Pollution Engineering - December 2008 - (Page 13)

presented on the topic of The Push for Energy Efficiency in Pumping Systems. In his 20-minute presentation, Kaempf spoke extensively about the DOE’s effort to help American businesses reduce industrial energy intensity 25 percent by 2017. This included detailing the synergy between energy, the environment and U.S. competitiveness, as well as the necessity to treat energy “as any other natural resource.” The Hydraulic Institute and Pump Systems Matter have made these educational presentations available at www.Pumps.org and www.PumpSystemsMatter.org. Each of the presentations highlights methods and case studies for reducing pump system energy costs, while increasing energy efficiency. units, according to the latest forecast of the McIlvaine Company in World FGD Markets, an online, continually updated report. Over 800,000 MW of coal-fired boilers will need to be fitted with FGD systems. That will be 2,000 units at an average cost of $100 million each, according to McIlvaine. China will be the largest buyer but closely followed by the United States. The forecast is based on known projects scheduled through 2013 along with projected needs charts. Natural gas prices are projected to continue to rise or stay high, which will make coal a more cost-effective choice. Visit www. mcilvainecompany.com to learn more about this and other reports. The Million-Year Standard The EPA has finalized its standards for Yucca Mountain Repository located in Nye County, Nev., which is about 80 miles from Las Vegas. The radioactive storage facility was designed as a repository for wastes from nuclear power plants in the United States. The agency was required to set standards consistent with the findings and recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and a July 2004 court decision to extend the duration of the standards. The final standards will: • Retain the dose limit of 15 millirem per year for the first 10,000 years after disposal; • Establish a dose limit of 100 millirem annual exposure per year between 10,000 years and 1 million years; • Require the Department of Energy to consider the effects of climate change, earthquakes, volcanoes and corrosion of the waste packages to safely contain the waste during the 1 million-year period; and • Be consistent with the recommendations of the NAS by establishing a radiological protection standard for this facility at the time of peak dose up to 1 million years after disposal. Desulfurization Needs Increased Over the next 12 years, owners of coal-fired power plants will spend $200 billion dollars to add flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems to existing and new combustion Are Bugs Causing Climate Change? Two studies recently released suggest that a certain beetle and soil bacteria may have major influences on climate change. In an ongoing study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research out of Boulder, Colo., the mountain pine beetle has been found to cause the decimation of lodgepole pine trees in North America. According to research leader Alex Guenther, large-scale devastation of the trees will allow more sun to reach the Earth’s surface, while losing the effect of their ability to process CO2. Normal water evaporation from the plants will no longer contribute to cooling and as the trees decomposed, additional CO2 will be released into the atmosphere. In another study funded by the DOE, soil bacteria could significantly increase levels of CO2 in the air. Mark Bradford, assistant professor at the University of Georgia put together a team of researchers from the University of New Hampshire, Woods Hole, Duke University and Colorado State University to conduct the study. “There are about two and a half times more carbon in the soil than there is in the atmosphere, and the concern right now is that a lot of that carbon is going to end up in the atmosphere,” said Bradford. The researchers found that as the soil warmed, decomposition increased as soil bacteria became more active. They also 13 DECEMBER2008 www.pollutionengineering.com http://www.airgas.com http://www.Pumps.org http://www.PumpSystemsMatter.org http://www.mcilvainecompany.com http://www.mcilvainecompany.com http://www.pollutionengineering.com

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Pollution Engineering - December 2008 Contents The Editor’s Desk PE Events for 2009 EnviroNews Legal Lookout PE Product Listings Consultants/Services Category Listings Alphabetical Supplier Listings Classified Marketplace Advertiser Index State Rules by BLR

Pollution Engineering - December 2008

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