www.globalgreenenergyfoundation.org

Coal is in 40 states. Coal is critical because it produces more than half the electrical power used in the United States, despite its reputation as a dirty fuel.

As many as 154 new coal plants have been proposed, according to the Energy Department. Most will not be built, but coal, which is relatively cheap and abundant, is still likely to be the mainstay for electricity generation into the foreseeable future.

Industry officials claim that technologies that would siphon and then store carbon dioxide emissions are not ready for widespread use and therefore a federal carbon cap is premature. Electric power plants account for a third of the carbon emitted in the United States.

GGEF and its affiliates offer technologies and processes which can dramatically reduce the emissions of this type of energy production. (NOX and SOX)

"Flaring" is one of the leading causes of global warming, and is a waste of energy resources….it is no longer necessary with the technology GGEF and its affiliates are introducing!

When crude oil is brought to the surface from several kilometers below, gas associated with oil extraction also comes to the surface.

When oil is produced in areas without gas infrastructure or a nearby gas market, a large portion of this associated gas is vented or "flared,” releasing and adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Flaring releases about 390 million tons of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere.

It is goal of the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) and the World Bank to tremendously reduce the flaring from oil and gas production as it is one of the leading causes of global warming and is a waste of energy resources

Natural gas is gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane, but including significant quantities of ethane, butane, propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen sulfide. It is found in oil fields, natural gas fields, and in coal beds. Natural Gas also comes from Renewable Resources as well. When methane-rich gases are produced by the anaerobic decay of non-fossil organic material, these are referred to as biogas. Sources of biogas include swamps, marshes, and landfills (see landfill gas), as well as sewage sludge and manure by way of anaerobic digesters, in addition to enteric fermentation particularly in cattle. Natural gas is often informally referred to as simply gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as electricity. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must undergo extensive processing to remove almost all materials other than methane. The by-products of that processing include ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, elemental sulfur, and sometimes helium and nitrogen.

Sour gas is natural gas or any other gas mixture which contains significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). According to this reference, natural gas is usually considered sour if there are more than 5.7 milligrams of H2S per cubic meter of natural gas, which is equivalent to approximately 4 ppm by volume. Acid gas is natural gas or any other gas mixture which contains significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2), or similar contaminants. Although the terms acid gas and sour gas are used interchangeably, strictly speaking, a sour gas is any gas that contains hydrogen sulfide in significant amounts, whereas an acid gas is any gas that contains significant amounts of acidic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrogen sulfide. Thus, carbon dioxide by itself is an acid gas but it is not a sour gas.

Your health and the health of our planet

Hydrogen sulfide is considered a broad-spectrum poison. It affects several different systems in the body, although the nervous system is most affected. The toxicity of H2S is comparable with that of hydrogen cyanide. It forms a complex bond with iron in the mitochondrial cytochrome enzymes, thereby blocking oxygen from binding and stopping cellular respiration. Since hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in the environment and the gut, enzymes exist in the body capable of detoxifying it by oxidation to (harmless) sulfate. Hence low levels of sulfide may be tolerated indefinitely. However, at some threshold level, the oxidative enzymes will be overwhelmed. This threshold level is believed to average around 300-350 ppm. Personal safety gas detectors are set to alarm at 10 PPM and to go into high alarm at 15 PPM; (Utility, sewage & petrochemical workers).

An interesting diagnostic clue of extreme poisoning by H2S is the discoloration of copper coins in the pockets of the victim. Treatment involves immediate inhalation of amyl nitrite, injections of sodium nitrite, inhalation of pure oxygen, administration of bronchodilators to overcome eventual bronchi spasm, and in some cases hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. These symptoms usually go away in a few weeks. Long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness. Higher concentrations of 700-800 ppm tend to be fatal.

• 0.0047 ppm is the recognition threshold, the concentration at which 50% of humans can detect the characteristic rotten egg odor of hydrogen sulfide [2]
• 10-20 ppm is the borderline concentration for eye irritation.
• 50-100 ppm leads to eye damage.
• At 150-250 ppm the olfactory nerve is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger,
• 320-530 ppm leads to pulmonary edema with the possibility of death.
• 530-1000 ppm causes strong stimulation of the central nervous system and rapid breathing, leading to loss of breathing;
• 800 ppm is the lethal concentration for 50% of humans for 5 minutes exposition (LC50).
• Concentrations over 1000 ppm cause immediate collapse with loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.

A practical test used in the oilfield industry to determine whether someone requires overnight observation for pulmonary edema is the knee test: if a worker that gets "gassed" loses his balance and at least one knee touches the ground, the dose was high enough to cause pulmonary edema. This is important as the worker may feel fine after some fresh air, and not think medical attention is needed, but the onset of pulmonary edema may occur many hours later when the worker is asleep: the worker's lungs could fill with fluid, and the sedative effects of the gas may prevent the worker from waking up

The Gas Industry is latent with strict regulatory licensing practices for drilling and hydrocarbon recovery to counter the possibility of H2S and CO2 poisoning of the atmosphere.

Currently, methods for addressing these problems require expensive chemical injection system solutions and maintenance programs. In addition, the chemical reactions require high temperatures and pressures to be effective. The equipment is very costly due to the intense corrosive factors, system requirements and limitations. The reality of operating them often turns into messy, maintenance nightmares which do not fully address the issues anyway. Changes in the inlet stream such as flow rate, temperature, pressure and contaminate levels often lead to the need and requirement for very expensive secondary processes to address these problems. The initial capital expenses and risks are typically very high, as well as the ongoing operating expenses, often leaving the operators dependant on specific, proprietary chemicals, and thus dependant on the producers of those products, their equipment and processes. With these processes a high percentage of the gas extracted is needed to fuel the very process of extraction due to the heat requirements, commonly called the ”thermal cycle” or the "heat duty.” All of this adds up to the risk of loss in production due to down time and inefficient processing methods, and loss of profits… let alone the environmental risks.

See for yourself:

Both carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and hydrogen sulfide ( H2S) cause lower quality burning, and have strict tolerance limits in commercial gas sale. The presence of hydrogen sulfide in gas also causes the production of sulfur dioxide, and so is regulated in commercially sold gas.

Before a raw natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide and/or carbon dioxide can be used, the raw gas must be treated to remove those impurities to acceptable levels.

Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas. It also places restrictions on the materials than can be used for handling it because many metals are sensitive to sulfide stress cracking.

Sulfide stress cracking (SSC), or sulfide stress corrosion cracking (SSCC), is a special corrosion type, a form of stress corrosion cracking. Susceptible alloys, especially steels, react with hydrogen sulfide, forming metal sulfides and elementary atomic hydrogen. Atomic hydrogen, created as a product of a cathodic reaction in the presence of H2S, diffuses into the metal matrix. This type of corrosion is worst at temperatures around 80°C (176°F).

A high content of nickel in the steels greatly improves their resistance to SSC.

Sulfide stress cracking has special importance in gas and oil industry, as the materials being processed there (natural gas and crude oil) often contain considerable amount of hydrogen sulfide. Equipment that comes in contact with such high-sulfur materials has to be rated for sour service NACE TM0177-96 Standard.

"High Temperature Hydrogen Attack" does not rely on atomic hydrogen. At high temperature and high hydrogen partial pressure, hydrogen can diffuse into carbon steel alloys. In susceptible alloys, the hydrogen combines with carbon within the alloy and forms methane. The methane molecules create a pressure which leads to embrittlement and even cracking of the metal.

SSC is a low temperature (temperature where water is liquid) effect of H2S in an aqueous environment and Sulfidation is the term used for the high temperature (>450F) sulfur corrosion.

The Solution: One of our key affiliates, Specialist Process Technologies, (SPT) has developed MONOCHEM™ systems which offer exciting alternatives that are environmentally astute, simple to operate yet very cost effective and efficient. MONOCHEM™ systems both remove and isolate sulfur from methane gas, while simultaneously removing the CO2 from the methane gas. And, these systems are incredibly reliable, easy to use and quick and easy to put into operation…And that is just the beginning of the MONOCHEM™ system benefits.

Comming Soon

The term nitrogen oxide is a general term and can be used to refer to any of these oxides (oxygen compounds) of nitrogen, or to a mixture of them:

• Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
• Dinitrogen monoxide (N2O), nitrous oxide
• Dinitrogen trioxide (N2O3), nitrogen (III) oxide
• Dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4)
• Dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5)

Thermal NOx formation, which is highly temperature dependent, is recognized as the most relevant source when combusting natural gas. Fuel NOx tends to dominate during the combustion of fuels, such as coal, which have significant nitrogen content, particularly when burned in combustors designed to minimize thermal NOx

Fuel NOx

The major source of NOx production from nitrogen-bearing fuels such as certain coals and oil is the conversion of fuel bound nitrogen to NOx during combustion. During combustion, the nitrogen bound in the fuel is released as a free radical and ultimately forms free N2, or NO. Fuel NOx can contribute as much as 50% of total emissions when combusting oil and as much as 80% when combusting coal.

Although the complete mechanism is not fully understood, there are two primary paths of formation. The first involves the oxidation of volatile nitrogen species during the initial stages of combustion. During the release and prior to the oxidation of the volatiles, nitrogen reacts to form several intermediaries which are then oxidized into NO. If the volatiles evolve into a reducing atmosphere, the nitrogen evolved can readily be made to form nitrogen gas, rather than NOx. The second path involves the combustion of nitrogen contained in the char matrix during the combustion of the char portion of the fuels. This reaction occurs much more slowly than the volatile phase. Only around 20% of the char nitrogen is ultimately emitted as NOx, since much of the NOx that forms during this process is reduced to nitrogen by the char, which is nearly pure carbon.

Sulfur oxide refers to one or more of the following:

• Sulfur monoxide (SO)
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• Sulfur trioxide (SO3)

Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. This important gas is the main product from the combustion of sulfur compounds and is of significant environmental concern. SO2 is often described as the "smell of burning sulfur."

SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum contain various amounts of sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain.

Acid Rain (or more accurately, acid precipitation) occurs when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the atmosphere, undergo chemical transformations and are absorbed by water droplets in clouds. The droplets then fall to earth as rain, snow, mist, dry dust, hail, or sleet. This increases the acidity of the soil, and affects the chemical balance of lakes and streams. The term "acid rain" is sometimes used more generally to include all forms of acid deposition - both wet deposition, where acidic gases and particles are removed by rain or other precipitation, and dry deposition removal of gases and particles to the Earth's surface in the absence of precipitation. Acid rain is defined as any type of precipitation with a pH that is unusually low. Dissolved carbon dioxide dissociates to form weak carbonic acid giving a pH of approximately 5.6 at typical atmospheric concentrations of CO2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain - _note-Seinfeld_1998#_note-Seinfeld_1998 Therefore a pH of less than 5.6 has sometimes been used as a definition of acid rain. However, natural sources of acidity mean that in remote areas, rain has a pH which is between 4.5 and 5.6 with an average value of 5.0 and so rain with a pH of less than 5 is a more appropriate definition.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain - _note-2#_note-2 The US EPA says, "Acid rain is a serious environmental problem that affects large parts of the US and Canada." Acid rain accelerates weathering in carbonate rocks and accelerates building weathering. It also contributes to acidification of rivers, streams, and forest damage at high elevations. When the acid builds up in rivers and streams, it can kill fish.

Comming Soon

Comming Soon