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Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate change. Show all posts

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Cooling vests for hot weather

 Cooling vests are designed to keep you cool when its hot. 

If you have to work outside or you want to play or exercise outside in hot weather, a cooling vest can keep you cool and comfortable. 

A cooling vest can also keep you cool and comfortable inside your home if your house does not have air conditioning. 

Many cooling vests have pockets to hold removable inserts filled with a phase change material, and others have these inserts sewn into them.

thermapparel - one of its Cooling Vests for Women
thermapparel - one of its Cooling Vests for Women


A phase change material we are all familiar with is water. Water (the liquid phase of this material) freezes, turning into ice (the solid phase of this material) at 0°C. 

Water ice also melts, changing from its solid phase back into its liquid phase (water) at the same temperature, at 0°C. 

Water ice would be a great phase change material in a cooling vest for a polar bear living in a warm climate. 

Why a phase change material is good at keeping you cool

You could put a jacket in your freezer overnight to wear the next day, and it would keep you cool - briefly.Your body and outside air would soon heat the jacket, and it would lose its ability to cool you after a few minutes. 

If you place 1 kg of crushed ice in a saucepan and place it on a hotplate on the stove, the ice will begin to melt as heat is added. This is the ice changing phase - melting into water.

As long as there is some ice left, you can continue to add heat, and the temperature will stay at 0°C. 

This is one thing a phase change material does well to keep you cool for longer. As long as some of it is solid, the temperature will stay constant while it absorbs heat, keeping you cool.

The other thing about phase change materials when they are melting from solid to liquid, is that they absorb a lot of heat. And remember, they do not increase in temperature. 

If there is no phase change, any heat added will cause a liquid to steadily increase in temperature. For example, adding heat to 1 kilogram of water at 20°C will increase its temperature steadily. The water will get to 30°C after absorbing a little over 40 kilojoules (heat energy).

Melting 1 kilogram of ice absorbs over 330 kilojoules (heat energy) before it has all melted. The entire time the heat is being absorbed, temperature of the remaining ice and the water from the ice that melted stays constant, at 0°C. 


 

For humans, a more suitable phase change material is one that melts at a temperature around 18°C. 

Cooling vests are even available for dogs - whether they are working dogs on farms and have to work when it is hot, or pets that need exercise even when it is hot outside. 




Posted by Askgerbil at 9:52 PM 0 comments
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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Flood Control - an idea out of left field

 Is it possible to siphon water through an inflatable tube? 

Siphoning water from one level to another


The town to protect - raising water level upstream and maintaining constant water level downstream


Inflatable flood barriers


 

Can water be siphoned through an inflatable tube?

Can the water pressure in an inflatable tube be maintained by inlet and outlet flow control vanes so that water can be siphoned through it, or will the tube invariably collapse when trying to siphon water through it?


Replacing sandbags with water-filled inflatable tubes, and using the same tubes to siphon water from upstream of a town to downstream of the town would be an improvement over filling sandbags, allowing some of a floodwater peak to be moved through the town via above ground tubes that also serve as a flood barrier.

Less back-breaking work than filling and stacking sandbags.


 

Sandbags in Echuca, Victoria. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)

Posted by Askgerbil at 9:51 PM 0 comments
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Friday, December 24, 2021

Removing fossil fuels from ammonia-based fertiliser production

Farm productivity depends on nitrogen fertilisers. 

Large-scale ammonia plants have dominated the industry and these use fossil fuels as a chemical feed stock and energy. 

Other options are available - that use renewable feed stock and renewable energy to replace the fossil fuels used in traditional plants. 

Their is also an opportunity to make smaller scale production plants that will allow fertiliser to be manufactured near to both the renewable feed stock and to the farms that use the fertiliser. 

Urea is a widely used nitrogen fertiliser. Global production is estimated to have been 240 million tonnes in 2019. 

Most is made with natural gas as a feed stock and a source of energy. 

One tonne of urea has for much of the last ten to twenty years has cost about $500. It has risen sharply in price in 2021, costing around $1,500 a tonne. 

One tonne of urea contains 200 kilograms of carbon. 

Wheat straw and other crop waste containing cellulose contains this same amount of carbon in each 450 kilograms of cellulose. 

The first step in making urea is to produce synthesis gas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. 

This can be carried out with a device to gasify biomass. 

An example is the gasifier made by All Power Labs which it builds to make synthesis gas it uses to power an engine to drive an electricity generator. 

 


The PP30 Power Pallet is the culmination of our long work to create an expertly engineered, small-scale gasification solution that is realistic for today’s user. While personal scale gasification has long held tremendous promise, the realities of making it work usually prove too much for regular mortals. The high bar of operator expertise and extreme sensitivity to fuel particulars usually combine to make what seems simple in principle, exceedingly difficult in practice.

The Power Pallet has significantly widened this window for success by embedding the needed operator expertise in an onboard electronic brain.

To increase the proportion of hydrogen in the synthesis gas - for a following ammonia production step - an electrolyzer that produces some hydrogen by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity - could also supply pure oxygen to use in the gasifier. 

To convert the carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and more hydrogen - both of which are used in later steps-

  • hydrogen to react with nitrogen to produce ammonia, and 
  • carbon dioxide to react with that ammonia to produce urea 

- a small-scale methane reforming unit is produced by Tokyo Gas that it uses as a fuel processing module in domestic fuel cell appliances.

Ene Farm Fuel Processing System by Tokyo Gas
Ene Farm Fuel Processing System by Tokyo Gas

 

Because the three reactions take place at different temperatures, conventional practice is to use three varieties of reaction vessel. However, Tokyo Gas developed an integrated fuel processor that can handle the three chemical reactions in one vessel in 2000. 

We set a mass production target for 2003, and subsequently achieved further structural streamlining, developed and improved a high-performance catalyst, and reviewed the catalyst operating method. 

As a result, we succeeded in reducing total volume of the fuel processor by one third and production costs by two thirds in 2013.

The only other ingredient is nitrogen. Membrane filters are available that filter nitrogen from air for medium scale production processes.

A typical manufacturer of nitrogen membrane filters is Generon. 

Since the first large-scale ammonia production plants were built, many technical enhancements have been identified in the equipment to maintain the optimum temperature and pressure, the design of catalysts, and the development of chromium-molybdenum steel reaction tubes. Each of these enhancements can be replicated in a scaled-down plant. 

Small scale ammonia production plants are in operation that operate with renewable energy. 

The Siemens green ammonia test plant uses wind power to convert hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia.
The Siemens green ammonia test plant uses wind power to convert hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia.

 

Siemens in the UK is working with researchers at the University of Oxford, the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council, and Cardiff University to run a demonstration plant using the typical Haber-Bosch process, powering it with wind. Ian Wilkinson, program manager in corporate technology at Siemens, names two reasons the firm chose to use only mature technology available today to run its plant.

First, Siemens wants to show that it can produce ammonia renewably, in a way that it can quickly scale up. The company also views the plant as a test system for ongoing technology development, including Haber-Bosch catalyst development and ammonia combustion tests.

The plan has worked so far. The small plant, set up in shipping containers, takes electricity from a wind turbine, runs it through a hydrogen electrolysis unit, and then uses the resulting hydrogen to synthesize ammonia.

Posted by Askgerbil at 11:39 AM 0 comments
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Thursday, November 11, 2021

Hydrogen from Renewable Energy

 It may be surprisingly simple to make hydrogen commercially viable with renewable energy. 

In a renewable energy powered electrolyzer 91 tonnes of water can be decomposed into 80 tonnes of oxygen and 10 tonnes of hydrogen leaving a residue of 1 tonne of water. 

See for example "Alkaline Water Electrolysis Powered by Renewable Energy: A Review" by JΓΆrn Brauns and Thomas Turek, Institute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Leibnizstr. 17, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. 

A schematic flow diagram of an alkaline water electrolyzer.


At the target price of $2 per kilogram, the 10 tonnes of hydrogen has a sale value of $20,000.

The residue of 1 tonne of water contains a little over 7 kilograms of deuterium oxide. 

At $1,500 per kilogram, the 7 kilograms of deuterium oxide has a sale value of $10,500. 

The 80 tonnes of oxygen has a number of potential uses. 

One use is to generate electricity in a gas turbine while partially oxidising 80 tonnes of biomethane into 20 tonnes of hydrogen and 140 tonnes of carbon monoxide. 

See for example "Integrated Coproduction of Power and Syngas from Natural Gas to Abate Greenhouse Gas Emissions without Economic Penalties" by Mikhail Granovskiy, Southern Research, Laboratory of Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. 

Schematic diagram of syngas utilization to manufacture formic acid.

At the top-left of the above schematic diagram, the "Air Separation Unit" is replaced with an alkaline water electrolyzer that produces oxygen, doing away with the need for an "Air Separation Unit".

At the target price of $2 per kilogram, this 20 tonnes of hydrogen has a sale value of $40,000.  

The power generated may be sold or used in powering the electrolyzer. 

The 140 tonnes of carbon monoxide can be combined with 90 tonnes of water to produce 230 tonnes of formic acid. Formic acid can be used in various industrial processes. 

At a price of $500 a tonne, the formic acid has a sale value of $115,000. 

Note that there are no carbon dioxide emissions. 

There is no carbon capture and storage required.


Posted by Askgerbil at 9:19 PM 0 comments
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Sunday, June 14, 2020

Discussion of Hydrogen - Boron 11 fusion

University of New South Wales researchers led by Emeritus Professor Heinrich Hora have made important breakthroughs recently in developing clean nuclear energy technology.
When a proton (a Hydrogen nucleus) fuses with a Boron-11 nucleus it produces 3 alpha particles (Helium nuclei).
That's it. No radioactive fuels. No radioactive waste.

See "Pioneering technology promises unlimited, clean and safe energy" for a recent University of New South Wales report.
Hydrogen Boron-11 fusion
Hydrogen Boron-11 fusion


April 4, 2011: Overturned scientific explanation may be good news for nuclear fusion

"Researchers have been developing reactors to slam hydrogen at high speeds into boron-11, a collision that yields high-energy helium nuclei, or alpha particles. Those alphas then spiral through a tunnel of electromagnetic coils, transforming them into a flow of electrons, or electricity."

June 12, 2020: Ultra-Fast High-Precision Metallic Nanoparticle Synthesis using Laser-Accelerated Protons

The technique of using high-energy lasers to accelerate hydrogen (aka protons) is finding wide application beyond fusion with Boron11.
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Thursday, May 21, 2020

The Moomba CCS Project from 2008 to 2020

Santos announced a project for storing carbon dioxide in its Moomba gas fields in 2007.



Santos - PM Kevin Rudd, Moomba CCS Project, September 2008


The project has again been floated in 2020.

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Saturday, February 23, 2019

Successful transition from old to new technology

The transition from leaded to unleaded transport fuels begun in 1981 with a target end-date of 2002 is a good example of how the adoption of a long-term policy simplifies the making of investment decisions of stakeholders for new plant and equipment.

From a paper by Troy Whitford, Fuel Mandates have a History of Success and a Lesson for Bio Fuels Implementation. Australian Policy and History, April 2010.
URL: http://www.aph.org.au/fuel-mandates-have-a-history
"In 1981, Australian state and federal transport ministers met to address pollution problems. Driving the shift towards unleaded petrol were vast environmental and health concerns.

During the 1980s, automobile associations were critical of the introduction of unleaded fuel. The RACV opposed the implementation believing it was too costly. The oil industry was cynical, too, arguing the introduction of unleaded fuel did not follow from a technological breakthrough but rather a decision by ministers. Without doubt, the position taken by oil companies, automobile associations and other stakeholders regarding unleaded fuel changed over time.

Despite opposition to unleaded fuel, the Transportation Council adopted a program to mandate unleaded petrol by 1985. The implementation policy for unleaded fuel was undertaken in stages. Initially, regulations were made calling for all new motor vehicles made after January 1986 (manufactured within Australia or imported) to meet the new fuel requirements. The policy then called for a complete phase out of unleaded fuel by 2002. Prior to the national mandate, states had led the way on unleaded fuel of which NSW took the lead. The decision to mandate was essential for implementing unleaded fuel. It forced car manufacturers, oil producers and consumers to make the transition."
Both renewable and fossil fuel investments for generating and distributing electricity can be utilised at close to full capacity to provide electricity for recharging electric battery powered vehicles.

Both of these investments can also be used to manufacture hydrogen for fuel-cell powered electric vehicles.

Vehicle manufacturers at present face considerable uncertainty in predicting which of the emerging clean fuel transport systems will win out in the long run.

Fuel cell electric vehicle with battery for short trips
Fuel cell electric vehicle with battery for short trips

Adopting a policy for the introduction of electric vehicles would reduce that uncertainy. Allowance can still be made for competing technologies that are quickly evolving. Fuel cells for instance that produce electric power from, say, hydrogen, are not that dissimilar from batteries that store and recharge electrolyte in situ. Vehicles using either, or both, of these energy supply systems are powered by electric motors regardless of which these two evolving technologies provides the electricity. One version of electric vehicles might use a battery for short trips and activate a hydrogen fuel cell on longer trips after the battery charge is depleted.

This plan would encourage continuing expansion and technological advances in renewable energy without the need to immediately write off substantial capital invested in fossil fuel power plants.

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Sunday, December 30, 2018

Hydrogen to Substitute Natural Gas

Australia recently examined the development of a hydrogen industry - Briefing Paper: Hydrogen's for Australia's Future.
Converting hydrogen to methane can reduce CO2 emissions from electricity generation - in the short term at least - while production capacity of hydrogen is growing.

The arithmetic analysis.
If a region is considering thermal power options to provide electricity, two options may be:
  1. Three coal-fired power plants running at 40% efficiency or
  2. Two combined-cycle gas turbine power stations running at 60% efficiency.
An assumption is that each power plant consumes fuel with the same amount of chemical energy.

Because the coal-fired power plants are only two-thirds as efficient as the combined-cycle gas turbine power plants, a third coal-fired power plant is needed to produce the same electricity output as the two combined-cycle gas turbine power plants.

The CO2 emissions are about 900 grams per kilowatt-hour generated for the coal-fired power plants and only 310 grams per kilowatt-hour for the combined-cycle gas turbine power plants.

NOTE: A reduction of two-thirds use of coal by 2030 is required to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
This ratio of CO2 emissions of 310 to 900 grams per kilowatt-hour is equivalent to a 65% reduction in coal use.
If sufficient hydrogen was produced to fuel one combined cycle gas turbine power plant, when three coal-fired power plants were the option being used, then one and a half coal-fired plants could be idled. This would cut coal-use in half and cut CO2 emissions from electricity generation in half. Average CO2 emissions for all electricity generation - from the coal-fired plants and the hydrogen-fueled combined cycle gas turbine power plant - would be 450 grams per kilowatt-hour.

However, if the same amount of hydrogen was reacted with carbonaceous material, such as coal, to produce synthetic methane, the resulting fuel would be sufficient to run two combined cycle power plants: all three coal-fired plants could be shut down. This would cut coal-use by two-thirds and cut CO2 emissions from electricity generation by two-thirds. Average CO2 emissions for all electricity generation - from the synthetic methane-fueled combined cycle gas turbine power plant - would be 310 grams per kilowatt-hour.

This process results in a greater cuts in CO2 emissions. It also doubles the energy value that the hydrogen possessed before it was combined with carbon to form methane.

That is, it is preferable from both commercial and environmental perspectives.

The benefits are greater than just the cuts in CO2 emissions arising from electricity generation.

In December 2018 the Australian Government released a document on projected CO2 emissions - Australia’s emissions projections  2018.
This shows substantial fugitive emissions arise from natural gas production and from coal mining.
Out to 2030, several LNG plants are expected to source gas from new basins as current feed gas sources deplete. As the percentage of CO2 is higher for some of these new feed gas sources the overall emissions intensity of Australia’s LNG projections increases which increases emissions.

Fugitive emissions for natural gas (other than LNG) are projected to be 17 million tonnes of CO2-e each year from 2018 to 2030. The fugitive emissions from LNG production are projected to rise from 11 million tonnes of CO2-e a year in 2018 to 13 million tonnes of CO2-e a year in 2030.

The Australian Government's National Greenhouse Accounts Factors - July 2017 shows fugitive emissions from open cut coal mines in NSW are 200 times greater per tonne of raw coal mined than those of open cut coal mines in Victoria. The brown coal available in Victoria is also far cheaper than thermal coal mined in NSW.

As an indication of the amounts of fugitive emissions involved: Australia burns about 60 million tonnes of black coal a year for electricity generation. If sourced from open cut NSW coal mines, the fugitive emissions would be 60 million x 0.054 = 3.24 million tonnes of CO2-e.

Total electricity generated in Australia from black coal in 2016-2017 was about 120 thousand gigawatt-hours. At an emission intensity of 900 grams of CO2-e per kilowatt-hour (1 gigawatt-hour is 1 million kilowatt-hours), the generation of this much electricity from black coal would result in annual emissions of about 108 million tonnes of CO2-e.

In  2016-2017 Australia also burned about 57 million tonnes of brown coal to generate about 44,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity. At an emission intensity of 1,100 grams of CO2-e per kilowatt-hour (1 gigawatt-hour is 1 million kilowatt-hours), the generation of this much electricity from brown coal would result in annual emissions of about 44.8 million tonnes of CO2-e.

The conversion of brown coal to synthetic methane with hydrogen would be commercially attractive in upgrading the value of this low-cost fuel stock and environmentally superior - cutting fugitive emissions that arise in both coal-mining and natural gas production.

Posted by Askgerbil at 7:19 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, September 20, 2018

Fossil fuel industry opposes innovation

The World Coal Association ignores innovations to reduce electricity prices, raise efficiency and reduce emissions.

Technology now available allows reliable electricity to be generated with just one-third of the coal burned in "High Efficiency, Low Emission" (HELE) coal-fired power plants.

The World Coal Association had called for investment in development of technology for cleaner coal in 2015. Now that technology is available, the World Coal Association has slammed a moratorium on its use.


The natural gas industry also opposes innovations to reduce energy bills and avoid the need for ever more costly drilling and fracking.
Beyond HELE - thermal power generation technology
Beyond HELE - thermal power generation technology
Carbon from many different substances can be combined with hydrogen to produce methane.
When methane is used to fuel an Ultrahigh Temperature Gas Turbine Combined Cycle power station, carbon dioxide emissions are 310 grams per kilowatt-hour.

The amount of carbon needed for each kilowatt-hour from any power station can be calculated if the carbon dioxide intensity is known. Each 44 grams of carbon dioxide contain 12 grams of carbon. The other 32 grams are oxygen.

The Ultrahigh Temperature Gas Turbine Combined Cycle power station needs methane made with 310 x (12 / 44) grams of carbon for each kilowatt-hour of electricity. That is 85 grams of carbon for each kilowatt-hour.

Some other power station technologies need a lot more carbon for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated.

When coal is used to fuel a high-efficiency low-emission "HELE" ultra-supercritical coal-fired power station, carbon dioxide emissions are 900 grams per kilowatt-hour. The amount of carbon in the coal needed for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated is 900 x (12 / 44) grams. That is 245 grams of carbon for each kilowatt-hour.

Some other common materials contain carbon that can be used to produce methane.

Each 28 grams of waste polyethylene plastic (C2H4)n contain 24 grams of carbon and 4 grams of hydrogen.

Each kilogram of wheat straw with about 7% moisture content is made of 48% cellulose by weight (of which carbon is 44%) and 25% is lignin by weight (of which carbon is 65%) ... (((1000 x (48 / 100) x (44 / 100)) + (1000 x (25 / 100) x (65 / 100))). That is 374 grams of carbon in each kilogram.

Choosing whether to burn 245 grams of carbon in coal or just 85 grams of carbon in methane to produce each kilowatt-hour of electricity seems to have only one obvious answer.

The World Coal Association simply refuses to answer this question.

Representatives of the gas industry also refuse to answer this question.

So-called "intermittent" renewable energy can be used in two or more ways to make synthetic methane from any material (straw, waste plastic, coal, etc) containing carbon.

One way is to use renewable energy when supply exceeds demand to power a plasma gasifier.

Another way is to use renewable energy to produce hydrogen by electrolysis of water - and combine that hydrogen with carbon from one or more sources.

As well as industry refusing to answer simple questions about innovation, the Australian Government tries to sell gas exploration rights to the gas industry even though this old method of obtaining natural gas - which is mostly methane - is no longer needed.



The Western Australian Government is also reviewing this obsolete method of obtaining methane in considering whether to sell "fracking" rights over large swathes of Western Australia.

Small-scale biomass gasifiers are one more renewable energy generation option for Australian farms that need affordable, reliable 24 hour a day electricity supplies. For example, a seller on Alibaba in China has a biomass gasifier offered for $500 - $1,000 per unit.
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Saturday, September 1, 2018

Energy transition


Final Report Summary - HELMETH (Integrated High-Temperature Electrolysis and Methanation for Effective Power to Gas Conversion), 25 July 2018

A highly efficient Power-to-Gas process has been realized by the European research project HELMETH. It has the potential to be the most efficient storage solution for renewable energy utilizing the existing natural gas grid without capacity limitations and to be a source for “green” Substitute Natural Gas (SNG) to avoid fossil carbon dioxide emissions.

The objective of the HELMETH project is the proof of concept of a highly efficient Power-to-Gas process by realizing the first prototype that combines a pressurized high temperature steam electrolysis with a CO2-methanation module.

The demonstration plant was assembled at the sunfire facility in Dresden. The methanation unit, developed and built by KIT in Karlsruhe, was set up inside a container and transported to sunfire to perform combined operational tests.

The steam outlet from the methanation cooling circuit is fed to the electrolyser and the hydrogen output from the electrolyser is fed to the methanation unit. The steam is converted to hydrogen in the electrolyser.
Coupled Power-to-Gas plant (left container: methanation; right container: electrolyser)
Coupled Power-to-Gas plant (left container: methanation; right container: electrolyser)

The efficiency is significantly increased by using the heat of reaction from the exothermic methanation reaction to produce steam for the high temperature electrolysis.

Since the produced SNG is fully compatible with the existing natural gas grid and storage infrastructure, practically no capacity limitations apply to store energy from fluctuating renewable energy sources.


Steam Hydrogasification

By replacing the CO2 methanation module in the Power-to-Gas process realized by the HELMETH research project with a lignite methanation module, Australia can manufacture 50% renewable methane. That is, synthetic natural gas containing 50% renewable energy (as hydrogen) and 50% fossil fuel (from low-cost wet lignite).

This can fuel dispatchable generators in conjunction with renewable intermittent generators to provide 100% reliable electricity generation: the intermittent renewable generators supplying 50% of electricity and dispatchable generators powered by 50% renewable methane providing the other 50%.

The lignite methanation module has been developed in the U.S.

Steam Hydrogasification in a hydrogen environment

Making synthetic natural gas from hydrogen and a variety of waste streams and coal has been researched for some time.

For example:

UC Riverside researchers receive two grants to advance steam hydrogasification reaction for waste-to-fuels, 15 September 2011

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT) at the Bourns College of Engineering have received two grants to further explore a steam hydrogasification process they developed...

A $650,000 grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) extends its commitment to $2 million to CERT for the patented steam hydrogasification reaction (SHR), which can turn any carbonaceous material into transportation fuels or natural gas. The CEC grant will allow for the completion of a process demonstration unit at CERT that will provide data needed before a proposed pilot plant is built at the city of Riverside’s waste water treatment facility.

Synthetic natural gas made from wet carbonaceous feedstock such as lignite
Synthetic natural gas made from wet carbonaceous feedstock such as lignite
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Wednesday, August 22, 2018

A carbon policy thread


Cr Philip Penfold blocks advisor - too much advice
Cr Philip Penfold blocks advisor - too much advice

Maitland City Council

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA 10 JULY 2012

17.2 REDUCTION OF METHANE GAS AT MT VINCENT WASTE SITE

NOTICE OF MOTION SUBMITTED BY CLR RAY FAIRWEATHER
File No: P44197
Attachments: Nil
Responsible Officer: David Evans - General Manager

Bernie Mortomore - Executive Manager Planning, Environment and Lifestyle

Clr Ray Fairweather has indicated his intention to move the following Notice of Motion at the next Council Meeting being held on Tuesday 10 July 2012:

THAT

  1. The General Manager provide a report to council on all possible options available to council for the reduction of methane gas at the Mt Vincent Waste Site;
  2. What are those options and if council can implement any of those options to reduce the huge carbon tax cost impost on our ratepayers ($2.2 million dollars in 2012/2013 budget);
  3. The report expand on the possible sale of methane gas to generate power for electricity grid and if such a venture would benefit council financially;
  4. The opportunity if one exists for the calling of tenders for the extraction of methane gas for commercial uses; and
  5. What is involved in the 'burning option' of reducing methane gas and carbon tax payments.

NOTES BY CLR RAY FAIRWEATHER

The $2.2 million cost of the carbon tax is a huge impost on ratepayers (though it is yet to be properly costed) that needs urgent investigation on all options available to reduce those costs and if economically beneficial should be given urgent priority.

RESPONSE BY EXECUTIVE MANAGER PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LIFESTYLE

A reduction of methane gas emissions from any landfill can be made by reducing the quantity of organic matter buried at the site as methane gas generation is a product of decomposition of organic materials that are subject to anaerobic conditions. These conditions are found in a landfill.
In the landfill context if methane is being generated then a landfill gas extraction system can be installed to capture the gas, pass it through a flare to convert it to carbon dioxide and hence reduce the carbon footprint of the site. If there is sufficient and constant gas production the gas can be used to power a generator which will create electricity that can be either exported to the grid or used sacrificially on site.
Alternatively organic waste can be processed in aerobic conditions so that it does not convert the waste to methane. It will generate other gases but because methane is said to be more than 21 times more problematic than carbon dioxide the greenhouse gas outputs are reduced. Aerobic waste processing of total organic waste streams utilises some form of technology to control and manage the processes. Council will recall that a waste technology solution was explored through the HIR partnership prior to the project being abandoned.
Council has a contract in place to install a gas extraction system at the Mt Vincent Rd Waste Facility. This contract with LMS Energy was entered into on the basis that infrastructure costs and ongoing management of the system was borne by LMS Energy in return for the carbon credits generated minus a royalty payment to Council. The contract remains in place and commercial in confidence. The system is to be installed within the next 3 months and gas capture should commence towards the end of the year. At this stage the reduction effect on Council's carbon liability remains unknown. It will however reduce the gas emissions from the site.
Whether there will be sufficient gas generation from the site to generate power will be known once the system is commissioned. Given the system is being retrofitted the efficiencies of the gas capture are difficult to model.
A further detailed report can be provided to Council as required.
Page (270)
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Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Australian energy exports

Japan intends to establish a "hydrogen pipeline" to replace its existing imports of energy from Australia and elsewhere.
Hydrogen is the key to energy security and the fight against global warming

To speed up the development of a "hydrogen pipeline" for Japan, Australia may be able to adapt existing energy infrastructure for the purpose.

Hydrogen produced by renewable energy creates a number of challenges for special-purpose overland transport and shipping. An interim processing strategy can skip over these challenges and re-use existing infrastructure, saving time and money. A little chemistry explains how this can work...

When hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide to form methane and water, the energy content in the methane is about the same as the energy that was present in just the hydrogen:

CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O

In the above reaction half of the hydrogen combines with oxygen from the carbon dioxide to form water. The other half of the hydrogen combines with the carbon from the carbon dioxide to form methane. This is known as the "Sabatier reaction". It is used commercially by Audi to create "e-gas" for its Compressed Natural Gas vehicles.



Natural gas is essentially methane with smaller amounts of other gases such as carbon monoxide and ethane. Methane made from hydrogen can be transported through natural gas pipelines and shipped as LNG - liquefied natural gas - from Australia to Japan using existing LNG terminals and LNG tankers.

When methane is combined with water to form hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the energy content in the hydrogen is about the same as the energy that was present in just the methane:

CH4 + 2H2O → 4H2 + CO2

In the above reaction oxygen from the water combines with carbon from the methane to form carbon dioxide. All the hydrogen that was part of both the methane and water is separated. This is known as "Steam Methane Reforming". It is widely used in industry to manufacture hydrogen from natural gas.


The carbon dioxide produced in the above reaction may be liquefied in Japan and returned to Australia on the empty LNG ships that delivered the methane.

This allows the carbon dioxide to be re-used indefinitely in Australia to convert hydrogen to methane for shipping to Japan using existing natural gas pipelines, LNG terminals and tankers.



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Thursday, June 7, 2018

Australian Government Minister unaware of ratification of Paris Agreement

In September 2017 Steven Ciobo, the Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment made a decision to allow taxpayer funding of coal projects.


After this decision became known he was asked on 6 June 2018 to give reasons for it.

The reasons reveal the loss of capacity of the Coalition Government to obtain economic intelligence needed for policy decisions.

Steven Ciobo mistakenly believed (his answer to the question is shown in full below) that decisions by a number of banks and others to not invest in thermal coal mines was a consequence of social pressure rather than economic pressure.

Australian banks have made climate-related investment policies for coal projects in the interests of their shareholders following from the Australian Government's ratification of the Paris Agreement. (See "Ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change") This ratification was made on 10 November 2016:
The Australian Government today reaffirmed Australia’s strong commitment to effective global action on climate change with the ratification of both the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol.
Further information on the Government's commitment to the Paris Agreement describes "key outcomes" for coordinated global action including:
A global goal to hold average temperature increase to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to keep warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
This "coordinated global action" has a number of economic impacts and it is these that underpin decisions by banks to reduce investment in thermal coal projects - NOT "social pressure" as Steven Ciobo mistakenly believes.

The economic intelligence he should have been across includes the material produced by the International Energy Agency following the Paris Agreement. Note that the announcement by the Westpac bank to which Steven Ciobo took umbrage is made with this material clearly in mind:
Global coal demand and share of coal in world energy demand by scenario

Westpac launched its updated Climate Change Action Plan on 28 April 2017. It said:
"the International Energy Association’s (IEA) modelling indicates that under a two degree scenario thermal coal demand will peak in the current decade and decline thereafter."
The economic pressures that result from global action are being felt beyond Australia. The Turnbull Government is poorly advised in deciding to risk taxpayer funds in a futile last-stand against change:
Over 18,000 jobs cut in industries building thermal power plants

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment

The Hon Steven Ciobo MP

National Press Club interview

6 June 2018
QUESTION: Amy Remeikis from The Guardian. Just to come back home for a moment, last year you reversed the Efic decision to allow for onshore resource investment. I'm just wondering what is the rationale behind that decision given that major Australian financial institutions have been pulling away from that sort of investment since 2015, and if you didn't consult with your department, who did you get advice from, if at all?
STEVEN CIOBO: Sure. Well, the rationale for it was because the decision by a number of banks and others to not invest was a consequence of social pressure rather than economic pressure. And the reason I can say that is because, contrary to The Guardian's claims and reporting, I did actually obtain advice. In fact, my decision to alter the statement of expectations for Efic went through Cabinet. And of course by definition I received advice from the department in relation to it, and they, in fact, highlighted it was a consequence of social pressure rather than economic decision-making that led to that. So that's the reason why we made the change. Because in essence it is obviously preposterous to deny viable resource projects - completely separate to the issue of coal - from securing financing for export, which creates livelihoods, drives, in many respects, rural or urban economies. I think Australia owes it to our people to do everything we can to provide and uphold their standard of living.


Posted by Askgerbil at 8:20 PM 0 comments
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