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NNadir
NNadir's Journal
NNadir's Journal
January 1, 2024
The oxidant in this case is relatively mild, silver iodide which is reduced to silver metal.
The application discussed, the removal of terbium from the lanthanides obtained from used nuclear fuel is not likely to be significant or meaningful. In the fast fission of plutonium, the yield of terbium (as 159Tb) is rather low, 0.05% of fissions, with some short lived neutron heavy isotopes, with the longest living of these would be 160Tb with t1/2160Tb being about 72 days, decaying into the stable isotope 160Dy of the valuable element dysprosium. Neither terbium nor dysprosium are likely to be commercially important products of nuclear fuel reprocessing, at least until enough americium exists to make it available as a reactor fuel.
TbO2 has been mentioned as a possible constituent of thermochemical water or carbon dioxide splitting cycles, but I don't think that will amount to much either, except perhaps as a dopant.
Naghavi, S.S., Emery, A.A., Hansen, H. et al. Giant onsite electronic entropy enhances the performance of ceria for water splitting. Nat Commun 8, 285 (2017)
From a process standpoint I'm not sure that I favor lanthanide thermochemical cycle catalysts owing to their relative rarity and the fact that they are not subject to flow chemistry as is the much more widely studied SI (sulfur iodine) thermochemical cycle.
Some years ago, in this space, I engaged in a thought experiment about how much cerium would be required to split 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide: Cerium Requirements to Split One Billion Tons of Carbon Dioxide, the Nuclear v Solar Thermal cases.
I very much doubt that terbium, a far rarer element, could add very much.
The use of thermochemical cycles driven by nuclear heat is a key to the elimination of dependence on dangerous fossil fuels. It is already too late to do this, but with whatever time is left, we should do our best.
Happy New Year.
A stable complex of Terbium +4.
The paper to which I'll refer in this post is this one: Design, Isolation, and Spectroscopic Analysis of a Tetravalent Terbium Complex Natalie T. Rice, Ivan A. Popov, Dominic R. Russo, John Bacsa, Enrique R. Batista, Ping Yang, Joshua Telser, and Henry S. La Pierre, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2019 141 (33), 13222-13233.
It had not occurred to me that lanthanides, which generally exhibit a +3 oxidation state, other than cerium exhibit a +4 oxidation state, but apparently one has been known for terbium for some time. One is trivial, TbF4, which is obtained by the treatment of TbF3 with fluorine gas. Terbium also has a +2 oxidation state, one that is discussed in the same issue of JACS as the above cited paper is listed.
I found myself suddenly interested in terbium this morning when I came across a paper on self healing polymers reliant on a terbium complex, and wandered around some issues in terbium chemistry. The element, which is fairly valuable, running at around $2200/kg as of this writing, has a number of important uses in electronics.
I am generally interested in the Ce+4/Ce+3 couple since it can be used in thermochemical cycles wherein, with high thermodynamic efficiency (in particular in process intensification settings) Ce+4 can oxidize water, yielding oxygen and hydrogen, i.e. a water splitting cycle. Ce+3 can reduce (again at elevated temperatures) carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide for captive use as a key synthetic intermediate useful for replacing applications of petroleum.
Anyway, from the paper:
Introduction
In molecular complexes, the lanthanides are predominantly trivalent (Ln+3). In fact, of the 15 lanthanide ions, only cerium is known to have significant solution chemistry in its tetravalent oxidation state (Ce+4). (1) While examples of low-valent lanthanide complexes have been reported, (2?7) high-valent ions in lanthanide chemistry remain a challenge. Concomitant with the preparation of this article, Mazzanti and co-workers published an example of a molecular Tb+4 complex in a low-symmetry, oxygen coordination environment in the complex [Tb(OSi(OtBu)3)3(?2-OSi(OtBu)3]. (8) The accessibility of high-valent lanthanide chemistry could transform two key industrial chemical processes: (1) the beneficiation and purification of lanthanide ores (9) and (2) the separation of the minor actinides from lanthanide fission products in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. (10) As a result, efforts to extend the aqueous solution chemistry of tetravalent lanthanides to the next two most readily oxidized lanthanides, praseodymium and terbium (Pr4+/Pr+3 = +3.2; Tb+4/Tb+3 = +3.1 V vs NHE), (11) have been pursued, but with little success beyond the in situ spectroscopic and potentiometric identification of redox processes. (12?14) From the most fundamental perspective, the isolation of a tetravalent terbium complex is important since it puts a new paramagnetic, isotropic ion on the periodic table and allows the crystal field effects in the tetravalent lanthanides to be benchmarked against the transition metals (Mn2+) and trivalent lanthanides (Gd+3).
Historically, in the absence of isolable molecular, tetravalent praseodymium or terbium complexes, cerium has been used as a surrogate to examine the ligand and solvent dependence of the Ln+4/Ln+3 redox couple. (15?17) Depending on the ligand, supporting cation, and solvent, the redox potential can be shifted up to 4 V. Given the large change in ionic radii on oxidation from Ce+3 to Ce+4 (?0.14 Å), (18) the coordination sphere has also been demonstrated to have kinetic control of the redox process. (19) This ligand control has led to rapid growth of tetravalent cerium coordination chemistry. (20) The use of cerium as a surrogate is validated by the demonstration that tetravalent late actinides, such as berkelium, can be preferentially stabilized by using similar ligand design principles. (21,22) These cerium coordination studies have also inspired the attempted oxidation of molecular terbium complexes in anaerobic and anhydrous conditions, but these efforts have failed in the isolation of a tetravalent terbium complex. (23?25) The limited data on the physical properties of tetravalent terbium are derived from studies on solid-state materials including doped oxides (e.g., ThO2:Tb+4), (26,27) bulk binary terbium oxides and fluorides (TbO2 and TbF4), (28,29) and other extended solids. (30?34) Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies of these solid-state terbium complexes and related tetravalent lanthanide and actinide complexes indicate that the increased covalent bonding present in tetravalent f-block metal–ligand bonds can be employed to stabilize reactive tetravalent lanthanide ions. (26,28,33?36) Herein, we independently report the synthesis and structural characterization of a molecular tetravalent terbium complex that is stable in both solution and the solid state. (37?39) Most importantly, the 4f7, 8S7/2 ground state is validated and probed through EPR, Tb L3-edge XAS, magnetic susceptibility, and density functional theory (DFT) studies...
In molecular complexes, the lanthanides are predominantly trivalent (Ln+3). In fact, of the 15 lanthanide ions, only cerium is known to have significant solution chemistry in its tetravalent oxidation state (Ce+4). (1) While examples of low-valent lanthanide complexes have been reported, (2?7) high-valent ions in lanthanide chemistry remain a challenge. Concomitant with the preparation of this article, Mazzanti and co-workers published an example of a molecular Tb+4 complex in a low-symmetry, oxygen coordination environment in the complex [Tb(OSi(OtBu)3)3(?2-OSi(OtBu)3]. (8) The accessibility of high-valent lanthanide chemistry could transform two key industrial chemical processes: (1) the beneficiation and purification of lanthanide ores (9) and (2) the separation of the minor actinides from lanthanide fission products in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. (10) As a result, efforts to extend the aqueous solution chemistry of tetravalent lanthanides to the next two most readily oxidized lanthanides, praseodymium and terbium (Pr4+/Pr+3 = +3.2; Tb+4/Tb+3 = +3.1 V vs NHE), (11) have been pursued, but with little success beyond the in situ spectroscopic and potentiometric identification of redox processes. (12?14) From the most fundamental perspective, the isolation of a tetravalent terbium complex is important since it puts a new paramagnetic, isotropic ion on the periodic table and allows the crystal field effects in the tetravalent lanthanides to be benchmarked against the transition metals (Mn2+) and trivalent lanthanides (Gd+3).
Historically, in the absence of isolable molecular, tetravalent praseodymium or terbium complexes, cerium has been used as a surrogate to examine the ligand and solvent dependence of the Ln+4/Ln+3 redox couple. (15?17) Depending on the ligand, supporting cation, and solvent, the redox potential can be shifted up to 4 V. Given the large change in ionic radii on oxidation from Ce+3 to Ce+4 (?0.14 Å), (18) the coordination sphere has also been demonstrated to have kinetic control of the redox process. (19) This ligand control has led to rapid growth of tetravalent cerium coordination chemistry. (20) The use of cerium as a surrogate is validated by the demonstration that tetravalent late actinides, such as berkelium, can be preferentially stabilized by using similar ligand design principles. (21,22) These cerium coordination studies have also inspired the attempted oxidation of molecular terbium complexes in anaerobic and anhydrous conditions, but these efforts have failed in the isolation of a tetravalent terbium complex. (23?25) The limited data on the physical properties of tetravalent terbium are derived from studies on solid-state materials including doped oxides (e.g., ThO2:Tb+4), (26,27) bulk binary terbium oxides and fluorides (TbO2 and TbF4), (28,29) and other extended solids. (30?34) Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies of these solid-state terbium complexes and related tetravalent lanthanide and actinide complexes indicate that the increased covalent bonding present in tetravalent f-block metal–ligand bonds can be employed to stabilize reactive tetravalent lanthanide ions. (26,28,33?36) Herein, we independently report the synthesis and structural characterization of a molecular tetravalent terbium complex that is stable in both solution and the solid state. (37?39) Most importantly, the 4f7, 8S7/2 ground state is validated and probed through EPR, Tb L3-edge XAS, magnetic susceptibility, and density functional theory (DFT) studies...
The oxidant in this case is relatively mild, silver iodide which is reduced to silver metal.
The application discussed, the removal of terbium from the lanthanides obtained from used nuclear fuel is not likely to be significant or meaningful. In the fast fission of plutonium, the yield of terbium (as 159Tb) is rather low, 0.05% of fissions, with some short lived neutron heavy isotopes, with the longest living of these would be 160Tb with t1/2160Tb being about 72 days, decaying into the stable isotope 160Dy of the valuable element dysprosium. Neither terbium nor dysprosium are likely to be commercially important products of nuclear fuel reprocessing, at least until enough americium exists to make it available as a reactor fuel.
TbO2 has been mentioned as a possible constituent of thermochemical water or carbon dioxide splitting cycles, but I don't think that will amount to much either, except perhaps as a dopant.
Naghavi, S.S., Emery, A.A., Hansen, H. et al. Giant onsite electronic entropy enhances the performance of ceria for water splitting. Nat Commun 8, 285 (2017)
From a process standpoint I'm not sure that I favor lanthanide thermochemical cycle catalysts owing to their relative rarity and the fact that they are not subject to flow chemistry as is the much more widely studied SI (sulfur iodine) thermochemical cycle.
Some years ago, in this space, I engaged in a thought experiment about how much cerium would be required to split 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide: Cerium Requirements to Split One Billion Tons of Carbon Dioxide, the Nuclear v Solar Thermal cases.
I very much doubt that terbium, a far rarer element, could add very much.
The use of thermochemical cycles driven by nuclear heat is a key to the elimination of dependence on dangerous fossil fuels. It is already too late to do this, but with whatever time is left, we should do our best.
Happy New Year.
December 30, 2023
The chemical processes by which PAH's - major constituents in air pollution on Earth by the way, which cause cancer by insertion into DNA groves - are described best in a graphic from the paper:
The caption:
(The "deltas," upper and lower case may show up as question marks until DU4 is updated, as anticipated, to include greek letters and other symbols. The symbol for "approximately greater than" before "1000K, red" will also show up as a ?)
The VSMOW and VPDB refer to isotopic reference standards reflecting isotopic distributions on Earth. I was surprised that the technical sections in the Supplementary Information relied on a relatively old HRMS, a good one (when it works) an Orbitrap QE Plus
Further text:
The authors also had access to precious samples from the Murchinson meteorite, which suggests, from the chirality of some of the unusual amino acids and proteogenic amino acids found on Earth, coupled with the non-terrestrial isotopic distribution in these amino acids, suggest an extraterrestrial origin of chirality, the mysterious feature of all life on Earth that is difficult to reproduce in the lab without having a chiral auxiliary, i.e. a source of chirality, in the mixture. (I find extraterrestrial origins of chirality to be quite believable because of the asymmetry of some forms radiation connected with nuclear decay, which is not the same as believing in the extraterrestrial origin of life itself. But I'm hardly an expert in this topic.)
It appears, as reported in the conclusion to the paper, that the asteroid has experience both hot and cold processes during its formation.
I am sure that we will learn many more things from these precious samples, the collection of which in my view, represents the highest aspirations of humanity.
Have a Happy New Year.
Isotopic Analysis of Ryugu Samples Suggest Cold and Hot Origins for its Molecules
The paper to which I'll refer in this post is this one: Sarah S. Zeichner and José C. Aponte and Surjyendu Bhattacharjee and Guannan Dong and Amy E. Hofmann and Jason P. Dworkin and Daniel P. Glavin and Jamie E. Elsila and Heather V. Graham and Hiroshi Naraoka and Yoshinori Takano and Shogo Tachibana and Allison T. Karp and Kliti Grice and Alex I. Holman and Katherine H. Freeman and Hisayoshi Yurimoto and Tomoki Nakamura and Takaaki Noguchi and Ryuji Okazaki and Hikaru Yabuta and Kanako Sakamoto and Toru Yada and Masahiro Nishimura and Aiko Nakato and Akiko Miyazaki and Kasumi Yogata and Masanao Abe and Tatsuaki Okada and Tomohiro Usui and Makoto Yoshikawa and Takanao Saiki and Satoshi Tanaka and Fuyuto Terui and Satoru Nakazawa and Sei-ichiro Watanabe and Yuichi Tsuda and Kenji Hamase and Kazuhiko Fukushima and Dan Aoki and Minako Hashiguchi and Hajime Mita and Yoshito Chikaraishi and Naohiko Ohkouchi and Nanako O. Ogawa and Saburo Sakai and Eric T. Parker and Hannah L. McLain and Francois-Regis Orthous-Daunay and Véronique Vuitton and Cédric Wolters and Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin and Norbert Hertkorn and Roland Thissen and Alexander Ruf and Junko Isa and Yasuhiro Oba and Toshiki Koga and Toshihiro Yoshimura and Daisuke Araoka and Haruna Sugahara and Aogu Furusho and Yoshihiro Furukawa and Junken Aoki and Kuniyuki Kano and Shin-ichiro M. Nomura and Kazunori Sasaki and Hajime Sato and Takaaki Yoshikawa and Satoru Tanaka and Mayu Morita and Morihiko Onose and Fumie Kabashima and Kosuke Fujishima and Tomoya Yamazaki and Yuki Kimura and John M. Eiler , Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in samples of Ryugu formed in the interstellar medium, Science, 382, 6677, 1411-1416, 2023
I have included the full list of the authors both out of respect for the scientists entrusted to participate in this very rare opportunity and, as well, to emphasize the international nature of the work, which includes Japanese, American, & Australian scientists. I applaud the Japanese Space Agency for its generosity in sharing these precious samples of interest to all humanity with international collaborators.
Some text from the paper:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—organic molecules consisting of multiple aromatic rings—are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM). Based on observations of mid-infrared emission bands in the ISM, PAHs are present in abundances ~10?7 times that of hydrogen (1). PAHs are estimated to contain ≲20% of the carbon atoms in the ISM of the Milky Way (1, 2) and other galaxies (3). PAHs have been proposed as building blocks of carbon-rich dust grains, which are abundant in the ISM (4), and of higher molecular weight–insoluble organic material (IOM) that comprises most of the carbon within meteorites (5). However, it is unknown which chemical processes produce these forms of reduced carbon or where they occur (Fig. 1) (6).
The chemical processes by which PAH's - major constituents in air pollution on Earth by the way, which cause cancer by insertion into DNA groves - are described best in a graphic from the paper:
The caption:
Fig. 1. Potential pathways for extraterrestrial PAH formation.
The central inset shows the molecular structures of the five PAHs we investigated. The surrounding panels schematically illustrate potential formation pathways for those PAHs. In (A), (C), and (D), grayscale color bars show ?13CVPDB, ?DVSMOW, and ?2×13C values measured or predicted in extraterrestrial materials. White is isotopically depleted and black is isotopically enriched. Dots and arrows indicate values and ranges, respectively, of the source carbon and hydrogen. ?2×13C values are estimated predictions (21) based on model results (Fig. 2), see text. (A) PAH formation in hot (≳1000 K, red) circumstellar environments by molecular mass growth reactions (6, 11). ?13CVPDB values in AGB stars are expected to range from 0 to hundreds of per-mille depending on the stellar evolution (35, 36). ?DVSMOW values are expected to be low or zero as a result of the fusion of D in stars (35, 36). texpulsion is the time scale for PAH expulsion from stellar envelopes. (B) Shock waves and ultraviolet radiation form PAHs by breaking down carbon-rich dust but also destroy them. tbreakdown is the time scale for PAH breakdown in the ISM. (C) PAH formation in cold (10 K, blue) interstellar environments through barrierless reactions (6, 12). Reduced carbon in molecular clouds is depleted in 13C compared with interstellar CO (47), whereas interstellar hydrogen is typically D-enriched (33). (D) PAH formation or modification on a parent body at moderate temperatures (100s of K, orange). Isotopic exchange can occur with carbon reservoirs such as CO and DIC, and hydrogen reservoirs such as H2. Murchison carbonate has ?13CVPDB values of +20 to +80‰ (48) whereas the water in parent bodies of CC meteorites has been found to be D-depleted (40, 42).
The central inset shows the molecular structures of the five PAHs we investigated. The surrounding panels schematically illustrate potential formation pathways for those PAHs. In (A), (C), and (D), grayscale color bars show ?13CVPDB, ?DVSMOW, and ?2×13C values measured or predicted in extraterrestrial materials. White is isotopically depleted and black is isotopically enriched. Dots and arrows indicate values and ranges, respectively, of the source carbon and hydrogen. ?2×13C values are estimated predictions (21) based on model results (Fig. 2), see text. (A) PAH formation in hot (≳1000 K, red) circumstellar environments by molecular mass growth reactions (6, 11). ?13CVPDB values in AGB stars are expected to range from 0 to hundreds of per-mille depending on the stellar evolution (35, 36). ?DVSMOW values are expected to be low or zero as a result of the fusion of D in stars (35, 36). texpulsion is the time scale for PAH expulsion from stellar envelopes. (B) Shock waves and ultraviolet radiation form PAHs by breaking down carbon-rich dust but also destroy them. tbreakdown is the time scale for PAH breakdown in the ISM. (C) PAH formation in cold (10 K, blue) interstellar environments through barrierless reactions (6, 12). Reduced carbon in molecular clouds is depleted in 13C compared with interstellar CO (47), whereas interstellar hydrogen is typically D-enriched (33). (D) PAH formation or modification on a parent body at moderate temperatures (100s of K, orange). Isotopic exchange can occur with carbon reservoirs such as CO and DIC, and hydrogen reservoirs such as H2. Murchison carbonate has ?13CVPDB values of +20 to +80‰ (48) whereas the water in parent bodies of CC meteorites has been found to be D-depleted (40, 42).
(The "deltas," upper and lower case may show up as question marks until DU4 is updated, as anticipated, to include greek letters and other symbols. The symbol for "approximately greater than" before "1000K, red" will also show up as a ?)
The VSMOW and VPDB refer to isotopic reference standards reflecting isotopic distributions on Earth. I was surprised that the technical sections in the Supplementary Information relied on a relatively old HRMS, a good one (when it works) an Orbitrap QE Plus
Further text:
Small aromatic organics, such as PAHs containing only a few rings, can form through reactions of free radicals in the gas phase, particularly the hydrogen-abstraction-carbon-addition (HACA) reaction mechanism, which is expected to occur in hot (>1000 K) circumstellar environments around carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and on Earth by combustion (Fig. 1A) (6). Carbon-rich dust grains and IOM could potentially be formed through similar processes. However, the reaction rates of these high-temperature mechanisms are too slow to account for the amount of PAHs present within the ISM and there is no complete model of the synthesis of PAHs within the outflows of AGB stars (6, 7).
PAHs could also be formed through the breakdown of carbon-rich dust grains by shock waves, cosmic rays, or ultraviolet photolysis (8). However, these same processes destroy PAHs (Fig. 1B). This destruction occurs on time scales (9, 10) that are shorter than those expected for production of PAHs in circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars (11, 12).
A third location where PAHs could form is in cold (~10 K) molecular clouds within the ISM, through either ion-molecule reactions (13), or rapid barrierless reactions involving radicals (Fig. 1C) (7). Laboratory experiments have characterized these chemical mechanisms but it is difficult to directly observe specific PAH molecules within interstellar molecular clouds using spectroscopic methods. The only species that have been identified within molecular clouds are nitriles derived from PAHs: benzo-nitrile (14) and cyanonaphthalenes (15). Therefore, it is unlikely that circumstellar synthesis dominates the formation of extraterrestrial PAHs, but there is little evidence for interstellar formation either.
Later secondary processing reactions within a parent body—the asteroid or other Solar System object that meteorites originate from—could also synthesize PAHs or alter their composition. These reactions are often related to aqueous alteration, the modification of solid material by reactions with liquid water, which is known to have occurred on parent bodies. Potential secondary reactions include Fischer-Trospch-type (FTT) synthesis of alkanes from carbon monoxide (CO) (16) followed by aromatization; exchange with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) (17) or aqueous H2; or the breakdown of IOM into smaller organic molecules by catagenesis (18), which thermally cracks large organic molecules (on Earth this forms oil and gas deposits)...
PAHs could also be formed through the breakdown of carbon-rich dust grains by shock waves, cosmic rays, or ultraviolet photolysis (8). However, these same processes destroy PAHs (Fig. 1B). This destruction occurs on time scales (9, 10) that are shorter than those expected for production of PAHs in circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars (11, 12).
A third location where PAHs could form is in cold (~10 K) molecular clouds within the ISM, through either ion-molecule reactions (13), or rapid barrierless reactions involving radicals (Fig. 1C) (7). Laboratory experiments have characterized these chemical mechanisms but it is difficult to directly observe specific PAH molecules within interstellar molecular clouds using spectroscopic methods. The only species that have been identified within molecular clouds are nitriles derived from PAHs: benzo-nitrile (14) and cyanonaphthalenes (15). Therefore, it is unlikely that circumstellar synthesis dominates the formation of extraterrestrial PAHs, but there is little evidence for interstellar formation either.
Later secondary processing reactions within a parent body—the asteroid or other Solar System object that meteorites originate from—could also synthesize PAHs or alter their composition. These reactions are often related to aqueous alteration, the modification of solid material by reactions with liquid water, which is known to have occurred on parent bodies. Potential secondary reactions include Fischer-Trospch-type (FTT) synthesis of alkanes from carbon monoxide (CO) (16) followed by aromatization; exchange with dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) (17) or aqueous H2; or the breakdown of IOM into smaller organic molecules by catagenesis (18), which thermally cracks large organic molecules (on Earth this forms oil and gas deposits)...
The authors also had access to precious samples from the Murchinson meteorite, which suggests, from the chirality of some of the unusual amino acids and proteogenic amino acids found on Earth, coupled with the non-terrestrial isotopic distribution in these amino acids, suggest an extraterrestrial origin of chirality, the mysterious feature of all life on Earth that is difficult to reproduce in the lab without having a chiral auxiliary, i.e. a source of chirality, in the mixture. (I find extraterrestrial origins of chirality to be quite believable because of the asymmetry of some forms radiation connected with nuclear decay, which is not the same as believing in the extraterrestrial origin of life itself. But I'm hardly an expert in this topic.)
It appears, as reported in the conclusion to the paper, that the asteroid has experience both hot and cold processes during its formation.
I am sure that we will learn many more things from these precious samples, the collection of which in my view, represents the highest aspirations of humanity.
Have a Happy New Year.
December 29, 2023
My checking account was hacked because of the US Postal Service.
Someone stole an envelope containing a check to pay our electric bill, after it was mailed, removed the payee and the amount, then substituted an amount of over $3,000 writing in the account line that it was a holiday gift, and then deposited the check into their account.
(The last act was like a holdup man taking your watch and wallet at the point of a gun while wearing a mask, and then handing you their business card. The thief was not a genius.)
My bank caught it, did not honor the check in the end - although the money was briefly removed from our account but then credited back to it. We didn't lose anything, but our account was canceled because of the breach, which we did not realize for several days over the holidays until I went to use my ATM card. We spent several hours in a bank branch handing the structuring of a new account.
It sucked.
I can't believe we can't fire Louis Dejoy.
December 28, 2023
Siemens dirty gas and power spinoff is bleeding money owing to its financial waste case of its dirty wind industry:
Siemens Energy shares fall 40% after company seeks government help as wind-turbine woes threaten gas and power division
Excerpt:
This tentative move for Siemens Energy to consider switching to a position in clean and sustainable nuclear energy as opposed to the unsustainable gas/wind industry should be welcomed by anyone concerned with climate change. Of course, this, climate change, has nothing to do with Siemens Energy's investment in joining Oklo's supply chain; it's all about money, but if money moves away from gas and the gas and coal dependent wind industry, it is worthy of applause.
I trust that you will have a wonderful New Year.
German company, Siemens, its wind subsidy bleeding money, enters the nuclear energy supply chain.
This came in on one of my email news feeds:
Siemens Energy Poised to Partner with Oklo on Aurora Nuclear Reactor
Coal and Wind dependent Germany willfully destroyed its clean nuclear infrastructure as an expression of its contempt for climate change.
There is no evidence whatsoever from the official arm of the Government of changing this disastrous policy but apparently there are some Germans in industry who have an ounce of sense.
Excerpts from the full article:
Siemens Energy may be poised to become a crucial equipment and consulting partner for Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse, a liquid metal-cooled fast nuclear reactor.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) Oklo unveiled on Dec. 19 designates Siemens Energy to become Oklo’s potentially preferred supplier for the rotating equipment in the conventional island of the Aurora powerhouse, including its steam turbine generators. Oklo noted the agreement would also position Siemens Energy to “provide consulting to support” the design and integration of the powerhouse’s conventional island.
For Oklo, the agreement marks a strategic partnership that allows the company to “secure an efficient, reliable, and scalable supply chain for converting that heat into power in our Oklo Aurora powerhouses,” said Alex Renner, senior director of Product at Oklo, in a statement.
Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse is a vertically oriented compact passive fast-spectrum reactor derived from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) that uses liquid metal as a coolant. The company recently uprated its design’s capacity offerings to 15 MWe and 100 MWe. The compact fast reactor uses a high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) metallic uranium-zirconium fuel enriched to about 19%...
...The potential contract signals new momentum for Siemens Energy’s foray into advanced nuclear power. Long before Siemens AG spun off its gas and power business in 2020, forming Siemens Energy, Siemens AG was a full-range nuclear power generation supplier with broad nuclear fuel experience. Under its 1969-founded Kraftwerk Union business (which was eventually reintegrated into Siemens in 1987), Siemens built Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants and supplied reactors to Argentina, Austria, and Brazil. In 2001, Siemens merged its nuclear activities with Framatome (to form Framatome ANP, later AREVA), but in 2009, Siemens announced it would sell its 34% in AREVA...
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) Oklo unveiled on Dec. 19 designates Siemens Energy to become Oklo’s potentially preferred supplier for the rotating equipment in the conventional island of the Aurora powerhouse, including its steam turbine generators. Oklo noted the agreement would also position Siemens Energy to “provide consulting to support” the design and integration of the powerhouse’s conventional island.
For Oklo, the agreement marks a strategic partnership that allows the company to “secure an efficient, reliable, and scalable supply chain for converting that heat into power in our Oklo Aurora powerhouses,” said Alex Renner, senior director of Product at Oklo, in a statement.
Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse is a vertically oriented compact passive fast-spectrum reactor derived from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) that uses liquid metal as a coolant. The company recently uprated its design’s capacity offerings to 15 MWe and 100 MWe. The compact fast reactor uses a high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) metallic uranium-zirconium fuel enriched to about 19%...
...The potential contract signals new momentum for Siemens Energy’s foray into advanced nuclear power. Long before Siemens AG spun off its gas and power business in 2020, forming Siemens Energy, Siemens AG was a full-range nuclear power generation supplier with broad nuclear fuel experience. Under its 1969-founded Kraftwerk Union business (which was eventually reintegrated into Siemens in 1987), Siemens built Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants and supplied reactors to Argentina, Austria, and Brazil. In 2001, Siemens merged its nuclear activities with Framatome (to form Framatome ANP, later AREVA), but in 2009, Siemens announced it would sell its 34% in AREVA...
Siemens dirty gas and power spinoff is bleeding money owing to its financial waste case of its dirty wind industry:
Siemens Energy shares fall 40% after company seeks government help as wind-turbine woes threaten gas and power division
Excerpt:
Siemens Energy AG is in talks with the German government about securing as much as €16 billion ($16.9 billion) in state guarantees as problems at its wind-turbine unit spread to the rest of the business. Shares plummeted 40%.
The company is seeking backstops over a two-year period after major shareholder and former parent company Siemens AG indicated it was no longer willing to help, according to people familiar with the matter. The company said Thursday it’s also speaking to banks, and the government confirmed the talks.
Siemens Energy needs the guarantees to win new large-scale contracts to build transmission networks and gas turbines. While those units are profitable, they’re now threatened by the strain that the string of losses from the Gamesa wind unit is putting on the company’s balance sheet in what has become one of Germany’s biggest industrial debacles.
The guarantees have become crucial after the company earlier this year forecast a €4.5 billion loss for fiscal 2024 despite assurances it had finally come up with a plan to address problems with certain wind turbines. S&P in July downgraded it to BBB-minus with a stable outlook from BBB with a negative outlook...
The company is seeking backstops over a two-year period after major shareholder and former parent company Siemens AG indicated it was no longer willing to help, according to people familiar with the matter. The company said Thursday it’s also speaking to banks, and the government confirmed the talks.
Siemens Energy needs the guarantees to win new large-scale contracts to build transmission networks and gas turbines. While those units are profitable, they’re now threatened by the strain that the string of losses from the Gamesa wind unit is putting on the company’s balance sheet in what has become one of Germany’s biggest industrial debacles.
The guarantees have become crucial after the company earlier this year forecast a €4.5 billion loss for fiscal 2024 despite assurances it had finally come up with a plan to address problems with certain wind turbines. S&P in July downgraded it to BBB-minus with a stable outlook from BBB with a negative outlook...
This tentative move for Siemens Energy to consider switching to a position in clean and sustainable nuclear energy as opposed to the unsustainable gas/wind industry should be welcomed by anyone concerned with climate change. Of course, this, climate change, has nothing to do with Siemens Energy's investment in joining Oklo's supply chain; it's all about money, but if money moves away from gas and the gas and coal dependent wind industry, it is worthy of applause.
I trust that you will have a wonderful New Year.
December 27, 2023
A comment: The "decline" of nuclear energy is represented in "percent talk." It is not that nuclear output is decreasing but rather that energy demand is increasing without the benefit of clean nuclear energy. The increases are driven by dangerous fossil fuels, the waste destroying the planetary atmosphere, the seas, and, indeed, the land. Despite existing in an environment of extreme and extremely stupid vituperation by pathetically paranoid purveyors of obsessions with anything radioactive, for instance the government of that Putin funding coal burning hellhole Germany, the nuclear industry has been consistently producing close to 30 Exajoules of energy every in spite of the willful destruction of its valuable and otherwise sustainable infrastructure by intellectually deficient and badly educated thugs. The nuclear industry has been doing this so for decades. Despite endless wild cheering and the squandering of trillions of dollars on them, the destruction of much valuable land on them, and vast material resources wasted, the solar and wind industry combined have never come close to this figure 30 EJ.
The numbers are here: 2023 World Energy Outlook published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Table A.1a on Page 264:
One would be wise to ignore the soothsaying in the table, by the way, since all of the soothsaying going back for decades both within the IEA and outside of it has proved to be nonsense. (The IEA no longer offers "scenarios" as it did in the past, and has deferred to reality that is effectively "business as usual."
The 2000 World Energy Outlook, which I have in my files, predicted that nuclear energy, which was producing 624 "MTOE" (million tons oil equivalent), or 26.5 EJ in 2020 would be producing less energy in 2020:
I have prepared the spreadsheet below to convert the unfortunate unit of energy MTOE with the SI unit EJ:
So much for soothsaying. (In 2020, world energy consumption fell for the first time ever from 613 EJ in 2019 to 589 EJ, close to the 2000 predicted value, but I don't think the IEA was predicting Covid in 2000. cf 2021 WEO).
The biggest miss was coal, the worst fossil fuel, which was underestimated by 40 EJ, with the increase to 182 EJ (2021 as a surrogate for Covid impacted 2020) over the prediction being more than double than the actual total for so called "renewable energy" as represented by the multitrillion dollar solar and wind industry, whose infrastructure will all be landfill within 25 years, 15 EJ combined.
Note: If the soothsaying by the IEA represented in the first table above proves accurate, and the world is only producing 48 EJ of nuclear energy in 2050, the world will be burned to a crisp. We better do more than hope they are wrong.
Which brings me to the point:
In 2011, the late great Nobel Laureate George Olah advocated for a methanol/DME economy, a closed chemistry cycle:
Anthropogenic Chemical Carbon Cycle for a Sustainable Future George A. Olah, G. K. Surya Prakash, and Alain Goeppert Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011 133 (33), 12881-12898)
If, instead of 48 EJ "by 2050," this economy were to exist: It would be extremely difficult, although not from a technical standpoint, but from the standpoint of making a serious commitment to the environment - something that is clearly unlikely without a massive change of public attitudes - glycerol will be superfluous, since much of it is generated to make the biofuel biodiesel which like all other so called "renewable energy" schemes, has been ineffective at addressing climate change.
In this case, nuclear heat will be subject to process intensification, and methanol or DME will be produced using thermochemical hydrogen to hydrogenate carbon dioxide, closing the carbon cycle. It is feasible, not easy, but feasible. In this case, again through process intensification, combined heat networks, electricity would be a side product of nuclear energy.
In long consideration, I've considered this to be our last, best hope, but it's a long shot, a very long shot, because the power of human ignorance is driving human suicide.
I like the philosophy of the cited paper, putting radiation to use - although I'd stay away from neutron fluxes in favor of gamma radiation - but it's nowhere near aggressive enough.
I wish you a happy New Year in this holiday season.
Using Nuclear Energy to Convert Useless Biomass Into Useful Products.
The paper to which I will refer readers is this one: Nuclear Cogeneration of Methanol and Acetaldehyde from Ethylene Glycol Using Ionizing Radiation Arran George Plant, Bor Kos, Anže Jazbec, Luka Snoj, Malcolm John Joyce, and Vesna Najdanovic-Visak Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2023 62 (49), 21152-21163.
The paper is open for reading for free, and there is no need for me to excerpt it heavily. (It contains a number of symbols that are not yet amenable for use in DU4.)
I'll offer a brief excerpt anyway about which I will offer a few critical comments, but let me be clear that I do not believe that the production of electricity should be the only, even the main, use for nuclear heat. I have convinced myself that in fact, the best use of nuclear heat would produce electricity as a side product. I also agree with the general tenor of this paper that radiation is not something to be treated with the application fear and ignorance but that instead it should be regarded a valuable tool to get us out of this disgusting and intractable mess into which we've fallen environmentally. Nevertheless the focus of the paper is somewhat, in my opinion, somewhat quaint, although the numbers describing the status quo with respect to glycerol are worth noting.
The excerpt, with the approximation symbol replaced with text:
Nuclear power is a low-carbon source of electricity with a carbon output of 12 gCO2-eq kWh-1, which is only surpassed by intermittent, volatile wind at 11 gCO2-eq kWh-1. (1) Despite this, the high capital costs and slower return on investment associated with nuclear power plants have led to a relative decline in the global share output of nuclear electricity by source, from 17% in 2000 to 10% in 2021. (2) Techno-economic assessments have shown that nuclear cogeneration of higher-valued chemicals can increase the economic prospects of large nuclear power plants without negatively affecting electricity output. (3,4) While planned future cogeneration Gen-IV systems aim to incorporate hydrogen gas cogeneration alongside electricity, (5,6) it has been shown that the low value of hydrogen gas provides negligible financial benefits. (3,7?10) Chemical coproducts such as propylene from propane have been proposed to improve the internal rate of return (IRR) of investment to approximately 8%. (3) However, harnessing the underutilized energy available in the ionizing radiation yield from nuclear processes to initiate unique radiation-directed chemical reactions could yield more profitable and useful applications in chemical synthesis without the requirement for energy-intensive processes and conventional catalysts. (11) Additionally, a greater focus on bioderived feedstocks to generate value-added chemicals could alleviate the reliance on what can be limited petrochemical feedstocks.
One such bioderived chemical feedstock, refined glycerol, has a notable sustainability issue due to global production excesses (approx. 500,000 kt yr-1) that are currently directed toward low-value applications such as incineration and animal feed. (12) Glycerol has the potential as a bioderived platform chemical for the synthesis of valuable chemicals, such as glycerol carbonates, epichlorohydrin, and solketal. (13) Additionally, glycerol can be converted to ethylene glycol through high-throughput hydrogenolysis processes which expands the scope for radiolytically synthesized products derived from renewable glycerol. (14,15) Two valuable products that can be derived from glycerol are acetaldehyde and methanol. Acetaldehyde is generated industrially from petroleum-derived ethylene via the Wacker process using expensive palladium catalysts at a worldwide production capacity of approx. 1.3 × 106 tonnes per year as of 2021. (16,17) Acetaldehyde is an important platform chemical for producing peracetic acid, pyridine bases, and pentaerythritol. (18) Methanol is currently synthesized from natural gas via steam reforming processes, contributing to a large worldwide production capacity of approx. 1.1 × 108 tonnes per year. (19) Although the catalyst-free radiolytic production of these compounds from ethylene glycol has been reported, (20,21) little consideration has been given to industrial implementation optimization of the reaction parameters for radiolytic synthesis.
One such bioderived chemical feedstock, refined glycerol, has a notable sustainability issue due to global production excesses (approx. 500,000 kt yr-1) that are currently directed toward low-value applications such as incineration and animal feed. (12) Glycerol has the potential as a bioderived platform chemical for the synthesis of valuable chemicals, such as glycerol carbonates, epichlorohydrin, and solketal. (13) Additionally, glycerol can be converted to ethylene glycol through high-throughput hydrogenolysis processes which expands the scope for radiolytically synthesized products derived from renewable glycerol. (14,15) Two valuable products that can be derived from glycerol are acetaldehyde and methanol. Acetaldehyde is generated industrially from petroleum-derived ethylene via the Wacker process using expensive palladium catalysts at a worldwide production capacity of approx. 1.3 × 106 tonnes per year as of 2021. (16,17) Acetaldehyde is an important platform chemical for producing peracetic acid, pyridine bases, and pentaerythritol. (18) Methanol is currently synthesized from natural gas via steam reforming processes, contributing to a large worldwide production capacity of approx. 1.1 × 108 tonnes per year. (19) Although the catalyst-free radiolytic production of these compounds from ethylene glycol has been reported, (20,21) little consideration has been given to industrial implementation optimization of the reaction parameters for radiolytic synthesis.
A comment: The "decline" of nuclear energy is represented in "percent talk." It is not that nuclear output is decreasing but rather that energy demand is increasing without the benefit of clean nuclear energy. The increases are driven by dangerous fossil fuels, the waste destroying the planetary atmosphere, the seas, and, indeed, the land. Despite existing in an environment of extreme and extremely stupid vituperation by pathetically paranoid purveyors of obsessions with anything radioactive, for instance the government of that Putin funding coal burning hellhole Germany, the nuclear industry has been consistently producing close to 30 Exajoules of energy every in spite of the willful destruction of its valuable and otherwise sustainable infrastructure by intellectually deficient and badly educated thugs. The nuclear industry has been doing this so for decades. Despite endless wild cheering and the squandering of trillions of dollars on them, the destruction of much valuable land on them, and vast material resources wasted, the solar and wind industry combined have never come close to this figure 30 EJ.
The numbers are here: 2023 World Energy Outlook published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Table A.1a on Page 264:
One would be wise to ignore the soothsaying in the table, by the way, since all of the soothsaying going back for decades both within the IEA and outside of it has proved to be nonsense. (The IEA no longer offers "scenarios" as it did in the past, and has deferred to reality that is effectively "business as usual."
The 2000 World Energy Outlook, which I have in my files, predicted that nuclear energy, which was producing 624 "MTOE" (million tons oil equivalent), or 26.5 EJ in 2020 would be producing less energy in 2020:
I have prepared the spreadsheet below to convert the unfortunate unit of energy MTOE with the SI unit EJ:
So much for soothsaying. (In 2020, world energy consumption fell for the first time ever from 613 EJ in 2019 to 589 EJ, close to the 2000 predicted value, but I don't think the IEA was predicting Covid in 2000. cf 2021 WEO).
The biggest miss was coal, the worst fossil fuel, which was underestimated by 40 EJ, with the increase to 182 EJ (2021 as a surrogate for Covid impacted 2020) over the prediction being more than double than the actual total for so called "renewable energy" as represented by the multitrillion dollar solar and wind industry, whose infrastructure will all be landfill within 25 years, 15 EJ combined.
Note: If the soothsaying by the IEA represented in the first table above proves accurate, and the world is only producing 48 EJ of nuclear energy in 2050, the world will be burned to a crisp. We better do more than hope they are wrong.
Which brings me to the point:
In 2011, the late great Nobel Laureate George Olah advocated for a methanol/DME economy, a closed chemistry cycle:
Anthropogenic Chemical Carbon Cycle for a Sustainable Future George A. Olah, G. K. Surya Prakash, and Alain Goeppert Journal of the American Chemical Society 2011 133 (33), 12881-12898)
If, instead of 48 EJ "by 2050," this economy were to exist: It would be extremely difficult, although not from a technical standpoint, but from the standpoint of making a serious commitment to the environment - something that is clearly unlikely without a massive change of public attitudes - glycerol will be superfluous, since much of it is generated to make the biofuel biodiesel which like all other so called "renewable energy" schemes, has been ineffective at addressing climate change.
In this case, nuclear heat will be subject to process intensification, and methanol or DME will be produced using thermochemical hydrogen to hydrogenate carbon dioxide, closing the carbon cycle. It is feasible, not easy, but feasible. In this case, again through process intensification, combined heat networks, electricity would be a side product of nuclear energy.
In long consideration, I've considered this to be our last, best hope, but it's a long shot, a very long shot, because the power of human ignorance is driving human suicide.
I like the philosophy of the cited paper, putting radiation to use - although I'd stay away from neutron fluxes in favor of gamma radiation - but it's nowhere near aggressive enough.
I wish you a happy New Year in this holiday season.
December 27, 2023
Subtitle:
Some text:
Fourth Barakah nuclear unit prepares to start up.
Fourth Barakah unit prepares to start upSubtitle:
The loading of fuel into the core of unit 4 of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE has been completed, operator Nawah Energy Company has announced.
Some text:
Fuel loading at the unit "has been completed by Nawah in line with national regulations and the highest international standards", the company said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "This takes us one step closer to full fleet operations at Barakah, the largest single source of clean electricity in the region."
The UAE's nuclear regulator - the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation - issued an operating licence to Nawah on 23 November, clearing the way for commissioning and commercial operation of the unit, the fourth and final unit at the Barakah plant.
With the loading of fuel now completed, Nawah will run a series of tests, prior to commencing the start-up sequence process known as power ascension testing, where operators will gradually raise the power generation levels. The unit will then be synchronised to the grid and the first megawatts of electricity will be dispatched. Following the successful completion of these tests, unit 4 will enter commercial operation.
Construction of the fourth Korean-designed APR-1400 unit at Barakah began in July 2015, three years after work began on the first Barakah unit. The first three units are now fully operational under FANR's regulatory oversight...
The UAE's nuclear regulator - the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation - issued an operating licence to Nawah on 23 November, clearing the way for commissioning and commercial operation of the unit, the fourth and final unit at the Barakah plant.
With the loading of fuel now completed, Nawah will run a series of tests, prior to commencing the start-up sequence process known as power ascension testing, where operators will gradually raise the power generation levels. The unit will then be synchronised to the grid and the first megawatts of electricity will be dispatched. Following the successful completion of these tests, unit 4 will enter commercial operation.
Construction of the fourth Korean-designed APR-1400 unit at Barakah began in July 2015, three years after work began on the first Barakah unit. The first three units are now fully operational under FANR's regulatory oversight...
December 27, 2023
I'm not logged into my account; the article is probably available for public reading.
Brief excerpts:
The age of the rocks and the time they've been balanced was dated using 10Be dating, related to the formation of this radioisotope in rocks from the cosmic ray flux that strikes the Earth continuously.
Nevertheless, if I lived in Southern California, I'd still have an Earthquake kit.
Precarious Balanced Rocks Suggest the Risk to LA from Earthquakes May Be Smaller Than Previously Believed.
When my wife and I lived in the LA area early in our marriage, she kept an Earthquake kit, batteries, flashlight, wrenches (to shut of the gas), food, etc. The "Natives" made fun of her.
When we left California, we had to throw it all away. Shortly after we left the Northridge Earthquake produced long lines for these items. We did not need them after the Landers Quake, which was scary but not tremendously destructive in San Diego.
Northridge was not "The Big One" about which people worried in my time there.
Now there's evidence that "The Big One," at least in the LA area of the San Andreas fault may be relatively rare, if it ever occurs:
Precarious rock formations near Los Angeles hold clues to giant earthquake hazards
Subtitle:
San Andreas fault may shake less than once feared, surprisingly balanced boulders reveal.
I'm not logged into my account; the article is probably available for public reading.
Brief excerpts:
SAN FRANCISCO—Someday, a great earthquake will erupt from the San Andreas fault, which cuts through Southern California from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Geologic records make it clear. It has happened, and it will happen again.
But when the Big One does hit, it may be less devastating than once thought, at least near Los Angeles. According to new work presented this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the ground there will shake up to 65% less violently than official hazard models suggest.
The good news for Angelenos stems from five rocks balanced precariously on top of other rocks in Lovejoy Buttes, a place in northern Los Angeles County that sits just 15 kilometers from the fault. By dating when the rocks first became fragile and analyzing their structures to assess the maximum shaking they could withstand, the researchers could test official predictions against thousands of years of earthquakes. Those predictions have been found wanting, says Anna Rood, a seismic hazard scientist at the Global Earthquake Model Foundation who led the work, which is accepted in Seismological Research Letters. “The hazard estimates are totally inconsistent with these precariously balanced rock data.”
The new study is a welcome advance for an emerging technique, says Daniel Trugman, a seismologist at the University of Nevada, Reno. “They’ve applied probably the most rigorous methodology that I’ve ever seen to try and solve this problem"...
But when the Big One does hit, it may be less devastating than once thought, at least near Los Angeles. According to new work presented this week at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the ground there will shake up to 65% less violently than official hazard models suggest.
The good news for Angelenos stems from five rocks balanced precariously on top of other rocks in Lovejoy Buttes, a place in northern Los Angeles County that sits just 15 kilometers from the fault. By dating when the rocks first became fragile and analyzing their structures to assess the maximum shaking they could withstand, the researchers could test official predictions against thousands of years of earthquakes. Those predictions have been found wanting, says Anna Rood, a seismic hazard scientist at the Global Earthquake Model Foundation who led the work, which is accepted in Seismological Research Letters. “The hazard estimates are totally inconsistent with these precariously balanced rock data.”
The new study is a welcome advance for an emerging technique, says Daniel Trugman, a seismologist at the University of Nevada, Reno. “They’ve applied probably the most rigorous methodology that I’ve ever seen to try and solve this problem"...
The age of the rocks and the time they've been balanced was dated using 10Be dating, related to the formation of this radioisotope in rocks from the cosmic ray flux that strikes the Earth continuously.
Nevertheless, if I lived in Southern California, I'd still have an Earthquake kit.
December 26, 2023
Subtitle:
Text:
Use of "Waste" Heat from a Nuclear Plant Has Saved 700,000 Tons of CO2.
Chinese long-distance nuclear heating project begins operationSubtitle:
China's first project to bring nuclear-generated heat to multiple prefecture-level cities has begun operation in Shandong province, supplying heat from the Haiyang nuclear power plant to the cities of Haiyang and Rushan through a 23 km pipeline.
Text:
The project is the third phase of a commercial heating project called Warm Nuclear No 1 operated by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). After trials the previous winter to provide heat to the plant's dormitory and some local residents, the Haiyang plant officially started providing district heat to the surrounding area in November 2020, and then to the whole Haiyang city.
The Warm Nuclear No 1 project now reaches an area of 12.5 million square metres, and can meet the clean heating needs of about 400,000 people in winter, SPIC said.
Work began on the long-distance supply pipe in February, and the project has required coordination and communication between the different provincial and municipal bodies involved. Since the start of the Warm Nuclear Core No 1 project, some 83 km of nuclear energy heating main network and 11 first-level heat exchange stations have been built, with an investment of nearly CNY4 billion (USD555 million), SPIC said. To date, it has provided a total of 4.56 million Gigajoules (GJ) of zero-carbon heat, replaced 390,000 tons of raw coal consumption, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 720,000 tons, as well as improving winter air quality in Haiyang City.
The Warm Nuclear No 1 project now reaches an area of 12.5 million square metres, and can meet the clean heating needs of about 400,000 people in winter, SPIC said.
Work began on the long-distance supply pipe in February, and the project has required coordination and communication between the different provincial and municipal bodies involved. Since the start of the Warm Nuclear Core No 1 project, some 83 km of nuclear energy heating main network and 11 first-level heat exchange stations have been built, with an investment of nearly CNY4 billion (USD555 million), SPIC said. To date, it has provided a total of 4.56 million Gigajoules (GJ) of zero-carbon heat, replaced 390,000 tons of raw coal consumption, and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 720,000 tons, as well as improving winter air quality in Haiyang City.
December 24, 2023
I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm within two degrees of separation with Oliver Stone.
I finally got around to watching the Oliver Stone film Nuclear Now, not that I needed my mind changed with respect to nuclear issues.
In the film, he interviews Rod Adams, who in turn, has interviewed me.
I can't say I'm an Oliver Stone fan, or that I even am very familiar with his movies. The movie's pretty good though, although it focuses, not entirely unexpected, on the role of Hollywood in portraying nuclear issues.
December 24, 2023
It's disturbing that in my old age I have to laugh at my own jokes.
Merry Christmas!
I used to be pretty amusing, if I must say so myself, at least back in 2010.
Ice Sheet Collapses at North Pole. Portions of Santa's Village Destroyed, Reindeer Missing.(Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen, Norway, December 24, 2010)
Helicopters on assignment to the United Nations from the Naval Air Forces of Russia, the United States, Canada, Finland and Norway have joined forces in the desparate search for any survivors of the collapse of portions of Santa's Village due to ice caps that have increasingly thinned owing to rising global temperatures.
Although scientists have long been suggesting that Santa and his elves should evacuate the famous toy shops, reindeer barns, and sled factories, real action has been delayed by Santa Claus's losses in the 2008 global financial melt down, his ill fated investments with disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, the collapse of Icelandic banks, and labor unrest resulting from a Canadian Court decision awarding some elves with back pay, with interest, on 450 years of unpaid wages.
The rescue effort to recover elves, reindeer, and possibly some historic structures damaged in the collapse of the wooden soldier toy factory that was only last year declared to be a UN global heritage site has been complicated by the fact that the portion of the village that collapsed was called East Santa's Village.
"Damned if I can tell what the hell 'east' is here at the North Pole" said Lt. Commander Dudley Arnakua'gsak of the Canadian Royal Naval Air Force, who is in command of the Canadian contingent assigned to the UN rescue mission. "In Santa's Village there is no East nor West," Arnakua'gsak added...
...Rear Admiral Thomas C. Colvin, who commands all Alaskan Coast Guard facilities, held out hopes that the famous reindeer would be found alive.
Still both reindeer, who were mutants created as a result of a 1957 hydrogen bomb test on the former Soviet nuclear Chyornaya Guba testing range on the arctic island of Novaya Zemlya, have been aging according to Magnus Kristbjörg, spokesperson for North Pole Enterprises, LLC.
Donner and Blizten quietly retired from active Christmas duty in 1996 and were quietly replaced by younger mutant reindeer who officially had the same names as the famous pair.
Veterinarians familiar with the health of the iconic retired reindeer expressed, off the record, doubts about whether the reindeer could still fly and thus escape the collapse of the polar ice...
Helicopters on assignment to the United Nations from the Naval Air Forces of Russia, the United States, Canada, Finland and Norway have joined forces in the desparate search for any survivors of the collapse of portions of Santa's Village due to ice caps that have increasingly thinned owing to rising global temperatures.
Although scientists have long been suggesting that Santa and his elves should evacuate the famous toy shops, reindeer barns, and sled factories, real action has been delayed by Santa Claus's losses in the 2008 global financial melt down, his ill fated investments with disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, the collapse of Icelandic banks, and labor unrest resulting from a Canadian Court decision awarding some elves with back pay, with interest, on 450 years of unpaid wages.
The rescue effort to recover elves, reindeer, and possibly some historic structures damaged in the collapse of the wooden soldier toy factory that was only last year declared to be a UN global heritage site has been complicated by the fact that the portion of the village that collapsed was called East Santa's Village.
"Damned if I can tell what the hell 'east' is here at the North Pole" said Lt. Commander Dudley Arnakua'gsak of the Canadian Royal Naval Air Force, who is in command of the Canadian contingent assigned to the UN rescue mission. "In Santa's Village there is no East nor West," Arnakua'gsak added...
...Rear Admiral Thomas C. Colvin, who commands all Alaskan Coast Guard facilities, held out hopes that the famous reindeer would be found alive.
Still both reindeer, who were mutants created as a result of a 1957 hydrogen bomb test on the former Soviet nuclear Chyornaya Guba testing range on the arctic island of Novaya Zemlya, have been aging according to Magnus Kristbjörg, spokesperson for North Pole Enterprises, LLC.
Donner and Blizten quietly retired from active Christmas duty in 1996 and were quietly replaced by younger mutant reindeer who officially had the same names as the famous pair.
Veterinarians familiar with the health of the iconic retired reindeer expressed, off the record, doubts about whether the reindeer could still fly and thus escape the collapse of the polar ice...
It's disturbing that in my old age I have to laugh at my own jokes.
Merry Christmas!
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