Lesson 1 – Introduction to Energy

Part 1. Why Energy?

 We have been using energy for a long time. Up until about 1900 the main source of energy
was wood, then coal. We used, and continue to use energy to make life easier.

 This use of energy for comfort and convenience includes things like cooking, heating, air
conditioner, washing clothes, microwave, refrigerator, bathroom (pumping and treating
water), TV, phones. Did you know energy was used for all these things?

 World energy consumption has increased exponentially in the last 100 or so years. World
population has increased exponentially also during this time period.
1900 = 1.2 billion people
1927 = 2 billion people
2000 = 6 billion people

 This increase in energy consumption is due to both population increase and (we are using
more energy per person)

 Editorial: For many people the use of energy has REALLY changed quickly in the last 100 or so
years and transformed our lives. No longer are we walking to get water from the creek or
pumping it by hand. We no longer have to gather firewood to heat the house. On and on are
the changes.

 There are still many people that have no access to electricity. About 17% of the world
population has no access to electricity.

 World energy is not divided equally among countries. US has about 4.5% of the population
and uses about 18% of the energy. China is about 20% of the population and 20% of the
energy but energy consumption is growing rapidly.
(Energy use is really unevenly distributed across the world)

 Energy source is primarily fossil fuel. This has always been the case (remember wood).
Fossil fuels make up about 81% of the total energy in the US.
Renewable = 10%
Nuclear = 9%

 What is a hydrocarbon? Molecules of H and C (plus some impurities)

 What makes one hydrocarbon different from another?? Number of C and H molecules and
the bonds they form. This impacts many characteristics of the hydrocarbon making them
 useful for different things.

 Fossil fuel formation:

Organic material from 300 million years, buried by rocks & dirt, and over time under heat
and pressure, these plants either turn into coal or petroleum and natural gas
What is the difference between coal and petroleum formation.
- Coal formed in swamps, Petroleum/natural gas formed in the Ocean (buried in ocean bed)

 What are the five reasons why people might be concerned about energy? (WHY MOVE
AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS)
1) Finite Supply (Oil, gas and coal won’t run out as there is a lot of it, issue is how much it
costs to extract those things)
2) Human Health – bad air quality
3) Environment - water quality issues (fossil fuel extraction and purity processes), climate
change
4) National Security – we are dependent on other for energy (so we need renewable
sources so we don’t have to rely on other countries)
5) Geographic Distribution – lots of areas of the world don’t have electricity – because of
limited access or its too expensive. “There are some places that don’t have good grid
access that could benefit from local renewable energy. Especially true in developing
countries)

This is a good graph when we look at the energy supplied by different sources. You will be
seeing it again in later lessons. Note that with many energy graphs the data seems old
(2014) but it takes the EIA awhile to collect and process this data so nothing is in real time.
Yeah, surprised there is not 2015 data.

Part 2. Energy Measurement and Conversion

 What are some standard units for energy quantification? British Thermal Unit (Btu)
 What is the official definition of a Btu?? Energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound
of water from 39F to 40F
1 Btu = 1055 Joules

 Since these units are so small (1 Btu is about the energy contained in burning one match
stick), we need to have “prefixs” to talk about energy. Prefixs like Kilo or Mega . . . Do you
know where to find what these prefixes mean?

Kilo (K) = 1000

Mega (M) = 10^6
Giga (G) = 10^9
 Quad/Quadrillion = 10^15
Exo = 10^18

 What is energy density by mass?

Energy per unit mass (Btu/lb)
 What is energy density by volume?
Comparing the same amount of volume, how much energy does a material have
(Btu/ft3)
 What fossil fuel has the highest energy density by mass? = Gasoline

by volume? = Gasoline

 Why is an energy density measurement important? __________________

 Energy in fossil fuels is in the form of chemical energy. To make it useful to we need to
convert it to other forms of energy (mechanical energy to transport us or light energy.)
 Technically, energy is not lost in the conversion process based on this “law” of
thermodynamics?. However, it is not all useful energy after the conversion process as the
energy is converted to thermal energy that is not always useful to us. NOTE: In future
lessons we will talk about ways that this “wasted” heat is being recovered and used.
 Electricity is not considered a primary energy source, but rather a SECONDARY energy
source because it is the result of some conversion process.
(Fossil Fuels = Primary source)

Lesson 1 Reflection
1) There are three reasons why I took this course. One because it was a minor requirement
as I am pursuing the Sustainability Studies minor. Two, because I wanted to learn more
renewable energy in general, as I’ve been more engaged with climate change as a really
pressing issue. Lastly because this is an online class which worked out perfectly with my
busy schedule this semester.
2) Chemical Engineering major with a minor in Sustainability Studies.
3) I expect to be knowledgeable about the different kinds of ways people have been
successful adopting renewable energy and the different forms of renewable energy. As
in the future, I plan to help out and research for different sources of renewable energy
too!
4) “How Australia can use hydrogen to export its solar power around the world” -
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/may/19/how-australia-can-
use-hydrogen-to-export-its-solar-power-around-the-world

“Recent innovations in hydrogen generation, storage, transport and use could transform
it into the ultimate source of clean energy” – as it does not emit carbon dioxide when its
burnt. Hydrogen actually isn’t a fuel itself, it’s an energy carrier. Hydrogen is produced
by electrolysis of water. It can be compressed to a liquid which can be used like
petrol/diesel or used in fuel cells to generate electricity. So the question that remains is
if this is such an amazing energy source, why isn’t it more commonly used? It’s because
of infrastructure. We have been burning natural gas for so long, that it will take some
time to start burning hydrogen instead. And because it’s not that common, even
hydrogen fueling stations in an expensive investment in Australia. Moreover, what
Australia could do is with the extensive renewable energy sources available (solar and
wind) which could be used to produce hydrogen, it can become an exporter of energy in
the form of hydrogen. However, to transport the hydrogen to suppose Japan the gas
would need to be cooled to at least -250C which ironically requires a lot of energy.
Hence, this source still needs more research and development alongside a push in the
infrastructure.