R. G. Gilliland W. F. Harris ORNL Review Volume 33, Number 2, 2000   ORNL Could Be DOE Leader in Carbon Management More and more scientists agree that the world is experiencing a warming trend. Scientists who once asked whether global warming is occurring are now trying to predict its effects. In the U.S. National Assessment of Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, which was officially released to the public June 12, 2000, the U.S. government made its first thorough assessment of the potential consequences to our nation of global warming. The report mentions steaming northern cities in the summer, eroding coastlines, increased drought in some regions, changes in rain and snowfall patterns that could affect the availability of fresh water, and bumper crops in the heartland. Will intensified global warming increase the variability in our weather patterns and bring about longer droughts, bigger floods, and more violent storms? Will ocean levels rise enough to flood coastal states? Can these climatic impacts be delayed? Researchers working in the field of carbon management are developing technologies and strategies to slow the growth in atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), in the hope of avoiding climate changes. Carbon management is defined as "the full range of science and technology opportunities (including policy options) to stabilize atmospheric CO2 concentrations by decreasing the carbon-production potential of the energy system and by reducing CO2 emissions, including the capture and sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and modification of the carbon biogeochemical cycle." Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are studying three approaches to retarding the growth in atmospheric CO2 emissions from human activities (including burning forests to clear land for agriculture). One approach is to develop and implement energy-efficient technologies to decrease the need to burn CO2-emitting fossil fuels. Another plan is to switch from fossil-fuel combustion to lower-carbon and carbon-free fuels and technologies for power production. A third proposal is to capture carbon emissions from energy production facilities and securely store, or sequester, the carbon in plants, geological formations, and the oceans. In this issue of the ORNL Review, Mike Farrell, director of the Global Environmental Studies Program at ORNL and leader of ORNL's carbon management program, and other ORNL leaders discuss issues of carbon management and the reasons why ORNL is well positioned to play a leading role in carbon management research. This issue also features highlights on ORNL work in the carbon management field: energy-efficient appliances and cooling systems for buildings that reduce the need to burn coal; new ways to produce and detect hydrogen for use in fuel cells that make electricity; a design of a highly efficient power plant that combines a solid-oxide fuel cell with a gas turbine and incorporates ORNL's novel heat-exchange and separation technologies; a new carbon capture and separation technique of great interest to industry; the potential use of genetic technology to create trees and grasses that sequester more carbon and provide more energy when harvested; sequestration of carbon in geological formations and in biologically active ponds; and improvement of degraded lands to make them store more carbon. We are studying methane hydrates in the ocean and Arctic permafrost because they hold a tremendous natural gas resource that could affect climate change favorably or adversely, depending on how the hydrates are harvested. We are also evaluating strategies for adapting to any climate change that will probably occur even if all the greenhouse gas controls recommended at the Kyoto conference were implemented. ORNL is also practicing carbon management in its operations. For example, we are participating in the Tennessee Valley Authority's Green Power Switch Program. We will buy 56,250 kilowatt hours a month of electric power generated from renewable resources, such as solar collectors, wind turbines, and landfill gas. Because of the range of expertise and experience at ORNL, we believe we are well positioned to be a leading Department of Energy laboratory in carbon management. As one of the four Battelle labs in the DOE system—the others are the Brookhaven and Pacific Northwest national laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, we at ORNL are proud to be part of the Battelle-DOE Carbon Management Network. We hope this issue of the Review will provide the world with a window on an important part of DOE’s research capabilities in carbon management. Associate Director for Energy and Engineering Sciences Associate Director for Biological and Environmental Sciences