........ published in NEWSLETTER # 47
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........ published in NEWSLETTER # 47
NEW TRENDS IN COAL SCIENCE
by Professor Y. Yurum, Hacettepe University, Ankara (Turkey)
The unfavorable effects of the production and use of energy on the environment damage human health directly, as well as environmental services that support the economy. All chemical industry and all synthetic fuel plants utilize land and water resources in addition to the material being converted and generate gaseous, liquid and solid wastes that will be discharged or disposed. In view of the scale of these plants, it is neccessary that controls be placed on their utilization of limited resources to minimize ecosystem disruption and on their discharge of pollutants, to prevent damage to health and the ecosystem.
The production of clean synthetic fuels to replace diminishing supplies of natural fuels is already a reality in many countries and is an urgent priority on the verge of becoming a major industry. The scale of this development will probably be larger than any previous technological undertaking. Large numbers of engineers and scientists with many different backgrounds are needed. They must be trained to gain a deep understanding of the new field of synthetic fuels.
In the state_of_the_art volume `Clean Utilization of Coal' (NATO ASI SERIES C370) the production of synthetic fuel is presented as a unified scientific and engineering subject, which is developing rapidly. Three main subjects: structure and reactivity of coal; cleaning of coal and its products and factors affecting environmental balance of energy usage and solutions for the future are discussed in the book and these are presented under the following six groups: a) structure and reactivity of coal; b) factors affecting environmental balance; c) pre_usage cleaning operations and processes; d) upgrading of coal liquids and gases; e) oxygen_enriched processes; and f) probable future solution for energy and pollution problems. We recognize that advances in the science and technology of synthetic fuels have to be re_assessed in the future, however, by concentrating on what we believe to be the fundamentals, we hope that the book is timely and lasting.
Reference books: C244, C370, E105, E137