Sulphur Oxide from Coal

To generate the energy needed in industrialized societies, vast amounts of coal have been burnt. When coal burns, it gives off great quantities of heat energy and smoke. Smoke stacks emit so much smoke into the atmoshpere that gases in the smoke are changing the very nature of clouds causing a corrosive form of precipitation known as acid rain.

Sulphur dioxide from burning fossil fuels and nitrogen oxide from automobile exhaust fumes react with the water vapor in the atmosphere producing acidic vapors that mix with the clouds. When the wind blows, these acid bearing clouds maybe move hundred of kilometers away from the source of the pollutants. The acid rain that results is damaging to water, forest, and soil resources and can corrode metals and the surfaces of buildings.

One way to address the problem of acid rain is to stop burning high sulphur coal. Coal with less sulphur releases less sulphur dioxide. Another solution is to equip coal burning power plants with scrubber technology. Scrubbers are placed in the smoke stacks and force the sulphurine smoke over suspended alkali particles such as lime. The sulphur oxide reacts with these particles to form an ash that can be removed from the stack as a slurry or powder. Scrubbers can remove up to 95% of sulphur oxide from smoke before it reaches the air.

http://majarimagazine.com

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• coal
• technology
• energy
• chemical
• engineering
• process
• fuel

[chewbaca1989]

You lie!

[brob1969]

@jcobaltss2005 Gasification not only sequesters carbon but releases oxygen into the atmosphere much the way the formation of coal did thousands of years ago. The problem with coal burning is it is reversing this process and releasing that CO2 and reducing the amount of oxygen; gasification sequesters FAR more carbon than is released, add to that the fact that the biomass has sequestered a significant amount of carbon during its lifecycle and there is no competition...

[brob1969]

@jcobaltss2005 Gasification "cracks" the molecules by operating a controlled oxygen and temperature environment; there is no "smoke" released by combustion. The leftover from the process, known as bio-char is used for biosequestration of carbonaceous materials; it has been used for millennia in the formation of terra preta.

This method of sequestration in the earth can improve water quality, increase soil fertility, raise agricultural productivity and reduce pressure on old-growth forests.

[jcobaltss2005]

@brob1969 Biomass has a relatively low energy content compared to coal per unit mass, and would therefore generate more greenhouse gases. Coal plants are equipped with electronic and porous filters to clean the flu gas being exhausted from the stacks. A common misconception is that the clouds seen exiting plants is flu gas, it is actually mostly water vapour exiting those cooling towers. The flu gas is what you can't see.

[brob1969]

seems like gassification of biomass would be a better idea than coal...

[reefrunner9]

Where be all the scrubber designers, laid off ?

[otobodycare]

OMG, i don understand,. zzz. nvm

[xxjustin94xx]

HIHI^^

[PHJfanlol]

Hi kenny_speed car ! LOL... :D

[kennyspeedcar]

hi coralites....