Clean coal technology
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'''Clean coal''' is a term used to describe methods and technologies intended to reduce the environmental impact of using [[coal]] as an energy source. These efforts can include chemically washing [[mineral]]s and impurities from the coal, [[Gasification]], treating the [[Wiktionary:flue|flue]] gases with [[steam]] to remove [[sulfur dioxide]], and other proposed technologies to capture the [[carbon dioxide]] from the [[flue gas]]. The coal industry uses the term "clean coal" to describe technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use<ref>[http://www.australiancoal.com.au/cleanoview.htm AustralianCoal.com.au] - Clean Coal Overview</ref>, with no specific quantitative limits on any emissions, particularly [[carbon dioxide]].
The burning of coal, a [[fossil fuel]], has been shown to be one of the principal causes of [[anthropogenic]] [[climate change]] and [[global warming]], according to the [[United Nations]] [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report] The concept of clean coal is said to be a solution to [[climate change]] and [[global warming]] by coal industry groups, while environmental groups believe it is [[greenwash]]. [[Greenpeace]]<ref>[http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/asia-energy-revolution/dirty-energy/clean-coal-myth/clean-coal-myths-and-facts GreenPeace.org] - Clean Coal Myths and Facts</ref> is a major opponent of the concept because emissions and wastes are not avoided, but are transferred from one [[waste stream]] to another. The 2007 [[Australian of the Year]], paleontologist and environmental activist [[Tim Flannery]] made the assertion that "Coal can't be clean".<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21225432-661,00.html Herald Sun, Melbourne Australia] February 14, 2007 04:30pm</ref>
It is has been estimated that it will be 2020 to 2025 before commercial-scale clean coal power stations (coal-burning power stations with carbon capture and sequestration) are commercially viable and widely adopted.<ref>David Brockway, Chief of the Energy Technology Division, [[CSIRO]], quoted by [http://www.crikey.com.au Crikey.com.au] 20 Feb 2007</ref> This time frame is of concern to environmentalists because of their belief that there is an urgent need to [[mitigation of global warming |mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change]], according to the [[Stern report]]. Even when CO<sub>2</sub> emissions can be caught, there is considerable debate over the necessary [[carbon capture and storage]] that must follow.
== Byproducts ==
The byproducts of coal combustion are very hazardous to the environment if not properly contained. This is seen to be the technology's largest challenge, both from the practical and public relations perspectives.
While it is possible to remove most of the sulfur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>), [[nitrogen oxide]]s (NOx) and [[particulate]] (PM) emissions from the coal-burning process, carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions and radionuclides <ref>[http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html ORNL.gov] - Coal Combustion: Nuclear Resource or Danger?</ref>
will be more difficult to address. Technologies do exist to capture and store CO<sub>2</sub>, but they have not been made available on a large-scale commercial basis due to the high economic costs.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4468076.stm BBC.co.uk] - Clean coal technology: How it works</ref> For this reason [[renewable energy]] sources may be a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative.
==Potential cost of clean coal==
In [[Carbon capture and storage]] under "Cost of CCS" lifetime costs for natural gas, pulverized coal and [[IGCC]] with and without carbon capture are detailed.
A 2003 study conducted by the [[International Energy Agency]] (IEA) on [[Greenhouse gas|Greenhouse gases]], found that the cost of building a shell-designed [[IGCC]] that ''doesn't'' capture carbon could cost $1,371 per kW. A comparable system that ''captures'' carbon could cost $1,860 per kW."<ref name="POST">{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/postpn253.pdf
|title=Cleaner Coal
|accessdate=2007-04-23
|year=2005
|author=Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology}}</ref>
== Support ==
{{globalize}}
Clean Coal has been mentioned by [[United States]] [[President of the United States of America|President]] [[George W. Bush]] on several occasions, including his 2007 [[State of the Union Address]]. Bush's position is that clean coal technologies should be encouraged as one means to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. Senator [[Hillary Rodham Clinton|Hillary Clinton]] has also recently said that "we should strive to have new electricity generation come from other sources, such as clean coal and renewables."<ref>[http://www.clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=247652&& Remarks of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Cleantech Venture Forum VIII ]</ref>
In Australia, clean coal is often referred to by [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[Kevin Rudd]] as a possible way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,21284871-5006009,00.html] The previous [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]] has stated that [[nuclear power]] is a better alternative, as clean coal technology may not prove to be economically favorable.<ref>[http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/political_transcripts/article_2124.asp NineMSN.com.au] - Interview: John Howard February 11, 2007</ref>
A clean coal carbon dioxide sequestering plant called Futuregen was planned to be built in Mattoon, Illinois to go online by 2013 as a demonstration and to add to United States energy production.<ref>http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1219/p02s01-usgn.html accessed=11 July 2008 </ref> However, after the Illinois site was announced, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman reversed the decision and US Federal government withdrew funding. <ref>http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-31-03.asp accessed=11 July 2008</ref>
The project is now in doubt although there is still support for by industry backers and members of Congress.
== Criticism ==
Prominent environmentalists, including Dan Becker, director of the [[Sierra Club]]'s Global Warming and Energy Program, believe that the term clean coal is misleading: "There is no such thing as 'clean coal' and there never will be. It's an [[oxymoron]]".<ref>[http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2004/12/03/little-coal/ Grist.org] - Coal Position</ref> Or an insult to human intelligence <ref>[[S. David Freeman]] in "Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How"}}</ref>.
{{Cquote|I say this based on my experience as the former head of the [[TVA]], which bought and burned more than 30 million tons of coal a year. I was deeply involved in the strip mining, underground mining, trucking, and most importantly, the burning of huge quantities of coal. No one who has been deeply involved with coal can rightfully say it is clean.|||S. David Freeman in "Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How"|}}
Complaints focus on the environmental impacts of [[coal mining|coal extraction]], high costs to [[carbon capture and storage|sequester carbon]], and uncertainty of how to manage end result [[air pollution|pollutants]] and [[radionuclide]]s.
There are other forms of clean and renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydroelectric which are supported by many of the environmentalist groups and campaigns.
Critics of the planned power plants assert that there is no such thing as "clean coal" and that the plant will still release large amounts of pollutants compared to renewable energy sources such as [[wind power]] and [[solar power]]. They also point out that the continuing construction of coal-powered plants (whether or not they use carbon sequestration techniques) encourages unsustainable mining practices for coal, which can strip away mountains, hillsides, and natural areas. They also point out that there can be a large amount of energy required and pollution emitted in transporting the coal to the power plants. Some people contend that sequestration technology has yet to be used or proven on such a large scale and that it may not be successful, lead to unexpected geological instability, contaminate groundwater supplies, and that sequestered CO2 may eventually "leak" up through the ground. There are also concerns that plans to possibly pump some of the sequestered CO2 into certain oil and gas reserves to help make the fuels easier to pump out of the ground will lead to increased concentrations of CO2 in potential fuel supplies which would have to be burned off during the refining process, thus adding to [[global warming]].<ref>[http://ohvec.org/links/news/archive/2005/fair_use/10_16.html ‘Clean coal’ push concerns environmental activists<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Based on the predicted combustion of 12,580 million tons worldwide during the year 2040, cumulative releases for the 100 years of coal combustion following 1937 are predicted to be[http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html]: 828,632 tons of Uranium and 2,039,709 tons of Thorium.
==See also==
*[[Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate]]
*[[Carbon capture and storage]]
*[[Coal]]
*[[Energy development]]
*[[Energy Policy Act of 2005]]
*[[Fluidized bed combustion]]
*[[James Hansen]]
*[[JEA Northside Generating Station (Jacksonville)]]
*[[Mountaintop removal mining]]
*[[Kyoto Protocol]]
*[[Syngas]]
*[[Waste management]]
*[[World Coal Institute]]
== Notes and references ==
<references />
== External links ==
*[http://coal.silesia.pl/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en Innovative Silesian Cluster of Clean Coal Technologies]
*[http://www.coal.org.uk/site/coalonline/content/home Coal Online - Free information on Clean Coal technology]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4468076.stm BBC News - Clean coal technology: How it works]
*[http://www.iea-coal.org/site/ieaccc/home International Energy Association - Clean Coal Centre]
*[http://bookshop.iea-coal.org/site/uk/home Research Reports from IEA Clean Coal Centre]
*[http://www.worldcoal.org/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=187 World Coal Institute - Coal: Facts & Figures]
*[http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/ US Department of Energy's clean coal technology web page]
*[http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/18/news/economy/coal/ CNNMoney story on clean coal economics]
*[http://www.swisspolitics.org/en/news/index.php?section=int&page=news_inhalt&news_id=5972230 "Beyond Kyoto" Initiative]
*[http://www.netl.doe.gov/cctc/ National Energy Technology Laboratory compendium homepage]
*[http://www.uic.com.au/nip83.htm Uranium Information Centre paper on "Clean Coal" Technologies]
*[http://www.saskpower.com/cleancoal/ SaskPower Clean Coal Project]
*[http://www.zerogen.com.au/ ZeroGen Clean Coal Project]
*[http://www.hydrotechsystems.eu/static.php?page=COMPANY_PROFILE/ Air preheater cleaning resulting in better emissions management]
*[http://www.risingtide.org.au/cleancoal Clean coal facts and figures page by Rising Tide Newcastle]
*[http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l28028.htm EU: Large combustion plants air pollution regulation]
*[http://web.mit.edu/coal/ The Future of Coal An Interdisciplinary MIT Study]
*[http://www.coal-is-dirty.com/how-clean-coal-cooks-your-brain/ Jeff Goodell: How Clean Coal Cooks Your Brain]
*[http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1219/p02s01-usgn.html/Clean Coal Plant to Go Online "Christian Science Monitor"]
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/business/01coal.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin Georgia Judge Cites Carbon Dioxide in Denying Coal Plant Permit].
*[http://www.cleancoaltechnologiesinc.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1]
[[Category:Chemical engineering]]
[[Category:Climate change]]
[[Category:Energy economics]]
[[Category:Energy development]]
[[Category:Coal]]
[[it:Carbone pulito]]