THERMAL POLLUTI ON

Ms. Elaine M. Guaza MAEd Chemistry

What is THERMAL POLLUTION?

ItThere is the degradation of water quality by any are also situations in which process that changes ambient the effects of colder-than-normal water temperature. temperatures may be of water Itwater is usually associated with increase observed. temperature in a stream, lake, or ocean due to

the discharge of heated water from industrial Example: processes, such as the bottom generation of electricity. The discharge of cold water from Increase in ambient water temperature also deep-water reservoirs behind large dams occur in streams where shading biological vegetation has changed the downstream along the banks removed or where communities in is systems such as the sediments have Colorado iver.made the water more turbid.

Sources o Thermal Pollutio!

Ma"or sources Metho#s o pollutio!
!. "lectricity is generated by heat stored in the fossil fuels and the stored energy creates a heat flow Po$er pla!ts creati!% electricit& that drives turbine rom ossil uel #. The turbines then generate electricity $. %ll the electricity try to be organi&ed so that it may travel in the same direction in a small line '. (rgani&ation of this sort is created by man and so it does not occur naturally ). "*cess heat is then created because of the unnatural processes of creating organi&ation

Water as cooli!% a%e!t

heat excha!%ers "*change heat with other streams in the factory because there are steps which needs heat while other steps generates heat, leaving streams no options for intermediate temperature. e'aporate cooli!% +team is used in many final heating processes. Cooling by condensation generates great amount of waste heat from factory. Cooling comes from evaporation because ambient air is not saturated with water. %ir discharged from cooling tower is a direct contribution to global warming

further contributes to the problem in two ways, (e orestatio! o shoreli!e aggravates soil erosion activity increases amount of light that strikes the water sedimentation at lakes and streams makes the water muddy muddy water lowers the clarity of water, with the introduction of impurities to the water, containing microbes and dissolved minerals, which increase the light absorption from the atmosphere increase light absorption will see a rise in the temperature of water from the heat energy of light.

Soil erosio!

GEOTHERMA L POWER PLANT

)eothermal Po$er Pla!t

International .eothermal %ssociation /I.%0 has reported that The used for production of electricity from !1,2!) megawatts /340 of geothermal power in #' countries is online, which is e*pected to generate 52,#'5 .4h of electricity in geothermal energy. #1!1.This represents a #16 increase in online capacity since #11). were traditionally built e*clusively on the I.% pro7ects growth to !8,)11 34 by #1!), due to the pro7ects edges of tectonic plates where high presently under consideration, often in areas previously assumed to have little e*ploitable resource. temperature geothermal resources are In #1!1, the 9nited +tates led the world in geothermal electricity available the surface. production with near $,185 34 of installed capacity from 22 power The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world plants. The traditional thermal power plants need is located at The .eysers, a geothermal field in +an :rancisco, California. fuel for generating electricity while The Philippi!es is the seco!# hi%hest pro#ucer, with !,;1' geothermal power plants don-t fuel. 34 of capacity online. .eothermal power makes need up appro*imately !86 of <hilippine electricity generation.

)eothermal Po$er Pla!t

A#'a!ta%es

(isa#'a!ta%es
Initial drilling costs are e*pensive and the process is comple*. :luids drawn from the deep earth carry a mi*ture of gases=pollutants, C(#, >#+, C>', ?>$. >ot water from geothermal sources may hold in solution trace amounts of to*ic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, boron, and antimony. <lant construction can adversely affect land stability

No uel is re*uire# +lea! source o po$er Less area is re*uire# Sustai!a,le

EFFECTS OF THERMAL POLLUTION

Ele'ate# Water Temperature

typically decreases the level of dissolved o*ygen in water increases the metabolic rate of aquatic animals many aquatic species will fail to reproduce primary producers are affected denatures life-supporting en&ymes increases the decomposition rate of organic matter in water thermal shock

(ecrease# Water Temperature

dramatically change the fish and The populations of some species macroinvertebrate fauna of rivers, and can also be enhanced by the reduce river presence of productivity cooling water In %ustralia, where many rivers have discharges. warmer temperature regimes, native fish - The only large population of sea species have been eliminated, and turtles in California is have found in the macroinvertebrate fauna been southernaltered. portion@ue of +an @iego Aay drastically to the sudden fall of near temperature the discharge an electrical water the of contraction on dam and bridge pylon may take place. generating station.

Ways to Prevent Thermal Pollut on

In the 9nited +tates, about 2)6 to 8#6 of thermal pollution is generated by power plants. The remainder is from industrial sources such as petroleum refineries, pulp and paper mills, chemical plants, steel mills and smelters. >eated water from these sources may be controlled with,
cooling ponds, man-made bodies of water designed for cooling by evaporation, convection, and radiation cooling towers, which transfer waste heat to the atmosphere through evaporation and=or heat transfer cogeneration, a process where waste heat is recycled for domestic and=or industrial heating purposes.

+ome facilities use o!ce-throu%h cooli!% /(TC0 systems which do not reduce temperature as effectively as the above systems. :or e*ample, the <otrero .enerating +tation in +an :rancisco, which uses (TC, discharges water to +an :rancisco Aay appro*imately !1BC /#1B:0 above the ambient bay temperature.

Use Less Electricit&

.eneration of electric power uses the largest percentage of cooling water, thus reducing the amount of electricity that is used will reduce thermal pollution. %lthough there are an increasing number of power-generating plants, the amount of thermal pollution has not increased at the same rate because of improved efficiency of power plants and the increased use of hydropower. %n increase in the use of nuclear power won-t reduce the need for cooling waters since they also use cooling water.

Re#uce Temperature a!# .olume o (ischar%e

>eated water can be cooled before releasing it, and less can be released to cause less damage. 9nfortunately, the cheapest and easiest way to get cooling water is to withdraw it from a nearby body of water and then release it back into the body of water heated. The warmer temperature water lowers the o*ygen content of the water, which increases the respiratory rates of aquatic organisms and weakens them so that they are more vulnerable to disease and death. eleasing the heated water near the shoreline doesn-t lessen the problem since this may disrupt spawning and kill fish.

Store a!# Reuse Heate# Water

It would reduce thermal pollution if those using cooling water were to empty the heated water into shallow ponds or canals, wait for it to cool and then reuse the waterC land availability is a hindrance to this method, but this is the idea behind using cooling towers. % cooling tower is an efficient way to reduce thermal pollution because it transfers the heat from the water into the atmosphere. Cooling towers are wet or dry. The re7ection of heat into a dry tower is evaporative and raises the relative humidity. %ccording to the Cooling Technology Institute, the cooling potential of a wet surface is much better because there is less evaporative heat transferred into the atmosphere.

(ischar%e i! Less .ul!era,le /o!es

@ischarging in less vulnerable &ones is not the best way to reduce thermal pollution. In the past scientists have called it thermal enrichment to release heated water, most scientist don-t consider it enrichment at all and feel that addition to any &one causes thermal pollution. Certainly, however, there would be fewer fish and aquatic organisms killed by thermal shock if there were fewer fish and organisms in the area where the water is discharged.

Alter!ati'e Sources o E!er%&

SOLAR POWER

0IO1UELS

WIN( POWER

Pla!t Trees

(ne of the ma7or causes of global warming is increasing concentration of carbon dio*ide, leading to greenhouse effect. (n the other hand, green plants have got the capacity to absorb carbon dio*ide. In the photosynthesis plants take water, sunlight and carbon dio*ide to produce their food. +o, plant as many trees as possible. 3assive plantation is the only solution for reducing global carbon dio*ide level. Indirect effect of plantation is, it will reduce soil temperature, causes more rains, some of the carbon dio*ide shall be dissolved in rain and shall go to the sea - which will ultimately form carbonate rocks and will help in the flora and fauna of the marine life.

eLai ^_^