18. July 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 18/24: Electricity from renewable energies 4 
The sun irradiates light in a periodical daily and yearly cycle onto the earth. The energy made available for us depends on the distance to the sun and fluctuates between 1230 and 1240 W per m². The average value is 1370 W per m² and is known as solar constant.
11. July 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 17/24: Electricity from renewable energies 3 
At the core of the earth temperatures of more than 5000°C prevail. Commercially viable reservoirs of heat for geothermal applications generally feature temperatures of up to 200°C.
4. July 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 16/24: Electricity from renewable energies 2 
Biogas can be produced from biomass by utilizing bacteria under anaerobic conditions via a series of processing steps. Feedstock can vary, but is often corn and grain silage or manure.
29. June 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 15/24: Electricity from renewable energies 1
There is a worldwide trend towards electricity generation from renewable energies. During the next ten weeks we will explore the following commercially available renewable energy technologies: Biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, hydropower and wind energy.
20. June 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 14/24: Nuclear power 6 
One of the disadvantages of light water reactors is their low operating temperature. Thus the efficiency of the energy conversion process (Carnot factor) is limited.
14. June 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 13/24: Nuclear power 5
During the early stages of nuclear energy utilization the stock of uranium has been estimated to be quite limited. Also, the major part of the uranium (99.3%) was then not usable as a fuel. In order to make use of this large part of potential fuel, the breeder reactor has been developed. By capturing neutrons, it converts uranium-238 into the fissile plutonium. Plutonium is “bred”.
6. June 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 12/24: Nuclear power 4
The operation of light water reactors requires enriched uranium. Just a few countries in the world master the technically complex and expensive process of enriching uranium. In order to use natural uranium with a 0.7 percent fraction of fissile Uranium-235 for generating electricity, heavy water reactors have been developed.
30. May 2016 / / Comments Off on Tutorial Power Plant Technology Part 11/24: Nuclear power 3
Water is used as a moderator for boiling water reactor and pressurized water reactors. Control rods steer the chain reaction of the nuclear fission and therefore also the thermal output of the reactor. By entirely lowering the control rods, the nuclear fission process stops and the power plant is switched off.
