DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

SAPTHAGIRI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

(Affiliated to VTU, Belagavi, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi)
Academic year 2018-2019

“CLEAN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY”

PRESENTED BY
PRIYANKA R (1SG15BT022)

GUIDE
Mr. ANANDA H V
Assistant professor
Department of biotechnology
 Introduction
 Clean energy technology is the process or technology which
utilizes the natural or renewable energy resources to produce
energy and that can be replaced in the place of fossil fuels.
 The main aim of clean energy technology is to reduce the
amount of environmental pollution and to minimize the use of
fossil fuels.
 They generally includes the steps such as recycling, use of
renewable resources (solar power, biomass, wind power,
hydropower, biofuels etc.), green transportation and other
modes which are energy efficient.
 This clean energy technology came into picture due to extreme
climatic changes and global warming caused due to the use of
fossil fuels. [1]
 So this clean energy technology helps partially to overcome
from environmental depletion by replacing the fossil fuels by
natural and replenishable resources as a source of energy.
 There are several agencies and schemes which have come
forward to develop and improve the clean energy technologies
and thus to help the future for better living. Some of them are
as follows:
 International energy agency
 Clean energy research initiative ( GOI)
 International renewable energy agency
 International solar alliance
And many more programs have been setup in order to
efficiently utilize the renewable energy resources and to develop
clean energy technology. [1]
 Due to increased population the need of fossil fuels(natural gas,
coal and fuel oil) increased gradually. But these fossil fuels are
non renewable energy resources and they require billions of
years for their formation and they also emit out harmful gases
into atmospheres on combustion.
 So this non-renewable resources has to be replaced by
replenishing renewable resources which acts as a clean energy
resources and they also helps in the sustainable development of
the environment. [2]

Fig 1: Greenhouse Effect [8]

Some of the clean energy resources are
as follows:
Solar energy
• As we all know sun is the major source for all other
energy sources. The energy that is obtained directly
through sun is called solar energy. This solar energy is
mainly of two categories. They are:
• Active solar technology: It is the technology in which
the solar energy is directly utilized for the purpose of
heating and to produce electricity.
• Passive solar technology: It is the technology in which
the solar energy is not converted into electricity or any
other form directly instead the heat energy is stored and
distributed for the purpose of heating of home (during
winter season). [3]
 Active solar technology
Photovoltaic cells
 These are the devices which utilizes the direct sunlight as the
source of energy to generate electricity based on the principle
of photovoltaic effect.

Fig 2: Photovoltaic cells [9]

 The electrons flow in a semiconductor due to absorption of
photons from the sunlight and they also eject electrons leaving
a hole, that is filled by surrounding electrons and now the
photovoltaic cell(PV) directs the electrons to move in one
direction and this forms a current.
 The amount of current generated is directly proportional to the
total amount of photons absorbed from the sunlight.
 Here the semiconductor used is silicon based material to
achieve high efficiency. [3]
Monocrystalline & Polycrystalline PV
cells

Fig 3: Monocrystalline & Polycrystalline PV cells [10]

 Dye Sensitized Solar Cells(DSSC)
 It is a third generation solar cell.

Fig 4: Dye Sensitized Solar Cells(DSSC) [11]

 DSSC is a composition of porous layer of titanium dioxide
nanoparticles, and covered with a molecular dye that absorbs
sunlight.
 The titanium dioxide is immersed under an electrolyte solution,
above which is a platinum-based catalyst. As in a conventional
alkaline battery, an anode (the titanium dioxide) and a cathode
(the platinum) are placed on either side of a liquid conductor
(the electrolyte).
 Sunlight passes through the transparent electrode into the dye
layer where it can excite electrons that then flow into the
titanium dioxide.
 The electrons flow toward the transparent electrode where
they are collected for powering a load.
 After flowing through the external circuit, they are re-
introduced into the cell on a metal electrode on the back,
flowing into the electrolyte. The electrolyte then transports the
electrons back to the dye molecules.
 By this process the electricity gets generated. [4]
 Passive solar technology
 In this technique the indirect utilization of the heat is carried
out and is stored for future purposes
 Solar thermal energy is a type in which the suns heat energy is
harnessed to produce hot water, this consists of a solar energy
collector on a roof top and the collector takes up the sunlight
and changes it into heat from which the water gets heated up. [3]

Fig 5: Solar water heater [12]

Advantages
 They reduce the amount of pollution and the release of pollutants by reducing
the usage of fossil fuels.
 Solar plants last longer duration (30 to 40 years).
 It is of continuous supply & also replenishable within a short period of time.
 It doesn’t require any work to store, extract or transport.

Disadvantages
 Installation cost is high.
 It requires engineering expertise to design & install the system.
 It mainly depends upon the weather conditions.
 The pollutants present in the atmosphere can also effect the efficiency of
panels.
Applications
 Solar photovoltaic cells for electricity generation.
 Solar cooking.
 Solar desalination.
 Solar drying.
 Heating and cooling of buildings.
 PV mobile network towers.
 Solar engines for water pumping.
 Hydropower energy
 It is the cheapest way to produce electricity, which employs a
clean energy source such as water flow to generate the power
source.

Fig 6: Hydropower plant [13]

 This hydropower is generated by the flow of water from higher
elevations to lower elevations due to gravity and this water
 The water falls on installed setup which consists of a turbine,
and due to the flow of water the blades within the turbine
pushes away and this in turn rotates the turbine and thus
electricity is generated.
 This hydropower generates about one fifth of world electricity
supply.
 Hydropower generation mainly depends on the rainfall pattern
and it varies from year to year based on the amount of rain,
because more waterfall generates more electricity. [5]
Advantages
 It is the cheapest way to produce the electricity.
 They produce high efficient type of electricity.
 Lower maintenance costs and is not much expensive.
 They can prevent the uncontrolled flooding.
 Electricity can be generated constantly.

Disadvantages
 Dams are very expensive to build.
 Droughts effects production.
 Fishes like salmon are prevented from swimming upstream to spawn.
 They also affect the nearby wildlife.
Applications
 Hydroelectric power generation
 Storage of irrigation water.
 They control the floods in rivers.
 Storage of water in dams for future purpose.
 Wind energy
 Wind energy is the part of solar energy, due to differential
heating of earth’s surface the wind flow is caused and this is
implied over the wind plants to generate electricity.
 This wind energy mainly depends on wind speed, density of air
and swept area of turbine.
 The windmill that uses the kinetic energy of the wind to
produce an electrical energy output is called a Wind Turbine.
 Multiple wind turbines that are arranged together in clusters to
capture large amounts of wind energy at the same time and
convert it into electrical power feeding this power into the
electrical grid are known as Wind Farms.
 Fig 7: Wind turbine [14]

 A wind turbine turns energy in the wind into electricity using

the aerodynamic force created by the rotor blades, which work
similarly to an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade.
 The wind rotates the turbines rotor blades around a central
hub, which turns a low speed gearbox shaft, which rotates a
generator at a higher speed and makes electricity.
 The electrical generator converts the kinetic energy of the
rotating blades into electrical energy were electrical cables
carry this energy to an electrical sub-station for distribution to
the utility grid. [6]
Advantages
 It is a clean and sustainable energy resource.
 The land used for wind farms can also be used for other profitable activities
(i.e. farming and foresting).
 Low maintenance cost.
 Wind blows day and night so the electricity is produced throughout the day.
 It supplies power to remote areas.

Disadvantages
 The turbines on rotating may create a lots of noise.
 Wind turbines do not produce the amount of electricity all the time.
 Threat to wildlife in remote locations.
 Harm to bird and bat populations.
Applications
 They produce electricity for agriculture and fishery industries.
 For street lighting.
 For telecommunication.
 For marine industry power supply.
 Electricity for housing.
 Biofuels
 Biofuels are fuels produced directly or indirectly from organic
material biomass including plant materials and animal waste.
 This covers 10% of energy total world energy demand.
 This biomass is converted into a liquid and is called as biofuel.
 Ethanol is one such biofuel which is obtained from sources such
as plant and animal materials commonly known as biomass
 The most ethanol is made from plant starches and sugars.
 The common method for converting biomass into ethanol is
called fermentation. During fermentation, microorganisms
(e.g., bacteria and yeast) metabolize plant sugars and produce
ethanol. [7]
Fig 8: Bioethanol production process [15]
 Biodiesel is an alternative fuel used instead of crude oil. They are generally
manufactured by a simple process such as transesterification process using
the raw materials such as vegetable oil, animal fat, algae and certain oil
crops like pongamia seeds, rapeseeds, palm seed and soybean.

Fig 9: Transesterification process [16]

 Biofuels from microalgae

 Microalgae is a single celled microscopic organism, commonly

found in fresh and marine water. For their growth they require
a temperature of 20-30 C, light, CO2, water and inorganic salts
such as nitrogen(N), phosphorous(P), iron(Fe) and silicon(Si).
They also have a short doubling time of 24 hours and hence
they act as an ideal renewable source for biofuels production.
 There are several methods followed for the cultivation of
microalgae, such as suspended cultures and immobilized
cultures. For large scale production of microalgae algal ponds
are used for cultivation.
 After complete growth of microalgae, they are sent for the
harvesting process for recovering of the suspended algae. The
methods used for harvesting are chemical, mechanical and
biological methods, where simple methods such as
centrifugation is generally applied for harvesting of cells.
 Then they are send for chemical treatments such as pyrolysis,
liquefaction for the obtaining the products such as bio-oil,
biofuels and biodiesel. By these method biofuels are extracted
in an easiest method and to overcome the problems faced by
first and second generation biofuels

Fig 10: Biofuel production process from microalgae [17]

Advantages
 Bio degradable and non-toxic.
 It mainly reduces the amount of CO2 emission.
 They can be used in any vehicles engine without any modifications.
 High cetane number and flash point.
 It has minimum Sulphur content.

Disadvantages
 Biodiesel gels in cold weather.
 It is quite expensive.
 They have low energy output then traditional fields.
 There stability is less.
Applications
 They are mainly used for the purpose of transportation.
 They are also used for power generation.
 They are used to produce bio heat.
 Discussion

 It is clear that there is a strong need to incorporate more renewable

energy sources into the grid of the future.
 These storage technologies will vary according to various renewable
sources, also cost minimization models have been proposed to
overcome the cost of buying these sources.
 Although this paper focused mostly on application of renewable
energy resources and their utilities, with increasing government
approach toward greenhouse gas emission reductions and their
storage the idea of renewable energy sources and storage
technologies will undoubtedly increase rapidly in the next decade.
 This will continue to be a major topic of future research as developing
countries and will face different challenges when it deals with energy
and power systems.
 References
1. Phebe Asantewaa Owusu and Samuel Asumadu-Sarkodie. “A review of
renewable energy sources, sustainability issues and climate change mitigation”,
Journal of Cogent Engineering, 3, pp 1-14 [2016].
2. Javid Mohtasham. “ Review Article-Renewable Energies” Energy Procedia ,
74, pp 1289 – 1297 [2015].
3. Ehsanul Kabira, Pawan Kumarb, Sandeep Kumarc, Adedeji A. Adelodund, Ki-
Hyun Kime. “Solar energy: Potential and future prospects” J of Renewable and
sustainable energy reviews, 82, pp 894-200 [2018]
4.Khalil Ebrahim Jasim. “Dye Sensitized Solar Cells - Working Principles,
Challenges and Opportunities” Journal of intechopen, 8, pp 171-204 [2011].
5.www.originenergy.com.au/blog/about-energy/what-is-
hydropower.html.
6. Deepika chauhan*, Sanjay Agarwal**, Mahendra Kumar Suman***
“Wind Power Scenario in India: A Review” International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications, 3, Issue 9, [2013] 1 ISSN 2250-
3153.
7. Anil Kumara n, Nitin Kumara, Prashant Baredara, Ashish Shuklab. “A review
on biomass energy resources, potential, conversion and policy in India”. Journal
of Renewable energy and Sustainable energy reviews, 45, pp 530-539, [2015].
8.www.unofficialnetworks.com
9. www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com.
10. www.civicsolar.com
11. www.blogionik.org
12. www.sunfuel.co.in
13.www.science.howstuffworks.com. How Hydropower Plants Work.
14.www.beaufortcourt.com
15. Kishore Chandra Swain. “Biofuel Production in India: Potential,
Prospectus and Technology”, Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable
Energy and Applications, 129 [2014]
16.Armando T. Quitain1,2, Shunsaku Katoh2 and Motonobu Goto3.
“Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biofuels”. Biofuel Production – Recent
Developments and Prospects, 16, pp 415-436 [2011].
17. Biodiesel production from algae oil transesterification.
www.autospot.com
 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank all our

department faculties for their constant
support for this technical seminar.