A typical "fossil" coal plant can produce about 1 tonne of CO2 per MWh.
A typical "combined cycle" gas plant can produce about 1/3rd of a fossil coal plant
I say, can produce, because it is based on cycle efficiency. At part load ( a situation that occurs in the evening), the CO2 mass emission...
My personal perspective...I visited Berkley (for grad school); and to my regret didn't attend (though was accepted). But I was of the opinion that a sound education at a good school was probably good enough to qualify me for a PhD program. I only went to a state university for my...
Soot would have been my guess too (or sulfates); but I've had numerous academics quote "the metal abrading from the engine".
I remember a chap at an OEM who took an engine that had been running for years to see if he could weigh the engine, comparing original ship weight with final weight...
Ask about droplet formation in condensation vapor trails. Theory says that the vapor pressure of water is infinite for infinitely small diameters. So when you look at a vapor trail in the sky, my MIT professor friend says "it's because of small particles of material in the engine, abraded...
I'll give you my opinion. I've done several analyses on the subject. To sustainably operate a 1,000 MW power plant (Rankine cycle), one would need access to roughly a 65 mile diameter forest for timber; and the extracted material could not be used for any other industry (paper, pulp, etc.)...
There's a need, because so many people in the industry will be retiring in the next few years. You should be able to name your own salary. Probably the bigger opportunities will be in the construction of new nuclear reactors overseas (there will only be a few nuclear units here in the US...