IN THIS ISSUE

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: NEW DIRECTIONS OF THE OBAMA EPA

SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTIONS -                                                                                                HOW NOx REDUCTION MAKE THE WORLD GO GREEN

JAY SAYS

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT:  New Directions of the Obama EPA

by Norman S. Wei
December 1, 2009

Yes ,Virginia (and your 49 friends), now that Team O is firmly entrenched in D.C., it's a whole new ballgame.

Less than a year into its new administration, the Obama White House and its EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson have already made quite an imprint on the environmental regulatory landscape.

During his first month in office, President Obama directed EPA to review a decision by the previous administration to prohibit California from regulating automobile CO₂ emissions. This directive followed the Supreme Court's ruling under Massachusetts v. EPA that CO₂ is an air pollutant that EPA must regulate under the Clean Air Act if it is found to cause harm to public health and welfare.

The agency promptly issued a draft endangerment study on April 14, 2009 proposing that CO₂ and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare.

On July 1, 2009, EPA reversed the Bush Administration's decision and allowed California to regulate CO₂ from tail pipes. The EPA is tackling the greenhouse gas issues on two fronts. It is working with Congress to develop new cap-and-trade laws to reduce greenhouse gas while developing its own regulations under the Clean Air Act to regulate it. Jackson was quoted in an interview with the National Journal to say, "I believe there are some very good, measured things that can happen with respect to greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act."

On Sept. 30, 2009, Jackson announced that EPA is proposing new regulations under the Clean Air Act to curb greenhouse gas from industries that emit more than 25,000 tons of CO₂ per year. This would bring many plants under the new regulation if it becomes final.

EPA also dropped a Bush plan to exempt some 3,500 facilities from reporting chemical releases under the Toxic release Inventory. Expect more rule reversals ahead.

It also is getting tough with some state agencies. For example, on Sept. 8, 2009, EPA Region 6 proposed to disapprove key aspects Texas' clean-air permitting program.

On another front, the agency is moving to develop regulations to control ash ponds owned by coal-fired power plants. The impetus comes from the collapse of the Tennessee Valley Authority's ash pond retaining wall in December 2008 that sent tons of coal ash into the waterways and people's homes. EPA issued a statement that read, "current regulations, which were issued in 1982, have not kept pace with changes that have occurred in the electric power industry over the past three decades."

EPA also is looking into regulating the emission of mercury from the nation's 500 coal fired power plants.

On the water side, the agency has teamed up with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. This was in response to President Obama's May 12, 2009 Executive Order 13508 to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. A draft report was issued on Sept. 3, 2009 and it addresses some very thorny issues of land runoffs from farms, industrial animal facilities and urban centers. All of these issues are highly charged politically and EPA is considering new regulations and more enforcement in these areas.

Finally, in a speech on Sept. 29, 2009 at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Jackson announced core principles outlining the Obama Administration's goals for legislative reform of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. In parallel with this legislative initiative, Jackson also announced plans for a major effort to strengthen EPA's current chemical management program and increase the pace of the agency's efforts to address chemicals that pose a risk to the public.

These are just some of the initiatives that the new administration is embarking on. It will be a very interesting four years indeed.

PE Dec 2009

SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTIONS - How NOx Reductions Make the World Go Green

Posted: May 15th, 2009

With the turn of the century, there has been an increase in concern over the health of the planet. Scientist and the government work hard to try and make changes to the environment. There was a realization that without the world, there was no life and therefore, it was imperative to save the world. With nations continuing to industrialize, it has become increasingly difficult to curb the greenhouse gases and dangerous toxins that are destructive to the world.

One of those toxins is called NOx. NO is nitric oxide and NO2 is nitrogen dioxide. Both of these are components of NOx in different concentrations. Typically, people have no idea that there is NOx around because not only is it colorless, it also has no odor. Because of this, it can unwittingly be released into the environment.

There are a plethora of places that have nitrogen oxide emissions. Almost half of all these emissions come directly from automobiles. At the turn of the century, a lot of people were driving around in large, gas guzzling SUVs that did nothing more than produce an increase in these emissions.  Ironically, the economic downturn has shaped the society into a more green-friendly nation.  However, anything that uses some sort of a hydrocarbon for its gas will produce some form of NOx. Typically, most are found to be NO.

Often times, people question why this matters. They don’t appreciate the environmental concerns connected to NOx. The most important concern is the effect NOx has on the human respiratory system. NO combines with ammonia which leads to the formation of nitric acid which is an incredibly strong acid that can do a serious amount of damage to the body. Small particles get into the lungs and puncture holes in them which can lead to a potentially fatal result.

There are things that are being done to try and prevent this NOx from becoming too much of an issue. In some areas, one of the big tools being used is selective catalytic reduction. What this does in non-technical terms is create elemental nitrogen and water. Neither of these is harmful on the environment. In more technical terms, urea is used in the engine and then broken down into ammonia. The products of this reaction, after it has gone through a catalyst are those elemental nitrogen and water.

The SCR Catalyst has been shown to do a significant amount of work on the NOx reduction. However, there are other routes, as well, that can be used to try and reduce the NOx concentrations in the environment. One of these is the use of engine management which, as the name suggests, is the control of the amount of emissions in an engine. There are fewer emissions released, but then the engine runs less effectively which results in the build-up of soot.

One final method is a NOx trap which catches the NOx and then catalytically converts that stored NOx, through acts of reduction, into basic N2 and CO2. Nitrogen in its elemental form is not damaging to the environment. While CO2 can be damaging to the environment, it is not nearly as damaging as the NOx gases that are released by the automobiles. CO2 is the lesser of two evils.

What these three techniques have in common is that they all are trying to reduce the NOx levels. However, SCR catalyst is the one that has been shown to have the most effect on the reduction of NOx concentration levels. There is no concern of a lower effectiveness of the automobile and there is no need for a “lesser of two evils” approach because most of the NOx is converted into water and elemental nitrogen. The only downfall is that there needs to be some way of getting the urea into the system. If that occurs, this is definitely an effective tool.

Each technique has its ups and downs. Some work better than others (SCR), but even that has its negatives. It is important to determine what the cost to productiveness ratio is that automobile companies are willing to spend. What is too much? What is clear, though, is that the environment is not getting any stronger and if people are truly concerned about it, they need to take the necessary steps to prevent against further degradation, if that means spending a little more money, that might be the necessary course of action.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/selective-catalytic-reduction-how-nox-reduction-make-the-world-go-green-919249.html

 JAY SAYS

Dear Reader,

The Commerce Department’s final estimate showed gross domestic product grew at a 2.2% annual rate instead of the 2.8% pact it reported last month.  Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the report to show GDP, which measures total goods and services output within US borders, unrevised at a 2.8% growth rate in the 3rd quarter.

It was still the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2007 and ended four straight quarters of decline in output.  The resumptions of growth in the July-September period probably ended the most brutal recession since the 1930s. 

Data such as retail sales, business inventories and the trade balance strongly indicate the economic growth pace picked up speed in the 4th quarter.

Economists’ forecasts for 4th quarter GDP growth have ranged from 4.0% to 4.5%.  Business spending in the 3^rd quarter was weaker than the government had estimated last month.  Business investment fell at a 5.9% rate instead of 4.1%.

Best regards,
Jay Klaus
JKlaus@KlausEquipment.com
Klaus Equipment Company
President