1. Energy and the Environment
Robert A. Ristinen • Jack J. Kraushaar
Energy and the Environment
Second Edition
Chapter 1:
Energy Fundamentals, Energy Use in an Industrial Society
Copyright © 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Introduction to Energy
Energy is essential to our everyday lives in many ways.
In the U.S., many times more energy in the form of fuel is used in the agricultural enterprise than is obtained in the useful food Calorie content of the food produced.
Due to the mechanization of agricultural production, most of us are free to pursue other activities – not so much in underdeveloped countries.

3. Power Automobiles

4. Heat Houses

5. Manufacture Products

6. Generate Electricity

7. Introduction to Energy
The fossil fuels – (coal, natural gas, and oil) make up about 86% of the energy used in the U.S.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution we have become increasingly dependent on these fossil fuels.
Fossil fuel supply is limited. Once they are used up it will take hundreds of millions of years for the Earth to reproduce them.
Coal will last for a few centuries but oil and gas will be in short supply in only a few decades.
In the U.S. we have been consuming these fossil fuels at a much faster rate than the global average.

10. Introduction to Energy
The burning of fossil fuels has also added unintended consequences to our atmosphere.
Gaseous compounds such as CO2 and other greenhouse gases are being emitted and contributing to global warming.

11. Why Do We Use So Much Energy?
Lack of energy use efficiency.
Large discrepancy between rate of energy use of an average citizen in an industrialized society than that of an average citizen in a developing country.
No correlation between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the standard of living.
A citizen of a developing country may use the energy equivalent of less than 1 barrel of oil per year compared to barrels per capita for an industrialized country.

13. “The combustion of a single pound of coal, supposing it to take place in a minute, is equivalent to the work of three hundred horses; and the force set free in the burning of 300 pounds of coal is equivalent to the work of an able-bodied man for a lifetime.”
J. Dorman Steele (1878)

14. Why Do We Use So Much Energy?
We may take the average power available to a person to be a measure of the productive output of a society.

16. Energy Basics Energy is defined as the capacity to do work.
Scientific definition of work is equivalent to the product of force times the distance through which the force acts.
In the metric system, work has the units of newton-meter (N∙M), where the newton is the metric unit of force and the meter is the metric unit of distance.
The metric unit of energy, the joule, is defined as 1 J = 1 N∙M.
In the British system, work is given in ft∙lb, and energy is given in British thermal units (BTU).

17. Forms of Energy
Chemical Energy – released during chemical reactions, often cumbustion (burning of wood, paper, oil, coal, natural gas).
Heat Energy – (thermal energy) associated with random molecular motions within a medium.
Mass Energy – Given by Albert Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2.
An example of this is given in nuclear reactors. ∆E=∆mc2, where c is the speed of light (3 x 108 m/sec).
Therefore, a small loss of mass results in a huge release of energy.

18. Forms of Energy
Kinetic Energy – Associated by mass in motion, given by KE=(1/2)mv2.
Potential Energy – Associated with energy stored in a position within a force field such as the gravitational field of the Earth. Equation given by PE = w x h, where w = weight, and h = height above the Earth’s surface.
Electric Energy – If an electric charge, q is taken to a higher electric potential (higher voltage), V, then it is capable of releasing its potential energy, given by PE = q x V.
Electromagnetic Radiation – Related to the energy traveling through space from the sun. Covers a broad range of frequencies (c = f x λ), where f = frequency, and λ = wavelength.

20. Power
Power is associated with the time rate of of using, or delivering energy: Power = energy/time, and therefore Energy = power/time.
In the metric system, power is expressed in Watts, where 1 Watt = 1 J/sec.
In the British system, the unit of power is the horsepower, where 1 horsepower = 550 foot-pounds/sec.
In the U.S., kilowatts (103 W), and megawatts (106 W), and gigawatts (109 W) is often used.
The common unit for energy in electricity generation is the kilowatt-hour (kWh).

21. Units of Energy
The Joule – the metric unit of energy. 1 metric unit of force (the newton) acting through 1 metric unit of distance (the meter) = 1 Joule of energy.
The British Thermal Unit – 1 Btu = the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. (The burning of a match is approximately equal to 1 Btu of energy release, or about 1055 joules.)
The Calorie – the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. (252 calories = 1 Btu)

22. Units of Energy
The Foot-pound – A force of 1 pound acting across 1 foot. (1 Btu = 778 foot-pounds.)
The Electron-Volt – 1 eV is related to the idea of moving 1 electron through an electric potential difference of 1 volt. (The eV is so small that 6 x 108 = 1 joule.

23. Scientific Notation
Numerical quantities of interest to us in this course are often times extremely large or extremely small.
For convenience, we use scientific notation where the first number ranges between 1 and 9 followed by the product of 10 to the nth power, where n indicates how many places to move the decimal point.
A special condition arises when we have 100. Anything raised to the 0th power = 1.

24. Energy Consumption in the United States
Often expressed in consumption rates in Qbtu/tear, where Q stands for quadrillion (1015).
Coal, natural gas, and petroleum provides most of the energy, but nuclear and renewables also contribute.
Figure 1.5 was compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for 2003 and shows the sources and final uses of energy in the U.S.
Figure 1.6 gives information similar to 1.5 for 2002 but shown in more detail.

27. Energy Consumption in the United States
Based on the data obtained from Figure 1.5, our average per capita energy consumption in the United States (for 2003) is roughly equivalent to the burning of 58 barrels of oil.
Only in Canada do people use as much energy per person as we do.
Most industrialized countries use about one-half.
The world consumption of energy in 2002 was about 410 QBtu, of which the U.S. used 98 QBtu. With 4.5% of the world’s population, we used one quarter of the world’s energy.

29. How Do We Use Energy in the U.S.?
Electrical Utilities: 39.0%
Transportation: 27.3%
Industrial: 22.1%
Residential and Commercial: 11.6%
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (2003)

31. The Principle of Energy Conservation
Energy can not be created nor destroyed. It can, however change transformed from one state to another.
This definition is different from the idea of energy conservation, the idea of using less energy to perform a given task. The two should not be confused with one another.

32. Transformation of Energy From One Form to Another
The sun fuses hydrogen into helium. The net effect transforms nuclear mass into heat energy which radiates away from the sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation.
Plants on Earth capture this energy through photosynthesis and we can then use this stored chemical energy in the form of fossil fuels.
For example we can burn the coal to power boilers of an electric utility plant.
The steam powers the turbines and their mechanical energy gets transferred to electrical energy for our homes.

34. Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources
There is not always complete agreement on the definition of renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Non-renewable sources include the fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, shale oil, tar sands, etc.), uranium-235 nuclear fission fuel, deuterium nuclear fusion fuel, and some types of geothermal energy.
We only have three types of renewable energy: solar, geothermal, and tidal. (The cost of renewable energy will decrease as we use it more).
In 2003, only 6.3%, or 6.15 QBtu of a total of 98 QBtu came from renewable sources.