NETL Research Sheds New Light on Unique Class of CO₂ Capture Materials

	Angela Goodman, a chemist at NETL, uses attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy to investigate the mechanism by which carbon dioxide interacts with a nickel-based metal-organic framework, a new carbon dioxide capture material.
	NETL researchers use attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy equipment to characterize in situgas-solid interactions at high temperatures and pressures.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory developed and applied a new optical technique to show for the first time that structural changes are responsible for the high carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture capacity of a new nickel-based metal-organic framework. These experiments provide critical information on the CO₂ storage process.

The experimental technique, which is able to differentiate between captured CO₂ molecules and those still in the gas phase, uses infrared light to probe changes that occur in the crystalline structure of the capture material because of exposure to CO₂.

The new approach, which relies on an optical phenomenon called attenuated total reflectance, can provide a molecular-level understanding of the CO₂ storage process that will enable computational chemists to model and design new capture materials.

The measurements taken by NETL researchers provided evidence for a particularly strong interaction between CO₂ and the pore of the capture framework.

NETL, WVU Collaborate on Improved Coating Process for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

	Junwei Wu, a Ph.D. student at West Virginia University who is working in collaboration with NETL’s Office of Research and Development, displays the results from his electroplating research supporting long life-time solid oxide fuel cells.

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and West Virginia University have collaborated on the development of manganese-cobalt coatings for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) interconnects.

The process uses an electroplating technique that doesn’t harm the environment. The electroplating process offers significant advantages in cost and ease of operations over other coating methods.

Recent results during on-cell testing showed considerable improvement of SOFC degradation with this coating method relative to uncoated interconnects. Further improvements are anticipated as optimized plating variables are identified.

The results of this research have been published in two peer-reviewed journals, and one patent disclosure of the process has been filed. The results were also presented at the Materials Science & Technology-2008 conference.

NETL Laser Spark Ignition System Receives Patent

	Dr. Steven Woodruff adjusts the NETL laser spark plug which he and Dr. Dustin McIntyre invented.

A laser spark spark plug ignition system invented by researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has been issued a patent.

The patent to NETL is for the laser spark plug ignition system which was developed through EE funding under the Distributed Energy/ARES program.

It covers a laser spark distribution system invented by Dr. Steve Woodruff and Dr. Dustin McIntyre of the Office of Research and Development.

The laser distribution system reduces the high peak power optical requirements for laser ignition and distribution systems, allowing for the use of optical fibers for delivering lower energy pumping pulses to a laser amplifier or laser oscillator (laser spark plug).

The laser spark plug enables natural gas fired engines to be operated at higher compression ratios and leaner fuel/air ratios with resultant lower NOx emissions than with conventional electrical spark plugs.

The target market for this ignition system is natural gas fueled reciprocating engines used for pumping and power generation. It also has potential use for other ignition needs including gas turbine engines and can be applied to sensor devices as well.

The laser spark plug was tested in NETL’s single cylinder engine in December 2007.

Approach Developed by NETL Will Heat and Cool Oldest African-American Church

Three years ago, researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory developed a concept for using geothermal energy from abandoned mines to heat and cool buildings with heat pumps.

Community leaders and local officials broke ground on October 31 to install a large heat pump that will use water from an abandoned mine to heat and cool the historic John Wesley AME Zion Church on Herron Avenue in Pittsburgh, the oldest African-American church still being actively used.

The project is expected to cut heating costs by as much as 80 percent and cooling costs by 50 percent.

The water from the coal mine that dates back to the 1800s was a problem for the church because it seeped into the basement. That problem was fixed in 2004 when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection installed a pipe on the mine floor. That allowed the water to drain into the storm and sewage systems.

The concept of having heat pumps provide heating and cooling by using geothermal energy from water in underground mines was developed by NETL researchers three years ago with funding provided by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

A paper on the technology was published by the NETL researchers in the peer-reviewed journal Mine Water and the Environment in 2006.  The researchers also helped the community group who are now using the technology to obtain funding from the state of Pennsylvania.

Recent NETL involvement in the project has been limited to monitoring the temperature of the mine water to demonstrate its consistency. The consistent temperature is one of the reasons why this technology can potentially find applications elsewhere in mined areas.