内蒙古煤制气厂引居民不满

choi

VOA Chinese, Aug 23, 2014
www.voachinese.com/content/china-coal-20140822/2425252.html


, which is an abbreviated translation of

Jack Chang, Coal Gas Boom in China Holds Climate Change Risks. Associated Press, Aug 22, 2014 (under the heading The Big Story).
bigstory.ap.org/article/coal-gas-boom-china-holds-climate-change-risks

Quote:

“This is the first of more than 60 coal-to-gas plants China wants to build, mostly in remote parts of the country where ethnic minorities have farmed and herded for centuries. Fired up in December, the multibillion-dollar plant bombards millions of tons of coal with water and heat to produce methane, which is piped to Beijing to generate electricity.

“However, the plants will also release vast amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide * * * If all of the plants start up, the carbon dioxide they'd release would equal three-quarters of all energy-related carbon emissions in the US, according to US government data and energy experts from Duke and Stanford universities. That is far more than now produced in China by burning coal, the country's main source of power.

“So far, China is running only two pilot plants to produce methane, which is also known as synthetic natural gas, in the provinces of Inner Mongolia and far western Xinjiang, with another 21 approved. Building all 60 plants would cost an estimated $65 billion.
‘Once you have invested in it, China will have locked itself in a high water-consuming, high carbon-emitting path,’ said Chi-Jen YANG 楊 啟仁, the Duke energy researcher.

“Central to the appeal of the coal-to-gas plan is that it moves polluting energy production far away from cities while also turning the country's vast coal reserves into more valuable natural gas. Yet scientists at Tsinghua University and Ford Motor Co estimate the process emits between 36 and 82 percent more greenhouse gases than burning coal to produce electricity.

“Already, China emits more heat-trapping carbon into the atmosphere than any other nation and twice that of the U.S., the world's second biggest carbon emitter.

“First developed during World War II, coal gasification breaks down coal into a fuel-gas mix called syngas and then into carbon dioxide and methane. The carbon is often released into the air. The only other gasification plant in the world outside China to commercially produce synthetic natural gas sits in the coal-rich plains of North Dakota. However, that plant became a financial black hole as soon as it began commercial operations in 1984.

Note:
(a)
(i) English: Heshigten Banner; Mongolian: Kesigten qosiɣu; simplified Chinese: 克什克腾旗

is within 内蒙古自治区赤峰市.
(ii) name meaning:
(A) 内蒙古地名趣译. 新华网 内蒙古频道, undated
www.nmg.xinhuanet.com/zhuanti/bmfw/dmqy.htm
("赤峰市：赤峰是蒙古语乌兰哈达的汉译名称，因市区东北部有一座红山而得名 * * * 克什克腾旗：克什克腾是蒙古语，一说为成吉思汗时所创设的近卫军的称号。简称克旗")
(B) Chinese: 《西拉木伦：源头的祭祀》作者:舒洁 (特尼贡)
English: “Xar Moron River: The worship of fountainhead, by Mr Shujie (Tenigong)   [Original]”

The Chinese article was published in 《炎黄地理》2012年第12期. Both the Chinese article and English translation can be found in the Web. What is pertinent is 西拉木伦：源头的祭祀, which states in paragraph 7: “克什克腾的汉译是 ‘禁军’ 或 ‘卫队。’ 在元代，宫廷大汗的近身侍卫大都出自克什克腾旗。”
(C) Thus, the following is wrong:

克什克腾旗
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/克什克腾旗
(克什克腾蒙古语意为“幸福”、“皇恩[1]”--"[Reference 1:] 金启孮《清代蒙古史札记》卷五，蒙古盟旗城镇地名汉意")

(b) syngas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syngas
(synthesis gas; is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide)