Natural gas and other energy news from 100 years ago offers great perspective for discussing the issues today. It’s eye opening, given all we’ve learned over the last century.
I am ignorant of the specifics: When oil is burned, isn't it true that the primary heat-producing reaction is 2C + 2O2 => 2CO2 + Heat ? When natural gas is burned, isn't the primary heat-producing reaction exactly the same? Since scrubbers remove 99+% of all the impurities from the smoke in both cases, aren't coal and natural gas equivalent in the amount of CO2 produced per unit of heat? Where am I mistaken?
I am ignorant of the specifics: When oil is burned, isn't it true that the primary heat-producing reaction is 2C + 2O2 => 2CO2 + Heat ? When natural gas is burned, isn't the primary heat-producing reaction exactly the same? Since scrubbers remove 99+% of all the impurities from the smoke in both cases, aren't coal and natural gas equivalent in the amount of CO2 produced per unit of heat? Where am I mistaken?