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FEATURES : Clean Energy Innovation

May 1st, 2021

APEGS ANNUAL MEETING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE


Collaboration is Needed in Several Engineering Disciplines



Energy comes to us in various forms. We use it and rely on it every day. However, the majority of that energy is sourced from fossil fuels. As a primary contributor to greenhouse gas and culprit for climate change and global warming, there’s an increasing need to rethink and repurpose how our energy is produced.

Raphael Idem, P. Eng., Ph. D., M. Sc., outlined ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emission to lead us on a path to a more environmentally friendly future during his presentation Production of Clean Energy: What Can Engineers Do?
Idem is a professor in the Clean Energy Technologies Research Institute Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Regina.

Between 1990 and 2019, emissions in Canada increased by nearly 22 per cent, driven primarily by emissions from oil and gas extraction and transport. In 2019, the top five emitters (Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and B.C.) together released 91 per cent of Canada’s national total greenhouse gas emissions. The three western-most provinces experienced an increase in emissions.

Idem explains that while energy resources differ by region, each must adopt new ways to generate energy that isn’t as harmful to the environment. Litigation isn’t the only solution.

A variety of disciplines – chemical, electrical, petroleum, mechanical and structural engineers – each play a specific role. All need to work with policy-makers, politicians, scientists and economists to develop new strategies and technologies.

However, it’s a relatively new area and there is yet to be a set process on how best to proceed with development.

“But there’s a professional obligation of engineers and an ethical responsibility of engineers when it comes to protecting the environment,” he says. “We need to do what we are professionally capable of doing and specifically trained to do.”

A few of Idem’s ideas on mitigating carbon emissions include:

CO2 capture technology

This includes pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture and oxyfuel combustion.

Pre-combustion capture is the capture the CO2 from the energy resource before it is used as resource fuel to generate power.

Post-combustion capture is applicable to many industrial processes. The intent is to capture the CO2 after the electricity has been generated.

Oxyfuel combustion sees fuel burned with almost pure oxygen instead of air. Controlling the flame temperature means some of the flue gases are recycled into the furnace.

Transportation

Exhaust from vehicles contributes to the greenhouse gas family. A solution is to manufacture more vehicles than run on zero emissions. Examples would be biofuel-operated buses and electric vehicles and recharging at electric stations where the electricity is produced from non-carbon-generating resources.

Zero-emissions energy resources for power

The most popular methods include wind, solar and hydro energy.
“Which one is the best one to use?” Idem asks. “There is no single technology or policy that can do it all.”

“Engineers can play a critical role in developing innovative technologies and processes that can reduce the causes of climate change and global warming. But no one policy is going to satisfy all regions.”

– Raphael Idem, P. Eng., Ph. D., M. Sc.


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