 80% carbon, Coking
Coal is high grade bituminous coal because when heated in coke oven
it fuse into coke.
(3) Lignite Coal - brown, lower grade coal, 40% Carbon.
(4) Peat - It is first stage of wood into coal. Least Carbon content.
Distribution:-
India is IIIrd largest producer of coal.
Old Coalfield - Raniganj, WB &
largest coal.
Coalfield - Jharia, Jharkhand. India
has large deposit of Bituminous
Coal.
Anthracite - J & K; Bituminous -
Gondwana Coal Mines
Lignite - T. Nadu, Rajasthan; Peat -
Nilgiri Hills.

1) Gondwana Coalfields - 98% of Total reserves of India. It is free from

moisture, contain sulphur and phosphorus. Found near river valleys of
Damodar, Mahanadi, and Godawari. Important states and coalfields
are:
Jharkhand - Jharia, Karnpura, Ramgarh.
M.P. - Singrauli, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara
Maharashtra - Kamptee, Wardha
W. Bengal - Raniganj, Bardhaman, Bankura.

2) Teritary Coalfields - It has high moisture, more sulphur & less

calorific value. Important States - Assam, Arunachal pradesh,
Nagaland, Neyveli Lignite is largest lignite deposit field in South India.

Advantages:
i) Important source of power for machine, trains.
ii) Used in making Iron & Steel.
iii) Used in thermal power plant.

Disadvantages:
i) Causes pollution.
ii) Calorific value of coal is low.
iii) Coal reserves are scattered.
PETROLEUM:
It is made from two word. Petra means
rock and oleum means oil so it means rock
oil. It is called Liquid Gold because even
the smallest part of it is not wasted or
remain unused. Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene,
LPG, Lubricant and paraffin wax are some
product obtained from refining petroleum.

Advantages:
i) It is used as fuel so help in transportation on land, on sea and in air.
ii) It is raw material for production of rubber, PVC, gasoline, paints,
varnishes.
iii) It is used in thermal power plants.

Disadvantages:
i) It is now renewable, fast depleting.
ii) cause pollution, global warming.
iii) It is costly.
iv) Highly inflammable causes fire.

Oil Refineries - First private sector Refinery

- Reliance Petroleum Ltd Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Refinery are located near the oil field or
coast to reduced cost of transportation and
risk of fire.
Distribution:-
i) Mumbai High - because of the height of
syncline rock structure.
ii) Oilfields of East - Digboi (biggest), Moran,
Bappapung.
iii) Oil field of West - Kalol, koyali, kosamba,
Sanaud, Kathana, Ankleshwar.
NATURAL GAS:
Natural gas occurs in association with
mineral oil. Therefore, an oilfield fields
natural gas almost invariably. It is mainly
composed of methane (95 %) with small
amounts of propane and ethane. The gas
used for running vehicles is known as
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): The main component of LPG is butane.
It is odourless, but the LPG in our domestic gas cylinders gives a foul
smell due to ethyl mercaptan, a foul-smelling gas.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): It is being used as an alternative to
petrol and diesel for transport of vehicles.

Distribution: Over three-fourths of India's natural gas comes from

Mumbai High, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Tripura.

ADVANTAGES:
1) Natural gas is an eco-friendly fuel.
2) It is easier to preserve than other fuels.
3) It can be piped into houses for heating and cooking purposes and
running a variety of appliances.
4) It is a cleaner, cheaper fuel than diesel or gasoline.
5) It is used for producing hydrogen, ammonia for fertilizers and some
paints and plastics.

Disadvantages:
1) Leaks of natural gas are difficult to detect and are very dangerous.
Such leaks may cause explosions or fire.
2) Natural gas though found in abundance is non-renewable and hence
likely to be exhausted.
3) The infrastructure for natural gas production and distribution is
fairly expensive.
HYDEL POWER:
Electricity generated from water is
called hydel power or hydroelectricity.
Hydroelectricity is produced from the
energy that is released when water falls
from a high level with great force. The
water flowing in a river is collected by
constructing a big dam where the water
is stored. Then it is allowed to fall from
a height. The blades of the turbine located at the bottom of the dam
move with the force of falling water, which in turn rotates the
generator and produces electricity.

Advantages:
1) Hydel power is a clean, non-polluting source of energy.
2) It does not produce any Greenhouse Gases and prevents us from
the harmful effects of Global Warming.
3) It is a renewable sources of energy which can be used again and
again.
4) The dams built to produce hydroelectricity help to save and restore
water.
5) It is economical.

Disadvantages:
1) The cost of building dams for producing hydroelectricity is quite
high. Building a large dam alters the natural water-table level.
2) Building a large dam can cause serious geological damage. It
disturbs their life physically, mentally and psychologically.
Bhakra Nangal Dam:
The Bhakra Nangal Project is a joint
venture of Punjab. Haryana and
Rajasthan Governments. The two
dams, one at Bhakra and another at
Nangal, together is referred to as
Bhakra-Nangal Project.
The Bhakra-Nangal project comprises
the following:
i) Two dams at Bhakra and Nangal
ii) Nangal hydel plant
iii) Power houses
iv) Bhakra canal system
1. The Bhakra Dam is built across the Sutlej River.
2. The Nangal Dam has been constructed at Nangal on the river Sutlej
in Punjab.
3. Power Houses four power houses at Ganguwal, Kotla, left bank
power house.
4. Bhakra Canal System provides irrigation facility to 10 million acres
of land in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The aim of these projects are:
i) to provide water for irrigation, to
ii) generate hydro-electricity, and
iii) to prevent flooding from Sutlej-Beas’s rivers.
HIRAKUD DAM:
Hirakud Dam is built across the
Mahanadi River.
The dam helps control floods in the
Mahanadi delta and irrigates 75,000
square kilometres of land.
The project provides kharif and rabi irrigation in districts of San
Sambalpur Bargarh, Bolangir, and Subarnpur.
NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY
Those sources which have been developed in the recent past as an
alternative to conventional sources of energy. These renewable,
inexhautible, non-polluting, less expensive and easy to maintain. Ex: -
Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Tidal Energy.

SOLAR ENERGY:
India is lucky to receive high amount of
solar energy due to location on Tropic's.
The per hour unit solar per km2 solar
energy is 5 to 7 kW.

GENERATION OF SOLAR ENERGY

i) Solar Cells - Photovoltaic cells are made of
semiconductors they can convert solar energy into
electricity. It is used in calculators, watches, street
light, water pumps.

ii) Solar Cooker - It is a device that absorbs

solar energy and cooks raw food.
iii) Solar Water Heater - A device which heats
water and store it for use.

ADVANTAGES:
i) It is renewable source of energy,
ii) It can be put to many use such as produce electricity, distill water,
power the satellites.
iii) It is easy to maintain.
iv) It saves fossil fuels, reduces e bill and pollution.

WIND ENERGY:
Difference in heating causes
differences in pressure which in
turns results in wind. Movement
of air from H.P. to LP is Wind.

GENERATION OF WIND ENERGY

The wind energy is obtained by
making use of wind mills. The
blades of windmill move by force of wind. These moving blades drives
a of machines like number water pumps, flour mills and electric
generators.
A number of windmills installed in a definite pattern in cluster is
called wind farm. Largest wind farm in India - Nagarcoil to Madurai in
Tamil Nadu.

ADVANTAGES:
i) It is renewable source of energy.
ii) It is cleanest source of energy.
iii) It reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.
iv) Provide additional source of income.

TIDAL ENERGY
The term 'tide' is used for the
periodic rise and fall of waters of
the ocean and produced by the
attraction of the Moon and the Sun.
This rise and fall of water
produces a large amount of energy
called tidal energy.

GENERATION OF TIDAL ENERGY

The tidal energy can be harnessed by constructing a tidal barrage.
During high tide, the sea-water flows into the reservoir of the barrage
and turns the turbine, which in turn produces electricity by rotating
the generators. The reverse process takes place during the low tide,
when the sea level is low, the sea water stored in the barrage
reservoir flows out in the sea. During the process, the flowing water
turns the turbines. There are only a few sites in the world where tidal
energy can be suitably harnessed. In India, the prospective sites for
exploitation of tidal energy are Gulf of Kutch, Cambay and
Sunderbans. Other suitable sites are near Lakshadweep Islands and
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

ADVANTAGES
(i) Massive amounts of water in the oceans move in extremely
predictable patterns. This makes it easy to harness the tidal energy.
(ii) Tides are controlled by the gravitational pull between the earth,
sun, and moon. This means that as long as the earth is being orbited
by the moon, the tides will continue to be there producing energy and
tidal energy is an inexhaustible source of energy.
(iii) After the initial construction costs, there are very few additional
costs to keep the tidal energy plant running. They require little
maintenance and minimal personnel as well.
(iv) Tidal energy can be produced even if the water moves at low
speed.
(v) There are no carbon emissions from tidal energy plant, making it
an energy source that does not negatively affect the global
environment.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy is the heat energy
contained in the rock and fluid that
fills the fractures and pores within
the rock in the earth's crust. It is clean
and sustainable.

GENERATION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to
steam, hot water and hot rock accessed by drilling wells up to
thousands of feet beneath the earth's surface. The extremely high
temperatures in the deeper geothermal reservoirs. are used for the
generation of electricity. The high-pressure steam spins a turbine that
rotates a generator and produces electricity,
Hot water is pumped from deep underground through a well under
high pressure. When the water reaches the surface, the pressure is
dropped, which causes the water to turn into steam. The steam spins a
turbine, which is connected to a generator that produces electricity.
The steam cools off in a cooling tower and condenses back to water.
The cooled water is pumped back into the Earth to begin the process
again.

ADVANTAGES
The general characteristics of geothermal energy that make it of
significant importance for both electricity production and direct use
include:
• It is easily accessible because of its extensive distribution.
• It is environment-friendly in nature; has low emission of sulphur,
carbon dioxide and other Greenhouse Gases.
• It is independent of external supply and demand effects and
fluctuations in exchange rates.
• It is independent of weather and season.

DISTRIBUTION
India has about 12,000 MW of geothermal power potential that can be
harnessed for various purposes. In India, geothermal plants are
located in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley in Ladakh.
The surface temperature of the hot springs ranges from 35°C to as
much as 98°C. These hot springs have been grouped together and
termed as different geothermal provinces. Different regions are -
Himalayan geothermal province, Naga-Lushai geothermal province,
Andaman-Nicobar Islands geothermal province and Cambay graben,
Son-Narmada-Tapti graben, West coast, Damodar valley, Mahanadi
valley, Godavari valley.
NUCLEAR POWER
Nuclear power is obtained from
energy stored in the nuclei of
atoms of naturally occurring
radioactive elements like
Uranium, Thorium and Plutonium.

GENERATION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY:

When atoms of these radioactive substances react, they split apart.
This process of splitting of atoms is called nuclear fission.

DISTRIBUTION:
Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after
thermal. Uranium and Thorium, which are available in Jharkhand and
the Aravali ranges of Rajasthan are used for generating atomic or
nuclear power. The Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in Thorium.

Advantages:
1) Nuclear energy reduces the amount of energy generated from fossil
fuels and reduces the use of fossil fuels and lowers Greenhouse Gas
emissions.
2) It saves on raw materials but also in transport, handling and
extraction of nuclear fuel.
3) It reduces the price volatility of other fuels such as petrol.

Disadvantages:
1) Remains of Nuclear is highly polluting.
2) Leakage of Nuclear material, it will lead to disaster.

BIOGAS:
Biogas is composed of methane,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen and
hydrogen sulphide. It is produced
by anaerobic degradation of animal
and plant wastes in the presence of
water. The residue left behind in the
tank is rich in nutrients and can be
used as manure. The plants which
use cattle dung are called 'Gobar Gas Plants'. They provide twin
benefits to the farmers in the form of energy and good quality
manure. The gas is used for cooking, lighting and pumping water
from wells.

GENERATION OF BIOGAS
A digester tank is placed underground. The digester tank receives the
dung-water mixture through inlet pipe while the other side discharges
the spent slurry through outlet pipe. In the digester tank, there is a
gas outlet which is controlled by a pipe. Waste Recycling and
Resources Recovery Programmes (WRRSE) are now being used from
the organic plant waste and night soil. This helps in improving the
sanitary conditions in our cities and villages. The plants generate
enriched organic manure useful for supplementing chemical
fertilisers.

Advantages:
1) Biogas is a clean, non-polluting and cheap.
2) There is direct supply of gas from the plant. Therefore, there is no
storage problem.
3) The sludge left behind is a rich fertiliser containing bacterial
biomass.