How Do Coal Power Plants Work?

Clean coal is proposed as being an emission cleaner form of regular coal, because it reduces the amount of sulfur-dioxide, and nitrogen oxide that is produced by burning coal. It does this by removing impurities from the coal that are contributing to the higher emissions within regular coal, which is created through “clean coal technology”. Clean coal is obtained just like regular coal through either mining it or by mountaintop removal. A technique called coal washing is used to remove impurities, such as sulfur and other unwanted minerals, by washing them in a liquid to remove them.

Clean coal technology usually addresses atmospheric problems resulting from burning coal. Historically, the primary focus was on sulfur dioxide and particulates, since it is the most important gas in the causation of acid rain. More recent focus has been on carbon dioxide (due to its impact on global warming) as well as other pollutants. Concerns exist regarding the economic viability of these technologies and the timeframe of delivery, potentially high hidden economic costs in terms of social and environmental damage, and the costs and viability of disposing of removed carbon and other toxic matter. More, the byproducts of coal power production range from fly ash sludge ponds full of mercury, arsenic, and sulfur in unlined ponds that can leak into the water supply.

Nowadays, coal is still one of the greatest used energy to generate power in so many countries. Using coal in electricity generation is 93% in South African, 87% in Poland, 79% in China, 78% in Australia, 45% in USA, 41% in Germany, 58% in Israel etc. (Coal & Electricity) From the data above, even the developed countries use coal to generate power as the main source. In many developed countries, energy generation is still based on coal as a long-term source. In recent years, although there is an increasing number of equipment using gas and wind to generate the power, it is still lower than the proportion of coal-fired power generation. The reason why most countries choose coal as a main source to generate electricity, is that there are many advantages in using coal to generate electricity. First of all, coal is the

The first advantage of nuclear energy is that it is one of the cleanest sources of energy available to us now. The process of fission doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases or emissions that are linked to global warming. Nuclear energy is currently the largest clean air energy source. It currently occupies 63.3 percent of the emission free electricity in the United States, and this must continue to get expanded upon. With increased use of nuclear energy comes a decreased use in fossil fuels, which would result in a lower carbon footprint for the U.S. This would help slow down the impact of global warming and climate change.

In the matter of clean -coal technologies, illustrates the pros and cons of whether or not "clean coal" technologies are benefiting or still causing harm to the environment.

powerplants usually add chlorine or other harmful chemicals to the water they use, which means that these chemicals also get released back into the environment. Another negative impact is the amount of energy being created. Most of heat used for burning the coal and creating steam is wasted. Coal powerplants usually only use 33 – 35% of the coals heat to create electricity. The rest of the heat gets released into the atmosphere or absorbed by cooling water. This is negative as this sudden influx of heat could affect the climate in that area, if not the world. If we have millions of coal power plants (Keep in mind it produces 41% of the electricity) than whats not to say all that heat and other emission from the plants won’t cause global warming?

Nuclear energy is much better than other sources of energy for many reasons. It is cheaper long-term than renewable energy, like wind turbines and solar power, safer than coal and has minimal atmospheric contamination. It is also much more efficient than coal, and genetic risks are minimal. The cancer risk increase of nuclear energy is next to nothing; it is only .002%, shortening life expectancies by less than one hour.

It is an element which is not found in the nature however it is a fissionable element. It is a by-product of the chain reaction and is very harmful if introduced in the nature. It is primarily used to produce nuclear weapons. Most likely, it is named as dirty bomb.” Even though nuclear radiation has some disadvantages it is only rivaled by the numerous advantages lower green house gas “ As per the reports in 1998, it has been calculated the emission of the greenhouse gas has reduced for nearly half due to the popularity in the use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy by far has the lowest impact on the environment since it does not releases any gases like carbon dioxide, methane which are largely responsible for greenhouse effect.”, power and efficiency “The other main advantage of using nuclear energy is that it is very powerful and efficient than other alternative energy sources. Advancement in technologies has made it more viable option than others.”, and reliability “Unlike traditional sources of energy like solar and wind which require sun or wind to produce electricity, nuclear energy can be produced from nuclear power plants even in the cases of rough weather

Nuclear power is a bad way to make more energy. What exactly is nuclear power? Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat. Nuclear power is an substandard way to make energy because nuclear power releases radioactive material and dangerous chemical elements such as plutonium, nuclear power has serious health/safety concerns and accidents keep occurring, and there are so many other energy sources that are less expensive besides nuclear power like natural gas, coal and oil.

A coal power station turns the chemical energy in coal into electrical energy that can be used in homes and businesses.

Nuclear power has been around since the 1950s, and has had varying opinions throughout the years (iaea.org). At its conception, individuals viewed nuclear power as an unlimited source of energy. People thought it would revolutionize the world and produce large amounts of power at extremely low prices. However, opinions changed after catastrophic events like the reactor meltdowns at Chernobyl and Fukushima. Over the years, nuclear reactors have improved and made safer, and the power of the atom is slowly being tamed. There is still conflict between those who view nuclear power as the future and those who view it as a curse. Nuclear power is the future.

Polymet Mining is a mining industry that is proposing to create Minnesota’s first sulfide mine. The company is wanting to create an open pit copper and nickel mine that is located north of Hoyt Lakes in the Superior National Forest (BC Hydro). They plan to call this project the NorthMet Mining Project. There is a dire need for nickel and copper in America, and building this mine will help obtain these resources. There are many pros and cons to the mine being built in one of Minnesota’s National Forests. The building of this mine would help obtain the necessary resources that the United States is lacking, but will also destroy the natural state of the Superior National Forest and many habitats of the animals living within the forest.

The environmental consequences it prevents, it has a lot fewer greenhouse emissions. Studies have shown that the greenhouse gasses amount have decreased by almost half because of the prevalence in the utilization of nuclear power. With the reliability of nuclear energy when in the mode of producing the energy, it can run uninterrupted for even a year. With solar and wind energy are dependent upon weather conditions. The last one is the cost when producing nuclear power it is very inexpensive electricity. Uranium cost is low is which is used to utilize as a fuel in this process. My viewpoint may be looking at a negative way because of the Chernobyl accident, but today’s technology is very advanced and with technology today that could never and will never happen

Nuclear power plants have a high energy density compared to fossil fuels. Nuclear energy requires much less fuel than other sources of energy. The greatest benefit of nuclear power is that is doesn't rely on the rapid change of oil and gas prices: “It doesn’t rely on fossil fuels and isn’t influenced by fluctuating oil and gas costs” (Conserve- Energy- Future). Overall, the efficiency of nuclear power plants is greater than the efficiency of fossil fuels. It uses less fuel causing less pollution, has a higher density of energy, and it is the most persistent source of

Coal and natural gas are the United States’ main fossil fuels used as energy sources. These fossil fuels both contain mixtures of hydrocarbons, which is a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen (Olah, 2005). Currently, fossil fuels provide eighty-five percent of commercial energy, such as businesses, worldwide and this eighty-five percent does not even account for residential use. Imagine if the residential energy use was accounted for in that eighty-five percent (Davison, 2007). According to Goodell (2006), “Between 1950 and 2000, the world population increased by 140 percent and fossil fuel consumption increased by 400 percent. By 2030, the world’s demand for energy is expected to more than double,” with most of the electricity