Model MicGAS - Coal Biotechnology Solution
In 1995 Vice President Al Gore wrote a book entitled “Earth in the Balance”, highlighting the adverse global changes which have occurred since the industrial revolution and their impact on our very existence. He pointed out the adverse consequences of the emissions of greenhouse gases, the continued loss of top soil, and the pollution of our environment. He stressed an urgent need for global action to balance our human needs with our planet’s ecology and today he has been recognized for his efforts by being awarded 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He and the general public are seeking drastic solutions, but many experts are concerned with costs to the worldwide economies, especially today, when there is a critical need to meet the basic requirements of rapidly increasing population and the burgeoning economic crisis.
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The MicGAS biotechnology offers an economic and practical approach of utilizing our vast resources of coal to reverse the adverse global impacts. Coal, to date has been primarily used as fuel or carbon. The MicGAS biotechnology converts coal into clean fuel gas (methane or natural gas) and organic humic matter. The primary strategy of the technology is to capitalize on the plant origin of coals to create highly useful carbon-rich humic products, while bio-converting coal into methane gas for production of affordable, clean energy. The humic matter derived from coal is same as the natural humic component of organic soil matter, and is useful for replenishing soils for increased food production, recycling wastes, and cost effectively cleaning our contaminated waters and soils. This results in sequestration of carbon while fostering worldwide economies with green products made from coal. The U.S. DOE in 2007 highlighted this biotechnology approach among the fourteen transformational technologies.
The industrial revolution, which started about two centuries ago, has been fueled with ever increasing use of fossil fuels, most notably coal. This has resulted into unprecedented economic growth worldwide, and has changed forever our relationship with our planet earth. One of the major impacts now recognized is global warming resulting from build up of greenhouse gases, especially CO2 due to burning of fossil fuels. The greenhouse effect, by which a small amount of solar heat is retained near the surface of our planet, is critical to maintain the fragile life and ecology. However, unacceptable levels of accumulation of these gases in our atmosphere is now believed to cause gradual heating of the planet. This effect has the potential to cause drastic adverse ecological imbalances for inhabitants throughout the world.
In December of 1997, the United Nations sponsored a Global Climate Convention held in Kyoto, Japan. At this convention, 160 Nations gathered for landmark negotiations and negotiated a treaty to reduce worldwide gas emissions. The objective of the treaty is to reduce emissions levels to those below 1990 levels, between 2008 and 2012. Next round of negotiations are planned later this year in Copenhagen to establish reduction levels beyond 2012 and pressure is mounting on the U.S. to join the treaty. Today, the U.S. is home to only 5% of the world’s population but emits over 25% of its greenhouse emissions. The new U.S. Administration has set a goal to drive emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, which were 5 billion tons for CO2, the largest greenhouse gas. This goal was included in the House Bill, recently passed by a very thin margin. The energy experts agree with the overall reduction levels, but are concerned with the lack of viable technological solutions and predict that this requirement will drive up the cost of electricity and fuels. The climate experts assert that significant rapid reductions are critical to reverse the ecological impacts. Many are still questioning global warming and are concerned with its high costs. Today, in spite of the economic crisis, it has become urgent to address this planetary need not only by the U.S. but also by the majority of the inhabitants of this world.
A number of varied strategies for CO2 reduction being considered include: improved fuel and energy efficiency, forestation, and reforestation of lands to increase CO2 adsorption; capture CO2 for reuse and disposal in land and ocean reservoirs; and switching to less CO2 producing fuels. Recently, there has been a big boost for biofuels especially ethanol in response to high oil prices and need for replacement of toxic additives such as MTBE. However, substitution of ethanol for petroleum fuels does not address the needed CO2 reduction requirements. Already a significant progress is being made in improving energy efficiency, but most experts believe that even though it is beneficial, it is not sufficient to address the problem. The MicGAS biotechnology approach sequesters carbon but as useful products while creating economic value from it.
Coal, being the least efficient fuel in terms of Btu to electric energy, and highest CO2 producing fuel compared to natural gas and petroleum fuels, faces a serious challenge and may become obsolete. Coal is the most abundant and cost-effective biomass (albeit buried biomass) available today. Carbon contained in coals costs less than 1 cent per pound, whereas cultivated biomass is 10-20 times more expensive as it consumed enormous amount of energy and other resources to produce. Sustainability of abundant coal resources as a viable fuel in the strategy is not only needed to produce low cost energy, but also to sustain the enormous economic infrastructure which millions of Americans depend upon for employment.
The power industry depends upon coal for more than one-third of its fuel needs, and constitutes the largest market for coal. The conventional method of generating electricity with coal involves spraying finely pulverized coal, along with hot air, into a furnace chamber lined with water-filled coils. Coal burning inside the chamber converts the water in the tubes to steam, which is then used to rotate a turbine-power generator. This process, devised more than a century ago, is termed the “Rankine Cycle”. The use of emissions controls has recently been mandated to prevent pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and fly ash from being discharged into the atmosphere. Alternatives to this approach have also been explored. However, successes in the development of synthetic fuels and coal gasification have been limited due to the high costs involved with these conversion technologies.
Today, due to increasing dependence on vulnerable supply sources of oil, coal is again being considered for production of synthetic fuels utilizing the WWII thermal technologies. Technologies based on these thermal conversion have been in use in South Africa for many years. These plants were built in South Africa due to oil embargo during apartheid to meet domestic fuel needs without regard for economics. But the implementation of these technologies has remained elusive due to fluctuating oil prices of the past four decades. An integration of MicGAS Coal Biotechnology with proven methane reforming and Fisher-Tropsch results in producing liquid fuels at prices, which will compete with $5-10 per barrel oil, which still is the real production costs of almost 70% of the world oil supply today. More importantly it will create in an economical approach of removing CO2 from atmosphere through increased biomass, which will result from use of humic acid.
In one innovative stroke, this technology would create a practical approach of mitigating effects of CO2 greenhouse gas while enhancing economic growth of the United States and worldwide economies.
It would:
- Virtually eliminate further buildup of CO2 directly through the use of lower CO2 producing fuel gas, and indirectly as carbon sink through the pre-combustion sequestration of useful humic acid in soil for enhanced vegetation and algae biomass;
- Enhance economic growth though lower cost electricity and fuels, increased food production, and environmental cleanup;
- Revitalize the coal industry and enhance national security by maintaining low cost energy supply from vast domestic coal resources; and
- Constitutes a “no regrets” strategy for CO2 control.
The innovative MicGAS technology is based upon applying natural microorganisms adapted to convert coal into clean fuels under anaerobic conditions. Unlike the conventional coal gasifier, the solid residue from the MicGAS anaerobic treatment is not a waste, but is rich in organic humic matter.The residual coal from this treatment is further subjected to biochemical process for extraction of humic acid This valuable byproduct has applications as a fertilizer material and also in environmental remediation.
ARCTECH has developed this technology by adapting microorganisms (derived from wood eating and humus eating termites) to coal in presence of other appropriate nutrient components. The process conditions have been optimized, so that the technology can be applied in typical sewer treatment bioreactors. The technology has also been adapted for conversion of unmineable coal and residual oil in reservoirs into clean methane gas.
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MicGAS: Balancing the Earth with Pre-Combustion Carbon Sequestration - Video
an overall encompassing technology for the production of clean energy from coal, while reducing the buildup of greenhouse carbon dioxide emissions
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