TED Community » Ruby Sahiwal

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Being an antidote to Exxons of the world. They enable release of CO2 and create global warming. I will find a way to create carbon neutral energy.

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A reply on Conversation: Is it possible to avert global warming by replacing "fossil coal" with biocoal?

  Feb 7 2012: It's the use of biomass that delivers a carbon neutral fuel. Plants have sequestered carbon and when the fuel is burned Co2 is released. Making these fuels part of the Carbon cycle. Fossil coal releases CO2 that was sequestered millions of years ago.

• A reply on Conversation: Is it possible to avert global warming by replacing "fossil coal" with biocoal?

  Feb 7 2012: In order to achieve market parity with Coal economics in terms of $/GJ I believe we need the following:
  
  Biomass at $10-20/dry ton
  Conversion Process $20-25/MT
  Capex of $200/MT
  
  I believe this is doable. High yielding grasses combined with mechanization can deliver biomass economics. Torrefaction and other processes borrowed from the mining and/or paper & pulp sector can deliver the right conversion processes. Not sure if the Capex piece is doable. I believe that is the key challenge.

• A comment on Conversation: Is it possible to avert global warming by replacing "fossil coal" with biocoal?

  Feb 7 2012: Linda: you are right that old and new coals both release CO2. However, in the case of new coal, the CO2 has been absorbed by the plants to begin with and then released - so it is CO2 neutral. In case of fossil coal we are burning carbon that was sequestered millions of years ago. BioCoal is part of the current carbon cycle and neutral, fossil coal is not. It is additive to the carbon cycle.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Is it possible to avert global warming by replacing "fossil coal" with biocoal?

  Feb 6 2012: Yes. By a long yard. It takes approximately 4MW to run a plant producing 250,000 MT/yr. Add in the fuel costs for harvesting crops etc. At 22GJ/MT, this plant will produce fuel with energy value of 5,500,00 GJ and consume approximately 200,000 GJ. So, yes.

• A comment on Conversation: Is it possible to avert global warming by replacing "fossil coal" with biocoal?

  Feb 6 2012: Any form of biomass or organic waste can be heated under pressure and without oxygen and turned into coal. This is how charcoal is made.