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Richland Community College Commitment to Sustainability

Richland Community College Commitment to Sustainability. Richland's Renewable/Sustainable Resources & Programs. Wind Energy Solar Energy Geothermal & Biomass Heating Sustainable Agriculture Program Biofuels Program Carbon Sequestration Program. Richland Community College Wind Turbine.

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Richland Community College Commitment to Sustainability

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  1. Richland Community College Commitment to Sustainability

  2. Richland's Renewable/Sustainable Resources & Programs Wind Energy Solar Energy Geothermal & Biomass Heating Sustainable Agriculture Program Biofuels Program Carbon Sequestration Program

  3. Richland Community College Wind Turbine • Erected in 2009, this is the first wind turbine on a community college in Illinois. • The turbine has the potential to provide all of the electricity for Richland’s new Center for Sustainability and Innovation.

  4. Richland Community College Wind Turbine RCC Wind Turbine - 150’ tall ; blades 32’ 10” - Generates 100 kilowatts (kw) of electricity at its peak - Potential to generate 200,000 kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity per year - Cost: $600,000

  5. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Total Energy 459,444 kwh Total energy generated by system since installation

  6. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Cost Savings $41,349 Estimated avoided electricity cost based on $0.09/kwh

  7. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Environmental Equivalent RCC turbine has generated enough electricity to power 143 houses for one year.

  8. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Pollution Prevented RCC turbine has prevented 613,357 lbs of CO2from being emitted into the atmosphere.

  9. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • 613,357 lbs of CO2 is equivalent to the CO2 emitted by a family car driving 971,907 miles.

  10. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • It would take 12,772 mature trees one year to remove 613,357 lbs of CO2 from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis.

  11. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Pollution Prevented RCC turbine has prevented 2,205 lbs of SO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.

  12. RCC Wind Turbine Performance Since October 2009 • Pollution Prevented RCC turbine has prevented 872 lbs of NOxfrom being emitted into the atmosphere.

  13. Sustainable Agriculture Program For over 25 years, there has been an agriculture program at Richland Community College. The program provides students practical experience in planting, cultivating, and harvesting a variety of agricultural and horticultural plants.

  14. Sustainable Agriculture Program Richland’s Land Lab is an outdoor classroom for research, demonstration, and crop production. The site includes: - 2 production greenhouses (2,400 sq. ft.) - perennial nursery - composting bins - All American Selections Display Garden for flowers and vegetables

  15. Sustainable Agriculture Program - farm plots with fruit trees, brambles, and vegetables (38,400 sq. ft.) - 2 cold frame greenhouses (960 sq. ft.) - flower and perennial gardens (16,000 sq. ft.) - shade plant structure (500 sq. ft.) - student designed and constructed walks, waterfall, retaining walls, patio, and outdoor kitchen

  16. Sustainable Agriculture Program The Sustainable Agriculture curriculum is designed to provide the entrepreneurial and technical skills necessary to manage a profitable, environmentally sound, community-based small farm or agricultural business. Students learn the fundamentals of sustainable agriculture focusing on crop production, sustainable livestock production, and farm business. Emphasis is placed on entrepreneurial and practical field training. Students will complete a business plan and an agricultural internship in sustainable farming.

  17. Sustainable Agriculture Program For more information, contact: David McLaughlin Professor of Horticulture 217-875-7211, ext. 562 dmclaugh@richland.edu

  18. Biofuels Program • Associate of Applied Science Bioprocess Operator Specialty Biofuels Technician Specialty • Certificates Biofuels Technician Biofuels Control Systems Technician

  19. Biofuels Program For what will I be prepared? The knowledge base of this program prepares students for hands-on careers in plant operation, management, and repair at the technician level. Classes are taught by Richland and industry-experienced professional instructors to become a vital part of the workforce.

  20. Ethanol Trainer System

  21. Biodiesel Trainer System

  22. MYTHS OF FUEL ALCOHOL Myth #1: It Takes More Energy To Produce Alcohol Than You Get From It! Energy returned on energy invested (EROEI) for fuel alcohol production is dependent on co-products and their contribution to an accurate portrayal. Oil has a negative EROEI. Alcohol in America is already energy-positive on grain, will be greater on cellulose, and even greater EROEI on algae, even when using coal and natural gas for process heat.

  23. MYTHS OF FUEL ALCOHOL Myth #2: There Isn’t Enough Land To Grow Crops For Both Food and Fuel! According to the USDA, the United States has 434,164,946 acres of “cropland.” In addition to cropland, the U.S. has 939,279,056 acres of “farmland.” Using a feedstock combination of grain and grain stover, lawn grass (yes, lawn grass), and mesquite (yes, cultivated mesquite), there is enough land for both food and fuel.

  24. MYTHS OF FUEL ALCOHOL Myth #3: Ethanol An Ecological Nightmare! For fuel alcohol to be viable, ultimate feedstocks must be perennial by nature (sugar cane, perennial grasses, shrubs, and trees). Worldwide, the major crop used for alcohol fuel is sugarcane, which is planted only once every 5-10 years (compared to corn) and can be harvested continually. Additionally, little fertilization is needed since co-products of alcohol production are applied back to the soil. Finally, the root systems of perennial plants hold the soil in place, preventing erosion.

  25. MYTHS OF FUEL ALCOHOL Myth #4: Ethanol Doesn’t Substantially Improve Air Quality! Adding as little as 5-10% ethanol to gasoline reduces virtually every class of air pollutant from automobile exhaust. Using pure ethanol reduces emissions of the three major air pollutants (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons) by >90% compared to gasoline. Additionally, ethanol carries none of the heavy metals and sulfuric acid that gasoline exhausts do.

  26. Biofuels Program For more information, contact: David Larrick, Ph.D. Director, Sequestration Program 217-875-7211, ext. 730 dlarrick@richland.edu

  27. Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration (IL ICCS) Project Decatur is home to the IL ICCS Project. This project is led by ADM and is cost-shared by the U.S. Department of Energy. Project partners include Schlumberger Carbon Services, the Illinois State Geological Survey, and Richland Community College.

  28. Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration (IL ICCS) Project This is an industrial-scale demonstration project that targets to capture and store CO2 at a rate of one million tons per year by 2015. The CO2 will be stored 7,000 ft. below ground in the Mt. Simon Sandstone rock formation. One million tons of CO2 is equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of more than 200,000 automobiles.

  29. Mount Simon Sandstone and Shale Seals Mount Simon Sandstone • porous rock formation (10-25% pore space) at more than a mile below the surface in Decatur, IL • 1,600 ft. thick in Decatur, IL • liquid CO2 injected into pore spaces Shale Seals • multiple cap rocks hundreds of ft. thick in Decatur, IL • low porosity • act as a cap or seal for the injected CO2

  30. Mount Simon Sandstone and Shale Seals Mount Simon Sandstone • Top photo shows sand grains (white structures) and pore spaces (blue structures). Shale Seals • Bottom photo shows no visible pore spaces. • Red dot shows the size of a pin head.

  31. Carbon Sequestration Program In collaboration with IL ICCS project partners, Richland will develop an Associate of Applied Science degree in Engineering Technology, with a Sequestration Specialty. Richland’s new degree program will provide students with a broad understanding of energy issues and an in-depth knowledge of technical concepts associated with Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS).

  32. Richland Community College BIOL 210 – Environmental Biology BIOL 210 provides a broad understanding of energy issues and resources. Topics of discussion include: Global Warming Fossil Fuels (Coal, Oil, Natural Gas) Renewable Energy Sources (Hydroelectricity, Geothermal, Solar, Wind) Nuclear Energy Energy Conservation Personal Energy Consumption Biofuels Perennial Energy Grasses

  33. Global WarmingCorrelation Between CO2 and Temperature

  34. Global Warming • Global warming is causing the melting of glaciers – all over the world. • Rhone Glacier in Switzerland in 1859 and 2001 • In 1859, the glacier was 1.5 miles longer, with ice filling much of the valley in the photo. • In 2001, the glacier was nearly out of view – retreating 1500 feet in elevation.

  35. Global Warming • Global warming is also causing the melting of arctic sea ice. • Polar bears live on sea ice.

  36. Global Warming • Polar bears are now an endangered species due to melting of arctic sea ice. • By 2040, all arctic sea ice may have melted.

  37. Carbon Sequestration Program In terms of technical concepts associated with CCUS, topics may include: Regional Geologic Characterization Future Commercial Potential Types of Carbon Sequestration

  38. National Sequestration Education Center (NSEC) • Richland will construct the National Sequestration Education Center (NSEC). • The NSEC will serve as (1) the training and education center for Richland’s AAS degree in Sequestration Technology and (2) the focal point for community CCUS educational outreach activities such as workshops, conferences, and public information sessions.

  39. National Sequestration Education Center (NSEC) The NSEC will contain sustainability features, including a geothermal system for facility heating and cooling, two additional biomass furnaces, three wind turbines, and three solar arrays.

  40. Carbon Sequestration Program • For more information, contact: David Larrick, Ph.D. Director, Sequestration Program 217-875-7211, ext. 730 dlarrick@richland.edu

  41. Richland Community College Wind energy, solar energy, geothermal and biomass heating, as well as sustainable agriculture, biofuels, and carbon sequestration programs, all further Richland’s “Commitment to Sustainability”

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