Clean Coal? Myth or Reality
Currently, society relies on coal for a large portion of overall energy production. By burning coal, greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, are emitted into the atmosphere. This perpetuates climate change and can lead to low air quality for humans and wildlife. To mitigate these negative effects, coal industries can utilize "clean coal." Clean coal can mean a few different things depending on the source. Some consider clean coal to fit into the broad category of coal energy with a low carbon emission into the atmosphere. This is achieved by "washing" the coal to reduce the amount of ash produced when burning it. Some consider the term clean coal to only include coal energy that utilizes carbon capture, resulting in zero carbon emissions. Carbon capture is a process in which carbon emissions are captured and buried deep underground to reduce the amount released into the atmosphere (Plumer 2017). While both of these processes target carbon emissions during the conversion into energy, it neglects to account for the bigger picture. The process of obtaining coal to be converted to energy can be extremely harmful to flora and fauna as well. There cannot truly be "clean coal" because the various steps in achieving energy production from coal are not harmless.
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Coal must be obtained through mining. Mining practices have been shown to harm the environments they are in as well as surrounding areas. The different mining processes involve the removal of biomass and the destruction of natural topography. Clear cutting trees in a potential coal mining area removes large amounts of a natural resource faster than it can be replenished (Jerome 2017). Some of the habitats removed during this step may be home to biodiverse populations of flora and fauna (Hendryx 2017). By removing the diverse flora and fauna in these areas, ecosystems may become unable to provide ecosystem services to surrounding communities. This includes water filtration, weather buffering, and preventing soil erosion amongst other things. In general, soil in areas used for coal mining have "poor nutrient content, a low water content, high temperatures, and, on occasion, excessive salt (David et al. 2021). A specific coal mining process called mountain top removal pollutes the air prior to burning the coal itself by utilizing explosives to remove parts of mountains to expose coal deposits (Hendryx 2017). The task of obtaining coal before converting it into energy is harmful to the environment.
Once the coal is obtained, it is converted into energy by burning it to create steam. Burning coal results in the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, polluting the air with greenhouse gas. In recent years, the effects of air pollution have moved into the public eye as people are demanding more power and therefore more coal. China heavily relies on coal to produce power and as a result, smog levels are high while air quality diminishes. To minimize the impact of burning coal for power, China has implemented clean coal technology policies (CCTP). These policies focus on the emission of carbon into the atmosphere stemming from burning coal. There are a few ways of doing this. Some "wash" the coal to reduce the amount of ash released into the air, consequently reducing carbon emissions. Some use a process called carbon capture which captures the harmful substances before they are released into the air and buries it deep underground, achieving a net zero carbon emission. Once China put forth CCTPs, air quality improved significantly (Zhang et al. 2022). This shows that there are "clean" coal burning operations.
While science has found a way to burn coal without releasing carbon emissions, the harmful mining practices remain. "Clean coal" can be used to refer to a variety of conversion practices. However, true clean coal must encompass the larger picture and take into consideration every step in the process. Currently, coal is not truly clean.
David, O. A., Akin-Fajiye, M., Akomolafe, G. F., Akanmu, A. O., & Ogunlowo, I. I. (2021). Post-mine succession and short term effects of coal mining in a Guinea savanna ecosystem. Acta Oecologica, 112, N.PAG.
Zhang, B., Wang, S., Wang, D., Wang, Q., Yang, X., & Tong, R. (2022). Air quality changes in China 2013–2020: Effectiveness of clean coal technology policies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 366, N.PAG.
Hendryx, M. (2017). The shocking danger of mountaintop removal and why it must end. TedMed.
Jerome, B. A. (Producer). (2017). Exploring Natural Resources [Video file]. Visual Learning Systems.
Plumer, B. (2017, August 23). What ‘clean coal’ is—and isn’t. The New York Times.
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