Energy Technology
The power engineering is an engineering science that is interdisciplinary with the issue of energy is concerned. The main content is the technologies for the efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and economical production, conversion, transport, storage and use of energy in all its forms. The focus is on striving to achieve a high yield of useful energy , i.e. H. the efficiency to maximize while minimizing the negative side effects on humans, nature and the environment.
Due to the paramount importance that energy has for people and their environment, energy technology is also very important. The use of scarce resources for energy use was and is often the reason for political conflicts or even wars. The exploitation of these resources has negative consequences for the environment and nature, from local disruption of ecosystems to global climate change . Energy technology is therefore closely linked with the energy industry , energy policy and environmental protection .
Demarcation from neighboring areas
As an interdisciplinary science, power engineering is u. a. closely related to the following related fields:
- Physics (physical fundamentals, thermodynamics and nuclear physics )
- Chemistry (fuels, combustion and techniques of air pollution control and flue gas cleaning , for batteries and fuel cells )
- Electrical engineering (electrical power engineering)
- Mechanical engineering for energy technology machines, in particular fluid energy machines (combustion machines , turbines, pumps and compressors)
- Process engineering (processes and apparatus, in particular furnaces )
- Geosciences (geothermal energy use )
- Mining , mining , petrochemicals ( fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, ...))
- Agriculture and forestry ( biogenic fuels and renewable energy resources)
- Meteorology ( wind energy and solar energy )
- Water management and hydraulic engineering (use of hydropower )
- Waste management and disposal technology (energetic use of residual materials)
- Transportation (energy-saving means of transport)
- Environmental technology , environmental protection , nature conservation , climate protection (reduction of the negative side effects of energy technology on the environment)
Fields of power engineering
Energy technology can be roughly divided into the following subject areas, whereby the boundaries are often not sharply drawn:
Power plant technology
- → Main articles: power plant technology , electricity generation
Power plant technology occupies a special position within energy technology, because this term is quite unspecific and should rather be seen as a generic term.
In general, power plant technology is understood to mean the entire technology for generating electricity in any type of power plant . This encompasses a field almost as broad as energy technology as a whole.
More specifically, power plant technology is traditionally understood to mean the technology of classic, fired steam power plants , with a focus on firing , steam boilers and turbo sets . Even this more limited field still includes many of the subjects mentioned below.
Electrical Power Engineering
The electric power engineering is a relatively isolated sub-region within the energy technology, mainly on the part of electrical engineering is covered.
The electrical energy technology is concerned with the production and use of electrical energy (colloquially power or electricity ), and their conversion and distribution in the high-voltage interconnections.
The main contents are (especially for high voltage ):
- Electrical machines ( generators , electric motors and transformers )
- Switchgear , substations and transformer stations
- Electrical lines ( overhead lines and cables )
- Load management and power plant management in interconnected networks
- Power electronics ( converter )
- Electric heat ( electric heating )
thermodynamics
- → Main article: Thermodynamics
The thermodynamics (thermodynamics) deals with the basic laws of energy conversion, after which the energy process engineering and fluid power engineering work. This theoretical science is a branch of classical physics .
Energy process engineering
Energy process engineering is a field from process engineering , closely interlinked with chemistry and environmental technology . The focus here is on the thermal and chemical processes of energy conversion.
- Thermal engineering
In the broadest sense, heat engineering deals with all processes related to heat : its extraction / generation, its transmission and its use. This rather broad term is sometimes equated with thermodynamics and also used as a generic term for energy process engineering, which includes combustion technology, etc.
- Combustion technology
Combustion Engineering discussed the construction, operation and optimization of furnaces of all kinds ( burner , grate furnaces , fluidised bed furnaces , incinerators , ...) with a view to energy efficiency, the low-emission combustion and operational safety.
- Fuel technology
Fuel technology deals with the extraction, mechanical, thermal and chemical processing and refining of all types of fuels with a view to economical and environmentally friendly combustion. Depending on the origin of the fuels, process engineering works with very different partners: in the case of fossil fuels, with specialists from mining and mining ; in the case of biogenic fuels with agricultural engineering ; in the thermal use of residues and secondary fuels with disposal technology .
- Exhaust gas cleaning technology
Exhaust gas or flue gas cleaning technology is a specialist field that has set itself the goal of removing air pollutants as much as possible from the exhaust gases or flue gases resulting from combustion . Various mechanical, thermal and chemical cleaning processes are used here. Exhaust gas cleaning technology is a classic field of activity in process engineering and chemical engineering .
- Boiler and energy equipment construction
The energy-related boiler and apparatus engineering deals with the design, construction and operation of steam boilers and other thermal apparatus such as heat exchangers , condensers, etc. In this area, knowledge from the areas of heating and combustion technology flows together with that from design theory , technical mechanics (strength and pressure vessel calculation ) and materials science .
- Building heating technology
Building heating technology is a special field of energy technology within building technology . The processes dealt with are basically the same as in the above. Subjects (heat engineering, boiler construction, ...), but one size smaller than in large-scale industrial use, optimized for the domestic sector.
Power engineering
Energy engineering is a field of mechanical engineering that deals with the design, construction, construction and operation of machines that are used for energy conversion. These are primarily the fluid energy machines , i.e. internal combustion engines, turbines, pumps, fans, etc. Due to the high thermal and mechanical loads with simultaneously high demands on operational safety, such machines are among the challenges for mechanical engineering.
- Fluid machine construction
Flow machines are extremely important for energy technology both as a power machine (turbine) and as a work machine (pump). Steam, gas, water and wind turbines generate the lion's share of the electrical energy generated worldwide. Pumps, fans and compressors are also indispensable in most power plants , be it for the supply of combustion air to a furnace, as a feed water pump for a steam boiler or as a turbo compressor in front of a gas turbine.
- Engine construction
Piston internal combustion engines are important energy converters as a drive for means of transport, but also for power generation in CHPs and power units .
Nuclear technology
Nuclear technology, also known as nuclear technology, deals with the special technologies that are required for generating energy from nuclear energy . Above all, this includes reactor technology , which deals with the nuclear reactor , the heart of every nuclear power plant , but also the other, highly specialized technology of such a power plant. Nuclear technology also includes technologies for the processing of nuclear fuel and for the processing and disposal of radioactive waste. Here, the energy technology works closely with the specialists from nuclear physics , nuclear chemistry and radiation protection .
In Germany, due to political discussions and in view of the decision to phase out nuclear power , this technology is a subject threatened with extinction; From a global point of view, however, it remains of great importance.
A special area within nuclear technology is nuclear fusion , a special area of nuclear physics . High expectations are placed on this technology for the future; however, it is currently still in the research and development stage.
Sustainable energy technology
Mainly because of the special importance of energy technology for the environment, world climate and the future of mankind mentioned in the introduction, there is a strong interest in the use of regenerative energy sources , so that this branch has developed into an almost independent subject. If you look into the details, you can see that the different variants of renewable energy technology use very different technologies and that the branch is thus just as inhomogeneous and diverse as energy technology as a whole:
- Solar technology
→ Main articles: solar technology , solar energy
In solar technology , d. H. The use of solar energy is basically divided into:
- Photovoltaics - The direct generation of electricity from solar radiation using solar cells , either locally or in large photovoltaic power plants . This technology is determined by semiconductor technology in connection with electrical converters in electrical engineering.
- Solar heat - use of solar heat
- Solar thermal - decentralized use of solar heat by means of solar collectors for building heating as a branch of building technology .
- Solar thermal power plant technology - use of solar heat in power plants to generate electricity
In connection with photovoltaics, the electrolytic production of hydrogen from water in the context of hydrogen technology is important.
- Wind power
Wind turbines use the energy of atmospheric currents. Such a system arises from the cooperation of steel construction / civil engineers (tower structure), aerodynamicists / fluid mechanics (wings), mechanical engineers (gears, bearings, etc.) and electrical engineers (generator, power electronics).
- Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is the use of geothermal energy for heating and generating electricity.
- Hydropower
The use of hydropower (classic hydropower plants on dammed rivers, wave power plants , tidal power plants ) is primarily a domain of civil engineering , more precisely hydraulic engineering and coastal engineering , as well as hydrology and geology . The construction of the mostly necessary structures ( canals , dams , dams , tunnels , ...) for the utilization of rivers, reservoirs and seas falls into these specialist areas .
As a flow machine, the water turbine is a component of energy engineering (see above). The electrical generators for water power, which are a special design due to the low speed of water turbines, come from electrical machine manufacturers.
- Bioenergy technology
Bioenergy technology deals with the extraction, refinement and use of biogenic fuels. The producers of energy crops and other biomass from biology, agriculture and forestry work together with conventional fuel technology (see above). The combustion takes place in furnaces and internal combustion engines that have been adapted for the use of biogenic fuels.
Ethanol and methanol or the hydrogen obtained from them can also be used in fuel cells to generate electricity.
education and study
Since energy technology is a broad field, there are only a few universities and technical colleges that offer integrated courses of study that cover the entire field. Instead, energy technology is typically offered as a specialization within the adjacent sciences (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, process engineering, ...). The same applies to apprenticeships in the field of energy technology.
BERUFENET and KURSNET of the Federal Employment Agency provide information on study and training opportunities in the field of energy technology .
See also
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Web links
- What is energy from the alpha-Centauri television series(approx. 15 minutes). First broadcast on Nov 10, 2002.
- VDI-GET - Association for Energy Technology of the VDI