Chemical engineers are helping reduce harmful emissions through the development of technologies used to convert biomass into fuel. Courtesy DOE/NREL.
The term greenhouse gas, or GHG, refers to a gas that has high heat-trapping potential in the atmosphere. The ability to trap heat is why GHGs are implicated in global warming.
The six main GHGs are
- Carbon dioxide (CO2),
- Methane (CH4),
- Nitrous oxide (N2O),
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
- Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Where do GHG emissions come from?
GHG emissions are produced primarily as a result of
- Combustion of fuels for electricity, steam, and heat generation;
- Combustion of fuels for transportation (cars, trucks, buses, airplanes); and
- Physical and chemical processing operations.
Addressing emission control
Chemical engineers play a leading role in the design and implementation of effective technology-based solutions to control CO2 emissions. Current projects include
- Advanced combustion systems that reduce the formation of CO2 and other combustion-related GHGs;
- Pollution-control systems engineered to capture CO2 emissions; and
- Use of cleaner-burning alternative energy sources, such as biomass-derived fuels and solar- and wind-generated power.
Other efforts involve the development of mechanisms for sequestering CO2 emissions underground to prevent their accumulation in the atmosphere. Sequestration, not yet practiced on a commercial scale, involves the injection of compressed CO2 into stable, subsurface geological reservoirs.
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