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February 14, 2013
NETL Research Results in New U.S. Patents
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) received nine patents in 2012 for innovations that address the Nation’s energy challenges. The patents include an integrated process for removing pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion systems; a metallurgical melting process to produce defective-free metal ingots; catalysts that make it easier to reform hydrocarbon fuels; stainless steel compositions and heat treatment processes to enhance stainless steel durability; a method to measure the circulation rate of coal solids in gasification reactors; and a process to separate and purify carbon dioxide (CO₂). Deployment of these technologies will enhance energy efficiency, improve metallurgical processes, and allow for better emissions monitoring and control.

February 8, 2013
Researching the Climate Change Implications of Methane Hydrates
What role do methane hydrates play in the global carbon cycle? How might Earth's vast stores of hydrates respond to a warming climate?  What impacts could large-scale gas hydrate dissociation have on the world's environment?  Working with other federal agencies and academia, NETL seeks to answer these and other vexing questions about methane hydrates or "fire ice." Read about this research in the latest edition of Environment Coastal & Offshore magazine here.  Browse the entire edition here.

January 31, 2013
Fossil Energy-Developed Fuel Cell Technology Being Adapted by Navy for Advanced Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for coal-based central power generation is being adapted by the U.S. Office of Naval Research for use in advanced unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).

January 29, 2013
DOE-Supported Project Advances Clean Coal, Carbon Capture Technology
Researchers at The Ohio State University (OSU) have successfully completed more than 200 hours of continuous operation of their patented Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) technology - a one-step process to produce both electric power and high-purity carbon dioxide (CO₂). The test, led by OSU Professor Liang-Shih Fan, represents the longest integrated operation of chemical looping technology anywhere in the world to date.

January 28, 2013
New Set of Computational Tools and Models Expected to Help Enable Rapid Development and Deployment of Carbon Capture Technologies
An eagerly anticipated suite of 21 computational tools and models to help enable rapid development and deployment of new carbon capture technologies is now available from the Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI). The toolset developed by CCSI, a public-private partnership led by the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, will help meet an urgent need by industry to take carbon capture concepts from the laboratory to the power plant more quickly, at lower cost and with reduced risk.

January 28, 2013
Breakthrough Large-Scale Industrial Project Begins Carbon Capture and Utilization
A breakthrough carbon capture, utilization, and storage project in Texas has begun capturing carbon dioxide and piping it to an oilfield for use in enhanced oil recovery. The project at Air Products and Chemicals hydrogen production facility in Port Arthur, Texas, is significant for demonstrating both the effectiveness and commercial viability of CCUS technology as an option in helping mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions.

January 17, 2013
New Agreement Makes Innovative NETL Simulator Training Available to Pierpont Students
Community and technical college students in West Virginia will learn about the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of clean energy plants utilizing unique simulator based training in a new agreement signed with the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

January 15, 2013
NETL's New Supercomputer Ranks Among the World's Top 100
One of the world’s fastest, most energy-efficient supercomputers – expected to help energy researchers discover new materials, optimize designs and better predict operational characteristics – is up and running at the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, W.Va.