Renewabl

eEner
gyRes
our
ces
:

I
ntr
oduct
ion

TheEar t
hs ervesasasourceofenumer abl
enat uralres
our cesenabl i
ngust olivehealthil
y
andtohar nessthingst hatwetakef orgrantedever yday.Naturalpr ocesseshavebeen
generatingmaj orit
yoff uel
sli
kecoal ,oil
,ornaturalgas.Presently,globalattentioniscentered
onener gyr esourcesduet othei
rirreversi
bleuse,butthes uppli
esoft r
aditionalfoss
ilfuel
s(oil,
naturalgas )arerunni ngoutfast.Thisiswhyovert helastdecades ,attenti
oni sf
ocus edon
renewabl eener gyresourcesandwayst oincr
easeener gyeffi
ciency. Energyresourcescouldbe
broadlyclas s
ifi
edas :

(a)Renewabl eEnergyResources
:Ar es
ourcethatisqui
ckl
yreplacedorrecycledbynat ural
proces
sesinat i
mef ramethatmakesi tus
efulforhumanconsumpt ionorus e,e.
g.,s
olarenergy,
hydro-energy,windenergy,geother
malenergy,biomassener
gy,tidalenergy,etc.

(b)Non- r
enewabl eEner gyRes our ces:Ar esour cet hati sreplaceds l
owl ybynat uralEart h
processesi nsuchawayt hatonceus edbypeopl e,itwi llnotbeavai l
ableagai nwi thinaus eful
timef rame,e. g.,oil
,nat uralgas ,coal,nucl earener gy,et c.
Sincet hemaj orcomponentof
greenhous egas es(GHGs )iscarbondi oxide,agl obalconcer nhasemer gedaboutr educi ngcarbon
emis s
ions .I
nt hisregard,di fferentpol i
cieshavecomei ntof orcewi t
hanobj ect i
vet oreduce
carbonemi ssi
ons ,whichi ncludesenhanci ngr enewabl eener gydepl oymental ongwi t
h
technol ogicalinnovat i
ons .Renewabl eener gycomesf r
om r esourceswhi char enat urally
replenishedonahumant imes cale,suchass unl i
ght ,wi nd,rain,ti
des ,waves ,andgeot hermalheat .
Renewabl eener gycanr epl aceconvent ionalf uel sinf ourmaj orar eas:electri
citygener ati
on,air
andwat erheat ing/cooling,mot orf uels,andr ural( off-gri
d)ener gys ervices.Theener gy
consumpt ionmaybedi videdascomi ngf rom t radit i
onalbi omas s(9%) ,heatener gy(non-
biomas s,4.2%) ,hydroelect r
icity(3.8%) ,andel ectricityfrom wind,s olar,geot hermal ,and
biomas sener gy( 2%) .Depl oymentofr enewabl eener gyalongwi thener gyef fi
ciencyhasbeen
foundt oresultins i
gnificantener gysecur ity,climat echangemi t
igat i
on,andeconomi cbenef i
ts.

Renewabl
eEner
gyRes
our
ces

1Wi
ndEner
gy

Int heEar th’

sat mos phere,wi ndi sgenerat edduet oint enseconvect ivecur rent sdr i
venby
heatener gyf rom thes un. TheEar th’ssurfacecont ainsbot hwat erandl and. Whent hes unr ises
up,t hetemper atureoft heairabovet hel andes calat esquickert hant het emper atur eoft heai r
abovet hewat erleadingt oupl i
ftmentofl i
ghterai r.Thecool erai risdens ert hanwar m ai rwhi ch
fall
sandr eplacestheai rabovet hel and. Intheni ght ,thephenomenoni sr ever sed. Airabovet he
wat ergetswar merandr is
esandi ss ubsequent l
yr eplacedbycool erai rfrom t hel and. I
ti ndicat es
thatasl ongast hesuncont i
nuedt obes hined,wi ndwi llbegener at ed.Theai r( wi nd)i nmot i
on
cont ai
nshugeamountofki neticener gywhi chcanbeconver tedi ntoelect ri
calener gyempl oying
windt urbinemachi nes.Thebl owi ngwi nds etsthet urbinebl adei nmot ion,r otat ingas haf t
connect edt oagener at orwhi chpr oducesel ectricity.Theel ect r
icitygener at edi ss entt opower
stationviat ransmissi
onanddi s
t r
ibut i
onandul timat elytot hehome,i ndus tries,andi ns ti
tut es.
Fort heconver sionofwi ndener gyint oelectri
city,awi nds peedof1 4mi l
esperhouri sr equir ed. I
n
Ohiodur i
ngt hel at
e1800s ,thewor ld’
sf i
rstpower -gener atingt ur binewases t ablishedwhi chwas
usedt ochar gebat teri
es .

1
2Hydr
opower

Hydr opoweri sat radi tionalmet hodofel ectrici tygener at ion. Wat ercont ainshuge
amountofki net i
cener gywhi chcanbet rans formedi nt oelect ricalener gy. Thedens i
tyofwat eris
800t imesmor et hanai r;becaus eoft hisreas on,event hes lowes tf l
owofar iverandocean
cur rent scanbeus edt ogener ateel ect ri
city.Hydr opoweri sgener at edbycons tructingadam ona
riverwher ewat erisallowedt of l
owt hrought ur binest ogener at eel ect ricity. Product ionof
hydr opowerdoesnotr esul tinanyhar mf ulemi s
s i
ons ,buti taff ectsecol ogi calintegr ityofwat er
ecos ystems .Thewat erqual ityofr iverdet erior ateswhi chexer tspr ess ureonaquat icl i
fe.Thet erm
hydr oel ect ricityisgener allyr eferredf orhydr oelectr icdamsonl ar ges cale. Thehydr oelectricityis
pr oducedbyt hegr avitat ionalf or ceoff all
ingwat er. Thepr oduct i
onofhydr oelectricitydepends
ont hehei ghtoft hef alli
ngwat erandavai labl ewat erf l
ow. Bui ldingupbehi ndahi ghdam,wat er
accumul at espot entialener gywhi chi sconver tedi nt omechani calener gywhent hewat ermoves
downt hes luiceandhi tsther otar ybl adesoft urbi ne. Ther otationoft het urbi nespi ns
elect romagnet swhi chpr oduceel ect riccur r
enti ns t
at iccoilsofwi re. Ul timat ely,theel ectric
cur renti sputt hroughat rans formerwher et hevol tagei sincreas edf orl ong- di s
tance
trans mi ssionoverpowerl ines .Run- of -t
he- riverhydr oel ect ri
citys yst emsder ivekinet icener gy
from r iver swi thoutt hecr eat i
onofal arger eservoi r.InAs i
a- Paci fi
cr egi on,32% ofgl obal
hydr opoweri spr oduced;howeverhydr opoweri sbei ngpr oducedi n1 50count r
ies.Chi naist he
leadi ngpr oducerofhydr oelect ri
ci ty,wi th721t er awat thour sofpr oduct i
oni n201 0,r epr esent ing
ar ound1 3.2% ofdomes ticel ectricityus e.Wavepower ,capt uringt heener gyofoceanf l
oorwaves ,
andt idalpower ,harnes singt heener gyoft ides ,aret woot herf or msofhydr opowerwi t
h
boundl es spot ent i
al.Tidalener gyandwavepowerar enotbei ngempl oyedcommer ciall
y. A
pr ojectont rialbei ngoper at edbyt heOceanRenewabl ePowerCompanyont hecoas tofMai nei s
har nes singt idalener gyf r om t heBayofFundywhi chi st hewor ld’shi ghes tt i
dalf low.

3Sol
arEner
gy

Heatfrom t hesun,solarenergy,andradiantlightar
eutili
zedbyempl oyingawide
spect
rum ofever -evolvingpromi si
ngtechnologiessuchasphotovolt
aics,s
olarheati
ng,sol
ar
archi
tecture,concent ratedsolarpower,andartifici
alphotos
ynthesis.
Solarenergycanbe
trans
formedi ntoel ectri
cityi
nt woways :

(
a)Phot ovoltai
c( PVdevi
ces)orsol
arcellsconvertsunl
ightdirectlyi
ntoelectri
city.
Indi
vidualPVcellsareclubbedintopanelsandar raysofpanelswhichcanbeempl oyedf ordiver
se
appli
cationsvaryingfrom si
nglesmallcel
lchargingcalcul
atorandwat chbatter
iestos ystems
thatpowers i
nglehomeandt ol
argepowerpl antsspreadinmanyacr es.

(b)Sol art hermal /el

ect ri
cpowerpl ant sproduceel ectr i
citybycondens ings ol arener gyt o
heataf luidandgener ates t
eam whi chi ssubs equent l
yut i
lizedt opoweragener at or. Solar
technologi esarebr oadl ychar acterizedasei t herpas s
ives olaroract ives olardependi ngont he
wayt heycapt ure,conver t,anddi st
ribut esolarener gy. Pas sives olart echni quesi nvol ve
orientationofabui ldingt ot hes un,select i
onofmat erialswi t hf avor ablet hermalmas sorlight-
dispersi
ngpr oper t
ies ,anddes i
gnofs pacesci rcul
atingai rnat ur ally.Actives olart echnol ogi es
compr ehends olart her malener gybyempl oyings olarcol lector sf orheat ingappl icat ionsand
solarpower ,conver tings unlighti ntoelect ri
ci tyusi
ngphot ovol t aics(PVs )orus ingconcent rated
solarpower( CSP) .Byoper atingont hepr i
nci pleofphot oelect ricef fect,aphot ovol taicsystem
convertsl i
ghti ntodi r ectcurrent( DC) .Solarphot ovoltaict echnol ogyhasemer gedoutasacos t-
effecti
ve,mul ti
bill
ion,f ast-
gr owi ngindus t
ryandt hemos tpot entt echnol ogyofr enewabl e
energygener ationt oget herwi thCSPt hananyot hertechnol ogi es.Concent rateds olarpower
(CSP)systemsf ocusal argear eaofs unlighti nt oasmal lbeam ut ili
z i
ngl ensesormi rror sand
2
trackingsystems .
In1980s ,commer ci
alconcent ratedsolarpowerpl ant swer edevel opedfort he
fir
sttime:(i)Therearet wopr i
ncipalmer itsofs olarenergy:(a)Airpollutant sandcar bondi oxide
arenotpr oducedbys ol arener gysyst
ems .
( b)Solarener gysystemshaves cantef fectonthe
environmentwhent heyar einstall
edonbui ldings.(i
i)Therear etwomai ncons traintsofsolar
energy:(a)Thei nsol
at i
onr eachingont heEar th’ssurfaceisinconsi
stent .
Theamountof
insol
at i
ondependsonl at i
tude,t i
meoft heday,s eason,andpr evai
li
ngl ocalat mos pheric
conditions.
( b)Huges urfacear eaisneededt oconcent ratesolarenergyatas pecifi
cratesincet he
sundoes n’
tdel i
verthatmuchener gyt oanyonepl aceatanyonet i
me.

4Geot
her
malEner
gy

Ther malener gygener atedands t

or edint heEar t
hi scall
edgeot hermalener gy. Thermal
energyr egul atesthetemper atureoft heEar th’scrust
.Radi oactivedecayofmi ner alsandt he
innercor eoft heEar thar ethes ourcesofgeot hermalener gy.Thedi f
fer enceint emper atur e
betweent hei nnercoreoft heEar thandi t
ss urface(geot hermalgr adient)drivesacont i
nuous
conduct ionoft hermalener gyi ntheform ofheatf rom thei nnercoret ot heEar th’ssurface.The
heattrappeddeepwi thintheEar th,allthewaydownt ot heEarth’scor e–4,000mi les(6,400
km)down–canbehar nessedf orthegener ati
onofgeot hermalener gy. Rocksunderhi gh
temper at ureandpr es
suremel tandconver tedintomagmawhi chcovet supwar dlybecaus eof
beinglight ert hancons ol
idat edrock.Magmamayel evatet hetemper at ureoft her ockandwat er
inthecr us t
,somet imesupt o700° F(371°C) .

5HeatPumps

Thehotl avaf rom avol canoandt hehots team f rom ageys eror i
ginat ef r om t heheatof
deepi nt er i
orEar th.Aheatpumpi sadevi cer ender i
ngheatener gyf rom as our ceofheatt oa
destinat ioncal l
eda“heats ink. ”Heatpumpsar edes ignedi nsuchawayt hatt heyt rans fer
thermalener gyinoppos itedi rect i
onofs pont aneousheatcur r
entbyabs orbi ngheatf rom acol d
spaceandor ientingi ttoawar merone. I
nor dert oexecut ethef unct i
onofener gyt r ansferf rom
theheats our cet ot heheats ink,heatpumpsus es omeamountofext ernalener gy.The
temper atur eoft heEar thr emai nscons i
stentby55°Cat4f tofdept hbel owt hegr ound,about4
ftunder gr ound. Gener all
y,thepi pesar ebur iedbeyond4f tdeepi nsidet heEar t hinat ypi cal
geot her malheat ings yst
em. Thes ys tem pumpsal i
qui dt hr
ought heins tall
edpi pest oabs orbt he
heatandbr ingsitback. Ageot her mals ystem cankeept hehous ecooldur i
ngt hes ummer ,wheni t
wor ksi nr ever sebyabs orbingt heheatf rom t heat mos pher ei
nsideahous eandt r
ans f
er ringit
backi nt ot heEar th. Geother malheat ersar ever yeff i
cientwher einnoneoft heener gyi swas ted.
Thus ,theyr educeheat i
ngbi llss i
gni fi
cant l
ydur ingwi nter.Geother malpowerpl ant sempl oy
hydr ot her malr es ourcescont ai ningbot hwat er( hydr o)andheat( ther mal).Geot her malpower
plant shar nes shi gh- temper at ure( 300– 700° F)hydr ot hermalr esour cescomi ngf rom ei therhot
wat erwel lsordr ys team wel ls. Suchr esour cescanbeus edbydr i
lli
ngwel lsinsidet heEar thand
thendi vert i
ngs t
eam orhotwat ert ot hes urfaceoft heEar th.Fort hegener at ionofel ect rici
ty
usingt ur bines ,hotwat erors team i sgener al
lyut il
ized. Geothermalwel l
smaybeasdeepas2
miles .Geot her malpl antsbas icallyar eoft hreet ypes:

(a)Flas
hs team pl
antsempl oyi
nghigh- pressurehotwaterfr
om deepinteri
oroftheEart
h
convertittosteam tosetgenerat
ort urbi
nesinmot ion.Whenthetemperat
ur eofthest
eam gets
down,itcondens estowaterandisagai ntransferr
edbacki ntothegroundforreuse.
Majori
tyof
geothermalpowerpl antsareflashsteam plants.

(b)Bi
narycyclepowerpl
antsarei
nvolvedinthetrans
ferofheatfr
om geothermalhot
wat
ert
oanot herl
iquid.
Theheatconver
tsthesecondli
quidtosteam,whichi
ssubsequent
lyused
3
t
orunagener
atort
urbi
ne.

(c)Dr ysteam plantsemploysteam whichisdir

ectl
ypipedfrom ageother
malres
ervoi
rto
dri
vegener atorturbines.Theveryf
irstgeothermalpowerpl antwasdevel
opedin1
904i n
Tuscany,Italy,wherenat uralst
eam eruptedfrom theEarth.

Nonr
enewabl
eEner
gySour
ces

Foradevel opedi ndus t

riali
zednat i
on,adequat eanddependabl eener gyr esour cesar e
requiredf orheating,cooki ng,t r
ans port
ation,andmanuf acturingappl ications. Gener ally,
energycanbecat egor i
zedasnonr enewableandr enewabl e.Nonr enewabl eener gycons ti
tut es
mor ethan85% oft hetotalener gyusedacr ossthewor ld.Maj orityofdevel opednat ionsar e
dependentonnonr enewabl eener gysources( f
ossilfuelsandnucl earpower )whi chcannotbe
replenishedorr eproducedf orener gyrequirement st okeeppacewi tht heiruse. Fossi
lf uel sare
widelypr eferr
edt ypesofnonr enewabl eener gyini ndus tr
ializednat i
ons .Theywer ecr eat edwhen
partiall
ydecompos edplantandani malmat terwasbur iedindeepi nterioroft heEar t hand
conver tedintomat eri
alwhi chwasr i
chincar bonus abl easf uel.Thisconver si
ont ookpl ace
mill
ionsofyear sago. Nonrenewabl eenergyt husisanener gyder i
vedf r
om f ossilfuels( coal ,cr
ude
oil
,nat uralgas)andur anium. Nonr enewableener gyr esour cesar easfollows .

1Coal

Coal( meani ng:“mi ner aloff ossi

li
zedcar bon”s incet het hirteent hcent ury)i sabl ack
sedi ment aryrockf oundi nr ockys tr
at um i nl ayersi nt heEart h’scrust. I
ti saf or m ofcombus t i
ble
fuel .Metamor phicr ocksar et hesour ceofhar derf or m oft hecoalwhi chi scal ledasant hr aci te.
Mai nlycoalcons ist
sofcar bon,buthydr ogen,s ulfur ,oxygen,andni trogenmaybepr esenti n
var yingpr opor ti
on. Thr oughoutt hehi stor y,coalhasbeenus edasas our ceofener gyf ort he
pr oduct i
onofel ectricit y,heat i
ng,andmet allurgicaloper ations .Coalf or mat iont akespl ace
whendeadbi omas si st rans for medi ntopeatwhi chi nt urnget sconver tedi nt oligni t
ef ollowedby
itsconver sioni ntos ubbi tumi nouscoalwhi chul ti
mat elyconver tedi nt oant hracite. Geologi cal
andbi ologicalpr oces sesoveral ongper iodoft imeconver t
sbur i
edbi omas sint ocoal .Ongl obal
scale,coali sawi del ypr ef erreds ubst ratef ort hegener at
ionofel ectricity. I
ts ervesast hel ar gest
cont ributorofcar bondi oxidei ntot heat mos pher eduet oant hropogeni cact ivit
ies .
Fort he
gener at
ionofever ymegawat thour ,2,000l bCO2i semi tt
edbycoal -fir edpowergener at or s.
However ,1,100l bofCO2i semi ttedbynat ur algas -f iredelect ri
cpl antpermegawat thourf or
thepr oduct i
onofever ymegawat t-
hourel ect rici
t y. Coalisder ivedf rom t heEar t
h’ scrustby
under groundands ur f
acemi ningoper ations .Coalmi ningact iviti
esandappl icationofcoalf or
powergener ationpos es ever althreat stot heenvi r onment .

2Oi
l

Liquidpet roleum orcr udeoilcomesundert hecat egor yoff ossilfuelwhi chistr ansformedi nto
gasoline,di eselfuel,jetfuel,andheat ingoil.Belowt hegr ound,r ockss uchass hal ewhi chis
abundanti nor ganicmat t
err esul tinthef ormat ionofcr udeoil. Crudeoi lmovesi nupwar d
directiont hr oughpor esofther ockss uchasl i
mes toneors ands toneandmaygett rappedwi thin
imper viousr ockandwhi chcanbecol lectedbydr il
li
ngofs uchoi lreservoirsins everalstages .
Mor ethan70% oi lreservesar el ocatedneart ectoni cplateboundar ies.Severalus ableand
superiorpr oduct sf r
om cr udeoi lareobt ainedbyas etofr efi
ningpr ocessincludi ngfract i
onal
disti
ll
at ion. Crudeoi lisals
ot hes ourceofpl astic,asphal t,ands everalot herimpor tanti ndustri
al
chemi cals.Mor et han50% oft het otalglobaloi lreservesar elocat edinMi ddl eEas t.Atpr es
ent
4
ther ateofcrudeoi lconsumptionishigherthant hepr oducti
onwhi chhasledtoexploitat
ionof
maj ori
tyofcoalr eservesoftheglobe.News ourcesar ebeingdi s
covered.Thepres
entr ateof
cons umpt i
onofoi lmayl eadtoexhaustionofoi lreservesinthecomi ng30years.Burningofoil
hasr es
ultedi nenumer ableenvir
onment alprobl ems .
At mosphericpoll
utantsl
ikenit
r ogenoxi
des,
sulf
urdi oxide,carbonmonoxi de,andcar bondioxi dear erel
easedduet oburni
ngofmi ner
aloi
l
leadingt othef or
mat ionofphot ochemicalsmogandgl obalwar mi
ng

3Nat
uralGas

Withi
nat wocommonl ys haredunder groundr eservoirs,nat uralgasi softenpr oducedasaby-
productofoi lr
ecover y.Met hane( CH4) ,propane( C3H8) ,ethane( C2H5) ,andbut ane( C4H10
)aret hecomponent sofnat ur algas .Naturalgasdoesnotcont ainsul f
ur,hence,deemedast he
purestfossi
lfuel.
Liquef iedpet roleum gas( LPG)i sproducedbyel i
mi nat i
ngpr opaneandbut ane
from thenaturalgas .LPGi st rans portedintos pecificpr es
sur iz
edt anksasas ourceoffuelf or
householdandcommer cialappl i
cat i
ons.Thet ranspor tationofnat uralgas,bes i
desbeingan
ecofr
iendlyfuel,isinexpens iveoncepi pel
inesar einpl ace.Indevel opingcount ri
es,naturalgasi
s
employedpr imarilyforheat ing, cooki ng,andpower i
ngvehi cl
es.Thes amei salsoempl oyedfor
theproduct i
onofammoni af er ti
lizer.Atpresent ,thenat ur algasreservesarees timatedabout
100mi ll
ionmet ri
ct ons. Atpr es entcons umpt ionr ate,thiss upplywi l
llastanes ti
mat ed100year s.

4Oi
lShal
e

Oilshalehasbeens cant l
yut i
li
zedasf ossilfuels ource.Oilshalesaret heleas tutil
izedf ossi
lfuel
sources.Oilshal eisas ediment aryr ockwi thmi nut eporescont ainingker ogen,acar bon- based,
waxys ubstance. Onheat i
ngs haleupt o490° C,theker ogenget scondens edaf tervapor izati
onas
oilshalewhi chi saviscousandt hickl i
qui d.Oils haleisfurtherproces sedtoder i
veus efuloil
product s
.Mi ningandpr ocessi
ngt heoi ls haler equirehugeamountofener gy.Inor dert oextract
onebar relofoi lshale,aboutahal fbar relofoi lisrequired.Oilshalei spr
es entinabundant
amounti nt heEar th’scrust,withcal culat edres ervesaccount i
ngt hr eetri
llionbar relsof
recoverableoi lshale.Thes eoilshaler eservesar ecapablet omeetgl obaloilneedsf orabout1 00
years.Environment alconcer nsper tainingt ooi lshaleextracti
oni ncludet hef oll
owi ng:Huge
amountofwat erisrequi r
edf orpr ocessing,s af edisposaloftoxicwas tewat er,anddi sruptionof
largeareasofs urfacel ands.

5TarSand

Tarsandi saki ndofs ediment aryr ockwhi chisimpr egnat edwi thaver ythicklayerofcr udeoi l
.
Thisthickcr udeoi ldoesnotf loweas ily;hence,convent ionaloilextracti
onmet hodscannotbe
util
izedtomi nei t
. Tarsandcanbeeas ilymi nedi fitispr es
entneart heEarth’ssurface.Butifthe
tarsandi spr esenti ndeepl ayers,inject i
onofs team i srequiredintot hereservoirtoimpr oveflow
ofoilandpus hitintot herecover ywel l.Thecos toft heener gyr equiredforthepr oducti
onofone
barreloft ars andi salmostequalt ot hatf oroi lshale. I
nCanada,t helargesttars anddepos it
sar e
presentwhi chcont ains uf
ficientmat er i
al( about500bi ll
ionbar rel
s)tomeett hedemandofoi l
forabout1 5year s
. Keepingi nviewadver seenvi ronment alimpact sandhi ghext r
act i
oncos t
,tar
sandi snotbei ngut i
li
zedoncommer cialscale.

6Nucl
earPower

Inmajor
ityoft
hermalpowerpl
ants,waterisconvertedintosteam byheating,whichdr
ives
t
urbi
negeneratort
ogenerat
eelect
rici
ty.I
ns uchplants,coal
,oil
,ornaturalgasiscombustedt
o
5
gener at eheat .I
nanucl earpowerpl ant ,heati sgener at edbyt hef issionofur ani um at omsi nside
areact orf ort hepr oductionofs team t ogener ateel ectricity. I
nt heUSA,at omi cener gyi sbeing
gener at edcommer ci
allyins ever alnucl earr eactor s.Thedes i
gnofat ypi calnucl earpowerpl ant
compr i
s edofaheavys teelpr es s
ur eves selcover i
ngar eact orcor e.Ther eact orcor econt ains
urani um asaf uel, whichi sf ormedi nt ocyl i
ndr i
calcer ami cpel l
et sands eal edi nt het ubesofl ong
met alknownasf uelr ods. Sever althous andf uelr odscons t i
tutet her eact orcor e. Heati s
gener at edi ns idet henucl earr eact ors ubs equent lyaf terneut ronshi tur ani um at oms ,resulti
ng
intot hei rbr eakdowni nacont inuouschai nreaction. Cont rolrods ,compr isingofmat eriall
ike
bor on,ar epl acedamongt hef uelas sembl ieswhi chabs or bneut rons .Wi t hdr awalofneut ron
abs orbingcont r
olr odsoutoft hecor efaci li
tatest henucl earf issionbymaki ngmor eneut rons
avai l
abl er eleas i
ngmor eener gy. I
nser ti
onofr odsi nt ot hecor er educest heavai l
abi l
ityof
neut ronsf orf issi
on;asar es ultt herat eofchai nr eactioni ssloweddownandl es sener gyi s
released. Nucl earener gyi ni ti
allywascons ideredaseco- incent iveandeco- fr i
endl yener gyont he
groundsofnotemi tt
inganyai rpol lutant sandgr eenhous egas es .Nucl earener gywass uppos ed
tobeavai labl eforl ongerper iodt hant radi ti
onalf uels .However ,sever alr egul ations ,highcapi tal
input ,andi nappr opr i
atemanagementofnucl earpowerpl ant snowes t abl ishednucl earener gy
asacos tlyaf f air.Deepconcer nsovert hef utureofnucl earener gyasas af es tfuelhavebeen
expr essedaf terCher nobylNucl earPowerPl antmi s
hap. Inaddi tion,di s
pos alofnucl earwas t
ehas
alsoemer gedasas er
iouspr oblem wi thoutl ogicals olution. Knowi ngs uchf act s,theUSAhasnot
establ i
shedanynewnucl earpl anti nt hel astthreedecades .

Bi
oener
gy

Biomas s-bas edener gyiscal l

edasbi oener gywhichispr oducedf rom mat er
ialsderived
from bi ologicalor i
gin. Organicmat erialwhi chhass tor
eds unlightinthef or
m ofchemi calener gy
iscal
ledbi omas s. Feeds tockfort hepr oduct ionofbi oenergyincludeswood,woodwas te,straw,
manur e,sugar cane,andmanyot herbypr oduct sfrom avarietyofagr i
cul turalprocesses.Thisisa
commonmi s
concept ion,asbi oener gyi stheener gyharnessedf rom thebi omas sandast he
biomas sisthef uelandt hebioener gyi stheener gycont ai
nedi nt hefuel.InEur ope,thewor d
bioener gyi spreval ent ,whilether eisas li
ghtt endencyf orthewor dbiofuelt obef avoredi n
Amer ica. Biomas sisthemat erialobt ainedf rom recentlyli
vingor ganisms ,whichcoverpl ants,
animal s,andt heirby- pr oducts.Cropr esi
dues ,gardenwas te,andmanur earet hesourcesof
biomas s.
Itisar enewabl eenergys our cebas edont hecarboncycl e,unl
ikeot hernat uralr esources
suchaspet r
oleum,coal ,andnucl earf uels.

Ani malwas t
es,asper si
stentandunavoi dablepol lutantpr oducedpr imar ilybyt heani mal s
hous edi nindus tri
al-si
zedf arms ,serveasanot hersour ceofbi omas s .Int heUSA,agr icult ural
product sl i
kecor n,soybeans ,andwi ll
owar es pecifi
callybei nggr ownf orbi ofuelpr oduct ionona
pre- commer cialresearchlevel;sorghum andcas s
avai nChi na;sugar canei nBr az il;rapes eed,
wheat ,sugarbeet ,andwi l
low( 15,
000haor37, 000acr esi nSweden)pr i
mar il
yi nEur ope;pal m
oilandMi scant husinSout heastAs ia;andJat rophai nI ndia. Biodegr adabl ewas t
esor igi nating
fr
om agr i
culture,industry,forestry,andhous eholdscanbeus edf ort hegener at ionofbi oener gy,
usingphys icalandbi ochemi calener gyconver siont echnol ogiesl i
kedi rectcombus tion,anaer obic
diges ti
onf orbi ogaspr oduct i
on,andgas if
icat i
onf ort hepr oduct i
onofs yngas .St raw,t imber ,
manur e,ricehus ks,sewage,andf oodwas tear esomeexampl esofbi odegr adabl eor gani cwas tes.
Theus eofbi omas sfuelspr omot esmanagementofwas t
eandf uels ecur ityorr educest heext ent
ofcl imat echange. However ,biofuelalonei snotacompr ehens i
ves ol ut i
ont ot hes epr obl ems.
Ener gyint hef orm ofmet hanegasort r
anspor tationf uelslikeet hanolandbi odi eselcanbe
har nessedf rom biomas s
.Agr i
cultur alwaste,humanwas te,anddecayi nggar bager eleas e
met hanegaswhi chi sknownasl andf il
lgasorbi ogas .Trans por tationf uellikeet hanolcanbe
6
producedbythefermentati
onofcor nands ugarcane.Trans
portati
onfuelli
kebi odies
elcanbe
producedfr
om vegetabl
eoils,animalfat
s,andleftoverfoodproducts
.Possi
bili
tiesareals
obei
ng
expl
oredfortheconvers
ionofbi omasstoli
quids(BTLs)andcel
lulos
icethanol.

Convent
ionalener
gys
our
cesandt
hei
rimpactonenvi
ronment

Fos
silFuel
s

Fos silfuel sar eal soknownasmi neralf uel s.Theyar et henat ur alener gyr es our cesl ikecoal ,
petrol eum andnat ur algast hatcont ainhydr ocar bon. Fos silfuel sar ewidel yus edi nt hei ndus trial
area. Inel ect ri
cpr oduct ion,t heener gyt hatcomesoutt hr oughcombus t ionoff os s i
lf uelis
trans mi ttedt oat ur bineaspower .I
nf or mergener at or s,thevaporobt ai nedbycombus tinga
fuelwasus edt or ot at et het ur bi nebuti nnewener gypowerpl ant s,theobt ai nedgas esdi r ectly
rotat et hegast ur bi ne. Theeconomi calgr owt hofi ndus trial i
zedmoder ns oci etiesdependson
ener gybenef iti
ngbas et heyobt ai nedf rom f os silfuel s. Atpr esent ,80% oft hewor ld’sener gy
needi smetf rom f os silfuel slikecoal ,pet roleum ornat ur algas .
Thes eresour cest hatar eint ensive
insomedef initear easofwor ldexi stinvar iousf or ms . Thehumanbei nghasl ear nedt ot akeout
suchr es our cesindi ff erentmet hodsandobt ai nedt heener gyt heydes ire. Asf ossilf uel scanbe
storedandt rans por t edeas ily,t heyar econs ider edasaper fectf uel .Thef os silfuel sar ewi del y
usedi nhous es,commer cialandi ndus trialsect or s,heatpr oduct ionandpr oduct ionofel ect ric
ener gy. Int ranspor t at i
ons ect or ,mos t
lypet rol eum pr oduct s(gas ol i
ne,di es eloi l,j etf uelet c)are
prefer red. Theheatpr oduct ion,s paceheat ing,i sus edf orcooki ng,hotwat er ,vaporpr oduct i
on,
directheat ingordr yingofmanyi ndus tri
alpr oduct s.Fort hesepur poses ,t hr eeki ndsoff os si
l
fuelscanbeus ed. Whi l
ever ys mal lamountofel ect r i
cener gyi spr oducedi nhydr oornucl ear
powerpl ant s,mos tlycoalandnat uralgasi spr ef er red. Usageoff os silfuel sins uchhi ghr at es
beginst ocr eat edes t ruct i
ver esul ts.Thecl eanes tf os si
lf uel ,nat ur algas ,isus edi nel ect ric
product ion, asar awmat eriali ni ndus tryandpr oces sel ect ricener gy. Whyt hef os silfuel slikecoal ,
petrol eum andnat ur algascaus ecl i
mat echangei st hats eragas ess uchasCO2andmet hane
resultingf r
om t hecombus t i
onpr oces skeepheati nt hei rst ructur e. Thes ungi vesheatand
radiat ioni nat mos pher ef rom s unr i
set os unset .Forcont i
nuanceoft henat ur alcycl e,t hisheat
mus tber et ransf er redt ot hes pace. However ,ser agas esr es ulti
ngf r om thef os si
lf uel scaus e
keepi ngofs omepar toft heheati nat mos pher e. I
nt hi smanner ,t hewor ldbegi nst oheatand
changet hecl imat e. InTabl e1 ,theef fectsofs eragas esongl obalwar mingar egi veni n

per
cent
ages

7
Ef
fect
sofHydr
oel
ect
ricPowerPl
ant
sonEnvi
ronment

Thewat erpoweri scons i

der edasanener gyr esour cer el at edt ot hegeogr aphi call ocat i
on. Aswe
allknow,el ect r icispr oducedi nbar ragesbyus ingt hewat erf or ce. Col lectingwat eri nbar rages
doesnotnegat ivel yef f ectt heenvi ronmentandt het ur binesus edi nhydr opowerpl ant s( li
ke
Kapl ant ur bines )pr oduceel ectricwi thoutnegat ivel yef fect ingt heenvi ronment . Thes epl ant s
canbedef i
nedasdevel opmentandus ageofwat err esour cesi ncl udi ngt hei rener gypr oduct ion
pur pos e. Inot herwor ds ,hydr oel ectricener gyens ur esconver t ingofpot ent ialener gyofwat ert o
kinet i
cener gy. Thehydr oel ectricpowerpl ant shavecl imat ic,hydr oel ect ric,ecol ogi cal ,soci o-
economi calandcul tur alef fect s.Thewat ercol lect ingpar tofahydr oel ect ricpowerpl ant
(res ervoi r )cr eat esenvi ronment alef fectwheni ti si noper at ion. Ast hes ur facear eaofar eser voir
iswi dert hanar iverandast hevapor izingi ncr eas es ,climat icef fect soccur .Int hismanner ,humi d
rat ei nai ri ncr eas es ,ai rmovement schangeandt emper at ur e,r ai ningandwi ndevent sdi ffer. The
flor aandani mall ivingbot honl andandi nwat eroft her egi onent eri nt os uddenchangi ngand
ani mals peci est hatcanadaptt hems el vesi ns uchanenvi r onmentcans ur vive. Thehydr ologi cal
eff ect sres ul tfr om f l
owi ngr egimeofs tream andchangi ngofphys ico- chemi calpar amet ers. To
conver tr iver stor eser voi rscaus evapor izi
ngofwat erandi ncr eas ingofquant i
t yofs altandot her
mi ner al sinwat er. Int rans itionf rom s tream t ol ake,nat ur alcl eani ngcapaci tydecr eas es
dependi ngondecr eas ei nwat ers peeddi ffusionandoxygent aki ngcapaci tyandt hel akeent ers
intomor ti f
icat ionpr oces s. Changesi nwat erqual ityofl akecaus eal terat ionsi nhygr ophi lous
li
vi ng. Bl ocki ngofmi gr at i
onwaysbot honl andandi nwat er ,livi ngar easr emai ni ngunderwat er
andanni hi lat i
onofs omei mpor tants peci escaus eoccur ringofecol ogi calef f ect s.Di ssolut ionof
airaz ot hi nexces sives at ur at i
onl evelbecaus eoff al li
ngof fwat er si sfat alf ort hef i
s h. Ont he
ot herhand,t hes oci al-economi calandcul t uralef f ect sar ef eltnegat ivelyandpos itivel ysince
cons truct ionphas eofbar rage. Asar esul toft heexpr opr iat ionmadedependi ngons i
z eand
qual it
yoft hel andunderwat er,i nter nalandext er nalmi gr at ionevent sar eexper iencedand
val ueofl andchanges .However ,becaus eoft hemanpowermovementdur ingcons truct ionphas e,
ther egi onaleconomyenl i
vensandi nf rastr uctur es er vicesands oci als ervices( school ,heal th
faci lit
ies ,et c)caus epos itiveef f
ect ses peci al l
yi nint egr at edpr oj ects .Thebar r agel akei sa
resour cef orr ecr eat i
onandpr oduct ionofwat erpr oduct s. However ,unl esst henat ur alr es our ces
andhi stor icalas set sint her egi onar epr otect ed,cul tur alval uesmaydi sappear

Ef
fect
sofTher
malPowerPl
ant
sonEnvi
ronment

Thet her moelectricpowerpr oduct i

oni smadegener all
ybyus i
ngcoal ,pet r
oleum andnat uralgas
fuels.Onl y30-40% oft heener gypr oducedi nt hermalpowerpl antscanbeconver tedt oel ectr
ic
ener gy.Ther emainingpar tiscal l
edas“f aultener gy”andcomesf r
om i tsboilerwi thr adiat i
onor
discardedf rom funnelt oget herwi thf unnelgas .Oneoft hemos timpor tantenvi ronment al
effectsoft hermalpowerpl ant si srelat edt ocool ingwat erandt hecool ingwat erneedof
thermalpowerpl antsisgr eat .Fort hisr eason,t hermalpowerpl antsar egener allycons tr
uct ed
nearr esourceslikelakeors eawher ecool i
ngwat ercanbeus ed. Dis
pos ingofwas tesi ns eaand
scatter i
ngonl andi sthef eckl esswas tingmet hodknowns inceol ddays .Thegas est hatcomeout
from f unneloft hermalpowerpl ant sandgr eatlyaf f
ectt hef loraaredi oxideandaz othoxi des.
Theor ganofpl antsmos tlys ens itivet os uchgas esistheirleaves .
Suchgas esthatent erint oleaves
bymeansofs tomasdes tr
oyt hes tructur eofchl orophyllsinleaves .Damagesonpl antsar es eenin
threedi fferentdimens i
ons .Thes ear eacut e,chronicleandhi ddendamages .Plant sexpos et o
acut edamagedi ei mmedi at ely. Thought hechr onicl
edamagei snotvi tal,itgreat l
ydes troysthe
qualityofpl ants.Thehi ddendamageoccur sinat ime[ 1
,10] .Theenvir onment aleffect sresulti
ng

8
fr
om theenergyres
ourcesusedinther
malplantpl
ant
sareasf
oll
ows ;1
.Airpoll
uti
on2. Water
poll
uti
on3.Soilpol
lut
ion4.Effect
softher
malpowerplant
sonli
vingbeings.5.
Theiref
fect
son
l
andus e.

Ef
fect
sofNucl
earPowerPl
ant
sonEnvi
ronment

Thought heNucl earEner gyPowerPl ant s(NEPS)t hatl eavesi t smar kof“at om er a”ont his
centur yisacl ear ,reliableands ettledt echnol ogyi nel ect ri
cpr oduct ion,itt akesr eact i
onsbyt he
publicinmanycount ries.Theef f
ect sofnucl earpl ant sonenvi ronmentappeardur ingt akingout
ofur anium andt horium,pr epar ationoff uel ,pr oduct ion,enr iching,r etreat mentoff uel,storing
anddet achi ngofr eact ors .
Thebi gges tef f
ectofnucl earpl ant sonenvi r
onmenti semi s s
ionofa
radioact ivemat terinenvi r
onmentasar esultofanacci dent. Gasesandl iquidr adi oact ivewas tes
from nucl earpl ant scaus es i
gni fi
cantenvi ronment alef fects.However ,theef fect sofr adiat i
onon
environmentvar ydependi ngonpowerofacci dent ,typeofr eactorands ecur itys ystem outof
reactor .Ifvar iousr adioisot opesdi s per set oenvi ronmentasar esultoft heacci dent ,radi ation
contami nat edt owat er ,
s oilandai rt aki ngmedi um ef f ectstheenvi ronmentandhumanheal t
h.
Heret hei mpor t
antt hingi st hatwel lcondi ti
oneds tor ingandkeepi ngofhi ghl evelr adi ating
wastesaf tert hef uelcompl etesitsus agel ife.Wi thcont ributionsofcount rieslikeCanada,Sout h
Korea,Tai wan,Fr anceandBel gium t hati ncr eas edt hei rnuclearcapaci ties,itisobs ervedt hat
others eragas es( greenhous e)andpoi sonousas i
der ainshavedecr eas edi ngr eatext ent .The
radioact iveef fect sreacht oenvi ronmentandal lli
vingbei ngsi ncludi nghumansbymeansoft wo
diff
er entways .Thef irstway:t rans por tationofemi s
s ionsar isingf rom f unnel si nt heat mos phere
andt heirr eachi ngt ot heear thandl ivingbei ngsonear th.Thes econdway:r eachi ngofl i
qui dand
soli
dwas t esar is
ingf rom powerpl ant stor iver s,lakesands easandt heiref fectonl i
vingbei ngs
andundergr oundwat ers.Becaus eoft heci rcul at i
onofnat ur alli
fe,t hehumanbei ngsand
animal slivi ngonear t hcanef f
ectf rom t her adi oact ivit yarisi
ngf r om nucl earpowerpl antsby
meansofbot hways .

Non-
convent
ionalf
uel
sandt
hei
rimpactonenvi
ronment

Envi
ronment
alI
mpact
sofWi
ndPower

Awi ndf arm,wheni nstall

edonagr i
culturall
and,hasoneoft hel owes tenvi ronment alimpact sof
allenergys ources:itoccupieslesslandar eaperki l
owat t
-hour( kWh)ofel ectrici
tygener ated
thananyot herener gyconver si
ons ystem,apar tfrom roof t
ops olarener gy,andi scompat i
ble
withgr azi
ngandcr ops;itgener atestheener gyus edinitscons tructioninj us t3mont hsof
operat i
on,yeti tsoperat i
onall i
fetimei s20–25year s;greenhous egasemi ssi
onsandai rpollut
ion
producedbyi tscons tr
uct i
onar ever ytinyanddecl ining.Ther ear enoemi ssionsorpol luti
on
producedbyi tsoper ati
on;i nsubs t
itutingforbase- l
oad( mos tlycoalpower )wi ndpower
producesanetdecr easeingr eenhous egasemi ssi
onsandai rpol luti
on,andaneti ncr
eas ein
biodiversi
ty;moder nwi ndt urbinesareal mostsil
entandr otates os l
owl y( i
nt ermsofr evoluti
ons
permi nut e)thatt heyar erarelyahaz ar dtobirds.

Modernwindtur
binedes
ignshaves
igni
ficant
lyr
educedt
henoi
sef
rom t
urbi
nes
.Tur
bine
des
igner
sare

workingtominimisenoise,asnoiseref
lectslostenergyandout put.Noiselevel
satnear by
res
idencesar
emanagedt hrought hesit
ingoft urbines,theappr ovalsprocessforwindf armsand
operati
onalmanagementoft hewindf arm.Thenoi seli
mitf orwindf armsis35A- weighted
decibel
s,whi
chisusuall
yar ound5A-wei ghteddecibelsaboveaqui etcount r
yside.
Alternativel
y,
thelimiti
s5A-weighteddecibelsabovet helevelofbackgr oundnoi se(i
.e.withoutwindf arm

9
noi se),i
fthati sgreaterthan35A- weighteddecibel
s.Lowf r
equencys oundandi nfrasound( ie
us uallybeneat hthethr es
holdofhumanhear ing)areever ywherei ntheenvi ronment .Theyar e
emi ttedf r
om nat uralsourcessuchaswi ndandr i
versandar t
ifi
cialsourcessuchast rafficandai r
condi tioning.Moder nturbinedesignswhi chl
ocatethebl adesupwi ndi nsteadofdownwi ndhave
signi f
icantlyreducedt helevelofi
nfrasound.Scient
ificandheal thaut horitieshavefoundt he
lowl evelofi nfras
oundemi ttedbywindt urbi
nespos enoheal thr i
sks.

Wi ndt ur bi
nesmaycr eat es hadowflickeronnear byr esidenceswhent hes unpas sesbehindt he
tur bi
ne. However ,thi scaneas il
ybeavoi dedbyl ocat i
ngt hewi ndfarmt oavoi dunaccept abl
e
shadowf li
cker,ort ur ningt heturbineof fforthef ewmi nut esoft hedaywhent hes unisatthe
angl et hatcaus esflicker .Shadowf li
ckeri sconsider edint heNSW devel opmentas sessment
pr ocesst oensur epot entialimpactsar eaddr ess
ed. Manyener gypol icystudi eshavenot edhow
wi ndt urbinespr esentdi r
ectandi ndi r
ecthaz ardst obi rds ,otheravi ans pecies,andbat s
.Birds
candi r ectl
ys mas hint omovi ngorevens t ati
onar yt urbinebl ades,crashi ntot ower sandnacel l
es,
andcol li
dewi thl ocaldi stributi
onlines.Thes eri
s ksar eexacer batedwhent urbinesar eplacedon
ridgesandupwi nds lopesorbui ltcl
os etomi grat ionr outes .Somes pecies,suchasbat s,f
ace
addi tionalr i
sksf r
om t her apidreductioni nairpr essureneart ur
binebl ades ,whichcancaus e
int er
nalhemor r hagi ng.

Comparat
iveas
ses
smentofavi
anmor
tal
ityf
orf
oss
ilf
uel
,nucl
ear
,andwi
ndpowerpl
ant
sint
he
Uni
ted

Statesispresent edin.I
twass tatedthatforwi ndturbines,theriskappear st obegr eatesttobi rds
stri
kingt ower sorturbineblades.Forfoss
il-f
ueledpowers t
at i
ons,themos tsignif
icantfat ali
ties
comef r
om climat echange,whi chisalt
eringweat herpatternsanddes troyinghabi tat
st hatbi rds
dependon. Fornucl earpowerpl ants
,ther i
skisalmostequal l
ys preadacr osshazardouspol l
ution
atur anium mi nesit
esandcol l
isionswithdraftcoolingstructures.Yet,t
akent ogether,fossil
-
fueledfacil
itiesareabout1 7ti
mesmor edanger oustobirdsonaperGWhbas ist
hanwi ndand
nuclearpowers tati
ons .

Timel
ydecommi
ssi
oni
ngoft
urbi
nest
hatar
enol
ongeri
nus
eisas
tandar
dcondi
tionofcons
ent
forwi
nd

farmsi nNSW. Decommi s

sioningwindfarmsi sastrai
ghtforwardtas
k.InEur opemanyol derwi
nd
farmsar ebeingre-poweredwi thnewtur bines;t
hiscouldals
obeexpectedt ooccurinNewSouth
Wal es
. Exis
tingwi ndsi
teshaveconsiderablevalue–thewi ndres
ourceiswellunderstoodand
structuralfoundat i
ons,elect
rici
tytr
ans missi
onandl ocalcommunityaccept ancear
ealreadyi
n
place.

Envi
ronment
alI
mpact
sofSol
arPower

Phot ovoltaicsisnowapr ovent echnol ogywhi chi sinher entlysaf e,asoppos edt os omedanger ous
electri
citygener at i
ngt echnol ogies .
Overi t
ses t imat edl i
feaphot ovol
t aicmodul ewi llpr oduce
muchmor eel ectr i
cityt hanwasus edi ni t
spr oduct ion. A100W modul ewi l
lpr eventt heemi ss
ion
ofovert wot onnesofCO2. Phot ovol t
ai csystemsmakenonoi seandcaus enopol l
ut ionwhi lein
oper ation.PVcel ltechnol ogiesthathaver elat ivelylowerenvi ronment alriskscompar edt oot her
typesofel ectr i
cs our ces. However , chemi calsus edinPVcel lscouldber eleasedt oai r
,s urface
wat er,andgr oundwat eri nthemanuf acturingf acili
ty,thei nstallati
ons ite,andt hedi s
pos alor
recyclingfacility. Thepr oduct i
onofphot ovolt aicdevi cesinvolvest heus eofavar ietyof
chemi calsandmat erials.Theamount sandt ypesofchemi calsus edwi llvarydependi ngupont he
typeofcel lbei ngpr oduced. Basedonar eviewoft hechemi calinf ormat i
onr eport edi nt heU. S.

1
0
EPA’ sToxicsReleas eInventorySystem (TRI S)dat abas efors ixphot ovoltaiccompani espr oducing
solarcells
,itappear sthatmos toft hechemi calsusedbyt hemanuf acturi
ngcompani esarenot
releasedinr epor tablequantities.
Ther eleasesofchemi calstot heai rfrom thephot ovol t
aic
facili
tieswer erepor tedasbot hairs t
ackemi ssi
onsandf ugitiveairemi ssi
ons .
Al ls
ixoft he
phot ovoltaiccompani esrevi
ewedr eportedai rs tackemi ssionsofs omecompoundsus edfor
cleaningandet chi ng.Thechemi calsrel
eas edi nthel argestquant i
t i
esinai rst
ackemi ssi
ons
included1 ,
1,1
-trichloroethane,acet one,ammoni a,is
opr opylal cohol ,andmet hanol.Thes cal
eof
thes ystem playsas i
gnifi
cantroleint helevelofenvi ronment alimpact .

Dependingont hei
rlocati
on,largeruti
lit
y-s
calesol
arfacili
tiescanr ai
seconcernsaboutland
degradati
onandhabi tatloss
.andi mpactsf
rom uti
li
ty-scalesolarsystemscanbemi nimizedby
si
tingthem atlower-
qualityl
ocationssuchasabandonedmi ningland,orexist
ingtransportat
ion
andt r
ansmissi
oncorridor
s.

SolarPVcell
sdonotus
ewat
erf
orgener
ati
ngel
ect
rici
ty.
However
,asi
nal
lmanuf
act
uri
ng
process
es,

somewat eri
sus edtomanuf act
ur es
olarPVcomponent s
.Concentr
atingsol
arthermalpl
ants
(CSP),l
ikeal
lthermalelect
ricplants
,requi
rewaterforcool
ing.Waterusedependsonthepl
ant
design,pl
antlocati
on,andt hetypeofcooli
ngsyst
em.

Envi
ronment
alI
mpact
sofGeot
her
malEner
gy

Geother malpoweri sar elati

velybeni gnsourceofenergy.Forthemos tpar t,theimpact sof
developmentar epos it
ive. Wor l
dwi degeothermalenergyut i
li
zati
oni ncreas esyear l
ybecaus eitis
anat tract i
vealternat i
vet oburni ngimportedanddomes t
icfoss
ilfuels.Electricit
ygener at
ion
fr
om geot her malres ourcesinvol vesmuchl owergreenhousegas(GHG)emi ssi
onr atesthant hat
fr
om f os s
ilfuels.Accordi ngt otheI nter
nationalAtomicEnergyAgency( IAEA) ,replacingone
ki
lowat t-hour(kWh)off ossilpowerwi thakilowatt-hourofgeothermalpowerr educest he
esti
mat edgl obalwar mi ngi mpactbyappr oximatel
y95%.

However ,geothermaldevel opmentcoul dhavecer t

ainnegat i
veimpact si
fappr opr i
ate
mitigationactionsandmoni tori
ngpl ant sarenoti nplace.Anylar ge-scal
econs tructi
onand
dril
li
ngoper ationwi llproducevi sualimpact sont helandscape,cr eatenoiseandwas tesand
affectlocaleconomi es.Somecount r
ieshaves tri
ctenvi r
onment alr egulat
ionsregar dingsomeof
theimpact sassoci
atedwi thgeot hermaldevel opment ,andothersdonot .Environment alis
sues
usuallyaddresseddur ingthedevel opmentofgeot hermalf i
eldsincl udeairqualit
y,wat erquali
ty,
was tedisposal
,geologi chazar ds
,noi se,biol
ogicalresourcesandl andus eissues
.

Thepr otecti
onofgr oundwat erisimpor tantdur ingt hedr i
llingphas e.
Thegr oundwat eristobe
manageds ustainably.Itispar toftheecos ystem,i sahabi tatf oranimal sandplants,andhasa
roleintheliveli
hoodofl ocalr esi
dents.Themai nvi suali
mpactdur i
ngt heconstructionphas eis
thepr es
enceofadr ill
ingr i
g,butonceapr ojectisint hepr oduct i
onphas etheri
gisnotr equir
ed
andt heener gycent refootpr intisverysmall.Becaus eoflowemi ssi
ons,t hegeothermalpower
plantsalsomeett hemos tst
ringentcl eanairs tandar ds.I
ts houldbenot edthatallgeot hermal
plantshavet omeetvar i
ousnat i
onalandl ocalenvi ronment alstandardsandr egulat i
ons ,
althoughemi s
sionsar enotr out i
nelymeas uredbel owacer tainthreshold,andemi ssionsfrom
geothermalpl ant stypicall
yf allbelowt hi
sthr eshold.

Thelistofbarr
iersr
esultingfrom envi
ronment alregul
ationscanber at
herl ong.
Environment al
regulati
onsshouldincludegroundwat erpr
ot ecti
onincl.
pr es
s ureis
sues,soi
lprotect
ionbutal so
protocolonmi cr
o-seis
mi ci
ty,andsurfacei
ssues.Forworks afety,const
r uct
ionandt raf
fic,any
11
l
egi
slat
ionappl
icabl
efors
imi
laract
ivi
tiesi
nmi
ning,dr
ill
ing,cons
truct
ion,et
c.s
houl
dbeappl
ied.

Envi
ronment
alI
mpact
sofBi
omas
s

Biomas
spowerpl
ant
sshar
esomes
imi
lar
iti
eswi
thf
oss
ilf
uelpowerpl
ant
s:bot
hinvol
vet
he
combusti
on

ofaf eeds tockt ogener ateel ectricity. Thus ,biomas spl ant sraises imi lar,butnoti dent i
cal,
concer nsaboutai remi ss
ionsandwat erus easf ossilfuelpl ant s
. Bi omas spowerpl ants,likecoal -
andnat ur algas - f
iredpowerpl ant s,r equi r
ewat erf orcool ing.Landus eimpact sfrom biomas s
powerpr oduct ionar edrivenpr i
mar ilybyt het ypeoff eeds tock:ei therawas tes t
r eam oran
energycr opt hati sgrowns peci f
ical l
yf orgener atingel ect ri
city. Ther ear eglobalwar mi ng
emissionsas soci atedwi thgr owi ngandhar vestingbi omas sfeeds tock,t ranspor ti
ngf eeds tockt o
thepowerpl ant ,andbur ningorgas ifyi ngt hefeeds tock. Trans por tationandcombus tion
emissionsar er oughl yequi val entf oral lt ypesofbi omas s.However ,globalwar mi ngemi ssi
ons
from thes our cingofbi omas sf eeds tockvar ywidely. Itwasoncecommonl ythoughtt hatbi omas s
hadnetz er ogl obalwar mi ngemi ssions ,becaus ethegr owi ngbi omas sabs orbedanequalamount
ofcar bonast heamountr eleasedt hr oughcombus tion,butnowi ti sunder s
toodt hatsome
biomas sf eeds tocks ourcesar eas soci atedwi ths ubstant ialglobalwar mi ngemi ssi
ons .Benef icial
biomas sr esour cesi ncludeener gycr opst hatdonotcompet ewi thf oodcr opsf orland,por ti
onsof
cropr esiduess uchaswheats traworcor ns tover,sus tai
nabl y-har ves tedwoodandf ores tresidues,
andcl eanmuni cipalandi ndus tri
alwas tes.

Envi
ronment
alI
mpact
sofHydr
oel
ect
ricPower

Alt
houghhydr
opowerhasnoai
rqual
ityi
mpact
s,cons
truct
ionandoper
ati
onofhydr
opower
damscan

si
gnifi
cantlyaffectnatur
alr i
versystemsaswel lasfi
shandwi ldl
ifepopul ati
ons .Assessmentof
theenvironment ali
mpact sofaspecifichydr opowerf acil
ityr
equirescase-by- casereview.
Negati
vei mpactofdamsar easfoll
ows :inflatbas i
nslargedamscaus ef
loodi ngofl argetractsof
l
and,des tr
oyinglocalani
mal sandhabi tats;peopl ehavet obedisplacedcaus ingchangei nl i
fe
styl
eandcus toms-about40t o80mi lli
onpeopl ehavebeendi s
placedphys icallybydams
worldwide;largeamount sofplantlifeares ubmer gedanddecayanaer obically;themi gratory
patter
nofr iveranimalsl
ikesalmonandt r
outar e

affected;damsr estr
ictsediment sthatareresponsibl
ef orthefer
til
elandsdowns t
r eam;s alt
wat erintr
usionintot hedeltasmeanst hatthes al
inewat ercannotbeus edf ori
rri
gat ion;large
damsar ebreedi
nggr oundsf ormos qui
toesandcaus ethespreadofdiseas e;damsser veasaheat
si
nk,andt hewat eri
shot terthant henormalr i
verwat er-thiswarm wat erwhenr eleasedint o
ther i
verdowns tream canaf fectanimalli
feNot e:

[
Waveener
gy

Waveener gyisanirregul
arandos ci
ll
atinglowf requencyener gys ourcet hatcanbe
conver t
edt oa50Her tzfr
equencyandcant henbeaddedt otheelectricuti
litygrid.Wavesget
theirenergyfrom thewind,whichcomesf rom solarener gy.Wavesgat her,s
t ore,andt rans
mit
thisenergythousandsofkilometerswi t
hver ylit
tleloss
. Thoughi tvariesini
nt ensity,i
tis
availabletwentyfourhoursadayal lroundt heyear .Wavepoweri srenewabl e,polluti
onf r
eeand
environmentf ri
endly.I
tsnetpotentialisbetterthanwi nd, sol
ar,smallhydroorbi omas spower
.

1
2
Waveener
gytechnologi
esrel
yont heup-and-
downmot ionofwavestogener
ateel
ect
rici
ty.
Ther
earethr
eebasicmethodsforconver
t i
ngwaveener
gyt oel
ect
rici
ty.

1.Floatorbuoysystemsthatusetheriseandfal
lofoceanswell
stodri
vehydr aul
icpumps.
Theobjectcanbemount edt oafloati
ngraftortoadevicef
ixedontheoceanbed. Aseri
esof
anchoredbuoysriseandfallwi
tht hewave.
Themovementi susedtorunanelectr
icalgenerat
or
toproduceelectr
ici
tywhichisthentrans
mit t
edashorebyunderwaterpowercables.

2.Osci
ll
at ingwat ercolumndevi cesi
nwhi chthein-
and- outmoti
onofwavesatt heshore
entersacol
umnandf orceairtoturnat urbine.Thecolumnf il
lswit
hwat erast
hewaver i
sesand
empt i
esasitdescends.Inthepr oces
s,airins
idet hecolumniscompr es
sedandheatsup,creati
ng
energy.Thi
sener gyisharnessedands enttos horebyelectr
icalcabl
e.

3.Taperedchannelr
elyonashoremountedstruct
uret
ochannelandconcentr
atethe
wavesdrivingthem i
ntoanelevat
edres
ervoi
r.Waterfl
owoutofthi
sreser
voi
risusedtogener
ate
el
ectr
icit
yus ingst
andardhydropowert
echnologi
es.

Theadvant
agesofwaveener
gyar
easf
oll
ows
:

1.
Becaus ewavesori
ginatefr
om stormsfarouttoseaandcantravell
ongdi
stances
wi
thoutsigni
ficantenergyl
oss,powerproducedfrom t
hem ismuchs
teadierandmore
pr
edict
abledayt odayands easontoseason.

2.
Waveener
gycont
ainsabout1
000t
imest
heki
net
icener
gyofwi
nd.

3.
Unl
ikewi
ndands
olarener
gy,ener
gyf
rom oceanwavescont
inuest
obepr
oducedr
ound
t
hecl
ock.

4.Wavepowerproducti
onismuchsmoot
herandmor
econs
ist
entt
hanwi
ndors
olar
r
esul
tinginhi
gherover
allcapaci
tyf
actor
s.

5.
Waveenergyvariesasthes
quareofwaveheightwhereaswindpowervari
eswit
hthe
cubeofairs
peed.Waterbeing850t i
mesasdenseasair
,thi
sresul
tinmuchhigherpower
producti
onfrom wavesaveragedovert
ime.

6.Becausewaveenergyneedsonl
y1/
200t
hel
andar
eaofwi
ndandr
equi
resnoacces
s
r
oads
,inf
rastr
uctur
ecostsarel
ess.
]

Pr
oduct
ionofbi
ofuel
s:-bi
omet
hane,bi
ohydr
ogen

Anaer
obicdigesti
onisanes tabli
shedtechnol
ogyforthetreatment
ofwas
tesandwast
ewater.Thefi
nalproductisbiogas
:ami xt
ureofmet hane(
55-75vol
%)and
car
bondioxi
de(
25-45vol
%)t hatcanbeus edforheating,upgr adi
ngtonatur
algasqualityorco-

1
3
gener at
ionofel ect ri
cityandheat .Diges tioninstall
ationsar etechnologicallysi
mpl ewithl ow
energyands pacer equi rement s.Anaer obictreatments ys
t emsar edivi
dedi nt o'
high-rate'
syst
emsi nvol
vingbi omas sr etentionand' low-rate'systemswi t
houtbiomas sretenti
on.Hi gh-rate
syst
emsar echaract erisedbyar elati
vel yshorthydr aulicretentiontimebutl ongsludger etenti
on
timeandcanbeus edt ot reatmanyt ypesofwas tewat er.Low- rates
ystemsar egenerall
yus edto
digestslurri
esands olidwas tesandar echar acteris
edbyal onghydr aulicretentiontime,equalt o
thesludger etentiont ime. Thebi ogasyi eldvarieswi t
ht het ypeandconcent rationofthe
feedstockandpr oces scondi ti
ons .Co-di gest
ionisani mpor tantfact
orf orimpr ovingreact or
effi
ciencyandeconomi cfeas ibili
ty.

Pri
ncipleoftheprocessAnaer
obicmicr
obi ol
ogicaldecompos
iti
onisapr
oces
sinwhich
micr
o-organis
msder i
veenergyandgr owbymet aboli
singorgani
cmateri
ali
nanoxygen-
free
envi
ronmentresult
ingintheproducti
onofmet hane( CH4).

Theanaer
obi
cdigesti
onproces
scanbesubdivi
dedi
ntot
hef
oll
owi
ngf
ourphas
es,each
r
equi
ringit
sowncharacter
isti
cgr
oupofmicro-or
ganisms
:

•Hydr
olys
is:conver
sionofnon-
sol
ubl
ebi
opol
ymer
stos
olubl
eor
gani
ccompounds

•Aci
dogenes
is:conver
sionofs
olubl
eor
gani
ccompoundst
ovol
ati
lef
att
yaci
ds(
VFA)and
CO2

•Acet
ogenes
is:conver
sionofvol
ati
lef
att
yaci
dst
oacet
ateandH2

•Met
hanogenes
is:conver
sionofacet
ateandCO2pl
usH2t
omet
hanegas

As
impl
ifi
eds
chemat
icr
epr
esent
ati
onofanaer
obi
cdegr
adat
ionofor
gani
cmat
teri
sgi
venasFi
g.

Theacidogeni cbact eriaexcret eenzymesf orhydr

ol ysi
sandconver tsolubleorganicst ovol atil
e
fattyacidsandal cohol s.Volatilefattyacidsandalcohol sarethenconver tedbyacet ogeni c
bacteriaintoacet i
caci dorhydr ogenandcar bondi oxide.Methanogeni cbacter
iat henus eacetic
acidorhydr ogenandcar bondi oxidet opr oducemet hane. Fors
tabledigestiontopr oceedi tis
vit
althatvar i
ousbi ol ogicalconver s
ionsr emainsuff i
cientl
ycoupleddur ingthepr oces s
,to
preventt heaccumul ationofi ntermedi atecompounds .Forexample,anaccumul ationofvol ati
le
fattyacidswillr
es ultinadecr easeofpHunderwhi chcondi ti
onsmet hanogenes i
scannotoccur
anymor e,whichres ultsinaf urtherdecr easeofpH. Ifhydrogenpr ess
urebecomest oohi gh,
furtherreducedvol at il
ef att
yaci dsaref ormed,whi chagai nres
ultsinadecr eas
eofpH.

1
4
1
5
[Pre-treatmentPr e-t
reat mentandcl eani ngi snecessaryf orthef urtherpr oces s
ingand
subsequentus eofbi omet hane. I
fbi omet hanei stobei njectedi ntothegasgr id,itmus tbe
compat iblewitht hepr opertiesofnat ur algas .I
fitistobeus edasvehi cl
ef ueli tmustcompl y
withther equirement sf orfuelqual i
ty.Thepr esenceofpot ent i
alimpur i
tiesinr awbi ogas
dependses sentiall
yont hefeedst ockus edandont het echnol ogyappl i
edi nt hepr oduct i
on
process.Incompl iancewi ththenat i
onall egalqual ityrequi r
ement sforbiomet hane( f
uel ,feed
intothenat uralgasgr id),pre-treatmentpr oceduresmus tbeappl i
ed.Gas eousi mpur i
tiesin
biogasforpr e-treatmentcanbe:Hydr ogens ulphide;Wat er;Sili
conor gani ccompounds( e.g.
sil
oxanes);Oxygen;Ammoni a;Dus t,oilandaer osols.Dependi ngont hepar ticularcont entsof
thebiogas ,andt henat ionalgridandf uelr equirement sinques ti
on,othert racegas esmayal so
havet ober emoved.

Bi
ogasupgradi
ngtechnol
ogiesThemainpr
oces
sinvol
vedint
heupgradi
ngofbiogasto
bi
omethanequali
tyist
heseparati
onofCH4andCO2.Ther
eares
ever
alupgradi
ngt echnol
ogi
es

avail
able Convent i
onalbiogasupgrading
methodscanbecategori
sedasfoll
ows:Theai
m ofallupgr
adingt echnologiesi
stoachievehigh
methanepurit
yandlowmet haneloss
eswithlowenergyconsumpt ion.Eachofthemet hods
ment i
onedhasit
sadvantagesanddis
advantages
.Thebestchoiceoft reatmenttechnology
shouldal
waysbebasedonlocalcondi
tions
.

1
6
Membr anes eparati
onmet hodsarebasedont hepri
ncipl
et hatgas
esdiff
usethrought he
membr anesatdi ff
erentspeeds.Avari
etyofpolymerscanbeus edasmembr anes.Agood
membr anei shi
ghlypermeabletosmallermolecul
essuchasCO2,andimpermeablet olarger
moleculessuchasCH4. Theaimistoachievet
hehighestpossibl
epermeabi
lit
ywithhi gh
s
electi
vity.
Formembr anestypi
call
yused,thepermeabil
ityofCO2isabouttwentytimeshi gher

t
hanCH4.

Scr
ubbi
ngt
echnol
ogi
es

Scrubbi
ng,al
sorefer
redtoasabs
orpt
ion,isbasedontheeff
ectwherebygascomponent
sare
s
olublei
ndiff
erentfl
uidst
ovaryi
ngdegrees.Forexampl
e,CO2dis
sol
vesmuchbetteri
nwater
t
hanCH4.

Themos timportantinfl
uentialvar
iablesi
ns crubbingpr ocessesresultfrom t
heproperti
esoft he
sol
ventsusedandt hesolubi
li
t yofthegascomponent s.I
ngener al,thesolubi
lit
yofthegas
improveswithincreas
ingpressureordecreasingt emper atur
e. I
nt hissecti
on,thedesi
gn
pri
nciplesi
nvolvedinthescr
ubbi ngprocessareexpl ainedingener altermsus i
ngpress
uri
s ed
waterscrubbi
ngasanexampl e.Thesubsequents ectionsoutli
net hepr operti
esofothersolvents
.

physicalscrubbing,itisals
opos s
ibletouseor ganicsolvent sinsteadofwatert oupgradethe
bi
ogas .Polyethyl
enegl ycoldimethylether,whichismar ket edcommer ci
all
yundert henames
Genosor borSeloxol,isoneexampl e.Theprocessandt het echni caldes
ignareverysimil
art
o
pres
surisedwat erscrubbing.Theadvant ageoft hesesolvent sisthehighersol
ubili
tyofCO2and
H2Scompar edtowat er .

chemi calscrubbing,somegas es(e.g.

CO2andH2S)r eactreversi
blywi ththewashingl i
quid.The
bindingagent /solut
ionisthereforesubs t
antiall
yst r
ongert hanint hecaseofphysicalscrubbing.
Mixturesofwat erwi ththeadditivesmonoet hanol amine(MEA) ,diethanolami
ne( DEA) ,
met hyldiethanolamine(MDEA)andot herami necompoundsar eus ual
lyusedasdet ergent.The
advant agesaret hehigherloadingoft hes ol
ution,higherselecti
vityofthegassepar ati
ons,and

1
7
t
husahi
gherpur
ityoft
hepr
oductgas
.

Pr
ess
ures
wingads
orpt
ion(
PSA)

Ads orptivemet hodsar ebas edont hepr inciplet hatdifferentgascomponent sareattracted

different l
ytos pecificsurfaces( ads or bed)orpenet rat etovar yingdegr eesi ntot hepor esofthe
mat erial.Inprinciple,adsorptioni shi gherathi gherpr ess
ur esandl owert emper atures.
Adsorpt i
vebi ogasupgr adingpr oces sesmai nlyusepr essuredifferencest ocar ryoutt he
separat i
on. Pressureswi ngads orptioni sapr ovenmet hodofs eparat i
onandhasbeenus edf or
decades .Itwaspr evious l
yus edint hegasi ndus try,andhasbeenadapt edt omeett he
requirement sofbiogaspr ocess i
ng. Thees sentialcomponentf orsepar atingt hegas esi
sacol umn
fil
ledwi t hactivatedcar bon,z eoli
ticmol eculars i
evesorcar bonmol eculars ieves.These
substancess tandoutf orof f
eringal arges ur f
acear eaandacer tainpor es ize.

1
8
Cr
yogeni
ctr
eat
ment

Inadditiontothewel l
-est
ablis
hedandwel l
-provenprocess
ingt
echnologiesdes
cri
bedabove,
therearemor erecentdevelopments,t
hemar ketreadi
nessofwhichhasnotyetbeenful
ly
establ
ished.Aninteres
tingoptioni
scryogenictr
eatment.

Itsoper at ingpr incipleisbr ief l

ydes cribedbel ow. Sincet herear edifferentcryogeni cmet hodsand
li
ttlever i
fiableact ualdat a,adet aileddes cr iptionoft hepr oces sandt henami ngofs pecific
oper at i
ngpar amet ers(suchaspowercons umpt ion)ar eomi t tedher e,butt hef ollowi ngt ext
explai nst hef ewbas icprincipl esinvol ved. Cryogeni ctreat menti sbas edont hef actt hat,atlow
temper at uresorhi ghpr essur es,gas escondens e( becomel i
qui d)orr e-subli
mat e( becomes oli
d).
Thet emper atur esorpr essur esatwhi cht hi soccur scanbef oundi naphas ediagr am. Forexampl e,
CO2r e-subl imat esat- 78.5° Cat1barwhi l
eCH4r emai nsgas eous .
Thegascomponent sofbi ogas
canbes epar atedi ndi ff
er ents tatesofmat ter. Thef actt hatCH4hasagl obalwar mi ng
pot ent i
alabout25t imeshi ghert hanCO2mus tal waysbet akeni nt ocons i
derat ion,however .
Sincecl imat epr otectionist hemaj ormot ivat i
onf orbi omet hanepr oduction,andbi omet hanei s
gener al l
ydependentons tat eors ocialsuppor t,emi ssionsofmet hanei ntotheenvi ronmentmus t
bekeptt ot hel owes tpos siblel evels.InGer many,f orexampl e,met haneemi ssi
ons ,al soknownas
“met hanel oss”,mus tbebel ow0. 2vol % oft hebi omet haneupgr adingpr ocess.Ift hemet hane
cont entofexhaus tgasf rom t heupgr adingpr oces sisabovet helimi t,CH4mus tbeconver tedt o
CO2,whi chhasl owergl obalwar mingpot ent ial.Toens urecompl iancewi tht heser egul ations,the
exhaus tgascanber ecir
cul at edt hrought heupgr adi ngs ys
tem orl eangasbur ner sus ed,asi n
regener ativet her maloxi dat ion

processisanatur
alpr ocess,whichtakesplace,forexample,i
nmoor sands wampsaswellasi
nthe
digesti
vetract
sofs omeani mals,suchascows .Duringtheproces
s,organicmater
iali
s
decompos edbymi crobialorganismsintheabs enceofoxygenandt urnedpredominant
lyint
o
met hane(CH4),whichhasacal orificval
ueof9. 97kWh/ m³.

1
9
20
Met hanogenes isasanat uralpr oces sMet hanogenes isisthepr ocessofmet hanepr oduct i
onf rom
or gani cmat terbyami xedpopul ationofmi croor gani s
msi nt heabs enceofoxygen. Thepr ocessis
alsocommonl yknownas 'anaer obicdi gestion. Methanogenes i
sisanat ur alphenomenont aki
ng
placewher everor gani
ccompoundunder goesdecayi nanaer obicenvironment .I
tpr ovi desan
ess entialli
nki nt hecarboncycl einanaer obi cenvi r
onment( Vogels1979) .Methane,t heend
pr oductofanaer obicdigestionisapoor lys olublegasandi treadilyescapest otheat mos phere
from t heanaer obicenvironment .Ithasbeenes timat edt hatabout1 .
21x1 015gofbi ol ogicall
y
gener atedmet haneisreleasedi ntoat mos pher eannual l
yandt hemet hanemol ecul eremai ns
ther ef oranaver ageperiodof1 .
5to7year s.I
tr eactswi ththei ntermedi atesandpr oduct sof
oz onecycl e.,Mos toftheat mos pher ichydr ogen,car bonmonoxi deandf ormaldehydeanda
subs tant i
alamountofs tratosphericwat erisf ormedf rom met hane. Allmet hanei soxi dis
ed
final l
yt o/forus einphot osynt hesi
s. Methanogenes i
s ,t
her efore,isadr i
vingf orceforanumberof
cycl esinnat uralenvironment .

Biochemis
tr yandMicr
obiol
ogyofMethanogenes
isMethaneproducti
onfrom or
gani
cmatt
er
i
nvolvest
hr eemajorst
epswhichar
ecarri
edoutbythreebroadtrophi
cgr
oupsoforgani
sms.

Thefir
s ts
tepisthehydrolys
isandfermentati
onofor gani
csubst
rat
estoproducedihydrogen,
carbondioxi
des ,r
educedmet abol
itess
uchasvolati
lefatt
yacids
,al
cohols
,organi
cacidsand
otherlowmol ecularwei
ghtcompounds .Thestepi
salsoknownasli
quif
action/
aci
difi
cationst
ep.

Themet hanogeni cstagei st hef i

nals tepi nwhi chmet hanei sformedf rom acet ateorpl us/by
met hanogeni cmi croor ganisms( met hanogens ) .
Met hanogenscanut i
li
seonl yal imit ednumber
ofs ubstrat
essuchast heaboveandcer tainr elatedcompoundse. g.methanol ,format e,car bon
monoxi deandmet hyl amlnes .Volat i
lef attyaci dslar gerthanacet icacide.g.propi oni cacid,
but yri
cacidsandneut ralcompoundsl ar gert hanmet hanol,e.g.ethanol,propanolwhi char e
formedI nthef i
rststephavet obemet abolisedt os uitablesubs tr
atesifthesear et obeconver ted
tomet hanebymet hanogens .Thisstepi nvolvesobl igateHgpr oducingacet ogeni cbact er i
a
(acetogens )whichconver thi ghervol at il
efat tyaci dsandneut ralcompoundst oacet i
caci dand
Anot hergroupofbact eriacal ledhomoacet ogensi sabletof orm acetate.Thought he
signifi
canceoft hisreact ioni snotcl ear ,i
thasbeens uggestedt hatitmays ervei ntr appi ng
dihydr ogenpr oducedi nthef irststep,bef orei tes capes,tof orm acetatewhi chi sapot ential
met hanogeni csubst ratef ort hefinals tep.Thevar i
ouss t
epsi nmet hanogenes i
sar es howni nFig.

Biol ogi calHydr ogenPr oduct ion

Hydr ogeni salsoani mpor tants our ceofener gy,whi chr epres ent sahighl yef ficientener gycar rier.
Pr oduct i
onofhydr ogenbyanaer obic,facult ativeanaer obes ,met hyl otrophs ,&phot os ynt hetic
bact eriai spos sible.Hydr ogencompar esf avour abl ewi thot herf uels,whi choncombus tionr esults
inwat erandhencei snon- pollutingandenvi ronment al
lys af e.Hydr ogeni sanef ficientf uel
(122KJ /g) .Hydr ogencanbeconver tedt os t
eam,heat ,el ect
r i
cit y,etc.andt her eforeitist hemos t
ver satilef uel.Ithast hepot ent i
alt obeus edasaf uelf oraut omobi les,trucks ,bus es,aircr aft,etc.
Many chemot rophs pr oduce hydr ogen by t he us e of di ff erent car bohydr ates.Hydr ogen
pr oduct i
onf r om s i
mpl emol eculeslikeglucos e,xylose,mal toseandl act osei sobs ervedinBaci l
lus,
Clos tri
di um s pp.ands everalanaer obes .Anaer obi cmi crobespr oducehydr ogenandmaydegr ade
sever alot heror ganiccompoundsi ncludingf at tyaci ds,aswel l.Inaddi ti
ont os impl es ugarand
car bohydr ates ,f er
ment ation ofr aw s t
ar ch ofcor n,pot at o and cas s
ava peelal sor es ultsi n
hydr ogengener ati
on.Amongt hevar i
ouswas t
esempl oyedf orhydr ogengener ation,bi owas tes
coul dpr oduce40Lt o1 00LofH2/kgdr ymat ter.

21
Cr
iter
iaf
orcons
ider
ingt
hef
utur
efuelopt
ionss
yst
emat
ical
lyar
e:

1.Tr
ans portation-Fuels houl dbeasl ightaspos sibleandal socons umeasl it
t lespaceaspos si
bl e,
tomakei tconveni entf ort rans portat ion.Hydr ogen bei ngt hel ight estf uel,hast hebes t
mobi l
ityf actorofuni t y.Hencei tisstapl efuelf ors pacepr ogr am.Hydr ogeni sal soaf uelof
choicef oraircraf tsaswel lforaut omobi l
es .
2.Versatil
ity-Fuelmus tbeconver tedwi theas et oot herf or msofener gyatus erend.Hydr ogen
hasamaxi mum ver sat il
ityfact or( φVf)ofuni tyascompar edt oot herf uel s(φVf=0. 4)ast hey
canbeconver tedt hroughonl yonepr oces si.e.combus t
ion.Hencehydr ogencanbeus edf or
thermalandel ect ricener gygener ation,andal sous edf orr ef
r i
ger at i
onandai r-condi tioni ng.
3.Util
izationef ficiency-Forut ili
z ationbyt heus ers,fuelst ransfer r
edt ovar iousener gyf orms
suchasmechani cal,el ect r
ical,andt her mal ,hydr ogencanbeconver tedt oanydes i
redf orm of
energymor eef f i
cient l
yt hanot herf uel s.Mor eoverhydr ogeni st hemos tefficientf ueland
hencer esultsincons er vationofr esour cesi naddi tiont ocons ervingener gy. Hydr ogencanal so
beus edaschemi calf eeds t
ocki ndus tryasani ngr edienti nmanuf act uringchemi calsl ike
ammoni aandmet hanol ,foods( Veget abl eoi l
),andel ectronics.
4.Environment alcompat i
bi l
ity-Si nceut ili
z ationoff uelsaffect stheenvi ronmenti tisimpor tant
thatf uelmus tnothaveanadver seef fectoni t
.Hydr ogencombus t i
onwhencar ri
edouti n
presenceofai rwi lll eadt ot hef or mat ionofH2O andaver yl essamountofni trogenoxi des
(
NOx)
.Hencedoesnotl
eadt
othephenomenonofaci
drai
norgr
eenhous
eef
fect
.Mor
eover
whenhydr ogeni susedforr efri
ger ati
onandai r
-condi
tioningi tsleakagewi l
lnotleadt o
ozonel
ayerdepl etionleadingtogl obalwar ming.
5.Safet
y-Thi saspectoffuelinvolvestheirtoxici
tyandfir
ehaz ar
ds .Thefuelcombus ti
onproduct
maybet oxicpollutantandt oxici
tyincreasesastheC/Hrati
oincr eases.Hydr
ogenandi tsmain
combustionpr oduct( waterorwat ervapor )arenottoxi
c.Al t
houghNOxpr oducedthrough
fl
amecombus ti
onofhydr ogendispl
aystoxi
ceff ect,butwhent heamountoft oxicpollutants
producedperunitofener
gycons umedisconsi
der ed,iti
scleart
hathydrogenisthes afestfuel
fol
lowedbymet hane.Hydr ogenhaswider angeofexpl osi
veconcentrat
ioninai r(4- 75%),
whichmakesitapot enti
all
ygoodal laroundf uel.Moreoverduet oit
shi ghvolati
lit
y,r api
d
22
 diss
eminationintheeventofs pil
lagemakesi
tsafetouse.
6.Economics-Theeconomi calcompar is
on among thecompet ing f
uelsand energysyst
ems
shouldbebas edont heeff ectivecostoftheservi
cesthesefuelsprovi
de.Theeffect
ivecost
incl
udestheut i
li
zati
onefficiency,costoff
uelproduct
ion,theamountoft hephysi
caldamage
donet oenvironmentandl ivi
ngbei ngsduetohar mfulemissi
ons,oils
pil
lsandleaksetc.as
wellasexpendituref
orpollut i
onabat ement.

Oncompar ingal lthecandi datefuelshydr ogens tandsoutasbes tpossi

blefuelwi thunmat ched
uniquepr operties(Tabl e9) .Moreoverhydr ogenal s
os ervesasani mportantf eeds tock,andits
demandasf eeds tockhasbeenpr opos edtoi ncreasebyaf actorof27overt henext45year s.
Althoughaf terener gycris
isof1 970t hehydr ogenhasbecomepopul arfuelsour ceandi tis
consideredasf uelf orthef ut ur
e.Butast hepr icesofcoaldr oppedotheralternat iveenergy
technologieshavenol ongerbeenper suaded. In1990duet oconcernsaboutgr eenhous eeffect
asanewcr i
sisregai nedi nterestinhydr ogenasaf uel,asitisalongterms olutiont ot hedepleti
on
ofconvent i
onalf uels,aswel lasforglobalenvi ronment alpr oblems.

Ashydrogendoesnotexi
stnaturall
yintheearthcrusti
nuncombi
neds t
at e,t
hereisaneedto
produce mol
ecul
arhydrogen eitherby s
plit
ting ofwaterorby ut
ili
zing biomass
.Vari
ous
proces
sesi
nvol
vedinbi
ologi
calhydrogenproducti
onare:

Directbiophot olyss–
i
This phot os
ynt hetic hydrogen producti
on pr ocessi sa t wo s tep pr ocess
, wher e
hydrogenas e produceshydr ogen and ferri
doxins hut t
le electr
onsf rom t he phot os
ynthetic
membr anet ot hehydr ogenase(Equati
on3) .Inthispr ocess,ther educt
antgener atedbyt he
phot os
ynt hes
isi sdi r
ect lytransf
erred t
o hydrogenas e viar educed ferri
doxin.Buta maj or
obstaclefort hisproces sisthatthesetwos tepsarei ncompat ibl
ei.e.inthef ir
sts t
ep,wat eris
spl
ittedt oproduceoxygen,wher easintheseconds tepr educingpowerofel ectronispassedt o
protonst oproducehydr ogenviahydrogenase,whichi sstronglyinhibi
tedbyO2.Hence,pr ocess
s
howsi
nher
entf
eedbacki
nhi
bit
ionmechani
sm.

23
Het
erocys
tronsni
trogen-
fixi
ngcyanobact
era–
i

Inthisprocessphotobi
ologicalhydrogenproductionoccursbyalgae,that
compartment al
izesthetwoseparatereactionsandusescarbondioxideasintermedi
atet o
shut
tlebetweent wocompar tment s
,e.g.Anabaenacyli
ndrica,afi
lamentouscyanobacteria
compartment al
izesthes
eintovegetativecell
s,whi
chgener ateoxygenfrom H2Oandf i
xing
carbondi
oxide,andspecial
izedni
trogenas
econt
aini
nghet
erocys
t,whi
chevol
vehydr
ogenwhen
nit
rogenreducti
onisblocked

I
ndi
rectbi
ophot
olys
isbynon-
het
erocys
tronsni
trogenf
ixi
ngcynobact
era–
i

Thi
sproces
smakesuseofnon-
het
erocyst
ronnitrogenfi
xingcyanobacteri
athatsepar
ate
t
hehydrogenandO2evol
uti
onstepst
emporari
lysuchasday-ni
ghtcycle,es
pecial
lyt
hrough
separ
atebi oreactorsrathert hantwocellt
ypes.Heretoo,car
bondi oxi
deact sasanintermediate,
whichjoinstwos tepsthroughcar bondioxidefi
xati
onandgetr el
eas ed(Equation5).Theproblem
withnitr
ogenf i
xingbact eri
af orhydr
ogenpr oduct
ionisthatni
trogenas ehasahighATP
requi
rement ,whi chlower spotenti
alsol
arenergyconversi
oneffi
cienciestounacceptablel
evel.

Phot
ofer
ment
ati
onbyphot
osynt
het
icbact
era–
i

Inthisproces sphotosynt heticbacteri

ainthepr esenceofl i
ghtconvertsorganic
substr
ates,quant itati
velyi
ntohydr ogenandcar bondi oxide(Equat i
on6) .
Inprinci
ple,relati
vely
l
ittl
eenergyi nput sarerequiredandt husonlysmallphot obioreactorsshouldberequired.
Howevermeas uredphot osynt heticeffi
cienci
eshavebeendi sappoi nti
ngduet othehighener gy
demandsbyt heni trogenasecat al
yzinghydr ogenevolutionint hesebacteri
aandt hebact eri
a
operatesatrelativelylowli
ghti ntens i
tieshencepreventingeffici
entus eofful
lsunli
ghti ntensi
ty.

24
Micr
obialShif
tReaction
Photos
ynt heti
cbact
er i
a–

Thisisanotherpr ocess,i
nvolvingphotosyntheti
cbacteria,whi chactsasacat alys
ti nthe
darkconver si
onofcar bonmonoxi det ohydrogen(Equat i
on7).Suchami crobial“shi
ftreacti
on”
canaccompl ishtheconver si
onatr oom t emperat
ur eandinones tep,incont rasttochemi cal
catalys
tthatr equireshight emper aturesandmul ti
plestages
.Butt hisprocessislimit
edduet o
mas str
ansferlimitations ,whichcouldbeover comewi thgasphas eint hereactors.Henceitis
usefulforsmallscaleef f
ect i
vebioconver si
onofbiomas stoproducehydr ogen.

DarkFer ment at
ion
Anotherpot entiall
yviableapproachisdar kf er mentation,whichcanconver twas te
biomassathigheryi el
dst ohydrogen.Themodelf ors uchapr ocessi
sf ermentat i
onofwas te
biomasstopr oducemet hane.Hydrogenfer ment at i
oncanus esimil
arhar dwareandhencemakes
theprocesspromi si
ng.Inaddi ti
ont owastet r
eat mentcr edit
s,itcouldcovermuchoft hecostsof
wastehandlingandpr ocessi
ng. Onerealterm opt ioni nthisregardistopr oduceami xtur
eof
hydrogenandmet hanei nat wo-s t
agepr ocess(Equat i
on8) .Thefirs
ts t
epwoul dproduce
hydrogenandor ganicacids,whichwouldbeconver tedt omet haneins econdf ermentati
ons t
age.

Cl
ass
ifi
cat
ionofal
lHydr
ogenPr
oduci
ngOr
gani
sms

Hydr
ogenpr
oduci
ngmi
croor
gani
smscanbegr
oupedi
ntof
ourcat
egor
ies
:

CategoryI–Stri
ctanaer obichet erotrophsl keCl
i ostri
dia,Mi crococci,Met hanobact eri
aetc.are
categori
zedinthiscategory.Thes ebact er
iadonotcont ai nacyt ochr omes ystem buthave
hydrogenaseenzymeandel ectroncar ri
erf erri
doxinprot ein.Thef ollowings chemer epres
ents
thereacti
onofpyr uvatedegr adat ioninClos t
ridi
um pas teurianum:( Equation9) .Thepresenceof
oxygenseverel
yinhibitsthegener ati
onofhydr ogen,whi chindicat estheinter f
erenceor
compet i
tionbyoxygenwi thhydr ogenast het erminalelectronaccept or.

25
CategoryII-Het
erotrophi
cfacultat
iveanaerobeslkeE.
i colithatcontaincytochromesandlys
e
for
mat etoproducehydrogeninthesemi cr
oorganisms.
For mat eisoxidi
zedtocarbondioxi
de
andhydrogenbyf or
mat ehydrogenase,whichisacomplexoff ormat edehydrogenaseand
hydrogenaseenzyme.Thefol
lowingschemer epres
entsthissystem:

CategoryII
I-Onl yonemi cr
oorganis
m i scategoriz
ed int hi
scategor
ybecaus eofit
suni que
charact
eri
stc.Des
i ulf
ovibr
iodesulfur
icansi sahet er
otrophicstr
ictanaer
obewi thhydrogena
cytochr
omes ys
tem oflowredoxpotential(EO=-205mV).Thiscanals
ousesulphat
eandhydr ogen
aster
minalelect
ronoxidant.Thehydrogenaseenz ymeismorelikecategor
yItype,wher
easthe
act
ualproces
sofpyruvatedegradati
onpr oducesformicacidi
ntermediatel
iket
hemechanis
m of
cat
egoryII
.HenceenzymesinDdes ul
furi
cansmi ghtrepres
entatransi
tionst
ate.

Categor V-Al
yI lphotosynt
heticmicroor
ganismsareplacedinthi
scategor
y.Photos
yntheti
c
bacter
iaevol
vehydr ogenfrom NADHandt heprocessdependsonlight
.Thi
scategor
yincl
udes
photosynt
heticsulf
urbacteri
aandt heanaerobi
calgae.

26
HydrogenPr oduct
ionbyChemot r ophs
Chemot rophichydrogen pr oducingbact eri
aar ewi del
ydi st
r i
buted i
n nature.Someof
them ares ymbioti
cwi t
hhumanandot heranimal s
,whi l
esomes peciesarepathogensofhuman,
otherani malsorplants.Generall
y,obligateandf acultati
veanaerobi cbacter
iaevolvehydrogen
asares ultofdegradationofor ganicsubstrat
esr esult
inginATPs ynthesisatsubs
tratelevel
.The
product i
onofH2i ns omepr ocessesall
owsmi croor ganis
mt ooxidizepar ti
cul
arsubs t
ratesmore
effi
cient l
y,butnotal ls
ubs tratescanbedi rect
lyoxidizedbymi croorganismswi ththepr oduction
ofhydr ogen.
Inmanycas es,degr adat i
ons tepsar ei nvolvedleadingt othef ormat i
onofi ntermediatest hatare
oxidi
z ed wi t
ht he evol uti
on of hydr ogen.However f acultative anaerobic bacteria evolve
hydrogen i n anaer obiccondi ti
on,butwhen t hese microor ganismsar e exposed t o oxygen,
hydrogen pr oduction i sinhi bited,al though t hi
si nhibition may be r ever s
ibl
e.Fi nally,the
accumul ationofhydr ogeni nhi bitsitsownf or
mat i
oni nmanymi croorganismsandi nmanycas es
wher edegr adat i
on ofor gani ccompoundsi sobligatoryr elated tohydr ogen evolut i
on.Hi gh
partialpressureofhydr ogeni nhibi t
st hegr owthoft hesemi croorganisms.
Thei nhibitoryef f
ectofhydr ogeni sus uallystr
ongwhenhydr ogenf ormat ionislinkedt othe
oxidat i
onofNADH. Asther edoxpot entialofNADH/ NAD+(E′o
= -320mV )i
smo re posi
tivetha nthat
+ +
ofH2/
H(E′
o
=-
420mV)
.Fort
hisr
eas
on,t
heoxi
dat
ionofNADHt
oNAD andhydr
ogeni
spos
sibl
e
-
3
onlyataver ylow par t
ialpr essureofhydr ogen( about1 .5x1 0 at m).I nnat uret hel ow par ti
al
pressureofhydr ogeni smai nt ainedasar esultofi nteractionbet weenhydr ogenpr oduci ngand
hydr ogencons umingmi cr oorgani sms .Thi stypeofi nteractionbet weenmi croor gani smsi svery
impor tantinr umenwher eupt o80lofhydr ogenmaybef ormedi nr umenofacowever ydayasa
resultoft hef erment ati
onofcel lulos eandot herpl antmat er i
alsbydi fferentmi croor ganisms .
Butt herei sno accumul ati
on ofmol ecularhydr ogen becaus et he met hanogeni c bact er
ia
cons umei t.
Tables howst heamountofhydr ogenpr oducedbys everalchemot r
ophi cbact eri
af rom pur e
simpl esubstrateandwas t es.Butcal culat ionshowst hatef fi
ciencyofener gyconver siont o
hydr ogendoesnotexceed33% oft hecombus tibleener gyinor ganicsubs trates .
Inpar ticular
hydr ogenyi el
dsar elowerandef ficiencyofener gyconver sioni sappr oximat ely20%. Thust he
product ionofhydr ogeni slimi tedandi tisnotpr oducedonal argescal e.However ,ifhydr ogen
product ioniscoupl edtot hepr oduct ionofot heri mpor tantcompoundsorwi tht hes tabi l
izat
ion
ofwas t
es(Tabl e),i
tmaybeus eful. Thepr oductionofhydr ogenbydi fferentmi croor gani smsis
intimat el
ylinkedwi t
hthei rener gymet abol i
sms .Inaerobi cmi croorgani sms ,ther eleas ed
electronsfrom s ubstrat
eoxi dat ionar et r
ans ferredt ooxygenasul ti
mat eoxidantwhi lein
27
anaerobicorganis
ms ,wher ethesupplyofenergyisli
mited,electr
onsreleasedfrom the
anaerobiccataboli
sm us emanyt er
mi naloxi
dantssuchasnitrateands ul
phat e.However,
obli
gat eandfacult
at i
veanaer obesusethem astheterminalelectronacceptor.Thushere
hydrogenpr oducti
oni soneoft hespecif
icmechanismt odis
pos eofexcesselect
ronsthrought
he
acti
vityofenzymehydr ogenasepresentinH2producingmicroorganisms.

Now adaysmi
crobi
alH2 pr
oduct
ionbyf
erment
ati
vehydr
ogenpr
oducer
sisbei
ngext
ens
ivel
y
investigated.St ri
ctanaer obeshad a s t
oi chiomet ry of1 :4 compar ed t o1:2f orf acultative
anaer obeswi thglucos eass ubs t
rate.Consideringal lthes efactsaboutpr oduct ionofhydr ogenby
anaer obicmi croorgani smsandt hei
ropt imals toi
chi omet ry,thel aterpr ocessiscompar atively
simplert hanf ormer ,hencer educesthecos tofhydr ogenpr oduct i
onandt husmakest hepr ocess
economi call
yfeasible. Inlast25yearshydrogenener gyhasmovedi nallfront smaki ngroadsi nall
areasofener gy.Andi nnext20year sthepr ogres swillbemanyf oldgreat erandhydr ogenener gy
system mi ghtpr ovidet heplanetear thwitht heener gys ystem,s hedes er ves,whichishos pitable
tolife,cleanandef ficient.Hencehydr ogenener gysys tem willenhancet hequal ityoflifeforthe
peopl eoft hewor l
dandhel pt opreserveourbi ospher e.Indiahasal sor ecogni zedhydr ogenasa
fuelofgr eatpot entialandl ikelytobet heonl ys our ceofener gyavai lablet omani nyear st o
28
come.

29