Lecture 3 – Environmental and Ecological Effects

Dr. Muhammad Yousaf

CHY 583
 Energy Transformation

Law of conservation of
energy – (aka The first
law of thermodynamics)
states that energy cannot
be created or destroyed,
although it can be
changes from one form to
the other.

It implies that although

the forms of energy
change, the total amount
of energy before and
after any
transformation remains
the same.

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 Energy Wastage

The second law of

thermodynamics: The
law states that the entropy
(randomness) of a
spontaneous reactions
(natural processes) always
increases.

The heat flows

spontaneously from a
hotter region to a cooler
region (i.e., from an object
at higher energy to the one
at lower energy), but will
not flow spontaneously the
other way.

It implies that the energy is wasted during transformation. G = Available energy

H = Heat
S = Entropy
T = Temperature
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 Environmental Effects: Carbon Emission

Carbon Dioxide (CO2):

Both of the fossil fuels and biofuels contribute to the production of atmospheric carbon dioxide
(CO2) which is one of the rapidly-changing greenhouse gas.

Most of the atmospheric CO2 results from burning the fossil fuels

Unlike fossil fuels, biofuels actively participate in the carbon cycle today by photosynthesis. In
practice, photosynthesis is a slow process considering the fact that additional fuel is produced
by artificial methods.

The principal impacts of CO2 on the environment are global warming and ocean
acidification.

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 Carbon Dioxide Emission Points

Where does carbon dioxide come from?

Power Stations (electricity generation): burns coal,

petroleum and gas to make electricity and CO2 is
generated during the process (comes out from the boilers).

Vehicle Use (transport): automobiles run of petroleum

or diesel and they produce CO2.

Heating: Residential and commercial heating

produce CO2.

It is also made when biofuels are burnt.

We cannot see CO2, the white clouds you

see coming out of the boilers is steam.

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 Emissions from Carbon-based Fuels

Carbon Monoxide (CO):

Burning of both fossil fuels and biofuels usually also produces carbon monoxide, which is toxic
because of CO poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide poisoning: Carbon monoxide poisoning is the

most common type of fatal air poisoning in many countries. It
combines with hemoglobin to produce carboxyhemoglobin (COHb),
which usurps the space in hemoglobin that normally carries oxygen,
but is ineffective for delivering oxygen to bodily tissues. Conversion
of most Hb to COHb results in death - known medically as
carboxyhemoglobinemia or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Concentrations as low as 667 ppm may cause up to 50% of the Conversion of Hb to COHb
body's hemoglobin to convert to carboxyhemoglobin. A level of
50% carboxyhemoglobin may result in seizure, coma, and fatality.

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 The Greenhouse Effect

The Sun’s light is transmitted to the Earth in a wide spectrum. A very high percentage of the
energy from the Sun lies in the short wavelength (high frequency) which has a maximum at 490
nm. This light provides required energy to the planet and enables the photosynthesis and other
life-supporting processes on the surface of the planet.
According to the laws of radiation, the Earth also radiates energy to the universe. This
difference is explained in terms of Wien’s Law, which relates the wavelength at the maximum
radiation density (ʎm), to the absolute temperature (T) of the radiative black body,

For Sun, T = 5900 K

ʎm = 0.0029/5900 m = 490 nm

For Earth, T = 300 K

ʎm = 0.0029/300 m = 9700 nm

The consequence of this is that most of the Earth’s radiation is in the infrared (IR) part of the
spectrum and invisible to human eye
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 The Greenhouse Effect: Global Warming
There are several atmospheric gases, most notably water (H2O) vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2),
methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3), whose molecules freely absorb
infrared radiation and maintain the temperature on Earth. These gases are frequently called
greenhouse gases (GHG’s). By absorbing the infrared radiation, the molecules of these gases
reach higher energy states (excited states). Because individual atoms and molecules cannot
exist for long at non-equilibrium states, the molecules of these gases releases extra energy by
imparting their excess energy to other atmospheric molecules.

The net effect of this energy

transfer is the warming of the
other atmospheric gases and
the reflection of part of the
Earth’s infrared radiation back
to the surface of the Earth.

The increased concentration of

greenhouse gases results in
increasing the temperature of
the atmosphere thus causing
Global warming.

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 Depletion of Ozone Layer

The natural built up of oxygen in the

atmosphere gradually led to the
formation of the ozone layer which
is formed between 19 and 30 km
above the ground (stratosphere).

The ozone layer filters out

incoming radiations from the
Sun that is harmful to the life
on Earth.
A global environmental
problem is the distortion and
regional depletion of the
stratosphere ozone layer

Ozone depletion in the stratosphere

can lead to increased levels of
damaging UV radiation reaching the
ground which can increase rates of
skin cancer, eye damage and other
harm to many biological species.

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

Hydrocarbons that contain both chlorine and fluorine are known as chlorofluorocarbons (also
known as CFCs or Freons).

Cl Cl Cl Cl
Cl C F Cl C F F C C F
Cl F F F

Freon 11 Freon 12 Freon 13

Properties of CFCs:
• Low boiling point
• chemically inert
• nontoxic, nonflammable
• insoluble in water

The above properties made CFCs ideal candidates for refrigerants and propellants for
aerosol cans.

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

CFCs have a very long life-time and eventually make their way to the stratosphere where
ultraviolet rays break the carbon-chlorine bonds to form chlorine radicals, Cl•
Problem: the chlorine radicals react with ozone (O3), a species which helps protect life on
earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

Cl• (g) + O3 (g)  ClO• (g) + O2 (g)

The problem is enhanced by the fact that ClO• can react with an oxygen radical (O•),
formed from the reaction of ozone with ultraviolet light, to produce another chlorine
radical which goes on to destroy more ozone.

ClO• (g) + O• (g)  Cl• (g) + O2 (g)

This cyclic process is repeated many times and it has been estimated that the breaking of
a single C - Cl bond results in the destruction of 4000 or more ozone molecules.

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 Nitrogen Monoxide & the Ozone Layer
The nitrogen reacts with oxygen in the presence of high temperature (during combustion
process) to generate nitrogen monoxide (NO) which is free radicals.

N2 (g) + O2 (g)  2NO• (g)

The next step involves the destruction of ozone by NO which produces nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) and oxygen. In the subsequent reaction, NO2 reacts with oxygen radical to
produce NO free radical. So, the nitrogen monoxide acts as catalyst and gets
regenerated at the end and catalyze the destruction of more ozone layer.

NO• (g) + O3 (g)  NO2 (g) + O2 (g)

NO2 (g) + O• (g)  NO• (g) + O2 (g)

In the overall reaction, ozone reacts with oxygen free radical and forms molecular oxygen.

O3 (g) + O• (g)  2O2 (g)

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 Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer

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 Environmental Effects: Acid Rain

Acid rain or acid precipitation is the return to the terrestrial aquatic environment of the oxides of
carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in an acidic form.

Acid rain is closely related to the combustion of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, and especially coal,
contain large quantities of sulfur which forms SO2 upon combustion. In addition CO2 and a
series of nitrogen oxides with the general formula NOx (or, commonly, NOX) are formed during
coal combustion.

These oxides combine with water vapor in the atmosphere to form mild acids. For example the
hypo-sulfuric and the carbonic acid, two weak acids, are formed in the atmosphere by the
following reactions:

Atmospheric SO2 may also combine with ozone first and then with water vapor, to form the
much stronger sulfuric acid

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 Acid Rain

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 Environmental Effects: Acid Rain
Acids find their way back to the aquatic environment
The acidic chemicals in the atmosphere are formed within small droplets or on the side of very
fine particles, which are called aerosol particles.

• Because of their tiny size, they settle extremely

slowly and, may remain airborne in the
atmosphere for long time.
• During rain or snow precipitation, the aerosols
combine with the larger rain drops or snow flakes,
precipitate faster on the ground.
• The rain or snow runoff containing higher
concentration of the acids eventually feeds rivers
and lakes known as acid rain, acid snow or in
general, acid precipitation.
As a consequence of acid precipitation, the concentration of the H+ increases significantly and
the pH of these bodies of water drops from its natural range of 6.8–7.4 to significantly lower
values. An estimated 30–40% of the carbon dioxide from human activity released into the
atmosphere dissolves into oceans, rivers and lakes.
The drop of the pH has significant adverse effects on the ecosystems of the rivers and lakes,
because many animal species cannot survive at these low (as well as very high) pH levels. As
a result, several of the species may disappear, either because of the direct effect of a lower pH
or because of lack of nutrients.
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 Verse Acid Rain

Some of the more dramatic acid precipitation observations

1. A storm in Scotland in 1974 dropped rain with pH 2.4.

2. The pH of rain in Kane, Pennsylvania on September 19, 1978 was 2.32. This is lower than
the pH of vinegar.

3. For the entire year of 1975, rains in Norway and Sweden recorded pH less than 4.6.

4. During the 1970s the pH of 80% of drizzles in Howland was less than 3.5, and sometimes
as low as 2.5 (the pH of common vinegar).

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 Lead Abatement

Lead can cause nervous system damage and digestive problems and in some cases, cause
cancer. Lead compounds affect the synapses in brain cells, especially those of children.
Prolonged exposure to lead has been proven to cause mental retardation and brain disorders.
It is present in petrol, diesel, lead batteries, paints, hair dry products etc.

Auto-ignition in gasoline engines may be prevented by chemical additives, the most common of
which is tetra-ethyl lead (TEL).Tetra-ethyl lead, when added to the gasoline, prevents engine
knocking and engine damage.

The use of this chemical compound was widely adopted by the refining and automobile
industries as an‘‘anti-knock’’ additive to the gasoline in the early twentieth century. However,
the TEL burns with the fuel and its combustion releases lead oxides, primarily PbO and Pb2O,
as well as atomic Pb, to the environment. These chemicals were proven to be harmful to the
health of the population.

The vast reduction of the acid rain environmental effects and the reduction
of the lead concentration in the blood stream of humans are two significant
environmental developments of the late twentieth century.

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 Environmental Effect on Water

Thermal Pollution and Fresh-Water Use:

Water used to collect the extra heat (in accordance with 2nd law of thermodynamics) during
power generation which is wasted.

• Increases the temperature of atmosphere.

• New fresh-water is required to be used which can be an environmental issue in long run.

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 Nuclear Waste

The transportation and storage of the waste materials from the nuclear power plants is a
significant global environmental threat.

The safe and permanent storage of nuclear waste (radioactive compounds) is an

environmental issue of prime importance to the nuclear industry because the their uncontrolled
release is harmful to all living organisms.

At present, the nuclear waste is typically stored in temporary facilities (water pool), where the
nuclear waste is immersed. The heat produced by nuclear disintegrations is convected to the
water of the pool, which is maintained at almost constant temperature by evaporation.

Any accidental or intentional release of radioactive materials from these sites may render
whole regions uninhabitable.

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 Treatment of Nuclear Waste

Initial Treatment of Nuclear Waste:

Vitrification (glassification) of the waste: The nuclear waste (after evaporation of volatiles)
is melted with glass and solidified in steel containers i.e., vitrified.
Vitrified materials are very stable. They are hard, water resistant, have very low erosion or
chipping and are believed that they are capable to last unaltered for thousands of years.

Concentration of the waste. Concentrated to a smaller volume usually with ferric hydroxide
(flocculation) removes highly radioactive metals from aqueous solutions. After the removal of
these isotopes, the resulting low-level radioactive materials are stabilized by mixing with ash
and cement to form concrete. The low radiation levels of this concrete do not pose any threats
to the environment or the population and may be stored anywhere.

Synrock is a complex chemical material of nuclear waste stabilization. Synrock consists of

hollandite (BaAl2Ti6O16), zirconolite (CaZrTi2O7) and perovskite (CaTiO3). The zirconolite
and perovskite become hosts and immobilize the actinide elements by trapping them.

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 Treatment of Nuclear Waste

Long term disposal of Nuclear Waste:

Geologic disposal: Either in deep and stable formations on the earth or in the deep sea.

Transmutation: Transformation of radionuclides to other materials that are not radioactive.

Waste re-use: Accompanies by the concentration process, the produced high-radioactivity

materials may be re-used in a nuclear reactor for the production of additional power. The
isotope uranium-238 (nuclear waste) might be separated from the waste and will be used in the
breeder reactors of the future.

Space disposal: A possible alternative that has been advocated by a few nonexperts. Given
that it costs more than $25,000 to lift a kg of mass to the space, this is extremely expensive
and has not been proven to be a reliable way of nuclear waste storage.

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 Solutions to Environmental Problems

An effort to find ways to replace fossil fuels with more environmental friendly alternatives,
particularly renewable energy resources.
The recent advancement in thermodynamics have greatly contributed to improving
conversion efficiencies of systems and thus to reduce pollution.

Some of the potential solutions to environmental problems are as follows:

 Clean renewable energy technologies

 Efficient energy conversion devices
 Clean energy for transportation
 Energy storage technologies for better use
 Recycling methods
 Encouraging forestation
 Use of locally available energy resources
 Changing life style
 Increasing public awareness among users for clean energy technologies

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 Greening of Fossil Fuel Power Plants

Use of different fuels: A more frequent and cost-efficient method is to convert a plant to run
on a different fuel. This includes conversions of coal power plants to biomass or waste and
conversions of natural gas power plants to biogas. Conversions of coal powered power
plants to waste-fired power plants have an extra benefit in that they can reduce landfilling. In
addition, waste-fired power plants can be equipped with material recovery, which is also
beneficial to the environment.

Improving energy efficiency of a coal-fired power plant by upgrading existing plants. Such
plants emit almost 20% less CO2 than a subcritical unit operating at a similar load.

Coal Pollution Mitigation: Coal Pollution Mitigation is a process whereby coal is chemically
washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases
treated with steam, with the purpose of removing sulfur dioxide, and reburned so as to make
the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable, and storable underground
(carbon capture and storage). The coal industry uses the term "clean coal" to describe
technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of
coal extraction, preparation and use, but has provided no specific quantitative limits on any
emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.

Clean gas: Gas-fired power plants can also be modified to run on hydrogen, which can be
created on-site from natural gas. It allows the soot to be easily removed (soot is a byproduct
of the process which contains the carbon) which can then be stored underground and is not
released into the atmosphere.
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 Article on Coal Power Plant

Coal Fired Power Plants: Emission Problems and Controlling Techniques

Shahzad, B. K., and Yousaf, M. J Earth Sci. Clim. Change, 2017, 8:7

Environmental Impacts: Pollution caused by coal burning

Techniques to Reduce the Environmental Impacts

Combined heat and power
Options for fossil fuel power plants
Cost by power generation source
Particulate matter control
SO2 control
Mercury control

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 Carbon Capture

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 Issue Overview
To combat climate change, organizations around the world have been
researching and developing climate change reducing technologies.

International reliance on climate control self-regulation has resulted in

the escalation of atmospheric CO2 to 400 ppm, AND RISING

27 Lindsey, 2018.
 Carbon Capture Technology

Extensive research put into Carbon Capture and Storage

(CCS) technology and present usage is visible across
industry to reduce carbon emissions at the source.

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 How does Carbon Capture & Storage work?

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 Direct Air Capture (DAC)

The large-scale capture/removal of atmospheric CO2 and conversion into

matter that can be safeguarded from atmospheric reintroduction

• DAC has been widely

accepted as being too
expensive to implement, in
comparison to post
combustion carbon capturing
at the source

• Should DAC become

economically viable, it has
the potential to address the
chronic atmospheric surplus
of CO2

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 Carbon Engineering - Overview
• Founded in 2009 with a mission to develop and commercialize technology
that captures industrial-scale quantities of CO₂ directly from the air.
• This captured CO₂ can be stored underground or synthesized into clean,
affordable transportation fuels.
• In the midst of several stages to develop, demonstrate and deploy Direct Air
Capture (DAC) and AIR TO FUELS technologies.

Both technologies
have been proven and
are now being scaled
up into commercial
markets

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 Carbon Capture Plant: Carbon Engineering

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 Process Overview

33
 CO2 Capture

34 Keith et al., 2018

 The Chemical Process

35 Keith et al., 2018

 The Ca$$H Factor

The most influential estimate of DAC costs was provided by a 2011 American Physical
Society (APS) study. The study estimated the cost of an aqueous Ca-looping technology
like Carbon Engineering. The APS ‘‘realistic’’ case had costs of 780 $/t-CO2.

Carbon Engineering’s 2018 estimate of DAC costs, based on actual pilot run
data, forecasts 94–232 $/t-CO2captured

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