SEQUESTRATION

Two Department of Energy Awards Will Allow ISGS to Develop New Technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) to develop a technology to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal-fired power plants. In the United States, coal-fired power plants emitted about 1,964 million metric tonnes of CO₂ in 2005. In the Illinois Basin, 126 power plants emitted about 273 million metric tonnes of CO₂ in 2005, of which 98% were contributed by the coal-fired plants. Yongqi Lu, principal investigator and ISGS chemical engineer, will lead the 3-year, $700,000 DOE project. Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC) has also committed an additional $100,000 for in-kind contributions in support of this project.

The ISGS team of Yongqi Lu and Massoud Rostam-Abadi will collaborate with the CCC and Professor Mark Rood, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to advance an integrated vacuum carbonate absorption process (IVCAP) for post-combustion CO₂ capture. The development of the IVCAP was initiated in 2004 by the ISGS chemical engineers Yongqi Lu, Scott Chen, and Massoud Rostam-Abadi with support from the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC). A U.S. patent application ... more on carbon sequestration

EVENTS


Earth Science Week 2008

"No Child Left Inside" is the theme of this year's Earth Science Week, to be held October 12-18, 2008. The week stresses the importance of the earth sciences, especially geology, in finding, developing, and conserving the water, mineral, and energy resources our modern society needs. Increased understanding of the earth sciences encourages good stewardship of earth resources.

Earth Science Week offers a great opportunity for everyone, especially children, to go outside and participate in earth science activities. The Illinois State Geological Survey recommends a visit to one of Illinois' beautiful state parks and surrounding areas. For many of these parks, ISGS field trip guidebooks are available that contain easy-to-understand information about the natural, cultural, and geological features of these locations.

For more information about Earth Science Week... more on Earth Science Week

HIGHLIGHTS


ISGS Staff in Teaching Roles

William Roy made the University of Illinois "List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students" for spring semester 2008. Roy is Adjunct Professor in Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a member of the Graduate College. Roy received the excellent ranking for his instruction in NPRE 442, Radioactive Waste Management. The course had not been taught in many years, but was re-introduced by the University in spring 2008 because of the recent renaissance in nuclear energy. The course content includes sources of radioactivity, radiological concepts and measurement, practical waste classification, the role of state and federal regulatory agencies, radiochemistry, and the environmental fate and health effects of radionuclides. Also studied are low-level waste management in geological repositories, high-level waste characteristics and current management, risk assessment methods, Yucca mountain as a geological repository for waste, transportation of radioactive wastes, an international perspective on radioactive waste management, and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.

Mei-In Melissa Chou has been selected to advise a Ph.D. candidate ... more reports