We already talked about renewable energy sources in our previous article, but how do they differ from non-renewable ones?
The energy sources available
Among the many resources on our planet that we use for energy and heating, not all of them have the same ability to regenerate quickly. The goal towards which we should all strive is to consume better, carefully choosing the sources used to reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions.
Indeed, more and more often, we hear about energy efficiency to indicate the ability of a system to optimize the use of energy, achieving the required result with lower consumption. And if this energy comes from renewable sources, it would be even better!
Non-renewable energy sources
Non-renewable energy sources can be grouped into two categories: fossil and nuclear. Although important steps have been taken towards new forms of clean energy, fossil fuels continue to be used in very high percentages, which are still close to 80%.
Non-renewable fossil fuels
Fossil fuels derive from organic sediments “stored” in Earth’s layers: coal, natural gas and petroleum.
Coal is a fossil fuel formed over millions of years thanks to the decay of vegetation, compacted and heated over time between the layers of the Earth’s crust. Coal is the most abundant of fossil fuels and the current reserves is estimated to last another 150 years, despite the massive use that the industry made of it until the first half of the 90s, when its consumption began to decline in favor of oil and gas. Developing countries, however, are still consuming almost exclusively coal, cheaper than competitors. China and India are among the main consumers of this fuel.
Petroleum, however, is currently the most used fuel in the world. It is formed by deposits of marine microorganisms on the seabed: this oily substance remains trapped in small spaces from which it’s extracted by drilling and transformed through a refining process, not without high environmental risks.
In addition to being able to run out in 50-70 years, petrouleum is not found everywhere on Earth and the rights to its extraction have unfortunately been the cause of numerous wars between various countries.
Natural gas, on the other hand, mainly refers to methane (CH4), compressed into small volumes at great depth. It’s an abundant and relatively clean gaseous fossil fuel compared to coal and petroluem. Like this one, it’s formed by the decomposition of marine microorganisms and is brought to the surface by drilling.
Until the end of the last century it was the least used fossil fuel, but today the consumption of natural gas has exceeded that of coal in developed countries.
It’s estimated that the reserves may run out in the next 80 years, so it is necessary to run for cover and evaluate alternative energy sources.
Nuclear fuels
The term nuclear fuel, on the other hand, mainly refers to fissile materials subjected to a nuclear reaction process by means of reactors.
Actually speaking of “fuel” is improper, as there is no “combustion”: during the operation of a reactor the atoms of these elements are split by the nuclear fission process, releasing thermal energy which, mechanically operating a turbine coupled to an alternator, produces electricity.
The most commonly used core materials are mixtures with a high uranium 235 content or some plutonium isotopes.
The consumption of nuclear fuel is very slow, able to keep the reactor in operation and provide energy for several years, but however the disposal of radioactive waste or any failure in the plants can be very dangerous from an environmental point of view.
Furthermore, given that the mining process for obtaining uranium emits radon, a radioactive gas, and other equally radioactive products, its use must be limited and regulated.
Towards exhaustion
We have therefore seen how all non-renewable energies are generated from exhaustible and, in most cases, also highly polluting sources. What limits the full and conscious use of renewable energies is the initial investment for the construction of the exploitation plants, even if the management costs of coal plants could very soon cost more than the construction of new photovoltaic or wind plants, if made on an industrial scale. And then “consuming” a zero-cost energy source, totally supplied by Nature.
Example: if in 2021 we replaced the equivalent production of 500 gigawatts of coal with photovoltaic or wind energy, the annual costs of the entire world energy system could be reduced by more than 20 billion dollars, with a drastic drop in annual carbon dioxide emissions and an investment stimulus of approximately 1% of global GDP.
IMIT‘s goal is to promote new technologies of climate comfort, also through a series of products dedicated to renewable energies, to guarantee users energy and economic savings, safeguarding our planet.
To find out more, browse our site, download our catalog or preview the instruction manuals for our products for home and office comfort. For further requests, send an email to info@imit.it. Our staff will reply as soon as possible.