Release Date: June 11, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC - Seventeen universities in 14 states will receive $2.8 million in fossil energy research grants through a Department of Energy (DOE) program that brings science, university students and their professors together to advance the study of new clean and efficient coal-use technologies and concepts.

"This is just one of the many steps the Department of Energy has taken to ensure that clean coal technology remains an effective element in President Bush?s Clear Skies Initiative," Secretary Spencer Abraham said. "We?ve already achieved many successes in the clean coal program, and I expect the 2003 University Coal Research projects will take us even further towards reducing air pollution and improving air quality throughout the nation."

The projects selected under DOE?s 2003 University Coal Research (UCR) Program, now in its 24th year, cover a wide range of research areas. Fabricating new materials that would lower the cost of fuel cells, producing hydrogen from coal, reducing carbon dioxide and mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, and utilization of coal systems by-products are just a few topics that will be supported.

Since UCR?s inception in 1979, the program has funded about 657 research projects having a combined value of almost $107 million, while giving over 1600 students throughout the U.S. first-hand experience in combining science and engineering advances to help solve issues facing the coal industry today. Nine innovative concepts are entering their first phase of research, while four concepts are continuing research from last year. Several focus on removing mercury, carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants by reburning coal or improving barrier filters, and some outline how to sequester carbon using magnesium or mineral silicates.

Universities are encouraged to contribute toward their student?s projects and to secure additional funding from outside institutions. This year, DOE?s total research investment of $2.8 million is being augmented by university contributions amounting to $421,882.

Brief profiles of each winning project are listed below:

CORE PROGRAM

Advanced Coal Systems By-Product Utilization

• Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., will address the issues of mercury (Hg) on Activated Carbon and on combustion-created fly ash from a materials re-use point of view. It also addresses the possible connection between selective catalytic reduction reactors, fly ash properties and Hg capture. Proposed project cost: $213,970; proposed project duration: 30 months.
• University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, Ky., will study the applications and market options for the solid wastes generated from using Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology to generate electricity. These by-product materials can be considered as a new class of material resources from coal. An ash beneficiation processing technology, previously developed at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, will be applied to recover and separate marketable carbon and ash products. Proposed project cost: $538,945, proposed project duration: 36 months.

Materials and Components for Vision 21 Systems

• Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo., has determined that for economical production of hydrogen through coal gasification, approaches that produce a high purity gas must be developed. This proposal supports the further development and study of materials that can facilitate such processes. The objective of this proposed research plan is to optimize the fabrication of permeable palladium/copper composite membranes that can be used to separate hydrogen from other gases in coal combustion product streams. Proposed project cost: $200,000; proposed project duration: 36 months. Business contact: Mary Mittag-Miller 303-273-3405.
• University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, will perform systematic and fundamental research to develop a solid understanding of the effects of processing and microstructure on the creep behavior of refractory intermetallic alloys. Creep behavior is a slow and continuous deformation of material subjected to stress at elevated temperatures. Proposed project cost: $200,000; proposed project duration: 36 months.

Partitioning and Mechanism Studies for Hg & Trace Metals with Coal-Fired Processes

• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, will develop the knowledge and models needed by utility operators to meet the expected EPA mercury regulations. To accomplish this, the project will focus on understanding the importance and contribution of gas-phase and solid-phase constituents to mercury oxidation reaction chemistry. Included in the investigation are the effects of chlorine, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and ash particle reactions. Understanding the effects of these compounds on mercury oxidation is particularly important in coal-fired systems. Proposed project cost: $539,401; proposed project duration: 36 months.

Sensors and Controls

• University of California, Santa Barbara, Calif., will develop novel optical sensors embedded in the crystal structure of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) to detect TBC wear and degradation. Thermal barrier coatings are routinely used to coat the hot sections of systems such as combustors and leading blades and vanes of turbines to enable them to operate at higher temperatures. Proposed project cost: $200,000; proposed project duration: 36 months.

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS - PHASE I

CO2 Separation from Coal Gasification Process

• Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill., will develop a magnesium-based dry, regenerative sorbent to remove CO2 from coal gasification fuel gas. Existing technologies can be used to capture CO2; however, such applications require expensive solvents and operate at less than 40 degrees centigrade (imposing a severe energy penalty on the power generation system). Advanced processes based on dry regenerable sorbents offer attractive advantages over the existing low temperature processes. Proposed project cost: $68,275; proposed project duration: 12 months.
• University of South Carolina Research Foundation, Columbia, S.C., will develop rigorous mathematical models to predict the performance of the two radically new pressure swing adsorption (PSA) systems that will efficiently and significantly concentrate CO2 from high temperature coal gasification "off gas" streams. It is believed that these new proprietary PSA cycles will be more efficient than conventional PSA cycles. Proposed project cost: $50,000; proposed project duration: 12 months.

Direct Utilization of Carbon in Fuel Cells

• Brown University, Providence, R.I., will establish a proof-of-concept for a process based on the use of spouted bed electrodes for the direct conversion of carbon to electricity in a carbon-oxygen fuel cell. Proposed project cost: $55,000; proposed project duration: 12 months.
• Duke University, Durham, N.C., will study the development of a superionic conductor for ionic carbon that would enable the development of an entirely new class of fuel cells for the direct conversion of coal into electricity via its oxidation after ionic transport. A carbon-ion superionic conductor would be an enormous step forward because it would allow the combustionless conversion of coal to electricity without the formation of any of the pollutants associated with the burning of coal. Proposed project cost: $50,000; proposed project duration: 12 months.
• University of Akron, Akron, OH, will study the direct use of carbon from coal as a fuel to generate electricity for the solid oxide fuel cell. The results of this study will provide data to evaluate the limitations and potential of the carbon-based fuel cell for practical applications. Proposed project cost: $62,755; proposed project duration: 12 months.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va., will study a method to address the problem of anode fouling that is associated with porous electrode fuel cells, while allowing for economies of scale. Typical porous electrode fuel cells are not suitable for coal-based power plants because the anode becomes fouled with non-combustible contaminants in the coal and they do not exhibit good economies of scale, requiring thousands of cells for a utility sized plant. Proposed project cost: $61,825; proposed project duration: 12 months.

Electrical Interconnections for Coal-Based Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

• Boston University, Boston, Mass., been selected to investigate perovskite-based (a ceramic material) bi-layer structures as interconnections for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating on coal-gas at lower temperatures. Interconnections are the materials that promote efficient current transfer between fuel cell layers. Proposed project cost: $49,999; proposed project duration: 12 months.

Simulation of CO2 Brine-Mineral Interactions

• University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., will explore a unique approach to develop a simulation and/or modeling of thermodynamic properties for extremely complex chemical systems associated with the application of carbon sequestration strategies. Proposed project cost: $50,000; proposed project duration: 12 months.

Water Impacts from Coal-Burning Power Plants

• Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., will develop a novel remediation treatment for acid mine drainage utilizing reclaimed limestone residual (RLR). RLR is a co-product of the steel making process and has been shown to have oxidation reduction capabilities, and also has significant acid neutralizing potential. Proposed project cost: $49,947; proposed project duration: 12 months.

INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS PHASE II

Advanced Sensors for Vision 21 Systems

• University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala., will develop a high temperature corrosion sensor and subsequent measurement system for Vision 21 systems, resulting in a new technology for on-line corrosion monitoring. The focus of the study is the design, fabrication, and testing of innovative sensors based on the new approach. Proposed project cost: $230,000; proposed project duration: 36 months.

Carbon Sequestration

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., will optimize its active carbonation process developed in Phase I to design an integrated CO2 sequestration module for Vision 21 plants. Mineral carbonation is a promising concept for permanent CO2 sequestration due to the vast natural abundance of the raw minerals, the permanent storage of CO2 in solid form as carbonates, and the overall reaction being exothermic. Proposed project cost: $200,000; proposed project duration: 36 months.
• University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, will develop an integrated research plan that focuses on developing, characterizing and evaluating novel sorbents for the removal of CO2 from multicomponent gaseous streams related with coal combustion, coal gasification, energy production, and in general, Vision 21 activities. Proposed project cost: $267,283; proposed project duration: 36 months.

Mercury & Other Emissions in Advanced Power Systems

• University of Washington, Seattle, Wash., will expand the base knowledge, obtained during its phase I study of methods for removing mercury from coal at a reasonable cost so that it is not released into the atmosphere during combustion. Proposed project cost: $200,000: Proposed project duration: 36 months.