Cleantechblog recently posted an article on Australia’s clean coal technology.
Australia has a significant vested interest in clean coal technologies with funding and technology development occurring around the country. The vested interest is due to Australia having large coal resources and more importantly coal is a major export earner for Australia and accounts for around 80% of Australia’s total energy generation.
Although Canada has only 2 underground coal mines (Grand Cache and Quinsam), the following article on new technologies for safety in underground mines may be of interest to the industry.
Newswise — Technologies originally developed for federal agencies, such as NASA, may improve the safety of mining operations in the nation, thanks to the efforts of researchers, engineers, and intellectual property experts within the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University.
The NTTC evaluates innovations and technologies that one day may improve communications in mines, create tracking devices to monitor miners, and lead to improvement with mine mapping and mine-rescue technologies.
Established by Congress in 1989, the NTTC expedites the commercialization of federally funded research and development to the private sector. The NTTC transforms ideas and research developed in federal labs such as NASA into products and services, and offers world-class technology assessment services and develops lasting partnerships among industry, academia and government agencies.
The Sago Mine and Alma Mine tragedies highlight the importance of the NTTC’s mission and the importance of identifying new technologies and products that can save lives.
The NTTC, for example, is working in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NTTC is utilizing its expertise to contribute to NIOSH’s efforts to develop the next-generation Self-Contained Self-Rescuer system. SCSRs are required equipment for coal miners and are approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and NIOSH.
SCSRs must have a rated duration of one hour. NIOSH seeks to make the respirator both smaller and lighter, as well as lengthen the device’s service life and maximum oxygen capacity. The NTTC is utilizing its experience in identifying technologies and development partners for this initiative.
Under the direction of former Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health J. Davitt McAteer, the NTTC plays a leadership role in improving safety in mining communities with the Coal Impoundment Location and Information System (http://www.coalimpoundment.org). The Coal Impoundment Location and Information System is a pilot project developed by the NTTC , the Center for Educational Technologies® (CET), Wheeling Jesuit University, West Virginia University and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and funded through the efforts of Senator Robert C. Byrd.
It is designed to identify coal impoundments in West Virginia, alert residents of emergency situations and evacuation plans, improve safety and examine alternatives for impounding coal waste and sludge in the Mountain State.
The United Kingdom is set to spend just over $6.1 million USD over the next 3 years as part of a clean coal research deal with China. The collaboration aims to investigate different possible means of reducing CO2 emissions, including carbon sequestration.
This partnership is part of a broader EU-China collaboration on clean coal techno
The folks at World Climate Alert recently considered the notion that there is a “broad scientific consensus” in the area of global climate change.
The phrase “scientific consensus” suggests something approaching unanimous agreement among scientists. However even a rudimentary survey of scientific literature reveals there to be very little agreement on the subject of climate change. The unfortunate and inaccurate characterization of consensus is used as a rhetorical bludgeon of skeptics and is the basis of a push for industrialized nations to “do something” to reduce the atmosphere’s greenhouse gas concentration.
Dr. Richard Lindzen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offered an explanation of the phenomenon during a recent National Press Club briefing “Climate Alarm — Where does it come from?”:
With respect to science, consensus is often simply a sop to scientific illiteracy. After all, if what you are told is alleged to be supported by all scientists, then why do you have to bother to understand it? You can simply go back to treating it as a matter of religious belief, and you never have to defend this belief except to claim that you are supported by all scientists except for a handful of corrupted heretics.
The article continued by looking at the veracity of claims over the IPCC’s hockey stick graph, as well as the fact that key climate models provide a diversity of (often conflicting) findings on the role of low level clouds in predicting climate. They also discussed the relative scientific uncertainty about the role and impact of aerosols on changing climate.
In each example, the authors show that the widespread “consensus” that is repeatedly held up in media and policy circles as the trump card during discussion of the climate change issue is neither widespread or an actual consensus.
The facts of the case are that we do not have simple, cookie cutter answers to the issue of climate change and blurting out “widespread scientific consensus” is no longer an acceptable arguement.
The 45thConference on Coal, held on 11 - 14 September in Kananaskis was a resounding success. With industry, government and academia well represented and speakers and delegates from from around the world, the atmosphere was alive with news and information on the changing face of the international coal industry.
Topics covered by the impressive list of speakers included clean coal technologies, the coal vs. natural gas debate, the increasingly clear economic/social/environmental arguments for using coal as an energy source, freight and transportation issues, met coal sales and production issues, the impact of China and India on both met and thermal coal markets, the Canadian / Japanese / American / Australian / French perspectives on changing met and steel markets, Canada’s emerging coal industry, and many more.
When the wealth of information presented is paired with the numerous occassions to network and meet with clients and suppliers, it is clear that those who did not attend, forfeited a rich and rewarding opportunity to improve their understanding of international coal markets and to soldify or expand their business.
Delegates can look forward to receiving a copy of the conference proceedings (on CD) by early November. The proceedings will include pdf versions of the PowerPoint presentations, as well as transcripts of the speaker’s words, speakers bios, and executive summaries of the presentations. They will also include a list of conference delegates.
Those who did not attend the conference may order a copy of the proceedings CD, from the Coal Association of Canada for CDN $150 (e-mail or telephone 403.262.1544 for information on ordering. Visa/MasterCard/Am-Ex accepted)
Many conference delegates have already expressed their interest in attending the 46th Canadian Conference on Coal and have asked for information on location and timing.
The 46th Canadian Conference on Coal will be held in Victoria, BC, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. The conference will be held from 9 - 12 September 2006. Keep your eyes on the Coal Association’s web site for more information on conference dates and speakers.
Information on the JEA (formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority) Advanced Electric Power Generation - Fluidized Bed Combustion / JEA Large-Scale CFB Combustion Demonstration Project (Jacksonville, FL) is available online.
Project Objective
To demonstrate ACFB at 297.5 MWe gross (265 MWe net) representing a scale-up from previously constructed facilities; to verify expectations of the technology’s economic, environmental, and technical performance; to provide potential users with the data necessary for evaluating a large-scale ACFB as a commercial alternative; to accomplish greater than 90% SO2 removal; and to reduce NOx emissions by 60% when compared with conventional technology.
This information includes interim and final reports, as well as environmental reports on this demonstration project and other information on this and other combustion techniques.
The DOE Assessment of the Tampa Electric Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle Demonstration Project is now available on the Clean Coal Technology Compendium website.
Just a note to point out that by juxstapositioning two unrelated statistics in the statement, “The agency does say that nuclear energy could grow by a factor of 70 percent over the next 30 years. That’s up from 16 percent today of all fuel sources,” you leave the incorrect impression that the proportion of nuclear generation will increase in 30 years. If overall generation increases by more than 70 percent during that time, the proportion of nuclear will decrease.
In any case, it is worth noting that ultra clean (zero emission) coal and carbon technologies with CO2 capture and sequestration have the potential to safely defer the nuclear option for 200 years or so… enough time, I hope, to solve nuclear’s waste disposal issues.
Alan A. Johnson
Managing Director
ZECA Corporation
Alan’s review of this statistical information is essential, as we are constantly inundated by growth information from all forms of energy supply and often have little or no comparison given to help understand what the statistics actually mean.
A clear and properly informed opinion on matters relating to energy supply will be essential to the formation of intelligent policy options.
Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Use of Fossil Fuels data, Individual Country Energy Balances, and the Overview section for the International Energy Annual 2002 are now available online at International Energy Annual 2002
