Energy Sources, Fuels, and Internal Combustion Engines
Energy Consumption in Various Sectors
The company uses large amounts of energy on activities such as:
- Operating all types of machinery and appliances.
- Conditioning of homes, businesses, and public spaces through the supply and installation of lighting, heating, and water.
- Extraction and processing of materials such as metals and plastics, and subsequent processing of these materials in factories.
Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources
Renewable Resources:
These resources are limited and include:
- Solar: energy from the sun.
- Hydraulic and tidal: energy from water.
- Wind: energy from the wind.
- Geothermal: energy from the Earth’s temperature.
- Muscle: energy from humans and animals.
- Biomass: organic matter.
Non-Renewable Resources:
These resources are limited or scarce and include:
- Fossil fuels: natural gas, oil, coal.
- Nuclear: uranium.
Fuels and Combustion
Fuels are organic substances, such as coal or wood, which, in combination with oxygen, undergo a process called combustion. This process releases a large amount of heat, but requires an initial energy input to start.
Fossil Fuels:
- Coal: Mined from the earth and used in power stations to produce electricity and in iron and steel production.
- Petroleum: A mixture of hydrocarbons refined to obtain butane, propane, and gasoline.
- Natural Gas: Often found with oil and mixed with organic matter, primarily composed of methane.
Alternative Fuels:
These include urban and agricultural wastes, as well as biofuels made from alcohols and oils of sunflower, radish, chard, or other plants.
Engines and Heating Systems
Engines and heating systems, such as heaters, furnaces, boilers, and burners, are used to change environmental temperatures. Most vehicles use combustion engines for movement. Electricity can be generated by moving steam turbines with electric generators using combustion engines.
The Steam Engine
The use of the steam engine spurred industrial development. The steam engine uses energy from burning wood or coal in a boiler to heat water in a closed circuit, producing pressurized steam. This steam moves a plunger, which, through various mechanical processes, rotates a sprocket. This advancement allowed the development of steam turbines and combustion engines.
Internal Combustion Engines
4-Stroke Engine:
This engine consists of a block with cylinder holes. A piston moves inside, connected to a crankshaft that rotates the motor shaft. These engines can be gasoline or diesel.
The movement of the piston is achieved by reacting fuel and air inside the cylinder.
Diesel fuel is injected after compressing the air, causing an explosion without the need for a spark plug.
- Intake: The piston moves down, and air and fuel enter the cylinder.
- Compression: The valves close, and the piston moves up, compressing the mixture.
- Explosion: The spark plug ignites the mixture, launching the piston down.
- Exhaust: The piston moves up, pushing the gas outward.
2-Stroke Engine:
This engine is simpler, lacks valves, and is usually single-cylinder, with external fins for air cooling.
Cylinder Capacity:
The total volume of all cylinders in an internal combustion engine.
Transportation Infrastructure
Land Transportation:
Includes various communication routes to facilitate vehicle traffic, classified based on importance and characteristics as motorways, roads, highways, and conventional roads.
Railroad:
The combination of elements that make up the site used for train movement.
Maritime Transportation:
Places where ships and boats can contact the land and carry out loading and unloading operations for freight and passenger traffic.
- According to their origin: Natural and artificial.
- For location: Sea, river, and lake.
- For function: Fishing, shelter, commercial, military, and sports.
Airports:
Defined areas of land or water designated for the arrival, departure, and surface movement of aircraft.