Acting Responsibly and Promoting Sustainability: Eskom Strategic Initiatives to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248
Author(s):  
Kola O. Odeku
Author(s):  
E. A. Alabushev ◽  
I. S. Bersenev ◽  
V. V. Bragin ◽  
A. A. Stepanova

The Paris Agreement, adopted in December of 2015 at the 21st session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties and effected from November of 2016, coordinates the efforts of states to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide. One of its largest emitters to the atmosphere is the metallurgical industry. Among the proposed ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is the widespread use of hydrogen in the ferrous metallurgy. An overview of the problems that the ferrous metallurgy will face when replacing carbon-containing fuels with hydrogen is presented. It was noted that the use of hydrogen in the ferrous metallurgy contains such technological risks as high cost in comparison with currently used fuels and reducing agents; explosion hazard and corrosion activity, the need for a radical reconstruction of thermal units when using hydrogen instead of traditional for the ferrous metallurgy natural, coke and blast furnace gases, as well as solid fuels. It is shown that minimizing these risks is not always possible or economically feasible, and the result of using hydrogen in the ferrous metallurgy instead of carbon-containing fuel from the point of view of reducing greenhouse gas emissions may be low with a significant increase of economic and social risks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1227-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus R. Westgarth-Smith

Ocean acidification (OA) is caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, which dissolves in seawater to produce carbonic acid. This carbonic acid reduces the availability of dissolved aragonite needed for production of some invertebrate exoskeletons with potentially severe consequences for marine calcifier populations. There is a lack of public information on OA with less than 1% of press coverage on OA compared with climate change; OA is not included in UK GCSE and A Level specifications and textbooks; environmental campaigners are much less active in campaigning about OA compared with climate change. As a result of the lack of public awareness OA is rarely discussed in the UK Parliament. Much more public education about OA is needed so that people can respond to the urgent need for technological and lifestyle changes needed to massively reduce carbon dioxide emissions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luma Castro de Souza ◽  
Carolina Fernandes ◽  
Deise Cristina Santos Nogueira ◽  
Mara Regina Moitinho ◽  
Elton da Silva Bicalho ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-67
Author(s):  
Shahla Firiddun Taghiyevа ◽  

Carbon dioxide is the main source of the greenhouse effect, causing global warming and climate change. In this regard, in order to avoid more dangerous consequences, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change has emphasized the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least half their current value by 2050, aiming to limit the global increase in average temperature to a maximum of 2 °C. Carbon dioxide is emitted mainly from power plants (e.g., coal-based) and vehicles, and other industrial sources contribute to an increase in CO2 emissions. In recent years, the scientific community has begun to view CO2 not as a costly waste, but mainly as a potential carbon alternative to fossils. Therefore, future prospects for reducing carbon dioxide emissions will concern not only the development of more efficient carbon dioxide storage technologies, but also the development of new strategies for CO2 processing in the energetical direction and in chemical intermediate products. In this regard, the conversion of CO2 to methanol has received increased attention, since methanol (CH3OH) is a key raw material for industrial chemicals, which can later be converted to high molecular weight alternative liquid fuels. The review considers works published over the past 10 years on the heterogeneous catalytic conversion of CO2 to methanol. The characteristics of the used catalysts, reaction mechanisms, key technologies and problems of industrial use, prospects for the application of heterogeneous catalytic conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons are discussed.


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