The PEGG

July 2001

READERS' FORUM

Manning Foundation Appreciates
PEGG Pre-Nomination Coverage

Recent PEGG advertising and coverage of the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards resulted in a favourable increase of Alberta nominations. Your generous support is most appreciated. Thank you for helping us attract more submissions.

Our preliminary evaluation of the submissions is now complete. By the time this reaches your readers, I will have met with the selection committee and the 2001 winners will have been chosen at that time. Winners will be announced during the four weeks leading up to our awards dinner and ceremony; we'll keep you informed of the date and location.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the national awards; perhaps there will be an Alberta presence on the stage and an Alberta location for the presentations.
Our call for nominations closes annually on Feb. 15, and we plan to place an advertisement in the January 2002 PEGG.

Donald A. Park, P.Eng.
Executive Director
Manning Innovation Awards

No Junk Here

Re: Power to the Condos, the April 2001 PEGG cover story, and the subsequent letter in the May PEGG, Junk Science?, from Norman Kennedy, P.Eng., correcting an error and challenging the science as reported.

The statement that "CO2 emissions are below 40 ppm" was an error and should have referred to CO, carbon monoxide, as Mr. Kennedy wrote. As for his comments about "junk science," we'd like to point out the following.

The CO2 emission reduction of the Heat PlusPower system relative to coal-fire plants includes both the reduction due to power generation and due to offset hot water heater fuel combustion. The CHP system, with 26 per cent electrical efficiency and 75 per cent hot water heater efficiency, fueled by natural gas with CO2 emissions of 49.7 tonnes per TJ, is 181 tonnes of CO2 per year.

An equivalent amount of electricity from the newest technology coal-fired plant, at 40 per cent efficiency and with 10 per cent transmission losses, with CO2 emissions of 88 tonnes per TJ, is 231 tonnes of CO2 per year. An equivalent amount of hot water from a hot water heater, at 75 per cent efficiency and fuelled by natural gas, is 152 tonnes of CO2 per year.
What that means is that the CHP system results in more than 50 per cent less CO2 emissions.

In response to Mr. Kennedy's comments regarding breathing the exhaust, the turbine exhaust contains 18 per cent O2, and is indeed very breathable -- the CO levels actually measured in our testing at Walker Court are well below OSHA levels. Actual measured values from a U.S. EPA/Canadian government study of the performance of the system will be published this summer.

The CO2 levels are approximately 2.5 per cent or 25,000 ppm. OSHA Workplace Atmospheres permissible exposure limits call for 10,000 ppm time weighted average and 30,000 for short-term exposure. The emitted CO2 concentration is sufficient to enable use to enhance growing conditions in a greenhouse, but insufficient to create any hazard even with moderate makeup air mixing.

Mariah Energy Corp. recommends the use of the exhaust air directly only in such areas in which direct combustion heaters are accepted under current codes -- such as a garage, a warehouse, a greenhouse or another industrial space.

Richard Adamson, P.Eng
Vice-President, Marketing and Development
Mariah Energy Corp.

All In The Name

Re: Engineers, Microsoft Agree on Use of MCSE Designation, The PEGG, May 2001. I want to congratulate APEGGA for successfully challenging Microsoft to change its MCSE certification name.

Lobsang Dorjee, P.Eng.
Calgary