In 1 ton of coal, there is about 2.6 x 1010 J of chemical energy. In order to su
ID: 1950752 • Letter: I
Question
In 1 ton of coal, there is about 2.6 x 1010 J of chemical energy. In order to supply enough power, a typical power plant consumes a ton of coal every 4 to 5 minutes. This is a lot of coal every day in every power plant. Nuclear power plants rely on something better than chemical energy; the direct conversion of mass to energy. In each uranium atom, roughly 0.1% of the mass is converted to energy.Estimate the following quantities:
•The mass of coal used each day in one power plant.
•The total amount of energy produced in a day using coal.
•The mass of uranium needed each day to match this output.
Explanation / Answer
assuming the power plant runs 24 hrs/day then, 1 ton = 907.18474kg 24 hrs/day * 60 min/hr = 1440 min/day if using 4 minutes.... 1440/4 = 360 360*907.18474 = 326587kg of coal per day 326587 * 2.6e10 = 8.491e15J per day or 1440/5 = 288 288 * 907.18474 = 261269kg of coal per day 261569 * 2.6e10 = 6.79e15J per day so in 4-5 min its... 261269 - 326587 kg of coal per day 6.79e15 - 8.49e15J per day