There is no such thing as clean coal. You can scrub all of the CO2 out of the emissions all you want, but you’ll still be left with coal ash, be it fly ash from the emissions or bottom ash from the furnace. You need to do something with this ash, and although it can be used in road paving or cement, it’s often just piled up and stored somewhere. And it’s not just ash — it’s actually more radioactive than nuclear waste and has high levels of arsenic, amongst other toxic chemicals.
Here’s what happens when a retaining wall breaks and coal ash pollutes a river:
This is video from yesterday. That grey sludge poured into tributaries of the Tennessee River. You can read more about it at knoxvillebiz and tennessean.com.
Next time you hear an advert about clean coal, or someone tries to tell you that clean coal technology is a good replacement for burning oil, remember this post.
#1 by Chad on 24 December 2008 - 11:46 am
Ok, but what then?
Coal is far more abundant than any other energy source, and widely distributed. Yeah, it sucks, but given the choice between limited/expensive energy and abundant/cheap coal, the world will definitely choose coal without a second’s hesitation.
Remember that it’s not just about energy, it’s about *cheap*, readily available energy. Our economy is basically driven by the “free money” that we pull out of the ground as fossil fuels.
I’m not saying I like coal, because I agree that it’s pretty horrific stuff. However, I think it sorta behooves us to figure out how to use this stuff most beneficially, because it WILL be used (barring a major breakthrough in fusion research).
#2 by Brad on 24 December 2008 - 12:22 pm
I’m not so much against coal, I’m against people pushing clean coal technology as being (or becoming) a “green” energy source. Clean coal technology only seems to apply to emissions, and while it’s good that we scrub CO2 and other harmful chemicals from the emissions, those scrubbed chemicals have to go somewhere. It’s the “elsewhere” that is completely ignored by the clean coal proponents.
Turn coal ash into cement, use it for paving highways, use it for whatever, just don’t dump it in a giant retaining pond where the chemicals can leach into the groundwater or potentially spill into rivers.
#3 by Chad on 25 December 2008 - 7:17 pm
Fair enough, yeah. I’m with you there. It certainly isn’t green or free.