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Energy and the environment
Published in Peter M. Schwarz, Energy Economics, 2023
The EPA has proposed regulations to reduce methane emissions associated primarily with natural gas drilling. As discussed earlier in the text, Howarth (2015) claims natural gas is worse than coal given the potency of methane emissions. While his finding was attacked for ignoring the longer duration of CO2 effects, there is no disputing that methane emissions contribute to the climate change problem.
Fuels and the Environment
Published in Michael Frank Hordeski, Alternative Fuels—The Future of Hydrogen, 2020
In the U.S., carbon reduction projects have started to take place. The AES Corporation and GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric, announced a partnership to develop greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. The partnership would pursue an annual production volume of 10 million tonnes (metric tons) of greenhouse gas offsets, mainly through the reduction of emissions of methane, which is a greenhouse gas with potential effects 21 times greater than carbon dioxide. Projects to capture and destroy methane emissions include agricultural waste, landfills, coal mines, and wastewater treatment.
Literature review
Published in Tejaswini Eregowda, Anaerobic treatment and resource recovery from methanol rich waste gases and wastewaters, 2019
Though methane deposits are valuable energy resources, their potency as greenhouse gas towards global warming is very high. Globally, over 60% of the total methane emissions come from anthropogenic activities such as petroleum, natural gas and coal industry, agriculture, and waste management activities (Bousquet et al., 2006). It is estimated that 143 billion m3 of methane gas, 3.5% of the global gas production, is flared annually because of technical, regulatory, or economic constraints (Elvidge et al., 2016). With a lifetime of 12 years in the atmosphere and global warming potential of 28, the comparative impact of methane (trapping of radiation) is 28 times larger than that of CO2 over a period of 100 years (IPCC, 2014). The globally averaged monthly mean atmospheric methane concentration is increasing at an alarming rate, reaching a concentration of 1850.5 ppb in July 2018 as shown in Figure 2.3 (Dlugokencky, 2018).
Importance of renewable energy in the fight against global climate change
Published in Drying Technology, 2022
Aparupa Pani, Shivanand S. Shirkole, Arun S. Mujumdar
The Emissions Gap Report 2021 examines the disparity between where greenhouse emissions should be to avoid the worst effects of climate change as well as where emissions are expected to be in 2030. According to the same report, new national climate pledges associated with several other mitigation strategies are already on to put the world on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7 °C by the end of the century, which is well above the Paris climate agreement’s goals and would result in catastrophic climate change. To maintain global warming below 1.5 °C this century, as the Paris Agreement aspires, the annual greenhouse gas emissions must be cut in half within the next eight years. Net-zero emissions pledges, if effectively implemented, may restrict warming to 2.2 °C, bringing us closer to the Paris Agreement’s well-below 2 °C target. In the medium term, cutting methane emissions from the fossil fuel, waste, and agriculture sectors could help close the emissions gap and slow down global warming.
Use of biochar as feed supplements for animal farming
Published in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2021
Ka Yan Man, Ka Lai Chow, Yu Bon Man, Wing Yin Mo, Ming Hung Wong
Methane from enteric fermentation in domestic livestock was estimated to be equivalent to 171 million tonnes of CO2 in 2016. About 36% of methane emissions came from agricultural manure management (10%) and enteric fermentation in livestock such as cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats (26%) (US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2016). These ruminants gain energy from fibrous feed, relying on symbiotic relationships with bacteria, fungi and protozoa in their rumen (Castillo-González et al., 2014). Microbial populations play an important role in releasing energy by digesting the fiber and producing fermentation acids. A by-product of this process is metabolic hydrogen, which should be kept at a very low levels to digest the fiber efficiently. Methanogenic archaea facilitate this digestion process within the complicated microbial ecosystem in the rumen; energy is gained for growth and multiplication after combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methane (Eger et al., 2018).
Seasonal characterization of municipal solid waste for selecting feasible waste treatment technology for Guwahati city, India
Published in Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2022
Abhishek Singhal, Anil Kumar Gupta, Brajesh Dubey, Makrand M Ghangrekar
This biogas can be used to generate electricity or can be converted into biofuel. According to Macias-Corral et al., (2008), around 37 mL methane can be generated from 1 g of OFMSW. Using that value, around 13,000 m3 of methane and 21,700 m3 of biogas (assuming methane content 60%) can be generated out of 353.5 tons of organic waste daily (total waste 800 ton/day and 44.2% of total MSW are organics) generated in the Guwahati city. As per Murphy et al. (Murphy and McKeogh 2004), 1 m3 of biogas resulted from the AD process can generate about 2.04 kWh of electricity (conversion efficiency = 35%). So, in a single day, about 42,840 kWh of electricity can be produced from the waste, which can provide electricity to nearby 14,280 houses (average household electricity consumption is 90 kWh/month). Besides energy generation, after removing CO2 and H2S, methane enriched biogas containing more than 90% methane, which is somewhat like compressed natural gas (CNG). So, biogas can be used as fuel by the municipality for their waste collection fleet or used as cooking fuel for the nearby households. This will not only help in revenue generation but also help in reducing methane emission into the environment. Methane is 25 times more global warming potential (GWP) than carbon dioxide. Landfilling is one of the major sources of methane emissions in the world. So, by implementing AD treatment of MSW, huge quantities of waste can be diverted from the landfill. It will reduce methane emissions from waste, meeting India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) as per the Paris Climate Agreement.