Cleaning UpTexas AirWENDY LILEOCTOBER 19, 2014SCIN140PROFESSOR JOHN ROOU

“The majority of air toxics come from manmade sources, such as factory smokestack emissions and motor vehicle exhaust.”

- Environmental Protection Agency, 2012

Texas air quality is some of the worst in the country. In their 2014 State of the Air report, American Lung Association ranked Houston-The Woodlands 6th and

Dallas-Fort Worth 8th out of 277 metropolitan areas in the country for the worst ozone pollution. We are the

biggest carbon dioxide producer and we also fail to meet standards set by the EPA for annual particle

pollution.

ExxonMobil in Baytown, TexasLargest oil refinery and chemical plant in America

and broke clean air laws more than 4,000 times in 5 years.

Downtown Houston, Texas

Our two main issues are refinery pollution and vehicle emissions, but Texas is not doing enough about them. The following are some feasible solutions.

Solution 1:Enforcing the Clean Air Act on oil refineries

“Federal regulations thus need to be updated to take into account the current state of knowledge on how industrial flares work in practice, and on how they can be operated far more efficiently than they are. You also need to set a hard cap on flaring to ban routine emissions.”

“Stationary monitors are few and far between, and they are simply not capable of reliably detecting plumes of pollution from relatively short-lived upset events or from specific point sources of emissions. Only fence line monitors can reliably do that.”

“Only stricter federal emission requirements will force companies like Exxon to prioritize pollution reduction over profits.”

– Luke Metzger, Environment Texas

The only costs of implementing this strategy is the time that it takes to file the lawsuits and go through extensive litigation with each refinery. Since the ultimate goal is to update federal regulations for refinery pollution, these costs should only be temporary.

Costs

Lyondell Basell in La Porte, Texas

Benefits

• The new standards will cut oil refinery emissions up to 98% and remove 5,600 tons of harmful chemicals from our Texas air each year and 33,000 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

• In reducing their toxic emissions, refineries would be improving the overall public health of the surrounding communities.

• Incorporating the new standards, including the addition of numerous fence-line monitors, will create new jobs for the community.

• Toxic emissions, such as benzene, toluene and xylene, would be reduced by approximately 1,800 tons.

Solution 2: H2Hypod, an after-market vehicle emissions control device

Click here to learn more about the H2Hypod

If these devices were a requirement for commercial fleets, or even just a temporary option of EPA compliance and second only to true hybrid vehicles, we could cut greenhouse gases and reduce some of our dependence on oil.

H2HypodHow it works

The H2Hypod transforms any type of regular vehicle into a hybrid by splitting distilled water into hydrogen and oxygen (H2O2) by electrolysis.

H2Hypod is connected to the air intake and the electrical system to inject the H2O2 just before the air filter where it combines with incoming air and fuel mixture flowing into the engine.

Costs

Even though the devices come with a decent price for what they are worth, their use is only voluntary for the general public.

The main cost of implementing a requirement for such a device for our commercial Texas drivers would be the work that goes into convincing state agencies of their worth. This includes the time needed for testing, analyses, and reports.

The EPA and other state environment groups, such as Environment Texas, could push for emission control devices to be required by law for vehicles, just as they do for refineries.

Implementing the H2Hypod

Costs Pricing

Costs Pricing

• More miles to the gallon

• Less fuel consumption and reduced fuel costs

• More efficient fuel burning lowers emissions up to 30%

• Streamlined combustion creates a cleaner engine so it runs smoother

• Reduces “disruptive harmonics to chassis and operator”

• Produces better torque

• H2Hypod has different models for every type of vehicle ranging from small engines, such as motorcycles and generators, to farm equipment and semi trucks

Benefits

Click here for fuel economy test results, engine performance test results, and testimonials.

With both of these solutions in place, the state of Texas could see tremendous improvements in its air quality in just a short period of time.

American Lung Association (ALA). (2014). State of the Air report 2014. Retrieved from http://www.stateoftheair.org/2014/states/texas/montgomery-48339.htmlClker.com. (n.d.). Texas clip art [Online image]. Retrieved from http://www.clker.com/clipart-texas-star-8.htmlEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2014). EPA fact sheet [PDF file]. Retrieved

from http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/petrefine/20140515factsheet.pdfEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2012). Reducing toxic air pollutants. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/airquality/peg_caa/toxics.htmlEnvironment Texas. (2014). Texas clean air project. Retrieved from http://

www.environmenttexas.org/programs/txe/texas-clean-air-projectEnvironment Texas. (2014). Texas clean air project [Online image]. Retrieved from

http://www.environmenttexas.org/programs/txe/texas-clean-air-projectH2Hypod: How it works. (2014). How the H2Hypod works. Retrieved from http://h2hypod-water4gas.com/how-the-h2hypod-works/H2Hypod. (2014). H2Hypod products and pricing [Online image]. Retrieved from

http://h2hypod-water4gas.com/h2hypod-products/H2Hypod Sales. (2014, Oct). H2Hypod: The Future Is Now [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0N51wlmZ_E

References

Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC). (2014, Mar 27). Houston’s air-quality issues: Interlinking problems [Web log]. Retrieved from

http://www.harc.edu/features/Houston%E2%80%99s_air-quality_issues_Interlinking_problems

Lashof, D. (2014, Jun 6). Cleaner and cheaper: Using the clean air act to sharply reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution-standards/default.asp

Metzger, L. (2014). EPA proposes new rules to cut refinery pollution [Web log]. Retrieved from http://www.environmenttexas.org/blogs/blog/txe/epa-proposes-new-rules-cut-refinery-pollution

Norsworthy, M. (2014). Texas Air Quality Has Improved in Spite of State’s Flawed Approach to Environmental Protection [Online image]. Retrieved from http://blogs.edf.org/texascleanairmatters/2014/06/05/texas-air-quality-has-improved-in-spite-of-states-flawed-approach-to-environmental-protection/

Search Pictures Photos. (n.d.). Texas outline clip art [Online image]. Retrieved from http://searchpp.com/texas-outline-clip-art/

Stevenson, C. (2013). Refinery in La Porte [Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/77020542@N07/10880524993/

Zhro. (2014). Zhro retrofit kit [Online image]. Retrieved from http://www.zhro.com/

References