Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student:
- (D1) will know the fundamental concepts of energy, entropy and reversibility;
- (D2) will have the instruments to scientifically discuss about ecological transition and circular economy;
- (D3) will be able to judge in some autonomous way on the environmental sustainability of different types of energy technologies;
- (D4) will have the scientific language to express the contents of the course in a clear and linear way both to the specialist and to the non-specialist;
- (D5) will be able to distinguish "myths" from science when speaking about energy and ecological transition.
Prerequisites
No particular prerequisites are required
Course unit content
1. What is energy
2. What is entropy
3. Emergy, exergy and environmental sustainability
4. Renewable and non-renewable energy technologies
5. Ecological transition
6. Linear economy and circular economy
7. Technologies for reducing energy consumption
Full programme
- Thermodynamic equilibrium, zeroth law of thermodynamics, temperature, energy, available energy, first law of thermodynamics, primary energy sources, secondary energy sources, second law of thermodynamics, entropy, renewable sources, non-renewable sources, sustainable sources;
- EU taxonomy of sustainable activities, electric power and electric energy, installed capacity, capacity factor, base load, energy storage, lithium ion batteries, redox flow batteries, compressed air, hydrogen gas, artificial photosynthesis;
-The hydrogen colors, European Community and hydrogen, Italy and hydrogen, natural greenhouse effect, natural greenhouse gases, anthropic greenhouse effect, climate-altering gases, carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2, N2O, CH4, SF6, Paris Agreement;
-First solar engines, photoelectric effect, history of photovoltaics, thermal solar panels, photovoltaic panels, thermodynamic solar panels, levelized cost of electricity, wind energy and wind turbines, offshore wind farms;
-Hydroelectric energy, hydroelectric history, run-of-river plants, dam plants, storage plants, installed water potential, hydroelectric problems, biomass, first, second and third generation biofuels;
-Energy from marine currents, hydrogen generators, nuclear fission and fusion, the tokamak, the stellarator, nuclear disasters, uranium-235, uranium-238, control rods;
-Moderators for fission, electricity from nuclear plants, sustainable nuclear energy, nuclear waste, geological repositories, recycling of nuclear waste, types of waste, availability of uranium in nature, costs and times for the construction of nuclear reactors, new generation nuclear power, SMR reactors, fast neutron reactors, thorium;
-Geothermal energy, geothermal power plants, direct-use geothermal, tidal energy, tonnes of oil equivalent, OLED;
-Ecological footprint, biocapacity, ecological deficit, ecological reserve, global hectare, Earth Overshoot Day, circular economy, Anthropocene;
-Sustainable development and ecological transition.
Bibliography
N. Armaroli, V. Balzani, Energia per l'astronave Terra, Zanichelli (2017)
G. Saracco, Chimica Verde 2.0, Zanichelli (2017)
Con la giusta energia, Gribaudo (2022) S. Angioni
A conceptual guide to thermodynamics, Wiley (2014) B. Poirier
lecture notes made available to students
Teaching methods
The course counts 24 hours of frontal lectures, during which students will learn what energy and ecological transition are from a scientific point of view. The slides used to support the lectures will be uploaded on a weekly basis on the Elly platform. The lectures recordings will be uploaded on the Elly platform and on the class YouTube channel.
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam is an interview (oral exam, 30-40 minutes). The interview is conducted to verify the proper learning of the concepts discussed during the course (see course program). The interview is graded on a 0-30 scale. Honors given in the case of excellent control of the disciplinary vocabulary. The mark is communicated immediately at the end of the interview itself.
