Electricity Generation from coal-fired, natural gas, and nuclear power plants.

Modern life is unimaginable without the presence of electricity. It lights houses, streets, and it allows us to perform work through our devices. Improving access to electricity worldwide is critical to alleviating poverty. Coal plays a vital role in electricity generation worldwide. Coal is first milled to a fine powder, which increases the surface area and allows it to burn more quickly. The powdered coal is blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature. The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water into steam. The steam goes through the turbines, which then put the generator to work, and energy is produced. Natural gas is a cleaner and more efficient source of electrical generation compared to coal. It is more environmentally friendly because it produces less carbon and other harmful emissions than coal. Because of its abundant supply, gas is becoming a more essential fuel to meeting the future demand for power generation. Natural gas can be used to generate electricity in a variety of ways. The most basic natural gas-fired electric generation consists of a steam generation unit, where fossil fuels are burned in a boiler to heat water and produce steam that then turns a turbine to generate electricity. In a nuclear-fueled power plant , much like a fossil-fueled power plant , water is turned into steam, which in turn drives turbine generators to produce electricity. The difference is the source of heat. At nuclear power plants, the heat to make the steam is created when uranium atoms split called fission.

As we can see all of the above mentioned methods of electricity have something in common, steam. Coal, natural gas, and power plants need to be turned into steam in order to produce energy.

References:

“Coal & Electricity.” Coal Electricity, Coal Power Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

“How Do Nuclear Plants Work?” -Duke Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015

“Natural Gas.” Natural Gas. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015