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We are pleased to publish interview with Mr. Prafulla C. Sorcar, popularly known as “Manick” Sorcar who is an engineer-artist in USA. Based in Denver, Colorado, he is the CEO of Sorcar Engineering, Inc., which is responsible for the lighting design of multi-million dollar projects such as the Denver International Airport, Colorado Convention Center, sport centers in Japan and palaces for Saudi princes. He is also the founder of LaserLight Magic Company, pursuing his interest as an artist, animator and laserist, which gave him international recognition. How does he do so many things and excel? It is his brand of magic; he hails from the famous Sorcar family. His father is legendary magician Late P.C. Sorcar.
Mr. Manick Sorcar did his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from IT-BHU in 1968, and then M.S. in the same field from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA in 1972. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the State of Colorado and many other states in USA.
Yogesh K. Upadhyaya from Chronicle talks to Manick Sorcar about his unique double life as an engineer and artist of many forms.
(Manick Sorcar)
To read his biodata, please view the link:
http://www.manicksorcar.com/biography.php
Q-1: How was it like coming to IT-BHU, from world of magic to the world of engineering?
The roots of it go back to many years when, as a youngster, I used to help in my father’s world-touring magic shows in doing its lighting design as well as art work. I am immensely grateful to my father who had noticed my simultaneous interest in art and science and allowed me to experiment in his shows. Each magic item, as you know, had an elaborate setting and artistic theme, which needed intriguing lighting design to reflect the story as well as create the psychological effects to make the trick possible. Each item was unique and a challenge, and was exciting to me. Soon I was more in love with the magic that could be created with light than the stage magic itself, which eventually led me to become an electrical engineer specializing in lighting as well as an artist.
Studying in BHU was in my heart all along. One of the reasons was the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the university, which allowed me to experience all cultures of India. We had some of the greatest academicians of the time in BHU, and we were fortunate to have many of them as our professors. I graduated in 1968 with a first class in Electrical Engineering, the experience was unforgettable. Today, whatever little I have accomplished, I credit BHU for building its foundation.
Q-2: How are you able to do so many things - Engineering, Painting, Writing, Animating, Sculpturing, Directing Music, Laser shows, etc. simultaneously?
When you fall in love with art and science simultaneously and passionately, soon you find art in science and science in art. This may sound crazy, but it is absolutely true.
As you probably know since last over three decades in the USA, I have been a full time engineer by day and an artist by night. At my engineering practice in lighting design I have tried to make each one an exciting project by applying art in its design. After all lighting is more than just meeting a foot-candle level; it is also an expression of art. At night I retired in my basement studio to create artwork of many forms, which resulted in fine arts, music records, and a series of award-winning Indian animation films, which are stapled to elementary schools and American television. But soon the fine line between the two was gone, and I started mixing science with art. The laser, which we used for electrical engineering during day, was used for art at night. In making a project successful you need to stay on the top of all aspect of it; the mind gets trained to network a variety of work simultaneously.
Q- 3: How did you get the idea about starting the engineering consulting firm?
Actually it happened because of a series of incidents that changed my fate. My original idea was to get some practical training after graduating and then go home. After graduating in 1972, with my 18 months visa I was heading to New York looking for a job for practical training. On my way there, in Denver, I came across an ad in the newspaper “consulting engineering firm looking for an electrical engineer with creative lighting skills”, which was hard to believe. One call and one interview later I landed the job. After joining the company, I developed a short cut technique involving a series of graphs, through which the design and its construction cost could be determined in a fraction of the time. Needless to say it made the company productive and saved a lot of money, which were very pleasing to Mr. Butterweck, the owner-president of the company. In 1974, he offered me partnership changing the company’s name from Howard. W. Butterweck Company to Butterweck-Sorcar Engineering, Inc. Howard and I were partners until his death in 2000 when I bought his share and changed the name to Sorcar Engineering.
By the way, the short-cut technique I developed eventually led to my first book “Rapid Lighting Design and Cost Estimating” (McGraw-Hill), which was selected as a ‘Book of the Month’ by Architects’ Book Club. The other books that followed, “Energy Saving Lighting Systems” (Van Nostrand Reinhold) and “Interior Lighting for Commercial Interiors” (John Wiley & Sons), were also the results of my research work, which became a text for illuminating engineering at several universities.
Q-4: How and when you got into traditional and laser animations?
It was a series of happenings, one led to another. As you know, although I am trained as an engineer I am also an artist inside, and I have always wanted subconsciously to mix the two. The first opportunity came when I was trying to inspire my two US-born daughters (then 5 and 8) into Indian cultures. I wrote children’s songs in Bengali that were sung by the daughters, which were popular. Next I mixed the live action of my singing daughters with my animation, which led to “East Meets West” and “East Meets West, II”, two half-hour programs that were telecast by American Cablevision. Its success with main-stream America was a great source of inspiration to do more, which led to a series of highly successful animation films, all based on fables from India. The first was “Deepa & Rupa: A Fairy Tale from India”, which was recorded as India’s very first animation mixed with live action. This film received a series of awards including the Gold Plaque at Chicago International Film Festival. There was no looking back since then. “The Sage & the Mouse” based on a story from The Panchatantra, received the Gold Medal at New York International Film Festival. “Gandhabichar”, based on Sukumar Ray’s non-sense poem received the coveted CINE Golden Eagle, “The Woodcutter’s Daughter”, based on another fable from the Panchatantra was a Finalist at New York International Film Festival, and “The Rule of Twenty-one” was awarded the Bronze Plaque at the Columbus International Film Festival.
It was not until late nineties I started animating with laser and actively mixed art with science on stage. At my electrical engineering firm, we work with lasers for many industrial purposes. One day it struck me to use the strong beam of light for life-size animation on stage. After some experiments, the mission was successful. The very laser rays we used for engineering work, was manipulated to be used as a paintbrush to create laser graphics and animation in space. In 2000, “Calcutta Forever – A Laser Fantasy” was shown at the prestigious Nandan Theater of Kolkata and was promptly recognized as India’s First laser documentary shown inside a theater.
Q-5: Can you explain how you are using laser beams for art?
As you know, Laser is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. It is a narrow, strong beam of light, which creates a dot when projected on the screen and held still. For graphics, the beam is moved extremely fast in a predetermined path, which may be a circle, square, or any shape to create the image. To do this, two mirrors, each smaller that a penny, are used – one to move the light from side-by-side and the other, up-and-down. A computer is used to instruct the mirrors where and when to move, which of course, follows the contour and other lines of the image. To create flat drawings (laser graphics), the mirrors are aimed at a screen. For mid-air 3-D beam patterns, the mirrors are aimed at smoke, fog or mist above the audience. For graphics the challenge is to turn these outlines into compelling images, by erasing or blocking unwanted lines. For animated movements, a series of images are drawn to run 12 to 24 frames per second in traditional animation principles. For colors argon-krypton gas lasers or RGB solid-state lasers are used. For green, the most popular are the YAG lasers.
Q-6: Please explain laser-light-magic shows. What is SorcarScope?
Laser can be a lot of fun, but applied in a wrong manner it can be quite dangerous. “SorcarScope” is a technique I developed through which live actors on stage can act simultaneously with laser without any danger. The first time I used the technique was for “Dancing with My Soul” where the laser-soul comes out of the live performer and dances with her on stage. Through SorcarScope, the intensity of laser power can be cut down to a safe level without loosing any aesthetical appeal, and the laser figures appear to be magically floating in space for interaction with live actors. I used the technique extensively in my stage production “Enlightenment of Buddha”, which was an extravaganza of dance-drama-magic by live performers in combination with life-size laser animation and gobo-based intelligent lighting. In the story, demon-king Mara was shown applying a variety of black magic to break Lord Buddha’s meditation. In one scene he sets the forest (occupying the entire stage) afire with ghostly green flames – Mara and all his black magic effects were done with laser. In 2005 it won the First Place for best use of laser on stage and received the Artistic Award in Italy from the International Laser Display Association (ILDA). A variety of lasers were used here, including three water-cooled 3.5W Argon-Krypton mixed-gas for color graphics, two fan-cooled 2.5W YAG, and one 100MW YAG for green graphics and space effects – all programmed to project in a predetermined, coordinated manner through a set of computers. I got the second ILDA Artistic Award for my laser-art “Reflection” in 2007.
Q-7: Please describe your college days at IT-BHU and at the University of Washington. Has Banaras been any source of inspiration in your work?
My experiences at IT-BHU and the University of Washington have been two different kinds, though I went there for engineering. U of W gave me hands on experience with the use of mainframe computers and prepared me to set my foot into the world of engineering dealing with cutting-edge technologies. Yet I am more grateful to my education at BHU, which set my foundation. As I mentioned earlier, we were fortunate to have some of the greatest academicians of the time. I vividly remember our Principal Dr. Manaranjan Sen Gupta, Dr. V. V. Chalam, Dr. Mrityunjay Bhattacharya, Dr. Pran Nath, and specially Prof. R. D. Sen Sharma – who played a significant role in shaping my life as an engineer. Burning midnight oil before exams, going to movies at Gadoulia, boat-rides in Ganges, kullar-bhar lassi at Lanka – all are a part of the nostalgia that is creeping in as I answer this question.
Watching Sunrise from river Ganges, magnificent buildings on her west bank, beautiful temples, and a relatively simple way of life – the ancient city of Banaras has a magic that is unparallel. I believe there is an artist hidden inside every human being, be it for fine art, music, poetry or performance. My days in Banaras helped to wake up that part in me.
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Manick Sorcar can be contacted at: manick@manicksorcar.com
Contact info:
Manick Sorcar
Manick Sorcar Productions/
LaserLight Magic
5400 Ward Road, Bldg. III, Ste. L-80
Arvada, CO 80002, USA
720-935-0465 (T)/303-238-6372 (F)
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1) Home Pages of Manick Sorcar
http://www.manicksorcar.com (Art site)
http://www.laserlightmagic.com (Laser site)
http://www.sorcarengineering.com (Engineering site)
2) Manick's Art Exhibition at the 8th Annual - 2009 Arvada Art Studio Tour (Held on September 12-13, 2009)
http://www.manicksorcar.com/news78.php
"Pursuit": Sorcar's Laser-Art.
3) Manick Sorcar in Chronicle March 2008 issue: “Manick Sorcar (Electrical 1968) bags global laser display award”
http://www.itbhuglobal.org/chronicle/archives/2008/03/
4) Prestigious award for Buddha laser show
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=62,2503,0,0,1,0
A scene from Sorcar's "Enlightenment of Buddha", winner of the 2005 Artistic Award from the International laser Display Association, Italy.
5) International Laser Display Association, Orlando, Florida, USA.
http://www.laserist.org/laserist2008/2008-08%20Laserist.pdf
6) “World of Manick Sorcar Where Art Becomes Magic”, by Roma Sur
http://www.amazon.com/World-Manick-Sorcar-Where-Becomes/dp/1607252899
“The story of Manick Sorcar is a compelling one of versatility and triumph and represents the true entrepreneurial spirit of the West” – Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of the State of Colorado.
7) Portrait crafted with seeds. Sorcar’s tribute to Obama, the first African-American President of USA
http://www.manicksorcar.com/obama.php
Seeds of Hope: Lentils, barley, fenugreek, fennel seeds, wheat skin, cumin seeds, onion seeds, and orange peel
8) I.L.D.A. honors LaserLight Magic photography with 2007 Artistic Award
http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/324418
9) Indian Animator’s Works get Unusual Tribute
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indian_animators_works_get_unusual_tribute__-nid-28386.html
10) P. C. Sorcar in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._C._Sorcar
11) P.C. Sorcar International Library
http://www.pcsorcarmagician.com
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Prof. Virendra Kumar Mathur is Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA since 1974. Prof. V. K. Mathur graduated in 1953 (first batch) in Chemical Engineering from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University. He obtained MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri, USA. He also taught intermittently (during 1957 - 1974) at Dept. of Chemical Engineering at our institute, occupying the position of the Head of the Department from 1973-74.
For over thirty five years he has been very active in teaching, research, and development work in energy and environmental pollution related aspects of chemical engineering and associated product development. Dr. Mathur is author of over 130 publications and presentations and has three patents. He was Chairman of the Energy Processes and Transport Division, and is also a Member of the National Planning Committee of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He is Fellow, AIChE. Dr. Mathur is active in several other professional societies.
Yogesh K. Upadhyaya from Chronicle took the opportunity to interview him for his teaching and research work:
(Prof. Virendra K. Mathur)
His bio-data can be viewed here.
VKM Resume.pdfQ-1: Welcome, Sir. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born in Dehra Dun, UP and attended European Public schools for my early education and finally obtained my Senior Cambridge diploma from St. Joseph’s Academy. My father was a British Government scientific officer and worked for the Survey of India. I obtained my Intermediate diploma and B.Sc. degree from D.A.V. College, Dehra Dun and joined Chemical Engineering Dept., IT-BHU in 1949. We were thirty in the first batch and graduated only thirteen in 1953. Our department was considered as the most difficult program in the Institute.
After obtaining my BS degree, I joined the Central Fuel Research Institute (one of the CSIR labs) Jealgora, Bihar. In 1957, I was invited to join IT- BHU as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1959, I was awarded US Technical Cooperation Mission Scholarship to study at the Missouri University, USA. As soon as I obtained my MS degree, the Government of India recalled me to serve IT- BHU and fulfill my contract. I left IT- BHU again in 1966 on study leave and completed my PhD in 1970. I joined the Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK USA. In 1972, IT- BHU administration appointed me in absencia as a Professor of Chemical Engineering and asked me to come back and take over as Head of the Department. I taught there till June 1974 and left for personal reasons to join University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH USA. I am thankful to BHU for inviting me a number of times since then to return and take over the leadership of the department.
Q-2: Please tell us about your teaching experience at New Hampshire University, USA.
The University of New Hampshire is a Land Grant State University with about 13,000 students. The Dept. of Chemical Engineering is part of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences with eight departments and about 1800 students. Our department has eight faculty members and currently about 170 students. We award Chemical Engineering degrees at BS, MS and PhD levels. We attract graduate students from India every year.
I joined the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1974 and hold the position of a full professor. I have been involved in numerous projects funded by US Department of Energy, US Dept. of Defense, National Science Foundation (NSF), State of New Hampshire and private industry, etc. The projects ranged from basic research in heat and mass transfer, coal liquefaction, coal gasification, solar fuels and chemicals, fuel cells, two phase flow under micro gravity, etc. I also help the industry as a consultant. I have supervised about forty MS and PhD students and five post docs at this university.
Q-3: You are also actively involved in research work on air pollution control.
I have been involved in teaching courses and conducting research work on air pollution control for the last 35 years. I teach a course on Fundamentals of Air Pollution and Controls on regular basis which attracts students from various Departments. I offer another course on Physicochemical Processes for Water and Air Quality Control.
My research work on coal fired power plant emission control using non-thermal plasma funded by US DOE is under commercialization by Powerspan, Co. For the last 5-6 years I have been involved in conducting workshops to inculcate chemical engineering faculty research collaborations between US and China in the areas of energy and environmental pollution control funded jointly by National Science Foundation - USA and NNSF - China. My efforts have borne excellent results. You will be pleased to know that I have just received NSF funding to start similar workshops between US and India. The first workshop will be held at IIT- Delhi in the year 2010. I will try to involve BHU in this activity. I publish in the areas of energy and air pollution control in national and international journals as well as write Community Commentaries/Another View for State newspapers. I have also written Chapters for Environmental Pollution Control and Fuel Cell books.
Q-4: You have been teaching at Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IT-BHU as Visiting Professor.
I have always taught at BHU as a fulltime faculty member. It was only after obtaining my PhD and joining Oklahoma State University; I resigned from BHU in 1970. I was rehired in 1971 to take over as Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering Department. I go almost once in every two years to BHU to give some kind of a lecture. In 2007, I was invited to give a keynote lecture at the BHU International Alumni Meet. My topic was ‘Engineering Education in the 21st Century’. I have been invited again to give a keynote lecture at the International Energy Conference to be held in IT- BHU on Dec 18-20, 2009.
My relations with BHU are not limited to me alone. My elder sister obtained her BA and MA degrees in 1940 and 1942, respectively. She was a student of Sir Radha Krishnan. My younger sister obtained her PhD from BHU in 1970. She was a student of Dr Hazari Prashad Diwedi. In addition, a number of my cousins and nephews have obtained degrees from IT-BHU and some of them are currently working in the USA.
Q-5: Your advice to chemical engineers looking to involve in chemical engineering teaching/research work?
You have asked a tall question. I give lectures in various institutions in India like IIT- Delhi, IIT- Kanpur, DRDO, Kanpur, CHEMCONs, etc. My advice is the same- work hard, honestly, and diligently. IT-BHU has to quickly catch up with the rest of the IITs. If you want to learn any thing about work ethics, learn from Chinese students. I know it - I work with them both in US and Chinese universities.
Q-6: Please describe your college days
I would love to talk about it. BHU was one of the most prestigious universities not only in India but also in the whole of Asia. There were only a few engineering colleges in India. There were no IITs. BHU had a special place in the heart of every Indian, as the university and the students had played a significant role in the Indian freedom struggle. The railway trains that we used to take to come to Banaras used to be very crowded. However, as the passengers saw us trying to board the train wearing blue blazers with emblem ‘Kashi Hindu Vishvidhalaya’, they made room for us to get in.
I learnt two things very quickly at BHU which I remember till today. I was born and brought up in Dehra Dun, a prized ‘British’ town. On arriving at BHU, as I went towards the dining halls, the very sight of half naked children standing and begging for food shocked me so much that I wrote to my Mom that it was very difficult for me to continue to study there. She wrote back “it is good you realize that India is a very poor country and now it will be up to you to work hard to improve it”. The second thing I found was that India was so diverse in its people and culture. There was no such thing as “South Indian’. BHU was a central university and had student quota for each State. I made so many beautiful friendships with people from all over India during my stay there. Some of them are still my best friends. BHU also attracted students from countries like Nepal, Ceylon, Fiji, etc. We had an ‘International Students Association’. I made lot of friends through this organization. We had the best mess (dining) system of any other university. My brother was studying in Allahabad University at that time and he always enjoyed visiting me probably only for the food.
The engineering education at BHU was divided in three sections - College of Technology, College of Engineering and College of Mining and Metallurgy. Each college had its own Principal. When I joined College of Technology, Dr Phool Dev Sahai Verma was the Principal and after his retirement Dr. Tripathi took over. The Vice - Chancellor (the head of the institution) was Mr. Govind Malavia, son of famous Late Madan Mohan Malavia, the founder of the University.
When I joined Missouri University of Science and Technology it was called Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. It is now and was, totally an engineering school with about 5000 students. Most graduate students from India were on some kind of scholarships selected through UPSC. We did very well in studies. On the other hand, the undergraduate students for various reasons did mostly poorly. That was very puzzling to the faculty about the Indian educational system. In general, the Indian students were very much liked as we came from the land of Gandhi and Nehru. We were told to say we were from India rather than we were Indians lest we were mistaken for American Indians. When I came second time, the country was in the middle of Vietnam War. The school campuses were under the grip of protests and strikes. Foreign students, unless they had Green cards, were exempt from the draft. The faculty, particularly your thesis advisors always invited you for lunch or dinner at their homes particularly for the Thanksgiving dinner. Since there were not too many immigrants, there was no animosity against foreigners. We celebrated Diwali and invited non-Indians friends and faculty. At that time we had very limited resources but we did the best under the circumstances. There were no Indian grocery stores even in St. Louis.
Q-7: Please tell us about your family
As I said earlier I was born and brought up in Dehra Dun, UP. One of my brothers lives in Toronto, Canada. Some of my siblings are in India. I married my classmate when I was working for my PhD. We have a daughter. After graduating as Valedictorian from local high school, she obtained BA in Sociology from Harvard and MA and PhD from University of California- Berkeley. She married her high school sweetheart who also has MBA from UC- Berkeley. They have settled down in Berkeley, CA.
Just like many other Indians, I am also an overachiever and a perfectionist. I enjoy working with my students and spend long hours with them. I am very active in AIChE and contribute considerably towards its operation. I lost both my parents before I was thirty years of age. I am very thankful to them for molding my character and work habits.
Sir, it was nice talking to you.
Prof. Virendra K. Mathur can be reached at: vkm@cisunix.unh.edu
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About Prof. Virendra K. Mathur, PhD, P.E.
Dr. Virendra K. Mathur is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, USA.
Mailing Address
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of New Hampshire
W311 Kingsbury Hall
Durham, NH 03824, USA
(603) 862-1917
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Education of Prof. Virendra K. Mathur
* B.Sc. (Chemical Engineering), Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University 1953
* M.S. (Chemical Engineering), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri at Rolla, Missouri, USA, 1961
* Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Missouri at Rolla, Missouri, USA, 1970
* Professional Engineer, Registered in New Hampshire, No. 4060
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Currently conducting research work on:
* Non-thermal plasma technique (barrier discharge) for pollutant control
* Heat flux through insulations under vacuum at cryogenic temperatures
* Study of gas diffusion layer (GDL) in PEM fuel cells
* Study of gas diffusion layers in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC)
TEACHING INTERESTS
Prof. Mathur is teaching Chemical Engineering courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for over thirty five years: Fluid Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer, Chemical Engineering Design, Environmental Pollution Control, Physicochemical Processes for Water and Air Quality Control, Natural or Synthetic Fossil Fuels and Fluidization Engineering. He also conducted Air Pollution Control Courses for EPA. He has also set up Chemical Engineering, Environmental Pollution Control and Fossil Fuels laboratories and conducted classes.
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Additional links:
* Home page of Prof. V K Mathur
* University of New Hampshire at Durham, New Hampshire, USA
(University of New Hampshire)
*Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Hampshire
http://www.unh.edu/chemical-engineering/
(College of Engineering and Physical Sciences)
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(An article published by Prof. V K Mathur about govt. policy on air pollution control)
V.K. Mathur: New plan to cut pollution would make energy more costly -- again
By V.K. MATHUR
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008
THERE IS a saying, now well-traveled, that those who don't learn from the mistakes of others are bound to repeat them.
Those in Congress who advocate a cap-and-trade system for controlling carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants would do well to consider the shortsighted approach used in the 1970s to curb acid rain.
Though unintended, the effect of the Clean Air Act of 1970, together with subsequent amendments and rules promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency, was to impose the use of the most costly pollution control system -- flue gas desulfurization equipment, known as scrubbers -- on all new coal-fired power plants.
Quite simply, the federal government spent too little money on research and development for clean-coal technology, particularly scrubbers, so that little fundamental change occurred in coal plant technology for three decades. As a result, pollution control systems account for as much as 40 percent of the capital cost and 35 percent of the operating cost of new coal plants -- and they reduce electricity output by 3 to 8 percent.
The required use of scrubbers amounted to technology cohersion -- massive deployment of equipment before it had been refined for reliability and economic performance. The total cost of scrubbers reached more than $50 billion, but the same reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions, which form acid rain, could have been achieved at substantially less cost if more time and money had been spent initially to improve the scrubber technology.
Now, in response to public concerns about climate change, Congress is considering cap-and-trade legislation that would attach a price to carbon emissions and essentially force utilities to achieve an immediate reduction in emissions rather than wait for demonstration of clean coal technologies. Since there are no practical technologies as yet available for reducing carbon emissions from coal plants, the only option for utilities would be to switch from coal to natural gas, which has half as much carbon as coal. But a shift to natural gas is risky, because its supply is tight as a drum and its price is extremely volatile. By contrast, the attraction of coal remains its relatively low cost and great abundance.
The National Coal Council estimates that advanced clean-coal technologies now under development could potentially be incorporated into new coal plants and many existing plants over the next 20 years. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, a 10 percent improvement in the efficiency of a pulverized coal plant would increase the amount of electricity squeezed from each ton of coal, and translate into a carbon reduction of 25 percent.
New boiler and steam turbine designs are being developed to allow the higher temperatures and pressures necessary to achieve such increases in plant efficiency.
Meanwhile, research is underway on methods to capture and store carbon emissions from coal plants deep underground. The Department of Energy is planning the first large-scale demonstration of carbon storage. The goal is to ensure that all coal plants built after 2020, whether pulverized coal or integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technologies, will have the capability to capture and store 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced.
Deployment of these advanced technologies would enable America to make continued use of its vast coal resources, and sell the new systems to coal-producing countries around the world. The potential environmental and economic benefits would be huge.
By contrast, the disincentives to clean-coal research and development that would inevitably ensue from a cap-and-trade system will result over the long term in more atmospheric loading of the very carbon emissions that it is designed to curb. And quite apart from the scrubber experience in the 1970s, the brute-force approach to curbing carbon dioxide could lead to a hiatus in coal plant construction at the very time when the demand for power is expected to reach or exceed available generating capacity.
With the clean-coal technology now on the horizon, sustaining coal as a viable option in a carbon-constrained world makes a lot more sense.
V.K. Mathur is a professor of chemical engineering at the University of New Hampshire, USA
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More article by Prof. V K Mathur in UnionLeader.com
* V.K. Mathur: Cap-and-trade brings high taxes, low results
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Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005, UP