Release Date: August 13, 2001

PITTSBURGH, PA - The federal government's longest-running energy research and education grant program - the Energy Department's University Coal Research Program - will add 23 new projects in its 22nd year of support for student-professor research.

This year's wide range of research topics includes studies of innovative ways to make hydrogen for fuel cells, novel approaches for preventing greenhouse gas emissions, and the development of advanced sensors and controls for revolutionary power plants of the future.

For greenhouse gas controls, university research teams will investigate the fundamental physical and chemical principles that might one day lead to capturing and permanently storing heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the form of a solid, environmentally benign mineral. Other carbon management projects envision sequestering carbon dioxide in coal seams while simultaneously collecting methane, the main constituent of natural gas.

Since the University Coal Research Program began in 1979, more than 1,440 students have joined with their professors on research projects in coal science and technology. While several commercial products trace their origins to the federal grant program - for example, a "microbubble" coal cleaning process now used worldwide originated in the program - the program's most valuable products have been a wealth of knowledge about coal and the technologies to use it cleaner, plus a cadre of university graduates with hands-on experience in energy-related research.

Projects are selected from a national competition that typically attracts a hundred or more proposals. This year, the 23 winning projects represent 19 universities in 15 states. The winners are:

As in recent competitions, universities could apply for research grants in either of two categories. In the core program, federal grants can amount to as much as $200,000 for projects in specified areas lasting up to three years.

Universities can also apply for smaller, one-year study grants on innovative concepts in any coal-related area. Innovative concepts are eligible for a second phase of competition that could ultimately lead to additional funding of up to $200,000 per project.

Universities are also encouraged to commit funding to the projects and to seek funding support from private sources. This year, the nearly $3 million in support from the Energy Department will be matched by nearly $416,000 from the academic institutions, plus an additional $170,000 from private companies.

Each winning project is described as follows:

CORE PROGRAM

Advanced Sensors for Vision 21 Systems

• West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, proposes to develop a 2-dimensional silicon carbide gas sensor and temperature measurement array for analyzing sulfur, nitrogen, carbon oxides, hydrocarbons and hydrogen. If successful, it will provide technology needed to meet advanced sensing and control requirements for Vision 21, DOE's concept for a pollution-free energy plant of the future. Proposed DOE award: $200,000; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Alan B. Martin, 304-293-7398.

Materials Development for Advanced Systems Through Nanostructure Science and Technology

• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, will synthesize, characterize, and engineer a new class of polymer/inorganic membrane materials which will purify hydrogen while capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide in flue gas. When flue gas is filtered through this membrane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water, and hydrogen sulfide would pass through and hydrogen would be collected. Proposed DOE award: $200,000; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Matt Ronning, 919-513-2148.

Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells : A Promising Energy-Conversion Technology

• Georgia Institute of Technology plans to develop novel electrodes materials necessary for operating SOFCs at lower operating temperatures, within the 400-600 C range, than what is being used today. This dramatic improvement would ensure a greater overall system stability, reliability, and efficiency and reduce thermal stresses in the active ceramic structures, leading to a longer operating life of the system. SOFCs convert chemical energy from a variety of fossil fuels into electrical energy very efficiently with almost zero emissions. Proposed DOE award: $200,000; university share: $13,000; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Vannessa Daniels, 404-894-5945.

Modeling of Molecule-Surface Interactions

• University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, proposes to devise a method for creating catalysts that would improve the production of high-value products from coal. Specifically, the student-professor team will focus on the Fischer-Tropsch process, a chemical method that can convert gases made from coal into a suite of products including olefins, gasoline, diesel fuel, waxes, and oxygenates. Several of these products could be used as clean-burning transportation fuels or additives. The research effort will examine catalysts that produce specific products and study their effects on the Fischer-Tropsch process. Proposed DOE award: $199,549; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Michael G. Glasgow, Jr., 804-924-4270.
  
• Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, will study hydrogen pathways in catalysts to predict the characteristics that are easiest to use in producing oxygenated hydrocarbon products. Oxygenated hydrocarbons typically burn cleaner and more efficiently than conventional fuels. This project will also investigate reversed pathways to generate hydrogen. Proposed DOE award: $199,984; project duration: 36 months. Contact: Thomas Meischeid, 610-758-3021.
  

Liquid Transportation Fuels/Hydrocarbon Reformulation

• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, will join Clemson University, Clemson, SC, and Porvair Advanced Materials, in producing a hydrogen-rich gas stream for automotive fuel cells by reformulating coal-derived transportation fuels. Reformulation involves developing, characterizing, and evaluating a series of metal catalysts. Project duration: 36 months. Project cost: $593,257; proposed DOE award: $398,383; university share: $26,625; private cost share: $168,249; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Matt Ronning, 919-513-2148.
  

Modeling of Refractory Materials in Coal Gasification Systems

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, proposes to use sodium zirconium phosphate to make a stronger ceramic used in refractory applications. The material withstands high temperatures, resists thermal shock and is suited for highly gaseous environments and gas cleanup. Proposed DOE award: $200,000; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Robert Killoren, 814-865-1372.
  
• University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, will simulate refractory corrosion in slagging coal gasifiers to create models that predict the wearing down of refractory liners. Emphasis is on materials and techniques that extend the life of these liners. Proposed DOE award: $200,000; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Sally Eckert-Tilotta, 701-777-4278.
  

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS - PHASE 1 PROJECTS

Advanced Sensors for Vision 21 Systems

• University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, proposes to develop an on-line monitoring system to analyze corrosion rates of water walls in coal-burning boilers. Water walls are made of high-temperature alloys and are expensive to replace. The work involves designing and manufacturing a novel sensor, developing an electronic-measurement system, testing the system on a laboratory furnace, and improving the system's overall design to lead to pilot- and full-scale testing. Proposed DOE award: $50,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Joan F. Lorden, 205-934-5266.
  

Carbon Sequestration

• Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, will use advanced diagnostic techniques to engineer enhanced carbonation minerals and processes that permanently dispose of carbon dioxide in an environmentally safe and low-cost manner. The magnesium-rich olivine mineral, widely available in readily minable deposits worldwide, for example, could potentially store CO2 and eventually convert it into magnesite. Project cost: $77,113; proposed DOE award: $49,170, university share: $27,943; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Teresa Damonte-Robinette, 480-965-4935.
  
• University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA, will develop a computer model to determine the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide in coalbeds while simultaneously producing clean methane (i.e., natural gas) without any impact on the greenhouse effect. When CO2 is injected into coalbed methane reservoirs, the methane is released and captured in production wells. USC will use a model to better study these reservoirs and test how CO2 can be retained in the reservoir rock, and how methane and water flow through the rock structure. Proposed DOE award: $50,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Victoria Mackenzie, 213-740-6058.
  
• University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, proposes to develop, characterize, and evaluate low-cost, poison-tolerant sorbents that remove CO2 from gas streams created by systems now being developed for DOE's Vision 21 pollution-free energy plant of the future. The sorbents could be used in coal combustion and gasification, and could produce high-grade hydrogen from fossil fuels to power fuel cells. Project cost: $57,650; proposed DOE award: $50,000, university share: $7,650; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Edward Roberts, 513-556-2868.
  
• University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, to study the potential of simultaneously injecting CO2 into coalbed methane reservoirs while enhancing the recovery of methane. Proposed DOE award: $49,997; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Richard C. Powell, 520-626-6000.
  
• Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, will investigate storing carbon dioxide in carbonate feedstocks made from minerals while studying their physical and catalytic surface activity. Penn State will use magnesium-rich minerals to produce the feedstocks, and develop an active carbonization process that can ultimately evolve into an integrated CO2-sequestration module for DOE's Vision 21 energy plant of the future concept. Project cost: $55,000; proposed DOE award: $50,000; university share: $5,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Robert Killoren, 814-865-1372.
  
• Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, will help scientists understand better how to sequester carbon dioxide by generating a 3-dimensional molecular model of a low-volatile bituminous coal. Emphasis is on determining the differences in sorption characteristics and diffusion rates between gases in coal beds. Proposed DOE award: $50,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Heinz Machatzke, 412-396-5175.
  

Mercury & Other Emissions in Advanced Power Systems

• University of Washinton, Seattle, WA, will attempt to reduce mercury emissions when fossil fuels are burned by examining how to oxidize mercury using trace amounts of hydrogen and oxygen under fuel-rich and fuel-lean conditions. When mercury is oxidized, it is easier to capture using existing pollution controls such as wet scrubbers. Proposed DOE award: $50,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Doug Mounce, 206-543-4043.
  
• West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, proposes to use an electrochemical method to detect traces of mercury in flue gas streams. Identifying and quantifying species of mercury are essential for developing cost-effective control strategies. This project will use thin film electrodes to detect mercury. Project cost:$66,991; proposed DOE award: $50,000; university share: $16,991; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Alan B. Martin, 304-293-7398.
  
• University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, will investigate a non-thermal plasma technique to oxidize elemental mercury to enhance mercury capture using conventional pollution-control devices. The technique would also control nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter as well as mercury from coal-fired plants. Project cost: $78,798; proposed DOE award: $50,000; participant share: $28,798; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Andrew W. Shepard, 603-862-2436.
  
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, will pursue two methods of controlling mercury emissions from coal plants. The first focuses on photo ionization, using light to charge mercury atoms and collect them on oppositely charged plates to remove mercury from gas streams. The second method uses water vapor inherent in flue gas to attract mercury atoms and form water droplets that are later removed. Proposed DOE award: $50,000; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Cheryl Lee Howard, 410-516-8668.
  

Thermodynamics Measurement for Mixture of Asymmetric Hydrocarbons

• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, will examine a two-stage approach to monitoring Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) reactions and reforming F-T oils and waxes to produce hydrogen. The university will model heavy oils to simulate waxes and then develop an equilibrium thermodynamic model that would provide information on extracting valuable hydrocarbons. The process requires improved technology to measure heavier hydrocarbons that can ultimately lead to monitoring pipeline mixtures. The F-T process gasifies fossil fuels, thereby producing hydrocarbons along with wax and heavy oil. Proposed DOE award: $49,500; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Lynne Chronister, 801-581-3003.
  
• Clemson University, Clemson, SC, will develop a method for measuring the vapor liquid equilibrium of a light Fischer-Tropsch gas with heavy F-T waxes of an asymmetric mixture that will lead to a database for future modeling. Asymmetric mixtures contain hydrocarbons of varying sizes, which are created when fossil fuel feedstocks are processed. Understanding the behavior of these mixtures is essential to optimize use of these feedstocks. Proposed DOE award: $49,999; project duration: 12 months. Business contact: Y.T. Shah, 864-656-2424.

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS - PHASE II

Novel CO2 Capture and Separation Schemes

• Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, will build on earlier research and use advanced simulation techniques to engineer improved carbon-based feedstocks for sequestering CO2 and develop a detailed understanding of key aspects of carbonation. Project cost: $262,545; proposed DOE award: $195,717; university share: $66,828; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Teresa Damonte-Robinette, 480-965-4935.
  
• University of Akron, Akron, OH, will study photosynthesis as a promising alternative for sequestering CO2 to address global climate concerns. This project will investigate the reactivity of adsorbates, their role in photosynthesis reactions, and their relation to surface areas during photosynthesis. The results for this study would be useful for developing a better understanding of the reaction kinetics for designing visible light-photosynthesis catalysts. Project cost: $266,620; proposed DOE award: $199,965; university share: $66,655; project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Gerald M. Parker, 330-972-6764.