Fuel, energy, and carbonization.
The Indicator of Technogenicity of Civilization
As humanity has advanced, new methods for harnessing solar energy have emerged, particularly through heat carriers for heating spaces and generating electricity at solar power plants. The types of fuel have also diversified—from wood and coal to uranium used in thermonuclear reactions.
The methods of energy production and utilization are among the key characteristics reflecting the level of societal development. Per capita energy consumption is the primary indicator of a civilization's technogenicity.
Carbon is not coincidentally the foundation of fossil fuels and is also the most significant element on Earth in high-energy compounds. This is a consequence of the unique chemical properties of its electron shell—specifically, the number of electrons in the atom and their orbitals. However, the explored reserves of fossil fuels are limited: at current and projected energy consumption rates, scientists from various countries believe they could be depleted in the next 100–150 years.
When selecting types of fuel, it's crucial to know their calorific value, typically expressed in units of specific heat of combustion (MJ/kg): for coal, it is 30; for oil, 40; for natural gases, 50 MJ/m³; and for hydrogen, 120 MJ/m³. The decay of uranium-235 releases 83 million MJ/kg. In other words, the energy released from 1 kg of uranium-235 is equivalent to the energy obtained from burning 100 tons of coal, or 60 tons of oil, or 48,000 cubic meters of natural gas, or about 20,000 cubic meters of hydrogen.
In addition to non-renewable energy sources, humanity has learned to harness energy from the sun, wind, electrochemical sources, including fuel cells, and geothermal energy (in countries located along the Pacific coast). These last types of energy are renewable (RES), meaning they can be used an infinite number of times. Of course, this is valid as long as the sun shines and warms our Earth, whose core temperature is about 20 million degrees, and as long as our beloved planet continues its rotation.
According to gross estimates by scientists, our Earth will maintain its current living conditions for Homo sapiens and animals (air, water, temperature) for about 500 million more years, and only in the next 500 million years will it start to heat up significantly, reaching over 100 degrees by the end of that period, as the balance in thermonuclear synthesis reactions on the sun involving hydrogen and helium shifts towards helium, which has a much higher calorific value.
Kazakhstan extracts about 90 million tons of oil annually. Of this, 70.5 million tons are exported, while the remainder is primarily processed at three oil refineries in Pavlodar, Atyrau, and Shymkent. Given the current rates of crude oil extraction, the duration of the "oil cushion" could last another 70–100 years.
In addition to oil, Kazakhstan produces around 60 billion cubic meters of gas. Electricity generation in our republic is approximately 115 billion kWh across 222 power plants of various ownership types, with a total capacity of about 2,464 MW. As these figures indicate, Kazakhstan is a fairly self-sufficient country and ranks 17th among leading nations in terms of integrated power (report from MLSU – the International League of Strategic Management). The consumption of primary energy in Kazakhstan (a combination of various types of energy and fuel) is one of the highest in the CIS—150.1 GJ per capita. This is twice the global average and nearly three times greater than in other countries not included in the OECD.
Cleaning to Acceptable Limits
However, for further economic growth and the well-being of the population, it is essential to continue increasing electricity production. To address this issue, the construction of three new thermal power plants, an increase in the share of RES, and the construction of nuclear power plants (NPPs) are planned. Notably, Kazakhstan ranks first in the world in uranium sales.
Currently, over 80% of electricity in our republic is generated using coal, 7% from natural gas, 8% from hydroelectric power stations, and 5% from RES (solar energy converted into electricity and electricity from wind farms). An analysis of the technical and economic indicators of energy facilities shows the feasibility of maintaining coal-fired thermal power plants, given Kazakhstan's vast coal reserves.
Environmental issues related to the need for cleaning flue gases from thermal power plants can be addressed. There have long been bubbling methods for purifying flue gases containing harmful impurities and toxic (poisonous) chemical compounds (sulfur, nitrogen), including carbon monoxide (CO), commonly referred to as "carbon monoxide." In our laboratory at the JSC "Institute of Fuel, Catalysis, and Electrochemistry named after D.V. Sokolskiy" (Almaty), a cutting-edge technology for complete purification with automatic dosing of active components—neutralizers—has been developed.
A KSO-1 (Comprehensive Cleaning System) industrial installation has been created, ensuring the purification of industrial waste gases (100% ash removal) and harmful and toxic impurities to 95–97%, thus meeting acceptable regulatory limits. From the waste, mineral (nitrogenous) fertilizers can be extracted, and the remaining mass can be used as construction materials.
Our scientists and engineers have undergone internships and exchanged experiences at scientific and production centers in Germany and Japan (notably, Mitsubishi Power Ltd).
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We, the scientists of the Republican Public Association of the National Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, support the decision of the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to limit atmospheric carbonization by carbon dioxide, which can influence the warming of Earth's atmosphere. As is well known, there is intense melting of the permafrost in Antarctica and the Arctic, Greenland, high-altitude, and shelf glaciers. Planned and implemented in Kazakhstan are measures for the construction of nuclear power plants, industrial production of "green hydrogen" obtained through the electrochemical decomposition of water molecules, the construction of industrial RES installations for harnessing solar and wind energy. Additionally, mini-hydroelectric stations and industrial electrochemical productions for converting chemical process energy into electricity are also under construction. All these initiatives have been met with a very positive response from the global community.
However, it must be noted that some Western European advocates for "green" nature are somewhat misleading when they cite only carbonization as the cause of global warming. The air contains only 0.03% carbon dioxide (CO₂), and its concentration practically fluctuates only in hundredths (nitrogen – 78%, oxygen – 21%, and inert gases – 1.0%, including CO₂ – 0.03%). This cannot have such a strong impact as to cause global warming.
The current atmosphere, water, and green cover of the Earth have remained unchanged for over a million years. Long before humans existed, extensive forest fires occurred due to lightning. Since there was no one to extinguish them, vast green expanses burned until heavy rains and snowfall occurred. As a result, the air became saturated with carbon dioxide. However, there was no noticeable change in climate.
According to the majority of scientists, temperature fluctuations that caused permafrost, hot weather, and floods have occurred in the past, as evidenced by archaeological artifacts and the history of our planet. The general trend toward warming may be due to increased solar heating as a result of the shift in equilibrium from hydrogen toward helium, as well as chain nuclear reactions of thermonuclear synthesis within the sun. A helium atom is twice as heavy as hydrogen, has two electrons, and when thermonuclear synthesis reactions involving it occur, more energy is released.
Chain nuclear fission reactions also take place in the Earth's core. When the nuclei of heavier elements (metals) are split, the exoenergetic process releases a greater amount of kinetic and thermal energy. Naturally, measuring and obtaining quantitative indicators of nuclear processes on the sun (nuclear synthesis) and in the Earth's core (nuclear fission) through direct measurement is impossible, but indirect methods can certainly provide reasonable estimates. Therefore, it is incorrect to attribute all problems solely to the carbonization of the air, although it must be acknowledged that it is undesirable from an ecological perspective. Moreover, converting thermal power plants from coal to gas is 2-3 times more expensive and will impact the cost of electricity and heat. Additionally, the issue of carbonization remains unresolved since gases also contain carbon atoms.
The Search Will Continue
To improve air quality in megacities and towns, the immediate priority must be to neutralize automotive exhaust gases, which contain carbon monoxide (CO), a deadly poisonous gas. Experienced drivers are well aware that if a car is left running in a closed garage, a person can die from the accumulated carbon monoxide within 15 minutes. It is not hard to imagine the level of air pollution caused by this deadly gas on the streets of Almaty, where more than 2,000 buses and 550,000 cars circulate daily. Try to mentally combine the exhaust pipes of all these vehicles and estimate how many enormous pipes would result from them compared to thermal power plants.
To neutralize carbon monoxide, our institute's scientists have developed and tested various catalysts—insertions for exhaust systems. They have been tested in several vehicle fleets. Our catalytic sleeves, attached to the exhaust pipes of cars, neutralize exhaust gases by 100