Liberal Arts Blog —Nuclear, Coal, and Oil Power Plants: Do you understand how they work?
Liberal Arts Blog — Wednesday is the Joy of Science, Engineering, and Technology Day
Today’s Topic: Nuclear, Coal, and Oil Power Plants: do you understand how they work?
Should every high school graduate be able to explain how a coal, oil, or nuclear power plant works? I mean, just the basics? My answer is yes. But what are those basics? Give it a go yourself before reading further. That’s the first part of today’s post. Part Two answers the question: what are the largest power plants in the US? Part Three gives a breakdown of US electric power generation by source in 2019 and some indication of how that has changed over the last few decades. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
THE STORY OF FOUR TRANSFORMATIONS — Wow! How cool is this!
1. The first law of thermodynamics states roughly that energy (in an isolated system) can not be created or destroyed — just transformed.
2. In a coal or oil power plant there are four transformations.
3. They are: from chemical energy (in the coal or oil) to heat energy (in the flue gas) to internal energy (steam) to mechanical energy (turbine) to electric energy(generator)!!!
NB: The only difference between the nuclear plant and the coal plant is that in the first phase the heat energy comes not from the chemical energy of the fossil fuel but the nuclear energy of nuclear fuel.
THE LARGEST POWER PLANTS IN THE UNITED STATES — by capacity
1. Grand Coulee Dam (Washington state), hydroelectric, capacity: 6809 MW (megawatts), usage: 35% of capacity.
2. Palo Verde (Arizona), nuclear, capacity: 3908 MW, usage: 90% of capacity
3. West County (Florida), natural gas, capacity: 3750. usage: 60% of capacity.
US ELECTRIC GENERATION BY SOURCE — 2019
1. Natural gas: 38% (up from 10% in 1990).
2. Coal 23% (down from 55% in 1980s)
3. Nuclear 20% (roughly flat since 1990)
4. Renewables: 17% (7.3% wind, hydro 6.6%, solar 1.8%, biomass 1.6%)
NB: Hydro represented over 30% of US power generation in 1949!!!! The primary factor in the precipitous decline since then is probably the availability of suitable sites. Another is environmentalist opposition (habitat destruction, interference with fish migration, declining water quality). For these reasons, many do not consider hydropower to qualify as “renewable” power.
List of largest power stations in the United States
Electricity sector of the United States
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to science, engineering, or technology.
Or, even better, the coolest or most important thing you learned in your life related to science and engineering. This is your chance to make someone else’s day. Or to cement in your mind something that you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply about something dear to your heart. Continuity is key to depth of thought.
