Today the 8th science and
technology class started with the discussion on petroleum
PETROLEUM:
Petroleum also called as black
gold is the oil mined from the space between the rocks under the earth. It can
be obtained both in onshore and offshore.
Separating various constituencies/fractions
of petroleum is known as refining.
LPG, petrol, kerosene, diesel, lubricating
oil, paraffin wax, bitumen are some of the petroleum products.
ADVANTAGE:
Easier to transport and provided raw
materials for petro chemical industries.
DISADVANTAGE:
Depletion of oxygen due to oil spillage and
gas leakage, pollutants released cause acid rain and exploration of new fuel is
not easy.
NUCLEAR ENERGY:
Nuclear
energy is obtained from energy stored in nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring
radioactive elements like uranium and thorium. It is produced either through
nuclear fission or nuclear fusion.
ADVANTAGE:
Large amount of energy can be obtained.
DISADVANTAGE:
Large amount of nuclear waste, expensive
and accidents in nuclear reactor.
RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES:
Renewable
energy resources are naturally available but flow limited. They are virtually inexhaustible
in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of
time.
SOLAR ENERGY:
The energy trapped from sun can be used in
solar cells to produce electricity.
ADVANTAGES:
Inexhaustible and non-polluting.
DISADVANTAGES:
Expensive and diffuse source so more waste.
HYDEL ENERGY:
The source is kinetic energy of flowing
water and potential energy of water at a height. One fourth of world’s
electricity is produced by hydel power.
ADVANTAGES:
Non-polluting, promotes irrigation and
fishing and cheap electricity production.
DISADVANTAGES:
Displacement of local community, inundates
low lying regions and expensive to setup.
TIDAL ENERGY:
Due to gravitational pull of the moon on
spinning earth, the level of water in sea rises and falls this phenomenon is
called high and low tides and the difference in sea levels gives the tidal
energy.
A tidal range of at least 7m is required
for economical operation.
ADVANTAGES:
Non-polluting and inexhaustible
DISADVANTAGES:
Destroys wildlife habitat and difficult to
harness.
WIND ENERGY:
Wind is an inexhaustible source of energy
kinetic energy of wind can be used to create energy. Wind farms are generally
located in coastal regions and in mountain passes where strong and steady winds
blow.
ADVANTAGES:
Non-polluting, low cost production of
electricity setup, safe and clean.
DISADVANTAGES:
Noise pollution, costly to setup, disturbs
radio and TV reception and harmful to birds.
Wind speed of more than 15km/hr is required
to maintain the speed of the turbine.
There must be some backup facilities to
take care of energy needs during time periods when tere is no wind.
Credits : Leo Hema Nanthini
