The Clean Coal Myth
Frequent commenter MarcoPolo asks: Why do you never include positive clean tech news such as the good news of new technologies in the testing phase to zap emissions from coal fired plants? Exxon Mobil Corp. wants to catapult the concept further…..Exxon Mobil is developing fuel cells to capture and concentrate CO2 from power plants. FuelCell Energy and Exxon’s new technology will dramatically reduce the costs associated with carbon capture. A demo plant is nearing completion in Alabama.
Why don’t I promote clean coal? Two reasons:
1) Its proponents are proven liars, and ExxonMobil, ironically, is at the very epicenter of this whole thing, having lied to the world about the environmental catastrophe that is climate change. Why would any reasonable person believe them when they say they have a cost-effective solution to the poisons emitted from their power plants? “Exxon Mobil Corp. wants to catapult the concept further.” Riiiight.
I’m reminded of the issue with Donald Trump’s veracity. It’s possible that he’s telling the truth about something, somewhere, sometime. But no sensible person believes someone who lies (on average) 6.5 times per day.
2) As I’ve explained elsewhere, there are trustworthy sources that explain in great detail how and why “clean coal” is a myth. Even the country’s top coal baron says so.
Scottish empiricist David Hume taught us “We always disbelieve the greater miracle.” For this reason, I disbelieve the clean coal story.
Craig,
Truly I despair !
You claim to be a person of scientific reasoning, yet your reply is typical of a narrow minded, unscientific, politically motivated bigot.
Why ?
Is your hatred of Exxon that great, you would decry real environmental benefits just to continue your absurd crusade ? (remember there would be no Lithium battery, but for Exxon laboratories1).
The question is a test of sincerity. I expected better from you. Does it really matter if the Devil himself invest a practical solution to an environmental problem, if the solution works ?
Apart from misquoting Robert Murry, your are even inaccurate when you describe him as “the nations top coal Baron” , in fact his corporation is just one of the largest (although loudest) ‘independent’ coal miners.
On the basis of nothing more than bias and prejudice you refuse to even investigate the amazing new developments occurring globally in Coal fired plant construction.
Why not get up from your pontificating throne and visit one of these pilot, or commercialized operating plants and see for yourself the progress being achieved ? No need to go all the way to Canada, or India, why not take a road trip to Houston, Texas ?
There you can witness a new type of power plant, one of many emerging technologies beginning to revolutionize the way energy is extracted from coal.
But of course all those scientists who have worked so hard on these projects, scientists and engineers like Miles Palmer, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Caltech’s Dr Rodney Allam who have worked on NET Power CEO Bill Brown’s project, must all be liars ,fools and knaves.
So must Dr Howard J. Herzog, whom even the New York Times describes as one of America’s most outstanding engineers, must be a liar and a fraud !
(Howard J. Herzog is a senior research engineer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative. His research on greenhouse gas mitigation technologies is funded by the government as well as the energy industry).
His persuasive 2016 article in the NYT foretold of the rapid and dramatic advances about to occur in clean coal technology,[ https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/07/07/clean-coal-or-a-dirty-shame/carbon-caputre-is-technically-feasible-and-it-can-be-financially-feasible ]
Is he, along with thousands of other Scientists and Engineers world wide, all liars, fools and fraudsters ?
Or maybe, it’s just you are so blindly committed to your ‘faith’ in Wind and Solar, and so desperate to cling to your prejudices that you close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears, rejoicing in deliberately not seeing the mounting evidence and advancing occurring.
Maybe you could visit (as I did)the fascinating Petra Nova project also located in Texas. here a different sort of technology.
At Petra Nova carbon dioxide gas is captured at 99% purity,compressed and piped 85 miles to an oil field and used to enhance oil recovery. By this means an oil field which previously produced 300 bbl of oil daily, no increased production 50x to 15,000 barrels per day.
Petra Nova is a project designed to operate as a 25 year experiment. During that time the effects of the injection technology, movement of CO2 beneath the surface and in the rock structures etc will be closely monitored by the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.
Petra Nova’s basic technology was developed by Mitsubishi and Kansai Electric Power. The technology is basically an amine-based absorption system, but using a new high performing proprietary solvent called KS-1.e( KM CDR Process). In this process,CO2 is through a basic absorber-stripper system. Gaseous CO2 is then compressed to a supercritical liquid.
The Co2 will eventually become locked 5,000 feet underground in the sandstone Frio Formation. (In eons it may even become oil !)
Currently, all these technologies are at an early stage of development. Until very recently, it would have been a valid criticism of the coal industry that not much had changed in over 100years in relation to pollutant emissions, except for the introduction of higher smokestacks or in rare instances, scrubber technology.
It’s equally true that necessity is the ‘Mother of Invention’. The sudden speed and broad scope of R&D in this field is purred by investment and certainty.
The Obama administration and some other nations did introduce some initiatives, but in the US these initiatives were overwhelmed by obdurate miners like Robert Murray and the preoccupation by the Obama EPA and supporters to destroy the coal industry.
Investment returned with the election of President Trump as the US began to play catch-up with other nations, particularly Japan, Korea, India and the PRC. These nation’s are all eyeing the huge new power demands created in developing nations.
Europe is even further behind. Politically committed to removing coal as a basis for electricity production the European are now paying the price in not only a loss of leadership, but are being forced slowly to realize not only are EU emissions increasing, but energy costs are also increasing.
Curiously, the only real advance in clean coal technology in Europe was the Boris Johnson led British Government investment to support some young chemists in India researching a project to adapt an industrial plant in Tamil Nadu using a technology which strips CO2 coal emissions by binding them with salt and converting them into valuable soda ash.
India is abuzz with coal industry R&D. Projects abound in every state, here a just a few..,
1. Modelling and simulation of Carbon Recycling Technology though conversion of CO2 into useful multi-purpose fuel [Rajiv Gandhi Technological University, Bhopal]
2.Pilot Bio-reactor using biological and chemical carbon dioxide sequestration (Integrated Biological and Chemical CO2 sequestration)National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)
3.Sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) into geological environment (Gas Hydrate): Laboratory Studies. National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad
4.Development and Characterization of porous Solid Adsorbents for sequestration of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) (Metal Silicates for pre-combustion High Temperature CO2 Removal (IGCC Conditions) National Chemical Laboratory (NCL),
5, Experimental and simulation studies on CO2 sequestration using solar/ chemical methods Centre for Energy and Environment Science and Technology(CEESAT), NIT
6.Analysis of Carbon Capture and storage (CCS) technology in the context of Indian Power Sector Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe), New Delhi
7.Predicting Soil Carbon changes under different bio-climatic systems in India National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning.
8.Improving carbon and nitrogen sequestration: A Transgenic approach to lower greenhouse gas Institute of Himalayan Bio-resources Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh 2007-08 3
9. Carbon Di-oxide Sequestration through Culture of Medically useful Micro-algae in Photo-bio-reactor linked to Gas outlets of Industries Department of Botany, Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam 2008-09 3
10. CO2 Sequestration using Micro algae – Efficient use of CO2 from bio-hydrogen production facility AMM MurugappaChettiar Research Center, Chennai 2008-09 3
11. Carbon Sequestration by higher plants and algae at elevated carbon di-oxide Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dehi University, Delhi 2008-09 3
12. Carbon Di-oxide Sequestration Potential of Agro Forestry System under Irrigated and Rain fed Conditions Director, National Research Center for Agro-forestry, Jhansi
13.Mycorrhizal Symbiosis to Promote Carbon Sequestration for Sustainable Fertility and Environment Safety Department of Soil Sciences & Agriculture Chemistry, Tamilnadu Agriculture University.
14. Mechanism and the dynamics of carbon storage in the Sundarban Mangrove University of Calcutta, Kolkata
15.Marine cyanobacteria a promising candidate for carbon-dioxide sequestration with multiple utilization Bharathidasan University
16. Carbon sequestration potential in wetlands of Vedaraniam, south east coast of India Bharathidasan University
17. Carbon Sequestration through Afforestation for Mitigating CO2 emission from Thermal Power Station Jadavpur University.
18. Chemo-photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide into algal biomass with biotech potentials Department of Biotechnology School of Life Sciences, North Maharashtra University .
19. Monitoring of Carbon sequestration through Micro propagating Bamboo Plantation in Himalayan region G.B.U.A.&T. Ag. Research Station, Nainital, Uttrakhand
20. Development of carbon composites Materials for CO2 capture Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad
21. Development of screening criteria for saline aquifers and other geological sinks Global Hydro geological Solutions, New Delhi .
22.Aqueous mineral carbonation of silicates and mineral trapping of CO2 in the tholeiite- picrite assemblage of Thakurvadi Formation, Deccan Basalt Volcanic Province, India: Geological, stable isotope and Experimental studies National Geophysics Research Institute, Hyderabad
23. Carbon sequestration by mineral carbonation in cement kiln dust, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi
24. Evolution of RuBisCohypermorphs for enhanced CO2 sequestration and its utilization for polymer products Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli
25. Mineral CO2 sequestration by carbonation of industrial; Alkaline solid residues Anna University , Chennai
26. Study On Carbon Stock and Response Of Estuarine Phytoplankton To Iron Fertilization University of Calcutta, Kolkata
27. CO2 sequestration studies on volcano-sedimentary succession of the eastern Deccan volcanic province University of Delhi, Delhi
28.Carbon dioxide sequestration using anoxic microbial consortium for the production of methane fuel and oxygenic microbial consortium for bioconversion of methane to methanolK S Rangasamy College of Arts and Science, Tiruchengode
29. A Bioelectrochemical system for sequestration of carbon dioxide Dr DYY Patil Biotechnology And Bioinformatics Institute, Pune
This is just a small selection of thousands of academic studies emerging from the sub-continent. Are they all wasting their time ?
Once again I put it to you, how can you, as an environmentalist, in good conscience, sneer at the efforts of all these thousands of scientists and engineers with glib and trite cartoons ?
You remind me of those troglodytes who laughed at the idea of an EV, with pictures of needing a 100 mile plug-in cord behind the car.
Shame on you for not even investigating the possibly of these efforts with an open mind !
Clean energy is possible. I think it just takes time.
Hi Beston,
Welcome the discussion.
Yes indeed, you are quite correct, it will take time and hard work. I don’t think the path to clean energy will be simple and it’s unlikely to be just one technology. The best we can hope for is ‘better’ solutions while continuously improving and developing existing technologies.