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16 Sep 2014, 01:58
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New coal-burning power plants are making moderate strides in environmental responsibility. Plants using an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) utilize two distinct thermodynamic cycles, making them up to 15% more efficient than traditional coal-burning plants. In the first cycle, raw coal is converted into a synthetic gas, filtered to remove pollutants such as sulfur and nitrous oxide, and burned at high pressure to produce half the plant's electricity. Exhaust gases from the first cycle are captured and used to heat water, which turns a second turbine to generate another 125 megawatts. Newer plants are equipped with scrubbers to capture carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and older plants can be retrofitted to do the same.
Since the IGCC system yields more energy per ton of coal and is also capable of capturing harmful emissions, constructing more coal-burning plants using this technology seems to be an energy solution to satisfy both industrial and environmental groups. However, "cleaner burning" coal plants are actually short-sighted, inadequate solutions to our current energy crisis because they ignore two grave environmental dangers.
First, though coal may seem cheap economically, it is painfully expensive environmentally, as mining practices deplete land beyond recovery. In some eastern states, for example, mining companies have leveled entire mountains in their quest for coal. Experts estimate that strip-mining of sources in Appalachian forests is contaminating ground water and causing erosion that will eventually destroy several irreplaceable species.
Additionally, though carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere by IGCC plants, it remains a by-product, which scientists must either develop a way to process or, as in an ill-considered current trend, find a place to store. A team investigating storage possibilities in a series of caverns under the Arctic Ocean floor estimates that the caverns are large enough to store the planet's carbon dioxide emissions for the next 600 years; so far they have found no evidence that the rock is leaking. If, however, the stored carbon dioxide leaks after only 50 years, the damage to the environment will be greater than if coal plants had continued operating with no emissions-capturing provisions.
The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
A. Account for the popularity of coal-burning power plants.
B. Argue that coal-burning power plants may cause more environmental problems than they solve.
C. Explain the dual thermodynamic cycles of IGCC coal plants.
D. Plead for more efficient methods of reducing carbon emissions.
E. Evaluate the economic feasibility of constructing more coal-burning power plants.
Since the IGCC system yields more energy per ton of coal and is also capable of capturing harmful emissions, constructing more coal-burning plants using this technology seems to be an energy solution to satisfy both industrial and environmental groups. However, "cleaner burning" coal plants are actually short-sighted, inadequate solutions to our current energy crisis because they ignore two grave environmental dangers.
First, though coal may seem cheap economically, it is painfully expensive environmentally, as mining practices deplete land beyond recovery. In some eastern states, for example, mining companies have leveled entire mountains in their quest for coal. Experts estimate that strip-mining of sources in Appalachian forests is contaminating ground water and causing erosion that will eventually destroy several irreplaceable species.
Additionally, though carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere by IGCC plants, it remains a by-product, which scientists must either develop a way to process or, as in an ill-considered current trend, find a place to store. A team investigating storage possibilities in a series of caverns under the Arctic Ocean floor estimates that the caverns are large enough to store the planet's carbon dioxide emissions for the next 600 years; so far they have found no evidence that the rock is leaking. If, however, the stored carbon dioxide leaks after only 50 years, the damage to the environment will be greater than if coal plants had continued operating with no emissions-capturing provisions.
The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
A. Account for the popularity of coal-burning power plants.
B. Argue that coal-burning power plants may cause more environmental problems than they solve.
C. Explain the dual thermodynamic cycles of IGCC coal plants.
D. Plead for more efficient methods of reducing carbon emissions.
E. Evaluate the economic feasibility of constructing more coal-burning power plants.
16 Sep 2014, 01:58
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Official Solution:
New coal-burning power plants are making moderate strides in environmental responsibility. Plants using an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) utilize two distinct thermodynamic cycles, making them up to 15% more efficient than traditional coal-burning plants. In the first cycle, raw coal is converted into a synthetic gas, filtered to remove pollutants such as sulfur and nitrous oxide, and burned at high pressure to produce half the plant's electricity. Exhaust gases from the first cycle are captured and used to heat water, which turns a second turbine to generate another 125 megawatts. Newer plants are equipped with scrubbers to capture carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and older plants can be retrofitted to do the same.
Since the IGCC system yields more energy per ton of coal and is also capable of capturing harmful emissions, constructing more coal-burning plants using this technology seems to be an energy solution to satisfy both industrial and environmental groups. However, "cleaner burning" coal plants are actually short-sighted, inadequate solutions to our current energy crisis because they ignore two grave environmental dangers.
First, though coal may seem cheap economically, it is painfully expensive environmentally, as mining practices deplete land beyond recovery. In some eastern states, for example, mining companies have leveled entire mountains in their quest for coal. Experts estimate that strip-mining of sources in Appalachian forests is contaminating ground water and causing erosion that will eventually destroy several irreplaceable species.
Additionally, though carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere by IGCC plants, it remains a by-product, which scientists must either develop a way to process or, as in an ill-considered current trend, find a place to store. A team investigating storage possibilities in a series of caverns under the Arctic Ocean floor estimates that the caverns are large enough to store the planet's carbon dioxide emissions for the next 600 years; so far they have found no evidence that the rock is leaking. If, however, the stored carbon dioxide leaks after only 50 years, the damage to the environment will be greater than if coal plants had continued operating with no emissions-capturing provisions.
The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
A. Account for the popularity of coal-burning power plants.
B. Argue that coal-burning power plants may cause more environmental problems than they solve.
C. Explain the dual thermodynamic cycles of IGCC coal plants.
D. Plead for more efficient methods of reducing carbon emissions.
E. Evaluate the economic feasibility of constructing more coal-burning power plants.
This question requires a look at the passage as a whole in order to determine the author's purpose in writing. The first paragraph introduces the idea that IGCC coal plants are more energy efficient than traditional coal plants and explains how the process works. The word however, though, signals that the author of the passage is changing the direction of the argument. Paragraphs 3 and 4 discuss the grave environmental dangers of IGCC plants, making it clear that the author's main concern is pointing out potential problems.
Answer: B
New coal-burning power plants are making moderate strides in environmental responsibility. Plants using an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) utilize two distinct thermodynamic cycles, making them up to 15% more efficient than traditional coal-burning plants. In the first cycle, raw coal is converted into a synthetic gas, filtered to remove pollutants such as sulfur and nitrous oxide, and burned at high pressure to produce half the plant's electricity. Exhaust gases from the first cycle are captured and used to heat water, which turns a second turbine to generate another 125 megawatts. Newer plants are equipped with scrubbers to capture carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and older plants can be retrofitted to do the same.
Since the IGCC system yields more energy per ton of coal and is also capable of capturing harmful emissions, constructing more coal-burning plants using this technology seems to be an energy solution to satisfy both industrial and environmental groups. However, "cleaner burning" coal plants are actually short-sighted, inadequate solutions to our current energy crisis because they ignore two grave environmental dangers.
First, though coal may seem cheap economically, it is painfully expensive environmentally, as mining practices deplete land beyond recovery. In some eastern states, for example, mining companies have leveled entire mountains in their quest for coal. Experts estimate that strip-mining of sources in Appalachian forests is contaminating ground water and causing erosion that will eventually destroy several irreplaceable species.
Additionally, though carbon dioxide is not released into the atmosphere by IGCC plants, it remains a by-product, which scientists must either develop a way to process or, as in an ill-considered current trend, find a place to store. A team investigating storage possibilities in a series of caverns under the Arctic Ocean floor estimates that the caverns are large enough to store the planet's carbon dioxide emissions for the next 600 years; so far they have found no evidence that the rock is leaking. If, however, the stored carbon dioxide leaks after only 50 years, the damage to the environment will be greater than if coal plants had continued operating with no emissions-capturing provisions.
The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
A. Account for the popularity of coal-burning power plants.
B. Argue that coal-burning power plants may cause more environmental problems than they solve.
C. Explain the dual thermodynamic cycles of IGCC coal plants.
D. Plead for more efficient methods of reducing carbon emissions.
E. Evaluate the economic feasibility of constructing more coal-burning power plants.
This question requires a look at the passage as a whole in order to determine the author's purpose in writing. The first paragraph introduces the idea that IGCC coal plants are more energy efficient than traditional coal plants and explains how the process works. The word however, though, signals that the author of the passage is changing the direction of the argument. Paragraphs 3 and 4 discuss the grave environmental dangers of IGCC plants, making it clear that the author's main concern is pointing out potential problems.
- The passage does not discuss the popularity of coal-burning power plants.
- The passage begins with an explanation of what seems a possible environmental solution, then argues that what seems to be a solution may actually cause different kinds of problems.
- The first paragraph does explain the thermodynamic cycles of IGCC plants, but the explanation is not the focus of the passage as a whole.
- The passage assumes the need for methods of reducing carbon emissions, but does not take up the argument directly.
- The passage does not discuss the cost, or economic feasibility, of constructing more coal-burning power plants.
Answer: B
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10 Oct 2015, 09:43
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Hi Bunuel,
In Q3 option E, can you please explain more on "The passage ultimately does not build a case at all for IGCC plants."? What is the meaning of "building a case"?
In Q3 option E, can you please explain more on "The passage ultimately does not build a case at all for IGCC plants."? What is the meaning of "building a case"?
