Electricity Generation

There are several methods that can be used to generate electricity. All of them have similarities and differences between them. The purpose of this blog is to outline three processes that are used to generate electricity, including how they work and some of their advantages and disadvantages.

The first process for examination is a coal-fired plant. The coal is used to generate heat which in turn is used to convert liquid water to steam. Because of this it is desirable to obtain the most heat from the coal as possible. This is accomplished by converting the coal into a very fine powder and burning it while it is suspended in very hot, dry air. This ensures that there will be total combustion of the coal and a maximum amount of heat will be produced. This heat is used to convert purified water into steam under very high temperatures and pressures which is then fed into turbines. As the steam passes through a system of giant turbines, the pressure causes them to rotate. Each turbine is connected to a generator consisting magnets that spin inside coils of wire, which in turn induce an electric current within the wires.

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Equally important is the process by which the steam is returned to water so that it may be used again. A nearby river or lake is used to bring in cool water that aids in condensing the steam back to liquid water. The condensed steam can then be sent back to the plant to be converted into steam over and over again. Similarly, the cool water can be returned to the environment with no contamination.

For plants that convert natural gas into electricity, the gas must be burned just as the coal is burned in the previous example. Natural gas plants siphon in the natural gas and mix it with air before burning it. Aside from generating heat, this burning process also creates an expansion gas that builds up pressure and drives turbine blades (again quite similar to the process for coal burning plants). Before the combustion gas is released into the environment, it is cooled by using the heat to convert water into steam. Finally, the combustion gas is released through a tall construct known as a stack that is of sufficient height that the combustion gas will disperse before reaching ground level. In this way, natural gas plants are considered to be very environmentally friendly. The steam is also used to help spin the turbines, and then cooled in exactly the same manner as the steam from the coal burning plants.

Nuclear power plants work in a very similar manner. The source of heat that is used to convert water to steam is nuclear fission of uranium atoms. The core of the nuclear reactor contains control rods that are comprised of uranium oxide. These rods are struck by individual neutrons which sometimes cause a molecule of uranium oxide to release more neutrons. The energy that was initially used to bind the neutrons to the uranium oxide molecule can now be used to heat water exposed to pressure greater than 150 atmospheres to temperatures of 300 degrees centigrade. This high temperature water is cycled around much lower pressure water that is converted to steam and used to power turbines just as with the other two plants. The water from the core is cycled back to be reheated and the steam is collected and sent back to the steam generator where it is also reused. Most nuclear power plants use a sea or an ocean as the source for the water that is used to cool the steam.

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In closing, it should be mentioned that each of these plants takes the generated electricity and run it through a system of transformers to convert it to a very high voltage. This high voltage electricity can now be easily transported wherever it needs to go. It is generally considered that nuclear power is an extremely clean form of electricity generation. Natural gas plants are also considered to be environmentally friendly, while the coal plants do not benefit from such a perception.

Sources:

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

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

https://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-nuclear

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