Sources and Methods of Thermal Pollution (4)
Major sources Methods of pollution
Power plants creating electricity from fossil fuel
  1. Electricity is generated by heat stored in the fossil fuels and the stored energy creates a heat flow that drives turbine
  2. The turbines then generate electricity
  3. All the electricity try to be organized so that it may travel in the same direction in a small line
  4. Organization of this sort is created by man and so it does not occur naturally
  5. Excess heat is then created because of the unnatural processes of creating organization
Water as cooling agent
  • heat exchangers
    exchange heat with other streams in the factory because there steps which needs heat while other steps generates heat, leaving streams no options for intermediate temperature 

  • evaporate cooling
    steam 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. Air discharged from cooling tower is a direct contribution to global warming
Deforestation of shoreline
  • further contributes to the problem in two ways:
    • aggravates soil erosion activity
    • increases amount of light that strikes the water 
Soil erosion

  • 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.

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