Energy Sources Project
1. Is the energy source classified as renewable, non-renewable, or inexhaustible?
Fossil Fuels are classified as non-renewable. Once you take the energy from any fossil fuel, it is taken and destroyed, and its not able to be renewed.
2. How is the energy source made usable?
One way fossil fuels are used to produce energy is through power plants. The power plants use the fossil fuels to heat water and make steam. The pressure from the steam pushed turbines in a generator. That then spins a magnet, which creates an electrical current. That electricity is sent to a power unit which stores the power for whenever it is needed.
3. What are the infrastructure requirements for utilizing this energy source?
If you're using coal, you will need something to pulverize (or crush) the coal. Then you will need a furnace or something to be able to burn the coal. If you're using oil, you will need tanks to store the oil, pumps to pump it out, then combustion equipment like boilers, engines, to actually burn and utilize the oil. If you're using natural gas, the gas will be pumped somewhere and mixed with air, then that air will be burned and it will produce heat energy.
4. What engineering technologies will make this energy source safer, more usable, more efficient, cleaner... etc?
Scientists and engineers are working towards making fossil fuels produce less pollution. They are using new technologies that will replace some of the fossil fuels with other materials like water, which will lower pollution, and also speed up the process. For instance, scientists are talking about setting up wind turbines in the ocean, then pumping seawater into oil wells to help them run more smoothly. This is one way of making things more efficient, but as of right now its only a sketch.