Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Cleaner Energy

Thats what we want, right? I mean, lets face it, we flip a switch, a light comes on. We put steaks in the freezer, they stay frozen until we're ready to throw them on the grill. We turn on a faucet, hot water for showers comes flowing out.
None of that will happen without electricity. The first component of a civilized society is a continous source of clean water. The second component is electricty.
We need it, we've become accustomed to having it; and when its not there, well, we all remember September 2003. I went wihout power for 16 days, and finally spent the money for a generator.
But how to generate that power without incurring the wrath of the enviro-nazis and the Sierra Club?
Don't mention nuclear power. That will get you a tirade on spent fuel rods, storage, 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl.
Hydro? Very clean, but not everyone has a free running stream to tap, and you have all those snail darters and newts to worry about.
The best way to generate power is to use coal and water. Coal fired boilers and steam turbines.
But wait a minute. What about all that coal smoke and the ash? What about the srtip mines and Peabody's coal train?

Well, Dominion Resources (thats VEPCO to you old folks) has built the latest in clean coal fired technology down here at Dutch Gap and it is now up and running and it is simply remarkable.

Limestone and water, mixed into a slurry, is injected at a certain point in the combustion process. The result is a plume at the top of the stack which is 100% water vapor. Particulants are measured at 15 ppm, and it will get better as the system adjusts itself.

Take a look at the image below. That white cloud over the chimney is exactly that: a white cloud. It's water vapor. Steam. It vanishes as it moves syward. A still shot really doesn't do this justice, so I'll get some video to show the evaporation as the plume rises, as soon as I can.


The by-product of this process is gypsum, used to make sheetrock and a dozen other products.
The coal ash is processed and stockpiled, or sold to cement manufacturers for use in concrete.
Thats flyash. The second best thing to happen to concrete.
Dominion Resources is working night and day to provide us with clean electricty. I have been a part of this project for over two years. It works. It's clean.
All you global warming enviro-whackos can now STFU.
You're welcome

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