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Where do power plants get the water that they use to cool their generators?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
It can come from any source which will provide a reliable supply of cool water, a large river, lake, or the ocean if nearby. Use of salt water may require measures against corrosion. If cooling towers are used, most of the heat rejection will occur in transfer to the air passing up the tower. This takes out some of the cooling water as it gets entrained in the air flow, generally about 5 percent of the water flow is lost so has to be made up. If the plant is on the coast and uses seawater then cooling towers are not necessary as there is an almost limitless heat sink in the ocean.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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Can geothermal energy power plants be located near cities?
Yes, there is no pollution emitted from a geothermal power plant apart from water to cool the equipment, and this can usually be recycled. There is some noise from the electricity turbines, but no more than other factories in industrial areas.
Does water vapor cool or heat as it rises?
cool
Where cool dense water sinks does it become more dense?
In the Mediterranean Sea the cool dense water sinks under less dense water which is called density current.
Does warm water rise and then cool?
NO
How do you use geothermal power?
Heat is sitting under the Earth -- we just need to tap it. Geothermal energy can be used in three ways:Direct geothermal energy. In areas where hot springs or geothermal reservoirs are near the Earth's surface, hot water can be piped in directly to heat homes or office buildings. Geothermal water is pumped through a heat exchanger, which transfers the heat from the water into the building's heating system. The used water is injected back down a well into the reservoir to be reheated and used again.Geothermal heat pump. A few feet under the ground, the soil or water remain a constant 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15 degrees Celsius) year-round. Just that little bit of warmth can be used to heat or cool homes and offices. Fluid circulates through a series of pipes (called a loop) under the ground or beneath the water of a pond or lake and into a building. An electric compressor and heat exchanger pull the heat from the pipes and send it via a duct system throughout the building. In the summer the process is reversed. The pipes draw heat away from the house and carry it to the ground or water outside, where it is absorbed.Geothermal power plant. Hot water and steam from deep underground can be piped up through underground wells and used to generate electricity in a power plant. Three different types of geothermal power plants exist:Dry steam plants. Hot steam is piped directly from geothermal reservoirs into generators in the power plant. The steam spins turbines, which generate electricity.Flash steam plants. Water that's between 300 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit (148 and 371 degrees Celsius) is brought up through a well. Some of the water turns to steam, which drives the turbines. When the steam cools it condenses back into water and is returned to the ground.Binary cycle plants. Moderately hot geothermal water is passed through a heat exchanger, where its heat is transferred to a liquid (such as isobutene) that boils at a lower temperature than water. When that fluid is heated it turns to steam, which spins the turbines.
Why were the nuclear power plants in Japan where they were?
The power plant were where they were because the generators needed cool water for the cooling systems at the plant.
Why is the water that is used to cool the reactor vessel of a nuclear power plant is kept separate from the water that is heated to produce steam for the turbine generators?
To reduce radioactive contamination.
What makes fish that live by power plants die?
the power plants use the water to cool down and then dump the hot water back in the lakes so this drastic change in water temp kills the fish. that is how it was explaned to me
Why are large amounts if water used in nuclear power plants?
to cool the heating rods and generate electricity
What helps keeps plant cool?
The process of transpiration keep plants cool. Water is evaporated from plants.
What keeps plants cool?
Mulch keeps the roots of plants cool. Also plants give off water from their leaves. This is called transpiration.
How does energy changes from one form to another in a coalburning power plant?
A power plant works like a heat engine. It receives thermal energy as heat and transforms part of it to mechanical energy discarding the rest as heat to the surroundings. In a coal burning power plant, the coal's chemical energy is liberated as heat and used to generate steam (at the steam generators) at high temperature and pressure. This high energy steam (large enthalpy content) is fed to steam turbines that are coupled to large electricity generators responsible of the plant's electric power output. The exhausted steam (at lower temperature and pressure) is sent to condensers which cool down the steam flow to get a flow of cool liquid water (The condensers require cold water to condense the steam)*. The cool condensed water flow is sent to a pump to lift its pressure high enough to be introduced to the heating system equipment (steam generators). The working fluid (water) has run a a full cycle. *The plant requires a "heat sink", a cooling source for the condensers cooling water. That is why power plants are constructed by a river or by the sea. If that is not an option, cooling towers are required.
Large towers must be built at nuclear power plants in order to?
Large towers are built to provide water to keep equipment cool.
Why are power stations which use nuclear to produce electricity built along coasts in most countries?
Because Neuclear Power Plants need water to cool down the reactors and thus the sea is a great place to get cold water from! :)
What impact do nuclear power plants have on water resources?
Regular Water is used to cool the reactors, and for steam production. The cooling water evaporates into the air...so it has to be replaced. Therefore the Plant has to have a source of fresh water for replacement.
What are the uses of nuclear power plant?
There is a couple of things. Like water damm, the water that is used to cool the machinenes evaporates then turns turbine that crate electricity. I believe that's what a couple plants do.
What are people doing about the nuclear meltdowns?
The nuclear power plants are filled with water to keep the atoms from splitting too fast inside the nuclear rod. Because of the earthquake in Japan, the nuclear power plants lost a lot of water in them, which is making the atoms split too fast. Radiation is now leaking from the plants, so crews are going in and dumping seawater into the nuclear plants to cool down the rods.
