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Itz All Fucked Up Now
[http://www.need.org/needpdf/infobook_activities/ElemInfo/CoalE.pdf]
[http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/non-renewable/coal.html]
[http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm]
[http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/health_and_environment/page.cfm?pageID=88]
[http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/issues/2001/marapr/page24.asp]
[http://muller.lbl.gov/TRessays/18_Hydrogen.html]
[http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/infosheets/coalprice.htm]
Non-renewable energy - coal fossil fuels
How it makes power [electricity] for us - after the coal (compaction of rotting vegetation on land) is mined, it is cleaned and shipped to market. Most coal is moved by trains to power plants and factories. Power plants burn the coal to make electricity. Coal is one of our most important energy sources. The amount of electricity generated from coal is about 51 percent of the total amount of electricity generated in the United States.
Coal is crushed to a fine dust and burnt. Oil and gas can be burnt directly.
How much is left? [years of supply] - The coal we used took millions of years to form. We can't make more in a short time. That is why it is called nonrenewable. There is a lot of coal in the U.S. There is enough to last from 200 to 300 years.
Pros: - plenty of it, produce over a billion short tons a year
- very large amount of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply
- fossil fuel plants can be built almost anywhere
- can extract hydrogen from methane (a chemical found in coal) and use the hydrogen to power fuel cells
- costs cheaper than natural gas and petroleum
Cons: - nonrenewable
- burning coal produces more carbon dioxide than burning oil or gas
- mining coal can be difficult and dangerous, strip mining destroys large areas of the landscape
- coal-fired plants need huge amounts of fuel, which means train-loads of coal almost constantly, the station needs reserves (large
area next to power station with large piles of coal)
- carbon when mined releases methane and contributes to global warming
Cost - The average price for coal delivered to electric utilities was $24.28 per short ton in 2000, with the spot-market price being only slightly higher at $24.85. The average coal export price for 2000 was $34.90 per short ton.
Average Mine Price of U.S. Coal 1990-1999
Year Dollars per Short Ton
1990 21.76
1991 21.49
1992 21.03
1993 19.85
1994 19.41
1995 18.83
1996 18.50
1997 18.14
1998 17.67
1999 16.63
Source: Energy Information Administration, Coal Industry Annual 1999
Greenhouse effects - Global Warming
Among the gases emitted when fossil fuels are burned, one of the most significant is carbon dioxide, a gas that traps heat in the earth's atmosphere. Over the last 150 years, burning fossil fuels has resulted in more than a 25 percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Fossil fuels are also implicated in increased levels of atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide, although they are not the major source of these gases.
Air Pollution - Sulfur oxides are produced by the oxidization of the available sulfur in a fuel. Utilities that use coal to generate electricity produce two-thirds of the nation's sulfur dioxide emissions. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are important constituents of acid rain. These gases combine with water vapor in clouds to form sulfuric and nitric acids, which become part of rain and snow. As the acids accumulate, lakes and rivers become too acidic for plant and animal life. Acid rain also affects crops and buildings.
Water and Land Pollution - Coal mining also contributes to water pollution. Coal contains pyrite, a sulfur compound; as water washes through mines, this compound forms a dilute acid, which is then washed into nearby rivers and streams.
Coal mining, especially strip mining, affects the area that is being mined. Characteristically, the material closest to the coal is acidic. After the mining is completed, the land will remain barren unless special precautions are taken to ensure that proper topsoil is used when the area is replanted. Materials other than coal are also brought to the surface in the coal mining process, and these are left as solid wastes. As the coal itself is washed, more waste material is left. Finally, as the coal is burned, the remaining ash is left as a waste product.
Relationship to Hubble peak - when we run out of oil, then coal may be used to replace the fossil fuel cause we have a lot of it.
http://www.oilcrisis.com/midpoint.htm
How is it used to make Hydrogen - In the ZECA (Zero Emission Coal Alliance) process, Coal is gasified to hydrogen. The process produces methane (CH4), which is reacted with calcium oxide (CaO) to make hydrogen and calcium carbonate (CaCO3), thus capturing carbon dioxide (CO2). The hydrogen is used to gasify the coal as well as to generate power in a high temperature fuel cell. Waste heat from the fuel cell the seperates the CO2 from the carbonate in a concentrated stream, allowing the calcium oxide to be re-used. The CO2 is then reacted with calcium or magnesium silicates to make carbonate rock like the stuff on the Rocky Mountains. The CO2 is left in a natural state overall making the system to be very efficient.
Splitting water is expensive, and we don't need the oxygen. There's a much cheaper way to produce hydrogen: spray steam on white-hot coals and out comes 40% hydrogen and 50% carbon monoxide. Unfortunately, Carbon monoxide is highly poisonous but can be burned to form the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
