This material is based on the article “Review of types of energy storage devices”, previously published on http://khd2.narod.ru/gratis/accumul.htm, with the addition of several paragraphs from other sources, for example, http://battery-info. ru/alternatives.
One of the main problems alternative energy— unevenness of its supply from renewable sources. The sun shines only during the day and in cloudless weather, the wind either blows or subsides. And the need for electricity is not constant, for example, less is required for lighting during the day, and more in the evening. And people like it when cities and villages are flooded with illuminations at night. Well, or at least the streets are just lit. So the task arises - to save the received energy for some time in order to use it when the need for it is maximum, and the supply is insufficient.
Pumped storage power plant TaumSauk in the USA. Despite its low power, it is known all over the world thanks to its heart-shaped upper basin.
There are also smaller-scale hydraulic gravitational energy storage devices. First, we pump 10 tons of water from an underground reservoir (well) to a container on the tower. Then the water from the tank flows back into the tank under the influence of gravity, rotating a turbine with an electric generator. The service life of such a drive can be 20 years or more. Advantages: when using a wind engine, the latter can directly drive the water pump; water from the tank on the tower can be used for other needs.
Unfortunately, hydraulic systems are more difficult to maintain properly. technical condition than solid-state ones - first of all, this concerns the tightness of tanks and pipelines and the serviceability of shut-off and pumping equipment. One more thing important condition- at the moments of accumulation and use of energy, the working fluid (at least there is enough of it most of) must be in a liquid aggregate state, and not in the form of ice or vapor. But sometimes in such storage tanks it is possible to obtain additional free energy, say, when replenishing the upper reservoir with melt or rainwater.
Mechanical energy storage devices
Mechanical energy manifests itself during the interaction and movement of individual bodies or their particles. It includes the kinetic energy of movement or rotation of a body, the energy of deformation during bending, stretching, twisting, compression of elastic bodies (springs).
Gyroscopic energy storage devices
Ufimtsev's gyroscopic storage device.
In gyroscopic storage devices, energy is stored in the form of kinetic energy from a rapidly rotating flywheel. The specific energy stored per kilogram of flywheel weight is significantly greater than what can be stored in a kilogram of static load, even when lifted to a great height, and recent high-tech developments promise a density of accumulated energy comparable to the reserve of chemical energy per unit mass of the most effective types of chemicals. fuel. Another huge advantage of the flywheel is the ability to quickly release or receive very high power, limited only by the strength of the materials in the case of a mechanical transmission or “ throughput» electric, pneumatic or hydraulic transmissions.
Unfortunately, flywheels are sensitive to shock and rotation in planes other than the plane of rotation, since this creates enormous gyroscopic loads that tend to bend the axle. In addition, the storage time of the energy accumulated by the flywheel is relatively short and for traditional designs usually ranges from a few seconds to several hours. Further, energy losses due to friction become too noticeable... However, modern technologies allow you to dramatically increase storage time - up to several months.
Finally, another unpleasant moment - the energy stored by the flywheel directly depends on its rotation speed, therefore, as energy is accumulated or released, the rotation speed changes all the time. At the same time, the load very often requires a stable rotation speed not exceeding several thousand revolutions per minute. For this reason, purely mechanical systems for transferring power to and from the flywheel may be too complex to manufacture. Sometimes an electromechanical transmission using a motor-generator placed on the same shaft with the flywheel or connected to it by a rigid gearbox can simplify the situation. But then energy losses due to heating of wires and windings are inevitable, which can be much higher than losses due to friction and slippage in good variators.
Particularly promising are the so-called superflywheels, consisting of turns of steel tape, wire or high-strength synthetic fiber. The winding can be dense, or it can have a specially left empty space. In the latter case, as the flywheel unwinds, the coils of the tape move from its center to the periphery of rotation, changing the moment of inertia of the flywheel, and if the tape is spring-loaded, then storing some of the energy in the elastic deformation energy of the spring. As a result, in such flywheels the rotation speed is not so directly related to the accumulated energy and is much more stable than in the simplest solid structures, and their energy intensity is noticeably greater. In addition to greater energy intensity, they are safer in the event of various accidents, since, unlike fragments of a large monolithic flywheel, which in their energy and destructive power are comparable to cannonballs, spring fragments have much less “damaging power” and usually quite effectively slow down a burst flywheel after due to friction against the walls of the housing. For the same reason, modern solid flywheels, designed to operate in conditions close to the limit of the material’s strength, are often made not monolithic, but woven from cables or fibers impregnated with a binder.
Modern designs with a vacuum rotation chamber and a magnetic suspension of a superflywheel made of Kevlar fiber provide a stored energy density of more than 5 MJ/kg, and can store kinetic energy for weeks and months. According to optimistic estimates, the use of ultra-strong “supercarbon” fiber for winding will allow increasing the rotation speed and specific density of stored energy many more times - up to 2-3 GJ/kg (they promise that one spin of such a flywheel weighing 100-150 kg will be enough for a mileage of a million kilometers or more, i.e. for virtually the entire life of the car!). However, the cost of this fiber is also many times higher than the cost of gold, so even Arab sheikhs cannot afford such machines... You can read more about flywheel drives in the book by Nurbey Gulia.
Gyro-resonant energy storage devices
These drives are the same flywheel, but made of elastic material (for example, rubber). As a result, it acquires fundamentally new properties. As the speed increases, “outgrowths” - “petals” begin to form on such a flywheel - first it turns into an ellipse, then into a “flower” with three, four or more “petals”... Moreover, after the formation of “petals” begins, the speed of rotation of the flywheel is already practically does not change, and the energy is stored in the resonant wave of elastic deformation of the flywheel material, which forms these “petals”.
N.Z. Garmash was engaged in such constructions in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Donetsk. The results he obtained are impressive - according to his estimates, with a flywheel operating speed of only 7-8 thousand rpm, the stored energy was enough for the car to travel 1,500 km versus 30 km with a conventional flywheel of the same size. Unfortunately, more recent information about this type of drive is unknown.
Mechanical storage using elastic forces
This class of devices has a very high specific energy storage capacity. If it is necessary to maintain small dimensions (several centimeters), its energy intensity is the highest among mechanical drives. If the requirements for weight and size characteristics are not so stringent, then large ultra-high-speed flywheels surpass it in energy intensity, but they are much more sensitive to external factors and have a much shorter energy storage time.
Spring mechanical storage
Compression and straightening of a spring can provide a very large flow and energy input per unit of time - perhaps the greatest mechanical power among all types of energy storage devices. As in flywheels, it is limited only by the strength limit of the materials, but springs usually implement the working translational movement directly, and in flywheels one cannot do without a rather complex transmission (it is no coincidence that pneumatic weapons use either mechanical mainsprings or gas cartridges, which, by their nature, are essentially pre-charged pneumatic springs; before the advent of firearms, spring weapons were also used for combat at a distance - bows and crossbows, which, long before the new era, completely replaced the sling with its kinetic accumulation of energy in professional troops).
The storage period of the accumulated energy in a compressed spring can be many years. However, it should be taken into account that under the influence of constant deformation, any material accumulates fatigue over time, and the crystal lattice of the metal of the spring gradually changes, and the greater the internal stresses and the higher the ambient temperature, the sooner and to a greater extent this will happen. Therefore, after several decades, a compressed spring, without changing in appearance, may turn out to be “discharged” completely or partially. However, high-quality steel springs, if they are not subjected to overheating or hypothermia, can work for centuries without any visible loss of capacity. For example, an antique mechanical wall clock from one complete winding still runs for two weeks - just like when it was made more than half a century ago.
If it is necessary to gradually evenly “charge” and “discharge” the spring, the mechanism providing this can turn out to be very complex and capricious (look at the same mechanical watch - in fact, many gears and other parts serve precisely this purpose). An electromechanical transmission can simplify the situation, but it usually imposes significant restrictions on the instantaneous power of such a device, and when working with low powers (several hundred watts or less), its efficiency is too low. A separate task is the accumulation of maximum energy in a minimum volume, since this creates mechanical stresses close to the tensile strength of the materials used, which requires particularly careful calculations and impeccable workmanship.
When talking about springs here, we need to keep in mind not only metal, but also other elastic solid elements. The most common among them are rubber bands. By the way, in terms of energy stored per unit mass, rubber exceeds steel tens of times, but it serves approximately the same number of times less, and, unlike steel, it loses its properties after just a few years even without active use and under ideal external conditions. conditions - due to the relatively rapid chemical aging and degradation of the material.
Gas mechanical accumulators
In this class of devices, energy is accumulated due to the elasticity of compressed gas. When there is excess energy, the compressor pumps gas into the cylinder. When it is necessary to use the stored energy, the compressed gas is supplied to a turbine, which directly performs the necessary mechanical work or rotates an electric generator. Instead of a turbine, you can use a piston engine, which is more efficient at low power (by the way, there are also reversible piston compressor engines).
Almost every modern industrial compressor is equipped with a similar battery - a receiver. True, the pressure there rarely exceeds 10 atm, and therefore the energy reserve in such a receiver is not very large, but this usually allows you to increase the service life of the installation several times and save energy.
Gas compressed to a pressure of tens and hundreds of atmospheres can provide a sufficiently high specific density of stored energy for an almost unlimited time (months, years, and with a high quality receiver and shut-off valves - tens of years - it is not for nothing that pneumatic weapons using compressed cartridges gas, has become so widespread). However, the compressor with a turbine or a piston engine included in the installation are quite complex, capricious devices and have a very limited resource.
A promising technology for creating energy reserves is compressing air using available energy at a time when there is no immediate need for the latter. Compressed air is cooled and stored at a pressure of 60-70 atmospheres. If it is necessary to expend the stored energy, the air is extracted from the storage device, heated, and then enters a special gas turbine, where the energy of the compressed and heated air rotates the stages of the turbine, the shaft of which is connected to an electric generator that supplies electricity to the power system.
To store compressed air, it is proposed, for example, to use suitable mine workings or specially created underground tanks in salt rocks. The concept is not new, storing compressed air in an underground cave was patented back in 1948, and the first plant with compressed air energy storage (CAES) with a capacity of 290 MW has been operating at the Huntorf power plant in Germany since 1978. During the air compression stage, a large amount of energy is lost in the form of heat. This lost energy must be compensated by compressed air before the expansion stage in the gas turbine, and for this purpose hydrocarbon fuel is used to increase the air temperature. This means that the installations are far from 100% efficient.
There is a promising direction to improve the efficiency of CAES. It consists in retaining and preserving the heat generated during the operation of the compressor at the stage of compression and cooling of air, with its subsequent reuse when reheating cold air (so-called recovery). However, this CAES option has significant technical difficulties, especially in creating a long-term heat storage system. If these problems are addressed, AA-CAES (Advanced Adiabatic-CAES) could pave the way for large-scale energy storage systems, an issue that has been raised by researchers around the world.
Participants in the Canadian startup Hydrostor have another unusual solution - pumping energy into underwater bubbles.
Thermal energy storage
In our climatic conditions, a very significant (often the main) part of the energy consumed is spent on heating. Therefore, it would be very convenient to directly accumulate heat in the storage device and then receive it back. Unfortunately, in most cases the density of stored energy is very small, and its storage time is very limited.
There are heat accumulators with solid or melting heat-storing material; liquid; steam; thermochemical; with an electric heating element. Heat accumulators can be connected to a system with a solid fuel boiler, a solar system or a combined system.
Energy storage due to heat capacity
In accumulators of this type, heat accumulation is carried out due to the heat capacity of the substance that serves as the working fluid. A classic example of a heat accumulator is the Russian stove. It was heated once a day and then it heated the house for 24 hours. Nowadays, a heat accumulator most often means storage containers hot water, sheathed with material with high thermal insulation properties.
There are heat accumulators based on solid coolants, for example, in ceramic bricks.
Different substances have different heat capacities. For most, it is in the range from 0.1 to 2 kJ/(kg K). Water has an abnormally high heat capacity - its heat capacity in the liquid phase is approximately 4.2 kJ/(kg K). Only very exotic lithium has a higher heat capacity - 4.4 kJ/(kg K).
However, in addition to specific heat capacity(by mass) must be taken into account volumetric heat capacity, which allows you to determine how much heat is needed to change the temperature of the same volume of different substances by the same amount. It is calculated from the usual specific (mass) heat capacity by multiplying it by the specific density of the corresponding substance. You should focus on volumetric heat capacity when the volume of the heat accumulator is more important than its weight. For example, the specific heat capacity of steel is only 0.46 kJ/(kg K), but the density is 7800 kg/cubic m, and, say, polypropylene is 1.9 kJ/(kg K) - more than 4 times higher, but its density is only 900 kg/cub.m. Therefore, with the same volume steel will be able to store 2.1 times more heat than polypropylene, although it will be almost 9 times heavier. However, due to the anomalously large heat capacity of water, no material can surpass it in volumetric heat capacity. However, the volumetric heat capacity of iron and its alloys (steel, cast iron) differs from water by less than 20% - in one cubic meter they can store more than 3.5 MJ of heat for each degree of temperature change, the volumetric heat capacity of copper is slightly less - 3.48 MJ /(cubic m K). Heat capacity of air in normal conditions is approximately 1 kJ/kg, or 1.3 kJ/cubic meter, so to heat a cubic meter of air by 1°, it is enough to cool a little less than 1/3 liter of water (naturally, hotter than air) by the same degree.
Due to the simplicity of the device (what could be simpler than a stationary solid piece of solid matter or a closed reservoir with a liquid coolant?), such energy storage devices have an almost unlimited number of cycles of energy accumulation and release and a very long service life - for liquid coolants until the liquid dries out or until the tank is damaged from corrosion or other reasons, for solid-state materials there are no these restrictions. But the storage time is very limited and, as a rule, ranges from several hours to several days - conventional thermal insulation is no longer capable of retaining heat for a longer period, and the specific density of the stored energy is low.
Finally, one more circumstance should be emphasized - for efficient operation, not only the heat capacity is important, but also the thermal conductivity of the heat accumulator substance. With high thermal conductivity, even to fairly rapid changes in external conditions, the heat accumulator will respond with its entire mass, and therefore with all its stored energy - that is, as efficiently as possible. In the case of poor thermal conductivity, only the surface part of the heat accumulator will have time to react, and short-term changes in external conditions simply will not have time to reach the deeper layers, and a significant part of the substance of such a heat accumulator will actually be excluded from operation. Polypropylene, mentioned in the example discussed just above, has a thermal conductivity almost 200 times less than steel, and therefore, despite its fairly large specific heat capacity, it cannot be an effective heat accumulator. However, technically, the problem is easily solved by organizing special channels for coolant circulation inside the heat accumulator, but it is obvious that such a solution significantly complicates the design, reduces its reliability and energy intensity, and will certainly require periodic maintenance, which is unlikely to be necessary for a monolithic piece of substance.
Strange as it may seem, sometimes it is necessary to accumulate and store not heat, but cold. In the United States, companies have been operating for more than ten years that offer ice-based “accumulators” for installation in air conditioners. At night, when there is an abundance of electricity and it is sold at reduced rates, the air conditioner freezes the water, that is, it switches to refrigerator mode. IN daytime it consumes several times less energy, working like a fan. The energy-hungry compressor is switched off during this time. Read more.
Energy accumulation when changing the phase state of a substance
If you look carefully at the thermal parameters of various substances, you can see that when the state of aggregation changes (melting-solidification, evaporation-condensation), significant absorption or release of energy occurs. For most substances, the thermal energy of such transformations is sufficient to change the temperature of the same amount of the same substance by many tens or even hundreds of degrees in those temperature ranges where its state of aggregation does not change. But, as you know, until the state of aggregation of the entire volume of a substance becomes the same, its temperature is practically constant! Therefore, it would be very tempting to accumulate energy by changing the state of aggregation - a lot of energy is accumulated, and the temperature changes little, so as a result there will be no need to solve problems associated with heating to high temperatures, and at the same time it is possible to obtain a good capacity of such a heat accumulator.
Melting and crystallization
Unfortunately, at present there are practically no cheap, safe and resistant to decomposition substances with high phase transition energy, the melting point of which would lie in the most relevant range - from approximately +20°C to +50°C (maximum +70°C - This is still a relatively safe and easily achievable temperature). As a rule, complex organic compounds melt in this temperature range, which are not at all healthy and often quickly oxidize in air.
Perhaps the most suitable substances are paraffins, the melting point of most of which, depending on the type, lies in the range of 40..65 ° C (however, there are also “liquid” paraffins with a melting point of 27 ° C or less, as well as natural ozokerite, related to paraffins, the melting point of which lies in the range of 58..100°C). Both paraffins and ozokerite are quite safe and are also used for medical purposes to directly warm sore spots on the body. However, with good heat capacity, their thermal conductivity is very low - so low that paraffin or ozokerite applied to the body, heated to 50-60 ° C, feels only pleasantly hot, but not scalding, as would be the case with water heated to the same temperature, - this is good for medicine, but for a heat accumulator this is an absolute minus. In addition, these substances are not so cheap, say, the wholesale price for ozokerite in September 2009 was about 200 rubles per kilogram, and a kilogram of paraffin cost from 25 rubles (technical) to 50 and more (highly purified food grade, i.e. suitable for use in food packaging). This Wholesale prices for batches of several tons, at retail everything is at least one and a half times more expensive.
As a result economic efficiency a paraffin heat accumulator turns out to be a big question - after all, a kilogram or two of paraffin or ozokerite is only suitable for medically warming up a cramped lower back for a couple of tens of minutes, and to ensure a stable temperature in a more or less spacious home for at least a day, the mass of a paraffin heat accumulator must be measured in tons, so its cost immediately approaches the cost of a passenger car (albeit in the lower price segment)! And the temperature of the phase transition, ideally, should still exactly correspond to the comfortable range (20..25°C) - otherwise, you will still have to organize some kind of heat exchange regulation system. However, the melting point in the region of 50..54 ° C, characteristic of highly purified paraffins, in combination with the high heat of phase transition (slightly more than 200 kJ/kg) is very well suited for a heat accumulator designed to provide hot water supply and water heating, the only problem is the low thermal conductivity and high price of paraffin. But in case of force majeure, paraffin itself can be used as fuel with good calorific value (although this is not so easy to do - unlike gasoline or kerosene, liquid and especially solid paraffin does not burn in air, you definitely need a wick or other device for feeding into the combustion zone not the paraffin itself, but only its vapor)!
An example of a thermal energy storage device based on the melting and crystallization effect is the TESS thermal energy storage system based on silicon, which was developed by the Australian company Latent Heat Storage.
Evaporation and condensation
The heat of evaporation-condensation, as a rule, is several times higher than the heat of melting-crystallization. And it seems that there are quite a few substances that evaporate in the required temperature range. In addition to the frankly toxic carbon disulfide, acetone, ethyl ether, etc., there is also ethyl alcohol (its relative safety is proven daily by personal example by millions of alcoholics around the world!). Under normal conditions, alcohol boils at 78°C, and its heat of evaporation is 2.5 times greater than the heat of fusion of water (ice) and is equivalent to heating the same amount of liquid water by 200°. However, unlike melting, when changes in the volume of a substance rarely exceed a few percent, during evaporation the vapor occupies the entire volume provided to it. And if this volume is unlimited, then the steam will evaporate, irrevocably taking with it all the accumulated energy. In a closed volume, the pressure will immediately begin to increase, preventing the evaporation of new portions of the working fluid, as is the case in the most ordinary pressure cooker, so only a small percentage of the working substance experiences a change in state of aggregation, while the rest continues to heat up while in the liquid phase. This opens up a large field of activity for inventors - the creation of an effective heat accumulator based on evaporation and condensation with a sealed variable working volume.
Phase transitions of the second order
In addition to phase transitions associated with changes in the state of aggregation, some substances, even within one state of aggregation, can have several different phase states. A change in such phase states, as a rule, is also accompanied by a noticeable release or absorption of energy, although usually much less significant than when the aggregate state of a substance changes. In addition, in many cases, with such changes, in contrast to a change in the state of aggregation, temperature hysteresis occurs - the temperatures of the direct and reverse phase transitions can differ significantly, sometimes by tens or even hundreds of degrees.
Electric energy storage
Electricity is the most convenient and universal form of energy in modern world. It is not surprising that electrical energy storage devices are developing most rapidly. Unfortunately, in most cases, the specific capacity of low-cost devices is small, and devices with high specific capacity are still too expensive to store large energy reserves for mass use and are very short-lived.
Capacitors
The most common “electrical” energy storage devices are ordinary radio capacitors. They have an enormous rate of energy accumulation and release - usually from several thousand to many billions of complete cycles per second, and are able to operate in this way in a wide temperature range for many years, or even decades. By combining several capacitors in parallel, you can easily increase their total capacity to the desired value.
Capacitors can be divided into two large classes - non-polar (usually “dry”, i.e. not containing liquid electrolyte) and polar (usually electrolytic). The use of a liquid electrolyte provides a significantly higher specific capacity, but almost always requires compliance with polarity when connecting. In addition, electrolytic capacitors are often more sensitive to external conditions, primarily temperature, and have a shorter service life (over time, the electrolyte evaporates and dries out).
However, capacitors have two main disadvantages. Firstly, this is a very low specific density of stored energy and therefore a small (relative to other types of storage) capacity. Secondly, this is a short storage time, which is usually measured in minutes and seconds and rarely exceeds several hours, and in some cases is only a small fraction of a second. As a result, the scope of application of capacitors is limited to various electronic circuits and short-term accumulation, sufficient for rectifying, correcting and filtering current in power electrical engineering - there are not yet enough of them for more.
Sometimes called "supercapacitors", they can be considered as a kind of intermediate link between electrolytic capacitors and electrochemical batteries. From the first they inherited practically unlimited amount charge-discharge cycles, and from the second - relatively low charging and discharging currents (a complete charge-discharge cycle can last a second, or even much longer). Their capacity is also in the range between the most capacitive capacitors and small batteries - usually the energy reserve ranges from a few to several hundred joules.
Additionally, it should be noted that the ionistors are quite sensitive to temperature and have a limited charge storage time - from several hours to several weeks maximum.
Electrochemical batteries
Electrochemical batteries were invented at the dawn of the development of electrical engineering, and now they can be found everywhere - from mobile phones to airplanes and ships. Generally speaking, they work based on some chemical reactions and therefore they could be attributed to the next section of our article - “Chemical energy storage devices”. But since this point is usually not emphasized, and attention is drawn to the fact that batteries accumulate electricity, we will consider them here.
As a rule, if it is necessary to store quite a lot of energy - from several hundred kilojoules or more - lead-acid batteries are used (for example, any car). However, they have considerable dimensions and, most importantly, weight. If light weight and mobility of the device are required, then more modern types batteries - nickel-cadmium, metal hydride, lithium-ion, polymer-ion, etc. They have a much higher specific capacity, however, the specific cost of energy storage is noticeably higher, so their use is usually limited to relatively small and economical devices, such as mobile phones, photo and video cameras, laptops, etc.
IN Lately Powerful lithium-ion batteries have begun to be used in hybrid and electric vehicles. In addition to lighter weight and greater specific capacity, unlike lead-acid, they allow almost complete use of their nominal capacity, are considered more reliable and have a longer service life, and their energy efficiency in a full cycle exceeds 90%, while the energy efficiency of lead When charging the last 20% of batteries, their capacity can drop to 50%.
According to the mode of use, electrochemical batteries (primarily powerful ones) are also divided into two large classes - the so-called traction and starting ones. Usually, a starting battery can work quite successfully as a traction battery (the main thing is to control the degree of discharge and not bring it to such a depth that is permissible for traction batteries), but when used in reverse, too much load current can very quickly damage the traction battery.
The disadvantages of electrochemical batteries include a very limited number of charge-discharge cycles (in most cases from 250 to 2000, and if the manufacturers' recommendations are not followed - much less), and even in the absence of active use, most types of batteries degrade after a few years, losing their consumer properties . At the same time, the service life of many types of batteries does not begin from the beginning of their operation, but from the moment of manufacture. In addition, electrochemical batteries are characterized by sensitivity to temperature, a long charge time, sometimes tens of times longer than the discharge time, and the need to comply with the method of use (avoiding deep discharge for lead batteries and, conversely, maintaining a full charge-discharge cycle for metal hydride and many other types of batteries). The charge storage time is also quite limited - usually from a week to a year. With old batteries, not only the capacity decreases, but also the storage time, and both can be reduced many times.
Chemical energy storage devices
Chemical energy- this is the energy “stored” in the atoms of substances, which is released or absorbed during chemical reactions between substances. Chemical energy is either released as heat during exothermic reactions (for example, fuel combustion) or converted into electrical energy in galvanic cells and batteries. These energy sources are characterized by high efficiency (up to 98%), but low capacity.
Chemical energy storage devices make it possible to obtain energy both in the form from which it was stored and in any other form. There are “fuel” and “fuel-free” varieties. Unlike low-temperature thermochemical storage devices (more on them a little later), which can store energy simply by being placed in a sufficiently warm place, this cannot be done without special technologies and high-tech equipment, sometimes very cumbersome. In particular, while in the case of low-temperature thermochemical reactions the mixture of reagents is usually not separated and is always in the same container, reagents for high-temperature reactions are stored separately from each other and are combined only when energy is needed.
Energy accumulation by fuel production
During the energy storage stage, a chemical reaction occurs that results in the reduction of fuel, for example, the liberation of hydrogen from water - by direct electrolysis, in electrochemical cells using a catalyst, or by thermal decomposition, say, an electric arc or highly concentrated sunlight. The “released” oxidizer can be collected separately (for oxygen this is necessary in a closed isolated object - under water or in space) or “thrown away” as unnecessary, since at the time of fuel use this oxidizer will be quite sufficient in environment and there is no need to waste space and money on its organized storage.
At the energy recovery stage, the accumulated fuel is oxidized to release energy directly in the desired form, regardless of how the fuel was obtained. For example, hydrogen can immediately provide heat (when burned in a burner), mechanical energy (when supplied as fuel to an engine internal combustion or turbine) or electricity (during oxidation in a fuel cell). As a rule, such oxidation reactions require additional initiation (ignition), which is very convenient for controlling the energy extraction process.
Energy storage using thermochemical reactions
A large group of chemical reactions, which in a closed vessel, when heated, go in one direction with the absorption of energy, and when cooled, go in the opposite direction with the release of energy, have long been widely known. Such reactions are often called thermochemical. The energy efficiency of such reactions, as a rule, is less than when changing the state of aggregation of a substance, but is also very noticeable.
Such thermochemical reactions can be considered as a kind of change phase state mixtures of reagents, and the problems arise here are approximately the same - it is difficult to find a cheap, safe and effective mixture of substances that successfully acts in a similar way in the temperature range from +20°C to +70°C. However, one similar composition has been known for a long time - this is Glauber's salt.
Mirabilite (aka Glauber's salt, also known as sodium sulfate decahydrate Na 2 SO 4 · 10H 2 O) is obtained as a result of elementary chemical reactions (for example, by adding table salt to sulfuric acid) or is mined in “finished form” as a mineral.
From the point of view of heat accumulation, the most interesting feature Mirabilite lies in the fact that when the temperature rises above 32°C, bound water begins to be released, and outwardly this looks like the “melting” of crystals, which dissolve in the water released from them. When the temperature drops to 32°C, free water is again bound into the crystalline hydrate structure - “crystallization” occurs. But the most important thing is that the heat of this hydration-dehydration reaction is very high and amounts to 251 kJ/kg, which is noticeably higher than the heat of “honest” melting-crystallization of paraffins, although one third less than the heat of fusion of ice (water).
Thus, a heat accumulator based on a saturated solution of mirabilite (saturated precisely at temperatures above 32°C) can effectively maintain the temperature at 32°C with a long resource for storing or releasing energy. Of course, for a full-fledged hot water supply, this temperature is too low (a shower with this temperature is best case scenario is perceived as “very cool”), but this temperature may be quite enough to heat the air.
You can read more about the heat accumulator based on mirabilite on the website “DelaySam.ru”.
Fuel-free chemical energy storage
 A can of coffee heated by slaking lime. |
In this case, at the “charging” stage, others are formed from some chemical substances, and during this process, energy is stored in the new chemical bonds formed (for example, slaked lime is converted into a quicklime state by heating).
During “discharge,” a reverse reaction occurs, accompanied by the release of previously stored energy (usually in the form of heat, sometimes additionally in the form of gas, which can be supplied to the turbine) - in particular, this is exactly what happens when “quenching” lime with water. Unlike fuel methods, to start a reaction it is usually enough to simply connect the reactants with each other - no additional initiation of the process (ignition) is required.
In essence, this is a type of thermochemical reaction, but unlike the low-temperature reactions described when considering thermal energy storage devices and which do not require any special conditions, here we are talking about temperatures of many hundreds, or even thousands of degrees. As a result, the amount of energy stored in each kilogram of working substance increases significantly, but the equipment is also many times more complex, bulky and more expensive than empty plastic bottles or a simple reagent tank.
The need to consume an additional substance - say, water to slak the lime - is not a significant disadvantage (if necessary, you can collect the water released when the lime passes into the quicklime state). But the special storage conditions of this very quicklime, the violation of which is fraught not only with chemical burns, but also with an explosion, transfer this and similar methods to the category of those that are unlikely to come into wide use.
Other types of energy storage devices
In addition to those described above, there are other types of energy storage devices. However, at present they are very limited in terms of the density of stored energy and the time of its storage at a high specific cost. Therefore, for now they are used more for entertainment, and their exploitation for any serious purposes is not considered. An example is phosphorescent paints, which store energy from a bright light source and then glow for several seconds, or even long minutes. Their modern modifications have long been free of toxic phosphorus and are completely safe even for use in children's toys.
Superconducting magnetic energy storage devices store it in the field of a large magnetic coil with DC. It can be converted to a variable electricity as needed. Low temperature storage devices are cooled with liquid helium and are available for industrial enterprises. High-temperature liquid hydrogen-cooled storage devices are still under development and may become available in the future.
Superconducting magnetic energy storage devices are large in size and are typically used for short periods of time, such as during switching operations.
Most likely, this article does not cover all possible ways accumulation and conservation of energy. You can report other options either in the comments or by email to kos at altenergiya dot ru.
The body is constantly connected with energy exchange. Energy metabolism reactions occur constantly, even when we sleep. After complex chemical changes, food substances are converted from high molecular weight to simple ones, which is accompanied by the release of energy. It's all energy exchange.
The energy demands of the body during running are very high. For example, in 2.5-3 hours of running, about 2600 calories are consumed (this is a marathon distance), which significantly exceeds the energy consumption of a sedentary person per day. During a race, the body draws energy from muscle glycogen and fat reserves.
Muscle glycogen, a complex chain of glucose molecules, accumulates in active muscle groups. Aerobic glycolysis and two other chemical processes convert glycogen into adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
The ATP molecule is the main source of energy in our body. Maintaining energy balance and energy metabolism occurs at the cellular level. The speed and endurance of a runner depends on the respiration of the cell. Therefore, in order to achieve the best results, it is necessary to provide the cell with oxygen for the entire distance. This is what training is for.
Energy in the human body. Stages of energy metabolism.
We are always receiving and expending energy. In the form of food we receive basic nutrients, or ready-made organic substances, this proteins fats and carbohydrates. The first stage is digestion; there is no release of energy that our body can store.
The digestive process is not aimed at obtaining energy, but at breaking down large molecules into small ones. Ideally, everything should break down into monomers. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, fructose and galactose. Fats - to glycerol and fatty acids, proteins to amino acids. 
Cell respiration
Besides digestion, there is a second part or stage. This is breathing. We breathe and force air into our lungs, but this is not the main part of breathing. Respiration is when our cells, using oxygen, burn nutrients into water and carbon dioxide to get energy. This is the final stage of energy production that takes place in each of our cells.
The main source of human nutrition is carbohydrates accumulated in muscles in the form of glycogen; glycogen is usually enough for 40-45 minutes of running. After this time, the body must switch to another source of energy. These are fats. Fats are alternative energy glycogen.
alternative energy- this means the need to choose one of two energy sources: fats or glycogen. Our body can receive energy only from one source.
Running on long distances differs from short-distance running in that the stayer’s body inevitably switches to using muscle fat as an additional source of energy.
Fatty acids are not the most successful substitute for carbohydrates, since their release and use takes much more energy and time. But if the glycogen runs out, then the body has no choice but to use fats, thus obtaining the necessary energy. It turns out that fats are always a backup option for the body.
Note that the fats used when running are fats contained in muscle fibers, and not fat layers covering the body. 
When any organic substance is burned or broken down, industrial waste is produced: carbon dioxide and water. Our organic matter consists of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Carbon dioxide is exhaled as air, and water is used by the body or excreted through sweat or urine.
When digesting nutrients, our body loses some energy in the form of heat. This is how the engine in a car heats up and loses energy into emptiness, and the muscles of a runner spend a huge amount of energy. converting chemical energy into mechanical energy. Moreover, the efficiency is about 50%, that is, half of the energy is lost in the form of heat into the air.
The main stages of energy metabolism can be distinguished:
We eat to get nutrients, break them down, then with the help of oxygen the process of oxidation occurs, and ultimately we get energy. Part of the energy always leaves in the form of heat, and we store part of it. Energy is stored in the form of a chemical compound called ATP.
What is ATP?
ATP is adenosine triphosphate, which is of great importance in the exchange of energy and substances in organisms. ATP is a universal source of energy for everyone biochemical processes, occurring in living systems.
In the body, ATP is one of the most frequently renewed substances; in humans, the lifespan of one ATP molecule is less than a minute. During the day, one ATP molecule goes through an average of 2000-3000 cycles of resynthesis. Human body synthesizes about 40 kg of ATP per day, but contains approximately 250 g at any given moment, that is, practically no ATP reserve is created in the body, and for normal life it is necessary to constantly synthesize new ATP molecules.
Conclusion: Our body can store energy for itself in the form of a chemical compound. This is ATP.
ATP consists of a nitrogenous base - adenine, ribose and triphosphate - phosphoric acid residues.
It takes a lot of energy to create ATP, but when it is destroyed, this energy can be returned. Our body, when breaking down nutrients, creates an ATP molecule, and then, when it needs energy, it breaks down the ATP molecule or breaks down the bonds of the molecule. By eliminating one of the phosphoric acid residues, you can get about 40 kJ. ⁄ mole.
This always happens because we constantly need energy, especially while running. Sources of energy input into the body can be different (meat, fruits, vegetables, etc.) . There is only one internal source of energy - ATP. The life of a molecule is less than a minute. therefore, the body constantly breaks down and reproduces ATP.
Energy of fission. Cell energy
Dissimilation
We get our main energy from glucose in the form of an ATP molecule. Since we constantly need energy, these molecules will come into the body where energy needs to be given.
ATP gives up energy and is broken down into ADP - adenosine diphosphate. ADP is the same molecule of ATP, only without one phosphoric acid residue. Di means two. Glucose, when broken down, releases energy, which ADP takes and restores its phosphorus residue, turning into ATP, which is again ready to expend energy. This happens all the time.
This process is called - dissimilation.(destruction).In this case, to obtain energy it is necessary to destroy the ATP molecule.
Assimilation
But there is another process. You can build your own substances using energy. This process is called - assimilation. Create larger substances from smaller ones. Production of your own proteins, nucleic acids, fats and carbohydrates.
For example, you ate a piece of meat. Meat is a protein that must be broken down into amino acids. From these amino acids, your own proteins will be assembled or synthesized, which will become your muscles. This will take some of the energy.
Getting energy. What is glycolysis?
One of the processes for obtaining energy for all living organisms is glycolysis. Glycolysis can be found in the cytoplasm of any of our cells. The name "glycolysis" comes from the Greek. - sweet and Greek. - dissolution.
Glycolysis is an enzymatic process of sequential breakdown of glucose in cells, accompanied by the synthesis of ATP. These are 13 enzymatic reactions. Glycolysis at aerobic conditions leads to the formation of pyruvic acid (pyruvate).
Glycolysis in anaerobic conditions leads to the formation of lactic acid (lactate). Glycolysis is the main pathway of glucose catabolism in animals.
Glycolysis is one of the oldest metabolic processes, known in almost all living organisms. Presumably, glycolysis appeared more than 3.5 billion years ago in primary prokaryotes. (Prokaryotes are organisms whose cells lack a formed nucleus. Its functions are performed by a nucleotide (that is, “similar to a nucleus”); unlike a nucleus, a nucleotide does not have its own shell). 
Anaerobic glycolysis
Anaerobic glycolysis is a way to obtain energy from a glucose molecule without using oxygen. The process of glycolysis (cleavage) is the process of glucose oxidation, in which two molecules are formed from one glucose molecule pyruvic acid.
The glucose molecule splits into two halves which can be called pyruvate, this is the same as pyruvic acid. Each half of pyruvate can restore an ATP molecule. It turns out that one molecule of glucose, when broken down, can restore two molecules of ATP.
When running for a long time or when running in anaerobic mode, after some time it becomes difficult to breathe, the leg muscles get tired, the legs become heavy, and like you, they stop receiving enough oxygen.
Because the process of obtaining energy in the muscles ends with glycolysis. Therefore, the muscles begin to ache and refuse to work due to lack of energy. Formed lactic acid or lactate It turns out that the faster an athlete runs, the faster he produces lactate. Blood lactate levels are closely related to exercise intensity.
Aerobic glycolysis
Glycolysis itself is a completely anaerobic process, that is, it does not require the presence of oxygen for reactions to occur. But you must agree that the production of two ATP molecules during glycolysis is very small.
Therefore, the body has an alternative option for obtaining energy from glucose. But already with the participation of oxygen. This is oxygen breathing. which each of us possesses, or aerobic glycolysis. Aerobic glycolysis is able to quickly restore ATP reserves in the muscle.
During dynamic exercise, such as running, swimming, etc., aerobic glycolysis occurs. that is, if you are running and are not out of breath, but are calmly talking to a friend running next to you, then we can say that you are running in aerobic mode.
Respiration or aerobic glycolysis occurs in mitochondria under the influence of special enzymes and requires oxygen consumption, and, accordingly, time for its delivery.
Oxidation occurs in several stages, first there is glycolysis, but the two pyruvate molecules formed during the intermediate stage of this reaction are not converted into lactic acid molecules, but penetrate into the mitochondria, where they are oxidized in the Krebs cycle to carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O and provide energy for production another 36 ATP molecules.
Mitochondria- these are special organelles that are located in the cell, which is why it existssomething called cellular respiration. Such respiration occurs in all organisms that need oxygen, including you and me.
Glycolysis is a catabolic pathway of exceptional importance. It provides energy for cellular reactions, including protein synthesis. Intermediate products of glycolysis are used in the synthesis of fats. Pyruvate can also be used to synthesize alanine, aspartate and other compounds. Thanks to glycolysis, mitochondrial performance and oxygen availability do not limit muscle power during short-term extreme loads. Aerobic oxidation is 20 times more efficient than anaerobic glycolysis.
What is a mitochondrion?
Mitochondria (from the Greek μίτος - thread and χόνδρος - grain, grain) is a double-membrane spherical or ellipsoidal organelle with a diameter of usually about 1 micrometer. The energy station of the cell; the main function is the oxidation of organic compounds and the use of energy released during their breakdown to generate electrical potential, ATP synthesis and thermogenesis. 
The number of mitochondria in a cell is not constant. There are especially many of them in cells in which the need for oxygen is high. Depending on which areas of the cell at any given moment there is increased energy consumption, mitochondria in the cell are able to move through the cytoplasm to areas of greatest energy consumption.
Functions of mitochondria
One of the main functions of mitochondria is the synthesis of ATP - a universal form of chemical energy in any living cell. Look, at the input there are two molecules of pyruvate, and at the output there is a huge amount of “a lot of things”. This “lot of things” is called the “Krebs Cycle”. By the way, Hans Krebs received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of this cycle.
We can say that this is the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In this cycle, many substances are sequentially converted into each other. In general, as you understand, this thing is very important and understandable for biochemists. In other words, it is a key step in the respiration of all cells that use oxygen.
As a result, the output we get is carbon dioxide, water and 36 ATP molecules. Let me remind you that glycolysis (without the participation of oxygen) produced only two ATP molecules per glucose molecule. Therefore, when our muscles begin to work without oxygen, they greatly lose efficiency. That is why all training is aimed at ensuring that the muscles can work on oxygen for as long as possible.
The structure of mitochondria
Mitochondria have two membranes: outer and inner. The main function of the outer membrane is to separate the organelle from the cell cytoplasm. It consists of a bilipid layer and proteins that penetrate it, through which the transport of molecules and ions necessary for mitochondria to function is carried out.
While the outer membrane is smooth, the inner one forms numerous folds -cristas, which significantly increase its area. The inner membrane mostly consists of proteins, including enzymes of the respiratory chain, transport proteins and large ATP synthetase complexes. It is in this place that ATP synthesis occurs. Between the outer and inner membranes there is an intermembrane space with its inherent enzymes. 
The inner space of mitochondria is called matrix. Here are located the enzyme systems for the oxidation of fatty acids and pyruvate, enzymes of the Krebs cycle, as well as the hereditary material of mitochondria - DNA, RNA and the protein synthesizing apparatus.
Mitochondria are the cells' only source of energy. Located in the cytoplasm of every cell, mitochondria are comparable to “batteries” that produce, store and distribute the energy necessary for the cell.
Human cells contain on average 1,500 mitochondria. They are especially abundant in cells with intense metabolism (for example, in muscles or liver).
Mitochondria are mobile and move in the cytoplasm depending on the needs of the cell. Due to the presence of their own DNA, they multiply and self-destruct regardless of cell division.
Cells cannot function without mitochondria; life is not possible without them.
"We can also talk about the chemical death of a person, when the supply of psychic energy is depleted.
We can talk about resurrection when psychic energy begins to be replenished".
What is Psychic Energy?– This is the life-giving energy on which human existence depends. There is no Psychic Energy (hereinafter referred to as PE) - there is no life, physical decay, illness and death occur. There is PE - there is a life full of creativity, health and happiness.
Synonyms for PE: grace, prana, Chinese Qi energy, the fire of Hermes, Kundalini, the fiery tongues of the Holy Trinity, Bulwer-Lytton's Vril, Killy's free energy, Mesmer's fluid, Reichenbach's Ode, the living fire of Zoroaster, Sophia of the Hellenes, Saraswati of the Hindus and many, many others.
Signs of PE decline: mental and physical fatigue, drowsiness, amorphous consciousness, and in severe cases - nausea.
Signs of a hot flash of PE: joy and optimism, creative activity, desire for achievements and fruitful activities.
Seven ways to preserve PE
1. AURA. When leaving the house in the morning, mentally draw an energetic shell in the shape of a chicken egg around you at an outstretched elbow distance so that your body is in the center of this auric egg. In this way, you will strengthen the protective network of your aura, which protects your PE from unwanted intrusions.
2. VAMPIRES. Try to avoid communicating with people with dull, cloudy, shifting eyes - these are energy vampires, after communicating with whom severe fatigue sets in. A person's gaze cannot be faked. The eyes are the most reliable indicator of the presence of PE in a person. Those who do not have their own PE often become an energy vampire and try (often unconsciously) to steal it by simply approaching the donor’s aura.
3. CROWD. IN public transport, or similar crowded place, quietly make a quick assessment of the people standing nearby. If one of them caused you slight rejection, then move away from him to another place. When human auras come into contact, your PE flows magnetically into another aura, and the PE of another aura flows into yours, and there is no way to interfere with this energy exchange - this is a firm law.
4. HANDS. In public places, try to avoid direct contact with bare hands with commonly used objects and things, such as door handles, handrails, shopping cart handles, etc. If possible, then in the winter season do not take off your gloves or buy thin ones, for example, kid gloves. If it is not possible to avoid direct contact with bare hands, then find a place that is least common. Human hands emit strong streams of PE. With each touch, a person saturates with his PE those objects touched by the hand. Be attentive to old, unfamiliar things. They can carry a charge of negative PE, from contact with which you will spend a lot of your PE on neutralizing it.
5. IRRITATION. By all means, avoid irritation, which can be especially annoying in public transport, in shops, in heavy traffic while driving a car, at home, etc. Mental irritation generates negative PE, which destroys your positive PE.
6. INTIMATE. Drive moderately intimate life, because the reproduction of seminal fluid requires a large consumption of PE.
7. ANIMALS. Do not keep animals at home so that your PE does not leak to them. Animals, like all living things, have their own aura with their own PE, which is much lower in quality than human PE. When the auras of a person and an animal come into contact, the same exchange of PE occurs as between people. Do not saturate your aura with lower animal PE.
Seven ways to enhance PE
1. AIR. Breathe natural, clean air more often. Prana is dissolved in it - solar PE. In large cities with over a million people, the air is not clean, so try to either go out into nature more often, or even move outside the city or to a small town.
2. SPACE. The boundless spaces of the universe are filled with cosmic life-giving energy, which is akin to human PE. You just need to mentally call, pull her from there. Look at the starry sky and imagine that it is an ocean of energy, by touching which you can easily strengthen your vital energy.
3. FRIENDLY. Be friendlier to everyone around you. Do not wish harm on anyone, not even your enemies. Kindness and a friendly attitude not only generate positive PE radiation in your aura, but also cause people to have the same response vibrations in their auras. Friendly people exchange positive PE with other people simply because they evoke the same positive PE in other people.
4. HEART. The main manager of a person’s PE is his heart. Listen to your heart, not your brain. The rational brain is often deceived in correctly assessing a life situation and sometimes leads into a dead end. The heart is never deceived and knows much more than the mind can imagine. Listen to the voice of your heart in silence and silence. It will tell you how to follow the path of life, so that at the end of it you can say that you have lived a happy life.
6. VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. Eat raw vegetables and fruits - they are full of solar PE deposits. Try not to eat fried foods, because... overcooked oil releases poisons that kill your PE. Do not eat meat, it is full of invisible energy, pathogenic fluids of decomposition, which begins immediately after the death of the animal. Even the freshest meat is full of not only low animal PE, but also energetic microbes, when eaten, your body will spend a lot of PE to neutralize them. Legumes can easily replace meat products.
7. SLEEP. Before going to bed, don’t worry, and especially don’t quarrel with your family. Try not to watch negative and criminal television programs that evoke bad emotions. It’s better to watch a good movie, or read a good book, or listen to calm music. Before going to bed, take a shower to cleanse not only your body of sweat deposits, but, more importantly, to wash away the energy accumulations of the day from your aura. Pure water has the ability to clean PE. Having gone to sleep in a clean body and a calm, peaceful spirit, your PE will rush into the pure layers of space, where it will receive strengthening and nutrition. In the morning you will feel cheerfulness and strength to live the coming day with dignity.
The food we consume produces energy, which is necessary to carry out any functions of our body - from walking and the ability to speak to digestion and breathing. But why do we often complain about lack of energy, irritability or lethargy? The answer lies in what foods make up our daily diet.
Energy production
In addition to water and air, our body constantly needs a regular supply of food, which provides the energy reserves necessary for movement, breathing, thermoregulation, heart function, blood circulation and brain activity. Amazingly, even at rest, our brain consumes about 50% of the energy stored from food we eat, with energy consumption increasing sharply during intense brain activity, such as taking exams. How is food converted into energy?
During the digestion process, described in more detail in the corresponding section (-79), food is broken down into individual glucose molecules, which then pass through the intestinal wall into the blood. Glucose is transported through the bloodstream to the liver, where it is filtered and stored in reserve. The pituitary gland (an endocrine gland located in the brain) sends a signal to the pancreas and thyroid glands to release hormones that force the liver to release accumulated glucose into the bloodstream, after which the blood delivers it to those organs and muscles that need it.
Having reached the desired organ, glucose molecules enter the cells, where they are converted into a source of energy that is available for use by the cells. Thus, the process of constantly supplying organs with energy depends on the level of glucose in the blood.
In order to increase the body's energy reserves, we must consume certain types of foods, in particular those that can increase the metabolic rate and maintain the required level of energy. To understand how all this happens, consider the following questions:
How does food turn into energy?
Every cell in our body contains mitochondria. Here are the components included in the composition food products, undergo a series of chemical transformations, resulting in the formation of energy. Each cell in this case is a miniature power plant. Interestingly, the number of mitochondria in each cell depends on energy needs. With regular exercise, it increases to ensure greater production of the necessary energy. Conversely, a sedentary lifestyle leads to a decrease in energy production and, accordingly, a decrease in the number of mitochondria. Different nutrients are needed to be converted into energy, each of which contributes to different steps in the energy process (see Energy Foods). Therefore, the food consumed should not only be filling, but also contain all types of nutrients necessary for energy production: carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO LIMIT THE CONTENT OF PRODUCTS IN THE DIETS THAT TAKE ENERGY OR HINDER ITS FORMATION. ALL SUCH PRODUCTS STIMULATE THE RELEASE OF THE HORMONE ADRENALINE.
Maintaining a constant level of glucose in the blood is important for the normal functioning of the body (see Maintaining normal blood sugar levels, - 46). For this purpose, it is advisable to give preference to foods with a low glycemic index. By adding protein and fiber to every meal or snack, you can help ensure you have enough energy to help you get the energy you need.
Carbohydrates and glucose
The energy we extract from food comes more from carbohydrates than from proteins or fats. Carbohydrates are more easily converted into glucose and are therefore the most convenient source of energy for the body.
Glucose can be used immediately for energy needs, or stored in reserve in the liver and muscles. It is stored in the form of glycogen, which, if necessary, is easily converted into it again. In fight-or-flight syndrome (see), glycogen is released into the bloodstream to provide the body with additional energy. Glycogen is stored in soluble form.
Proteins must be balanced with carbohydrates
Although everyone needs carbohydrates and protein, their ratios can vary depending on individual needs and habits. The optimal ratio is selected individually by trial and error, but you can be guided by the data presented in the table on page 43.
Be careful with squirrels. Always supplement with high-quality complex carbohydrates, such as dense vegetables or cereal grains. The predominance of protein foods leads to acidification of the internal environment of the body, whereas it should be slightly alkaline. Internal system Self-regulation allows the body to return to an alkaline state by releasing calcium from the bones. Ultimately, this can disrupt bone structure and lead to osteoporosis, which often causes fractures.
Health drinks and snacks containing glucose provide a quick boost of energy, but the effect is fleeting. Moreover, it is accompanied by depletion of energy reserves accumulated by the body. During sports, you spend a lot of energy, so you can “refuel” with soy curd with fresh berries before exercise.
Good food, good mood
Try increasing your protein intake slightly while decreasing your carbohydrate intake, or vice versa, until you determine your optimal energy level.
Energy needs throughout life
The need for additional energy arises at different stages of our lives. In childhood, for example, energy is needed for growth and learning, in adolescence- to ensure hormonal and physical changes during puberty. During pregnancy, the need for energy increases in both the mother and the fetus, and during stress, excess energy is expended throughout life. In addition, a person leading an active lifestyle requires more energy than ordinary people.
Energy Raiders
It is very important to limit the content of foods in your diet that take away energy or interfere with its formation. These products include alcohol, tea, coffee and fizzy drinks, as well as cakes, biscuits and sweets. All such products stimulate the release of the hormone adrenaline, which is produced in the adrenal glands. Adrenaline is produced most quickly during the so-called “fight or flight” syndrome, when something threatens us. The release of adrenaline mobilizes the body to action. The heart begins to beat faster, the lungs absorb more air, the liver releases more glucose into the blood, and the blood flows to where it is most needed - for example, to the legs. Constantly increased production of adrenaline, particularly with appropriate nutrition, can lead to a persistent feeling of fatigue.
Stress is also considered an energy scavenger because stress releases stored glucose from the liver and muscles, resulting in a short-term burst of energy followed by a state of prolonged fatigue.
Energy and emotions
In fight-or-flight syndrome, glycogen (stored carbohydrates) moves from the liver into the blood, causing blood sugar levels to rise. Because of this, prolonged stress can seriously affect blood sugar levels. Caffeine and nicotine have similar effects; the latter promote the secretion of two hormones - cortisone and adrenaline - which interfere with the digestive process and induce the liver to release stored glycogen.
Food rich in energy
The richest in energy terms are products containing the B complex of vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, B9 (folic acid) and biotin. All of them are found in abundance in the grains of millet, buckwheat, rye, quinoa (a South American grain very popular in the West), corn and barley. In germinating grains energy value increases many times over - the nutritional value of sprouts is increased by growth-promoting enzymes. A lot of B vitamins are also found in fresh greens.
Vitamin C, which is present in fruits (for example, oranges) and vegetables (potatoes, peppers), is also important for the body’s energy; magnesium, which is abundant in greens, nuts and seeds; zinc (egg yolk, fish, sunflower seeds); iron (grains, pumpkin seeds, lentils); copper (Brazil nut hulls, oats, salmon, mushrooms), as well as coenzyme Q10, which is present in beef, sardines, spinach and peanuts.
Maintaining normal blood sugar levels
How often have you woken up in the morning in a bad mood, feeling lethargic, exhausted, and experiencing an urgent need to sleep another hour or two? And life doesn’t seem to be a joy. Or perhaps, after struggling until noon, you're wondering if you'll make it until lunch. It’s even worse when fatigue overcomes you after lunch, at the end of the working day, and you have no idea how you’ll get home. And then you still have to prepare dinner. And then - eat it. And don’t you ask yourself: “Lord, where did the last of your strength go?”
Constant fatigue and lack of energy can be caused by various reasons, but most often they are the result of a poor diet and/or irregular nutrition, as well as the abuse of stimulants that help “hold on.”
Depression, irritability and mood swings, along with premenstrual syndrome, angry outbursts, agitation and nervousness, can be the result of an imbalance in energy production, malnutrition and frequent fad diets.
Having gained an idea of how and from what energy is formed in our body, we can quickly increase our energy levels, which will allow us not only to maintain efficiency and good mood throughout the day, but will also ensure healthy deep sleep at night.
Abundant growth of fat trees,
which root on the barren sand
approved, clearly states that
fat sheets fat fat from the air
absorb...
M. V. Lomonosov
How is energy stored in a cell? What is metabolism? What is the essence of the processes of glycolysis, fermentation and cellular respiration? What processes take place during the light and dark phases of photosynthesis? How are the processes of energy and plastic metabolism related? What is chemosynthesis?
Lesson-lecture
The ability to convert one type of energy into another (radiation energy into the energy of chemical bonds, chemical energy into mechanical energy, etc.) is one of the fundamental properties of living things. Here we will take a closer look at how these processes are realized in living organisms.
ATP IS THE MAIN CARRIER OF ENERGY IN THE CELL. To carry out any manifestations of cell activity, energy is required. Autotrophic organisms receive their initial energy from the Sun during photosynthesis reactions, while heterotrophic organisms use organic compounds supplied with food as an energy source. Energy is stored by cells in the chemical bonds of molecules ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which are a nucleotide consisting of three phosphate groups, a sugar residue (ribose) and a nitrogenous base residue (adenine) (Fig. 52).
Rice. 52. ATP molecule
The bond between phosphate residues is called macroergic, since when it breaks, a large amount of energy is released. Typically, the cell extracts energy from ATP by removing only the terminal phosphate group. In this case, ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and phosphoric acid are formed and 40 kJ/mol are released:
ATP molecules play the role of universal energy small change cells. They are delivered to the site of an energy-intensive process, be it the enzymatic synthesis of organic compounds, the work of proteins - molecular motors or membrane transport proteins, etc. The reverse synthesis of ATP molecules is carried out by attaching a phosphate group to ADP with the absorption of energy. The cell stores energy in the form of ATP during reactions energy metabolism. It is closely related to plastic exchange, during which the cell produces the organic compounds necessary for its functioning.
METABOLISM AND ENERGY IN THE CELL (METABOLISM). Metabolism is the totality of all reactions of plastic and energy metabolism, interconnected. The cells constantly synthesize carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids. The synthesis of compounds always occurs with the expenditure of energy, i.e. with the indispensable participation of ATP. Energy sources for the formation of ATP are enzymatic reactions of oxidation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates entering the cell. During this process, energy is released and stored in ATP. Glucose oxidation plays a special role in cellular energy metabolism. Glucose molecules undergo a series of successive transformations.
The first stage, called glycolysis, takes place in the cytoplasm of cells and does not require oxygen. As a result of successive reactions involving enzymes, glucose breaks down into two molecules of pyruvic acid. In this case, two ATP molecules are consumed, and the energy released during oxidation is sufficient to form four ATP molecules. As a result, the energy output of glycolysis is small and amounts to two ATP molecules:
C 6 H1 2 0 6 → 2C 3 H 4 0 3 + 4H + + 2ATP
Under anaerobic conditions (in the absence of oxygen), further transformations can be associated with various types fermentation.
Everybody knows lactic acid fermentation(milk souring), which occurs due to the activity of lactic acid fungi and bacteria. The mechanism is similar to glycolysis, only the final product here is lactic acid. This type of glucose oxidation occurs in cells when there is a lack of oxygen, such as in intensely working muscles. Alcohol fermentation is close in chemistry to lactic acid fermentation. The difference is that the products of alcoholic fermentation are ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The next stage, during which pyruvic acid is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, is called cellular respiration. Reactions associated with respiration take place in the mitochondria of plant and animal cells, and only in the presence of oxygen. This is a series of chemical transformations before the formation of the final product - carbon dioxide. At various stages of this process, intermediate products of oxidation of the starting substance are formed with the elimination of hydrogen atoms. In this case, energy is released, which is “conserved” in the chemical bonds of ATP, and water molecules are formed. It becomes clear that it is precisely in order to bind the separated hydrogen atoms that oxygen is required. This series chemical transformations are quite complex and occur with the participation of the internal membranes of mitochondria, enzymes, and carrier proteins.
Cellular respiration is very efficient. 30 ATP molecules are synthesized, two more molecules are formed during glycolysis, and six ATP molecules are formed as a result of transformations of glycolysis products on mitochondrial membranes. In total, as a result of the oxidation of one glucose molecule, 38 ATP molecules are formed:
C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6H 2 0 → 6CO 2 + 6H 2 O + 38ATP
The final stages of oxidation of not only sugars, but also proteins and lipids occur in mitochondria. These substances are used by cells, mainly when the supply of carbohydrates comes to an end. First, fat is consumed, the oxidation of which releases significantly more energy than from an equal volume of carbohydrates and proteins. Therefore, fat in animals represents the main “strategic reserve” of energy resources. In plants, starch plays the role of an energy reserve. When stored, it takes up significantly more space than the energy equivalent amount of fat. This is not a hindrance for plants, since they are immobile and do not carry supplies on themselves, like animals. You can extract energy from carbohydrates much faster than from fats. Proteins perform many important functions in the body, and therefore are involved in energy metabolism only when the resources of sugars and fats are depleted, for example, during prolonged fasting.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS. Photosynthesis is a process during which the energy of solar rays is converted into the energy of chemical bonds of organic compounds. In plant cells, processes associated with photosynthesis occur in chloroplasts. Inside this organelle there are membrane systems in which pigments are embedded that capture the radiant energy of the Sun. The main pigment of photosynthesis is chlorophyll, which absorbs predominantly blue and violet, as well as red rays of the spectrum. Green light is reflected, so chlorophyll itself and the parts of plants that contain it appear green.
There are two phases in photosynthesis - light And dark(Fig. 53). The actual capture and conversion of radiant energy occurs during the light phase. When absorbing light quanta, chlorophyll goes into an excited state and becomes an electron donor. Its electrons are transferred from one protein complex to another along the electron transport chain. The proteins of this chain, like pigments, are concentrated on the inner membrane of chloroplasts. When an electron moves along a chain of carriers, it loses energy, which is used for the synthesis of ATP. Some of the electrons excited by light are used to reduce NDP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotiphosphate), or NADPH.
Rice. 53. Reaction products of the light and dark phases of photosynthesis
Under the influence sunlight The breakdown of water molecules also occurs in chloroplasts - photolysis; in this case, electrons appear that compensate for their losses by chlorophyll; This produces oxygen as a by-product:
Thus, the functional meaning of the light phase is the synthesis of ATP and NADPH by converting light energy into chemical energy.
Light is not needed for the dark phase of photosynthesis to occur. The essence of the processes taking place here is that the results obtained in light phase ATP and NADPH molecules are used in a series of chemical reactions that “fix” CO2 in the form of carbohydrates. All dark phase reactions take place inside chloroplasts, and the carbon dioxide ADP and NADP released during “fixation” are again used in light phase reactions for the synthesis of ATP and NADPH.
The overall equation for photosynthesis is as follows:
RELATIONSHIP AND UNITY OF PLASTIC AND ENERGY EXCHANGE PROCESSES. The processes of ATP synthesis occur in the cytoplasm (glycolysis), in mitochondria (cellular respiration) and in chloroplasts (photosynthesis). All reactions occurring during these processes are reactions of energy exchange. The energy stored in the form of ATP is consumed in plastic exchange reactions for the production of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and nucleic acids necessary for the life of the cell. Note that the dark phase of photosynthesis is a chain of reactions, plastic exchange, and the light phase is energy exchange.
The interrelation and unity of the processes of energy and plastic exchange is well illustrated by the following equation:
When reading this equation from left to right, we get the process of oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide and water during glycolysis and cellular respiration, associated with the synthesis of ATP (energy metabolism). If you read it from right to left, you get a description of the reactions of the dark phase of photosynthesis, when glucose is synthesized from water and carbon dioxide with the participation of ATP (plastic exchange).
CHEMOSYNTHESIS. In addition to photoautotrophs, some bacteria (hydrogen bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, sulfur bacteria, etc.) are also capable of synthesizing organic substances from inorganic ones. They carry out this synthesis due to the energy released during the oxidation of inorganic substances. They are called chemoautotrophs. These chemosynthetic bacteria play important role in the biosphere. For example, nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium salts that are not available for absorption by plants into nitric acid salts, which are well absorbed by them.
Cellular metabolism consists of reactions of energy and plastic metabolism. During energy metabolism, organic compounds with high-energy chemical bonds - ATP - are formed. The energy required for this comes from the oxidation of organic compounds during anaerobic (glycolysis, fermentation) and aerobic (cellular respiration) reactions; from sunlight, the energy of which is absorbed in the light phase (photosynthesis); from the oxidation of inorganic compounds (chemosynthesis). ATP energy is spent on the synthesis of organic compounds necessary for the cell during plastic exchange reactions, which include reactions of the dark phase of photosynthesis.
- What are the differences between plastic and energy metabolism?
- How is the energy of sunlight converted into the light phase of photosynthesis? What processes take place during the dark phase of photosynthesis?
- Why is photosynthesis called the process of reflecting planetary-cosmic interaction?