home biology tutor The value of chemistry in solving the energy problem - abstract. Energy of the chemical industry The role of chemistry in the energy sector

The value of chemistry in solving the energy problem - abstract. Energy of the chemical industry The role of chemistry in the energy sector

abstract

The role of chemistry in the solution energy problems

Introduction

The whole history of the development of civilization is the search for energy sources. This is very relevant even today. After all, energy is an opportunity for the further development of industry, obtaining sustainable crops, beautifying cities and helping nature heal the wounds inflicted by civilization. Therefore, the solution of the energy problem requires a global effort. .

1. The origin of modern chemistry and its problems in the 21st century

chemistry society energy

The end of the Middle Ages was marked by a gradual departure from the occult, a decline in interest in alchemy, and the spread of a mechanistic view of the structure of nature.

Iatrochemistry.

Completely different views on the goals of alchemy were held by Paracelsus. Under such a name chosen by him, the Swiss doctor Philipp von Hohenheim went down in history. Paracelsus, like Avicenna, believed that the main task of alchemy was not the search for ways to obtain gold, but the manufacture of medicines. He borrowed from the alchemical tradition the doctrine that there are three main parts of matter - mercury, sulfur, salt, which correspond to the properties of volatility, combustibility and hardness. These three elements form the basis of the macrocosm and are associated with the microcosm formed by the spirit, soul and body. Turning to the definition of the causes of diseases, Paracelsus argued that fever and plague come from an excess of sulfur in the body, paralysis occurs with an excess of mercury, and so on. The principle that all iatrochemists adhered to was that medicine is a matter of chemistry, and everything depends on the ability of the doctor to isolate pure principles from impure substances. Within the framework of this scheme, all functions of the body were reduced to chemical processes, and the task of the alchemist was to find and prepare chemical substances for medical needs.

The main representatives of the iatrochemical direction were Jan Helmont, a doctor by profession; Francis Silvius, who enjoyed great fame as a physician and eliminated "spiritual" principles from the iatrochemical doctrine; Andreas Libavius, physician from Rothenburg.

Their research contributed greatly to the formation of chemistry as an independent science.

mechanical philosophy.

With the diminishing influence of iatrochemistry, natural philosophers turned again to the teachings of the ancients about nature. Foreground in the 17th century. atomistic views emerged. One of the most prominent scientists - authors of the corpuscular theory - was the philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes. He outlined his views in 1637 in his Discourse on Method. Descartes believed that all bodies “consist of numerous small particles of various shapes and sizes, which are not so closely adjacent to each other that there are no gaps around them; these gaps are not empty, but filled with ... rarefied matter. Descartes did not consider his “small particles” to be atoms, i.e. indivisible; he stood on the point of view of the infinite divisibility of matter and denied the existence of emptiness.

One of the most prominent opponents of Descartes was the French physicist and philosopher Pierre Gassendi.

Atomism Gassendi was essentially a retelling of the teachings of Epicurus, however, unlike the latter, Gassendi recognized the creation of atoms by God; he believed that God created a certain number of indivisible and impenetrable atoms, of which all bodies are composed; there must be an absolute void between the atoms.

In the development of chemistry in the 17th century. a special role belongs to the Irish scientist Robert Boyle. Boyle did not accept the statements of the ancient philosophers, who believed that the elements of the universe can be established speculatively; this is reflected in the title of his book The Skeptical Chemist. Being a supporter of the experimental approach to the definition of chemical elements, he did not know about the existence of real elements, although one of them - phosphorus - almost discovered himself. Boyle is usually credited with introducing the term "analysis" into chemistry. In his experiments on qualitative analysis, he used various indicators, introduced the concept of chemical affinity. Based on the works of Galileo Galilei Evangelista Torricelli, as well as Otto Guericke, who demonstrated the “Magdeburg hemispheres” in 1654, Boyle described the air pump he designed and experiments to determine the elasticity of air using a U-shaped tube. As a result of these experiments, the well-known law on the inverse proportionality of the volume and pressure of air was formulated. In 1668 Boyle became an active member of the newly organized Royal Society of London, and in 1680 he was elected its president.

Biochemistry. This scientific discipline deals with the study chemical properties biological substances, at first it was one of the sections organic chemistry. It emerged as an independent region in the last decade of the 19th century. as a result of research on the chemical properties of substances of plant and animal origin. One of the first biochemists was a German scientist Emil Fisher. He synthesized such substances as caffeine, phenobarbital, glucose, many hydrocarbons, made a great contribution to the science of enzymes - protein catalysts, first isolated in 1878. The formation of biochemistry as a science was facilitated by the creation of new analytical methods.

In 1923, the Swedish chemist Theodor Svedberg designed an ultracentrifuge and developed a sedimentation method for determining the molecular weight of macromolecules, mainly proteins. Svedberg's assistant Arne Tiselius in the same year created the method of electrophoresis, a more advanced method for separating giant molecules, based on the difference in the speed of migration of charged molecules in an electric field. At the beginning of the 20th century Russian chemist Mikhail Semenovich Tsvet described a method for separating plant pigments by passing their mixture through a tube filled with an adsorbent. The method was called chromatography.

In 1944, British chemists Archer Martini Richard Synge proposed new version method: they replaced the adsorbent tube with filter paper. This is how paper chromatography appeared - one of the most common analytical methods in chemistry, biology and medicine, with the help of which in the late 1940s and early 1950s it was possible to analyze mixtures of amino acids resulting from the breakdown of various proteins and determine the composition of proteins. As a result of painstaking research, the order of amino acids in the insulin molecule was established, and by 1964 this protein had been synthesized. Now many hormones, medicines, vitamins are obtained by biochemical synthesis methods.

quantum chemistry. In order to explain the stability of the atom, Niels Bohr combined classical and quantum ideas about the motion of an electron in his model. However, the artificiality of such a connection was obvious from the very beginning. The development of quantum theory led to a change in the classical ideas about the structure of matter, motion, causality, space, time, etc., which contributed to a radical transformation of the picture of the world.

In the late 20s - early 30s of the 20th century, fundamentally new ideas about the structure of the atom and the nature of the chemical bond were formed on the basis of quantum theory.

After the creation by Albert Einstein of the photon theory of light (1905) and his derivation statistical laws electronic transitions in the atom (1917) in physics, the wave-particle problem becomes more acute.

If in the XVIII-XIX centuries there were discrepancies between different scientists who used either wave or corpuscular theory to explain the same phenomena in optics, now the contradiction has acquired a fundamental character: some phenomena were interpreted from wave positions, and others - from corpuscular ones. The resolution of this contradiction was proposed in 1924 by the French physicist Louis Victor Pierre Raymond de Broglie, who attributed the wave properties to the particle.

Based on de Broglie's idea of matter waves, the German physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1926 derived the basic equation of the so-called. wave mechanics, containing the wave function and allowing to determine the possible states of a quantum system and their change in time. Schrödinger gave general rule transformation of classical equations into wave ones. Within the framework of wave mechanics, an atom could be represented as a nucleus surrounded by a stationary wave of matter. The wave function determined the probability density of finding an electron at a given point.

In the same 1926, another German physicist, Werner Heisenberg, developed his version of the quantum theory of the atom in the form of matrix mechanics, starting from the correspondence principle formulated by Bohr.

According to the principle of conformity, laws quantum physics must transform into classical laws when the quantum discreteness tends to zero as the quantum number increases. In a more general form, the correspondence principle can be formulated as follows: new theory, which claims to have a wider scope than the old one, should include the latter as a special case. Heisenberg's quantum mechanics made it possible to explain the existence of stationary quantized energy states and to calculate the energy levels of various systems.

Friedrich Hund, Robert Sanderson Mulliken and John Edward Lennard-Jones in 1929 create the foundations of the molecular orbital method. The MMO is based on the idea of a complete loss of the individuality of atoms that have combined into a molecule. The molecule, therefore, is not made up of atoms, but is new system formed by several atomic nuclei and electrons moving in their field. Hundom is also created modern classification chemical bonds; in 1931 he came to the conclusion that there are two main types of chemical bonds - simple, or ?-communications, and ?-connections. Erich Hückel extends the MO method to organic compounds, formulating in 1931 the rule of aromatic stability (4n + 2), establishing the belonging of a substance to the aromatic series.

Thus, in quantum chemistry, two different approaches to understanding the chemical bond: the method of molecular orbitals and the method valence bonds.

Thanks to quantum mechanics By the 30s of the 20th century, the method of forming a bond between atoms was basically clarified. In addition, within the framework of the quantum mechanical approach, Mendeleev's theory of periodicity received a correct physical interpretation.

Probably the most important step in the development of modern chemistry was the creation of various research centers engaged, in addition to fundamental, also applied research.

At the beginning of the 20th century a number of industrial corporations created the first industrial research laboratories. In the USA, the DuPont chemical laboratory, the laboratory of the Bell company, was founded. After the discovery and synthesis of penicillin in the 1940s, and then other antibiotics, large pharmaceutical companies appeared, employing professional chemists. Works in the field of chemistry were of great practical importance. macromolecular compounds.

One of its founders was the German chemist Hermann Staudinger, who developed the theory of the structure of polymers. An intensive search for ways to obtain linear polymers led in 1953 to the synthesis of polyethylene, and then other polymers with desired properties. Today, polymer production is the largest industry chemical industry.

Not all advances in chemistry have been good for man. In the production of paints, soaps, textiles used hydrochloric acid and sulfur, which posed a great danger to the environment. In the 21st century the production of many organic and inorganic materials will increase due to the recycling of used substances, as well as through the processing of chemical waste, which pose a risk to human health and the environment.

2. The role of chemistry in solving energy problems

Energy security is the most important condition for the socio-economic development of any country, its industry, transport, Agriculture, spheres of culture and life.

But in the next decade, neither wood, nor coal, nor oil, nor gas will be discounted in the energy sector. At the same time, they must work hard to develop new ways of generating energy.

The chemical industry is characterized by close ties with all sectors of the national economy due to the wide range of products it produces. This area of production is characterized by high material consumption. Material and energy costs in the production of products can range from 2/3 to 4/5 of the cost of the final product.

The development of chemical technology follows the path of integrated use of raw materials and energy, the use of continuous and waste-free processes, taking into account the environmental safety of the environment, the use high pressures and temperatures, advances in automation and cybernation.

The chemical industry in particular consumes a lot of energy. Energy is spent on the implementation of endothermic processes, on the transportation of materials, crumbling and grinding of solids, filtering, compressing gases, etc. Significant energy costs are needed in the production of calcium carbide, phosphorus, ammonia, polyethylene, isoprene, styrene, etc. Chemical production Together with petrochemical industries, they are energy-intensive industries. Producing almost 7% of industrial output, they consume within 13-20% of the energy used by the entire industry.

Energy sources are most often traditional non-renewable Natural resources- coal, oil, natural gas, peat, shale. Recently, they have been depleted very quickly. The reserves of oil and natural gas are declining at a particularly accelerated pace, and they are limited and irreparable. Not surprisingly, this creates an energy problem.

For 80 years, one main source of energy was replaced by another: wood was replaced by coal, coal - by oil, oil - by gas, hydrocarbon fuel - by nuclear. By the beginning of the 1980s, about 70% of the world's energy demand was met by oil and natural gas, 25% by hard and brown coal, and only about 5% by other energy sources.

AT different countries The energy problem is solved in different ways, nevertheless, chemistry makes a significant contribution to its solution everywhere. Thus, chemists believe that in the future (approximately another 25-30 years) oil will retain its leadership position. But its contribution to energy resources will noticeably decrease and will be compensated by the increased use of coal, gas, hydrogen energy, nuclear fuel, solar energy, energy of the earth's depths and other types of restorative energy, including bioenergy.

Even today, chemists are worried about the maximum and complex energy-technological use of fuel resources - a decrease in heat losses in environment, secondary use of heat, maximum use of local fuel resources, etc.

Since liquid fuel is the most scarce among fuels, large funds have been allocated in many countries to create a cost-effective technology for converting coal into liquid (as well as gaseous) fuel. Scientists from Russia and Germany are cooperating in this area. The essence of the modern process of processing coal into synthesis gas is as follows. A mixture of water vapor and oxygen is supplied to the plasma generator, which is heated up to 3000°C. And then coal dust enters the hot gas torch, and as a result chemical reaction a mixture of carbon monoxide (II) and hydrogen is formed, i.e. synthesis gas. Methanol is obtained from it: CO + 2H2? CH3OH. Methanol can replace gasoline in internal combustion engines. In terms of solution environmental problem it compares favorably with oil, gas, coal, but, unfortunately, the heat of its acceleration is 2 times lower than that of gasoline, and, in addition, it is aggressive towards certain metals and plastics.

Developed chemical methods removal of binding oil (contains high molecular weight hydrocarbons), a significant part of which remains in underground pits. To increase the yield of oil into the water that is pumped into the reservoirs, surfactants are added, their molecules are located at the oil-water interface, which increases the mobility of the oil.

The future replenishment of fuel resources is combined with the rational processing of coal. For example, crushed coal is mixed with oil, and the extracted paste is treated with pressurized hydrogen. In this case, a mixture of hydrocarbons is formed. About 1 ton of coal and 1500 m of hydrogen are spent on the extraction of 1 ton of artificial gasoline. So far, artificial gasoline is more expensive than that produced from oil, however, the fundamental possibility of obtaining it is important.

Hydrogen energy seems to be very promising, which is based on the combustion of hydrogen, during which harmful emissions do not occur. Nevertheless, for its development it is necessary to solve a number of problems related to reducing the cost of hydrogen, creating reliable means of its storage and transportation, etc. If these tasks are solvable, hydrogen will be widely used in aviation, water and land transport, industrial and agricultural production.

Inexhaustible possibilities contains nuclear energy, its development for the production of electricity and heat makes it possible to release a significant amount of fossil fuel. Here, chemists are faced with the task of creating complex technological systems for covering the energy costs that occur during the implementation of endothermic reactions using nuclear energy. Now nuclear power is developing along the path of widespread introduction of fast neutron reactors. Such reactors use uranium enriched in the 235U isotope (at least 20%), and a neutron moderator is not required.

Currently, nuclear power and reactor building is a powerful industry with a large amount of capital investment. For many countries, it is an important export item. Reactors and auxiliary equipment require special materials, including those of high frequency. The task of chemists, metallurgists and other specialists is the creation of such materials. Chemists and representatives of other related professions are also working on uranium enrichment.

Now the nuclear power industry is faced with the task of displacing fossil fuels not only from the production of electricity, but also from heat supply and, to some extent, from the metallurgical and chemical industries by creating reactors of energy-technological significance.

Nuclear power plants in the future will find another application - for the production of hydrogen. Part of the resulting hydrogen will be consumed by the chemical industry, the other part will be used to power gas turbine plants that are switched on at peak loads.

Great hopes are placed on the use of solar radiation (solar energy). Solar panels operate in Crimea, photovoltaic cells of which turn sunlight into electricity. For water desalination and home heating, solar thermal installations are widely used, which convert solar energy into heat. Solar panels have long been used in navigation facilities and on spaceships. AT
unlike nuclear, the cost of energy produced by solar panels is constantly decreasing. For the manufacture of solar cells, the main semiconductor material is silicon and silicon compounds. Chemists are currently working on the development of new energy converter materials. These can be different systems of salts as energy storage devices. Further success in solar energy depends on the materials that chemists will offer for energy conversion.

In the new millennium, the increase in electricity production will occur due to the development of solar energy, as well as methane fermentation of household waste and other non-traditional sources of energy production.

Along with giant power plants, there are also autonomous chemical current sources that convert the energy of chemical reactions directly into electrical energy. Chemistry plays a major role in solving this problem. In 1780, the Italian physician L. Galvani, observing the contraction of the cut off leg of a frog after touching it with wires made of different metals, decided that there was electricity in the muscles, and called it "animal electricity". A. Volta, continuing the experience of his compatriot, suggested that the source of electricity is not the body of an animal: an electric current arises from the contact of different metal wires. The "ancestor" of modern galvanic cells can be considered the "electric pole", created by A. Volta in 1800. This invention is similar to a layer cake of several pairs of metal plates: one plate is made of zinc, the second is made of copper, stacked on top of each other, and between they placed a felt pad soaked in dilute sulfuric acid. Before the invention in Germany by W. Siemens in 1867 of the dynamo, galvanic cells were the only source electric current. Nowadays, when aviation, submarines, rocket technology, and electronics need autonomous energy sources, the attention of scientists is again drawn to them.

Conclusion

The use of nuclear energy makes it possible to abandon natural coal and oil. As a result, emissions of their combustion products are reduced, which would possibly lead to a “greenhouse effect” on Earth. It would seem that a negligibly small (compared to coal and oil) amount of fuel for nuclear power plants should be safe, but this is far from the case, a vivid example is the Chernobyl accident. In my opinion, any method of extracting energy (in any form) from the bowels of the Earth is a combination of positive and negative features, and it seems to me that far from positive ones prevail.

I have not told about all directions of solving the energy problem by scientists of the world, but only about the main ones. In each country, it has its own characteristics: socio-economic and geographical conditions, security natural resources, the level of development of science and technology.

indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.

The provision of energy is the most important condition for the socio-economic development of any country, its industry, transport, agriculture, culture and life.

The chemical industry in particular consumes a lot of energy. Energy is spent on the implementation of endothermic processes, on the transportation of materials, crumbling and grinding of solids, filtration, gas compression, etc. Significant energy costs are needed in the production of calcium carbide, phosphorus, ammonia, polyethylene, isoprene, styrene, etc. Chemical industries, together with petrochemical industries, are energy-intensive industries. Producing almost 7% of industrial output, they consume within 13-20% of the energy used by the entire industry.

Energy sources are most often traditional non-renewable natural resources - coal, oil, natural gas, peat, shale. Recently, they have been depleted very quickly. The reserves of oil and natural gas are declining at a particularly accelerated pace, and they are limited and irreparable. Not surprisingly, this creates an energy problem.

In different countries, the energy problem is solved in different ways, however, everywhere chemistry makes a significant contribution to its solution. Thus, chemists believe that in the future (approximately another 25-30 years) oil will retain its leadership position. But its contribution to energy resources will noticeably decrease and will be compensated by the increased use of coal, gas, hydrogen energy, nuclear fuel, solar energy, energy of the earth's depths and other types of restorative energy, including bioenergy.

Even today, chemists are worried about the maximum and complex energy-technological use of fuel resources - reducing heat losses to the environment, reusing heat, maximizing the use of local fuel resources, etc.

Chemical methods have been developed to remove binder oil (contains high molecular weight hydrocarbons), a significant part of which remains in underground pits. To increase the yield of oil into the water that is pumped into the reservoirs, surfactants are added, their molecules are located at the oil-water interface, which increases the mobility of the oil.

Hydrogen energy seems to be very promising, which is based on the combustion of hydrogen, during which harmful emissions do not occur. Nevertheless, for its development it is necessary to solve a number of problems related to reducing the cost of hydrogen, creating reliable means of its storage and transportation, etc. If these problems are solved, hydrogen will be widely used in aviation, water and land transport, industrial and agricultural productions.

Nuclear energy contains inexhaustible possibilities, its development for the production of electricity and heat makes it possible to release a significant amount of organic fuel. Here, chemists are faced with the task of creating complex technological systems for covering the energy costs that occur during the implementation of endothermic reactions using nuclear energy.

unlike nuclear, the cost of energy produced by solar panels is constantly decreasing.

For the manufacture of solar cells, the main semiconductor material is silicon and silicon compounds. Chemists are currently working on the development of new energy converter materials. These can be different systems of salts as energy storage devices. Further success in solar energy depends on the materials that chemists will offer for energy conversion.

Report on the topic:

"The Significance of Chemistry

in solving the energy problem. »

Pupils of 11 "A" class

secondary school №1077

Sergeeva Taisiya.

Chemical energy is known to everyone modern man and is widely used in all fields of activity.

It has been known to Mankind since ancient times and has always been used both in everyday life and in production. The most common devices that use chemical energy are: a fireplace, a furnace, a furnace, a blast furnace, a torch, a gas burner, a bullet, a projectile, a rocket, an airplane, a car. Chemical energy is used in the production of medicines, plastics, synthetic materials, etc.

Sources

The most used sources chemical energy are: oil fields (oil and its derivatives), gas condensate fields (natural gas), coal basins ( coal), swamps (peat), forests (wood), as well as fields (green plants), meadows (straw), seas (algae), etc.

Chemical energy sources are "traditional", but their use has an impact on the planet's climate. During the normal functioning of the ecosystem, the solar is converted into a chemical form, and stored in it for a long time. The use of these natural reserves, and indeed the violation energy balance planet leads to unpredictable consequences.

A person does not use chemical energy directly (except that some chemical reactions can be attributed to such use).

Usually, the chemical energy released as a result of the breaking of high-energy and the formation of low-energy chemical bonds is released into the environment in the form of thermal energy. Chemical energy can be called the most common and widely used from antiquity to the present day. Any process associated with combustion is based on the energy of the chemical interaction of organic (rarely mineral) matter and oxygen.

Modern industrial high-tech "combustion" is carried out in internal combustion engines and gas turbines, in plasma generators and fuel cells. However, devices such as turbines and internal combustion engines between raw materials (chemical energy) and the final product (electrical energy) have a bad intermediary - thermal energy. To the great regret of scientists and engineers, the efficiency thermal engines is quite small - no more than 40%. Restrictions on the further increase in efficiency are not imposed by materials, but by nature itself. 40% is the ultimate efficiency of a heat engine and it is impossible to increase it further.

The fuel cell directly converts the energy of chemical bonds into electrical energy. In a way, the plasma generator does the same. However, in both cases, part of the energy is still lost in the form of heat released and dissipated. The possibility of solving the problem of heat dissipation does not yet exist, which reduces the efficiency of any very good converting installation.

Chemical interactions underlie the mechanical energy of the movement of the bodies of people and animals. A person eats plants and animals, receiving from them the energy of chemical bonds, which was formed due to photosynthesis. Thus, the primary source for chemical energy is radiant solar energy, or, in fact, the energy of nuclear fusion from processes occurring on the Sun. Like all life on Earth, ultimately, a person feeds on the energy of the Sun.

Let us give some examples of chemical energy conversion chains

When burned, the gunpowder turns into hot gases, which in turn impart kinetic energy to the bullet. The bullet in this case is gaining ordered kinetic energy due to the heat of hot gases (their "unorganized" kinetic energy). Where do the molecules themselves get their thermal energy from? Before this explosion, gunpowder was cold solid, containing a store of "chemical energy". It contained the energy of the primary fuel - coal, firewood, oil. And this is molecular energy stored, if you like, in the force fields of atoms. Imagine that a chemical compound consists of atoms that, despite the repulsive springy interatomic forces, are put in their places in the molecule and the “latch is closed”. Potential energy is stored in "compressed springs". Of course, chemical energy is a much more complex thing than such a model, but the overall picture is clear: atoms and molecules store energy, which is released when one chemical changes and stocks up with others. Most combustible substances release their energy when burning in oxygen, so that their energy is associated with the force fields of fuel and oxygen molecules. It is difficult to indicate where it is located, but its quantity is quite certain, since when energy changes into other forms, we can measure work, that is, get the product of force and distance, for example, so many joules for each kilogram of completely burned fuel. The chemical energy of gunpowder or a firework rocket charge is easier to localize. All of it sits there, inside the fuel molecules.

Food is a source of chemical energy

Food is a source of chemical energy. Food is the fuel for humans and animals, it supplies them with chemical energy that is carried by the blood stream to the muscles that need it. Muscles can convert some of the energy they receive into mechanical energy by lifting weights and doing another. useful work. Food contains mainly carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Consider, for example, the simplest sugar molecule, glucose C6H12O6, which supports muscle work.

In the process of muscle work and rest, the molecules of this fuel are split in half, then six molecules of H2O are split off, and carbon atoms, combining with oxygen atoms coming from the lungs, give six molecules of CO2. This is, in short, a greatly simplified picture of the chemistry of life. The main components of food - starch, sugars, fats and proteins - are large molecules that are built from smaller molecular structures made up of atoms.

These small complexes are synthesized by plants, bound by them in some way, forming plant substances such as carbohydrates and cellulose. Animals, eating plant or animal food, break down these substances and redistribute their components so that the necessary large molecules are formed. However, the animals themselves do not synthesize their parts. They receive the energy necessary for movement and other activities through the further splitting of certain molecular complexes into carbon dioxide and water. This energy was originally “assimilated” by plants from sunlight and stored during the synthesis of such complexes in the form of the energy of chemical bonds. The binding and breaking down of these small complexes in the animal's digestive system is usually a simple and low-energy task, and is quickly accomplished by microbes or enzymes. The big molecules in our food are found in carbohydrates to cellulose, which are made up of many groups of simple sugar molecules like glucose, long chain CH2 fats, and proteins—even larger and highly complex molecules needed to build and renew tissues. The process by which chemical energy is converted into body heat or muscle work is, in essence, the same combustion. When fuel burns in a flame, it combines with oxygen to form water and carbon dioxide. The simplest fuel of our body, such as glucose, when combined with oxygen from the lungs, also forms water and carbon dioxide, but the process is much slower and more cunning than simple combustion in a flame; the temperature is low, and the release of energy is the same. Plants absorb water and CO2 from the air, combine them and create sugar starch and cellulose - the main sources of energy for animals.

Animals extracting chemical energy for muscles goes something like this: the simplest sugar molecules are extracted from food (in the same way that alcohol is extracted from wood pulp in a chemical plant), which are stored in clusters, which are molecules of insoluble "animal" starch. This supply of starch molecules is broken down as needed, maintaining the supply of sugar to the muscles. When muscles contract and do work, sugar is converted into water and carbon dioxide in two steps. From their plant foods, animals still store fats and "burn" them to warm the body.

Then everything that is wasted by man and animals is recreated again by plants, and again everything is ready for use. How do plants do it? We cannot "reverse" the action of the flame and "revive" the burnt substances. How do plants manage to carry out such a "synthesis of life" by compressing the springs of intermolecular forces and closing the latches? Since "opening the latch" results in the release of chemical energy, plants must put it in when building the aggregate. They need both a supply of energy and a device to use it to synthesize H2O and CO2 molecules into sugar and starch molecules. Sunlight supplies them with energy - portions of light waves, so to speak, in a "packaged" form, and all operations are carried out by such "smart" plant molecules as green chlorophyll. In sunlight, the green leaf of the plant absorbs CO2 and creates starch. Thus, plant and animal life forms a cycle that begins with water, carbon dioxide and sunlight and ends with water, carbon dioxide, heat and the mechanical energy of animals. All of our machines that run on coal, oil, wind, falling water, all animals that consume food, ultimately get their fuel from the Sun.

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The development of chemical technology follows the path of the integrated use of raw materials and energy, the use of continuous and waste-free processes, taking into account the environmental safety of the environment, the use of high pressures and temperatures, the achievements of automation and cybernetization.

The chemical industry in particular consumes a lot of energy. Energy is spent on the implementation of endothermic processes, on the transportation of materials, crumbling and grinding of solids, filtering, compressing gases, etc. Significant energy costs are needed in the production of calcium carbide, phosphorus, ammonia, polyethylene, isoprene, styrene, etc. Chemical industries, together with petrochemical industries, are energy-intensive industries. Producing almost 7% of industrial output, they consume within 13-20% of the energy used by the entire industry.

Even today, chemists are worried about the maximum and complex energy-technological use of fuel resources - reducing heat losses to the environment, recycling heat, maximizing the use of local fuel resources, etc.

Sources of the main electrical energy

Thermal power plants

They work on organic fuel - fuel oil, coal, peat, gas, shale. Thermal power plants are located mainly in the region where natural resources are present and near large oil refineries.

hydroelectric power plants

They are erected in places where large rivers are blocked by a dam, and thanks to the energy of falling water, the turbines of the electric generator rotate. The generation of electricity by this method is considered the most environmentally friendly due to the fact that there is no combustion of various types of fuel, therefore, there is no harmful waste.

hydroelectric power plant

Nuclear power plants

To heat water, heat energy is required, which is released as a result of nuclear reaction. Otherwise, it is similar to a thermal power plant.

Nuclear power plant

Unconventional Energy Sources

These include wind, sun, heat from terrestrial turbines, and ocean tides. Recently, they are increasingly used as non-traditional additional energy sources. Scientists argue that by 2050, non-traditional energy sources will become the main ones, and conventional ones will lose their importance.

Energy of sun

There are several ways to apply it. During the physical method of obtaining solar energy, galvanic batteries are used that can absorb and convert solar energy into electrical or thermal energy. A system of mirrors is also used, reflecting Sun rays and directing them into pipes filled with oil, where the sun's heat is concentrated.

In some regions, it is more expedient to use solar collectors, with the help of which it is possible to partially solve the environmental problem and use energy for domestic needs.

The main advantages of solar energy are the availability and inexhaustibility of sources, complete safety for the environment, and the main environmentally friendly sources of energy.

The main disadvantage is the need for large areas of land for the construction of a solar power plant.

solar power plant

Wind energy

Wind farms are only able to produce electricity when strong winds are blowing. The "main modern sources of energy" of the wind is a windmill, which is a rather complex structure. Two operating modes are programmed in it - weak and strong wind, and there is also an engine stop if the wind is very strong.

The main disadvantage of wind power plants (WPPs) is the noise generated during the rotation of the propeller blades. The most appropriate are small windmills designed to provide environmentally friendly and inexpensive electricity to summer cottages or individual farms.

Wind power plant

Tidal power plants

Tidal energy is used to generate electricity. In order to build the simplest tidal power plant, you need a pool, a dammed river mouth or bay. The dam is equipped with hydraulic turbines and culverts.

Water enters the pool at high tide and when the water levels in the pool and in the sea are compared, the culverts are closed. With the approach of low tide, the water level decreases, the pressure becomes sufficient, turbines and electric generators begin their work, and gradually the water leaves the pool.

New energy sources in the form of tidal power plants have some disadvantages - disruption of the normal exchange of fresh and salt water; influence on the climate, so as a result of their work, the energy potential of waters, the speed and area of movement change.

Pluses - environmental friendliness, low cost of energy produced, reduction in the level of production, combustion and transportation of fossil fuels.

Unconventional geothermal energy sources

For energy production, the heat of earth turbines (deep hot springs) is used. This heat can be used in any region, but the costs can only pay off where hot water is as close as possible to earth's crust- areas of active activity of geysers and volcanoes.

The main energy sources are represented by two types - an underground natural coolant pool (hydrothermal, steam-thermal or steam-water sources) and the heat of hot rocks.

The first type is ready-to-use underground boilers, from which steam or water can be extracted by ordinary boreholes. The second type makes it possible to obtain steam or superheated water, which can later be used for energy purposes.

The main disadvantage of both types is the low concentration of geothermal anomalies when hot rocks or springs come close to the surface. It also requires re-injection into the underground horizon of waste water, since thermal water has many salts of toxic metals and chemical compounds that must not be discharged into surface water systems.

Advantages - these reserves are inexhaustible. Geothermal energy is very popular due to the active activity of volcanoes and geysers, the territory of which occupies 1/10 of the Earth's area.

geothermal power plant

New promising energy sources - biomass

Biomass is either primary or secondary. To obtain energy, you can use dried algae, agricultural waste, wood, etc. The biological option for using energy is to obtain biogas from manure as a result of fermentation without air access.

To date, a decent amount of garbage has accumulated in the world, degrading the environment, garbage has a detrimental effect on people, animals and all living things. That is why the development of energy is required, where secondary biomass will be used to prevent environmental pollution.

According to scientists, settlements can fully provide themselves with electricity only at the expense of their garbage. Moreover, there is practically no waste. Consequently, the problem of garbage disposal will be solved simultaneously with providing the population with electricity at minimal cost.

Advantages - the concentration of carbon dioxide does not increase, the problem of using garbage is solved, therefore, the environment improves.