Reactions

Letters to the editor

Carbon capture

The article “Carbon Capture’s Steep Climb” (C&EN, July 19, 2021, page 28) comments that “renewable and nuclear power may eventually be able to supply enough electricity for our homes, offices, and cars. But nuclear power is expensive and lacks public support.” But is not nuclear power our best option in reducing the production and release of carbon dioxide? The current emphasis on the construction of solar panel farms, solar-thermal-energy-collection projects, and wind turbine projects is not wise for the replacement of burning fossil fuels in the generation of electric energy. Little if any concern is given to the vast amount of land and water surface that is required to produce equivalent amounts of electricity that are now provided by coal- and gas-fired power plants, nor is much mentioned about the times that the sun does not shine or the wind blow. These renewable energy projects have large environmental problems in taking habitat away from wildlife and in actually killing wildlife, and solar farms are also taking farmland out of food production. Wind turbines are killing birds, bats, and flying insects, and the Ivanpah solar farm in the Mojave Desert forced relocation of desert tortoises. Solar and wind farms require far larger areas than existing coal- and gas-fired plants for the equivalent amount of power, and we are close to maximum use of hydroelectric power, at least in developed countries.

There are also the problems of environmental degradation in the manufacture of solar panels, most of which are made outside the US where environmental concerns are not well addressed, as well as their disposal, which all too frequently occurs in developing countries, causing health and environmental problems there. Mining of the rare earths required for wind turbines causes additional environmental problems, and there is the question of how we dispose of those massive wind turbine blades when their disposal time comes.

Nuclear power plants are the only real alternative to replacing fossil fuel power plants. With technologies now available, including the modular designs and the use of more abundant thorium as fuel (C&EN, July 6, 2015, page 44), safety can be enhanced, radioactive wastes effectively managed, nuclear weapon proliferation minimized, and abundant electricity provided that is not dependent on the sun shining or the wind blowing, all on far less than 1% of the surface area needed by solar and wind power.

David Hauber
Fort Thomas, Kentucky

I just finished the excellent article “Carbon Capture’s Steep Climb.” One thing that struck me was a passing comment that “The goal is pure CO₂, ideally at high pressure so it can go into a pipeline and be injected safely underground.”

No criticism of the article or author, but rather it seems that the industry has a gap in awareness. The idea that it can be buried safely underground seems more like the landfill approach we have used for centuries. Ideally, the industry should be looking for circularity and how to reuse or repurpose the carbon dioxide. It should at least be part of their road map to success.

Obviously, the first priority is to recover the CO₂ in a technically feasible manner. However, conversion to methanol, fuel, or other applications would be a better long-term approach than assuming injecting the CO₂ is safe underground.

Myron Shaffer
New Cumberland, West Virginia

History of the microprocessor

I really enjoyed Katherine Bourzac’s article on the history of the microprocessor in the July 5/12, 2021, issue of Chemical & Engineering News (page 21). I realize there is limited space in publishing such an article, but it might have been appropriate to include the history of the thin-film transistor (TFT). Perhaps that could be done in a future article. The TFT was conceived in the late 1950s and evolved through the years, making possible the development of computer monitors and large flat-screen televisions based on liquid crystals and organic light-emitting diodes. Perhaps the first creation of consumer products that used synthetic organic compounds as active components in conjunction with semiconductor materials.

Joseph A. Castellano
San Jose, California