Alexanian.McDonald.MMA.Spring2009.EnergyandWater

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= = = = = = The Problem at Hand Global warming is a myth that is being used to forward many agendas. It's about gradually heating up the temperature of the earth. Many icebergs in the arctic region have already begun melting to a point where they have dissipated. This can cause a problem for the wildlife that live there as well as the humans that live on the ice. Another problem with the ice is where all the water from the ice will go. Scientists have predicted that once all the water from the icebergs has melted, lowland towns, cities, even countries will go completely underwater. Here is a picture of New York and shaded lightly in blue is only a rise in sea level of about 5 meters. 2 airports have completely gone under and many city blocks have sunken to the rising waters. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Along with Global Warming comes a shortage of water and fuels. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

= **Our past two generations have dug our children into a slowly sinking deeper hole in terms of fresh water and fuel supplies. Global warming is drying up the fresh water supplies across the world hitting hard in areas such as Darfur where now tribes are at war fighting over the remaining water in the area. Also, with the population growing now at an exponential rate, the world's need for water is growing greater and greater. With more people not only directly calls for a need for more water, but it also calls a need for the farms across the world to use more water in their fields. //"//** //**The problem of water stress has other facets, as well, such as the often-overlooked environmental needs of plants, animals and natural landscapes, or the flow of "virtual water" contained in trade goods. It takes 57 gallons of water to produce a pound of corn and 855 gallons of water to produce a pound of corn-fed beef, meaning that exporting corn and beef is equivalent to exporting water. World trade can therefore be a mechanism to exacerbate or relieve water stress."([|Global Warming Aside, Fresh Water Dwindling])**//= With more people causing more stress on the world, more demands are drawn upon the world's limited resources. Resources such as wood and oil are valuable to the everyday life of every human beings. Almost every building in America is made of wood and at the rate of deforestation there will soon be a wood shortage just to supply people with more places to live. People need to start to take less from the earth and begin to use more power on cleaner renewable resources. Already governments across the country have established laws that force car companies to be better towards the environment. Governments need to step in to begin to establish regulations on how much pollution is produced. If everything began to be regulated then the earth would have a chance to recover from everything this generation has caused to it. Allowing the earth to grow again will balance out the punishment we've given it. it is possible to reverse the harm we have caused it will just take cooperation in areas like renewable fuel sources. Sources such as nuclear fission, wind power, and solar power are what we need to clean up the earth. Also we could use better processes to renovate the issues with past energies such as Coal. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ** Coal **



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= = = = Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States. Actually, 1/4 of the world's coal reserves come from the U.S. It is used nationwide to create half of the total electricity demanded by Americans. Today, the U.S. department of fossil energy is working with the private sector to develop innovative technologies for an emmisions free coal plant for the future.
 * "I'm just an old chunk of coal, but I'm gonna be a diamond someday."**

there are 4 different types of coal in the world today. These 4 are called lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. Lignite is the youngest type of coal geologically. It contains roughly 25-35% carbon and it also has a relatively low heating value of 4,000-8,300 BTU's. This can be referreed to as brown coal and is mainly used for electrical power generation. The next form of coal is subbituminous. This contains 35-45% carbon, and a higher heating value of 8,300-13,000 BTU's. Even though the heating value of this type of coal is still relatively low, it has a low sulfur content, which makes this ideal for use because it will burn cleaner. Bituminous coal is a higher quality and is the most plentiful form of coal in the United States. It's two main purposes are to generate electricity and to produce coke for the steel milling industry. its carbon content ranges from 45-86% and am even higher heating value of 10,500-15,500 BTU's. The highest quality type of coal is anthracite coal. It has the highest carbon content of 86-98%! The heating value is also around 15,000 BTU's. Anthracite is not very abundant in the United States, since it is only found primarily in 11 counties in Pennsylvania.
 * Different types of coal:**

The way coal is used to create electricity depends on the type of power plant. Coal can either be burned in suspension, which means it is thrown into the furnace and burned in mid-air. Coal can also be burned on grates which move the ash and the flames toward the end on the belt in order to be removed from the furnace. The burning of coal creates a lot of heat, which is used to generate steam to power steam turbines and also many types of process applications. The steam is sent to the turbine and heat is turned into mechanical energy to roll the turbine. the turbine is connected to an electric generator via a drive shaft. This electricity can power huge cities. The steam is then condensed and turned into feedwater to be used again in the boiler to create steam. Throughout the years, boilers have become much more efficient, and the whole process is very efficient. There are many stages, such as reheaters, and economizers to heat up the feedwater before it is returned to the boiler, requiring less fuel in the furnace. Every 10 degree increase in temperature equals roughly 1% uncrrease in fuel efficiency. There are two types of ash created in the coal burning process, the type that falls to the floor of the furnace, which is known as bottom ash, and the ash that escapes the furnace with the exhaust gas flow, known as fly ash. Fly ash is collected and used as an additive in concrete.
 * The process:**

**Stoichiometric equation for combustion of coal:** **C + O2 => CO2 (12 kg C)+(32 kg O) => (34 kg CO2)**

Coal and Water Unfortunately, Coal is one of the electricity generating processes that does not purify or generate any water. On another bad note, the waste ashes of all the coal need places to be stored and in places where no water is near them. In Wisconsin, coal ashes are stored deep in underground mines where the coal was originally mined. The water gets into the soil, underwater streams, and continues to destroy all the surrounding land and fresh water. //"Much of the problem stems from the total absence of federal regulation. Regulation of PPW is left entirely to the states, which set low standards and apply haphazard enforcement. Although PPW is the nation's second largest industrial waste stream and contains more toxic chemicals than the wastes from pulp and paper mills, chemical manufacturers, petroleum refineries, and textile mills combined, PPW is regulated with far less stringency than ordinary household trash. For decades the power industry has profited from such regulatory neglect and has avoided the substantial economic cost (approximately $3.4 billion annually) as well as true social, public health, and environmental responsibility for the burning of coal. People living closest to power plants and PPW dump sites – often rural, poor, racial minorities – are exposed to PPW's toxic chemicals by drinking contaminated water, eating contaminated food, breathing the dust, or, in the case of children, ingesting contaminated soils."// [|Power Plant Waste Backround and Highlights]

__ Solving the Problem __ ? In terms of progression and the greener earth, Coal is not solving the problem. Coal is one of the main causes of Green house gasses and the massive amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. With its only emission being carbon dioxide, coal is one of the dirtiest methods of producing energy in the world.
 * //Burning coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air toxics. In an average year, a typical coal plant generates: //* 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming--as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees. Union of Concerned Scientists ||
 * //Burning coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air toxics. In an average year, a typical coal plant generates: //* 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming--as much carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees. Union of Concerned Scientists ||

What is waste coal?
Waste coals are the low-energy-value discards of the coal mining industry. Waste coal is called "culm" in the eastern Pennsylvania anthracite coal region and "gob" or "boney" in the bitiminous coal mining regions (western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere). Waste coal piles accumulated mostly between 1900 and 1970. The piles look like hills or small mountains that are dark and barren. Hundreds of millions of tons of waste coal and rock litter the landscape in mining states.

Why is it a problem?
Waste coal piles leach iron, manganese and aluminum pollution into waterways and cause acid drainage that kills neighboring streams. These piles sometimes even catch fire, releasing toxic pollution into the air. Many power plants also require huge amounts of coal to run. This amount depends on the size of the plant, but could reach up to 60 train cars fully loaded with coal each day. [|Burning Waste Coal is Much More Polluting than Burning Coal] ||
 * [[image:http://www.energyjustice.net/coal/wastecoal/wastecoalmap.gif align="center" caption="Map of Waste Coal plants in the U.S." link="http://www.energyjustice.net/coal/wastecoal/facilities.html"]]

Where is waste coal being burned?
There are currently 18 waste coal burning power plants, and 13 more that use it as a secondary fuel, with bituminous coal as their primary fuel. Fourteen of the 18 waste coal plants are in Pennsylvania. Over a dozen more are proposed, mostly in PA, WV and KY. There are also now proposals for [|coal-to-oil] refineries, some of which would use waste coal to produce liquid fuels.

The future of the coal industry should be a lack their of. Coal has no future in a greener earth until somebody discovers a cleaner use to carbon dioxide. But if someone had found a cleaner use for carbon dioxide they would be making millions for solving one of the issues with global warming. Coal has no benefits besides an adolescent method toward generating electricity. Yes it can produce massive amounts of electricity, but it also requires train loads of coal to power an entire plant. The future is in Solar, Wind, and Nuclear power. Coal is slowly declining in today's power plants. Common types of power these days are fuel oil, natural gas and nuclear power. It is slowly being fizzled out of production because of its ineffective methods of generation of power. Schools like Massachusetts Maritime Academy which have huge Facilities Plants are no longer teaching coal burning to their students. I believe this should continue as necessary. Coal is obsolete in terms of power production. The massive input requires maintains an enormous output of waste. The amount of carbon dioxide produced is far too much to continue burning. Also the problem with the waste ash of coal is far too great to continue. If coal continues to be burned the way it is, the soil around the plants, the water, and the environment will begin to suffer more and more. Coal is one of the reasons of global warming. Why continue with a consumption that caused the issue? That would completely contradict every good thing ever attempted by enviromentalists. We need to take coal out of the human consumption. Period.
 * __ Future of Coal __**

"Carbon capture and storage, its commercial development.. is going to be the key to the future of coal. If it is successful commercially, then the Australian coal sector will be a center of prosperity and growth; if it’s not successful then it won’t be. I think in the long run it’s as simple as that." (Ross Garnaut) []
 * Quotes:**