the death of coal?
October 8th, 2015 at 9:36:00 PM permalink | |
reno Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 58 Posts: 1384 | Starting in September, sewage (yes, poop) from Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and much of Maryland has been pressure cooked to create electricity. The pricetag for the new system was $470 million. However, it's expected to save the city $10 million annually in eletric costs, plus saves $11 million annually in trucking costs, and $2 million annually in treatment chemicals. Here's how the new system works:
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October 8th, 2015 at 10:21:40 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 188 Posts: 18629 | Makes me think of the smell of a chemical toilet x 1,000,000. You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
October 8th, 2015 at 10:37:03 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25010 | I had a coal furnace up until 1985 when the local lumberyard next to the RR tracks quit selling it. It was a pain, but it was cheap compared to gas, and it sure heated the house better. People who've never had a personal relationship with coal will never understand it. The stuff is amazing. It has an almost oily feel but isn't oily at all. Coal dust is as flammable as gasoline. Throw a pound of it off the coal bin floor with a shovel into a hot furnace and flames will shoot 3' feet out the furnace door. It burns so hot and for so long, you can 'fix' the fire at bedtime and the house will still be warm at 8am. I loved the stuff, but time marches on. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
October 9th, 2015 at 4:58:27 AM permalink | |
AZDuffman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 135 Posts: 18136 |
Nothing weird about it at all. I would wager that it was used in more primitive cultures for heat. Complex way to get back to basics, but really we have to learn to use our waste more efficiently. No pun intended. The President is a fink. |
October 9th, 2015 at 7:39:24 AM permalink | |
reno Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 58 Posts: 1384 |
Yes. All sewage treatment plants smell like shit. |
December 18th, 2015 at 11:49:48 AM permalink | |
petroglyph Member since: Aug 3, 2014 Threads: 25 Posts: 6227 | http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-18/largest-ever-muni-restructuring-puerto-rico-power-authority-strikes-deal-creditors-i All of this debt created out of air by bankers and loaned to PR and everywhere else, Cyprus, Greece etc., is crushing the tax bases of these locals and enriching bankers. So, I see this article and the way the power company works they could have raised rates, but the muni sold them out to collateralize money they needed to make interest payments on the rest of their bonds. Next I'm thinking, I wonder if they have borrowed a bunch of money for windmills [solar] under the guise of unlimited energy etc. from the sun? And lo and behold, http://cleantechnica.com/2012/08/24/23-mw-wind-farm-launched-in-puerto-rico/. As I expected, wind farms, solar farms, big loans, debt can't be paid, even interest can't be paid. Banks get title to the commons. The last official act of any government is to loot the treasury. GW |
December 21st, 2015 at 8:06:29 AM permalink | |
petroglyph Member since: Aug 3, 2014 Threads: 25 Posts: 6227 |
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-21/broke-puerto-rico-pays-out-120-million-christmas-bonuses#comments The gov workers mis manage the country's finances to the point they have to sell the commons at a discount, and then give themselves a year end bonus. If someone was making this up, you couldn't believe it. The last official act of any government is to loot the treasury. GW |
December 23rd, 2015 at 6:47:52 AM permalink | |
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569 |
It doesn't seem to be a total fluke as it happened again in July, August and September.
Preliminary numbers are modified with further data, which is why my table says 30.1% and 31.6% for April, but reno's post says 30.2% and 31.5%. |
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:36:16 AM permalink | |
Dalex64 Member since: Mar 8, 2014 Threads: 3 Posts: 3687 | Schwarzenegger on energy: http://www.newsweek.com/arnold-schwarzenegger-doesnt-give-damn-if-you-dont-believe-climate-change-402243 if the newsweek link annoys you (it annoyed me with a big popup) here is a different source: http://www.knowable.com/a/arnold-schwarzenegger-just-blew-everyone-away-with-this-post-on-fb-wow?ts_pid=800&utm_content=inf_10_3136_2&tse_id=INF_a72984b49b0b4cf08125bb90ce37dd30 I think he originally posted that on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/notes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-dont-give-a-if-we-agree-about-climate-change/10153855713574658 Each page has their own active comment section, of course. My personal take on this is: coal and oil won't last forever. it is easier to control the pollution in fewer places (power plants) and/or concentrate the pollution at power plants rather than having many smaller sources of pollution everywhere. My personal preference is solar power applications - either the heating of water or some other fluid to run turbines, or the direct conversion into electricity by solar panels. They don't have the chopping-up of the birds and bats problems or the noise problems that those giant wind turbines have. It doesn't have the same carbon-releasing pollution problem of burning the "renewable" sources such as wood or switchgrass. If they are solar focusers, though, the critters best stay out of the way. "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:42:29 AM permalink | |
Dalex64 Member since: Mar 8, 2014 Threads: 3 Posts: 3687 | As an aside, I also like the combined cycle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_cycle) Internal Combustion / Steam power generators. I first saw one at the Henry Ford Museum. Apparently there are a few of them in use out there. The basic idea is the exhaust heat from the internal combustion engine is used to create steam to drive a steam turbine. Both the internal combustion engine and the steam turbine are driving electric generators. "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." Daniel Patrick Moynihan |