What’s Coming Out
of Those Stacks?
When you drive by a manufacturing plant, like a paper or lumber
mill, you often see what looks like white smoke coming out of
the stacks. Just what is that? Because of the efficient pollution
control devices we have today, it is mostly water vapor (steam)
and carbon dioxide.
But How
Is It Created?
One of the most useful things about energy is that it can be
changed from one form to another. A mill uses materials like
wood as fuel to create heat.
This heat is used to boil water and create steam. As the wood
is converted to heat, it releases both carbon dioxide stored
in the wood and water vapor. Because these materials are not
used in either the mill's production process or to create electricity,
they are released into the air through the stacks.
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