AGI/AIPG SUMMER INTERNS Conclusions
The Arctic OCS holds enormous resource potential; how- ever, there currently is no “one-size fits all” solution for Arctic oil spills. Accessing these resources requires tackling unique environmental conditions, including extreme weather, peren- nial darkness, and lack of infrastructure, and each potential development will require careful consideration of these condi- tions. To protect the environment and human health in the future, any attempts to extract offshore Arctic resources must embrace an informed appreciation of the challenges and condi- tions posed by remote Arctic environments.
Could Waste be the Secret to 21st Century Progress and Security in America?
By Franklin Wolfe
The byproduct of coal burned in coal- fired power plants, known as coal ash or coal combustion residuals, is the second largest industrial waste (by weight) generated in the United States, second only to mine wastes.1 In 2014 alone, the U.S. produced 130 million tons of coal
ash. This ash is usually disposed in giant landfills, ponds, or surface impoundments, which average more than 50 acres in size and 20 feet in depth. Today, there are nearly 1,500 operat- ing or “retired” disposal sites across the nation.
These coal ash disposal sites have had a considerable impact on the environment, causing more than 200 cases of water contamination in recent years.2 In some instances, the events have been catastrophic. A dike rupture at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant in 2008 and a pipe rup- ture at the Duke Energy Dan River Stream Station in Eden, North Carolina, in 2014 spewed millions of cubic yards of coal ash from their impoundments, introducing arsenic, mercury, lead, and other toxic heavy metals into ecosystems and sources of drinking water for local communities [Figure 1]. 3,4
The combined cost of cleanup measures and legal penal- ties to address both spills reached over $1 billion, and the Emory River, the site of the TVA spill, remained closed to the public for over a year.5 These incidents have inspired the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments to introduce legislation prescribing more stringent and expen- sive requirements for the coal ash disposal.6 For example, in my home state of North Carolina, the General Assembly is requiring Duke Energy to close and excavate all of its 32 coal ash impoundments statewide by 2029, at a cost of up to $10 billion, according to estimates by the North Carolina Utilities Commission.7
The expensive price tag of coal ash cleanup has also inspired geoscientists at Duke University, just an hour commute from the Duke Energy spill, to ask an entrepreneurial question: What if America’s waste could fund its own cleanup measures, while at the same time provide a vital resource for 21st century technological advancement, national security, and zero carbon emission energy production? To answer this question, Duke geoscientists studied the composition of coal ash from over 100 sources nationally, hoping to determine which coal feedstock has the highest content of critical rare earth elements (REE). 8
REEs are a group of 16 elements, including yttrium and the lanthanide series elements. REEs support industries worth more than $4.8 trillion globally and are commonplace in products such as batteries, smartphones, guided missiles, magnets, and wind turbines. Most of these metals have been deemed “critical” to our national security by the Department of Energy (DOE) because they are scarce and often have no substitute for their function.10 Despite difficulty in finding new and economic REE sources, DOE expects an explosion in demand for critical REEs over the next 20 years due to their growing importance in our technologically advanced society.
Figure 1. The aftermath of the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant spill. Photo Credit: United Mountain Defense.
Supplies of critical REEs have been slow to respond to demand for a few reasons: (1) it is rare to find concentrations high enough for economic extraction, (2) critical REEs are not found in nature as pure metals and hence must be isolated from host minerals through expensive processes, and (3) coun- tries that have historically produced critical REEs in large
1. Coal Ash Basics. (2016). Environmental Protection Agency. Web.
2. Coal Ash Contaminated Sites & Hazard Dams. (2016). Earth Justice. Web 3. EPA Response to Kingston TVA Coal Ash Spill. (2016). Environmental Protection Agency. Web 4. EPA’s Response to the Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill in Eden, NC. (2016). Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 5. 6.
Region 4: TVA Kingston Fossil Plant Fly Ash Release: EPA’s Response. (2016). Environmental Protection Agency Archive. Web. Final Rule: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities. (2015). Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 7. Murawski, John. (2014). Removing Coal Ash From all 14 Duke Energy Sites Could Cost $10 Billion. The News & Observer. Web.
8. Taggert, R., Hower, J., Dwyer, G., and Heileen Hsu-Kim (Duke University). (2016). Trends in the Rare Earth Element Content of U.S.-Based Coal Combustion Fly Ashes. Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, 50(11), p. 5919-5926.
9. REE – Rare Earth Elements. (2016). Geology. Web. 10. Critical Materials Strategy. (2011). U.S. Department of Energy. Web. 11. Coal Ash: Waste or Resource. (2015). North Carolina Coal Ash Management Coalition. Web.
12. Kashiwakura, S., Kumagai, Y., Kubo, H., and Kazuaki Wagatsuma. (2013). Dissolution of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly Ash Particles in a Dilute H2SO4 Solvent. Open Journal of Physical Chemistry, 3, p. 69-75.
www.aipg.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
