2.0b Comparative Pollution Frank R. Leslie, B. S. E. E., M. S. Space Technology, IEEE LS 1/19/10, Rev (321)

2b Overview of Pollution Many forms of energy conversion, primarily combustion, create pollution of air, water, or soil through gases, water discharges, etc. Temperature changes to the environment may also be considered thermal pollution (heat in air or water) Fossil fuel combustion produces NO x, SO 2, CO 2, etc. Wind and solar energy are produced without pollution, but making the energy converters may have these byproducts (making steel, for example) Tropical hydroelectric dam reservoirs produce some methane and carbon dioxide through decomposition of organic matter and the displaced forest Noise or “viewscape” pollution draw protests

2b.1 Why does Pollution Matter? It’s not the pollution, it’s what it does! Human costs  Health: Lung damage, cancer, kidney failure, vision  Accidents: Impaired driver visibility ahead on road Nonhuman costs  Acid rain affects fish and trees  Lowered crop growth (except for CO 2 )  Building, monument, or other surface damage Global  Global warming and climate change correlated with CO 2  Costs of pollution are usually not in the energy cost but are externalities!

2b.2 Air, Land, and Water Air  Power plant emissions of NO x, SO 2, CO 2, Hg, VOCs affect public health  Exhaust gases and soot from “oil” and coal transportation vehicles  Diesel exhaust also contains <2.5 micron particulates that cause lung disease by penetrating deep into the alveoli of the lungs  Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) are others Land  Runoff from mining of coal and oil/gas drilling; city streets and lawns, animals  Spills from chemicals used at energy plants  Pipeline failures or vandalism (Alaska shooting) Water  Runoff from mining of coal and oil/gas drilling  Coal overburden dumped in nearby ravine; leaching of toxics into water  Thermal pollution affects river or lake creatures  Rain-washed oil flows from streets (Florida ice) into streams and lakes

2b.3 Laws and Regulations Governmental regulations affect energy costs and pollution levels If enforcement is even-handed, no company has a business advantage in polluting; customer pays for reduction or fines Major US Laws  1970 Clean Air Act, amended 1977, 1990  $6.49B Clear Skies Initiatives reduce deposition of SO 2, NOx, and mercury yields $11B in benefits; but does not include CO 2 Major US Regulations  New Source Review (NSR) permits use of Best Available Control Technology (BACT)  EPA declares CO 2 a pollutant to be regulated Energy Policy Act of 1992 requires alternative fuel vehicles thus reducing dependence upon foreign sources of oil  Also reduces air pollution from the vehicles EPA rules CO2 is a pollutant; restrictions likely

2b.4 Pollution Monitoring EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) monitors commercial mines and plants Regulations ensure compliance by costly fines and possible imprisonment Intentional polluters’ damage is first detected by appearance, smell, or public complaint Power plant stacks must have pollution monitoring equipment to detect excess smoke General air quality monitors sample the air to determine local pollution Ref.: Nova PBS Methane, NOx, CO 2 increasing since 1850

2b.4.1 Pollution Monitoring Ref.: Nova PBS

2b.5 Remediation Economics The cost of pollution reduction determines how much effort will be expended to reduce it Companies choose what to do based upon laws, regulations, trade studies, and profits When a plant shuts down, will the facility be removed or converted to other uses? Who pays for this? Rocky Flats Nuclear Arsenal area under consideration for wildlife refuge; now hosts National Wind Technology Center (NWTC; Hanford Nuclear Weapons Facilities has many tanks of radioactive materials that are being removed and cleaned Super Fund Act required extensive cleanup of contaminated sites (remediation)

2b.5.1 Mine Cleanup Figure 1. Distribution of coal- bearing strata in the Appalachian region study area. Dots indicate corehole locations. Green, areas having a low potential for acid mine drainage (AMD) from surface mining; red, areas having high AMD potential; yellow, areas having intermediate AMD potential. Ref.: USGS Fact Sheet Online Version Wind River WY US Steel closed mine Photo F. Leslie ~2000

2b.6 Nitrogen Dioxides or NO x NO x forms smog at ground level decreasing visibility and health problems 22 states affected by a court ruling must implement control measures for NO x emissions during the ozone season by May 2003 Federal NOx Budget Trading Program to provide a cap-and-trade mechanism for Eastern US Operators must restrict emissions to 0.15lb/MMBtu in a few years Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) cuts stack gas pollution  SCR uses anhydrous ammonia to react with NO x The ammonia delivery truck could crash and release toxic gas, so urea might be used instead Ammonia “slip” or bypass must be restricted to below 3 ppm  SCR cost is ~$25/kW peak power State Implementation Call (SIP) plans required to indicate how compliance will be achieved As an example, Pennsylvania can emit no more than tons/year by 2003, a 75% cutback from

2b.6.1 NO x and Hg Emissions Ref.:

2b.6.2 SO 2 and CO 2 Emission Sources Ref.:

2b.6.3 Selective Catalytic Reduction Process Ref.: DOE Process Description NO x, which consists primarily of NO with lesser amounts of NO 2, is converted to nitrogen by reaction with NH 3 over a catalyst in the presence of oxygen. A small fraction of the SO 2, produced in the boiler by oxidation of sulfur in the coal, is oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO 3 ) over the SCR catalyst. In addition, side reactions may produce undesirable by-products: ammonium sulfate, (NH 4 )2SO 4, and ammonium bisulfate, NH 4 HSO

2b.7 Sulfur Dioxides, or SO 2 & SO 3 SO 2 causes soot, can cause asthma, lung cancer, respiratory aliments Wet FGD processes can remove 95-98% of SO

2b.8 Mercury Pollution Coal-burning power plants pollute with mercury that was in the coal, and the Federal Government doesn’t regulate this source EPA capped emissions in 2005 in Clean Air Mercury Rule Mercury can cause loss of hearing, blurred vision, kidney failure Fish consume mercury in their food and concentrate it in their flesh, leading to warnings against people eating too much fish  Yet in 2004 & 2005, EPA loosened Hg emission standards! Mercury in coal is vaporized and becomes an emission from power plants [recall that “power plants” have power that produces energy; power multiplied by time = energy] The SCR process can remove up to 75% of the mercury from the exhaust gases --- a serendipitous effect Washing coal can remove soluble pollutants before firing; more effective on sulfur than mercury  How is the wash water cleaned? Is it clean then?

Exhaust or stack gases contain “particulate matter” that adversely affects lungs; known as PM10 or PM2.5 in law (number is microns) Utility plants use fabric bags to filter the gases, removing some 95% of particulate pollutants Plants also use electrostatic precipitators that attract the PM or ash to the walls for collection and disposal Wet-washing the stack gases also removes PM Diesel engines can burn more cleanly if electronic emission controls adjust the fuel-air mixture during operation 2b.9 Particulate Matter Photo: PPC Industries

2b.11 Greenhouse Gases (GHG) GHGs increase decomposition of ozone in the stratosphere Less ozone absorption of ultraviolet light means more skin cancer The “Greenhouse” analogy isn’t entirely accurate, but the nonscientists in the public can relate to the general concept GHGs consist of pollutants such as NO x, SO 2, VOCs, and CO 2 If Kyoto protocols were followed, the US would have to reduce GHG 7% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012 while population energy demands are increasing!  The US is some 13% above 1990 pollution levels, not below Developing nations, China and India, are exempted from Kyoto, yet they are best suited to move towards a sustainable energy system CO 2 increases global warming but is not strictly a pollutant  A pollutant is any substance that causes harmful or unsuitable effects to air, soil, water, or natural resources  Underground storage of CO 2 may be useful (sequestering)  Extracted CO 2 could be used for carbonated beverages? (;-)

2b.11.1 Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Principal GHG component of water vapor is not included?

2b.12 Carbon Dioxide or CO 2 Recovering CO 2 from power plants would reduce GHG The oceans can sequester CO 2 and buffer the amount present in the atmosphere, but there is a saturation limit Manmade CO 2 is 10 billion tonnes (metric tons) per year while Nature creates 200 billion tonnes per year Figure 32. Carbon Dioxide Emissions 1 Tonne (metric ton) = 1,000 kilograms or 2, lbs

2b.13 Nuclear Energy Plants Nuclear plants create anguish among some people (anti-nuc activists) due to the Hiroshima view, yet nuclear plants cannot have a nuclear explosion  Radioactivity is too low at ~3 to 4% concentration  Nuclear weapons have concentrated >~90% fissile material  Concentrating uranium hexafluoride process same for fuel or weapons St. Lucie Plant, FL - F. Leslie, 2003 Three-Mile Island Plant near Harrisburg, PA --- PBS

2b.13 Nuclear Energy Plants The 1979 “China Syndrome” movie with Jane Fonda asserted that a meltdown of the core would melt all the way to China (Could this happen? Why or why not?)

2b.13 Nuclear Energy Plants The “China Syndrome” movie created a public nonscientific impression The Three-Mile Island event of 1979 caused ~100,000 people to flee the area; half the core was uncovered as water boiled off; no one died  The Three-Mile Island event of 1979 shows that nuclear power is unsafe because radioactive gases were released  The Three-Mile Island event of 1979 shows that nuclear power is safe because automatic safety features prevented a catastrophe There are some 104 commercial reactors in 32 US states, and spent fuel is proposed to be moved by rail and truck to Yucca Mountain NM through many states and cities The major environmental pollution hazard would be from spillage of the fuel rod materials during transport by road or rail vehicles Now, terrorists might strike plants! What to do? What to do?  From my past industry anti-terrorist studies at Harris Corp., place protected material in one place by each plant and protect it at high expense with early- intrusion-detection alarms

* Only during system or components manufacture Geothermal Air conditioning might have refrigerant leaks (CFC or ammonia) 2b.14 How Energy Plants Compare NO x SO 2 COCO 2 HgMethaneThermalPartic ulate Matter “Fuel” Extraction Fuel Residue Coal Yes, 6 lb/M Wh Yes, 13lb/ MWh littleYes, 2249 lb/ MWh YesMine fumesYes Deaths of miners Ash, fly ash OilYes, 4lb/ MW h Yes, 12 lb/ MWh Yes, vehicl es 1672lb/ MWh 0.02 ppm noYesyesYesEngine blowby, gases Natural Gas 1.7 lb/ MW h 0.1 lb/ MWh Yes1135lb/ MWh ?NG~80% methane & burned Yes explosions Very low if any Wind******Insignificant; nonoNo (birds)Low speed wind Solar******?radiation/ conduction from panels no darkness Hydro***some*In reserv- oir no Affects downstream no Geo- thermal *?***?YesSalt? no Brine spillsSaline spills Nuclear******YesnoYesSpent fuel

2b Conclusion Combustion energy sources emit pollutants; renewable sources emit none or much less Wind and solar energy doesn’t pollute, but there may have been pollution from the making of the conversion equipment (a steel wind turbine tower) Nuclear plants might emit accidental releases of radioactivity, but safe designs reduce this chance Laws effect (cause) utility plant operations to reduce pollution; they remove economic disincentives to pollute Emissions credit trading helps reduce pollution since there is an economic incentive to clean up emissions “Cap-and-trade” or plain caps may be coming

References: Books Boyle, Godfrey. Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, Second Ed. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 452pp., Boyle, Godfrey. Energy Systems and Sustainability, Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 620pp., Brown, Lester R. State of the World NY: W.W.Norton, 276 pp., _______________________________________________________________ _____ Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, , TJ807.9.U6B76, ’4’0973. Duffie, John and William A. Beckman. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 920 pp., 1991 Gipe, Paul. Wind Energy for Home & Business. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Pub. Co., , TJ820.G57, 621.4’5 Patel, Mukund R. Wind and Solar Power Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1999, 351 pp. ISBN , TK1541.P , ’2136 Sørensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000, 911 pp. ISBN

References: Websites, etc Hydroelectric.htm ________________________________________________________ Wind Energy elist Wind energy home powersite elist Elist for wind energy experimenters Site devoted to the decline of energy and effects upon population Federal Energy Regulatory Commission solstice.crest.org/

References: Websites, etc Wind Energy elist Wind energy home powersite elist geothermal.marin.org/ on geothermal energy rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps/chap2/2-01m.html PNNL wind energy map of CONUS Elist for wind energy experimenters Site devoted to the decline of energy and effects upon population Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on OTEC systems telosnet.com/wind/20th.html solstice.crest.org/ dataweb.usbr.gov/html/powerplant_selection.html

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