Via Shepstone, Trump’s Dept of Energy is taking a huge number of general and specialized actions to stop the abandonment of coal and restore some recently closed coal power plants. The actions also reinforce a secondary use of coal in the processing of steel. If the coking plants are gone, we can’t reshore steel.
Trump does things for his own absurd reasons and in his own obnoxious way, but I can’t argue with CORRECT AND BENEFICIAL ACTIONS.
Right is right no matter who does it. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it.
Coal is intrinsically more dirty than other reliable sources, but coal-burning plants CAN be clean. The technology has been around for 100 years. When I worked at Penn State I was involved in some projects to reduce pollution. Chinese students were working on those projects and took their learning back to China, where they moved forward even faster because China GETS SHIT DONE.
Coal has one unique advantage over the other reliable power sources. Nuclear fuel is extremely hard to store, and decays while it’s stored. Hydro is the cleanest, but it’s only practical in certain locations. Even there, a long drought can stop production. Natural gas is explosive, so storage is limited and expensive. Coal can be STORED FOREVER on the site of the power plant with minimal expense. Just pile it up. The plant can buy coal when it’s available or cheap, and store as much as it needs for as long as it needs.
Rehashing the early history of coal pollution control:
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Previously I showed two experiments.
This is the later practical version produced by Cottrell. Variants on this form are still in common use. Practical versions have dozens or hundreds of coaxial pipes. I’ve placed it next to a factory-style building which might contain forges or smelters.
Before turning on the charge:
Air laden with dust and smoke simply passes through. Nothing falls into the hopper below.
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After turning on the high voltage:
Particles are ionized and attracted to the inner rod electrode or the outer cylinder. They cling to the electrodes, and a tapping hammer (not shown) loosens the mass every few seconds so it can fall into the hopper. The air itself is also ionized into ozone, which the EPA describes as a “pollutant” because EPA’s job is to ban all effective pollution control.
Polistra's Mill 