How Do Fossil Fuel Power Plants Work?
Fossil fuels develop from fossilized plants under high pressure over millions of years. Common fossil fuels include petroleum-based fuels, natural gas and coal. Each of those fuels is combustible (in other words, they burn). As they burn, fossil fuels release heat and waste gasses. Fossil fuel power plants use that heat to generate electricity.
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How Electricity is Generated
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Electricity is generated by spinning magnets very quickly inside of copper coils. The effects of the moving magnets on the coils causes them to release electrons, which flow in the form of electricity. The assembly that is made by the spinning magnets inside of a coil is called a "generator."
Spinning the Generator
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The generator spins in a number of ways. In a fossil fuel power plant, a turbine is built into the generator. A turbine is a series of fan blades that spin when they are pressed by pressurized gasses. The turbine causes the generator to spin at very high rates of speed. In most cases, the generator components and the turbine components are made as one unit referred to as a turbine.
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Powering the Turbine
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In the case of a fossil fuel power plant, turbines are powered by steam. A boiler generates the steam. As water heats and turns to steam, pressure increases. This pressurized steam travels through the turbine, causing it to turn the generator.
Heating the Steam
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In fossil fuel power plants, fossil fuels burn to create heat. That heat in turn heats the water in the boiler to produce steam. In addition to basic fossil fuels, some coal gasification plants are in use. In a coal classification plant, coal is heated to release gases, similar to natural gas. Those released gases are then burned to create heat.
Emission Controls
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When fossil fuels burn, they release a number of pollutants, including sulfur dioxide (a component of acid rain), particulate matter, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Presently, U.S.-based fossil fuel plants must have the technology to remove particulate matter and much of the sulfur dioxide released in the burning of fossil fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy plans a number of utility-scale projects to test methods of removing carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions.
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References
- Photo Credit power plant detail image by Aaron Kohr from Fotolia.com
