Environmental and Ecological Effects of Energy Production

Dr. Muhammad Yousaf

CHY 583

Copy right © Muhammad Yousaf, 2018, 2020, 2021.

 Copyright

CHAPTER 2
CHY583
Carbon-based Fuels
© Muhammad Yousaf, PhD, 2024

The copyright to this original work is held by Professor Muhammad Yousaf and students registered
in course CHY583 can use this material for the purposes of this course but no other use is
permitted, and there can be no sale or transfer or use of the work for any other purposes without
explicit permission of Professor Muhammad Yousaf.

2
 Do you know?

What are the main concerns related to carbon dioxide (CO2)

emission?

What are the main concerns related to carbon monoxide (CO)

emission?

Name any three greenhouse gases

What causes the depletion of the ozone layer?

What is the acid rain and how does it affect the environment?

What is carbon capture?

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 Energy Wastage

The second law of

thermodynamics: The law
states that the entropy
(randomness) of a
spontaneous reactions
(natural processes) always
increases.

G = Available energy
H = Heat
S = Entropy
T = Temperature

It implies that the energy is wasted during transformation.

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 Environmental Effects: Carbon Emission

Carbon Dioxide (CO2):

Most of the atmospheric CO2 results from burning the fossil fuels

Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels actively participate in the carbon cycle by photosynthesis

The principal impacts of CO2 on the environment are global warming and ocean acidification (acid
rain).

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 Carbon Dioxide Emission Points

Where does carbon dioxide come from?

Power Stations (electricity generation):

Vehicle Use (transport):

Heating:

It is also made when biofuels are burnt.

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 Emissions from Carbon-based Fuels

Carbon Monoxide (CO):

Carbon Monoxide poisoning: Carbon monoxide combines

with hemoglobin to produce carboxyhemoglobin (COHb),
which usurps the space in hemoglobin that normally carries
oxygen, but is ineffective for delivering oxygen to bodily
tissues. Conversion of most of Hb to COHb results in death
- known medically as carboxyhemoglobinemia or carbon
monoxide poisoning.

Conversion of Hb to COHb

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 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZp5jAg4-PM

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 The Greenhouse Effect: Global Warming

There are several atmospheric gases, most notably water (H2O) vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3), whose molecules freely absorb infrared
radiation and maintain the temperature on Earth. These gases are frequently called greenhouse
gases (GHG’s).

The increased concentration of

greenhouse gases results in
increasing the temperature of
the atmosphere thus causing
Global warming.

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 The Greenhouse Effect (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYqdKiT0Eqo

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 Depletion of Ozone Layer

A global environmental
problem is the distortion and
regional depletion of the
stratosphere ozone layer.

Ozone depletion can lead to

increased levels of damaging UV
radiation reaching the ground which
can increase rates of skin cancer,
eye damage and other harm to many
biological species.

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

Hydrocarbons that contain both chlorine and fluorine are known as chlorofluorocarbons (also
known as CFCs or Freons).

Cl Cl Cl Cl
Cl C F Cl C F F C C F
Cl F F F

Freon 11 Freon 12 Freon 13

Properties of CFCs:
• Low boiling point
• chemically inert
• nontoxic, nonflammable
• insoluble in water

The above properties make CFCs ideal candidates for refrigerants and propellants for aerosol
cans.

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

Problem: the chlorine radicals breaks down the ozone (O3) molecule.

Cl• (g) + O3 (g) → ClO• (g) + O2 (g)

The newly generated ClO• can react with an oxygen radical (O•), formed from the reaction of
ozone with ultraviolet light, to produce another chlorine radical which goes on to destroy
more ozone .

ClO• (g) + O• (g) → Cl• (g) + O2 (g)

This cyclic process is repeated many times and it has been estimated that the breaking of a
single C - Cl bond results in the destruction of 4000 or more ozone molecules.

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 Nitrogen Monoxide & the Ozone Layer

Destruction of ozone by NO produces nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygen. NO2 then reacts
with oxygen radical to produce NO free radical. So, the nitrogen monoxide catalyze the
destruction of more ozone layer and gets regenerated at the end of cycle.

In the overall reaction, ozone reacts with oxygen free radical and forms molecular oxygen.

O3 (g) + O• (g) → 2O2 (g)

Similarly, sulfur dioxide can break the ozone layer.

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 Depletion of Ozone Layer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6pxSNDPhs

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VM1ZdLCFxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91W7v8tpXWk

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 Acid Rain (Ocean Acidification)

Acid rain or acid precipitation is the return to the terrestrial aquatic environment of the oxides of
carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in an acidic form.

Fossil fuels, and especially coal, contain large quantities of sulfur which forms SO2 upon
combustion. In addition CO2 and a series of nitrogen oxides with the general formula NOx (or,
commonly, NOX) are formed during coal combustion.

These oxides combine with water vapor in the atmosphere to form mild acids. Example are hypo-
sulfuric and the carbonic acid

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 Acid Rain

Strong acids (Sulfuric acid and Nitric acid)

are produced as a result of acid rain

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 Ocean Acidification (Acid Rain)

Acids find their way back to the aquatic environment

• The aerosols combine with the larger rain drops or

snow flakes, precipitate faster on the ground.
• The rain eventually feeds rivers and lakes known as
acid rain, acid snow or in general, acid precipitation.

The drop of the pH has significant adverse effects on the ecosystems of the rivers and lakes.

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 Acid Rain (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf8cuvl62Vc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PDjVDIrFec

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 Verse Acid Rain

Some of the more dramatic acid precipitation observations

1. A storm in Scotland in 1974 dropped rain with pH 2.4.

2. The pH of rain in Kane, Pennsylvania on September 19, 1978 was 2.32. This is lower than the
pH of vinegar.

3. For the entire year of 1975, rains in Norway and Sweden recorded a pH of less than 4.6.

4. During the 1970s the pH of 80% of drizzles in Howland was less than 3.5, and sometimes as
low as 2.5 (the pH of common vinegar).

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 Lead Abatement

Lead can cause nervous system damage and digestive problems and in some cases, cause
cancer. Lead compounds affect the synapses in brain cells, especially those of children. Prolonged
exposure to lead has been proven to cause mental retardation and brain disorders.

Lead is present in petrol, diesel, lead batteries, paints, hair dry products etc.

Tetra-ethyl lead, when added to the gasoline, prevents engine knocking and engine damage.

However, the TEL burns with the fuel and releases lead oxides, primarily PbO and Pb2O, as well as
atomic Pb, to the environment.

The vast reduction of the acid rain environmental effects and the reduction of
the lead concentration in the blood stream of humans are two significant
environmental developments of the late twentieth century.

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 Lead Abatement (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cy02SmP0co

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 Lead Abatement (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqGrBzHkdGU

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 Environmental Effect on Water

Thermal Pollution and Fresh-Water Use:

Water used to collect the extra heat (in accordance with 2nd law of thermodynamics) during power
generation which is wasted.

• Increases the temperature of atmosphere.

• New fresh-water is required to be used which can be an environmental issue in long run.

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 Solutions to Environmental Problems

➢ Clean renewable energy technologies

➢ Efficient energy conversion devices
➢ Clean energy for transportation
➢ Energy storage technologies for better use
➢ Recycling methods
➢ Encouraging forestation
➢ Use of locally available energy resources
➢ Changing life style
➢ Increasing public awareness among users for clean energy technologies

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 Greening of Fossil Fuel Power Plants

Use of different fuels: This includes conversions of coal power plants to biomass or waste and
conversions of natural gas power plants to biogas.

Coal Pollution Mitigation: A process whereby coal is chemically washed of minerals and
impurities.

Clean gas: Gas-fired power plants can also be modified to run on hydrogen, which can be
created on-site from natural gas.

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 Article on Coal Power Plant

Coal Fired Power Plants: Emission Problems and Controlling Techniques

Shahzad, B. K., and Yousaf, M. J Earth Sci. Clim. Change, 2017, 8:7

Environmental Impacts: Pollution caused by coal burning

Techniques to Reduce the Environmental Impacts

Combined heat and power
Options for fossil fuel power plants
Cost by power generation source
Particulate matter control
SO2 control
Mercury control

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 Carbon Capture

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 Issue Overview
To combat climate change, organizations around the world have been
researching and developing climate change reducing technologies.

International reliance on climate control self-regulation has resulted in the

escalation of atmospheric CO2 to 400 ppm AND RISING

30 Lindsey, 2018.
 Carbon Capture Technology

Extensive research put into Carbon Capture and Storage

(CCS) technology and present usage are visible across the
industry to reduce carbon emissions at the source.

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 How does Carbon Capture & Storage work?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROEFaHKVmSs

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 Direct Air Capture (DAC)

• DAC has been widely

accepted as being too
expensive to implement, in
comparison to post-
combustion carbon capturing
at the source

• Should DAC become

economically viable, it has the
potential to address the
chronic atmospheric surplus
of CO2

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 Carbon Engineering (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkEAA7VnyhE

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 Process Overview

35
 CO2 Capture

36 Keith et al., 2018

 Carbon Engineering - Overview
• Founded in 2009 with a mission to develop and commercialize technology
that captures industrial-scale quantities of CO₂ directly from the air.
• This captured CO₂ can be stored underground or synthesized into clean,
affordable transportation fuels.
• In the midst of several stages to develop, demonstrate, and deploy Direct Air
Capture (DAC) and AIR TO FUELS technologies.

Both technologies have

been proven and are
now being scaled up
into commercial
markets

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 Carbon Engineering (Video)

https://youtu.be/mG9FZ9zqOdo

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 The Ca$$H Factor

The most influential estimate of DAC costs was provided by a 2011 American Physical
Society (APS) study. The study estimated the cost of an aqueous Ca-looping technology like
Carbon Engineering. The APS ‘‘realistic’’ case had costs of 780 $/t-CO2.

Carbon Engineering’s 2018 estimate of DAC costs, based on actual pilot run data,
forecasts 94–232 $/t-CO2captured

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