UNIT- 5

MISCELLANEOUS ENERGY TECHNIQUES

Ocean Energy:
Tidal energy is produced by the surge of ocean waters during the rise and
fall of tides. Tidal energy isa renewable source of energy.

During the 20th century, engineers developed ways to use tidal

movement to generate electricity in areas where there is a significant tidal
range—the difference in area between high tide and low tide. All methods
use special generators to convert tidal energy into electricity.

Tidal energy production is still in its infancy. The amount of power

produced so far has been small. There are very few commercial-sized tidal
power plants operating in the world. The first was located in La Rance,
France. The largest facility is the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station in South
Korea. The United States has no tidal plants and only a few sites where tidal
energy could be produced at a reasonable price. China, France, England,
Canada, and Russia have much more potential to use this type of energy.

In the United States, there are legal concerns about underwater land
ownership and environmental impact. Investors are not enthusiastic about
tidal energy because there is not a strong guarantee that it will make money
or benefit consumers. Engineers are working to improve the technology of
tidal energy generators to increase the amount of energy they produce, to
decrease their impact on the environment, and to find a way to earn a profit
for energy companies.

Tidal Energy: Tide or wave is periodic rise and fall of water level of the sea.
Tides occur due to the attraction of sea water by the moon. Tides contain
large amount of potential energy which is used for power generation. When
the water is above the mean sea level, it is called flood tide. When the water
level is below the mean level it is called ebb tide.
Working:

The arrangement of this system is shown in figure. The ocean tides rise and
fall and water can be stored during the rise period and it can be discharged
during fall. A dam is constructed separating the tidal basin from the sea and
a difference in water level is obtained between the basin and sea.

During high tide period, water flows from the sea into the tidal basin
through the water turbine. The height of tide is above that of tidal basin.
Hence the turbine unit operates and generates power, as it is directly
coupled to a generator.

During low tide period, water flows from tidal basin to sea, as the water level
in the basin is more than that of the tide in the sea. During this period also,
the flowing water rotates the turbine and generator power.
The generation of power stops only when the sea level and the tidal basin
level are equal. For the generation of power economically using this source
of energy requires some minimum tide height and suitable site. Kislaya
power plant of 250 MW capacity in Russia and Rance power plant in France
are the only examples of this type of power plant.

Advantages of tidal power plants:

1. It is free from pollution as it does not use any fuel.

2. It is superior to hydro-power plant as it is totally independent of rain.
3. It improves the possibility of fish farming in the tidal basins and it can
provide recreation to visitors and holiday makers.

Disadvantages:

1. Tidal power plants can be developed only if natural sites are available
on the bay.
2. As the sites are available on the bays which are always far away from
load centers, the power generated has to be transmitted to long
distances. This increases the transmission cost and transmission
losses

Different tidal power plants:

The tidal power plants are generally classified on the basis of the number of
basins used for the power generation. They are further subdivided as one-
way or two-way system as per the cycle of operation for power generation.
The classification is represented with the help of a line diagram as given
below.
Working of different tidal power plants:

 Single basin-one-way cycle

This is the simplest form of tidal power plant. In this system a basin is
allowed to get filled during flood tide and during the ebb tide, the
water flows from the basin to the sea passing through the turbine and
generates power. The power is available for a short duration ebb tide.
 Figure (a) shows a single tide basin before the construction, of dam
and figure (b) shows the diagrammatic representation of a dam at the
mouth of the basin and power generating during the falling tide.

 Single-basin two-way cycle:

In this arrangement, power is generated both during flood tide as well
as ebb tide also. The power generation is also intermittent but
generation period is increased compared with one-way cycle. However,
the peak obtained is less than the one-way cycle. The arrangement of
the basin and the power cycle is shown in figure.

The main difficulty with this arrangement, the same turbine must be
used as prime mover as ebb and tide flows pass through the turbine
in opposite directions. Variable pitch turbine and dual rotation
generator are used of such scheme.
 Single –basin two-way cycle with pump storage:
In this system, power is generated both during flood and ebb tides.
Complex machines capable of generating power and pumping the
water in either direction are used. A part of the energy produced is
used for introducing the difference in the water levels between the
basin and sea at any time of the tide and this is done by pumping
water into the basin up or down. The period of power production with
this system is much longer than the other two described earlier. The
cycle of operation is shown in figure.
  Double basin type:

In this arrangement, the turbine is set up between the basins as

shown in figure. One basin is intermittently filled tide and other is
intermittently drained by the ebb tide. Therefore, a small capacity but
continuous power is made available with this system as shown in
figure. The main disadvantages of this system are that 50% of the
potential energy is sacrificed in introducing the variation in the water
levels of the two basins.

 Double basin with pumping

In this case, off peak power from the base load plant in a
interconnected transmission system is used either to pump the water
up the high basin. Net energy gain is possible with such a system if
the pumping head is lower than the basin-to-basin turbine generating
head.

Fuel Cells:
A fuel cell can be defined as an electrochemical cell that generates electrical
energy from fuel via an electrochemical reaction.

Fuel cells require a continuous input of fuel and an oxidizing

agent (generally oxygen) in order to sustain the reactions that generate the
electricity. Therefore, these cells can constantly generate electricity until the
supply of fuel and oxygen is cut off.

Despite being invented in the year 1838, fuel cells began commercial
use only a century later when they were used by NASA to power space
capsules and satellites. Today, these devices are used as the primary or
secondary source of power for many facilities including industries,
commercial buildings, and residential buildings.

A fuel cell is similar to electrochemical cells, which consists of a

cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. In these cells, the electrolyte enables
the movement of the protons.

Working of Fuel Cell:

The reaction between hydrogen and oxygen can be used to generate

electricity via a fuel cell. Such a cell was used in the Apollo space
programme and it served two different purposes – It was used as a fuel
source as well as a source of drinking water (the water vapour produced
from the cell, when condensed, was fit for human consumption).

The working of this fuel cell involved the passing of hydrogen and oxygen
into a concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide via carbon electrodes. The
cell reaction can be written as follows:

Cathode Reaction: O2 + 2H2O + 4e– → 4OH–

Anode Reaction: 2H2 + 4OH– → 4H2O + 4e–

Net Cell Reaction: 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

However, the reaction rate of this electrochemical reaction is quite low. This
issue is overcome with the help of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium.
In order to increase the effective surface area, the catalyst is finely divided
before being incorporated into the electrodes.

A block diagram of this fuel cell is provided below.

Types of Fuel Cells:

Despite working similarly, there exist many varieties of fuel cells. Some of
these types of fuel cells are discussed in this subsection.

 The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell:

 These cells are also known as proton exchange membrane fuel cells
(or PEMFCs).

 The temperature range that these cells operate in is between 50oC to

100oC

 The electrolyte used in PEMFCs is a polymer which has the ability to

conduct protons.

 A typical PEM fuel cell consists of bipolar plates, a catalyst, electrodes,

and the polymer membrane.

 Despite having eco-friendly applications in transportation, PEMFCs

can also be used for the stationary and portable generation of power.
 Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell:

 These fuel cells involve the use of phosphoric acid as an electrolyte in

order to channel the H+

 The working temperatures of these cells lie in the range of 150oC –

200oC

 Electrons are forced to travel to the cathode via an external circuit

because of the non-conductive nature of phosphoric acid.

 Due to the acidic nature of the electrolyte, the components of these

cells tend to corrode or oxidize over time.

 Solid Acid Fuel Cell:

 A solid acid material is used as the electrolyte in these fuel cells.

 The molecular structures of these solid acids are ordered at low

temperatures.

 At higher temperatures, a phase transition can occur which leads to a

huge increase in conductivity.

 Examples of solid acids include CsHSO4 and

CsH2PO4 (cesium hydrogen sulfate and cesium dihydrogen phosphate
respectively)

 Alkaline Fuel Cell:

 This was the fuel cell which was used as the primary source of
electricity in the Apollo space program.

 In these cells, an aqueous alkaline solution is used to saturate a

porous matrix, which is in turn used to separate the electrodes.
  The operating temperatures of these cells are quite low (approximately
90oC).

 These cells are highly efficient. They also produce heat and water
along with electricity.

 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell:

 These cells involve the use of a solid oxide or a ceramic electrolyte

(such as yttria-stabilized zirconia).
 These fuel cells are highly efficient and have a relatively low cost
(theoretical efficiency can even approach 85%).
 The operating temperatures of these cells are very high (lower limit of
600oC, standard operating temperatures lie between 800 and 1000oC).
 Solid oxide fuel cells are limited to stationary applications due to their
high operating temperatures.

 Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell:

 The electrolyte used in these cells is lithium potassium carbonate salt.

This salt becomes liquid at high temperatures, enabling the movement
of carbonate ions.
 Similar to SOFCs, these fuel cells also have a relatively high operating
temperature of 650oC
 The anode and the cathode of this cell are vulnerable to corrosion due
to the high operating temperature and the presence of the carbonate
electrolyte.
 These cells can be powered by carbon-based fuels such as natural
gas and biogas.

Applications of fuel cell:

Fuel cell technology has a wide range of applications. Currently, heavy

research is being conducted in order to manufacture a cost-efficient
automobile which is powered by a fuel cell. A few applications of this
technology are listed below.

1. Fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs, use clean fuels and are therefore
more eco-friendly than internal combustion engine-based vehicles.
2. They have been used to power many space expeditions including the
Apollo space program.
3. Generally, the byproducts produced from these cells are heat and
water.
4. The portability of some fuel cells is extremely useful in some military
applications.
5. These electrochemical cells can also be used to power several
electronic devices.
6. Fuel cells are also used as primary or backup sources of electricity in
many remote areas.

ALKALINE FUEL CELL:

Introduction:

The first alkaline fuel cell was built by Francis Thomas Bacon in 1939. He
used potassium hydroxide for the electrolyte and porous gas diffusion
electrodes instead of acid electrodes and solid electrodes. Alkaline fuel cells
were one the first fuel cell technology developed in the USA and widely used
in US space program to produce electrical energy and water on board
spacecraft.

Alkaline Fuel Cells(AFCs):

 These fuel cells use solution of potassium hydroxide in water as the

electrolyte and variety of non-precious metals as catalyst at the anode
and cathode.

 Recently polymer membrane as the electrolyte have been developed for

AFCs.
  These fuel cells are similar to that of PEM fuel cells except that they
use alkaline membrane instead of acid membrane.

 It produces carbon dioxide (CO2) which is key challenge. Even small

percentage of carbon dioxide in the air greatly affect cell performance
and durability due to formation of carbonate.

 The alkaline cells with liquid electrolytes can be run in recirculating

mode which helps to reduce the effects of carbonate formation in the
electrolyte.

 However, the recirculate mode introduces shunt current.

 The recirculate electrolyte may suffer increased corrosion and difficult

to handling different pressure.

 The alkaline membrane fuel cells produce lower carbon monoxides as

compared to that liquid electrolyte AFCs.

 The applications of AFCs are limited to watt to kilo watts.

Working Principle:

 When the fuel in the fuel cell travels to catalyst layer, the fuel
molecules broken in to electrons and protons (H+).

 The electrons travel to external circuit and hydrogen protons travel

through electrolyte until it reaches the cathode to combine with
oxygen to form water.

 In the AFC, the reaction is similar, but it occurs in the opposite

direction with O2 producing the hydroxide and reacting with hydrogen
at the anode.

 The electrolyte in the alkaline cell is aqueous solution of alkaline

Chemical Reactios:

Anode: 2H2 + 4OH - → 4H2O + 4e –

Cathode: O2 + 2H2O + 4e - → 4OH –

Overall reaction: 2H2 + O2 → H2O

At cathode, O2 is reduced in the presence of H2O to produce OH - which

transfers to the anode and reacts with H2 to produce H2O.

Properties of Electrolyte:

 High ionic conductivity

 Be chemically and mechanically stable
 Low electronic conductivity
 Ease of availability
 Low cost

Advantages:

 Polymer electrolyte completely eliminates problem of electrolyte

leakage
 Lower carbonate formation as compared to liquid AFCs
 Low operating temperature
 Quick start up
Disadvantages:

 The key challenges are carbon dioxide, higher temperature operation,

water management membrane conductivity, durability, power density
and anode electrolysis.
 CO2 as by product which affect cell performance and durability
 Recirculate electrolyte operation reduce effect of carbonate formation
on the electrolyte but increased corrosion and difficult to handle
different pressure.

Applications:

 The AFC is well known for role in NASA apollo mission to provide
electricity and water to crew members.
 The AFCs use hydrogen as a fuel source, they are highly sensitive and
can fail when exposed to carbon dioxide that why they are primarily
used in under water applications and controlled aerospace.
 Military
 Space
 Back-up power
 Transportation

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (or) The Polymer Electrolyte

Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell:

 Also called as Solid Polymers and used for quick startup in

automobiles, light duty vehicles and potentially to replace
rechargeable batteries

 Electrolyte: Solid organic polymer poly-per flour sulfonic acid.

 Catalyst: Metals (usually platinum) coated on both sides of membrane

act as catalyst

 Advantages: Use of solid electrolyte reduces corrosion and

management problems

 Disadvantages: Sensitive to fuel impurities

 Cell outputs generally range from 50 to 250 kW.

Phosphoric Acid Fuel cell(PAFC):

 Used in hospitals, nursing homes and for all commercial purposes

 Electrolyte: Liquid Phosphoric acid
 Catalyst: platinum
 Electrical efficiency of 40%
 Advantages: using impure hydrogen as fuel and 85% of the steam can
be used for cogeneration
 Disadvantages: uses expensive platinum as catalyst, Large size and
weight, Low power and current
 PAFC have been used for stationary power generators with output in
the 100 kW to 400 kW range and are also finding application in large
vehicles such as buses
 Electrolyte is highly concentrated or pure liquid phosphoric acid
(H3PO4) saturated in a silicon carbide matrix (SiC). Operating range is
about 150 to 210 °C. The electrodes are made of carbon paper coated
with a finely dispersed platinum catalyst.
Chemical reactions:

Molten Carbonate Fuel cell:

 Majorly used for electric utility applications

 Electrolyte: Liquid solution of lithium, sodium and/or potassium
carbonates.
 Catalyst: Inexpensive metals can be used as catalyst other than
Platinum
 Advantages: High operating temperature allow for inexpensive
catalysts. Higher efficiency and flexibility to use more type of fuels.
 Disadvantage: Higher temperature enhances corrosion and breakage
of cell components
Chemical reactions:

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell:

 Highly promising fuel cell

 Used in big, high-power applications including industrial and large-
scale central electricity generating stations
 Some developers also see SOFC use in motor vehicles
 Power generating efficiencies could reach 60% and 85%
  Solid Oxide fuel cells (SOFC) use a hard, ceramic compound of metal
(like calcium or zirconium) oxides (chemically, O2) as electrolyte.
 Operating temperatures are about 1,000 °C (about 1,800 °F).
 Cells output is up to 100 kW. However, the high temperature limits
applications of SOFC units and they tend to be rather large. While
solid electrolytes cannot leak, they can crack

Bio mass energy(Bio Gas):

Biogas is a renewable energy source produced by the breakdown of organic

matter by certain bacteria under anaerobic conditions. It is a mixture of
methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. It can be produced by agricultural
waste, food waste, animal dung, manure, and sewage. The process of biogas
production is also known as anaerobic digestion.

Biogas recycles the waste products naturally and converts them into useful
energy, thereby, preventing any pollution caused by the waste in the
landfills, and cutting down the effect of the toxic chemicals released from
the sewage treatment plants.

Biogas converts the harmful methane gas produced during decomposition,

into less harmful carbon dioxide gas.
The organic material decomposes only in a wet environment. The organic
matter or the waste dissolves in water and forms a sludge which is rich in
nutrients and used as a fertilizer.

Biogas Plant:

The biogas production is carried out in anaerobic digesters known as Biogas

plant. These have five components

 An inlet to feed the slurry

 The fermentation chamber where the biogas is produced with the

activity of microorganisms

 The gas storage tank to store the gas produced

 The outlet for the used slurry,

 The exit pipe for removing the gas produced.

The organic matter if fed into the digesters which are completely submerged
in water to provide it with an anaerobic environment. These digesters are
hence called anaerobic digesters. The microorganism’s breakdown the
organic matter and convert it into biogas.

The biogas thus produced is supplied to the respective places through the
exit

Types of Biogas plants:

There are two basic models of biogas plants popular in India

1. Floating-drum type model biogas plants

2. Fixed-dome type model biogas plants

1. Fixed dome type biogas plant:

 The fixed dome type bio gas plant consists of a closed underground
digester tank made up of bricks which has a dome shaped roof also
made up of bricks. This dome shape roof of the digester tank
functions as gas holder and has an outlet pipe at the top to supply gas
to homes.
 The slurry is prepared by mixing water in cattle dung in equal
proportion in mixing tank. The slurry is then sent into the digester
tank with the help of inlet chamber. It should be noted that slurry is
fed into the digester tank up to the point where the dome of the roof
starts. Inside the digester tank, the complex carbon compounds
present in the cattle dung breaks into simpler substances by the
action of anaerobic microorganisms in the presence of water. This
anaerobic decomposition of complex carbon compounds present in
cattle dung produces bio gas and gets completed in about 60 days.
The bio gas so produced starts to collect in dome shaped roof of bio
gas plant and is supplied to homes through pipes. The spent slurry is
 replaced from time to time with fresh slurry to continue the
production of bio gas.

2.Floating dome type biogas plant:

 The floating gas holder type bio gas plant consists of a dome shaped
gas holder made of steel for collecting bio gas. The dome shaped gas
holder is not fixed but is moveable and floats over the slurry present
in the digester tank. Due to this reason, this biogas plant is called
floating gas holder type biogas plant.
 Slurry is prepared by mixing water in cattle dung in equal proportion
in mixing tank. The slurry is then injected into a digester tank with
the help of inlet pipe. The digester tank is a closed underground tank
made up of bricks. Inside the digester tank, the complex carbon
compounds present in the cattle dung breaks into simpler substances
by the action of anaerobic microorganisms in the presence of water.
This anaerobic decomposition of complex carbon compounds present
in cattle dung produces bio gas and gets completed in about 60 days.
The bio gas so produced starts to collect in floating gas holder and is
supplied to homes through pipes. And the spent slurry is replaced
from time to time with fresh slurry to continue the production of bio
gas.
Site Selection for Biogas plant:

Sizing of biogas plant follows based on three parameters namely

 Daily feed
 Retention time and
 Digester volume
The biogas plant size is dependent on the average daily feed stock and expected
hydraulic retention time of the material in the biogas system. Capacity of the
plant should be designed based on the availability of raw materials. Capacity of
the plant indicates the quantity of gas produced in a day. Based on the study, 1
kg of cow dung along with equal quantity of water (1:1) under anaerobic
conditions in a day produces 0.04 m3 or 40 litres of biogas.
Based on the availability of cow dung, the capacity of biogas plant to be
constructed can be calculated as follows

Example
I. 1 cow will yield an average of 10 kg of cow dung in a day. Assume a
house is having 3 cows. Our objective is to calculate the capacity of
the plant to be constructed.
II. 3 cow x 10 kg/cow/day = 30 kg of cow dung/day 1 kg of cow dung
will yield 0.04 m3 or 40 liters of biogas. So, 30 kg will produce 30x 40
= 1200 liters or 1.2 m3 of gas in a day. So, the capacity of the plant to
be constructed will be 1 m3.
Example
To produced 1 m3 of gas in a day, quantity of cow dung required can be
calculated as
1 m3/ (0.04 m3/kg of cow dung) = 25 kg of dung.
When a biogas plant is underfed the gas production will be low; in this case, the
pressure of the gas might not be sufficient to fully displace the slurry in the outlet
chamber. If too much material is fed into the digester and the volume of gas is
consumed, the slurry may enter the gas pipe and to the appliances.
Table shows the quantity of cow dung required for different plant capacities.
Plant Size Daily dung Quantity of water
(m3) required/day (kg) required (liters)
1 25 25
2 50 50
3 75 75
4 100 100
6 150 150
8 200 200
10 250 250
Table: Plant size and daily feed stock requirement

Scaling of the digester:

The size of the digester i.e. the digester volume is determined by the length of
the retention time and by the amount of fermentation slurry supplied daily. The
amount of fermentation slurry consists of the feed material (e.g., cattle dung) and
the mixing water.
Example
25kg of cow dung + 25 l water = 50 l fermentation slurry
The digester volume is calculated by the formula
Digester volume (l) = Daily feed (l/day) x Retention time (days)
Assuming the Retention time to be 40 days, then the digester volume can be
calculated by
Digester volume = 50 (l/day) x 40 (days) = 2000 l or 2 m3

Selection of construction site:

Selection of construction sites are mainly governed by the following factors:
 The site should facilitate easy construction works.
 The selected site should be such that the construction cost is minimized
 The selected site should ensure easy operation and maintenance activities
like feeding of plant, use of main gas valve, composing and use of slurry,
checking of gas leakage, draining condensed water from pipeline etc.
 The site should guarantee plant safety.
 To make plant easier to operate and avoid wastage of raw materials, especially
the dung/swine manure, plant must be as close as possible to the cattle
 shed.
 The site should be in slightly higher elevation than the surrounding. This
helps in avoiding water logging. This also ensures free flow of slurry from
overflow outlet to the composting pit.
 For effective functioning of bio-digesters, right temperature (20-35°C) has to
be maintained inside the digester. Therefore, it is better to avoid damp and
cool place – Sunny site is preferable.

 To mix dung and water or flush swine manure to the digester, considerable
quantity of water is required. If water source is far, the burden of fetching
water becomes more.
 The well or ground water source should be at least 10 meter away from the
biodigester especially the slurry pit to avoid the ground water pollution.
 If longer gas pipe is used the cost will be increased as the conveyance system
becomes costly. Furthermore, longer pipeline increases the risk of gas
leakage. The main gas valve which is fitted just above the gas holder should
be opened and closed before and after the use of biogas. Therefore, the plant
should be as near to the point of application as possible.
 The site should be at sufficient distance from trees to avoid damage of bio-
digester from roots.
 Type of soil should have enough bearing capacity to avoid the possibility of
sinking of structure.
Location of biogas plant:
A biogas plant should not be located further than 5 meters from the field.
The digester chamber must be in an open area and should not be near any water
source or natural water as animal excrement may seep into underground water.
The plant should also be situated on a slope and not on the low land to avoid the
danger of floods.

The excess manure from expansion chamber should flow into the farmer’s
field or the storage tank and not into natural water bodies such as rivers to avoid
the risk of pollution.
Fig. Location of biogas plant