I enjoyed your column “A Year of Uncertainty” (December 2008) but I did have one comment. You state “Perhaps not all carbon is alike...” in what I assumed was sarcasm based on context.
The fact is that not all carbon is alike. A carbon atom in methane, the main constituent of natural gas, has four hydrogen atoms bonded to it. Coal does not. Coal does have some hydrogen mixed in with the carbon, but less than one hydrogen atom per carbon atom. Oxidation of hydrogen gives off energy while forming H2O. Oxidation of carbon gives off energy and releases CO2 . Thus, the more hydrogen in a fuel, the more energy can be released without CO2 emissions.
For the same equivalent energy, natural gas combustion releases much less CO2 than the equivalent energy from coal combustion. For a combined cycle natural gas plant, the emission factor is on the order of half that for the equivalent kilowatt produced using coal. So, assuming there was an unlimited supply of natural gas (which there is obviously not), switching from coal to natural gas would substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) very quickly.
Because of limited supply, switching to natural gas is not a viable long-term means of dramatically reducing GHG emissions, but it will definitely be factor in the first 10 years of a GHG cap and trade program—if one ever gets passed.
Jerry Bauer
Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co.
Correction: An item in the January 2009 issue incorrectly identified the location of Primesouth, which was acquired by Wamar International. Primesouth is based in South Carolina.