“Clean Coal” There is No Such Thing!

Lately, I’ve noticed an increase in TV ads promoting “Clean Coal.” Because I have a background in chemistry and energy efficiency, I know there is no such thing.

Coal is dirty and polluting from beginning to end. Huge diesel-powered machines exhaust black particulates and carbon dioxide as they move tremendous amounts of dirt and rock from mountain tops and deep earthen mines. They extract and load the dusty coal onto rail cars leaving behind mining waste that fills valleys and streams or is turned into mountains of toxic waste. Then hundreds of diesel-powered locomotives haul hundreds of coal-filled cars over thousands of miles of tracks to power plants nationwide.

Power plants produce still more pollution when they combust this high-grade coal to generate the heat that turns turbines to generate electricity. Just how dirty is coal when it’s combusted? Based on carbon combustion stoichiometry, for each ton of anthracite coal burned (83% carbon), approximately three tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the air [(12 lb. C)+(32 lb. O2) → (44 lb. CO2 or 3.04 lb. CO2 / lb.of coal]. Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal

Plus, mercury, arsenic and other toxic heavy metals are released as vapor or as particulates which pollute the air, soil and water wherever they condense or fall.

It is common for a coal generation plant to burn 100 rail cars of coal (115 tons per rail car) every day, generating about 69,000,000 pounds (34,500 tons) of CO2. It is just not practical or economical to compress, bury, sequester or haul away this amount of pollution! And this is only the waste for one coal generation plant – there are thousands of such plants around the world.

On top of that, the entire process of generating and using electricity from coal—from mining to delivering it to your home—is very inefficient. How inefficient depends on how far the coal is hauled, its quality, the efficiency of the power plant, how far electricity travels over high-voltage power lines, and how efficiently it is used by consumers for lights or air conditioning and manufacturing. Estimates suggest the process is from 25 to 40 percent efficient, but when all sources of energy used to generate power from coal are considered – from mining to the lights and comfort of your home -- these numbers are likely exaggerated on the high side.

Why does it matter that ads are promoting Clean Coal? Because it’s a misrepresentation of the characteristics of a product—the basis of false advertising—that misleads the public into thinking burning coal has no damaging effects. Prominent atmospheric scientists and ecologists have confirmed otherwise: increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere are the cause of global warming and climate change on Earth. And because CO2 is chemically stable, it will stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years.

So the next time you hear the words “Clean Coal” broadcast publicly, recognize it for what it is: irresponsible and greedy false advertising whose sponsors should be prosecuted for their crimes.