In today’s society, electricity is an absolutely necessary component to our daily lives. Almost everything we use and almost every activity we do requires some sort of electricity. This necessity for electricity calls for the production of electricity to be high and seamless. A few ways we mainly produce electricity are with coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants. Each has their benefit and they each differ from one another in multiple ways; from products used to the way the electricity is produced, these three forms of electricity production power our society day in a and day out.

Coal-Fired Plants: These electricity power plants are based on a system of creating steam to drive the turbines which produce the electricity. First, the coal is broken down into a fine powder which is then mixed with hot air. After that it is blown into a firing station where the main source of heat is created due to the combustion of the burning coal. Inside the boiler, the water is then turned into steam from the heat of the firing of the coal, followed by the steam being piped from the boiler to the turbine because of the high pressure of the steam. Once it is piped into the turbine the pressure pushes against the turbine shafts, connected to the generator, and forces the magnets to spin within the coils which produces the electricity. Once the steam is finished turning the turbine, it is pulled into a condenser where it is converted back into clean water and cooled to be put back into the cycle.

Natural Gas: Electricity production by natural gas is the cleanest and most efficient way of producing electricity. Its process is quite similar to the process of coal firing electricity production. The gas is pumped into the turbine where it is mixed with air and burned, thus creating the heat energy from its chemical energy. Along with the heat, combustion gasses are created from this burning of the gas and air mixture, which expands and causes the pressure within the turbine to build up. This pressure causes the blades of the turbine to spin, and the generator is connected to the blades of the turbine which converts the heat and mechanical energy into electricity. The combustion gasses are then piped into another generator where it is used to heat another set of pipes full of water, creating steam and then released through an exhaust stack.

Nuclear Power Plants: Similar to both of the forms of electricity production I described above, nuclear power plants create electric power by using steam to power a turbine which further powers a generator creating the electricity. In this process, however, uranium is used as the fuel. The uranium atom is split in a process called “fission,” where this split releases energy in the form of heat and radiation. First, the uranium is formed into pellets and then stored in long control rods which are kept cool by submerging them into water. Once they are removed from the water the nuclear reaction takes place which causes heat. This heat is transferred into a steam generator where heat is forced through water creating the steam. The pressure from the built up steam is then forced into the turbine where is turns the blades which are connected to the generator, thus creating the electricity. The steam is then cooled and converted back into water which is put back into the cycle to be used again.

 

https://www.duke-energy.com/about-energy/generating-electricity/coal-fired-how.asp

http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-gas

http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/nuclear1.htm