Cleaner Coal through Computation Stanford researcher uses Ranger
to design better pollution controls In the 1970s, scientists in
the U.S. noticed that noxious chemicals discharged from coal-
fired power plants — specifically nitrogen oxide (NOx) and
sulfur dioxide (SO2) — were reacting in the atmosphere to
produce acid rain, which was killing forests and spoiling
waterways. The government reacted swiftly, enacting regulation
to restrict the amount of NOx and SO2 that could be released.
Power plant operators installed pollution control devices, or
scrubbers, that pulled these chemicals from the smoke. In a
matter of years, acid rain had been significantly reduced. But
does that mean that coal-fired power plants are now safe? Not
even close, says Jennifer Wilcox, an assistant professor of
Energy Resources Engineering in the School of Earth Sciences at
Stanford University. She specifically cites high levels of
mercury, arsenic and selenium that are still being discharged
from power plants as public dangers. "Duri