Chapter 47 • Our Engineering Function in an Era of Global Warming 369

accelerating rates of methane. As a mole of CH4 has 23–40 times the effect, as a global
warming agent, as a mole of CO2, a catastrophic greenhouse positive feedback loop is
being created.
Our planet has experienced this problem before. That is, the rapid evaporation of
hydrates to methane. Comparatively rapidly, the huge concentration of the reactive oxy-
gen in the atmosphere will oxidize the CH4 back to H2O and CO2, which will then support
photosynthesis (Eq. 47.1). Equilibrium, likely at the current CO2 and CH4 concentrations
in the atmosphere, will, with time be reestablished.

The Problem of Time

The warmer, lower pH surface ocean waters will eventually mix with the 90% of ocean
water not affected by mankind’s fossil burning activities. Plant life will sequester excessive
CO2 in the atmosphere. Hydrates will reform, and our earth will resume its gradual and
natural cooling and warming cycles. I could observe that a desirable, steady-state opera-
tion, had been restored. The positive feedback loop will be damped out and equilibrium
will be reestablished. Likely, it will only take a few thousand years.
Will humankind be able to wait out this inconsequential period of instability in our
planet’s environment? Like any process plant upset, stability will either be restored, or
the unit will spin out of control, with disastrous, and perhaps, fatal consequences.
But one thing I can say for certain. Time is not on our side. The destructive results of the
continued procrastination in the development of alternative and sustainable energy
resources are now apparent. The effects of increasing CO2 in the atmosphere are a matter
of calculation, not only observation.

References
[1] Personal correspondence with Mr. Karthik Rajasekaran, Metairie, Louisiana.
[2] E. Kolbert, The 6th Extinction, Picador Publications, 2014.
 48
Suppressing CO2 Emissions

My idea of sustainable energy originates from an argument I had with my mother.

“Mom, I need $12 for new shoes.”
My mother examined the worn out soles, “Norman, here’s 80 cents. Take the shoes to
Mr. Federiko, the shoemaker.”
“But mom, I want new shoes.”
“Norman,” my mother explained, “We’re poor people. We can’t afford new shoes. We’ve
got to get by with what we have.”
It’s the same with providing energy for our planet. We reside on a tiny speck of dust in
the vast Cosmos. If my mother had ruled the earth, she would have commanded:
“People! We live on a poor planet. We can’t afford complicated, expensive new technol-
ogy. We’ve got to provide energy with the technology and process equipment that we have
today. Children of the earth! Time is not on our side.”
So far, we have racked up over 1°C increase since 1975 for land-based temperatures.
Within 20 years, we’ll add another degree. Two degrees is a lot. The extra heat will promote
rapid plant growth and improve conditions for many species on our planet. Global warm-
ing will also promote more violent storms, desiccation of the interior of large land masses,
and rising sea levels.
Most hydrocarbons consumed are devoted to transportation, process plants, electricity
generation, and heating. The scope for improvement is small in these areas. Increased use
of vehicles offsets increased efficiency. Fertilizer and plastic production are unlikely to be
curtailed.
The big opportunity involves electrical power generation. One-third of the world’s car-
bon consumption is used for this purpose. What then are the alternates to coal-fueled
power plants?
• Nuclear—The problem with nuclear power is not technical. Safety, spent fuel rod
storage, and plutonium toxicity are all problems with known solutions. The danger is
people. Engineers, operators, and managers make mistakes. These errors, when
manifested at a nuclear power plant, have created unacceptable consequences in
Japan, Russia, and the United States. Thus, expansion of nuclear power in the next
20 years will be difficult.
• Wind and Solar—Electricity generated by onshore windmills and solar (PV) cells, in
selected areas of the United States is only 20%–30% more expensive than electricity
generated by coal-fired power plant designed to remove hazardous components (but
not CO2) from its flue gas. The problem is that wind and solar electricity must have
100% back-up in the power grid for nights when there is no wind. As most of the cost of

Understanding Process Equipment for Operators and Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816161-6.00048-5 371

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
372 UNDERSTANDING PROCESS EQUIPMENT FOR OPERATORS AND ENGINEERS

generating electricity from coal is capital investment and not fuel, this problem
doubles the cost of electricity from onshore wind and solar (PV) panels.
• Energy Storage—Energy can be stored by hydrogen generation, compressed air, water
storage, flywheels, batteries, and so on. However, none of the possible methods are
economically feasible on a large scale.
• Natural Gas—CO2 emissions in the United States are falling, as natural gas becomes
cheaper. On a BTU basis, natural gas now costs 25%–30% of crude oil. As natural gas
emits only half the CO2 as coal, per KWH of power produced, its increased use in the
United States has trimmed CO2 emissions by a few percent. Note that when natural gas
is used to generate electricity in a combined cycle power plant:
• Gas is combusted in a turbo generator.
• The hot flue gas (1100°F) is used to generate steam, which is then used in a steam
turbine to generate more electricity.
The cost of electric power from the combined cycle plant is only 60% compared to a new
coal fired plant. Outside the United States—in Europe, China, and Japan, natural gas costs
are closer to crude.
• Hydro, Geo-Thermal, Tidal—These are excellent methods of generating power free of
CO2 emissions. But, these options are available only in small localities, such as Iceland
and certain coastal regions.
• Ethanol, Bio-Diesel, Hydrogen, Algae, Switch-Grass, Ocean Waves, Fusion—None of
these are of any short-term applicability. Ethanol from corn, in particular, is a
terrible fraud.
What then is the solution? Fortunately, there is one factor that has mitigated the problem.
Trees! The rate of tree growth has accelerated by as much as 20%—mostly due to extra CO2
in the atmosphere (from 280 ppm up to 410 ppm) during the past century. If we can only
moderate CO2 emissions and give the world’s forests a chance to catch up, perhaps in
another 50–100 years, the earth’s atmosphere will stabilize at 500–800 ppm, which is a des-
perately high, but not a fatal CO2 concentration.
So, let’s all get out of our offices, skip the meetings, and use the principles described
later to run our units more efficiently. Here are a few ideas that I have extracted from
my troubleshooting and operating experiences in refineries. I have followed the Golden
Rule in assembling these suggestions:
“If I haven’t done it myself, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

• Steam Turbine-Driven Pumps

• Reduce the turbine speed on the governor until the pump’s downstream control
valve is running in a mostly open, but still controllable position (reference Fig. 48.1).
• Close port (hand) valves, until the governor valve is running essentially wide open.
• Adjust linkages for the governor speed control valve, until the pressure drop
between the steam supply line and the turbine steam chest pressure is only a few
percent of the motive steam supply pressure.
 Chapter 48 • Suppressing CO2 Emissions 373

400# Steam

Governor
SC
Hand valves

Steam
chest
300#

Nozzle
block

Turbine case

100# Steam
exhaust steam
FIG. 48.1 Steam turbine showing hand valves.

• Motor-Driven Centrifugal Pumps

• Renew the impeller wear ring to reduce the impeller to wear ring clearance to design
(Fig. 48.2).
• Renew the interior of the pump case to reduce the impeller vane to internal case
clearance back to the design value.
• Reduce the diameter of the impeller so that the downstream process control valve is
operating in a mostly open, but still controllable position.
• Check that pumps are rotating in the correct direction, as indicated by the arrow on
the pump case.
• Clean the back screen of the motors. This will help the motor run a bit cooler and
more efficiently.
• Do not run spare pumps, if pumps are operating on the flat portion of their
performance curves.
374 UNDERSTANDING PROCESS EQUIPMENT FOR OPERATORS AND ENGINEERS

Discharge

Seal Edge view

of impeller
wear ring

Shaft Suction

Coupling
attaches
to motor
Impeller

Bearings
FIG. 48.2 A centrifugal pump.
Bot. temp. minus top temp.

Tower pressure
FIG. 48.3 Point A represents the optimum tower pressure.

• Distillation Tower Pressure

• Operate towers at a minimum pressure, consistent with not flooding and with the
ability to condense the overhead product. Lowering the tower pressure will enhance
the relative volatility of the light to heavy key components.
• At a constant reflux rate, lower the tower pressure consistent with maximizing the
temperature difference between the bottom and the tower top temperatures
(Fig. 48.3).
• Some towers fractionate better at a reduced pressure because the vapor velocity
Increases, so as to reduce tray deck dumping or weeping.