Completed notes of the course

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1 FUNDAMENTALS OF ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES This course is intended to study thermodynamic and electrochemistry: Thermodynamic is the branch of physic that studies systems characterized by heat and work energy transfers (conventional power cycles). Electrochemistry is the branch of physic that analyses systems undergoing electrochemical reactions and it studies the interaction between electrical energy and chemical change (batteries, fuel cells). An electrochemical reaction is a reaction involving the production or the consumption of one electrode. The main difference between the two branches that we are going to study is that in a ther modynamic system a combustion occurs, while this doesn’t happen in electrochemistry. The study of these two branches will also be done in terms of off-design and degradation , since all energy technologies work in off -design system: All systems have an ope rating conditions (best condition in which the system can work) but for most of the time the system works in off-design, that is, when the efficiency of the system is reduced and degradation occurs. Worldwide energy consumption: As we can expect, the share of renewables is minor compared to others (such as fossil ones), indeed, we have new emerging technologies, however, there is also the need to keep in mind that 85% of energy consumption is based on fossil fuels, which, as thermodynamics explains are converted through a combustion process in heat. The share of the different consumptions is divided into the different areas of the world. As for the Eu, the energy consumption of renewables is accounted for the 10%, while their use for electricity is accounted for the 30%. The situation in Italy is similar to other European countries, starting from 2009 we did not have an increase in the…