U . S . D e p a r t m e n t o f E n e r g y • O f f i c e o f F o s s i l E n e r g y 

N a t i o n a l E n e r g y T e c h n o l o g y L a b o r a t o r y

 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Message from the Director

It is my pleasure to present the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL’s) 

2005 Accomplishments Report. This report describes the results of NETL’s work 

over the previous fiscal year and demonstrates that our staff has upheld the trust 

of the American public by wisely investing taxpayer dollars to benefit the nation. 

The report also responds to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, 

which holds federal agencies accountable for achieving solid results.

NETL’s mission is to conduct and implement wide-ranging research and 

technology development programs to ensure the fossil fuels industry can help 

meet America’s increasing demand for affordable domestic energy. Funding is 

provided by the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, as well as other 

Department offices and federal agencies. NETL is committed to achieving science 

and technology advances and turning these advances into energy solutions that spur 

the growth of the nation’s economy.

The successes NETL achieved in 2005 are the result of extensive onsite and 

contracted research, which focus on the production, transmission, and utilization of 

fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil. Fossil resources provide 85 percent of our 

nation’s energy supply today and will continue to satisfy the bulk of the nation’s 

energy needs for decades to come. NETL’s work provides new, affordable ways to 

leverage U.S. fossil resources consistent with national environmental and energy 

security objectives.

In late 2005, NETL proudly announced the merger of the Office of Fossil Energy’s 

Albany Research Center with our family of research facilities. In 2006 and 

beyond, NETL’s internal capabilities will be expanded by Albany’s internationally 

recognized expertise in advanced materials sciences for next-generation fossil 

energy systems, enhancing the speed, scope, and impact of our results.

NETL delivers cutting-edge research and development, contributing to the clean 

production and use of our nation’s domestic fossil energy resources. Please take 

the time to look through the following pages. We believe these accomplishments 

illustrate our commitment to America’s energy future.

Carl O. Bauer

Director

National Energy Technology Laboratory
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 

Table of Contents

Contributing to America’s Energy Future................................................................5

 Who We Are, What We Do ...............................................................................................................................5

 Our Research Focus..........................................................................................................................................6

 Our Major Initiatives.........................................................................................................................................6

NETL Accomplishments 2005....................................................................................7

Coal—Powering Our Nation Today and Tomorrow .....................................................................8

 Technologies for Existing Coal-Fired Power Plants.........................................................................................9

 Mercury ...................................................................................................................................................9

 Water......................................................................................................................................................11

 Criteria Pollutants..................................................................................................................................11

 Technologies for Future Energy Plants...........................................................................................................13

 Zero-Emission Technologies.................................................................................................................13

 Heat Engines..........................................................................................................................................14

 Fuel Cells...............................................................................................................................................15

 Carbon Sequestration.............................................................................................................................18

 Hydrogen ...............................................................................................................................................19

 Materials................................................................................................................................................20

 Clean Coal Demonstration Projects................................................................................................................22

 Modeling, Simulation, and Assessment..........................................................................................................24

Gas and Oil—Tapping Domestic Resources with Innovative Technology .............................. 26

 Gas Exploration and Production.....................................................................................................................27

 Gas Transmission, Distribution, and Refining................................................................................................29

 Methane Hydrate ............................................................................................................................................32

 Oil Exploration and Production......................................................................................................................33

 Modeling, Simulation, and Assessment..........................................................................................................34

Working Beyond the Office of Fossil Energy ............................................................................ 36

 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy ......................................................................................37

 Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability ....................................................................................38

 Office of Engineering and Construction Management ...................................................................................39

 Department of Homeland Security .................................................................................................................39

Sharing Our Energy Expertise ................................................................................................... 40

Spotlighting Our Contributions ................................................................................................. 43

 Awards............................................................................................................................................................44

 Noteworthy Publications.................................................................................................................................45

 Patents.............................................................................................................................................................46
 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Contributing to

America’s Energy

Future

Who We Are, What We Do

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is 

owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE). As part of DOE’s national laboratory system, 

NETL supports the Department’s mission to advance 

the national, economic, and energy security of the 

United States.

NETL is unique in both its mission and its approach. 

The only DOE national laboratory dedicated specifically 

to fossil energy research, NETL is focused on resolving 

the environmental, supply, and reliability constraints of 

producing and using America’s most abundant energy 

resource—fossil fuels. To achieve this mission, NETL 

draws on over 1,200 federal and support-contractor 

employees to implement and manage its broad spectrum of 

energy and environmental research programs.

Across 47 states and more than 40 foreign countries, NETL 

implements over 1,400 contracted and onsite research and 

development activities. A large portion of NETL’s funding 

is devoted to partnerships with industry, university, and 

government entities focused on improving fossil-energy 

production and use. This approach brings together a wealth 

The National Energy 

Technology Laboratory, 

owned and operated by 

the U.S. Department 

of Energy, implements 

research, development, 

and demonstration 

programs to resolve 

the environmental, 

supply, and reliability 

constraints of 

producing and using 

fossil resources.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

• Energy Security—Energy security, a vital component 

of national security, is jeopardized by relying too 

much on any one energy resource or depending too 

heavily on energy supplies beyond our borders. It is 

also at risk when the nation’s energy infrastructure 

is vulnerable. In response to these important issues, 

NETL is developing technologies to ensure that the 

nation has abundant and diverse supplies of clean 

energy from domestic resources. NETL is also 

supporting the DOE Office of Energy Assurance, 

the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal 

Emergency Management Agency, and local 

agencies to evaluate and protect America’s energy 

infrastructure.

Our Major Initiatives 

To meet America’s need for clean, affordable energy, some 

of the most important programs NETL implements are—

• Clean Coal Power Initiative—The Clean Coal Power 

Initiative is a cooperative, cost-shared program between 

government and industry. Its goal is to demonstrate 

and accelerate the commercialization of advanced, 

affordable, and environmentally sound technologies. 

Under this initiative, the nation’s power generators, 

equipment manufacturers, and coal producers help 

identify the most critical barriers to coal’s use in 

the private sector and select technologies that will 

economically meet environmental standards while 

increasing the efficiency and reliability of coal power 

plants.

• FutureGen—FutureGen is a $1 billion industrygovernment partnership to design, build, and operate a 

coal gasification-based, near zero-emission electricity 

and hydrogen production plant. The 275-megawatt 

prototype plant will serve as a large-scale engineering 

laboratory for testing new clean power, carbon capture, 

and coal-to-hydrogen technologies. A direct response 

to the President’s Climate Change and Hydrogen 

Fuels Initiatives, FutureGen will employ cutting-edge 

technology in nearly every aspect and will be the 

cleanest fossil fuel-fired power plant in the world. 

of scientific and engineering talent and creates commercially 

viable solutions to national energy and environmental problems.

NETL is a single organization comprising five facilities in 

Albany, OR; Fairbanks, AK; Morgantown, WV; Pittsburgh, 

PA; and Tulsa, OK. The laboratory’s activities are primarily 

funded through DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, but NETL also 

conducts work for other DOE offices and federal agencies.

Devoted to developing technologies that use our nation’s 

abundant fossil resources more cleanly and efficiently, 

NETL’s efforts enable domestic coal, natural gas, and 

oil supplies to economically power America’s homes, 

industries, businesses, and transportation while protecting 

our environment and enhancing our energy independence.

Our Research Focus

In choosing our portfolio of projects, NETL works closely 

with the Office of Fossil Energy and other research partners 

to establish and meet national goals in three key areas:

• Clear Skies—America has made dramatic progress 

reducing air emissions since the first Clean Air Act was 

passed in 1970. In 2005, the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) passed the Clean Air Interstate Rule and 

the Clean Air Mercury Rule. These regulations will 

further reduce power plant emissions of nitrogen oxides 

(NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury. Developing 

technologies to control these emissions while enabling 

the continued use of our nation’s abundant fossil 

resources will protect human health and help ensure 

an adequate supply of affordable energy to power our 

economy. NETL’s research includes projects that will 

control these pollutants at existing plants and in the 

power plants of tomorrow.

• Climate Change—President Bush has committed 

America to reducing greenhouse gas intensity—the ratio 

of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output—by 

18 percent by 2012. This puts the nation on a path to 

slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and, as 

the science justifies, stop and then reverse that growth. 

Carbon sequestration—the long-term storage of carbon 

in vegetation or geologic formations—holds great 

promise for helping the nation meet this goal. NETL 

spearheads a number of projects to sequester carbon 

dioxide (CO2) and slow the growth of greenhouse gas 

emissions. In addition, NETL is conducting research 

focused on the prototype power generation system that 

will produce electricity and hydrogen with near-zero 

emissions.
 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

• Methane Hydrate Research and Development 

Program—Enabled by the Methane Hydrate Research 

and Development Act of 2000, the program is designed 

to advance the energy community’s understanding 

of the nature and potential of naturally occurring 

methane hydrate. In a collaborative effort, researchers 

from industry, academia, DOE national laboratories, 

and federal agencies engage in a wide range of 

activities to better understand hydrate-related hazards 

to conventional deepwater oil and gas exploration, 

document the role hydrate plays in environmental 

processes, and realize the potential of methane hydrate 

as a source of domestic natural gas.

• Solid State Lighting Initiative—The Solid State 

Lighting Initiative, a component of our non-fossil 

energy work, focuses on research and development 

that will enable light emitting diodes and organic light 

emitting diodes to compete in the general illumination 

market. Solid state lighting—now used in traffic signals, 

flashlights, and automobile brake lights—uses 50 

percent less electricity than incandescent and fluorescent 

lamps and is positioned to replace everyday lighting 

technology by 2025. A collaborative, cost-shared effort, 

the initiative will ultimately deliver substantial energy 

savings and position U.S. companies as technology 

leaders in the global lighting marketplace.

2005 NETL Accomplishments

NETL’s fiscal year 2005 accomplishments are largely the 

result of partnerships created to foster the inventive genius 

of America’s citizens and industries. In combination, 

NETL’s successes represent progress—progress toward 

national energy security, an enhanced environment, and a 

robust American economy.

Because fossil fuels are the focus of NETL’s mission, this 

report groups the bulk of its accomplishment descriptions 

around these resources—coal, natural gas, and oil—that 

together provide 85 percent of America’s energy supply. 

The remainder of the laboratory’s achievements stem 

from the work it conducts with federal agencies outside 

the Office of Fossil Energy, its efforts to share knowledge 

with government and public organizations, and its awards, 

noteworthy publications, and patents.

The five major sections that follow are—

• Coal—Powering Our Nation Today and Tomorrow

• Gas and Oil—Tapping Domestic Resources with 

Innovative Technology

• Working Beyond the Office of Fossil Energy

• Sharing Our Energy Expertise

• Spotlighting Our Contributions

Each of these sections is introduced with an 

explanation of program objectives that put individual 

accomplishments in context. It is hoped the reader will 

see the interconnectedness of this work and how NETL’s 

accomplishments build on each other, moving America 

forward in the responsible use of its domestic fossil fuel 

resources.
COAL

Powering Our Nation

Today and Tomorrow

Coal is a true measure of 

America’s energy strength. One 

quarter of the world’s coal reserves 

are found within the United States, 

and the energy content of the 

nation’s coal resources exceeds that 

of all the world’s known recoverable 

oil. Coal is also the workhorse of 

the nation’s electric power industry, 

supplying more than half of the 

electricity consumed by Americans. 

To preserve this economically vital 

energy foundation and help the 

coal-power industry effectively 

steward our nation’s fundamental 

energy resource, NETL is 

developing low-cost environmentally 

compliant technologies, efficiencyboosting innovations, and 

technologies for future energy 

plants with near-zero emissions.
 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Technologies for 

Existing Coal-Fired 

Power Plants

Through the Office of Fossil 

Energy’s Innovations for Existing 

Plants Program, NETL and 

its research partners provide 

solutions to air, solids, and 

water issues associated with the 

nation’s existing fleet of coalfired power plants. Key areas 

of research include controlling 

emissions of mercury, NOx, SO2, 

and particulate matter, as well 

as innovations to minimize the 

impact of fossil-fuel use on the 

nation’s water resources.

MERCURY

NETL manages the nation’s largest research program 

that investigates mercury emissions as they relate to 

coal-fired electric power generation. The program’s 

goal is to develop control options that will help the 

coal-fired power industry meet regulations that place 

the first-ever caps on mercury emissions. NETL 

develops novel concepts at pilot scale, conducts 

large-scale field testing, researches technologies that 

co-control such pollutants as NOx and SO2, and seeks 

to expand our fundamental understanding of mercury 

emissions.

Multipollutant Control Achieves 70–90 Percent 

Mercury Removal—URS Group Inc., in cooperation with 

NETL, obtained 70–90 percent mercury removal at the City 

Public Service of San Antonio’s Spruce Power Plant, which 

fires subbituminous Powder River Basin coal. Mercury 

was captured with existing flue gas treatment equipment 

designed to remove SO2 and particulate matter. Though 

these results are not conclusive for all coal types and plant 

configurations, the successful coremoval of mercury by 

conventional pollution-control equipment has important 

implications for controlling multiple emissions under the 

President’s Clear Skies Initiative and for complying with 

mercury-control regulations.

Novel Method Developed for Mercury Detection—A 

team of NETL and West Virginia University scientists 

developed a prototype electrochemical analyzer for the 

rapid and inexpensive detection of mercury and other trace 

metals in various aqueous solutions at concentrations less 

than 1 part per billion. This new method can potentially 

be applied to monitoring drinking water, conducting 

environmental studies of water bodies, and analyzing power 

plant scrubbing liquors. An article, published in the Journal 

of Electroanalytical Chemistry, details the process.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 10

NETL Licenses Mercury-Capture Process for 

Commercial Development—NETL has licensed for 

commercial development its patented Thief Process 

to Mobotec, an international corporation focused on 

combustion improvement and multipollutant reduction for 

boilers. The process extracts partially combusted coal from 

the furnace of a pulverized-coal power plant and injects it 

into the downstream flue gas ductwork. The injected coal, 

now serving as a sorbent, demonstrated mercury-capture 

capacity comparable to that of commercially available 

activated carbons, but the Thief Process could prove to be 

more cost effective.

Invention Disclosure Filed for Enhanced MercuryCapture Sorbent—Working in cooperation with NETL, 

researchers at the University of North Dakota Energy 

and Environmental Research Center developed a novel 

technology with greater potential for capturing mercury, 

especially in its difficult-to-remove elemental form. The 

technology features an activated carbon sorbent with a 

surface modification that allows the elemental mercury to 

be more readily oxidized, a key step for facilitating capture. 

Pilot-scale tests showed that the enhanced sorbent, in 

conjunction with an electrostatic precipitator, was highly 

successful in removing mercury from flue gas and could 

do the same in gasification streams—even at elevated 

temperatures (350–400 oC). A higher-efficiency sorbent 

suitable for use at elevated temperatures means lower 

overall costs of mercury-emission control during coal 

combustion and gasification.

Sorbent Injection for Mercury Control Demonstrated 

at Three Sites—ADA-ES Inc. of Littleton, CO, completed 

field testing of a sorbent injection process for mercury 

control at three coal-burning power plants. Researchers 

completed the long-term tests at AmerenUE’s Meramec 

Station Unit 2, where DARCO Hg-LH, a bromine-treated 

activated carbon, was injected over a 30-day period. An 

average vapor-phase mercury removal of 93 percent was 

achieved. Researchers also completed testing at Basin 

Electric’s Laramie River Station Unit 3 and removed 

mercury in excess of 90 percent during short-term 

parametric testing. Finally, researchers completed longterm testing at Detroit Edison’s Monroe Power Plant 

Unit 4, which fires a blend of Powder River Basin and 

bituminous coals. An average of 78 percent of the mercury 

was removed. These results show that sorbent injection 

can achieve high levels of mercury removal at costs 

significantly lower than the established baseline cost.

New Mercury Removal Technology Demonstrates High 

Performance Levels—In an NETL-managed project, 

ALSTOM Power demonstrated its MerCureTM sorbent 

injection technology at PacifiCorp’s Dave Johnston plant. 

The technology achieved 90 percent mercury removal on 

a unit equipped only with an electrostatic precipitator. The 

high level of performance was achieved with the lowest 

sorbent injection concentration of any project funded from 

the Office of Fossil Energy’s Innovations for Existing 

Plants program. Since the cost of activated carbon injection 

for mercury control is dominated by sorbent costs, a 

technology that can achieve high levels of mercury removal 

at extremely low injection rates is desirable.

Slipstream Tests Demonstrate High Mercury Removal 

at Extremely Low Cost—CONSOL Energy completed 

an NETL-managed project using its Low-Temperature 

Mercury Control process. The process was conducted at 

Allegheny Energy’s Mitchell Station using a 1.7-megawatt 

electric equivalent pilot plant. The technology works by 

cooling the exhaust gases with the air heater or water spray 

and permitting the mercury to absorb on the fly ash. The 

fly ash and mercury are then captured in the power plant’s 

existing particulate collection device. An alkaline material 

(magnesium hydroxide slurry) is injected to remove sulfur 

trioxide (SO3) and prevent corrosion and fouling of the 

power plant air heater and ductwork. Researchers achieved 

a maximum mercury removal of 96 percent during the 

long-term testing. The technology is cost effective when 

compared to activated carbon injection because it takes 

advantage of the in-situ fly ash as the mercury sorbent, does 

not require retrofitting of sorbent injection lances, and does 

not negatively impact the byproduct material.

COAL
11 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

WATER

Water and energy are inextricably linked. Because 

thermoelectric generation and fossil-fuel extraction 

can impact water resources, it is critically important 

to protect U.S. water supplies while providing 

the energy needed to power the nation. Through 

integrated water- and energy-related activities, 

NETL is responding to this challenge by developing 

and applying advanced technologies and supporting 

science.

High-Thermal-Conductivity Carbon Foam Prepared 

for Test—In a project sponsored by NETL through the 

Small Business Innovation Research program, Ceramic 

Composites Inc. has produced carbon foam for testing in an 

air-cooled condenser. Ceramic Composites demonstrated 

the ability to increase the compressive strength and reduce 

the friability of high-thermal-conductivity carbon foam by 

21⁄2 times by treating the carbon filaments with a uniform 

silicon carbide coating. The company partnered with SPX 

Corporation, formerly Marley Cooling, to test the material’s 

thermal properties. Ceramic Composites produced enough 

of the material and bonded it to metal tubing so the heat 

transfer properties can be tested. The ultimate goal is to use 

the material in an air-cooled condenser. The carbon foam 

has the potential to improve the efficiency of dry cooling 

systems and significantly lower the usage of water in power 

generation.

Passive Wastewater Treatment System Completed at a 

Coal-Fired Power Plant—The Tennessee Valley Authority 

held a site tour at the Paradise Fossil Plant in Kentucky 

to celebrate the completed construction of an integrated 

passive wastewater treatment system (constructed 

wetland) at a coal-fired power plant to minimize the 

release of arsenic, selenium, mercury, ammonia, and other 

trace elements to the environment. An extraction trench 

component was constructed for the removal of three of 

the elements as part of the Innovations for Existing Plants 

program managed by NETL. The component is a reaction 

cell containing a mixture of zero valent iron (cast iron 

shavings) and limestone. It brings wastewater into contact 

with iron surfaces where adsorption reactions take place. 

Monitoring of the system will continue for 2 years.

Patented Process Yields Clean Water from Boiler Flue 

Gas—Following irrigation, coal-fired power plants are the 

second largest users of water in the country. These plants 

present challenges to conserving and reusing the nation’s 

water supplies. Siemens Westinghouse, in a cost-shared 

project with NETL, plans to commercialize its patented 

WETEX process, which uses a liquid desiccant (calcium 

chloride) to absorb water from flue gas. The absorbed water 

is then flashed off under a vacuum and condensed to yield 

clean water. Work continues toward the development of 

accurate cost estimates and performance curves for the 

process under varying conditions.

CRITERIA POLLUTANTS

NETL’s research efforts are aimed at near-zero 

emissions of criteria pollutants and CO2 in the 

nation’s coal-fired power industry. Emissions of these 

pollutants continue to decrease despite a steady 

increase in coal utilization. To continue that trend, 

NETL and its research partners are developing 

advanced, low-cost technologies to address current 

and future limits on NOx, SO2, and particulates, 

including difficult-to-control fine particulates.

NOx-Control Technology Selected for Industrial 

Facility—P.H. Glatfelter Company has licensed Praxair 

Technology Inc.’s patent-pending oxygen-enhanced 

combustion system, which can reduce NOx emissions 

below targets contained in the President’s Clear Skies 

Initiative and EPA’s Clean Air Interstate Rule. The 

technology was installed in two pulverized coal-fired 

boilers at the Glatfelter pulp and paper manufacturing 

facility in Spring Grove, PA. Operations began with the 

2005 ozone season. Oxygen-enhanced combustion was 

developed in cooperation with NETL to help utilities 

meet near-term NOx limits while advancing combustion 

technologies (e.g., 100 percent oxygen-fired boiler) 

that produce low pollutant emissions and facilitate CO2

sequestration. The technology is particularly suited for 

retrofitting older, space-constrained units with capacities of 

300 megawatts or less, which represent 66 percent of U.S. 

boilers.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 12

COAL

Novel Oxy-Fuel Burner Produces Less NOx—

Commercial-scale tests, conducted at the CANMET Energy 

Technology Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, showed that a new 

burner, designed for combustion with oxygen instead of air, 

reduced NOx emissions from bituminous and lignite coals 

by as much as 80 percent. Cosponsored by NETL through 

the International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas Research 

and Development Programme, the tests also indicated that 

the flue gas produced has a higher concentration of CO2

than the flue gas found in conventional power plants. This 

facilitates CO2 capture at lower cost and with less parasitic 

power consumption.

Low-Cost Approach for NOx Control Exceeds Targets—

Pilot-scale tests conducted at The Babcock & Wilcox 

Company’s Alliance, OH, facility used a cost-effective, 

retrofit technology to reduce coal-boiler NOx emissions to 

below targets contained in the Clean Air Interstate Rule and 

the President’s Clear Skies Initiative. A wall-fired boiler 

burning subbituminous Powder River Basin coal with lowNOx burners and overfire air achieved emissions as low 

as 0.094 pounds per million Btu. The tests also revealed 

greater emission reduction—0.071 pounds per million 

Btu—with the addition of selective non-catalytic reduction 

technology. The potential for achieving such low levels 

in commercial boilers, even without the more expensive 

selective non-catalytic reduction technology, has important 

implications for multipollutant control. The project is 

funded by the Innovations for Existing Plants program 

managed by NETL.

Novel Technique Improves Particulate Capture 

Process—An invention disclosure has been filed by 

researchers at the University of North Dakota Energy 

and Environmental Research Center for a novel fabriccoating technique that reduces blinding (closing of pores) 

in baghouse filter bags. Developed in cooperation with 

NETL, the proprietary process contributes to overall power 

plant efficiency by decreasing baghouse pressure drop 

and facilitating air-pulse filter bag cleaning. In addition, 

decreased filter blinding increases bag life and reduces 

replacement costs. By allowing such higher-efficiency 

baghouse designs, the innovation could lower overall costs 

for particulate-emission control at coal-fired power plants 

and in other particulate-intensive industries, such as cement 

making, metalworking, grain storage, flour processing, and 

petroleum refining.

Semicontinuous Emissions Monitor for SO3 Successfully 

Tested—A prototype SO3 monitor, developed in 

cooperation with NETL, was successfully tested in a 

pilot-scale facility at Southern Research Institute in 

Birmingham, AL. The test is a major milestone toward the 

development and validation of a rugged, low-maintenance 

SO3 Continuous Emissions Monitor (CEM) suitable for 

unattended plant use. Output from the device was in good 

agreement with the manually controlled condensation 

method generally recognized as the most reliable approach 

to measuring SO3 and H2SO4 at concentrations relevant 

to power plants. The monitor is expected to perform well 

for SO3 concentrations as low as 2.5 parts per million at a 

measurement frequency of two samples per hour, greatly 

facilitating studies leading to the control of sulfuric acid 

emissions. In addition to negatively affecting particulate 

collection, ash disposal, air preheater performance, 

and general maintenance, SO3 formation can produce 

particulate emissions in the form of sulfuric acid aerosols 

that persist over long distances. Physiological responses, 

such as eye irritation and breathing difficulty, have been 

associated with episodes of highly visible ground-level 

plumes containing sulfuric acid aerosols.

Infrared Technique Could Improve Power Plant 

Efficiency—Chemical processing and fossil-fuel 

combustion often involve high-temperature operations 

during which equipment malfunction can lead to expensive 

and dangerous equipment failure. In cooperation with 

NETL, researchers at the University of North Dakota 

Energy and Environmental Research Center have developed 

real-time infrared thermography as an alternative to 

using hard-wired thermocouples for monitoring process 

temperatures. In the new approach, thermographic images 

of heated surfaces can be analyzed to predict or diagnose 

conditions, such as insulation degradation, alloy failure, 

and flow blockage or maldistribution. Process control based 

on real-time thermal imaging could improve the output 

and operating efficiency of power plants, as well as other 

industrial heat-transfer processes.
13 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

ZERO-EMISSION TECHNOLOGIES

In NETL’s vision of the future, coal-fired power 

plants will have a benign effect on air quality, 

emitting virtually no emissions while continuing to 

supply more than 50 percent of the nation’s energy. 

FutureGen will be the first embodiment of that vision, 

and NETL and its research partners are developing a 

technology base for it and the other highly efficient, 

near zero-emission power plants of tomorrow.

Novel Generator Produces Grid Power—A unique 10-

megawatt gas generator, developed in cooperation with 

NETL by engineers from Clean Energy Systems Inc., 

was utilized to provide grid power from the Kimberlina 

power plant near Bakersfield, CA, reaching a milestone 

vital for commercial deployment. Based on rocket engine 

technology, the device uses ultraclean combustion to 

produce a high-temperature, high-pressure working fluid 

consisting of steam and CO2. Following expansion through 

a turbine, the steam can be condensed and recycled, leaving 

behind the CO2 for commercial use or sequestration. The 

net water produced during combustion is also available for 

additional applications. The technology has been developed 

and tested with natural gas and is applicable to coal-based 

gasification power systems. The demonstration effort was 

funded by the California Energy Commission, American 

Air Liquide, and power-producing corporations Mirant and 

AES. The Office of Fossil Energy sponsored engineering 

studies for reconfiguring the 5-megawatt Kimberlina power 

plant to accept the gas generator and for deploying the 

concept at larger scale.

Oxygen-Fired Circulating Fluidized-Bed Technology 

Progresses Toward Commercialization—A 9-day test 

campaign completed at ALSTOM Power’s multiuse test 

facility in Windsor, CT, evaluated the environmental 

performance of oxygen-fired circulating fluidized-bed 

technology with a medium-volatile bituminous coal and 

petroleum coke. Results have been used to complete a 

techno-economic analysis of a demonstration retrofit 

circulating fluidized-bed plant design. The technology, still 

being developed in cooperation with NETL, will help reach 

goals of the Clear Skies and Climate Change Initiatives by 

reducing emissions of NOx, SO2, and other pollutants while 

providing a highly concentrated, sequestration-ready stream 

of CO2 without costly separation.

Technologies for 

Future 

Energy Plants

Along each step of the research 

path, NETL has sought to 

improve the economic and 

environmental performance of 

coal-based power systems. The 

centerpiece of these efforts 

is FutureGen, an initiative to 

build the world’s first integrated 

hydrogen production and carbon 

sequestration research power 

plant. To support coal and 

power systems development, 

NETL’s research focuses on 

pollutant formation and removal, 

combustion technologies, 

distributed generation and fuel 

cells, and advanced materials.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 14

COAL

Simulator Ready for Evaluation of Oxygen Transport 

Membrane—As part of a cooperative agreement with 

NETL, preliminary testing on a multitube boiler simulator 

was completed at the Praxair Technology Inc. research 

facility in Tonawanda, NY. The simulator, designed to 

further develop the application of Oxygen Transport 

Membrane (OTM) technology, has indicated that the 

system is capable of fully evaluating OTM performance. In 

further tests, the simulator will help to determine the best 

OTM tube configuration for a novel boiler concept that 

could reduce the cost of carbon capture to less than $10 per 

ton of CO2, increase thermal efficiency, and lower pollution 

emissions. OTM tubes feature a ceramic membrane that has 

been shown to separate oxygen from air less expensively 

than conventional cryogenics. By using oxygen instead of 

air, boiler-produced CO2 is more concentrated and easily 

captured with lower parasitic power consumption and at 

lower cost.

All-Ceramic Oxygen Production Submodules 

Successfully Designed and Fabricated—With NETL 

support, a team led by Air Products and Chemicals Inc. 

operated a subscale, all-ceramic oxygen separation 

module at commercially relevant conditions (200 psig and 

850–900 °C) and produced more than 99 percent pure 

oxygen, proving the efficacy of all-ceramic construction 

and seal technologies. The team is developing the Ion 

Transport Membrane Oxygen technology for producing 

oxygen for integration in advanced power generation 

systems, such as integrated gasification combined cycle 

(IGCC) systems, at one-third lower capital cost and energy 

requirement compared to cryogenic processes. A critical 

milestone of the technology is the production of modules 

with all-ceramic parts and seals. Such modules are expected 

to possess better mechanical properties and longer life than 

those consisting of both ceramics and metals, as ceramicmetal interfaces are prone to degradation. The team has 

made significant advances in this area, and 12-wafer 

oxygen production submodules are now being made using 

all-ceramic technology.

HEAT ENGINES

Building on past successes in advanced turbine 

technology development, NETL researchers continue 

to develop advanced power generation technologies. 

During 2005, research focused on turbine monitoring 

instruments, efficient air compressors, combustion 

sensors, advanced turbine blades, and the use of 

hydrogen fuels.

Turbine Monitoring Technology Ready for 

Commercialization—An online turbine monitoring 

instrument, installed by Siemens Westinghouse Power 

Corporation (Gas Turbine Division) as part of a project with 

NETL, surpassed 5,000 hours of operation, confirming that 

the technology is ready for commercialization. Functioning 

in a Westinghouse 501FD gas turbine at Empire Stateline 

Electrical Company in Joplin, MO, the monitor provides 

real-time infrared imaging of rotating turbine blades to 

detect the integrity of thermal barrier coatings. This type 

of monitoring could be applied to all gas turbines that use 

thermal barrier coatings for protecting critical turbine parts, 

eliminating frequent turbine inspections and associated 

downtime and reducing the risk of catastrophic turbine 

failure.

Fabrication Design Completed for Novel Air 

Compressor—In cooperation with NETL, Ramgen 

Power Systems Inc. of Bellevue, WA, completed 

fabrication design for the rotor of a second-generation 

Rampressor—a simpler, more efficient air compressor 

based on supersonic flight inlet technology. Using ramjet 

shockwave compression, the novel device develops higher 

pressure ratios per stage, therefore requiring fewer stages, 

decreasing aerodynamic loss, and reducing cost.

Second Test of NETL Sensor Technology Successful—

Woodward Industrial Controls successfully tested for 

the second time the patented Combustion Control and 

Diagnostics Sensor (CCADS) technology. Incorporated 

into the fuel nozzles of a turbine combustor, the sensor can 

monitor several key combustion parameters, potentially 

improving NOx emissions control, increasing reliability, 

and lowering electricity costs. CCADS technology 

development began with an NETL patent on flashback 

detection and continues toward commercialization through 

cooperative research and development and licensing 

agreements with Woodward.
15 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Steam Turbine Blades for Higher-Efficiency Electrical 

Generation Tested Successfully—Designed and fabricated 

by GE, a full-scale prototype steel-hybrid blade with 

an advanced three-dimensional aerodynamic shape was 

successfully tested. Developed in cooperation with NETL, 

the 33.5-inch prototype represents an intermediate step 

in designing ultralong full-speed last-stage buckets that 

will improve overall Rankine cycle efficiency up to 0.5 

percent, reduce fuel consumption by 1 percent, and avoid 

the generation of 2 million tons per year of CO2 by nextgeneration steam turbines. Moreover, in an IGCC system, 

capital cost could be reduced $10–$15 million. The 

prototype design will be used to introduce the technology 

in next-generation low-pressure steam turbines while 

development continues on more advanced bucket designs.

Reciprocating Engine Operates on 100 Percent 

Hydrogen Fuel at NETL—For the first time, NETL 

researchers operated a reciprocating engine on 100 percent 

hydrogen fuel. The test engine operated smoothly over a 

range of oxygen-to-hydrogen ratios. The use of hydrogen 

in reciprocating engines offers the potential for substantial 

reductions in NOx emissions and provides a platform for 

power generation from future coal-derived hydrogen fuels. 

FUEL CELLS

Fuel cells are expected to play a major role in 

the nation’s energy future by providing efficient, 

environmentally friendly electrical energy while 

extending the capacity of the nation’s fossil fuel 

supply. Fuel cells are extremely attractive as a power 

source because they are virtually emission free. NETL, 

which helped develop and introduce the first fuel 

cells into the market, supported a number of key 

advances in fuel cell development during the year, 

including the operation of fuel cell power units.

Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance Continues 

Toward Commercialization Goals—The Solid State 

Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA), managed by NETL 

in coordination with the Pacific Northwest National 

Laboratory, is a unique alliance among government, 

industry, and the scientific community. Its goal is to 

accelerate the commercialization of low-cost solid oxide 

fuel cells in the 3–10 kilowatt range. SECA is organized 

into industrial teams, which are developing prototype solid 

oxide fuel cell systems, and a core technology program, 

which provides focused research and development to 

overcome barriers identified by the teams. Breakthroughs 

from the core technology program are made available to all 

industrial teams. The SECA program and its participants 

noted the following advances this fiscal year:

• Working in cooperation with NETL, GE Hybrid Power 

Generation Systems of Torrance, CA, is the first of six 

teams to successfully complete qualification tests for 

a prototype solid oxide fuel cell system designed for 

stationary power applications. Fabricated by means of 

a scalable mass-production technique, the unit logged 

1,700 hours of operation, reaching design power output 

(5 kilowatts) using methane fuel and exceeding 

Phase I targets for availability, efficiency, endurance, and 

estimated production cost.

• A team, led by FuelCell Energy Inc. in cooperation with 

NETL, successfully operated a prototype 3-kilowatt 

planar solid oxide fuel cell system for more than 1,000 

hours. Fueled with city pipeline natural gas, the system 

operated unattended, supplying 120-volt AC electricity 

to a simulated grid.

• Delphi Automotive Systems LLC and Battelle Columbus 

Laboratories, working in cooperation with NETL, 

successfully completed the initial test sequence for 

their first stand-alone stationary power unit. Operating 

independently of the grid, the unit produced a record 

peak net power output of 1.5 kilowatts and surpassed 

previous milestones for system runtime and efficiency. 

The record performance represents a significant advance 

toward meeting SECA programmatic goals in support 

of the Office of Fossil Energy’s FutureGen project 

and the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. Delphi is 

developing a 3–5 kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell prototype 

for use with a range of fuels in such applications as 

heating and air conditioning for homes, offices, and 

vehicles.

• Multiple single-cell tests conducted by the Siemens 

Power Generation industrial team have repeatedly 

demonstrated substantially improved power generation 

and production consistency using the Delta 9 nextgeneration fuel cell. The corrugated design of the Delta 

9 has a 40 percent greater specific surface area, which 

could ultimately increase cell power by one-third over 

Siemens’ current design.

• Siemens Power Generation Inc. successfully placed in 

operation a 100-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell combined 

heat and power system at the facilities of Gas Turbine 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 16

Technologies in Turin, Italy, delivering power to a local 

grid. After operating in Europe for a world record-setting 

20,000 hours, the system was refurbished at Siemens’ 

Science and Technology Center near Pittsburgh, PA, 

where it was originally built based on technology 

developed under DOE’s solid oxide fuel cell program. 

Continued performance of the original cells included in 

the refurbished unit is extending that endurance record. 

The system, delivering 101 kilowatts of electricity to the 

grid, has accrued more than 25,855 hours of operation, 

including more than 5,375 hours at its present location. 

The system is expected to have greater than 98 percent 

availability and a combined heat and power efficiency of 

75–78 percent (46 percent electrical).

• At a July 2005 dedication ceremony, Forest Service 

officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture placed a 

10-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell in operation to supply 

heat and power at the Big Goose Ranger Station in 

Bighorn National Forest near Sheridan, WY. Located 

at an elevation of nearly 7,700 feet and 7 miles from 

the nearest electrical grid line, the station is used by 

fire-fighting crews during the summer and could prove 

to be a model for similar applications at remote sites, 

especially in Alaska. The solid oxide fuel cell was 

supplied by Acumentrics Corporation. Other partners 

in the demonstration project include NETL, the Federal 

Energy Management Program, the Department of 

Defense, and the Propane Education and Research 

Council.

• Researchers at Virginia Tech developed an active 

cancellation technique to suppress unwanted oscillating 

current on the DC side, which tends to reduce solid 

oxide fuel cell efficiency and cause controller instability. 

By incorporating a fast current controller into the 

existing voltage controller, the technique ensures that the 

converter output current (and thus the fuel cell current) 

remains constant without bulky and costly converter 

circuits or passive components. Experimental results 

showed that the modified controller reduced fuel cell 

current ripple to 1 percent. The reduction of current 

ripple, combined with high-efficiency DC converter 

design, allows the fuel cell to produce 20 percent more 

power. As a result, the energy-efficient power electronics 

technology developed by Virginia Tech would effectively 

reduce fuel consumption, as well as the size of fuel cell 

systems, helping to meet the 60 percent efficiency target 

and $400-per-kilowatt cost target of the SECA program 

by 2010. Virginia Tech has filed a patent application and 

is making this technology advancement available to all 

SECA industrial teams.

• Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National 

Laboratory finished testing a stainless steel interconnect 

coated with a chrome-free ceramic that improved 

surface stability, minimized contact resistance, and 

prevented chrome migration known to degrade fuel cell 

performance. The achievement will help meet SECA 

performance and cost targets.

NETL Concludes Long-Standing Partnership—NETL 

and FuelCell Energy Inc. of Danbury, CT, have successfully 

concluded a 10-year cooperative agreement aimed at 

developing molten carbonate fuel cell technologies. 

The fuel cell project resulted in the development of a 

commercial product, FuelCell Energy’s Direct FuelCell®, 

to serve stationary power generation markets. Several 

significant accomplishments were realized as a result of the 

project:

• FuelCell Energy reduced manufacturing costs of 

the Direct FuelCell power plant by a factor of three. 

The technology behind these fuel cell power plants 

converts natural or waste gas to electrical power (up 

to 1 megawatt) with the greatest efficiency and lowest 

emissions of any fossil-based technology. The power 

plants can be sited at or near end users where the heat 

byproduct can be used for cogeneration applications 

(e.g., district heating, hot water, or air conditioning) to 

achieve an overall energy efficiency of 70–80 percent.

• By meeting the stringent 2007 California Air Resources 

Board standard for distributed generation emissions, 

Direct FuelCell products qualify as ultraclean technology 

and are exempt from air pollution control and the board’s 

air quality district permitting requirements.

• FuelCell Energy has shipped more than three dozen 

units to customers worldwide for use in hotels, 

hospitals, universities, wastewater treatment plants, 

telecommunication and data centers, and commercial 

and industrial facilities.

• The company has forged strong global alliances with 

original equipment manufacturers in Europe, Japan, 

Korea, and the United States for further plant cost 

reduction and product marketing.

• FuelCell Energy has commissioned Direct FuelCell 

units in both the United States and Asia to further the 

widespread deployment of the technology. Installations 

include the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA; the U.S. 

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine 

Palms, CA; the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina; 

“Super Eco Town” in Tokyo, Japan; and the Pohang 

University of Science and Technology in South Korea.

COAL
17 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Technology Selected for Next-Generation Hydrogen 

Energy Station—Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has 

subcontracted FuelCell Energy to demonstrate a nextgeneration hydrogen energy station. Combining Air 

Products’ advanced gas separation technologies with a 

Direct FuelCell® power plant, the high-efficiency, lowemissions hydrogen energy station would use readily 

available fuels (e.g., natural gas, propane, anaerobic 

digester gas) to coproduce heat, electricity (250 kilowatts), 

and enough hydrogen to fuel 20 cars per day. The approach 

could facilitate hydrogen infrastructure development while 

enhancing the versatility and value of Direct FuelCell 

products.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System Demonstrated for Rural 

Alaska—NETL’s Arctic Energy Office sponsored the 

University of Alaska Fairbanks’ successful demonstration 

of a 5-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell system at a Fairbanks 

Natural Gas facility. The system continuously produced 

heat and electricity from natural gas for 365 days, with 

the exception of one software-related shutdown. The 

long-term test was part of an evaluation of fuel cells for 

such small-scale power requirements as communication 

devices, isolated dwellings, and railroad crossings found in 

remote locations where highly reliable, fuel-efficient, costeffective, and unattended operation is essential.

Fuel Cell Operates During Russian Power Failure—A 

200-kilowatt phosphoric acid fuel cell manufactured by 

United Technologies Corporation of Windsor Locks, 

CT, maintained power at an industrial site near Moscow 

despite a citywide blackout in May 2005. Installed 

with technical and logistical support from NETL and a 

Department of Defense Climate Change Grant, the unit 

has developed significant market interest throughout 

Russian organizations, including Gazprom—the world’s 

largest gas producer—for use with its natural gas pipelines. 

Demonstration of the technology has been a key factor in 

Russia’s qualification for State Department funding for 

the continued development of fuel cell capabilities. The 

project supports the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention 

program, the Nuclear Cities Initiative, the RussianAmerican Fuel Cell Initiative, and the National Nuclear 

Security Administration’s plan for commercialization of 

fuel cells in Russia.

Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operation Surpasses 

1,000-Hour Mark—A milestone was achieved by Ion 

America of Moffett Field, CA, in the first phase of an 

Office of Fossil Energy Advanced Fuel Cell Research 

project managed by NETL. The operation of a singlecell reversible solid oxide fuel cell for more than 1,000 

hours demonstrated greater than 80 percent round-trip 

efficiency and exhibited 0.5 percent degradation without 

using costly noble metals—moving the technology toward 

commercially viable performance levels. Reversible solid 

oxide fuel cells can produce electricity and water from 

hydrogen or, in reverse mode, hydrogen from electricity 

and water. This dual capability could allow the fuel cells to 

use excess electrical grid capacity during off-peak hours to 

produce hydrogen fuel or to convert an intermittent source 

of power, such as solar, into continuous power for remote 

applications. Research in the second phase of the project 

will be directed toward long-term durability and scale-up to 

viable cell and stack sizes.

Improved Sulfur Sorbent Lowers Fuel Cell Costs—

Under a Small Business Innovation Research Grant 

administered by NETL, TDA Research Inc. of Wheat 

Ridge, CO, has developed an improved sulfur sorbent for 

use in fuel cell systems. The sorbent removes sulfur-based 

odorants that are added to natural gas for leak detection 

but can degrade the performance of fuel cell systems. 

Considering nearly 8,000 hours of testing with 5-kilowatt 

proof-of-concept solid oxide fuel cell systems, researchers 

at Siemens Power Generation Inc. estimate that the TDA 

sorbent has more than 1.5 times the adsorbent capacity of 

the leading competitive material supplied by Tokyo Gas. 

Analyses also show that the cost of TDA’s material would 

be 10 percent less than that of the Tokyo Gas material, 

providing a competitive sorbent supply source within the 

United States.

Coatings May Prolong Life of Fuel Cell Metallic 

Interconnects—Investigators at Montana State University 

are developing coatings to improve the oxidation resistance 

of metallic components used for interconnects in solid 

oxide fuel cells. Using a patented plasma coating process, 

extremely thin (a few nanometers thick) alternating layers 

of oxidation-resistant, conductive coatings are deposited 

on stainless steel substrates. Test data suggest that some 

coatings may meet the 40,000-hour power degradation 

target for stationary applications. Montana State 

University is a satellite center under the High Temperature 

Electrochemistry Center managed by NETL and Pacific 

Northwest National Laboratory.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 18

COAL

CARBON SEQUESTRATION

NETL manages a portfolio of carbon sequestration 

projects that explore repository options; the 

mitigation of other greenhouse gases; sequestration 

measurement, monitoring, and verification; and 

sequestration as part of enhanced oil recovery. NETL 

also manages DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnerships, which collaborate with state agencies, 

universities, and private companies to determine 

the best approaches for capturing and permanently 

storing greenhouse gases in each region of the 

country.

Second Phase of the Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and 

Storage Project Initiated—NETL, Natural Resources 

Canada, EnCana Corporation, and the Petroleum 

Technology Research Centre kicked off Phase II of the 

world’s largest full-scale multinational scientific field 

study of geological carbon sequestration. Building on 

the Phase I conclusion that geological conditions at the 

Weyburn oilfield in Saskatchewan are favorable for longterm storage of CO2 and can be monitored with the tools 

and technologies developed and assessed during the project, 

an estimated net 14 million metric tons of CO2 will be 

stored in the Weyburn field over the next 15 years. Use of 

CO2 as a miscible flood agent in enhanced oil recovery 

operations will also improve overall oil recovery in the field 

by 46 percent. Phase II also expanded to the neighboring 

Midale field operated by Apache Corporation. CO2 flooding 

operations began in September 2005, and an estimated 

8.75 million metric tons of CO2 will be stored over the life 

of the project. The Weyburn CO2 Storage and Monitoring 

Project is endorsed by the International Energy Agency 

Greenhouse Gas Research and Development Programme 

and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, an 

international climate change initiative with 19 partners 

including the United States.

Highlights of Texas Geological Sequestration Field Test 

Presented—Results obtained from studies performed 

during and after the injection of 1,600 tons of CO2 into 

the high-permeability brine-bearing sandstone of the Frio 

Formation 1,500 meters beneath the Gulf Coast of Texas 

were presented at the Fourth Annual Conference on Carbon 

Capture and Sequestration held in May 2005 in Alexandria, 

VA. The internationally recognized sequestration pilot 

study, endorsed by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership 

Forum, is evaluating techniques for modeling, monitoring, 

and verifying the injectivity and capacity of the subsurface 

to store CO2 and to do so without adverse health, safety, or 

environmental effects. The Bureau of Economic Geology 

at the University of Texas at Austin is leading the effort in 

cooperation with NETL. Multiple industrial partners, the 

U.S. Geological Survey, and several national laboratories, 

including Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, and 

Oak Ridge, are also participating. The project’s success has 

led to a second, 2006 experiment to inject additional CO2

into the brine reservoir.

NETL-Developed Technique Measures Low Leakage in 

Carbon Sequestration Test—Tracer-based leak detection 

technology developed at NETL has been successfully 

applied at the West Pearl Queen Field in New Mexico where 

DOE is sponsoring a geological sequestration experiment. 

Results over several months of monitoring indicate that 

less than 0.1 percent of the total injected CO2 is escaping 

annually, apparently from surface faults and areas of 

discontinuity in the carbonate deposit underlying the soil.

NETL Research Indicates CO2 Causes Structural 

Changes in Coal—Research at NETL has demonstrated 

that exposure to CO2 can, in some cases, beneficially 

affect the ability of coal seams to sequester the gas by 

increasing its diffusion rates and solubility. Injection 

into deep, unmineable coal seams is one of the most 

promising options for storing CO2 to reduce greenhouse 

gas emissions. The discovery suggests the need to collect 

data on coals before, during, and after CO2 exposure when 

conducting sequestration.

NETL-Developed Sorbent Achieves 99 Percent CO2

Removal—Laboratory experiments by NETL researchers 

demonstrated that an NETL-developed regenerable 

sorbent can remove 99 percent of the CO2 in simulated 

coal combustion flue gas, reducing CO2 concentration 
19 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

from 15 percent to less than 1 percent at flow velocities of 

commercial interest. Development of more efficient, costeffective technologies to remove CO2 from gas streams is 

critical to the Office of Fossil Energy’s Carbon Sequestration 

Program. Additional research will be directed toward testing 

the sorbent in bench-scale reactors and evaluating the 

feasibility of preparing the sorbent in large-scale units.

Climate Change Technology Projects Advance 

Commercialization—To help meet the Global Climate 

Change Initiative goal to reduce greenhouse gas intensity 

by 18 percent by 2012, DOE awarded $100 million for 

seven projects to promote the commercialization of carbon 

sequestration. Results obtained during the testing of carbon 

sequestration technologies will be crucial to developing 

DOE’s FutureGen power plant. The seven projects were 

proposed by DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnerships, whose cost-share took the total value to $144 

million. The partners will field-test and validate carbon 

sequestration technologies best suited to their respective 

regions.

• The Big Sky Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership 

will demonstrate geological storage in mafic-basalt rock 

formations, which hold significant potential for longterm storage.

• The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium will 

determine the ability, safety, and capacity of geological 

reservoirs to store CO2 in deep coal seams, mature 

oilfields, deep saline reservoir formations, and organicrich shales of the Illinois Basin.

• The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership 

plans to conduct at least three small-scale CO2 injection 

field tests in the region’s deep geological reservoirs, 

which have more than 200 years of storage capacity.

• The Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnership will define the potential for storing CO2 and 

conduct field sequestration validation tests in three target 

geological formations: enhanced oil recovery stacked 

reservoirs, coal seams, and saline reservoirs.

• The Southwest Regional Partnership for Carbon 

Sequestration will conduct five field tests to validate the 

most promising carbon sequestration technologies and 

infrastructure concepts.

• The Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership will conduct four 

technology validation field trials and two investigations 

of carbon sequestration concepts.

• The West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnership will conduct two CO2 storage tests in 

California and one in Arizona related to CO2 storage in 

depleted gas reservoirs and saline formations.

HYDROGEN

The nation is on a mission to transition to a 

hydrogen-based economy, in which hydrogen will 

ultimately power our vehicles, homes, businesses, 

and factories. To help achieve that mission, NETL 

manages a portfolio of research projects focusing 

on technologies that facilitate the production of 

hydrogen from coal fuels for use in fuel cells and 

other power generation systems.

Synthesis Gas Production Process Achieves Major 

Milestone—As part of a cooperative agreement with 

NETL, researchers at Air Products and Chemicals Inc. 

have achieved the target oxygen permeation rate critical to 

the economic feasibility of the Ion Transport Membrane 

Syngas process. In the process, oxygen is separated from 

air by selective ion transport through a ceramic membrane 

and is used to partially oxidize a natural gas-containing 

feed stream to produce a mixture of hydrogen and carbon 

monoxide known as synthesis gas. The project team 

achieved the target oxygen permeation rate at design 

temperature and pressure in a process development unit 

using pilot-scale membranes with the features essential 

for full-size membranes. The team is testing full-size 

membranes in 2006.

Novel Reforming Catalyst Proves Stable in 500-Hour 

Test—NETL researchers demonstrated exceptionally 

stable performance of a novel hydrocarbon reforming 

catalyst for production of hydrogen-rich synthesis gas from 

transportation fuels. The catalyst, synthesized at NETL, 

is expected to be more robust and tolerant of carbon and 

sulfur than traditional metal-supported catalysts.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 20

Institution Achieves Milestone in Membrane 

Technology—Researchers at North Carolina Agricultural 

and Technical State University in Greensboro, NC, 

succeeded in fabricating and operating a membrane 

reactor made of a palladium thin film on porous substrates. 

Membrane reactors allow high-temperature reactions to 

proceed simultaneously with product separation in a single 

operation. Using the membrane reactor, the investigators 

converted cyclohexane to hydrogen and other constituents 

at nearly three times the conversion rate obtainable with 

conventional equipment at comparable conditions. In 

addition to investigating a way to provide hydrogen for 

FutureGen applications, the NETL-managed project 

provided students hands-on experience in conducting 

energy research.

Field Test Demonstrates Stability of Novel Hydrogen 

Separation Membrane—During a 100-hour field 

test, a novel carbon sieve-based membrane developed 

in cooperation with NETL at Media and Process 

Technology Inc., showed excellent hydrogen selectivity 

and permeance in the presence of hydrogen sulfide, 

ammonia, and hydrocarbons. The test was conducted 

using a hydrocracker purge stream at an operating refinery, 

affirming its commercial relevance. Teaming with Pall 

Corporation engineers, the researchers have incorporated 

the material into Pall’s proprietary membrane reactor 

design. Combined with a unique approach to heat transfer 

developed by Media and Process Technology Inc., the 

system could allow the hydrogen-producing water-gas 

shift reaction, hydrogen separation, CO2 capture, and 

contaminant removal to be conducted in a single operation. 

Collaborators at the University of Southern California 

developed a mathematical model that can quantify the 

improved efficiency of producing hydrogen from coal 

using a membrane reactor operating at commercially 

relevant conditions. Experimental data obtained with a 

commercial-scale membrane module have been consistent 

with the model’s prediction that 98 percent carbon 

monoxide conversion and less than 2,000 parts per million 

carbon monoxide contamination of the hydrogen product 

are possible using typical coal-derived synthesis gas as 

feedstock.

Novel Process Yields Ultraclean Synthesis Gas—A 

new approach for reducing contaminant concentrations 

in synthesis gas to well below those achievable using 

any current commercial technology was demonstrated 

in a 10-ton-per-day pilot plant at the Gas Technology 

Institute in Des Plaines, IL. The Ultra-Clean Process—a 

new precombustion gas-cleaning concept for controlling 

sulfur, chlorine, mercury, and ammonia—proved successful 

in a series of coal gasification tests. The process injects 

fine sorbent particles into the gas stream to collect 

contaminants for removal in a series of downstream filterreactors. Contaminant levels in the range of 10–50 parts 

per billion by volume—well below the limits of detection 

by conventional means—were measured in the product 

synthesis gas, corresponding to removal efficiencies 

exceeding 99.99 percent. The process is being developed 

by Siemens Power Corporation of Pittsburgh, PA, in 

cooperation with NETL, to satisfy the demands of future 

environmental regulations and contaminant limits for 

gas turbines, fuel cells, synthesis chemical products, and 

transportation fuels.

MATERIALS

Future power plants and energy systems will require 

new or improved high-performance materials able to 

withstand increasingly hostile fossil-fuel environments. 

NETL is working to ensure the success of these 

plants and systems by providing the needed materials 

technology base. Research is focused on developing 

high-temperature corrosion-resistant structural 

ceramic composites and alloys, as well as materials 

that perform specific functions in advanced fossil 

energy systems.

Materials Program Seeks to Extend Boiler Component 

Life—Under NETL management, a consortium of four 

prominent boilermakers—ALSTOM Power, The Babcock 

& Wilcox Company, Foster Wheeler, and Riley Power 

Inc.—is evaluating and developing advanced materials 

that will permit coal-fired power plants to operate at ultrasupercritical steam conditions for higher power plant 

efficiency (47 percent) compared to that of the current 

domestic fleet average (35 percent). Because more severe 

operating conditions that accelerate metal wastage from 

waterside and fireside corrosion result in aggressive 

mechanical and thermal loads, the evaluation includes 

long-term post-fabrication wear tests of candidate materials 

and component assemblies. The project is also supported 

by Energy Industries of Ohio, the Electric Power Research 

Institute, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Significant 

accomplishments for 2005 follow:

COAL
21 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists completed 

long-term tests (up to 17,000 hours at 1,300 °F) with 

several alloys being considered for service at ultrasupercritical steam conditions (4,400 pounds per square 

inch, 1,400 °F) and created a web-based data repository 

to allow free flow of information among consortium 

participants.

• Foster Wheeler Development Corporation compiled 

corrosion-resistance data for a number of advanced 

alloys tested in the temperature range of 1,200–1,600 °F 

with simulated flue gas and ash depositions representing 

high-sulfur and mid-sulfur bituminous and lowsulfur subbituminous coal types. The database will 

be used to match candidate materials with coal type 

and temperature of exposure based on corrosion rate 

predictions.

• Halfway into a 30-month test program involving 

exposure at temperatures exceeding 1,400 °F, two 

experimental superheater steam loops fabricated from 

seven different advanced alloys remained in excellent 

condition with no apparent degradation or wastage. The 

testing is being conducted at the Reliant Energy power 

plant in Niles, OH, using high-sulfur coal.

• The Babcock & Wilcox Company’s researchers 

identified ferritic steels that resist steam oxidation at 

high temperatures as well as—or better than—more 

expensive austenitic steels.

• Researchers at ALSTOM Power have shown that 

applying advanced coatings to less expensive alloy 

compositions provides an alternative to using costly, 

highly alloyed materials for next-generation boiler 

designs. For example, a coated stainless steel suitable 

for service in 1,250 °F steam could replace a comparable 

length of a nickel-based alloy for only 63 percent of the 

cost.

• Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that 

ceramics based on mixed metal niobates and tantalates 

are particularly promising as protective coatings 

against aggressive environments associated with the 

high temperatures needed to produce greater boiler 

efficiencies. Unlike other ceramics, these materials 

possess the required phase stability at high temperatures 

in the presence of acid gases and slag deposition from 

coal combustion.

• Investigators at Riley Power Inc. developed and met 

American Society of Mechanical Engineers standards 

for a welding procedure for an advanced steel known as 

SAVE 12. The high-chrome alloy is a candidate material 

for construction of advanced coal-fired boilers.

• Using the latest pulsed gas metal arc welding technology 

from Lincoln Electric, welds were successfully made 

in 2-inch thick plates of a superalloy known as Haynes 

230. Such high-nickel alloys can effectively function at 

operating conditions that would produce higher boiler 

efficiencies.

• Investigators at ALSTOM Power successfully 

fabricated 15 U-bend specimens from nickel-based 

and high-chrome alloys that are candidate materials 

for the construction of advanced, high-efficiency 

coal-fired boilers. Follow-up mechanical testing 

and microstructural examination will determine if 

the process of bending to 3-, 5-, and 7-inch radii 

adversely affected the strength of the materials at high 

temperatures.

• Researchers at the University of Cincinnati developed a 

precise method for specifying the heat-treatment formula 

needed to strengthen nickel-based alloys for service in 

ultra-supercritical steam conditions.

• Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

developed a neural net program to guide heat-treatment 

procedures for advanced alloys. Such improved methods 

for estimating heat-treating temperatures can increase 

the energy efficiency of the process and minimize waste.

• The American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

approved new equations developed by ALSTOM 

Power for designing cylindrical components (e.g., 

tubes, pipes, headers, shells, and drums) based on an 

improved method for calculating stress. The new design 

approach permits the use of thinner wall components 

than allowed under Society and European rules without 

compromising reliability and safety and could reduce the 

cost of pressure parts for the higher-efficiency boilers by 

an estimated 12 percent. Since thinner wall components 

are less susceptible to thermal fatigue, the new standards 

also permit a wider selection of materials for use at high 

temperatures.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 22

Materials Considerations Identified for Advanced 

Steam Turbines—In an effort managed by NETL, 

researchers at North Carolina State University working 

with Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation found that 

resistance to creep rupture is among the most important 

considerations in selecting alloys for construction of 

turbines placed in service at ultra-supercritical steam 

conditions (4,400 pounds per square inch, 1,400 °F). Alloys 

amenable to precipitation and dispersion strengthening 

methods—as opposed to classic approaches, such as grain 

size strengthening, strain hardening, and solid solution 

strengthening—have the potential to yield the desired 

strength at these high temperatures. The more severe 

steam conditions will produce higher thermal efficiencies, 

enabling coal-fired power plants to generate electricity at 

competitive rates while reducing CO2 and other fuel-related 

emissions by nearly 23 percent.

Hot Gas Clean-Up Filters Commercialized—Partnering 

with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pall Corporation 

delivered more than 1,500 iron aluminide filters for 

installation in a commercial coal gasification plant. 

Commercialization of hot gas clean-up filters is an 

important step in achieving near-zero emissions from 

FutureGen processes coproducing electricity and other 

products from coal. The filters were tested at NETL and the 

Power Systems Development Facility in Wilsonville, AL.

Novel Material Developed for High-Temperature 

Seals—In an NETL-managed project, investigators 

at Ceramatec Inc. in Salt Lake City, UT, developed a 

composite glass that can join a variety of ceramic and metal 

components without breakage during thermal cycling. By 

varying the ratio of its vitreous and crystalline phases, 

the sealing material’s coefficient of thermal expansion 

can be changed to accommodate a wide variety of 

membrane materials and mating components. Maintaining 

integral joints despite thermal cycling is a major hurdle 

in the commercial implementation of high-temperature 

membrane-based technology, which employs materials 

with widely dissimilar physical and chemical properties. 

Membrane technology is being developed to perform 

several functions in advanced fossil energy systems.

Clean Coal 

Demonstration 

Projects

Since establishing the Clean Coal 

Technology Program in 1986, 

DOE has demonstrated and 

commercialized technologies that 

sharply reduce air emissions and 

other pollutants compared to 

older coal-burning systems. NOx

and SO2, primary contributors 

to acid rain, were the program’s 

initial targets. Through the 2001 

Power Plant Improvement 

Initiative and today’s Clean Coal 

Power Initiative, the program’s 

focus has expanded to emissions 

of mercury, fine particulates, and 

greenhouse gases.

COAL
23 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Demonstration Project Exceeds Performance 

Expectation—JEA, formerly Jacksonville Energy 

Authority, completed construction and demonstration of 

a large-scale circulating fluidized-bed combustion project 

at Northside Station in Jacksonville, FL. Researchers 

repowered two 1970s vintage gas- and oil-fired power 

generation units with clean solid fuel combustion technology. 

JEA issued a successful fuel capability report for Illinois 

No. 6 coal based on full-load performance tests that 

resulted in stack emissions below design and permitted 

levels. DOE provided cost-sharing of approximately $75 

million toward the repowering of Unit 2, now the world’s 

largest (300 megawatt electric) coal fluidized-bed combustor, 

for use with high-sulfur coal or petroleum coke. This Clean 

Coal Technology project was managed by NETL.

“Intelligent” Invention Improves Efficiency and 

Lowers Emissions—Tampa Electric Company and 

Pegasus Technologies Inc. filed an invention disclosure 

for a neural network software used to control the novel 

sootblowing system that keeps clean the heat transfer 

surfaces in a 445-megawatt coal-fired unit at Big Bend 

Power Station in Apollo Beach, FL. The software uses 

operating data to continuously “learn” and respond to 

relationships between changing operating conditions and 

operating objectives (e.g., reducing harmful environmental 

emissions while improving plant efficiency). Developed 

as part of an NETL-managed Power Plant Improvement 

Initiative demonstration project, the dynamic online system 

has allowed Tampa Electric Company to increase boiler 

efficiency by 0.5 percentage points while reducing NOx

levels 10–20 percent despite fluctuations in fuel quality 

and equipment performance levels. The invention could 

eventually be sold to other power plant operators.

New Mercury Monitoring System Field-Tested—In 

preparation for EPA-sponsored testing, ADA-ES Inc. 

field-tested various components of Thermo Electron 

Corporation’s Mercury Freedom SystemTM, a new 

commercial product capable of measuring mercury 

emissions at coal-fired power plants. The Mercury Freedom 

System has met or exceeded all performance requirements 

reviewed to date under the EPA’s Mercury Continuous 

Emission Monitoring System Field Evaluation program. It 

was tested as part of the NETL-managed Clean Coal Power 

Initiative project demonstrating TOXECONTM mercurycontrol technology at the We Energies Presque Isle Power 

Plant in Marquette, MI.

Ribbon-Cutting Marks Significant Milestone for Lignite 

Fuel Enhancement Project—Governor John Hoeven and 

U.S. Senator Kent Conrad were among honored guests at 

the Great River Energy Coal Creek Station in Underwood, 

ND, for an August 2005 ceremony marking completion 

of the design and construction of a prototype coal-drying 

module. The 75-ton-per-hour module uses waste heat to 

reduce the moisture in lignite, producing more power from 

a lower quantity of fuel. The technology is potentially 

applicable to the more than 100 gigawatts of installed 

capacity that represents units burning high-moisture coals, 

offering significant benefits to the U.S. power industry with 

regard to efficiency improvements and emissions reduction. 

The 45-month Clean Coal Power Initiative demonstration 

project, managed by NETL, builds on substantial Office of 

Fossil Energy-sponsored research on lignite drying.

Public Scoping Meeting for Project Well Attended—

More than 100 participants, including officials in federal, 

state, and local government, attended a Public Scoping 

Meeting in August 2005 at Timber Creek High School in 

Orlando, FL, to comment on the proposed construction 

of an IGCC power plant in Orange County. A Letter of 

Intent, signed in August 2005 by Southern Company 

Services and the Orlando Utilities Commission, specifies 

terms and conditions for constructing and operating the 

plant, which features an air-blown coal-fed transport 

gasifier. The demonstration plant, planned for construction 

with the support of NETL through the Clean Coal Power 

Initiative, would gasify subbituminous coal to generate 285 

megawatts of electricity at nearly 41 percent efficiency. 

Employing state-of-the-art emission controls, the plant 

would be the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired power 

generator in the world. The transport gasifier is based on 

Kellogg Brown & Root technology used successfully in 

petroleum refining for more than 50 years and is especially 

effective for low-rank coal.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 24

Modeling, 

Simulation, and 

Assessment

NETL scientists integrate physical 

and chemical experiments with 

computational modeling and 

simulation to better understand 

and develop technologies, 

materials, and energy systems 

powered by coal. Scientific 

computing is particularly 

important in addressing problems 

that are insoluble by traditional 

approaches, hazardous to study 

in the laboratory, or expensive 

to solve by traditional means. 

Researchers also produce 

roadmaps for success through 

periodic forecasts, resource 

assessments, reviews, and 

investigations.

NETL Tests Suggest Improved Control Strategy for 

Fuel Cell-Turbine Hybrid Systems—A paper detailing 

the results of tests in the NETL Hybrid Performance 

(Hyper) test facility showed that thermal management 

during load transients in a hybrid system’s fuel cell 

component was improved by diverting air around the fuel 

cell system. By integrating simulation models with actual 

system hardware, the Hyper facility is able to develop 

and test control strategies needed to maintain harmonious 

operation of fuel cells and turbomachinery under varying 

loads. Changes in hardware output were successfully 

entered into the model to study system response in real time 

without exposing fragile fuel cell components to possible 

damage. The facility was able to establish this successful 

strategy using a control platform developed by Woodward 

Governor Company, NETL’s partner in a cooperative 

research and development agreement. The combination of 

fuel cells and turbines to create hybrid systems is being 

investigated as an approach to meeting DOE’s highefficiency power generation targets. The paper reporting 

NETL’s results was presented at the American Society 

of Mechanical Engineers’ Power Conference and was 

recognized with a Best Paper Award at the society’s Turbo 

Expo 2005.

First Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System Installed at 

NETL—NETL employed a 5-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell 

system supplied by Acumentrics Corporation to conduct 

preliminary tests of its newly constructed DOE Fuel Cell 

Test Facility, built to provide independent verification of the 

performance and efficiency of SECA-developed prototype 

fuel cells. The facility reliably recorded all process 

parameters required for the accurate determination of 

overall system and stack efficiency, and results confirmed 

that it is ready for deployment. The facility allows for the 

use of natural gas or methane fuel. It is configured with 

both AC and DC load banks that can accommodate fuel 

cells up to 10 kilowatts in size and can monitor failure 

events using both facility and vendor data acquisition 

systems.

COAL

$/%WELLS

#"-pRODUCTION

gCONTOURS
25 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Live FutureGen Plant Simulation Highlights 

Supercomputing Conference—NETL and the Pittsburgh 

Supercomputing Center (PSC) demonstrated a real-time 

FutureGen power plant simulation at the Supercomputing 

2004 Conference, the world’s leading conference on highperformance computing, held in November in Pittsburgh, 

PA. The FutureGen demonstration used NETL’s R&D 

100 Award-winning Advanced Process Engineering 

Co-Simulator technology to combine the computer-run 

simulation at the conference with high-fidelity equipment 

models operating in parallel on a supercomputer at the PSC. 

The powerful three-dimensional visualization capabilities 

of NETL’s simulator technology illustrate how it can 

help engineers understand and optimize the coupled fluid 

mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions 

that drive overall plant performance and efficiency.

Coal Technology Performance Parameters Developed 

for National Energy Modeling System-Based Benefit 

Analysis—NETL technology managers and systems 

analysts teaming with Office of Fossil Energy program 

managers developed coal technology performance 

parameters for use in a National Energy Modeling Systembased economic benefit analysis. System-generated 

scenarios with and without projections of the economic 

consequences of successful research and development can 

be compared to determine the impact and public benefit 

of such efforts. Year-by-year projections for cost and 

efficiency were derived from programmatic goals set for 

the Office of Fossil Energy’s Gasification Technologies, 

Carbon Sequestration, Innovations for Existing Plants, and 

Fuel Cells programs.

Research Results Encourage Industry Development of 

Midwest Coalbed Methane—An investigation completed 

in cooperation with NETL by researchers from the State 

Geological Surveys of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana and 

multiple industrial partners helped determine that the gas 

content and permeability of coal deposits in the Illinois 

Basin are higher than previously thought. Prior to the 

research, the gas flow rates anticipated from the thin coal 

seams characteristic of the region were considered too 

low to be of commercial interest. Project results presented 

at a Midwest Petroleum Technology Transfer Council 

symposium are encouraging industry development of this 

unused natural gas resource close to Chicago, Indianapolis, 

Louisville, and St. Louis.

New NETL Supercomputer Clusters Among World’s 

Top 500—NETL made significant advances in its 

scientific computing capability with the installation of 

two new computer clusters—a 256-processor cluster and 

a 232-processor cluster. These clusters position NETL’s 

in-house research computing capability at the forefront 

of fossil energy research and development facilities. The 

256-processor cluster is optimized for computational 

fluid dynamics calculations, and the 232-processor cluster 

for computational chemistry calculations. Preliminary 

performance benchmarks indicate that the larger cluster 

would rank at number 435 on the list of the world’s top 500 

supercomputer sites compiled at www.top500.org, with the 

smaller one ranking around 458.
26

Tapping Domestic Resources

with InnovativeTechnology

Natural gas and oil account 

for more than 60 percent of 

the energy consumed in the 

United States. Though domestic 

resources remain plentiful, they 

are increasingly concentrated 

in geologically challenging and 

operationally complex settings. 

Deep formations, deepwater 

offshore reserves, and lowerpermeability formations require 

innovative exploration and 

production technologies, along 

with sustained attention to 

environmental protection. NETL’s 

research focuses on low-cost 

technologies to expand the life 

expectancy of individual wells, 

innovations to tap bypassed 

reservoirs, and critical emerging 

resources, such as tight gas, deep 

gas, heavy oil, and a promising new 

resource, methane hydrate.

GAS & OIL
27 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Gas 

Exploration and 

Production

NETL’s natural gas exploration 

and production activities help 

expand domestic natural gas 

supplies to fuel the nation’s 

economy while protecting the 

environment. To meet increasing 

demands for natural gas, new 

supplies must come from remote, 

complex sources. NETL’s gas 

exploration and production 

program strives to produce a 

balanced portfolio of projects 

that address a wide range of nearand long-term gas-supply issues.

Successful Drilling Technology Ready for 

Commercialization—In the fifth of a series of test 

wells, IntelliPipeTM successfully drilled 13,000 feet 

in 1,100 hours while providing high-speed, real-time 

telemetry. BP America drilled more than 50,000 feet 

in five Oklahoma wells with the revolutionary pipe. 

IntelliPipe is a conventional drilling tubular with a highspeed communications cable running its length encased 

in a protective conduit. IntelliPipe transmits real-time 

data on local geology, temperature, pressure, and rateof-penetration from downhole to the surface and returns 

drill bit control signals in the other direction just as fast 

(2 million bits per second). Used with conventional 

measurement-while-drilling tools and sensors, the pipe’s 

communications can almost instantaneously direct a drill 

bit more precisely toward oil- and gas-bearing deposits and 

away from less productive areas, enhancing oil and gas 

exploration efficiency and reducing the number of wells 

needed to produce a reservoir. Developed in cooperation 

with NETL by Novatek Engineering Inc. of Provo, UT, and 

Grant Prideco Inc. of Houston, TX, IntelliPipe has logged 

more than 3,000 operating hours in harsh conditions, 

including high-shock air drilling, and has demonstrated the 

handling characteristics of standard drilling tubulars. It is 

expected to be commercially available in 2006.

Commercial Orders Placed for Flexible Drill Pipe—

Oman-based Torch International LLC has placed two 

orders, each for 1,000 feet of a new type of flexible, 

lightweight drill pipe made from space-age carbon fiber 

composites. The composite drill pipe, developed in 

cooperation with NETL by Advanced Composite Products 

and Technology Inc. of Huntington Beach, CA, can remain 

bent for extended periods without suffering fatigue damage. 

This feature makes the pipe particularly amenable to 

short-radius horizontal drilling, which allows economic 

production from mature oil and gas formations using 

existing wells, thus avoiding the environmental impact of 

new drilling.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 28

Key Components of Prototype Tool Improve Deep-Well 

Drilling—Following the successful feasibility testing of a 

measurement-while-drilling tool for use in drilling deep gas 

wells in hostile environments, researchers at Schlumberger 

Technology Corporation of Sugar Land, TX, advanced the 

concept by developing and testing two critical subsystems:

• An experimental downhole data-acquisition system—

one that can be replaced from the surface without 

retrieving the entire drill string—successfully acquired 

internal and annular pressure in a demonstration test. 

• The mechanical assembly, sensor-mounting scheme, and 

data-acquisition circuitry of an experimental directionand-inclination subsystem performed successfully in 

initial temperature cycling and shock tests.

The prototype tool is being developed in cooperation with 

NETL to improve the economics of deep-well drilling by 

increasing overall rate of penetration and the accuracy of well 

placement in deep hostile environments. By continuously 

monitoring tool vibrations, gamma radiation, annular pressure, 

and inclination, the tool would provide the earlier real-time 

data needed to detect high-pressure gas zones, achieve 

optimum rates of penetration, and reduce drilling costs.

Improved Drill Bits Operate Under Record Pressures—

TerraTek Inc. of Salt Lake City, UT, obtained benchmark 

rate-of-penetration data with various drill bits and drilling 

fluids under a simulated well bore pressure of 10,000 

pounds per square inch—a record-setting simulation 

pressure for the industry. The data were obtained as part 

of the Deep Trek project, managed by NETL, in pursuit of 

improved drill bit designs for increased rate of penetration 

in high-pressure environments, a potentially significant 

source of cost reduction in drilling deep wells.

Major Milestone Reached in Deep-Well-Drilling 

Electronic Components—Honeywell International Inc. 

produced 11,000 integrated circuits of a precision amplifier 

designed to operate under hostile downhole conditions. 

Samples will be tested by the members of the Joint Industry 

Partnership of petroleum service companies and operators 

organized by Honeywell under this NETL-managed Deep 

Trek project. The amplifier is one of several electronic 

components being developed for high-temperature (greater 

than 250 °C) instrumentation to reliably characterize and 

estimate recoverable gas reserves in the deep gas well 

domain and for other “smart well” applications that will 

unlock deep domestic natural gas resources estimated at 

tens of trillions of cubic feet.

Microhole Technology Prototype Tools Set for 

Production—The INTEQ division of Baker Hughes Inc. 

is manufacturing two prototype tools designed to provide 

accurate and precise real-time geosteering in a drilling 

operation. The first is an ultraslim sensor for providing 

real-time information about the rock being drilled. The 

second is a rib-steering device for 2-inch coiled tubing. 

Fully assembled tools will be field-tested in 2006. INTEQ 

is developing microhole technology in cooperation with 

NETL as a method for drilling oil and gas wells faster, 

cheaper, and more safely by using small, portable coiledtubing drilling rigs that minimize environmental impacts.

Laser-Cutting Test Results Signal Breakthrough in 

Gas and Oil Well Completions—Laboratory tests show 

that a fiber-optic laser can cut a 12-inch long tunnel (1–2 

inches in diameter) in both sandstone and limestone. 

Post-laser tests confirmed a 10–15 percent improvement 

in the permeability of the sandstone sample along the 

tunnel wall—a great improvement compared to the rockdamaging explosive perforations used in industry. Other 

tests conducted in simulated wellbore and downhole 

environments showed that the stress and pressure 

differentials of operating at underbalanced conditions 

could actually increase laser-cutting efficiency by causing 

cuttings to be more readily ejected. These high-power 

laser results obtained in cooperation with NETL by the 

Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, IL, represent a 

significant milestone toward reducing costs and improving 

the quality and accuracy of gas and oil well completions.

Sonic Cleaning of Scale Improves Gas Deliverability—

In cooperation with NETL, the project team of FurnessNewburge Inc. and TechSavants Inc. increased the flow 

potential of a gas storage injection and withdrawal well 

approximately 30 percent by descaling the wellbore with 

high-frequency sound waves. Each year more than 17,000 

gas storage wells average a 5 percent loss in their rate 

of natural gas transfer because of some type of damage. 

Previous studies have shown that scale, in the form of 

inorganic precipitates, is one of the leading causes of 

damage. The team’s sonic technology represents a lowcost alternative to drilling new wells or employing less 

effective remediation technologies—approaches that cost 

the industry more than $100 million per year.

GAS & OIL
29 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Lightweight Drill Rig Demonstrates the Potential to 

Provide Gas to Remote Alaskan Areas—A commercial 

lightweight drilling rig was successfully applied by 

researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to drill 

and core through permafrost and gravel to evaluate coalbed 

methane potential from two coal seams at Fort Yukon. The 

operation was funded through an interagency agreement 

between NETL and the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, 

CO. While coal seam gas yields were low at Fort Yukon, 

reducing drilling costs could make coalbed methane an 

economic replacement for expensive diesel fuel in other 

rural towns.

Advanced Hydraulic Fracture Mapping Reaches 

Milestone—Working in cooperation with NETL, Pinnacle 

Technologies Inc. of San Francisco, CA, successfully tested 

an advanced microseismic hydraulic fracture mapping 

system with improved instrumentation that incorporates 

geophones and tiltmeters into one tool. The laboratory 

bench test established that signals from the colocated 

sensor types could be received and transmitted without 

interference—a breakthrough for the industry where each 

sensor type is normally placed in separate observation 

wells. Using a single observation well simplifies field 

operations and can lower costs for this type of testing. 

Roughly 95 percent of all gas well completions include 

hydraulic fracturing, and the information on reservoir 

architecture provided by associated microseismic data is 

important for commercial production.

Project Spawns New Process for Treating Coalbed 

Methane-Produced Water—Researchers at Drake 

Engineering Inc. of Helena, MT, have commercialized 

a new water treatment system based on ion adsorption 

for treating water produced during coalbed methane 

recovery. The system was developed as part of an NETLadministered University Coal Research Grant to Montana 

State University for investigating the remediation of 

coalbed methane-produced water to mitigate the risk of 

groundwater contamination and explore its beneficial 

use. The process will help operators continue to develop 

coalbed methane supplies from the Powder River Basin of 

Wyoming and Montana in an environmentally responsible 

manner.

Gas Transmission, 

Distribution, and 

Refining

Delivering natural gas is an 

enormous enterprise. It demands 

efficient, reliable delivery to 

consumers through a complex 

network of pipes, compressors, 

pumps, metering stations, and 

refining systems—often from 

remote sites. Also critical is 

an improved domestic energy 

infrastructure in the face of 

aging systems. NETL’s research 

investigates how America’s energy 

transportation, storage, and 

refining networks can meet these 

challenges economically and with 

minimal environmental impact.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 30

• A technique for detecting potentially damaging surge 

within natural gas pipeline compressors was developed. 

Surge is typically avoided by recirculating a portion of 

the compressor discharge at low demand to maintain 

flow through the compressor above a predetermined 

minimum—an approach that wastes energy by 

recompressing the same gas. Using Southwest Research 

Institute’s technique, compressor recirculation can be 

actuated only when surge is impending, allowing the 

compressor to function safely over an expanded range 

of flow rates with reduced use of recirculation. The 

technique could save operators $50–$70 million per 

year in compression fuel costs while conserving the gas 

wasted in the recirculation process. The Gas Machinery 

Research Council, which cofunded the project, is 

currently in negotiations with two manufacturers who 

wish to commercialize the surge-control system as a new 

tool for the natural gas industry.

• Proof-of-concept testing was completed for a semiactive 

valve designed to last longer than ordinary valves, the 

most frequently replaced components of reciprocating 

compressors in natural gas pipeline service. The new 

valve would replace the typical spring-loaded design 

with an electromagnetic feature (with the standard 

spring as a backup) that acts to oppose the closing 

motion just as the valve nears its seat, reducing the 

impact and wearing effect of closure by as much as 30 

percent. Because valves are replaced every 3 months at 

an average cost of $40,000 per compressor, the change 

in valve life anticipated with the new design could offer 

significant maintenance cost savings for the industry.

Miniaturized Laser Spark Plug System Could Replace 

Conventional Plugs—A miniaturized laser system under 

development by NETL researchers employs solid-state 

technology to produce a compact device that may replace 

existing spark plugs on natural-gas-fired reciprocating 

engines. The system produced pulse energy levels that 

were able to generate laser sparks in air. Additional 

improvements are being made in the laser packaging to 

make the system more robust for testing and operation. 

If successful, the technology would improve engine 

performance and lower emissions.

Novel Liquefied Natural Gas Technology Ready for 

Commercialization—Through successful field tests of 

three critical components—a high-pressure pump, the 

Bishop ProcessTM heat exchanger, and an offshore mooring 

and product transfer system—Conversion Gas Imports 

L.P. and its partners brought their novel liquefied natural 

gas process into commercialization in under 3 years. The 

process will bring the cost of offshore liquefied natural 

gas terminal construction in line with land-based terminals 

while offering greater capacity, security, and deliverability 

than onshore facilities. HNG Storage Company is planning 

to file a port application for the commercial development 

of an offshore terminal based on Conversion Gas Imports’ 

process.

Gas Delivery Infrastructure Improved—As part of 

several cooperative agreements with NETL, Southwest 

Research Institute of San Antonio, TX, has made progress 

in enhancing the existing infrastructure associated with gas 

transmission pipeline compressors and developing nextgeneration compressor technologies that will increase the 

efficiency, reliability, and integrity of natural gas pipeline 

operations. Notable accomplishments for 2005 include:

• Full-scale tests demonstrated that the NOx margin of 

a natural gas-fueled pipeline compressor engine can 

be reduced from 30 to 10 percent by using a closedloop NOx-control system. The system broadens the 

permissible engine operating range, which could save 

approximately $1.8 million in annual fuel costs for 

every 100 6-cylinder engines (assuming 80 percent 

utilization with gas at $7.32 per million cubic feet). The 

technique could also allow certain engine models to 

meet mandated NOx limits without expensive retrofits, 

such as turbocharging, saving significant capital cost. 

Cooper Energy Services of Houston, TX, is considering 

the methodology for compressors having trouble 

maintaining permitted NOx limits in California.

GAS & OIL
31 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Robot Successfully Inspects Operating Gas Pipelines—

During a field demonstration, a self-powered robot 

developed by the Northeast Gas Association, Carnegie 

Mellon University, and NETL successfully inspected 1 mile 

of a live natural gas distribution main in Brockport, NY. 

Developed primarily at Carnegie Mellon University, the 

wireless robotic platform is designed for unrestricted 

movement in the 6–8-inch pipelines that represent many 

natural gas distribution mains. The device can maneuver 

freely through valves, tees, and bends while transmitting 

images of the pipeline interior over distances of several miles. 

The robot’s roaming range is currently about 5 miles, but with 

in-line battery recharging it could be unbounded. This year, the 

robot also successfully inspected 87 feet of a 7-inch operating 

gas distribution main in Vestal, NY, providing data to help 

New York State Electric and Gas isolate and decommission the 

section. Performing the same tasks using today’s inspection 

technology—a camera on a 100-foot tether—would have 

required several costly excavations.

New Technology Verifies Natural Gas Pipeline 

Integrity—In cooperation with NETL, researchers 

from West Virginia University successfully tested a new 

technology for minimizing natural gas loss and enhancing 

the integrity, operational reliability, safety, and security 

of pipeline systems. Through continuous monitoring 

of acoustic signals carried with the gas stream in a 

transmission pipeline, the Portable Acoustic Monitoring 

Package detected simulated leaks from and strikes to the 

line in real time at a distance of 0.6 miles. The technology 

is rugged, versatile, and costs less than $1,000 per unit. 

Strategic placement of multiple units would allow the 

monitoring of an entire pipeline network. No comparable 

method is available for detecting and locating third-party 

infringement and leaks in natural gas pipelines.

Novel Energy Meter Produced—In cooperation with 

NETL and the Gas Technology Institute, Southwest 

Research Institute has developed and satisfactorily tested 

a prototype meter that can determine the energy value 

of natural gas delivered to the customer at a much lower 

cost than current technology. The device uses measured 

properties to determine heating value and other key gas 

properties as accurately as a gas chromatograph. Several 

developers have signed agreements to commercialize 

the algorithms and the prototype device. The energy 

meter will replace existing devices at lower capital and 

operating costs, allow accurate accounting for gas storage 

transactions, and make energy content measurement 

practical at smaller installations.

Novel Tools Offer Time and Cost Savings for Pipeline 

Maintenance—In cooperation with NETL, investigators 

at the Timberline Tool Company in Whitefish, MT, 

demonstrated the operation of two unique tools for 

repairing damaged or defective polyethylene natural 

gas distribution pipelines. Both tools employ keyhole 

excavation, in which repair crews access buried lines from 

above ground through a 12–18-inch core hole, reducing the 

time, cost, and public inconvenience of excavations.

• The first commercial orders were placed for an 

innovative tool that can squeeze off pressurized gas flow 

through 3–6-inch polyethylene distribution pipeline. The 

novel device was developed through a series of Small 

Business Innovation Research grants for the safe repair 

and maintenance of aging pipelines. The lightweight tool 

is operable by a single person and replaces typical truckmounted systems, which require significant excavation 

and labor to operate.

• Teaming with researchers at Oregon State University, 

Timberline developed a unique chemical and mechanical 

process to repair severely damaged polyethylene lines. 

The system employs a unique mechanical application 

tool and either a solvent-based gel or a commercially 

available heat-activated film to permanently bond the 

repair patch to the damaged pipe. The technology is 

the first to demonstrate effective repair and the return 

to pressurized service. Demonstrations have shown the 

system can completely repair pipe sections with a single 

1-inch diameter hole, as well as with two opposing 1-

inch diameter holes in a 6-inch diameter line.

National Oil and Gas Inspector Certification Program 

Established—Through an NETL-managed project, 

the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission has 

developed a state-tailored national certification program 

that will improve the competence of inspectors and 

provide the regulated community with a more consistent 

and streamlined regulatory approach. The commission 

assists states in developing uniform regulations, applying 

technology, and informing the public about emerging 

energy issues, such as liquefied natural gas and hydrogen 

delivery and storage.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 32

Methane 

Hydrate

Methane hydrate—molecules 

of natural gas trapped in ice 

crystals—is a mixed blessing. 

Reserve estimates indicate 

a vast energy resource—up 

to 200,000 trillion cubic feet 

worldwide. But this “ice that 

burns” also poses a threat to 

deepwater drilling that passes 

through overlying marine hydrate 

deposits. NETL is developing the 

knowledge and technology base 

to enable commercial production 

of methane from domestic 

deposits and ensure the safety of 

deepwater drilling operations.

Methane Hydrate Research Cruise Completed—The 

semisubmersible drilling vessel Uncle John entered 

the Gulf of Mexico in April 2005 for a 35-day research 

voyage as part of the Gulf of Mexico Gas Hydrates Joint 

Industry Project led by ChevronTexaco in cooperation 

with NETL. During the expedition, researchers collected 

full-well log suites, borehole seismic data, and more than 

200 meters of core samples from shallow sediments under 

more than 4,000 feet of water. The cruise marked the first 

use of newly developed tools for measuring the acoustic 

properties of sediments at subsea pressure and temperature 

conditions. While all study sites were dominated by 

fine-grained sediment, one location, known as Keathley 

Canyon, contained hydrate in saturations up to 30 percent 

within fractured shale formations. This confirmed the 

connection between hydrate saturation and reservoir 

quality. A comparison of cruise findings with estimates 

of hydrate saturation showed that, with advanced dataprocessing techniques, industry standard seismic data have 

the potential to enable direct hydrate detection. The 4-year 

effort is primarily focused on developing technologies for 

characterizing hydrate through remote sensing and enabling 

safe drilling through or near gas hydrate.

Researchers Identify Recoverable Methane Hydrate—A 

project team led by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is 

characterizing and quantifying the commercial potential 

of gas-hydrate and associated free-gas resources that lie 

above the oil-containing strata in the Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk 

River, and Milne Point fields. Conducted in cooperation 

with NETL, the project has yielded the first delineated 

methane hydrate prospects and the first estimates of the 

technical and economic feasibility of hydrate production. 

Statistical analysis based on these data shows that the 

prospects contain more than 600 billion cubic feet of gas in 

gas hydrate above the northern portion of the Milne Point 

field alone, and more than 33 trillion cubic feet across the 

broader Alaska North Slope. As much as 12 trillion cubic 

feet of these resources may be recoverable.
33 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Oil Exploration 

and Production

DOE’s role in oil exploration 

and production is to facilitate 

the development of critical 

technologies where a federal 

presence is needed to achieve 

national energy goals. Through 

such techniques as CO2 flooding 

and seismic identification 

methods, NETL develops the 

emerging technologies that hold 

the most promise for increasing 

the nation’s domestic oil 

production and coordinates the 

rapid transfer of innovations to 

commercial use.

CO2 Flooding Resuscitates Abandoned Kansas Oilfield—

The Hall-Gurney Oilfield near Russell, KS, was once 

considered 100 percent depleted. However, in December 

2003, the Kansas Geological Survey, in cooperation with 

NETL, began continuous CO2 injection into a 10-acre portion 

of the field, and data collected in 2005 showed that production 

had exceeded 1,500 barrels. While continuous CO2 injection 

has been used to enhance production from oilfields in other 

states, the 8-year Hall-Gurney project is providing valuable 

data on the economic and technical feasibility of using CO2

flooding to recover residual and bypassed oil, particularly 

from reservoirs that have been water-flooded either naturally 

or by planned development. An estimated 500 million barrels 

of incremental oil could be produced in Kansas using the 

method. Incremental oil production began in mid-2004.

Pilot Project Yields More Oil in Oklahoma—Oil 

produced from shallow, naturally fractured, lowpermeability Bartlesville sandstone in Osage County, OK, 

can generate $2.9 million over 6 years using horizontal 

injection wells for water flooding compared to $1.4 

million over 30 years using conventional water-flooding 

approaches. This finding is a result of a simulation and 

economic evaluation based on a successful field test 

completed by Grand Resources Inc. of Tulsa, OK, in 

cooperation with NETL under a Native American Initiative 

grant. The project team found that horizontal waterflooding and related techniques result in higher incremental 

oil production than pre-project production rates. A prolific 

oil producer for 100 years, the Bartlesville sandstone 

formation has yielded less than 20 percent of its original 

oil-in-place through traditional water-floods.

Geochemical Exploration Technique Finds More 

Oil—In an NETL-managed project, researchers at 

Michigan Technological University demonstrated how 

surface geochemistry can be combined with traditional 

exploration methods to reduce the risk of drilling dry holes. 

At Springdale, MI, four out of four horizontal wildcat 

wells drilled based on geochemistry profiles encountered 

hydrocarbons, and two were placed into production. An 

earlier demonstration in the Vernon Field verified the 

technique for mature fields in the Michigan Basin. Project 

results have convinced oil and gas industry companies 

operating in Michigan to include geochemical surveys in 

assessing exploration prospects.

University of Houston Develops Breakthrough 

Technology for Finding Oil—Working in cooperation with 

NETL, University of Houston researchers have developed 

an improved seismic method for identifying reservoir 

compartmentalization in mature fields. Application 

of the method will lead to additional production from 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 34

mature and super-mature fields that in Texas alone have 

produced 5.3 billion barrels of oil to date. The method 

combines standard three-dimensional seismic and vertical 

seismic profile data to produce high-resolution images 

of reservoir compartmentalization and geometries of 

complex geological formations, such as salt domes and 

salt traps. The study produced six peer-reviewed articles 

for Geophysics, numerous presentations for industrial 

corporations and annual meetings of the Society of 

Exploration Geophysicists, and a Best Student Poster 

Award for images of the Vinton Salt Dome in Louisiana. 

It was also used to train a dozen doctoral- and masterslevel geophysicists and was instrumental in naming the 

University of Houston as a Sun Microsystems Geoscience 

Center of Excellence, with receipt of $5 million in modern 

computer hardware.

New Method Improves Subsurface Imaging—As oil 

and gas exploration moves into regions difficult and 

expensive to drill, more demands are placed on imaging 

for preliminary resource assessment. Now, researchers 

at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in cooperation with 

NETL and an industry consortium, have developed a suite of 

analysis tools that improves the reliability and efficiency of 

acquiring complex subsurface images of potential resources 

in increasingly problematic geological settings—notably 

highly prospective subsalt deepwater targets in the Gulf of 

Mexico.

Wireless Surveillance Technology Optimizes Marginal 

Oil Well Production—The Marginal Expense Oil Well 

Wireless Surveillance system, developed through a federal 

grant administered by NETL, is being patented by Vaquero 

Energy Inc. of Bakersfield, CA. The system monitors in real 

time the performance and production of rod-pumped wells. 

This affordable remote sensing and transmitting system will 

help optimize oil production based on the price of oil, which 

can mean the difference between profit and loss for marginal 

wells producing fewer than 10 barrels per day.

Oilfield Problem-Solving Product Identified—In an 

NETL-managed supercement project, researchers at 

Houston-based CSI Technologies were able to solve 

difficult downhole challenges and lower the overall 

maintenance cost of high-temperature, high-pressure 

well completions. After conventional cements failed, 

ULTRA SEAL®—a resin-based sealant produced by M&D 

Industries of Louisiana—sealed a persistent gas leak from 

the annular space of a well operated in the Gulf of Mexico. 

In another application, the resin sealed a leaking packer 

set in 7-inch casing at 10,559 feet with a bottomhole 

temperature of 205 °F.

Modeling, 

Simulation, and 

Assessment

As they do with coal, NETL 

scientists integrate physical 

and chemical experiments 

with computational modeling 

and simulation to develop 

technologies associated with 

natural gas and oil. NETL and 

its partners also use a variety 

of assessment techniques that 

uncover new data, evaluate 

existing data, and complement 

the technological developments 

advanced through their energy 

research.
35 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Methane Hydrate Reservoir Simulator Released, 

Course Well Attended—The first publicly available, fully 

dedicated methane hydrate reservoir simulator, TOUGHFx/HYDRATE v1.0, was officially released in March 

2005 in conjunction with a week-long training course 

cosponsored by NETL and Lawrence Berkeley National 

Laboratory. The course drew an international audience 

representing private industry, research organizations, and 

academia. Led by the simulator’s developer, the course 

introduced the capabilities and function of the model, 

which simulates the behavior of hydrate-bearing geological 

systems. The model will be used to evaluate hydrate 

production strategies for both permafrost and marine 

environments. Since its release, 20 no-cost licenses were 

issued to research organizations in eight countries. In 

addition, a commercial license was granted to a U.S. oil and 

gas company, and negotiations are in progress for licensing 

to two multinational oil and gas companies.

Reservoir Simulation Software Ready for Use—

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin developed 

a new-generation chemical-flooding simulator capable 

of efficiently and accurately simulating oil reservoirs in 

less than 24 hours. Using a cluster of personal computers 

working in parallel under a Linux operating system, the 

technology overcomes the limitations of the memory size 

and computational speed of traditional, high-end desktop 

computer workstations. The achievement, attained through 

a cooperative agreement with NETL, the state of Texas, 

and a joint industry partnership, will help minimize the risk 

involved in reservoir development decisions by allowing 

more detailed simulation with geological, physical, and 

chemical models.

NETL Model Forecasts Increased Significance of 

Marginal Wells for Domestic Oil and Gas Production—

More than two-thirds of domestic wells are classified as 

marginally economic, each producing fewer than 10 barrels 

per day of oil or less than 60,000 cubic feet per day of 

natural gas. In 2003, however, the aggregate of these wells 

accounted for approximately 29 percent and 10 percent 

of onshore oil and gas production, respectively, from the 

contiguous United States. Based on recent production 

and well count trends, NETL forecasts that the total 

number of marginal natural gas wells will grow by over 

60 percent to more than 400,000 by 2025. Modeling also 

shows that the volume of crude oil and natural gas from 

marginal wells will increase nearly 20 percent above 2003 

volumes to approximately 4 trillion cubic feet equivalent. 

Such forward-looking model output, including well 

counts, locations, economics, and other particulars, will 

be used to shape upcoming solicitations by the NETLsponsored Stripper Well Consortium—an industry-driven 

consortium focused on the development, demonstration, 

and deployment of new technologies needed to improve 

production from natural gas and oil stripper wells.

Unconventional Resources Abound in Appalachian and 

Illinois Basins—A comprehensive resource assessment 

completed by the Regional Directors of the Interstate 

Oil and Gas Compact Commission in cooperation with 

NETL documented vast quantities of fossil resources yet 

to be produced in the already mature Appalachian and 

Illinois basins. Advanced technologies would be the key to 

unlocking more than 400 billion barrels of unconventional 

crude oil and as much as 90 trillion cubic feet of natural 

gas from an area covering 233,000 square miles in 10 

states. Representing 37 gas- and oil-producing states, 

the commission assists in maximizing the production of 

domestic onshore oil and natural gas while maintaining 

high environmental protection standards and minimizing 

threats to security.

Study Targets Vast Heavy Oil Resource on Alaska’s 

North Slope—As part of an NETL-managed project, 

University of Houston researchers identified an optimal 

recovery method for an untapped oil resource estimated at 

36 billion barrels on Alaska’s North Slope. The resource 

lies at shallow depths (3,000–3,500 feet), and its proximity 

to subsurface permafrost renders the already low-gravity 

crude extremely viscous and difficult to recover. The 

recommended procedure includes the tertiary recovery 

technique of combined water alternating with gas injection 

and electromagnetic heating. By identifying ways to fully 

commercialize the resource, the study will help stem 

declining North Slope production, which accounts for 20 

percent (down from 25 percent) of domestic oil supplies.
36

Working Beyond the Office

of Fossil Energy

NETL is the lead research and 

development center for the Office 

of Fossil Energy, but it shares its 

wide-ranging expertise with other 

offices and departments within the 

federal government. Our nation’s 

goals of energy security, reliability, 

conservation, and efficiency are 

best met through collaboration 

and coordination rather than 

isolated efforts. NETL supports 

DOE’s Offices of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy (EERE), 

Electricity Delivery and Energy 

Reliability (OE), and Engineering 

and Construction Management 

(OECM) and the U.S. Department 

of Homeland Security. 

BEYOND
37 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Office of 

Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy

LED Project Achieves Technical Success—In a project 

sponsored by NETL, Cree Inc., a leader in high-brightness 

LED solid state lighting component manufacturing, 

announced breakthrough performance results achieved 

in the continued development of its white XLampTM 

7090 power LED. Cree’s advanced XLamp demonstrates 

maximum flux of 86 lumens, a 43 percent increase in 

brightness compared with the XLamp 7090 Cree currently 

has in production. The lamp has also reached an efficiency 

of 70 lumens per watt at 350 milliamperes, nearly matching 

the 80–90 lumen efficiency of fluorescent lightbulbs. These 

performance improvements demonstrate a major step toward 

meeting DOE’s Solid State Lighting goal of developing a 

high-quality, low-cost, high-efficiency white LED by 2015.

SAGE Electrochromics Changes the Light of Day—

SAGE Electrochromics Inc. made great strides in 2005 

toward the widespread commercialization of SageGlass®

electrochromic windows. Incorporating production systems 

and techniques developed as a result of projects sponsored 

by NETL, SAGE completed the construction and outfitting 

of a new, full-scale manufacturing plant that will increase 

its production capacity and range of window sizes available 

on the market. Electrochromic windows let in daylight and 

maintain a view, but they can be cleared or tinted electronically 

to control heat gain and glare for comfort and energy savings.

BAIHP Demonstrates Homes That Are More Energy 

Efficient—The Building America Industrialized Housing 

Partnership (BAIHP), managed by NETL and led by 

the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy 

Center, helps factory and site home builders and developers 

produce, test, and showcase homes that are 30–50 percent 

more efficient but only marginally more expensive than 

conventional homes. For fiscal year 2005, the partnership 

reported the following accomplishments: 

• Provided systems engineering technical assistance 

to over two dozen leading builders that led to the 

construction of highly marketable homes in Florida, 

North Dakota, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and to 

awards for exemplary energy efficiency. 

• Developed a patented high-efficiency condenser fan for 

air conditioning and heat pump systems and began the 

construction of test structures that deploy an innovative 

building-integrated night sky-based cooling system. 

• In response to the Florida hurricanes of 2004, began 

researching retrofit approaches for hurricane-damaged 

residences to maximize energy efficiency and reduce 

future storm damage. In the wake of hurricane Katrina, 

the organization began working with Habitat for 

Humanity International to develop and disseminate 

design specification packages for replacement, retrofit, 

and Federal Emergency Management Agency housing 

that is durable, affordable, and energy efficient.

• Provided technical support to Congress Building America, 

wherein members of Congress partner with Habitat for 

Humanity to produce low-cost, energy-efficient housing.

Capstone Completes Preproduction Testing of 200-

Kilowatt Microturbine—After 5,400 hours, Capstone 

Turbine Corporation completed preproduction testing of 

its 200-kilowatt microturbine, designated the C200 and 

called Beta 1. Beta 1 testing began in May 2004 at the 

National Fuel Cell Research Center and Combustion Lab 

at the University of California, Irvine. The microturbine 

demonstrated NOx emissions lower than 0.2 pounds per 

megawatt hour, a lower-heating-value efficiency of 34 

percent, and 99 percent availability, with only two minor 

faults in the final 3,800 hours of testing. Beta 1 is being 

developed under EERE’s Advanced Microturbine Project, 

managed by NETL.

Precision Combustion Demonstrates Low Emissions 

in Gas Turbine Combustor—Precision Combustion Inc. 

achieved promising results in high-pressure single-module 

testing of its piloted Rich Catalytic Lean-burn (RCL®) 

combustor. The RCL combustor demonstrated less than 

3 parts per million NOx emissions and zero carbon 

monoxide emissions for a primary zone temperature range 

of 2,550–2,830 °F. As a result, NETL has extended its 

support of Precision’s efforts. In 2006, the company will 

fabricate and test a set of 12 modules in a Solar Turbines 

Centaur gas turbine.

High-Efficiency Low-NOx Reciprocating Engines 

Introduced by Caterpillar—Caterpillar introduced its 

Advanced Reciprocating Engine System Phase I engine into 

the 2005 marketplace and is in the process of completing 

orders for over 100 engines in the megawatt size range, for 

a total of 1.3 gigawatts. These improved natural gas-fueled 

engines were developed under EERE’s Distributed Energy 

Advanced Reciprocating Engine System program, managed 

by NETL. The engines have demonstrated a lower-heatingvalue efficiency of 44 percent and 1.0 gram per brake 

horsepower-hour of NOx emission.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 38

Office of 

Electricity Delivery and 

Energy Reliability

NETL Responds to National Disasters—NETL’s Energy 

Infrastructure and Security Research Group (EISRG) 

supports OE in emergency preparedness and response. 

In this role, EISRG leads and coordinates a national 

laboratory consortium known as the Visualization and 

Modeling Working Group (VMWG). Both independently 

and with VMWG, NETL conducts predictive and actual 

impact analyses during natural and manmade emergencies 

and exercises. Analyses include custom mapping, computer 

modeling, and written summaries of impacts and recovery 

efforts as they relate to the energy infrastructure. EISRG 

realized several significant accomplishments in 2005:

• During the 2005 hurricane season, EISRG led pre-, 

trans-, and post-event analyses for most named storms 

with full VMWG team activation for hurricanes 

Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Team analyses 

enabled decision makers to position staff and energy 

resources in advance to reduce emergency response 

times. EISRG and other NETL staff worked with OE, 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency, other 

emergency responders, state officials, and energy 

companies to resolve such issues as electrical outages 

and interruptions to transportation fuel supplies, oil and 

natural gas production, and refinery operations.

• EISRG analysts responded to the Powder River Basin 

coal transportation emergency of summer 2005. A 

6-month service suspension for repairs to the South 

Powder River Basin Joint Line forced a major railway 

to reduce coal delivery to an estimated 80–85 percent 

of demand and resulted in a cascade of forces majeures 

through its customer coal and power companies. EISRG 

evaluated the situation on the ground, including the 

potential impact to the power grid, and helped federal 

agencies determine alternate fuel supplies in case of a 

severe shortage.

• In partnership with the Defense Department’s Program 

Office for Mission Assurance, EISRG led VMWG 

through a high-level training exercise in which a 

major event widely disrupted natural gas and electrical 

infrastructures in the northwestern United States. 

NETL independently conducted smaller followup exercises that tested its response process. Using 

systems established over the previous two years, the 

exercises shortened EISRG’s response time and trained 

headquarters personnel in EISRG procedures.

NETL Develops Tools to Assist in Emergency 

Response—NETL developed a web-based interface for 

the extranet site used by OE and Emergency Support 

Function-12 responders. This password-protected site 

provides information needed during an energy emergency, 

including energy, federal, state, and general information; 

response options and authorities; contacts; and maps. NETL 

also supported the design of OE’s Emergency Operation 

Center logbook and its expansion of the incident response 

reporting and tracking procedures for duty officers.

New Facility to Support Energy Infrastructure Decision 

Makers—NETL worked with the West Virginia Army 

National Guard, the National Guard Bureau, and the United 

States Army Reserves to develop a conceptual design 

for the Joint Interagency Training Center East. NETL 

represented OE in the process, helping to establish design 

requirements and conceive a facility that would meet the 

needs of all agencies. Installation of the training center is 

planned for the West Virginia Army National Guard, Camp 

Dawson post, in Kingwood, WV. The facility—a joint 

effort between the Departments of Energy and Defense—is 

expected to support such enterprises as DOE’s Emergency 

Operations Center simulator, which would train energy 

sector personnel in energy emergency response.

BEYOND
39 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Office of 

Engineering and 

Construction Management

NETL Manages Over 40 External Independent 

Reviews—In support of OECM, NETL managed the 

completion of more than 40 external independent reviews 

on major DOE projects. Such reviews, required on all major 

capital acquisition projects, provide verification of the cost 

and schedule baseline before large projects are permitted to 

proceed by the responsible headquarters approving official. 

Since the review program began in 1999, more major 

projects are meeting their cost and schedule commitments. 

This success is attributed to the external independent 

reviews that have resulted in demonstrated improvements in 

the management of major projects within DOE.

NETL Implements DOE’s Value Engineering Policy—

NETL directed the implementation of DOE’s value 

engineering policy (P 413.2) across the Department by 

establishing a joint effort between OECM and the Energy 

Facilities Contractors Group (EFCOG). Value engineering 

was formally chartered and incorporated into the EFCOG 

Engineering Practices Working Group, and formal value 

studies were conducted. One study resulted in a unified 

approach to the configuration management being adopted 

across DOE for facilities transitioning into closure. 

Five sites conservatively estimate that annual savings of 

$16–20 million will be realized by adopting the study’s 

best practice recommendations. In addition, NETL led the 

development of a 3-day value engineering course, which 

is now included in Project Manager Career Development 

Program Level 2 certification training. Teaching federal 

project directors how to apply this valuable tool will 

increase its use in future DOE projects.

Department of 

Homeland 

Security

NETL Provides Protective Equipment to Local Law 

Enforcement and Critical Chemical Sites—NETL helped 

54 local law enforcement agencies across the United States 

procure over $1 million in monitoring and protective 

equipment. NETL also managed the pilot installation 

of Internet-enabled video surveillance systems that now 

monitor the buffer zones of critical U.S. assets in the 

chemical sector. The systems allow local law enforcement 

and the Department of Homeland Security to remotely 

monitor the selected sites.
40

SHARING

Sharing Our Energy

Expertise

NETL has long recognized that its 

vast knowledge of fossil fuels can 

benefit its research partners and 

the public at large. Through training 

courses, interagency cooperation, 

domestic and international 

workshops, and database 

exchanges, NETL plays a key role 

in supporting DOE’s efforts to be 

the authoritative source of energyrelated information in the nation.
41 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

Technology Steers Drill Bit Through San Andreas 

Fault—In August, a deep observation well was drilled 

through the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, CA, to study 

the mechanism of earthquake rupture in a seismically active 

portion of the fault. The 13,090-foot well trajectory was 

guided in part by a borehole seismic system developed by 

Paulsson Geophysical Services Inc. in cooperation with 

NETL. Paulsson’s downhole seismic receiver array is the 

world’s longest and consists of closely spaced, high-fidelity 

geophones that can withstand temperatures up to 400 °F 

and pressures up to 25,000 pounds per square inch. In 

addition to mapping the precise location of the San Andreas 

Fault, the borehole seismic tool recorded more than 

1,000 earthquakes over a 2-week period, including many 

events too small to detect with conventional seismographs 

positioned on the ground. Developed under the Office of 

Fossil Energy’s Oil and Gas Supply and Delivery research 

and development program with the intent of lowering 

exploration and production costs, this high-resolution 

seismic technology is demonstrating benefits beyond the 

energy sector.

NETL Trains Foreign Service Officers—For the sixth 

consecutive year, NETL organized and conducted a weeklong course in coal and power technologies for Foreign 

Service Officers. Participants represented the U.S. Agency 

for International Development and the U.S. Departments of 

Commerce, Defense, Energy, and State, including Foreign 

Service Officers assigned to posts in Australia, Indonesia, 

Kazakhstan, and Kosovo. The mission of these officers is to 

identify export markets, negotiate international agreements, 

and interpret U.S. policies and interests for foreign 

governments, opinion leaders, and public citizens. Subject 

matter included:

• Electricity generation, transmission, and distribution

• The mining, preparation, combustion, gasification, and 

byproduct utilization of coal

• Natural gas-based power generation using turbines, 

microturbines, fuel cells, and other distributed energy 

technologies

• Hydrogen production

• Carbon sequestration and FutureGen 

Three Projects Promote Clean Coal in Asia-Pacific 

Region—The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 

Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy, chaired by NETL’s 

International Coordination Team Leader, completed 

directing three projects aimed at promoting clean coal 

technologies in an Asia-Pacific region, which increasingly 

relies on coal for power generation.

• Powerhouse Engineering Ltd. assessed and ranked 

the costs and effectiveness of available approaches for 

improving the performance and reliability of older coalfired power plants. The report covers overall pulverizedcoal plant design and basic equipment operating 

concepts to help utility managers understand the costs 

and benefits of power plant upgrades and refurbishment. 

• The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas 

Technologies, an Australian private-public partnership, 

completed a review of publicly available information 

on sedimentary basins to assess the geological storage 

potential for CO2 in the APEC region. The location 

of large point sources of CO2 emissions (e.g., power 

and fertilizer plants) were overlaid on digitized maps 

showing regional sedimentary basins so that promising 

sequestration sites could be identified.

• A team led by the Delhi Group of Ottawa, Ontario, 

provided training on CO2 capture and geological 

sequestration during a 2-day workshop in relation to 

the First International Symposium on CO2 Reduction 

and Sequestration held in January 2005, in Seoul, 

South Korea. More than 100 participants from Korean 

industry, government, academia, and nongovernmental 

organizations attended the course, developed to educate 

interested individuals and organizations throughout 

the region on the potential for capturing and storing 

CO2 from large fossil fuel-based energy facilities. The 

training was supported by the Cooperative Research 

Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, the Alberta 

Research Council of Edmonton, Alberta, and the 

GLOBE Foundation of Canada in Vancouver, British 

Columbia. 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 42

American Firms Benefit from United States-China 

Pollution-Control Workshops—For a second year, NETL 

collaborated with counterparts in China to organize a joint 

United States-China workshop on NOx and SO2 control. 

More than 150 senior representatives of the ministry, other 

government agencies, major Chinese utilities, and related 

industries met with 47 representatives of 16 U.S. companies 

at the workshop held in Dalian, Liaoning Province, in 

August 2005. An adjunct workshop on the results of a 

joint study of postcombustion options to control NOx

emissions from several Chinese coal-fired power plants was 

conducted the following day. Chinese utilities could spend 

an estimated $6 billion in 2006 on equipment to control air 

pollution from new and existing coal-fired plants and $22 

billion over the next 15 years on flue gas desulfurization 

systems for coal-fired plants. The joint workshop series 

helped participating U.S. firms win a significant share of 

this market by facilitating a variety of business relationships 

with Chinese companies. 

Workshop Addresses Electricity Market in India—A 

workshop in New Delhi in March 2005 attracted more than 

250 participants and delegates from a broad spectrum of 

the Indian power sector to work on issues of regulation and 

financing facing the Indian power market. The workshop 

was organized through an interagency agreement between 

NETL and the U.S. Agency for International Development, 

with support from the U.S. National Association of 

Regulatory Utility Commissioners and India’s National 

Thermal Power Corporation. The costs associated with 

India’s plan to double its 109,000-megawatt generating 

capacity by 2012 are estimated at $160 billion. 

The expansion represents a great opportunity to export U.S. 

technologies for pollution control, power plant efficiency 

improvement, and advanced coal power developed through 

DOE-funded research, development, and demonstration 

programs. Significant opportunities also exist for U.S. 

firms to support and counsel Indian utilities on the changes 

required in the regulatory environment, such as balancing 

financial return against consumers’ desire for affordable 

and reliable electricity. 

NETL Provides Clean Coal Chapter to High School 

Science Textbook—At the invitation of the Museum of 

Science in Boston, MA, NETL staff contributed a chapter 

on clean coal technology for a new high school science 

textbook, Engineering the Future: Designing the World of 

the 21st Century. Written from a first-person perspective by 

practicing engineers, the textbook aims to foster students’ 

creative talents and analytical skills by examining the 

engineer’s central role in the interplay between societal 

advance and technological change. The Museum of Science 

plans to distribute the textbook nationally in 2006, initiating 

a process of improving public energy awareness that 

will lead to well-informed energy choices in the coming 

decades. 

NETL Discusses Approach for Interagency 

Collaboration—NETL staff members were invited to 

EPA’s Collaborative Problem-Solving Summit, held 

in Estes Park, CO, in September 2005, to discuss how 

the laboratory’s successful approach to interagency 

collaboration leads to performance improvements and 

reduced operating costs. The summit, sponsored by EPA 

Region 8, brought together high-level field representatives 

from EPA, several bureaus within the Department of 

Interior, and several states in the Rocky Mountain region.
43

Spotlighting Our

Contributions

External recognition affirms NETL’s 

commitment to meeting America’s 

energy and environmental 

challenges. Through awards, 

publications, and patents, NETL 

and its researchers received such 

recognition from a wide variety 

of stakeholders in 2005. NETL is 

pleased that its accomplishments 

have added value to our nation’s 

efforts in advancing fossil energy 

technologies. 

SPOTLIGHT
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 44

Awards

Four Products Earn 2005 R&D 100 Awards—Four 

technologies developed with support from NETL were 

selected by an independent judging panel and the editors 

of R&D Magazine as among the 100 most technologically 

significant products introduced into the marketplace in 

2004 and 2005. Recognized by industry, government, and 

academia as proof that a company has commercialized 

one of the most innovative ideas of the year, an R&D 100 

Award provides an important boost to technologies just 

entering the marketplace. The four awardees are described 

below:

•►Eltron Research Inc. of Boulder, CO, in partnership 

with NETL, has developed a novel high-flux hydrogen 

separation membrane material that shows stable 

performance under water-gas shift conditions. The 

membrane enables the efficient integration of hydrogen 

separation modules with water-gas shift reactors of 

certain coal gasification schemes. Successful scale-up of 

the Eltron membrane design will help increase thermal 

efficiencies and reduce the capital and operating costs of 

coal gasification-based FutureGen concepts. 

•►The Short-Radius Composite Drill Pipe, developed by 

Advanced Composite Products and Technology Inc. 

of Huntington Beach, CA, in cooperation with NETL, 

is a flexible, lightweight drill pipe made from spaceage carbon fiber composites. The composite pipe is 

particularly amenable to horizontal drilling, allowing 

production from formations where much U.S. oil and 

gas remains. Able to remain bent for extended periods 

without suffering fatigue damage, the pipe allows access 

to these formations from old wells, thereby avoiding the 

environmental impact of drilling new ones. 

•►Ohio State University was recognized for its referencefree solid-state oxygen sensor used in high-temperature 

combustion applications. Developed in partnership with 

NETL, the ceramic device is inexpensive and small 

enough—1 centimeter in diameter and 0.3 centimeters 

thick—to permit multiple sensor placements for more 

precise control of the combustion process. 

•►Drill String RadarTM, developed by Stolar Research 

Corporation of Raton, NM, in cooperation with NETL 

uses high-frequency radio waves to detect the planar 

boundaries of rock formations above drilled strata. 

Designed for use with drilling systems, the highly 

specialized radar can estimate the orientation of 

fractures and bedding plans in layered materials, such as 

coal, sandstone, and limestone, helping to map, navigate, 

and detect hazards in unknown strata.

NETL Technology Transfer Achievements Recognized—

The Federal Laboratory Consortium presented 2004 

Technology Recognition and 2005 Excellence in 

Technology Transfer awards to NETL onsite researchers. 

Both awards recognize outstanding achievement in 

transferring a new technology from a federal laboratory to 

the commercial marketplace.

•►The novel Combustion Control and Diagnostics 

Sensor (CCADS)—a patented gas turbine combustion 

control technology—received the 2005 Excellence in 

Technology Transfer Award. CCADS monitors several 

key combustion parameters and improves combustion 

control to reduce NOx emissions, increase reliability, 

and lower electricity costs. NETL has licensed CCADS 

to Woodward Industrial Controls for commercial 

development.

•►A photochemical process for enhancing mercury 

removal from coal-produced flue gas received both 

awards. Developed by NETL researchers, the patented 

process will enable utilities to economically remove 

a large percentage of elemental mercury from flue 

gas with equipment similar to the ultraviolet lamp 

assemblies used for the purification of drinking water. 

Powerspan Corporation of New Durham, NH, has 

licensed the technology for application to coal-fired 

power plants.

Innovator Wins Platts 2004 Global Energy Award—

Denver-based Vortex Flow Inc. won the Newcomer of the 

Year Award offered by Platts POWER magazine in New 

York City in December 2004. For the oil and gas industry, 

Vortex tools improve production and reduce operating costs 

by controlling single- or multiphase flow for more efficient 

oil and gas removal. Product testing of the Vortex VX was 

funded by the Stripper Well Consortium, which offers 

small, independent operators the opportunity to collaborate 

with technology developers and researchers across the 

country. The consortium is managed by Penn State 

University and receives funding from NETL and the New 

York State Energy Research and Development Authority. 

Now in their sixth year, the Platts Global Energy Awards 

have become the most prestigious in the industry.

SPOTLIGHT
45 NETL Accomplishments FY 2005

DOE Small Business Grantee Receives Low NOx

Emissions Award—The 2005 Gas Turbine Award was 

presented to Precision Combustion Inc. of North Haven, 

CT, by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at its 

June 2005 Turbo Expo in Reno, NV. The award recognizes 

single- and combined-cycle combustion technologies 

designed to achieve very low NOx emissions without 

postcombustion controls or efficiency penalty. Under 

DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research program, 

Precision Combustion developed its Rich Catalytic Leanburn (RCL®) combustion technology in cooperation with 

NETL. Tests have confirmed single-digit parts-per-million 

levels of NOx and carbon monoxide emissions from natural 

and coal-derived gases using the advanced combustor.

Praxair Researcher Receives American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers Award—A Praxair Technology 

Inc. researcher received the 2004 Percy W. Nichols Award 

for notable achievement in the field of solid fuels for 

work sponsored by NETL. Named for a pioneer in the 

science and technology of fuels utilization, the award is 

presented annually to a member of the American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers or the American Institute of Mining, 

Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. Praxair advanced 

the concept of oxygen-enhanced combustion, which it 

developed and commercialized in cooperation with NETL. 

During the 2003 ozone season, the system maintained 

generating capacity while reducing NOx emissions to 

below 0.15 pounds of NOx per million Btu at the Northeast 

Generation Services Mt. Tom Station in Holyoke, MA. 

The award presentation was made at the 30th International 

Technical Conference on Coal Utilization & Fuel Systems 

in Clearwater, FL, in April 2005.

NETL Wins ESS&H Award—The Office of Fossil 

Energy awarded NETL one of two 2005 Excellence in 

Environment, Security, Safety, and Health Awards for its 

implementation of a unique air sparge-bioremediation 

system near Gillette, WY. The system incorporates 

manifolds that direct contaminant-free air to selected 

monitor wells, volatilizing organic contaminants and 

increasing dissolved oxygen in the groundwater to enhance 

the biological population. As a result, contaminant 

reduction met state standards in less than 5 years. A 

conventional pump-and-treat system would have taken as 

many as 50 years to accomplish the same objective.

Researcher Receives American Society of Materials 

Award—A researcher for the Electric Power Research 

Institute was selected by the American Society of Materials 

International to receive the 2006 William Hunt Eisenman 

Award. The award recognizes unusual achievements in 

industry for the practical application of materials science 

and engineering. The researcher was recognized for 

his development of advanced boiler materials for nextgeneration ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants. The 

work is funded by the Office of Fossil Energy’s Materials 

Program managed by NETL.

Multipollutant-Control Project Attracts Attention—We 

Energies was recognized with an Award of Excellence for 

the environmental benefits offered by TOXECONTM and the 

favorable economic impact of construction-related activities 

on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In a cooperative agreement 

with NETL, We Energies conducted a full-scale test of the 

TOXECON technology at the Presque Isle Power Plant 

in Marquette, MI. The honor was bestowed at the annual 

meeting of Operation Action UP, an organization of privatesector leaders dedicated to the economic development 

of the once-depressed 15-county region. TOXECON is 

a patented sorbent-based technology developed by the 

Electric Power Research Institute as a low-cost retrofit 

option to achieve high levels (up to 90 percent) of mercury 

control at coal-fired power plants.

Noteworthy

Publications

NETL Research Published in Science—Results obtained 

by NETL and Carnegie Mellon University were reported 

in the January 28, 2005, issue of the prestigious journal 

Science, published by the American Association for the 

Advancement of Science. Team members use advanced 

computational methods to predict hydrogen flux through 

engineered membranes. This approach offers time and cost 

savings in the development of advanced technologies by 

prescreening candidate membranes designed to separate 

hydrogen from other gases and impurities resulting from 

fossil-fuel utilization.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2005 46

Solid Sorbent for CO2 Removal Receives Patent—A 

new method for utilizing a low-cost CO2 sorbent to 

capture CO2 emitted from power plants received a U.S. 

patent. Developed by NETL as part of DOE’s research 

on carbon capture and sequestration, the method prepares 

the solid sorbent for CO2 capture in gas streams at low 

temperatures (25–40 °C). NETL conducted bench-scale 

multicycle experiments with an industrial-scale unit sample 

to achieve 99 percent CO2 removal from a simulated coal 

combustion gas stream at industry-accepted gas velocities. 

The capture capacity of the sorbent is twice that of the 

commercial amine technique, which is operated at similar 

capture temperatures. In addition, the solid sorbent can be 

regenerated at temperatures in excess of 35 °C.

Patented Method Uses Bacteria to Produce Hydrogen—

An NETL researcher was issued a patent for a process that 

uses thermophilic bacteria to produce hydrogen gas from 

a variety of feedstocks. The bacteria maintain hydrogen 

production while tolerating relatively high concentrations 

of oxygen. Some of these organism types can tolerate 

oxygen levels close to that of ambient air for short periods 

of time at room temperature. Although most hydrogen 

gas today is produced by natural gas reformation or coal 

gasification, these processes are costly and environmentally 

unfriendly. Biological processes are attractive because they 

use renewable feedstocks, such as biomass and organic 

waste streams.

Patented System Improves Monitoring Within Gas 

Turbines—NETL patented a combustion monitoring 

sensor called Combustion Control and Diagnostics Sensor 

(CCADS) that detects and assesses conditions within 

gas turbine combustors. A number of available detection 

systems concurrently measure and control the behavior of 

flames and the overall combustion process in gas turbines. 

However, NETL researchers recognized the need for a 

system that is fast, durable, and requires minimal burnerassembly and operating-parameter modifications. The 

patented sensor has been successfully tested in industrial 

settings.

Projects Produce Best Papers at 22nd Annual 

International Pittsburgh Coal Conference—The 

paper selected “best” by the Pittsburgh Coal Conference 

advisory board was authored by researchers from Pratt & 

Whitney Rocketdyne, who, in cooperation with NETL, 

are developing a novel gasifier by applying rocket engine 

technology to gasifier design. The gasifier is expected to 

improve reliability and cost-efficiency in coal gasification 

power plants. NETL onsite researchers authored the first 

runner-up paper, which addresses NETL’s advancement of 

novel processes for capturing mercury in coal-fired power 

plant emissions.

Methane Hydrate Project Report Judged Among 25 

Best—The March 2005 issue of The LEADING EDGE

recognized an NETL-sponsored project report as one of 

the TOP 25 Papers presented at the Society of Exploration 

Geophysicists’ Annual Meeting held in Denver, CO, in 

October 2004. Chosen from more than 600 papers offered, 

the report describes a three-dimensional, vertical seismic 

profile at the site of the Hot Ice #1 well on Alaska’s North 

Slope. The report was presented by Anadarko Petroleum 

Corporation researchers, who completed the profile in an 

effort to map methane hydrate deposits in the vicinity of 

the well. The LEADING EDGE reaches roughly 20,000 

subscribers worldwide, including a majority of U.S. 

geophysical professionals. In addition to recognition in 

the newsletter, the TOP 25 authors receive assistance for 

presenting their papers to other geophysical societies in the 

United States and overseas.

Patents

Project Produces Patent for Oil Shale Upgrading 

Process—A U.S. patent was issued to James W. Bunger 

and Associates Inc. of Salt Lake City, UT, for a process 

that enhances the value of natural resources containing 

hydrocarbons. Developed as part of NETL-managed 

research on oil shale, the process employs a unique solvent 

system to separate the constituents of shale oil into two 

fractions. After solvent removal, the fractions are used 

directly or as feedstock for petroleum, chemical, and 

industrial products. The method allows separate processing 

of the fraction containing heteroatoms, such as nitrogen, 

which are undesirable in refining oil shale syncrude.

National Energy 

Technology Laboratory

1450 Queen Avenue SW

Albany, OR 97321-2198

541-967-5892

2175 University Avenue South

Suite 201

Fairbanks, AK 99709

907-452-2559

3610 Collins Ferry Road

P.O. Box 880

Morgantown, WV 26507-0880

304-285-4764

626 Cochrans Mill Road

P.O. Box 10940

Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940

412-386-4687

One West Third Street, Suite 1400

Tulsa, OK 74103-3519

918-699-2000

Visit the NETL website at:

www.netl.doe.gov

Customer Service:

1-800-553-7681

U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Fossil Energy 

Printed in the United States on recycled paper 

April 2006