Energy and the Environment

Environmental Problem Sources

Philosophy

• Lifestyles emphasize consumption
• Consumption vs. Quality
  Yugo vs. Mercedes
• Disposal ball point pens
• Fast food packaging:
  The average useful lifespan of a styrofoam burger container is 45 seconds.
  The average landfill live of a low weight, high volume styrofoam burger container is 1000 years.

Affluence

• Use beyond needs
• "Why have two hats when you can wear only one at a time?"
• Wasteful of resources
• Not morally justifiable in a world of starvation

Use of Non-Renewable Resources
Example: Lead in Gasoline

• It is a "valuable" pollutant
• Finite quantity in earth
• Dispersion of lead in air and water
• Contamination
• Unsalvageable

Combustion & air pollutants

• Incomplete combustion products:
  Carbon monoxide
  Volatile hydrocarbons
  Soot and smoke
• Complete combustion products
  Carbon dioxide--primary "Greenhouse" gas
  Nitrogen oxide
  Sulfur dioxide SO₂
  Heat

Air Pollution

• Primary pollutants
  Discharge directly to air (SO₂)
• Secondary pollutants (formed by reactions in atmosphere)

SO₂ in atmosphere becomes H₂SO₄, a.k.a. sulfuric acid, a.k.a. "Acid Rain"

• Three Categories
  1. Contamination of local air
     Automobile exhaust--CO and O3
  2. Regional air pollution
     Low altitude ozone & acid rain
  3. Global pollution
     Stratospheric ozone destruction (CFCs)
     Fix: Floroflororcarbons (FFCs)?

Global warming

"Greenhouse" effect is caused by three (3) major gases (listed in order)

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Methane (CH4)
• Chloroflorocarbons (CFCs)

"Natural disasters" can cause greenhouse effect

Heat Engines

Thermal Efficiency (h) = 1 - (Temp_Low/Temp_High)
Note: Temp_Low and Temp_High must be measured in absolute temperatures
(0°K = -273°C)

For Steam (Temp_High = 100°C = 373°K) being cooled directly
to ice water (Temp_Low = 0°C = 273°K):

Max. Thermal Efficiency (h) = 1 - (Temp_Low/Temp_High)
Max. Thermal Efficiency (h) = 1 - (273°K /373°K)
Max. Thermal Efficiency (h) = 26.8%

Note: Most utility (fossil fuel and nuclear plants operate at approximately 34% efficiency.

Forms of Solar Energy

• Fossil Fuels
• Coal
• Gas and Oil
• Biomass
• Geothermal
• Nuclear

Lighting

• Incandescents-75 Wt bulb

Inexpensive--75¢ each
Mostly HEAT
16 Lumens/watt
Operating life: 1000 hours
Total cost for 10,000 hr: $78.89

• Compact Florescent-20 Wt bulb

Expensive--$18 each
Mostly LIGHT
60 Lumens/watt
Operating life: 10,000 hours
Total cost for 10,000 hr: $37.71

Solid Waste

The 4 Step Path to Enlightenment

1. Reduce
2. Recycle
3. Treat
4. Dispose

Hazardous Waste

• 300 Million metric tons per year in US
• Characteristics of "Hazardous Waste"

Flammable
Corrosive
Reactive
Toxic

Waste Minimization

• High cost of disposal
• Land Ban (NIMBYs)
• No more "dumping"
• Treatment
• EPA specs (expensive)

CERCLA (a.k.a.: "Superfund")

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Act
• Fixes responsibility and provides a source of funds
• Over 30,000 sites
• Estimated cost of cleanup is over 20% value of nation
• Local Dump Sites
  1. Bumpass Cove-Embreeville
  2. East Tennessee Chair-Elizabethton
  3. C&C Millwrights--Greeneville

LUST East Tennessee Style

• LUST--Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
• Region: approx. 4000 sites
• 3 to 6 tanks per site
• Average site cleanup cost: $125,000