Balanced Green Living

Clean coal: what is it? I have heard this term tossed around so much lately as the presidential race is in full swing and eco-issues are at the forefront. Really, can coal be clean? As you will see, there is not one straight and clear answer…
Clean coal is actually an energy industry term which refers to increasing the efficiency of coal mining, making power plants which use coal for energy generation more environmentally friendly, and/or making coal itself more fuel efficient and clean burning.

Dirty Coal; Carbon Dioxide

Since coal contributes a large volume of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every single year, the idea of cleaning up coal is quite appealing to many consumers and government officials. But never forget this: no matter how much you attempt to clean it up or filter it out, some carbon dioxide is still going to be released into the environment when coal is used for fuel, and other harmful emissions are created as well. The other issue is that coal is NOT a renewable resource and will eventually be depleted.

Clean Coal and GreenWashing

Many environmentalists term the concept of clean coal “greenwashing,” meaning that companies are using the concept to make themselves look better. They argue that since coal is a fossil fuel, investing in cleaner coal technology is not as sound as investment in renewable energy. However, most environmentalists would also agree that if coal is going to be used as a fuel, it might as well be used cleanly.

The creation of coal started millions of years ago, when decaying plant and animal matter began to compress, ultimately forming the world’s coal and petroleum deposits. Coal has been utilized as a fossil fuel for centuries, ever since humans realized that the substance was burnable. It naturally appears in large deposits of brownish to black flaky material, which are mined in large volumes.

Clean Coal Mining

Coal mining and processing can lead to pollution, just as many industrial processes do. Making the mining process itself more clean and efficient is one of the methods for “clean coal technology.” In addition, many countries now chemically wash their coal to remove some impurities. Removing these impurities before burning ensures that they will not be released into the atmosphere, although the chemicals and impurities still need to be appropriately dealt with so that they do not enter the environment. Some critics say this is nothing more than robbing Peter to pay Paul in regards to pollution with coal.

Most coal in the US and abroad is burned in power plants that produce electricity, so cleaning up these plants is another way to employ clean coal technology. Coal burning power plants are often old and highly inefficient. In order to clean them up, signigicant investments would need to be made. Most coal-producing businesses do not have the means to do this.

Clean Coal Smoke Stacks?

Another way companies are cleaning up coal is by adding scrubbers or filters to the smoke stacks at power plants. These filters take out much of the pollutants before they are released. But once again, those filters are expensive and the garbage they collect still must be disposed of somehow and somewhere.

The REAL Clean Coal

The final sort of clean coal (and really the truth behind the concept) is not really coal at all, but an entirely new product known as “gasified coal.” Gasified coal is coal which has been treated to turn it into a gas such as methane or hydrogen. In the process, the carbon dioxide waste is extracted. This gas fuel is burned for energy, yielding cleaner and more environmentally sound coal-based energy. Since natural gas prices began skyrocketing in the late 1990s, gasified coal began to attract attention.

To produce gasified coal, the coal is mixed with a catalyst and subjected to high levels of heat and steam. This causes a chemical reaction, which separates the coal into hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other inorganic solids which are separated further and filtered out. The hydrogen and methane can both be used for energy production, while the carbon dioxide is often injected deep into the ground or otherwise disposed of. In theory, a coal fired power plant could become zero emission by using this clean coal technology.
As far as finding a balance in clean coal technology, there isn’t one. I honestly don’t think that the politicians even know what it truly means. The only true clean coal is the gas form and that is entirely too expensive to make in our current state of affairs.
So next time someone asks you if you are for or against clean coal technology, you will know how to answer them because you read it here on the Balanced Green Living Blog.