Fossil-fuels carbon emissions from

One of the main benefits from future use of biofuels would be the reduction of greenhouse gases compared to the use of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, is released into the air from combustion. Twenty-four percent of worldwide energy-related carbon emissions in 1997 were from the United States. Carbon... 

Emissions from catalytic reforming (Figure 4.14) include fugitive emissions of volatile constituents in the feed and emissions from process heaters and boilers. As with all process heaters in the refinery, combustion of fossil fuels produces emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and volatile hydrocarbons. 

YEAR CARBON EMISSIONS FROM FOSSIL FUEL BURNING (Gt)... 

Industrial burning of fossil fuels in power plants and factories is the largest source of human-created atmospheric carbon. Emissions from automobiles—from simply driving cars—are another major, but much smaller, source. The burning of rain forests in areas around the equator is another major source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. (This burning is mostly done to clear land for agriculture.) Altogether, these carbon sources are cause for present and future concerns. 

To put this number in context, it amounts to half the estimated total cumulative carbon emissions from all fossil fuel use globally over the past 250 years If we build any significant fraction of this new capacity in a manner that does not enable capture of its co2 emissions we will be creating a carbon shadow that will darken the lives of those who follow us.26... 

The full compartmental model and numerical values of the coefficients are given in Table 22.1. It is assumed that all reforested land increases the terrestrial biota, so ar = 1.0. The value of ad = 0.23 is that suggested by Schmitz (2002) [Lenton (2000) proposed 0.27]. Initial values for all M, are the preindustrial values given in Figure 22.6. The preindustrial fossil fuel reservoir is assumed to have contained 5300 Pg carbon the actual value is not important, only the emission rate Ff(t). The model requires as input Ff(t), Fd(t), and Fr(t) from preindustrial times to the present. Ff(t) is obtained from the historical record of carbon emissions from fossil fuels Fd(t) is that for deforestation, expressed also in units of Pg C yr-1. Until very recently, reforestation, Fr, can be assumed to have been negligibly small. 

The sustainable use of fossil fuels, in particnlar carbon capture and storage, will make it possible to eliminate the majority of the carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power plants. The use of appropriate technologies will also enable the atmospheric pollntants traditionally associated with coal combustion, including NOx and SOx, to be rednced, thns resnlting in lower local environmental and health costs. 

Table 6.13. Carbon emissions from fossil-fuel use, 1970-2001 (data from Worldwatch Institute, 2002)...

The control of carbon dioxide emission from burning fossil fuels in power plants or other industries has been suggested as being possible with different methods, of which sequestration (i.e., collecting CO2 and injecting it to the depth of the seas) has been much talked about recently. Besides of the obvious cost and technical difficulties, this would only store, not dispose of, CO2 (although natural processes in the seas eventually can form carbonates, albeit only over very long periods of time). 

Another factor is the potential economic benefit that may be realized due to possible future environmental regulations from utilizing both waste and virgin biomass as energy resources. Carbon taxes imposed on the use of fossil fuels in the United States to help reduce undesirable automobile and power plant emissions to the atmosphere would provide additional economic incentives to stimulate development of new biomass energy systems. Certain tax credits and subsidies are already available for commercial use of specific types of biomass energy systems (93). 

Vinyl compares favorably to other packaging materials. In 1992, a lifecycle assessment comparison of specific packages made from glass, paperboard, paper, and selected plastics concluded that vinyl was the material that has the lowest production energy and carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the lowest fossil fuel and raw material requirements of the plastics studied (169). Vinyl saves more than 34 million Btu per 1000 pounds manufactured compared to the highest energy-consuming plastic (170). 

Power plant emissions result from the comhustion of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil. These emissions include sulfur dioxide (SO,), nitrogen oxides (NO.,), particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants, all of which are subject to environmental regulations. Another emission is carbon dioxide (CO,), suspected of being responsible for global warming. 

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