2008 NETL Accomplishments

— the lab
2 Mission

Advancing 

energy options 

to fuel our 

economy, 

strengthen our 

security, and 

improve our 

environment.
Renewed Prosperity Through Technological Innovation —

Letter from the Director

NETL: the ENERGY lab

4

6

Contents 3

Technology Transfer

Patents and Commercialization

Sharing Our Expertise

Noteworthy Publications

60

62

63

64

66

Environment, Economy, & Supply 

Carbon Capture and Storage

Partnerships Work to Reduce Atmospheric CO2

Demand-Side Efficiencies

New NETL Facility Showcases Green Technologies

Environment & Economy

Materials

Mercury

Membranes

NETL Education Program Produces Significant Achievement

Monitoring

Water

Economy & Supply

NETL’s Natural Gas Prediction Tool Aids Hurricane Recovery

Energy Infrastructure

Methane Hydrates

Oil and Natural Gas Production

Supply & Environment

Advanced Combustion

Big Role of Small Particles Is Brought to Light

Fuel Cells

Gasification

8

10

12

14

18

20

22

25

27

28

31

32

34

36

38

42

43

46

48

50

52

55

Awards & Recognition

Facing page—NETL’s new Technology Support Facility meets the highest Federal guidelines for energy conservation and efficiency. See page 18 for the full story.
4 Renewed Prosperity Through Technological Innovation

Early in 2008, discussions about America’s energy 

economy revolved around the rise of oil prices 

to over $100 per barrel and the renewed search 

for alternative fuel supplies with improved 

environmental performance. Today, as oil prices have 

eased, the national and global economic recession 

presents a new challenge: our Nation’s ability to 

adopt a broader portfolio of energy resources 

while moving aggressively toward large-scale 

environmental solutions.

The compound challenge of propelling economic 

recovery, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and 

enhancing the use of domestic energy resources 

is formidable, but it is also surmountable. As they 

have in the past, American scientists and engineers 

will deliver breakthrough innovations that help 

to provide abundant, affordable, environmentally 

sustainable energy, the basis of our national 

prosperity.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), 

under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE), takes a holistic view of the three areas we 

must consider to find effective energy solutions: 

environment, economy, and supply. Throughout our 

100-year history, NETL has sought to balance these 

areas through energy research and technological 

innovation. The Laboratory develops technologies 

and processes that answer each decade’s pressing 

energy issues and provides our Nation’s policymakers 

with the scientific information they need to set 

sound energy policy.

By connecting basic and applied research, NETL 

develops and demonstrates advanced technologies 

to help the United States realize near-zero 

emission power production; increase demand- and 

production-side efficiencies; enhance proven, 

unconventional, new, and renewable energy sources; 

and modernize our Nation’s energy infrastructure. 
Carl O. Bauer, Director

National Energy Technology Laboratory

5

We analyze the dynamics of complex energy 

systems and the risks and benefits of pursuing 

various technology pathways. And we integrate 

our research and analysis with the efforts of our 

fellow national laboratories, other government 

agencies, industry, academia, and international 

research organizations. 

NETL’s reputation as an innovator stretches back 

to the 1910 creation of the Pittsburgh Experiment 

Station. Our evolution has paralleled the 

transformation of the U.S. energy economy from 

a system almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels 

to the current mix of fossil energy, hydropower, 

nuclear energy, and renewable resources. Our 

work reflects this mix, as our scientists, engineers, 

and analysts advance not only coal- and 

natural gas-based power systems, but vehicle 

technologies, fuel cells, hydrogen turbines, water 

conservation technologies, and the potential of 

methane hydrates and fossil-biomass blends as 

new energy feedstocks .

Through these research activities, NETL is helping 

to assert America’s leadership in solving the 

world’s energy and environmental issues. Building 

on nearly a century of Federal energy research, 

we are developing and deploying modern 

technologies, creating jobs, and preparing 

our Nation’s next generation of scientists and 

engineers—a resource as important as our energy 

supplies themselves. 

I am pleased and proud to be part of such an 

important endeavor and to work with exceptional 

colleagues, who invest themselves wholeheartedly 

in addressing the energy needs of the Nation and 

the world.
6

The energy economy is the complex system that allows 

us to extract, convert, deliver, and consume energy 

for electricity, transportation, industry, and home use. 

For 200 years, America’s prosperity has been built on 

the bounty of its energy economy, and secure, reliable 

energy supplies remain essential to U.S. stability and 

growth.

To illustrate the dynamics of producing and using 

energy, NETL employs a Venn diagram showing three 

spheres labeled “environment,” “supply,” and “economy.” 

When energy strategies consider these underlying 

spheres of influence separately, the importance of one 

may be viewed as greater than that of the other two. 

Such a one-dimensional approach, however, creates a 

competitive tension that pulls the spheres in opposite 

directions. Significant improvements may be realized 

in one sphere, but the others are left stagnant, or even 

damaged.

In a healthy energy economy, energy leaders consider 

the three interrelated spheres as a single issue that 

demands our careful attention. NETL develops and 

demonstrates technology solutions that push the 

spheres closer together, with the ultimate goal of 

finding tools and processes that drive toward the center 

mark, concurrently addressing multiple areas of concern.

One area of NETL research that hits that center mark 

is our Carbon Sequestration Program. NETL and its 

partners are developing technologies to capture, 

transport, and store the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced 

by stationary sources without adversely affecting 

energy supplies or hindering economic growth. NETL 

envisions having a technology portfolio ready by 

2020 that provides for the safe, cost-effective carbon 

management that will meet our Nation’s goals for 

reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment

Economy

Economy

Supply

Supply

Environment

NETL: the ENERGY lab
7

A large part of this program is NETL’s domestic 

and international transfer of technologies and 

processes. NETL sponsors the Regional Carbon 

Sequestration Partnerships, a government-industry 

effort to determine the technologies, regulations, 

and infrastructure changes needed to achieve 

carbon management in various regions of the 

United States and Canada. In addition, the majority 

of our collaboration with international research 

organizations, including the Carbon Sequestration 

Leadership Forum, focuses on technologies that can 

handle the scale of capture required by commercial 

power plants, by far the largest stationary producers 

of CO2.

NETL is also hitting the target through our work with 

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. NETL researchers apply their technical and 

project management expertise to the development 

of demand-side technologies with high rates of 

efficiency. By using a smaller energy stream to achieve 

the same level of service, we can stretch domestic fuel 

supplies, shrink our environmental footprint, and save 

money.

Other research areas pursued by NETL drive 

toward the center. The Laboratory is studying the 

water-energy nexus, perhaps the most significant 

environmental issue after greenhouse gas reduction. 

We are investigating the potential of methane 

hydrate as a new energy resource that could 

dwarf known oil and natural gas reserves. And we 

are pursuing fuel cells, the smart grid, and other 

technologies to enhance domestic energy supplies 

and reduce the total environmental impact of energy 

production and use.

NETL believes in America’s capacity to lead the 

development of advanced energy solutions. We 

believe the energy economy can be transformed 

through scientific discovery and technological 

innovation. We believe in our collective ability to find 

economic solutions to environmental challenges, 

expand our energy resources without undue 

cost, and use those resources in environmentally 

sustainable ways.

Throughout 100 years of scientific research, 

development, and demonstration, NETL has risen to 

the increasingly complex energy challenges faced 

by the United States and the world. Our research is 

wide-ranging. Our partnerships are far-reaching. By 

changing today’s landscape of energy supply and 

demand, we are shaping the future of our Nation’s 

energy economy. It is these endeavors, and the 

accomplishments to which they give rise, that make 

NETL the ENERGY lab.

Top image—NETL researcher Chris Matranga and Dr. Neetha Khan begin an atomic-level materials analysis 

with a surface science and analysis instrument at the Laboratory’s Office of Research and Development.
Image courtesy of Cree, Inc.

8 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply
NETL combines advanced science 

and technology, complex systems 

analysis, and collaborative project 

management to help our Nation 

realize clean, affordable, abundant 

energy resources. All of these 

capabilities are essential to solving 

today’s most pressing energy issue: 

the reduction of greenhouse gases 

to curb climate change. Through 

carbon capture and storage, 

we are tackling emissions from 

stationary sources, such as coaland gas-fired power plants and 

industrial facilities. Through energy 

efficiency, we are helping reduce 

overall energy consumption to 

slash associated CO2 production, 

extend domestic fuel supplies, and 

make energy more affordable for 

everyone. 

9

Facing page—With stunning visual effect, NETL-supported XLamp® technology provides dramatic lighting 

to the exterior of China’s Olympic National Stadium, also called “the Bird’s Nest.” See story on page 15.
10 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply

Since the 1990s, NETL has investigated technologies for 

capturing and storing CO2 emissions from stationary 

sources. Carbon capture and storage is a primary means 

of reducing CO2 emissions to curb climate change until 

other energy supplies—including solar, wind, nuclear, and 

hydrogen-based power—can be scaled to meet growing 

energy demand. NETL focuses on the fundamental 

mechanisms at work during CO2 capture and storage, 

reducing costs, developing monitoring, verification, 

and accounting protocols, and developing methods for 

producing a sequestration-ready CO2 stream and safely 

and effectively storing that stream. NETL’s Regional Carbon 

Sequestration Partnerships initiative is demonstrating the 

permanent storage of CO2 in terrestrial and geologic sinks.

NETL Sheds New Light on Unique Class of CO2

Capture Materials—NETL researchers developed 

and applied a new optical technique to show for the 

first time that structural changes are responsible for 

the high CO2 capture capacity of a new nickel-based 

metal-organic framework. Able to differentiate 

between captured CO2 molecules and those still in the 

gas phase, the experimental technique uses infrared 

light to probe changes in the crystalline structure of 

the capture material that occur because of exposure 

to CO2. The new approach, which relies on an optical 

phenomenon called “attenuated total reflectance,” 

can provide molecular-level understanding of the 

CO2 storage process that will enable computational 

chemists to model and design new capture materials. 

NETL Computer Code Increases Accuracy 

of Reservoir Production Estimations—NETL 

researchers have established how to accurately model 

the flow of liquids and gases in underground reservoirs 

containing porous and/or fractured rock. NETL has 

incorporated this information into its NetfLowTM 

modeling software program, which it recently 

modified to run on parallel computers, increasing 

computational speeds by up to three times those 

attained by the nonparallel version. Using NetfLow, 

NETL is developing physically sound equations for the 

displacement of brine water and oil by CO2 during 

carbon sequestration, among other applications.

Carbon Capture and Storage NETL Study Describes Affordable Low-Carbon 

Diesel Fuel from Coal and Biomass—The NETL 

study, “Affordable, Low-Carbon Diesel Fuel from 

Coal and Biomass,” has found that commercially 

demonstrated technologies can be used to produce 

affordable diesel fuel from coal and from a coalbiomass feedstock. The study focuses on integrating 

gasification, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and carbon 

sequestration to address the environmental, 

economic, and supply challenges of the U.S. 

transportation sector. Coal-based diesel fuel contains 

less carbon than conventional diesel fuels, and by 

adding up to 30 percent of a non-food biomass such 

as switchgrass to the coal feed, the carbon content 

is reduced even further. Producing fuel from coal 

could result in a profitable industry with associated 

domestic job creation, and the fuels produced 

by this pathway will become progressively more 

affordable if a carbon tax or trading scheme is put 

into place. The report can be accessed through 

the NETL website at www.netl.doe.gov/energyanalyses/ref-shelf.html.

NETL Method Estimates CO2 Storage Capacity—

NETL scientists have devised a way to estimate 

the CO2 storage capacity of the Oriskany brine 

formation of central NY and northern PA. Employing 

geographic information system data, they have 

created two sets of mathematical equations: one 

to define the capacity of the formation’s deep brine 

reservoirs to contain dissolved CO2 and the other to 

calculate its capacity for holding pure, compressed 

CO2. The first set of calculations—experimentally 

validated—show that the brine can store 

approximately 360 million metric tons of dissolved 

CO2. When the CO2 is in a supercritical form, the 

second set of calculations theorize that as much 

as 8.8 billion metric tons of pure CO2 may be 

sequestered. A paper describing the study appears 

in the American Chemical Society publication, 

Environmental Science and Technology, February 9, 

2008, issue.
11

NETL Research Improves Estimates of CO2

Storage Capacity in Deep Coal Seams—Coal 

powder samples can be useful in estimating 

the CO2-sorption capacity of shallow coal seams 

under low-pressure conditions. However, at the 

supercritical pressures found in deep coal seams, 

estimates vary widely among measurement 

techniques. NETL researchers have found that if 

the texture of coal after grinding is not exactly 

the same as before grinding, the high-pressure 

sorption capacity estimates based on the powder 

tests are likely to be misleading. NETL has also 

established a method for making more accurate 

predictions by keeping samples in equilibrium 

for longer periods. Results of a 9 month-long 

sorption-desorption study comparing the CO2

storage capacity of dry Upper Freeport coal 

samples in powder and lump forms are reported 

in the American Chemical Society journal, Energy & 

Fuels, in the February 13, 2008, issue.

NETL Wellbore Integrity Research Informs 

Federal Policy on CO2 Injection—In formulating a 

proposed rule on subterranean CO2 injection, the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relied on 

results of a study conducted by NETL and Carnegie 

Mellon University on the degradation of wellbore 

cement in the presence of CO2. The research 

increased scientific understanding of the chemical 

reactions that occur among CO2, brine water, and 

cement under carbon sequestration conditions, and 

indicated that corrosion of cement is not likely to 

cause failure in a properly completed well. Results of 

a year-long test that were extrapolated to predict 

longer-term behavior show excellent agreement 

with both the nature and extent of chemical 

reactions evident in field samples taken from an 

enhanced oil recovery site exposed to CO2 for 

30 years. The work is described in the July 2008 

edition of the American Chemical Society 

publication, Environmental Science & Technology.

Updated Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the 

United States and Canada Now Available

NETL has published a new edition of its awardwinning Carbon Sequestration Atlas of the United States 

and Canada, which contains extensive information 

assembled by the seven NETL-managed Regional 

Carbon Sequestration Partnerships. The Atlas features 

updated maps illustrating the number, location, and 

magnitude of CO2 sources in the United States and 

portions of Canada. Preliminary estimates suggest 

that the various geologic formations in North America 

could store more than 1,100 years of annual CO2

emissions from the identified sources.

Also found in the new Atlas are information on NETL’s 

revised Carbon Sequestration Program, results of 

Federal lands and CO2 pipeline studies from NETL, 

estimates of CO2 storage by State, and information 

about commercialization opportunities for carbon 

capture and storage technologies in each area of the 

country. The Atlas can be downloaded at 

www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/

refshelf/atlasII/. 

An interactive online version of the Atlas is available 

through the National Carbon Sequestration Database 

and Geographic Information System (NATCARB) at 

www.natcarb.org. NATCARB is a geographic 

information system that integrates carbon 

sequestration data from the Partnerships and various 

other sources to provide a view of carbon capture and 

storage potential in the United States and Canada. 
Partnerships Work to Reduce Atmospheric CO2

The rise of average global temperatures is the most pressing environmental issue facing the world today. 

The power production required for modern living is a significant source of man-made CO2 emissions, 

considered a major contributor to global warming. NETL is developing ways to sharply curtail these 

emissions through innovative research and strategies to put new technologies into practice.

The seven NETL-managed Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships are Big Sky Regional Carbon 

Sequestration Partnership (BSCSP), Plains CO2 Reduction Partnership (PCOR), Midwest Geological 

Sequestration Consortium (MGSC), Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP), 

Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB), Southwest Regional Partnership on 

Carbon Sequestration (SWP), and West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (WESTCARB).

12 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply

BSCSP

PCOR

MGSC

MRCSP

SECARB

WESTCARB

SWP
In 2003, under DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, NETL 

launched the Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnerships, a strategy to involve multiple regions of 

the United States and Canada in CO2-mitigation efforts. 

NETL leads the Partnerships through management, 

funding, organizing working groups, providing 

technical oversight, and organizing conferences where 

technologies and lessons learned can be shared.

The 7 Partnerships represent over 350 State agencies, 

universities, and private companies in 43 States and 

4 Canadian Provinces. They are developing the best 

methods in their regions for storing CO2, as well 

as creating public outreach documents, websites, 

and digital data information systems to further the 

understanding of CO2 capture and storage. From the 

Partnerships’ input, NETL has produced a valuable 

resource document, The Carbon Sequestration Atlas 

of the United States and Canada, and has prepared a 

best-practice manual for monitoring, verification, and 

accounting. 

Phase I of the Partnership effort, completed in 2005, 

focused on characterizing each region and developing 

a framework for validating and potentially deploying 

CO2 capture and sequestration technologies. The 

Partnerships established a national network of 

companies, professionals, and government officials 

interested in sequestration, created the National Carbon 

Sequestration Database and Geographic Information 

System (NATCARB), and raised awareness of CO2 capture 

and storage as an option for mitigating greenhouse 

gases. Phase II is implementing small-volume field tests 

of geologic and terrestrial sequestration in areas found 

favorable for carbon storage during Phase I. Tests are 

expected to be completed by 2010.

Phase III began in 2008 and will run through 2017. 

Large-volume sequestration efforts will answer 

questions about such practical issues as sustainability, 

design of wells (for both integrity and capacity), and 

reservoir behavior with prolonged injections. Key 

operational issues will vary, because each region 

has distinct geologic formations, overlying seals, 

and structural concerns that can affect the safe 

and permanent storage of CO2. Results from the 

Partnerships’ Phase III efforts will provide the foundation 

for commercialization of carbon capture and storage 

technology, opening the door for new and existing 

power plants and fuel processing facilities to be fitted 

with CO2 capture technologies. The goal of this effort 

is to have the commercial deployment of carbon 

capture and storage ready and cost effective by 2020. 

Several of the partnerships initiated field tests 

in 2008: 

• SECARB initiated innovative real-time monitoring of 

CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery. They are 

using scientific instrumentation installed nearly two 

miles beneath the surface of the earth to track the 

movement of the CO2. The injection, performed by 

Texas-based Denbury Resources, Inc., will continue 

over the next several years at the rate of 250,000–

500,000 metric tons per year at the Cranfield oil 

field, near Natchez, MS. The oil field is representative 

of the high-quality storage options that exist 

throughout the Gulf Coast region in the lower 

Tuscaloosa Formation.

• SWP began CO2 injection into a 3,000 foot-deep 

unmineable coal seam in the San Juan Basin near 

Navajo City, NM. Injection of up to 35,000 tons of 

CO2 is planned over the next 12 months. The pilot 

project includes a comprehensive monitoring plan 

that is designed to determine the fate of the 

injected CO2 within the coal seam.

• MRCSP injected approximately 10,250 metric tons 

of CO2 from a nearby gas processing plant into a 

saline formation 3,200–3,500 feet underground 

near Gaylord, MI. The injection was the first into a 

domestic saline formation undertaken by the 

Partnerships. Saline formations have a greater 

estimated capacity for storing CO2 than depleted oil 

fields, gas fields, and unmineable coal seams 

combined.

13
14 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply

NETL Supports 2008 Challenge X Advanced 

Vehicle Competition—The Challenge X advanced 

vehicle competition held May 13–21, 2008, gave 

17 universities from across the United States and 

Canada the task of re-engineering General Motors 

Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicles (SUVs)

with advanced vehicle powertrains to improve fuel 

efficiency and reduce emissions—all while meeting 

the base performance standards of the unmodified 

Equinox and satisfying various consumeracceptability tests. The modified vehicles completed 

track events in Englishtown, NJ, and road rallies 

to New York, NY; Baltimore, MD; and Washington, 

DC. NETL staff provided logistical support for 

the competition and helped ensure the vehicles 

performed as expected before official inspections 

and testing. The two main sponsors of the contest 

were DOE and General Motors Corporation. 

Demand-Side Efficiencies

NETL maintains a strong commitment to energy 

efficiency as the most effective route to maximizing 

U.S. energy supplies and reducing the cost and 

environmental impacts of energy production and use.

NETL and its partners investigate technical 

improvements for the U.S. transportation fleet, including 

hybrid technologies, fuel economy, and idle reduction. 

We pursue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic 

light-emitting diodes (OLEDS), which hold the promise 

of reducing our Nation’s energy demands. We also 

implement efficiency programs that help low-income 

families reduce their energy use and manage energy 

programs delivered by State energy offices.

NETL Studies the Retrofit and Repowering of 

Conventional Pulverized Coal Power Plants for 

CO2 Capture—To conform to anticipated efforts 

to curb carbon emissions from stationary sources, 

existing coal-fired power plants will need to make 

significant adaptations or face closure. NETL 

undertook an integrated analysis that models retrofit 

costs as a function of basic plant characteristics, such 

as heat rate, in the National Energy Modeling System 

(NEMS). The analysis included tradeoffs among 

retrofit, retirement, and the purchase of emission 

allowances, as well as the addition of repowering 

by means of integrated gasification combined 

cycle (IGCC) technology configured for capture and 

sequestration in a brownfield setting. NETL’s series of 

three reports on this topic can be accessed at www.

netl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/benefit.html.

Innovative Compressor Design Concept Could 

Cut Cost of Carbon Sequestration—As part 

of a cooperative agreement between NETL and 

Southwest Research Institute, the second phase 

of a conceptual design effort was initiated on July 

1, 2008. The project aims to reduce the power 

required to compress CO2 produced from an IGCC 

power plant. The project team at Southwest will 

test a liquid CO2 pumping loop and a closed-loop 

CO2 compressor with internal cooling to validate 

the thermodynamic predictions generated in 

Phase I of the effort. Phase II also seeks to quantify 

actual power savings. Modeling results show that 

combined power savings of 25 percent for CO2

compression and 30 percent for pumping CO2 are 

possible. These savings would reduce the associated 

power penalty at a 700-megawatt power plant by 

over 12 megawatts. More efficient and less costly 

carbon capture technologies will benefit the Office 

of Fossil Energy’s Innovations for Existing Plants and 

Advanced Turbines programs being implemented by 

NETL. 
The Olympic National Aquatics Center brightens Beijing 

with LED technology developed with NETL support.

15

NETL-Supported Technology Lights the 

2008 Olympics

The XLamp®, based on a technology developed by 

Cree, Inc., in cooperation with NETL, was chosen to 

light two prominent buildings at the 2008 Olympics 

in Beijing, China. 

The National Aquatic Center, nicknamed the Water 

Cube, was illuminated by approximately 496,000 

XLamp LEDs in red, green, and blue. A computer 

controlled the lighting and coloring so that the 

lighted “bubbles” on the building dramatically 

changed in an infinite variety of shades and patterns 

every evening. The bubbles even formed words and 

created moving images.

In addition, the exterior of the Bird’s Nest, China’s National Stadium (pictured on page 8), was lit by approximately 

258,000 Cree LEDs in white, amber, and red. XLamps also illuminated the video screen behind the main stage and 

were incorporated into the huge scroll that formed one of the largest LED screens in the world. 

The Cree research team continues to work with NETL to achieve the DOE goal of producing LED devices that 

achieve a power efficiency of 160 lumens per watt for cost-effective, market-ready systems by 2015.

The Bright 

Tomorrow 

Lighting Prize

(L PrizeTM ) 

competition seeks 

bold solutions 

for replacing two 

of today’s most 

popular light 

bulbs: the 60-watt 

incandescent 

lamp and the PAR 

38 halogen lamp. 

This challenge 

encourages 

industry 

to develop 

high-quality, 

high-efficiency 

solid-state 

lighting products 

with the potential 

to cut energy use 

by half. The 

L Prize also calls 

for development 

of a “21st Century 

Lamp” with a 

lifetime greater 

than 25,000 hours. 

NETL has released 

the competition 

under direction 

of the Energy 

Independence 

and Security Act 

of 2007. For more 

information, visit

www.lightingprize.org.

Solid-State Lighting

Lighting uses 22 percent of all electricity produced in the United States, with 12 percent of all residential 

energy dedicated to lighting. Most standard lighting is inefficient: only 10 percent of the energy in 

incandescent bulbs produces light while fluorescents use just 25 percent of their energy.

NETL’s Solid State Lighting program develops more efficient light sources by using semi-conducting 

materials to convert electricity into light. Research focuses on LEDs, which are small-point light 

sources, and OLEDS, which are made in sheets and diffuse light over a larger area. Because LEDs last 

approximately 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs and 5 times longer than fluorescent bulbs, they 

help us decrease our power demand and the associated environmental impacts of energy production.

How it Works

White

Light

Color Mixing

Color mixing optics

Multi-colored pixelation

White

Light

Phosphors

Blue or UV

pump source

Phospor-Down Conversion

Color Mixing Phospor-Down Conversion

Two primary strategies for obtaining white light are color mixing and phosphor-down conversion.
16 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply

through NETL are designed to reduce petroleum 

consumption in the transportation sector by 

advancing the use of alternative fuel vehicles, idlereduction technologies, hybrid electric vehicles, fuel 

blends, and fuel economy. 

Project Records Highest Efficacy Ever for Organic 

Light-Emitting Diode—In a project managed by 

NETL, Universal Display Corporation has successfully 

demonstrated a record-breaking white OLED 

with a power efficacy of 102 lumens per watt at 

lighting brightness. The proprietary high-efficiency 

phosphorescent OLED technology marks the 

highest efficacy of an OLED achieved to date and 

represents a significant milestone for this unique 

arena. The performance displays the potential for 

OLEDs to surpass the power efficacy of two current 

lighting technologies—incandescent bulbs at less 

than 15 lumens per watt and fluorescent lamps at 

60–90 lumens per watt. These markedly efficient 

white OLEDs should be capable of reducing energy 

consumption dramatically and also decreasing the 

amount of by-product heat. Further development of 

these OLEDs shows promise of meeting DOE’s goal 

of providing a cost-effective 150-lumens-per-watt 

commercial OLED light source by 2015. 

Record Efficacy Is Achieved for Blue Organic 

Light-Emitting Diode—Researchers at the 

University of Florida, in cooperation with NETL, have 

successfully demonstrated a blue phosphorescent 

OLED with a peak efficacy of 50 lumens per watt 

and a peak external efficiency of 25 percent, 

using no external light extraction techniques. This 

accomplishment is believed to be the world record 

in blue OLED efficacy. Blue emission is important in 

creating white light OLEDs for solid-state general 

illumination applications, but developing stable 

and long-lasting high-efficiency blue OLEDs is 

difficult because most of them possess an inherent 

imbalance of electrons and electron holes that limits 

internal efficiency. The University of Florida team has 

developed very high-efficiency blue OLEDs using a 

unique material with special electrical properties to 

resolve this issue. 

NETL Teams with MotorWeek to Conduct Clean 

Power Drive—Producers of the PBS television show, 

MotorWeek, partnered with NETL coordinators of the 

Clean Cities program to measure and report on the 

fuel economy and emission levels of three popular 

vehicles. The Clean Cities program, sponsored by 

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy, collects and publishes technical data and 

information on fuels, vehicles, fueling-station and 

truck-stop electrification locations, infrastructure 

development, industry resources, and State and 

Federal incentives and laws relating to the use of 

alternative fuels and vehicles. As part of the April 

2008 MotorWeek Clean Power Drive, three sets of 

vehicles completed a 157-mile test loop from 

Frederick, MD, to Morgantown, WV, featuring both 

city and highway driving along U.S. Interstate 70, 

U.S. Interstate 68, and U.S. Route 40. The vehicles 

included gasoline and hybrid versions of the fourcylinder compact Honda Civic; gasoline and BlueTec 

Diesel versions of the V6 mid-size Mercedes-Benz 

E-Class luxury sedan; and a hybrid and a flex-fuel 

version of the V8 Chevrolet Tahoe 4X4 SUV. The 

two Honda Civics were tops in terms of economy, 

averaging 8.7 and 12.6 cents per mile for the hybrid 

and gasoline versions, respectively. While both 

Hondas did very well environmentally, the hybrid 

version was clearly the more environmentally 

friendly choice, especially in city traffic where the 

electric motors offset the emissions generated by 

the gasoline engine.

First Biofuels Corridor Completed—A 3-day Fall 

Corridor Drive the length of U.S. Interstate 65 marked 

the completion of America’s first biofuels corridor. 

The Corridor designation means that a driver is never 

farther than 100 miles from a participating retailer 

of E85—an alternative fuel of 85 percent ethanol 

and 15 percent gasoline. Facilitated through a Clean 

Cities project coordinated by NETL and sponsored 

by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy, the Corridor now makes E85 ethanol and B20 

biodiesel—a blend of 20 percent biodiesel with 

80 percent petroleum diesel—available from Gary, 

IN, to Mobile, AL. Clean Cities projects coordinated 
17

Milestone Reached in Hybrid Solid-State 

Lighting Device—Working in cooperation with 

NETL, a research team at Eastman Kodak Company 

has demonstrated a breakthrough efficacy of 

56 lumens per watt with a hybrid OLED device. 

The new technology applies a unique Kodak 

structure to extract light in a tandem-hybrid 

architecture comprising two light-emitting units. 

One unit has a fluorescent blue emitter; the other 

has a phosphorescent emitter with a yellow 

emitting layer and a red emitting layer. The device 

also achieves color coordinates that are well within 

the ENERGY STAR® color requirements for LED 

products. The team is now working on lifetime 

improvements to achieve the project goal of 

10,000 hours for the hybrid device. 

State Energy Program Promotes Clean Energy, 

Creates Jobs—In fiscal year 2008, the State 

Energy Program—comanaged by NETL and 

the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy’s Golden Field Office—distributed 

$33 million across the United States, its territories, 

and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Recipients 

supplied an additional $150 million in cost share 

and leveraged funds to develop and expand 

State energy performance programs. Objectives 

included increasing energy efficiency, reducing 

energy use and costs, pursuing alternative 

and renewable energy sources, promoting 

environmental quality, stimulating economic 

development, and reducing U.S. reliance on 

imported oil. In one illustration of the program’s 

success, the State of Kansas Facility Conservation 

Improvement Program made more than 

$140 million in energy improvements to public 

buildings, lowering public utility costs by more 

than $10 million annually.

Weatherization Assistance Program Grants 

$227 Million in Federal Funds—Low-income 

families spend an average of 15 percent of 

their income on energy, as compared to a 3 

percent average nationwide. Through DOE’s 

Weatherization Assistance Program, NETL and 

the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy’s Golden Field Office collaborate with 

State and local agencies to help these families 

make their homes more energy efficient, reducing 

energy bills by an average of $413 per year. In the 

2008 program year, $227 million in Federal funds 

were used to help weatherize approximately 

95,000 homes. As a result participants’ heating bills 

were reduced by an average of 32 percent, and 

each dollar invested returned $2.69 in energy- and 

nonenergy-related benefits. The Weatherization 

Assistance Program not only decreases overall 

U.S. energy use by the equivalent of 18 million 

barrels of oil annually, it also generates 8,000 

direct jobs and thousands more through indirect 

employment. 

Energy efficiency means using less energy 

to provide the same level of energy service. 

Not to be confused with energy conservation, 

which means decreasing usage to save 

energy, energy efficiency can be as simple 

as replacing an incandescent bulb with a 

compact fluorescent bulb. The compact 

fluorescent provides the same amount of 

light but uses two-thirds less energy and 

lasts 6–10 times longer. Energy efficiency can 

also be highly complex. For example, stateof-the-art power plants operate at higher 

temperatures, burn less fuel, and release fewer 

pollutants while providing the same amount of 

electricity. Increasing plant efficiency reduces 

environmental impacts and saves consumers 

and industry up to 30 percent in energy costs. 

FYi
New NETL Facility Showcases Green Technologies

On February 5, 2009, in his first official visit to DOE, President Barack Obama urged a “revolution in energy efficiency” 

as he outlined the modernization of 75 percent of Federal buildings and the improved efficiency of more than 

2 million American homes. NETL’s foresight enabled the Laboratory to immediately answer this directive with the 

completion of its newest building, the Technology Support Facility (TSF) in Morgantown, WV. The TSF embodies the 

President’s national vision by applying modern green practices that use one-third less energy than an average office 

building, with a predicted energy savings of $290,000 per year. Total cost savings are predicted to be $1.2 million per 

year, including the closing of dated facilities.

Designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 

(LEED) certification, the building is registered with the LEED certification program under the “Green Building Green 

Rating System,” endorsed by DOE. The program is the only nationally recognized certification process for green 

buildings, and the TSF is expected to obtain a platinum rating, the program’s highest. The new facility is also expected 

to meet the criteria for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Certification, which recognizes topperforming buildings in energy conservation. 

NETL’s energy conservation effort was in effect from the very beginning of TSF construction. Site excavators balanced 

cut-and-fill in such a manner that no soil was removed from the site. In addition, 90 percent of construction waste 

was diverted from the landfill through recycling or reuse. Avoiding soil removal and waste disposal cut transportation 

costs and eliminated the greenhouse gases normally emitted from trucks used to haul away earth and debris. 

In October 2002, NETL was ahead of its time in conceiving its Technology Support Facility, which showcases 

energy-conscious and environmentally friendly technologies. Green design was incorporated into every aspect of 

the modern facility.

18 Hitting the Target

Environment, Economy, & Supply
TSF designers chose recycled and sustainable materials 

where possible. The foundation walls, floor slabs, and 

piles were built with cement consisting of 18 percent 

flyash, a by-product of coal combustion. All carpet 

tiles, ceiling tiles, and structural steel were made from 

recycled materials, as well. To ensure responsible 

management of forest resources, designers used Forest 

Stewardship Council-certified lumber.

The roof, comprising two sections and coated with a 

reflective roofing material for solar protection, is a star 

performer of the TSF. The first section is a plant-filled 

rooftop garden. It acts as a thermal mass, absorbing 

and holding energy from sunlight, then releasing it 

when the ambient air cools. By functioning as a heat 

storage battery, the “living” roof reduces the building’s 

heating and cooling demands. 

The second section of the roof holds large reservoirs 

to collect rainwater for use in septic and gardening 

systems. Further water preservation efforts can be 

seen both in the exterior landscape, where indigenous 

plants reduce irrigation requirements, and in the 

interior of the facility, which is equipped with the latest 

green plumbing technologies. 

In today’s generation of buildings, little air enters 

or escapes, so indoor air quality must be carefully 

managed. The TSF’s tight shell was built with materials 

that contain low volatile organic compounds, such as 

light-colored paints and non-solvent-based adhesives. 

Heat recovery coils capture heat from general building 

exhaust air and precondition incoming fresh air 

according to the season. In addition, the main building 

uses a hybrid ventilation system consisting of a raised 

floor system that allows a constant underfloor fresh air 

supply and an overhead system that recirculates air. 

NETL makes judicious use of natural light and lighting 

controls. Exterior and interior windows are designed to 

maximize natural daylight, and ambient-level light 

sensors and motion sensors ensure light usage only as 

needed. Energy-efficient T5 fluorescent and compact 

fluorescent lighting is used throughout the building. 

The Laboratory predicts a reduction of typical power 

usage from 2.5 watts per square foot to 1 watt per 

square foot, resulting in annual power savings of 

50 kilowatts each for lighting and ventilation. 

The TSF was dedicated on August 14, 2008. As NETL 

welcomed distinguished visitors and proud employees, 

the glass exterior mirrored the clear blue sky and white 

clouds overhead. Not only were attendees celebrating 

NETL’s achievement of the innovative structure, 

they were celebrating the Laboratory’s enduring 

commitment to our Nation’s energy future.

The living roof, seen here from the top floor, reduces the building’s heating and cooling demands.

The exterior and interior windows of NETL’s TSF maximize natural daylight for energy efficiency.

19
20 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy
Energy underpins our National 

and global economies by 

supplying electricity, transportation 

fuels, and industrial power. In 

today’s economic downturn, it 

is essential that energy supplies 

remain affordable. At the same 

time, we cannot abandon the 

environmental strides we are 

making toward sustainable energy 

production and use. NETL brings 

a balanced approach to these 

challenges by performing complex 

systems analyses of emerging 

environmental issues, such as the 

water-energy nexus. NETL is also 

developing new technologies and 

processes that slash emissions, 

make beneficial use of waste 

products, improve materials 

and monitors for advanced 

combustion systems, and lead the 

commercialization and deployment 

of mercury-control technologies.

21
22 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

NETL Invents Novel Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 

Interconnect Materials—NETL has developed a 

simple, inexpensive treatment that reduces the 

oxidation rates of and scale growth on a ferritic 

stainless steel containing residual amounts 

of aluminum and silicon. Minimizing such 

impurities, which form nonconductive oxides 

that adversely affect solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) 

performance, normally accounts for additional 

production costs. The cerium surface treatment, 

however, makes possible the use of lower-cost 

alloys with higher aluminum and silicon contents 

for interconnect applications. In a related 

project, NETL researchers developed a series of 

nickel-based alloy compositions less prone to 

heat damage than conventional nickel-based 

alloys. The new alloys are also more resistant 

to oxidation than iron-based alloys and could 

contribute to reducing system costs in SOFCs 

and other advanced power generation systems. 

NETL has submitted patent applications for both 

technologies. Detailed papers were published in 

the November 2007 issue of International Journal 

of Hydrogen Energy.

NETL Determines Evaporation Rates of Chromium 

from Protective Oxide Scales—NETL researchers 

have developed a method for calculating the 

chromium evaporation rate of chromia scaling in 

advanced steam boilers and turbines. In these power 

systems, chromia scaling acts as a protective layer 

for nickel-based alloys. When evaporation occurs, 

the protective layer thins and exposes the alloy to 

degradation. NETL has designed a series of laboratory 

experiments that reproduces chromium evaporation 

behavior under much lower steam velocities and 

pressure than those found in advanced steam turbines. 

The method can be used to develop technologies that 

sustain chromia scaling in advanced power systems. 

It can also be used in fuel cell research that seeks 

to eliminate chromia poisoning, which results from 

chromia evaporation. The NETL study is described in 

the April 2008 issue of Oxidation of Metals.

NETL Applies Low-Cost Casting Techniques to 

Titanium Alloy—Collaborators at NETL, Pacific 

Northwest National Laboratory, and CANMET Materials 

Technology Laboratory in Ottawa, Ontario, have 

developed techniques for casting a titanium alloy in 

a permanent mold. This approach could reduce the 

cost of titanium castings and expand their use in such 

applications as offshore oil drilling, where lightweight, 

corrosion-resistant materials are advantageous. 

NETL’s work is described in the International Journal of 

Metalcasting in the Winter 2008 issue.

Metal Fabrication Processes Developed 

for Advanced Ultra-supercritical Boiler 

Construction—A consortium of major U.S. 

boilermakers has developed the necessary metal 

fabrication methods for forming, machining, welding, 

heat-treating, and otherwise processing six hightemperature, corrosion-resistant alloys to make 

components for advanced boilers operating at ultrasupercritical steam conditions (760  ̊C and 3500 psig). 

Information developed by the consortium is contained 

in a topical report issued by the Electric Power Research 

Institute, a consortium collaborator. The project was 

conducted under the Office of Fossil Energy’s Materials 

program and managed by NETL.

Emerging energy-production technologies—such as 

ultra-supercritical power systems, gasification, solid 

oxide fuel cells, and fluidized bed technologies—offer 

our Nation the opportunity to convert coal and other 

carbon-based fuels to energy with more efficiency 

and significantly lower environmental impacts than 

is possible with current power-industry processes. 

However, in many cases these advanced power 

systems produce harsh internal conditions that call 

for simultaneous advances in materials technology. 

NETL scientists and engineers identify the cost and 

performance gaps between currently available 

materials and those required by future energy systems 

and develop innovative new materials that can 

withstand the rigors of future energy production.

Materials
23

Innovative 

Device Performs 

Nondestructive 

Material 

Evaluations

Indentation testing, 

a mechanical 

testing process 

that measures 

a material’s 

properties by 

indenting (marring) 

its surface, has 

long been an 

accepted method 

for determining 

such material 

characteristics as 

hardness. Today, 

indentation testing 

has extended 

into micro- and 

nano-capabilities 

and has become a test of choice for examining 

thin films, coatings, and surfaces that have been 

laser heat-treated or ion-implanted. Data on 

many mechanical properties are developed using 

indentation. Because of the equipment involved, 

however, most of these analyses can only be 

performed in a laboratory setting.

Researchers at West Virgina University, in 

collaboration with NETL, have developed a 

portable micro-indentation device that can 

analyze several properties of metals and coatings. 

Laboratory tests show that the device (pictured 

above) is capable of performing analyses on a 

variety of surfaces—flat, tubular, or curved—and 

performs well on metals, superalloys, single-crystal 

matrices, and coated material systems. Post-tests 

of indentation sites by optical microscope and 

scanning electron microscope identify no visible 

damage where indentations were performed. A 

table-top version capable of the same analyses 

was also developed.

Q+A 

Q What is “ultra-supercritical”?

A The earliest coal-fired power plants were 

characterized as “subcritical.” They operated 

below the critical point of water—705  ̊F, 

3,210 pounds per square inch (psi)—producing 

saturated steam no hotter than that from boiling 

water. Subcritical fossil fuel power plants can 

achieve energy efficiencies ranging 36–40 percent.

Today’s plants operate at “supercritical” pressures 

above 3,210 psi. Water is no longer boiled. 

Instead, it gradually loses density by absorbing 

heat energy as the temperature increases. This 

process eliminates the need for drums and steamseparating devices, saving maintenance and 

operating costs. Supercritical power plant designs 

have efficiencies in the low- to mid-40 percent 

range. 

Plants of the future will operate at “ultrasupercritical” steam conditions. These “oncethrough” steam generators will operate at 

supercritical pressure and elevated temperatures 

at or above 1,100  ̊F. Some ultra-supercritical 

designs can reach approximately 48 percent 

efficiency. Capital cost for an ultra-supercritical 

boiler is higher than that for a comparable 

supercritical boiler, but thermal efficiency 

improvements require less coal consumption and 

produce fewer greenhouse gases.

Both devices have potential application for 

estimating the remaining service life of hightemperature thermal barriers, coatings, material 

degradation, and fracture toughness for advanced 

turbine components, and the hand-held version is 

currently being prepared for field service. 
24 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

Prototype High-Temperature Ferritic Alloys 

Designed with Computational Tools—A University 

Coal Research grant administered by NETL has 

allowed the production of six new ferritic alloys 

with improved strength and ductility at room 

temperature based on computer-aided design 

efforts by collaborators at Northwestern University 

and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. With the new 

additions, a total of 12 prototype ferritic superalloys 

for fossil-energy applications up to 1,400  ̊F are now 

available. The use of relatively low-cost ferritic steel 

is currently limited in fossil energy applications 

because of its low creep resistance and poor 

corrosion resistance at temperatures above 

1,100  ̊F. However, modern computational tools 

could hasten development of candidate ferritic steels 

strengthened mainly by nanoscale precipitates. The 

project is led by University of Tennessee researchers.

Successful Welds Made for Ferritic Steels 

Strengthened by Oxide Dispersion—The 

durability of steel strengthened by oxide dispersion, 

known as ODS steel, makes it a candidate for 

use in coal-fired power systems operating at 

supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam conditions. 

Conventional welding methods, however, 

undermine the strength of the material at the joint. 

Now, researchers at Materials and Electrochemical 

Research Corporation, Tucson, AZ, working under an 

NETL-managed Small Business Innovation Research 

(SBIR) grant, have found that plasma-assisted 

joining can successfully weld sections of Incoloy® 

alloy MA956, a chromium-rich ferritic ODS steel. 

Appropriate heat treatment restores as much as 

98 percent of the metal’s original tensile strength at 

the joint at temperatures up to 1,000  ̊C. Meanwhile, 

researchers at the Energy and Environmental 

Research Center at the University of North Dakota, 

also working in cooperation with NETL, have applied 

a transient liquid-phase bonding technique to join 

an ODS alloy to a nickel superalloy. The technique is 

similar to an older joining technique called brazing, 

except that the bonding material dissolves into the 

microstructure, avoiding the oxide redistribution that 

can undermine the strength of the joint.

Nano-technique Improves High-Temperature 

Alloys—Using a particle-mixing process developed 

for the pharmaceutical industry, researchers at West 

Virginia University successfully applied thin coatings 

of nano-sized metal oxide particles to the surface 

of a larger molybdenum particle without using 

binders. Participating in the Office of Fossil Energy’s 

University Coal Research program managed by 

NETL, the researchers tested the technique as part 

of a project aimed at enhancing the malleability of 

molybdenum- and chromium-based alloys by the 

addition of metal oxides. Although brittle at ambient 

temperature, a number of these alloys exhibit an 

ultrahigh working temperature—more than 

1,000  ̊C—and the excellent oxidation and corrosion 

resistance needed by structural materials for the next 

generation of coal-fired power plants. 

New Coating Technology Demonstrated for 

Advanced Coal-Fired Boiler Materials—As part of 

an NETL-administered SBIR grant, product developers 

at Materials and Electrochemical Research 

Corporation successfully employed commercialscale plasma transferred arc (PTA) technology to 

apply a chromium-iron-nitrogen composite to the 

surface of a steel substrate. The gradual transition 

between the corrosion-resistant outer layer and 

the tough base material results in an exceptionally 

strong bond between coating and steel. Compared 

to uncoated samples, a substantial reduction in 

weight loss was seen—which means much less 

corrosion—for PTA-coated samples placed in a coal 

ash-alkali sulfate environment at 700  ̊C at Argonne 

National Laboratory. The work demonstrates a 

less expensive approach to improving corrosion 

resistance in low-cost, mechanically sound materials 

for advanced coal-fired boilers. 
25

NETL-Patented Sorbents Remove Mercury 

from Synthesis Gas at Power Systems 

Development Facility—Preliminary results show 

that palladium sorbents formulated by NETL 

removed 100 percent of the mercury present in 

a slipstream of high-temperature synthesis gas at 

the Power Systems Development Facility operated 

by Southern Company Services in Wilsonville, AL. A 

10-pound test bed of the R&D 100 Award-winning 

sorbents treated 7,500 pounds of the synthesis 

gas at 500  ̊F over a 3-week period. Mercury 

data were obtained from the spent sorbent, as 

well as by monitoring the synthesis gas across 

the sorbent reactor during the test. Compared 

to low-temperature capture by activated 

carbons, the high-temperature capture of trace 

elements—mercury, arsenic, and selenium—helps 

preserve the high thermal efficiency of integrated 

gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants. The 

results also hold important implications for other 

uses, such as the high-temperature separation of 

hydrogen. 

First Clean Coal Power Initiative Project 

Completed—In partnership with NETL, 

NeuCo, Inc., of Boston, MA—a leading provider 

of optimization software for electric power 

producers—has significantly reduced emissions, 

improved efficiency, and increased power 

availability at Dynergy Midwest Generation’s 

Baldwin Energy Complex in Baldwin, IL. Five 

separate but integrated optimization products 

addressed combustion, sootblowing, selective 

catalytic reduction operations, overall unit thermal 

performance, and maintenance. This inaugural 

Clean Coal Power Initiative project represents 

the first time that multiple optimization software 

modules of this breadth and depth have been 

integrated into a digital process network in a coalfired power plant. 

Multi-pollutant Control Project Achieves All 

Goals—CONSOL Energy Inc., AES Greenidge, and 

other industrial partners working in cooperation 

with NETL have successfully demonstrated the 

commercial readiness of an emissions control 

system that—because of low capital and 

maintenance costs and small space demands—is 

particularly suited to existing small to medium-size 

power plants. Representing almost 60 gigawatts of 

installed generating capacity in the United States, 

this large group of power plants is increasingly 

vulnerable to retirement or fuel switching because 

of progressively more stringent State and Federal 

environmental regulations. Installed at the 

104-megawatt electric coal-fired AES Greenidge 

Unit 4 near Dresden, NY, the multi-pollutant 

control system features a catalytic nitrogen oxide 

(NOx)-reduction technology that works inside 

the plant’s ductwork. A dry circulating fluidized 

bed scrubber was also installed that is simpler 

and nearly half the cost of conventional wet 

systems. By meeting project goals for the removal 

of NOx, sulfur dioxide (SO2), sulfur trioxide (SO3), 

hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and mercury, 

the novel approach demonstrated control of 

multiple pollutants collectively for less money 

than it would cost to control them separately. The 

project was conducted under the Power Plant 

Improvement Initiative managed by NETL. 

Under the Office of Fossil Energy’s Innovations 

for Existing Plants program, NETL has managed 

nearly 50 full-scale field tests of mercury-control 

technologies since 2000. Many of the demonstrations, 

performed at U.S. coal-fired power generation 

facilities, exhibited a high level of reliability and 

performance, and now plant operators are deploying 

those technologies commercially. For example, 

orders have been placed to equip over 50 gigawatts 

of coal-based electric generating capacity with 

full-scale activated carbon injection systems. These 

systems achieve 50–70 percent mercury capture from 

all coal types and blends at the costs targeted by 

the program. The accomplishments realized in 2008 

represent NETL’s successful closure of its mercurycontrol portion of the Existing Plants program. 

Having achieved the mercury goals set by the Office 

of Fossil Energy, the program is now shifting its focus 

to CO2 capture and water management for existing 

plants.

Mercury

A slipstream is 

a small stream 

of fluid diverted 

from the main 

process fluid. 

Though total mass 

is reduced, the 

fluid composition 

remains identical. 

For research 

purposes, 

slipstreams are 

used to test the 

effects of sorbents 

on particulates in 

flue streams. 

FYi
Image courtesy of 

Image courtesy of Haifang Wen

26 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

High-Carbon Fly Ash and Recycled Asphalt Make 

a Strong Team

Fly ash, a particulate matter emitted when coal is 

burned to create electrical power, has historically 

been found useful in the production of concrete, 

cement, and plastics. However, when emissionsreducing low-NOx

 burners are added to a power 

station, too much carbon makes the fly ash 

unsuitable for these purposes.

In an NETL-administered Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) grant, a team consisting of 

Washington State University, University of 

Wisconsin at Madison, and Milwaukee-based Bloom 

Companies, LLC, found that mixing the high-carbon 

ash with ground asphalt produces a reliable base for 

roads. 

In fact, this base out-performed traditional road 

bases in a test-road in Minnesota. Torrential rains 

occurred after different test bases were laid and 

before the new road surface could be applied. 

The result? All bases gave way—except the one 

combining high-carbon fly ash with recycled 

High-carbon fly ash stabilizes reclaimed pavement 

materials used for roadbed preparation.

asphalt. The ash, a cementlike substance, bound 

to the asphalt to form a firm under-bed that even 

supported the trucks cleaning out the failed sections 

of the roadbed. 

Not only did the hybrid base prove to increase 

the long-term performance of the pavement, 

but environmental monitoring revealed that this 

application prevents mercury contained in the ash 

from releasing into the environment. 

Advanced Mercury Sorbents Show Effectiveness 

Despite Sulfur Interference—A variety of 

advanced mercury sorbents that either scavenge SO3

or preferentially adsorb vapor-phase mercury from 

coal-fired power plant flue gas achieved 

20–90 percent mercury removal during slipstream 

tests with flue gas containing high concentrations 

of SO2 and SO3. The sorbents were developed by 

Apogee Scientific, Inc., with an NETL-managed 

Phase I SBIR grant. The best performing sorbent, 

an advanced activated carbon prepared from 

bituminous coal, outperformed the lignite coalbased conventional-carbon mercury sorbent and the 

halogenated activated-carbon mercury sorbent. The 

ability for power systems to achieve mercury control 

with smaller quantities of a more effective sorbent 

is expected to reduce the cost of mercury removal 

from high-sulfur flue gas and potentially avoid “New 

Source” power plant classification, which would 

be triggered by potential increases in particulate 

emissions and make the plant subject to more 

stringent emission standards.

Successful Testing Completes Initial Stage of 

High-Temperature Mercury Sorbent 

Development—An adsorption study conducted at 

Western Research Institute (WRI) in cooperation with 

NETL completed an important first step in 

developing a high-temperature mercury sorbent for 

use in a patented WRI mercury-removal system. 

Activated carbon, generally used for mercury 

removal, typically removes 300 micrograms of 

mercury per gram of sorbent at 150  ̊C, but this is 

roughly halved as power system temperatures 
27

NETL Advances Membrane Technology for 

CO2 Capture—NETL researchers have discovered 

a new class of membranes that are selective for 

CO2 and require no aqueous transport phase. 

Developed under a Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement with the University 

of Notre Dame, the NETL membrane consists 

of a high-temperature polymer support and an 

ionic liquid with the capability to form chemical 

complexes with CO2. Because evaporation typically 

causes aqueous-phase membranes to fail at high 

temperatures, the design represents a major 

step forward in high-temperature CO2-selective 

membrane development. A paper appearing in 

Elsevier’s Journal of Membrane Science, September 

1, 2008, details development of the membrane. 

Starting modestly in the mid-1980s, NETL’s membrane 

research has expanded to include a broad range of 

technologies that separate such gaseous compounds 

as CO2 , hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia. 

NETL’s successes in the field have gained the 

Laboratory international recognition in professional 

forums dedicated to advancing membrane science. 

Membrane engineering at NETL is focused on 

improving the performance and cost-effectiveness 

of gas separation technologies for environmental 

gains, such as separating hydrogen from coal-derived 

synthesis gas to yield a capture-ready stream of CO2 .

Membranes

A membrane

is a thin layer of 

solid or liquid 

material capable of 

separating liquid or 

gaseous materials 

when a driving 

force is applied. 

The driving 

force causes the 

separation to 

occur and can 

be as simple as 

a pressure drop. 

For example, 

high pressure 

on one side of 

a membrane 

disk can drive 

a selected gas 

through the 

membrane to the 

low-pressure side. 

FYi double. However, in the study, a proprietary 

non-carbon material prepared by sorbent 

developer GCEE exhibited mercury loadings of 

300–500 micrograms of mercury per gram of 

sorbent, even at 300  ̊C. In the WRI process, a 

sweep gas recycles through a sorbent bed to 

remove mercury that has evaporated from raw, 

crushed coal heated to approximately 300  ̊C. 

Removing mercury with a high-temperature 

sorbent significantly reduces required energy and 

operating costs by eliminating the need to cool 

and reheat the recycling sweep gas. The novel 

sorbent could also be used for mercury removal in 

postcombustion and gasification environments.

Commercial Wallboard Analysis Indicates Low 

Mercury Emission from Coal Utilization 

By-product—A 3-year investigation, completed in 

cooperation with NETL, has led USG Corporation 

of Chicago, IL—a leading manufacturer of 

gypsum-based products—to estimate that the U.S. 

wallboard industry as a whole emits less than 

1.5 tons of mercury per year to the atmosphere. 

Five U.S. power plants, firing a variety of coals, 

supplied synthetic gypsum samples captured from 

the flue gas desulfurization process. The samples 

were used to investigate whether or not mercury 

would be released from synthetic gypsum 

feedstock during the manufacturing process at 

USG wallboard plants. Maximum mercury content 

of finished wallboard product made with the 

synthetic gypsum was approximately one part per 

million, and subsequent laboratory test data show 

no significant leaching of mercury from synthetic 

gypsum wallboard under simulated landfill 

disposal conditions. USG completed the 

investigation with collaborators at URS Group of 

Austin, TX, and the Electric Power Research 

Institute. 
Graduate and undergraduate students at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC, developed an 

innovative hydrogen membrane. In the background is the experimental setup for palladium-alloy membranereactor evaluation testing.

KRF

Laser,

248

nm

Substrate

Plume

Target

Reflective

mirror

Collimating

lens

Target rotor

Schematic of pulse laser process for depositing palladium, and examples of substrate before and after deposition.

Bare substrate

Palladium-seeded substrate

28 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

Images courtesy of 

North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University
Our Nation runs on energy, and our growing 

population needs affordable energy for home and 

business consumption. At the same time, responsibility 

dictates that the energy be produced in ways that do 

not harm the environment. These two goals—more 

energy with lower environmental impact—call for 

a substantial cadre of scientists and engineers to 

discover and develop innovative methods of energy 

production. 

NETL has long been conscious of its social 

responsibility to engage bright young minds in 

solving the Nation’s energy concerns. NETL sponsors 

and manages several education programs aimed at 

encouraging students in science and mathematics, 

especially as the subjects pertain to solving our 

Nation’s energy challenges. 

One such program, the Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU/

OMI) education training program, was initiated in 1984. 

The program expands students’ learning opportunities 

through collaboration with NETL energy scientists, 

exposing them to career opportunities in the energy 

sector and encouraging a future generation of energy 

scientists and engineers.

HBCU/OMI gives students and faculty hands-on 

experience in developing technologies that will 

promote the efficient and environmentally safe use 

of coal, oil, and natural gas. The student-scientist 

collaboration thus serves a dual purpose: it offers our 

researchers the opportunity to mentor promising 

future scientists, and it seeks to solve energy 

challenges that will provide our Nation with a more 

secure energy future. 

An example of HBCU/OMI’s success comes from 

North Carolina Agriculture & Technical State University. 

Under a three-year grant that began in 2005, North 

Carolina A&T in 2008 completed development of a 

novel membrane to separate hydrogen from liquid or 

gaseous fuels at very high temperatures. 

NETL Education Program Produces Significant Achievement

This is a significant development, because highpurity hydrogen is important for powering fuel 

cells, a technology attracting much interest today. 

Fuel cells offer high-quality power along with high 

efficiency and almost zero emissions. Because 

hydrogen is the cleanest fuel for this technology, 

researchers are seeking methods to produce it more 

economically. A promising possibility is to use a 

membrane to separate it from synthesis gas created 

during the coal gasification process. 

North Carolina A&T advanced hydrogen separation 

technology with its new membrane—a thin, dense, 

uniform film on a porous stainless steel support. 

Made of a palladium-silver composite of extremely 

thin proportions—1.43–1.96 microns—the 

membrane demonstrates permeability and 

selectivity with respect to hydrogen. During the 

gasification reaction called “water-gas shift,” this 

membrane shows promise of being part of an 

advanced reactor-separator that will operate at high 

temperatures to reform the coal-derived methane 

into hydrogen while also producing a capture-ready 

stream of CO2.

The strides made at North Carolina A&T support both 

the economic and environmental issues associated 

with fossil fuel-based energy production. At the 

same time, the students’ involvement supported 

DOE’s efforts to strengthen America’s role as a 

science and technology leader by engaging young 

scientists in energy research and development.

29
30 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

Hydrogen Separation Project Makes Significant 

Advance—A project team led by Eltron Research 

& Development, Inc., in partnership with NETL, has 

made the separation of hydrogen from a synthesis 

gas stream more effective and economical. Usually, 

“separation flux” varies inversely with membrane 

thickness—the thinner the membrane, the 

more hydrogen it can pull from a gas stream. 

However, costly techniques are required to deposit 

conventional membranes (5–10 microns thick) onto 

a suitable base. The Eltron team has developed a 

500-micron-thick membrane that reaches DOE’s 

2010 separation performance targets in pilot-scale 

testing. Thicker membranes are not only more 

economical to produce, they are robust, easily 

shaped with conventional techniques, and resistant 

to failure. If proven effective in larger-scale testing, 

the Eltron membrane could be used to separate 

hydrogen from coal-derived synthesis gas to power 

turbines, fuel cells, and other advanced energy 

production systems.

Low-Cost Hydrogen Membrane Material 

Developed—As part of an NETL-administered 

SBIR grant, investigators at Eltron Research & 

Development, Inc., have developed a new hydrogen 

membrane material that demonstrates excellent 

permeability and good resistance to becoming 

brittle when exposed to hydrogen. Eltron developed 

the proprietary alloy using low-cost elements, and 

the membrane exhibited a standardized hydrogen 

flow rate that exceeded the programmatic target 

set for 2015. High flow rate, low cost, and resistance 

to embrittlement could make the novel alloy an 

excellent choice for producing hydrogen from coal.

Sulfur- and Moisture-Tolerant Hydrogen 

Transport Membranes Demonstrated—Using 

palladium-and-copper-coated tantalum membrane 

tubes, researchers at Aspen Products Group, Inc., 

maintained hydrogen permeabilty well above that 

of the pure palladium standard, even in the presence 

of significant quantities of hydrogen sulfide and 

water. This accomplishment represents a significant 

step toward fabricating an advanced water-gasshift membrane reactor for the production of 

high-purity hydrogen from coal-derived synthesis 

gas. Combining hydrogen production and product 

separation in a single reactor would significantly 

increase hydrogen yield and potentially reduce 

capital and operating costs.

Novel Alloy Improves Flow Through Hydrogen 

Membrane—With an NETL-managed grant under 

the Office of Fossil Energy’s University Coal Research 

program, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic 

Institute have produced novel membrane films by 

applying palladium and gold foils onto a porous 

stainless steel base. Tests show that a film made of a 

palladium-gold alloy allows hydrogen to permeate 

a membrane at rates 50–100 percent greater than 

similarly sized free-standing films of palladium only, 

the standard for hydrogen membrane permeability. 

The work is aimed at developing sulfur-tolerant 

hydrogen transport membranes that can separate 

hydrogen from synthesis gas at practical rates to 

produce high-purity hydrogen and sequestrationready CO2

 streams.

New Model Predicts Hydrogen Membrane 

Permeability—Southwest Research Institute 

investigators have developed a computer model 

based on density functional theory that uses 

first-principle calculations to predict the hydrogen 

permeability of three-component alloys. Developed 

in a collaboration between NETL and a group of 

researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, 

the model will allow rapid and inexpensive 

screening of alloys that are candidates for fabricating 

membranes of optimum cost, durability, and flow 

rate needed to produce hydrogen efficiently from 

coal. Work to date has focused on membranes with 

palladium as the primary component, and the results 

have been verified for selected compositions by 

laboratory-scale testing.
Image courtesy of 

University of Pittsburgh, Bradford

31

NETL Study in Allegheny National Forest 

Assists in Oil Spill Recovery

One night in mid-August 2008, a vandal broke the 

valves on seven crude oil storage tanks in the 

Allegheny National Forest, McKean County, PA, 

resulting in a 36,000–45,000-gallon spill into the local 

watershed. 

NETL supported cleanup efforts by the U. S. 

Environmental Protection Agency and the 

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 

by providing pre-spill stream condition data. The 

information became valuable in determining the 

impact of the spill on the stream ecology and the 

extent and type of cleanup effort needed. 

NETL and graduate students from Clarion University 

had already been monitoring streams in that area for 

two months for a study initiated by the Laboratory 

under EPACT and with the cooperation of the U.S. 

Forest Service. 

The research team was collecting baseline data on 

macro-invertebrate populations in the forest’s 

watersheds to better understand how to control 

possible effects from planned roads and well-pads for 

oil and gas production. It was this information that 

became valuable to cleanup efforts. 

Stream monitoring associated with the original project 

will continue through 2008.

NETL develops monitoring methods and equipment 

to plan the responsible future extraction of fossil 

fuel resources and to reduce the cost and difficulty 

of cleaning up existing mining, oil well, and natural 

gas well sites. NETL’s portfolio of research in this area 

focuses on soil and water, especially produced water, 

a by-product of oil and natural gas extraction. Our 

monitoring efforts are also aimed at helping power 

plant operators track materials degradation and 

other trouble spots in advanced combustion systems 

to avoid unplanned shutdowns and their associated 

costs.

Monitoring

NETL Aerial Surveys of the Powder River 

Basin Help National Resources Conservation 

Service—The National Resources Conservation 

Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

determined that high-resolution light detection 

and ranging (LiDAR) systems and hyperspectral 

imaging systems that span the visible and 

near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic 

spectrum are uniquely suited for developing new, 

improved methods of constructing soil maps in 

large, remote areas. Produced for NETL as part of 

complementary research authorized by the Energy 

PolicyAct of 2005 (EPACT), the datasets contain 

both topographic and reflectance information, 

enabling surveys to locate and identify the 

mineral composition of exposed soil or rock, 

as well as invasive and indigenous vegetation. 

The survey was unique in that the two systems 

were used simultaneously on the same airplane 

and the survey results were acquired during the 

same flight, enabling the datasets to be perfectly 

overlain and coregistered for comparative analysis. 

NETL conducted the surveys in Wyoming to 

determine the environmental impact of ongoing 

coalbed natural gas development within the 

designated flight area.

Chappel Fork, a stream in Allegheny National 

Forest damaged by vandalism.
32 Low-Impact, Cost–Effective Energy

Environment & Economy

Technique Nears Formal Approval as an 

American Standard Testing Method—The solidphase micro-extraction (SPME) method, developed 

in cooperation with NETL by collaborators at 

RETEC and the Energy & Environmental Research 

Center at the University of North Dakota, has been 

provisionally accepted as a method standard by 

the American Society for Testing and Materials. 

Regulatory communities and coal tar productrelated industries value the SPME method as an 

improved technique for predicting and measuring 

the effectiveness of extracting organic pollutants, 

such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, from 

contaminated sites. Preliminary reviews of sampling 

and analytical procedures have been completed, and 

multiple laboratories will soon begin conducting 

a commercially funded verification study. Formal 

approval is expected within four years. The method 

has also been evaluated and approved by the 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use as a 

sampling and analysis technique related to Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act compliance. Results 

of the investigation are presented in the September 

2007 issue of the American Chemical Society 

publication, Environmental Science and Technology, 

and in the December 2007 issue of Environmental 

Toxicology and Chemistry.

Wireless Method Monitors Operating Turbine 

Temperatures—Working under a University Coal 

Research grant administered by NETL, researchers 

at the University of California at Santa Barbara have 

developed a unique method for monitoring the 

temperature of thermal barrier coatings used to 

protect turbine components at risk of failure at high 

temperature. The method relies on the luminescence 

emitted from rare-earth ions—such as Europium3+—

incorporated into the crystal structure of the coating 

as it is deposited. When the ions are excited by a laser 

probe focused on a designated turbine component, 

they emit a temperature-specific luminescence that 

can be detected using compact, fiber-optic-based 

instrumentation. Because rising temperatures 

increasingly impact the majority of mechanisms 

responsible for coating failure, the nonintrusive 

approach will allow operators to more easily estimate 

the remaining life of the barrier coating.

Interagency Collaborators Assess Potential 

Use for Produced Water in Wyoming—A team 

of NETL and U.S. Geological Survey scientists has 

collected water, soil, and electromagnetic data at 

a site near the junction of Powder River and Crazy 

Woman Creek in Wyoming. The data will be used 

to establish baseline conditions at the site and to 

evaluate a subsurface drip irrigation system. The 

team is assessing the potential of such a system as 

an environmentally beneficial means of irrigating 

agricultural lands with water produced during 

extraction of coalbed natural gas. 

Water Supply Capacity Restored to North Dakota 

Municipality—Levels of contaminants in soils 

and groundwater menacing a municipal well in 

Carrington, ND, have been reduced to regulatory 

limits thanks to the joint efforts of NETL and the 

University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental 

Research Center (EERC). Through this collaboration, 

an equivalent of 2,022 gallons of gasoline was 

removed from within the capture zone of the 

municipal well by using high-vacuum multiphase 

extraction and soil vapor extraction techniques 

integrated with air injection into groundwater.

Operation of the existing fleet of thermoelectric 

power plants and construction of new fossil- and 

nuclear-based power systems are being challenged 

by water-related issues at regional and national 

levels. Growing uneasiness over water availability, 

in combination with projected population growth 

rates, energy consumption patterns, and competition 

among water-use sectors, is poised to magnify the 

importance of water in the near future. The Office of 

Fossil Energy’s Innovations for Existing Plants program 

is working through NETL’s Water-Energy Interface to 

better understand the relationship between electricity 

production and water and develop and demonstrate 

technologies that will significantly curtail freshwater 

use in thermoelectric plants.

Water
Image courtesy of 

Illinois Natural History Survey 

33

plant cooling towers, factories, and fire-fighting 

water delivery systems. 

Previous biocide treatments, such as continuous 

chlorination for periods of weeks to months, are 

unacceptable because they harm native species 

and form potentially carcinogenic substances. 

The new biocide is harmless to all native aquatic 

organisms while proving highly effective against 

zebra and quagga mussels. Methods for producing 

commercial quantities of the toxin are now being 

developed at a private laboratory in California.

U.S. Water Demand Study Completed—A 

study completed by Argonne National Laboratory 

in cooperation with NETL finds that U.S. water 

consumption in 2005 was approximately 114 billion 

gallons per day and is projected to reach 136 billion 

gallons per day by 2030—an increase of nearly 

20 percent over the 25-year period examined. 

Topped only by irrigation for food crops, the energyproduction sector is the second-highest—and fastestgrowing—water consumer. Water consumption 

for energy production is projected to nearly triple 

from approximately 12 billion gallons per day in 

2005 to about 31 billion gallons per day in 2030. 

The study, “Baseline and Projected Water Demand 

Data for Energy and Competing Water Use Sectors,” 

complements the NETL report, “Estimating Freshwater 

Needs to Meet Future Thermoelectric Generation 

Requirements.”

Flue Gas Dehumidification Supplements 

Power Plant Water Source—Working with NETL 

and industrial partners, investigators at EERC have 

demonstrated at pilot scale the recovery of water from 

flue gas using an aqueous solution of calcium chloride 

as the drying agent. This solution captures water from 

the flue gas and then is recycled. The captured water 

is used for plant operations. During a 20-day test, the 

system removed 30–60 percent of the water in the 

flue gas from EERC’s coal-fired combustor. If that rate 

of water recovery were applied to a thermoelectric 

power plant, it would significantly reduce the amount 

of water the plant would otherwise withdraw from 

freshwater sources.

Zebra Mussels Controlled, Environment 

Protected

Researchers at the New York State Museum 

Field Research Lab in Cambridge, NY, working 

in cooperation with NETL under the Office of 

Fossil Energy’s Advanced Research program, have 

developed a bacterial control agent that targets 

zebra mussels—an invasive species responsible for 

over $1 billion in damage to electric utilities. The 

mussels are also responsible for causing significant 

ecological damage by eliminating native mussel 

species and disrupting the food chain. 

The fingernail-sized mussel and its cousin, the 

quagga mussel, were introduced into this country 

from Europe in the 1980s and have become the 

most troublesome freshwater organisms in North 

America. They cause $3 billion in economic impact 

as they invade, foul, and block pipes that provide 

municipal drinking water and water to power 

Zebra mussels clog the openings of pipes outside 

of power plants and other large water users.
34 Powering Prosperity

Economy & Supply
America needs an ample, 

accessible, affordable supply of 

energy to maintain our standard 

of living and our standing as a 

global economic leader. Through 

a variety of programs, NETL is 

fostering technologies that will help 

maximize our domestic energy 

supplies, enhance national energy 

security, and keep energy costs in 

check. NETL’s strategies, analyses, 

and technologies are modernizing 

U.S. energy transmission and 

distribution systems. We are 

developing advanced exploration 

and recovery techniques for 

America’s conventional and 

unconventional resources. And, at 

the frontier of energy exploration, 

we are investigating the potential 

for tapping methane hydrates in 

marine and arctic environments. 

35
This microhole drilling bit—part of BakerHughes Inteq’s CoilTrack microhole drilling system—

has been integrated with a small motor and is able to drill boreholes as small as 3 1⁄2-inches in diameter.

Hurricanes can cause significant reductions in natural gas and oil production in the Gulf of Mexico for weeks at a 

time. NETL’s prediction tool aids government and industry officials in preparing for, monitoring, and recovering from 

such disruptions.

36

Economy & Supply

Powering Prosperity

Image courtesy of NASA
When hurricane-force winds roar through the Gulf of 

Mexico, interruptions to natural gas and oil production 

can reach critical proportions. The Gulf region is our 

largest homeland resource for natural gas and oil, and 

disruptions affect us all by driving up the cost of gasoline 

and home heating. 

When hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf in 2005, 

they caused destruction and substantial damage to 

offshore production platforms and pipelines, onshore 

production wells and pipelines, processing plants, and 

other infrastructure supporting the Gulf’s production 

and delivery system. Government officials and those in 

the industry found they had no way of predicting how 

long it would take to reestablish normal production. As 

it was, as late as June 2006, over 9 percent of the region’s 

natural gas production was still “shut in,” the industry term 

meaning closed down.

Katrina and Rita graphically demonstrated how vitally 

we needed a natural gas monitoring and prediction tool 

to provide the crucial information required to plan for 

and meet disruptions of this magnitude. The ideal tool 

would forecast natural gas production shut ins likely to 

occur during a hurricane or other event—and how long 

it would take for assets to recover. The tool would also 

monitor the disruption in near real-time to give a picture 

of the situation as it develops. 

More accurate information would supply the basis for 

officials to take targeted action. For instance, should 

natural gas winter stores be released? Will temporary 

generators be needed to expedite the restarting of 

critical infrastructure? If cascading impacts are in danger 

of occurring, how should recovery priorities be set? And 

if the impending disruption looks to be extreme—where 

national security issues could arise—might it be 

necessary to provide monetary funds to aid recovery?

NETL’s Natural Gas and Oil Project Management 

Division tackled the challenge of developing this natural 

gas prediction tool. The task included analyzing the 

complexities of the industry in the Gulf, which is made up 

of three mutually dependent parts: production, pipelines, 

and processing. 

NETL completed the tool before the 2007 hurricane 

season, but no major activity occurred that year. So, 

for the 2008 season, NETL continued making updates 

and improvements. The design team added data 

between the various data sets and validated the 

mapping; made significant improvements to the 

tool’s databases and graphic user interface; eliminated 

steps in calculating production values; created a 

response template; and added a model to estimate 

daily oil production, in addition to natural gas. When 

disruptions occur now, natural gas and oil models 

are immediately available to approximate how low 

production has fallen and to form a production 

recovery curve. This information is disseminated to 

government officials at DOE, the Department of the 

Interior, and the White House for analysis and planning.

The newly enhanced tool was first put to the test, 

not by a hurricane, but by the rupture of a faulty seal 

at the Independence Natural Gas Hub on April 9, 

2008. The resulting curtailment caused the shut in of 

850–900 million cubic feet of natural gas production. 

The prediction model tracked production of natural 

gas from the Gulf of Mexico and matched the model’s 

predictions so well that the story was featured in 

Energy Assurance Daily produced by DOE’s Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

Later in the year, the tool played a key role in 

predicting a slower-than-normal recovery from 

Hurricane Gustav because Hurricane Ike was looming 

in the Atlantic. This prediction was accurate. The 

only surprise was that recovery of production from 

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike paralleled that of the much 

stronger hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This finding is an 

important addition to the database and will help NETL 

further strengthen the prediction tool’s capabilities.

NETL’s Natural Gas Prediction Tool Aids Hurricane Recovery 

37
38 Powering Prosperity

Economy & Supply

NETL Updates Projections of New Coal-Fired 

Capacity—The NETL report, “Tracking New CoalFired Power Plants,” provides an overview of industry 

plans to construct new coal-fired power plants in the 

United States. The 2008 edition compares projected 

coal plant capacity—in terms of progress achieved 

since public announcement of development—to 

that of actual construction. This updated approach 

provides a more reliable indication of expected 

near-term growth in domestic coal-fired power 

generation. The report also reviews conventional 

and advanced technologies being considered for 

deployment. Timely development of new coal-fired 

generation is important for maintaining adequate 

available electricity to meet expected U.S. demand. 

The report is available at www.netl.doe.gov/coal/

refshelf/ncp.pdf.

NETL Device Examines Integrity of Buried Natural 

Gas Pipeline—NETL scientists have developed an 

instrument that can determine without excavation 

the integrity of natural gas pipeline fabricated from 

polyethylene or other plastic. Deployed on a “pig”—a 

flexible tool for internal pipeline inspection—and 

introduced into an existing transmission or 

distribution network, the internally powered probe 

can detect tiny voids, revealing brittle cracks that 

develop over time. A proprietary electronic circuit 

allows data to be transmitted in real time or retained 

for later evaluation. Findings that detail the novel 

device appear in the peer-reviewed American Institute 

of Physics journal, Review of Scientific Instruments,

December 18, 2007. 

To meet America’s energy challenges, we must 

give our attention to every phase of the energy 

cycle—not only production and generation, but 

also transmission and distribution. We must ensure 

the reliability, integrity, and security of our Nation’s 

power grid and oil and natural gas pipeline network, 

and we must respond to emergencies that can 

disrupt energy delivery at the regional and national 

levels. NETL lends its expertise to public and private 

efforts to build and protect the complex energy 

infrastructure on which our economy depends.

Energy Infrastructure NETL Provides Analysis for Report to Congress 

Concerning Electricity Reliability—NETL analysts, in 

collaboration with DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability and the North American Electric 

Reliability Corporation, studied the possible impact 

on national electricity reliability under a scenario 

where mandatory wet cooling towers would be 

installed at all thermoelectric generating facilities that 

rely on once-through cooling. Analysis concluded 

that resulting power generation losses could cause 

a decline in the electricity generation reserve that 

now ensures reliable power delivery. Furthermore, 

the loss of native generation capacity due to reduced 

operational efficiency, in combination with early 

retirement of facilities that either cannot or will not 

retrofit, may jeopardize the ability of high electricitydemand regions—such as California and New 

York—to meet peak demand for electricity. Regulators 

and research managers can benefit from the study 

as they consider how best to balance energy 

security, economic sustainability, and environmental 

performance for power generation. The report, titled 

“Electricity Reliability Impacts of a Mandatory Cooling 

Tower Rule for Existing Steam Generation Units,” can 

be accessed at www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/

technology.html.

NETL Publishes Greenhouse Gas Report 

on Petroleum-Based Fuels—An NETL study, 

“Development of Baseline Data and Analysis of Life 

Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Petroleum-Based 

Fuels,” assesses the greenhouse gases released during 

the life cycle of petroleum-based transportation fuels 

sold or distributed in the United States in 2005. Its 

results benchmark the performance of transportation 

fuels with respect to climate impacts, emphasizing 

opportunities to lower greenhouse gas emissions at 

each stage, and forms a basis of comparison for efforts 

to reduce carbon intensity in the transportation 

sector. The full report is located at http://www.netl.

doe.gov/energy-analyses/trend.html.

Premium Carbon Product from Coal Successful 

in Commercial-Scale Test—Through a cooperative 

agreement with NETL, a team headed by West Virginia 

University developed and successfully demonstrated 

a synthetic binder pitch that could one day replace 

petroleum feedstocks. The synthetic binder pitch—
39

obtained from coal by an environmentally friendly 

solvent extraction process—was used to make fullscale graphite electrodes for testing in a commercial 

electric arc steelmaking furnace in Georgetown, SC. 

One of the main ingredients in standard electrodes 

is conventional binder pitch, a blend of coal-tar 

pitch and petroleum pitch; however, for the test, the 

petroleum pitch was replaced with synthetic pitch. 

Furnace data showed the electrodes made with 

the synthetic binder pitch performed as well as the 

standard electrodes, with no significant difference 

in electrode consumption. If applied nationally, the 

domestic product would replace approximately 

19,000 tons of petroleum pitch annually, decreasing 

our reliance on foreign petroleum. 

NETL Releases Final Report on Alaska Spur 

Pipeline Study—Results of a study comparing 

two potential routes for a buried spur pipeline from 

a proposed Alaska North Slope natural gas line 

to the existing ENSTAR natural gas transmission 

pipeline in Southcentral Alaska are available on 

the Oil & Natural Gas Technology page of the NETL 

website. Under NETL funding, ASRC Constructors, 

Inc., completed the report, which considers 

engineering, geologic, environmental, regulatory, 

socioeconomic, and other factors associated with 

candidate routes through Interior Alaska and 

terminating near either Wasilla or Palmer. More than 

225 billion cubic feet of natural gas are consumed 

each year in Southcentral Alaska. Without additional 

natural gas supplies, curtailed operations for 

certain industries and higher natural gas prices for 

electricity and home heating could result. Potential 

spur pipeline sponsors used the report to generate 

their own estimates regarding costs and level of 

effort needed to complete a pipeline along one 

of the identified corridors. ENSTAR currently is 

investigating the feasibility of building the spur line 

from the North Slope to Wasilla, rather than from 

Fairbanks to Wasilla as formerly contemplated.

NETL’s Fuel Interchangeability Findings 

Outline Potential Efficiency and Environmental 

Performance in California—NETL has released its 

key findings from a study requested by the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission to explore how 

the characteristics of liquid-natural-gas (LNG)-

derived fuels—as opposed to domestic natural 

gas—may affect the efficiency and environmental 

performance of end-use equipment, such as 

appliances, turbines, and compressor engines. 

Stringent air quality standards and plans to 

introduce LNG-derived gas into southern California 

prompted initiation of the California Energy 

Commission (CEC) program that is studying fuel 

interchangeability for the State. The findings were 

presented in Sacramento to a stakeholder advisory 

committee and a technical project advisory 

committee for the CEC program.

Q+A 

Q What are bench-, pilot-, and commercialscale tests ?

A Bench-scale is a prototype or small-scale form 

of a technology meant to evaluate, under limited 

operating conditions, the potential of a concept 

or fledgling process. A bench-scale test is based 

on prior fundamental research and is usually 

performed in a laboratory setting.

Pilot-scale (aka engineering-scale) testing, the 

sequel to bench-scale, evaluates technologies 

and processes under continuous operating 

conditions at larger scale. Representing 

5–10 percent capacity of planned industrial-scale 

power plants, pilot plants reduce technology 

development costs and the investment risks 

associated with unproven production methods. 

Technologies that succeed at pilot-scale 

are eligible for commercial-scale testing or 

implementation.

Commercial-scale (aka industrial-scale or 

full-scale) is the ultimate goal of technology 

deployment. Projects at this scale can meet 

consumer demand for a product or process, 

and they are economically and environmentally 

viable. Once a project has successfully achieved 

commercial-scale, project developers turn their 

attention to continuing improvements.
Image courtesy of 

Capstone Turbine Corp.

This microturbine can

provide power from 

waste gases.

40 Powering Prosperity

Economy & Supply

In an NETL-managed 

project, Capstone Turbine 

Corporation has produced 

the first commercially 

available microturbine to 

pass the most stringent 

emissions limits in the 

country—California’s—

while running on waste 

gas. 

The microturbine 

produces 65 kilowatts 

of electricity from 

waste gas while giving 

off only insignificant 

amounts of nitrous oxide 

(NOx), CO2, and volatile 

organic compounds, 

thus meeting standards 

set by the California Air 

Resources Board (CARB). 

“Waste gas” is so-called 

because it is made from 

digester gas from sewage 

decomposition, landfill gas from the decomposition and 

volatilization of landfill material, or oil-field waste gas. 

Capstone’s microturbine is certified for digester gas 

and landfill gas, combining ultralow emissions and lean 

premix combustion. An oxidizing catalyst allows the 

microturbine to run on natural gas as well.

The CARB certification of the new microturbine qualifies 

the technology for California state incentives. Capstone 

can now place the microturbine at landfills and farms 

where it will produce power from low-Btu-containing 

gases that otherwise would be wasted. 

Cyber Security Tool Addresses Vulnerabilities 

of Control and Data Systems—Working under an 

Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability 

contract managed at NETL, Digital Bond, Inc., 

released the first Bandolier© Audit Files. Designed to 

work with the Nessus® vulnerability scanner created 

by Tenable Network Security, these files will audit 

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) 

systems at utility sites against an optimal security 

configuration. SCADA systems are a key vulnerability 

in the infrastructure cyber-security loop since they 

serve as the link between the Internet and critical 

infrastructure systems. Bandolier Audit Files will 

First Microturbine Approved for Use with

Waste Fuels

Innovative Ultralow-NOx Technology Proves 

Successful in Turbine Engine Combustor Test—A 

full set of catalytic pilots, developed at Precision 

Combustion, Inc., North Haven, CT, produced low 

NOx emissions at targeted base-load conditions 

during engine trials in Taurus 70 gas turbine fuel 

injectors. The catalytic pilots help ignite and sustain 

the flame in the turbine more efficiently and cleanly 

than previous approaches by incorporating Rich 

Catalytic/Lean-burn (RCL®) technology. This 

technology uses a greater air-to-fuel ratio, provides a 

leaner stable overall combustion, and produces very 

low NOx emissions without postcombustion controls 

or efficiency penalty. NOx emissions of 2.5 parts per 

million by volume at full-load conditions were 

achieved—well below the program target level of 

5 parts per million. The RCL catalytic pilot supported 

the engine startup and shutdown process without 

any major modification to the existing engine 

control method. The successful engine test was 

performed and funded by Solar Turbines, Inc., at its 

engine test facility. NETL manages the project in 

cooperation with DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability. 
41

Milestones Reached for Second-Generation 

High-Temperature Superconductor—In an 

NETL-managed project, product developers at 

SuperPower, Inc., of Schenectady, NY, achieved a 

new world record with their second-generation 

(2G) wire, reaching a critical minimum current 

of 153 amps per centimeter of width (A/cm) 

for wire 1,311 meters long. Pilot technology 

for this wire—made from an yttrium barium 

copper oxide superconductor material—has 

been scaled up. Production rates of 90 meters 

per hour are now yielding wire 4 millimeters 

wide and 202 meters long, capable of carrying a 

minimum critical current of 314 A/cm. Meanwhile, 

product developers at American Superconductor 

Corporation (AMSC) are producing 4-centimeter 

2G high-temperature superconductor tape 

at their facility in Devens, MA. By slitting the 

4-centimeter tape into 10 strips, AMSC can now 

produce 8 strips of 2G wire in 4-millimeter widths 

and lengths of 500 meters. In addition, a rolling 

mill is now operating for 10-centimeter-wide 

tape, nearly tripling production. Qualification of 

the AMSC pilot production line will satisfy part 

of an interagency agreement between DOE and 

the Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, OH, 

under Title III of the Defense Production Act. The 

new high-temperature superconductor wire 

potentially will deliver three to five times more 

power to urban areas through existing cable ducts, 

reducing power-cable transmission losses from 

current estimates by DOE’s Office of Electricity 

Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Superconductivity 

program.

flag vulnerable configurations in control system 

devices and applications, review security events 

to identify attack attempts on control systems, 

and integrate data historian security findings 

into enterprise security event manager products. 

The alpha version of the files is now available 

for electric-transmission and oil and natural gas 

pipeline-control systems. In upcoming months, 

additional support for other systems will be 

available to owners and operators through a 

Digital Bond subscription service.

Power Grid Modernization Moves One 

Step Closer to Realization—As part of an 

NETL-managed project to help accelerate the 

modernization of the Nation’s electric delivery 

system, Zenergy Power, Inc., South San Francisco, 

CA, successfully tested a Fault Current Limiter 

(FCL) featuring superconducting wire, which has 

near-zero resistance capability and the potential to 

alleviate congestion on high-demand electricity 

grids. The FCL is designed to instantaneously 

and automatically respond to multiple surges 

in electric power while maintaining a stable, 

uninterrupted power flow to downstream devices 

at a voltage level consistent with utility power 

distribution. Conducted at Powertech Laboratories 

in British Columbia, the test exposed the device to 

realistic grid operating conditions, particularly the 

severe fault currents associated with national grid 

blackouts. The achievement, which was observed 

by representatives of the National Electric Energy 

Testing Research and Applications Center and a 

number of U.S. utility companies, is a significant 

step in developing a 138-kilovolt transmissiongrade FCL suitable for the commercial market. 
Image courtesy of 

KIGAM and Geotek

42 Powering Prosperity

Economy & Supply

NETL Participates in Voyages of Discovery

NETL participates in ocean expeditions to better 

understand the role of naturally occurring methane 

hydrates as a potential energy resource and its 

possible relationship to climate change and seafloor 

stability. Not only do these collaborative efforts help 

identify occurrences of methane hydrates in the 

subsurface, they also help determine its pathways 

from subsurface to seafloor, through the water 

column, and possibly into the atmosphere. 

Methane hydrates, found in ocean sediment at many 

locales where the water depth exceeds roughly 

500 meters, are three-dimensional ice-lattice structures 

with natural gas locked inside. Through the Office of 

Fossil Energy’s Methane Hydrates Program, NETL seeks 

safe, economical, and environmentally responsible 

ways to unlock the natural gas and produce this 

methane as an energy resource. NETL researchers are 

working with domestic and international industry and 

academic partners to assess this resource potential 

and understand the environmental role that methane 

hydrate deposits play in global climate change.

Methane Hydrates In late 2007, an NETL researcher was the sole U.S. 

scientist to join a 5-week-long methane hydrates 

expedition in the East Sea off the Korean Peninsula, 

serving as the lead shipboard sedimentologist. 

Organized by the government of South Korea, the 

expedition evaluated exploration techniques for 

determining the location and occurrence of gas 

hydrate accumulations. 

In fall 2008, researchers aboard the Canadian Coast 

Guard ship The Tully spent 3 weeks collecting 

sediment cores and conducting geophysical 

surveys to characterize slumps and vent sites, the 

seafloor features likely associated with methane 

hydrate occurrences. The expedition focused on 

the Cascadia Margin region near Vancouver Island 

with participating researchers from DOE, the U.S. 

Geological Survey, the Canadian Geological Survey, 

and Canada’s McGill University. 

In 2009, NETL is contributing to the first expedition in 

the U.S. Beaufort Sea dedicated to characterizing the 

occurrence and fate of methane from sub-seafloor 

sediments and gas hydrate accumulations.

NETL Is New Curator of Hydrate-Bearing Core 

Samples—With the delivery of the first hydratebearing core samples under agreement with the 

U.S. Geological Survey, NETL became the leading 

federal curator of gas hydrates and associated 

sediment samples. Stored in liquid nitrogen since 

being recovered from drilling operations during 

a 2006 research expedition in the Indian Ocean, 

the samples represent a significant investment in 

research and funding. Retrieval of additional samples 

is anticipated from future expeditions in both oceanic 

and permafrost regions. NETL will coordinate the 

distribution and analysis of these samples based on 

protocols now in development. 

NETL Scientists Propose a Model for Gas Hydrate 

Formation—NETL researchers have developed an 

empirically based thermodynamic model useful 

for predicting the formation of gas hydrates from a 

single-phase solution of gas dissolved in fresh water 

or seawater. The work is relevant to understanding the 

formation and dissociation of methane hydrates as 

NETL researcher Kelly Rose with Dr. Tae Soo Chang, 

South Korean Gas Hydrate Expedition 2007.
43

applied to possible methane production or release 

from hydrates as well as its role in climate change 

and seafloor stability. The model would also be 

applied in understanding CO2-hydrate formation 

if geologically stored CO2 were to come in contact 

with cold, subterranean or suboceanic watercontaining systems. Details of the experiment and 

theory of phase equilibrium in two-phase, waterrich hydrate systems appear in the January 16, 2008, 

issue of the American Chemical Society journal, 

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

NETL Increases Insight on Hydrate Thermal 

Properties—Researchers at NETL in collaboration 

with the University of Pittsburgh have determined 

that the solid water structure, or lattice, in methane 

hydrates plays a more important role than 

expected in lowering the compound’s thermal 

conductivity value as compared to normal ice. 

Thermal conductivity of methane hydrates has 

been the subject of experimental and theoretical 

investigations for more than two decades. Still, 

the mechanisms behind this phenomenon 

have not been clearly understood. Improved 

understanding of this parameter will lead to better 

predictive models for controlling the breakdown of 

methane hydrates in methane production and in 

understanding how methane hydrates may impact 

climate change. The study appears in The Journal of 

Physical Chemistry B in the August 21, 2008, issue. 

Science Team Investigates New Hydrate 

Mapping Technique in the Gulf of Mexico—

Working in cooperation with NETL, a science team 

from Scripps Institution of Oceanography embarked 

on a 3-week voyage on the research vessel Roger 

Revelle to determine if marine electromagnetic 

surveying could provide accurate images of 

hydrate amounts in shallow marine sediments. If 

successful, the new approach promises to improve 

the reliability and accuracy of mapping hydrates 

over large areas and of locating economically viable 

accumulations for production testing. In addition, 

more accurate mapping of subsurface hydrates 

should enhance computational models aimed at 

predicting the climatic impacts of methane release 

from hydrates.

Oil and natural gas meet vital industry, business, and 

residential needs, supplying more than 60 percent of 

U.S. energy requirements. To meet projected future 

demand, competitively priced domestic oil and natural 

gas will continue to be an essential part of the U.S. 

energy portfolio. NETL integrates all elements of the 

Office of Fossil Energy’s oil and natural gas research to 

discover ways of accessing and producing conventional 

and unconventional supplies more economically with 

attention to environmental issues. The majority of our 

technologies are developed in cooperation with small 

independent producers, who drill up to 90 percent of 

America’s wells, provide 80 percent of domestic natural 

gas and nearly 70 percent of domestic oil, and employ 

an average of 12 people each. 

Oil and Natural Gas Production

New NETL Model Describes Highly Fractured 

Geologic Formations and Oil Reservoirs—NETL 

researchers have developed a “blocks-and-springs” 

model to study how second-generation fractures 

intersect first-generation fractures in underground 

oil reservoirs affected by two separate geologic 

events. Understanding these flow-enhancing 

interconnections is important for commercial energy 

production, especially in areas of limited permeability. 

The insights and equations obtained with the 

model will improve NETL codes for describing 

fracture networks from field data (FRACGENTM) and 

for engineering simulations of fractured reservoirs 

(NFFLOWTM). 

NETL Porous Flow Device Aids Studies in Oil and 

Natural Gas Production—Researchers at NETL in 

collaboration with Clarkson University in Potsdam, 

NY, have developed a new method for constructing 

a laboratory-scale porous medium with increased 

pore-level variability. The medium is useful for 

realistic two-phase flow studies in oil and natural 

gas production and carbon sequestration. The flow 

going through the produced medium is consistent 

with theoretical predictions of fractures. The method 

of constructing the medium and the resulting 

improvements are detailed in the April 11, 2008, issue 

of Review of Scientific Instruments, published by the 

American Institute of Physics.
44 Powering Prosperity

Economy & Supply

Project Increases Natural Gas Production from 

Restricted Michigan Formation—Working 

in cooperation with NETL, investigators at 

Michigan Technological University and Jordan 

Development Company, LLC, of Traverse City, MI, 

have demonstrated a low-impact technology that 

has nearly doubled natural gas production in the 

shallow Antrim Formation in Michigan. To overcome 

an environmental restriction on drilling shallow 

wells, the project team drilled a directional hole 

to the required regulatory depth and then angled 

through the producing horizon using a long-reach, 

nearly horizontal well. The demonstration well was 

cased, as required by State regulations, to prevent 

groundwater contamination and leaks to the 

atmosphere. More efficient than conventionally 

drilled vertical wells for producing natural gas from 

shale, the new method requires far fewer wells and 

can avoid sensitive surface areas such as wetlands, 

golf courses, and residential developments. 

Small Business Innovation Research 

Demonstrates Novel Heater for Oil Shale 

Recovery—Under a Phase II Small Business 

Innovation Research grant administered by NETL, 

product developers at Composite Technology 

Development, Inc., of Lafayette, CO, have successfully 

tested an innovative high-temperature downhole 

heater cable for 5,000 continuous hours at 

temperatures ranging from 760–850  ̊C—well within 

the range needed for bringing the underground 

shale to temperatures required for oil recovery. 

The team developed a process for fabricating 

the cable and filed two patents. The technology 

overcomes many of the limitations of commercial 

mineral-insulated heater cables, such as conductor 

instability, moisture-induced degradation, and 

limited operating temperatures. The heater cable 

has potential applications for enhanced oil recovery, 

geothermic fuel cells, and geothermal energy, as well 

as oil production from the vast oil shale deposits of 

Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. 

Electromagnetic Survey Data Offer Support for 

Increased Coalbed Natural Gas Production—

Fugro Airborne Surveys, Inc., completed a helicopter 

electromagnetic survey of two sites in the Powder 

River Basin in Wyoming as part of NETL’s plan to 

improve the management of water coproduced with 

coalbed natural gas (CBNG). Survey information for 

one of the sites will help in designing a subsurface 

drip irrigation system that avoids areas of low 

permeability, mineral salt accumulations, and 

groundwater with high levels of dissolved solids. 

Data from the second site will help determine the 

suitability of sub-irrigated land on the flood plain of 

Beaver Creek—a tributary of the Powder River—for 

CBNG discharges that will meet Wyoming’s 

Agricultural Use Protection Policy. Both projects 

have the potential to increase CBNG production by 

providing beneficial and environmentally benign 

uses for produced water. The U.S. Geological Survey 

provided quality assurance oversight for the survey. 

Partnering with NETL on the projects are the 

Wyoming Department of Water Quality, the U.S. 

Bureau of Land Management, Anadarko Petroleum 

Corp., BeneTerra LLC, and West Virginia University’s 

Natural Resource Analysis Center.

South Korean Group Joins NETL-Led 

International Collaboration in Oil and Gas 

Research—A research group from Hanyang 

University in Seoul, South Korea, has joined 

NETL scientists and engineers in the study of 

subterranean fracture networking that can enhance 

gas flow in petroleum reservoirs. The work builds 

on the pioneering development of NETL codes 

for describing fracture networks from field data 

(FRACGENTM) and for engineering simulations 

of fractured reservoirs (NFFLOWTM). Now five 

institutions in four countries are collaborating in a 

unified program to conduct laboratory experiments, 

interpret field project results, and develop new 

theory, computations, and reservoir simulators. 

Important applications include the injection of water 

into oilfields to increase production and the injection 

of CO2 into brine-saturated geologic strata to avoid 

releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 
45

Microhole Tool Successfully Demonstrated—

Working in cooperation with NETL, product 

developers at Western Well Tool have completed 

a field demonstration of the Microhole Drilling 

Tractor (MDT) with a major oil company working 

in Alaska. Operating inside 41⁄2-inch tubing at 

depths of 800–950 feet, the MDT successfully 

demonstrated on-off capability, pulled with up to 

1,465 pounds of force, and verified its capability 

to transmit torque. The MDT is designed to 

provide forward thrust for the drill bit at the end 

of a coiled-tubing drill string when it locks up 

or fails to deliver sufficient weight on the bit to 

drill ahead. The hydraulically powered device 

will allow producers to drill shallow holes with 

long, horizontal well sections up to 3,000 feet 

beyond the ability of existing technology. The 

MDT shows promise of accomplishing this drilling 

economically and effectively and will require fewer 

wells to be drilled, thereby minimizing surface 

environmental impacts. 

Bottomhole Assembly Successful in Field 

Test—General Electric Company’s product 

developers, in cooperation with NETL, have 

successfully developed and field-tested a 

prototype assembly that integrates existing, 

proven technologies for measurement-whiledrilling and logging-while-drilling. The prototype 

provides a cost-effective downhole measurement 

system for drilling small, shallow—less than 

5,000 feet in depth—boreholes using coiled 

tubing technology. The 33/8-inch system embodies 

an important capability needed for rapid 

expansion of both coiled-tubing drilling and 

conventional small-diameter drilling for oil and gas 

exploration and production. Commercial orders 

have already been placed for a 31⁄2-inch diameter 

version of the technology. 

Horizontal Drilling

During horizontal drilling, the lower part of 

the drill hole runs parallel beneath the oil zone 

instead of perpendicular to it, as in typical 

vertical drilling. The flexible drill pipe in a 

horizontal well can reach isolated pockets or 

follow an expansive reservoir, greatly reducing 

the “drilling footprint” above ground.

How it Works
46 Advanced Power for Clean Energy

Supply & Environment
How will we supply our growing 

energy needs while protecting 

our environment? By finding new 

and better ways to utilize U.S. fossil 

fuel resources: oil, natural gas, 

and coal, our most abundant and 

inexpensive energy resource. Every 

study and forecast shows that 

meeting America’s growing power 

demands will, in the foreseeable 

future, require reliance on fossil 

fuels. Around 80 percent of the 

world’s energy is expected to come 

from fossil fuels until at least 2030. 

Securing environmentally sound 

energy for the 21st century means 

developing advanced fossil-fuel 

combustion systems that have 

greater efficiencies. It requires new 

means of converting coal into 

electric power and liquid fuels. 

Environmentally sound energy 

also includes the realization of 

dependable, affordable fuel cells 

powered by coal-derived hydrogen 

and synthesis gas.

47
48

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy

NETL Researchers Make First Measurements in 

Unique Oxy-fuel Flame Test Facility—By making 

the first measurements of an oxy-hydrogen flame 

with high steam dilution, NETL researchers have 

taken an important step in obtaining data for flame 

speed and heat radiation. The information is needed 

for accurate simulation of oxy-fuel combustion 

systems that are compatible with carbon capture 

and storage. Power system designers are considering 

oxy-fuel combustion schemes as part of a strategy 

to achieve zero emissions with the use of fossil fuels. 

The accomplishment demonstrates the viability of 

flame-speed measurements in an environment with 

very high steam concentrations. Removing nitrogen 

from air and substituting a diluting agent—such as 

steam, CO2, and/or recycled flue gas—to replace up 

to 70 percent of the flow to the burner prevents the 

hydrogen-oxygen flames from overheating. 

Environmental responsibility begins with responsible 

energy production. At NETL, scientists and engineers 

are working on varied solutions for producing 

power with negligible environmental impact. One 

solution is the development of advanced combustion 

technologies for fossil-fuel power plants. NETL 

research in advanced combustion focuses on such 

technologies as chemical looping and oxy-fuel 

combustion, in which the system fuel is combusted 

with oxygen instead of air. Because nitrogen-laden 

air is excluded from combustion, these processes 

reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx ) emissions and improve 

the efficiency of the combustion process while 

producing a sequestration-ready CO2 stream.

Advanced Combustion NETL and Industry Join to Assess Benefits of 

Pulverized Coal Oxy-fuel Combustion—NETL 

analysts, working extensively with investigators at The 

Babcock & Wilcox Company and American Air 

Liquide, assessed the technical, environmental, and 

economic performance of pulverized coal oxy-fuel 

combustion as an option to reduce greenhouse gas 

emissions from pulverized coal power plants. The 

analysis showed that oxy-fuel combustion with 

pulverized coal has a small but definite economic and 

performance advantage over current amine 

scrubbing technology for the separation of CO2 from 

flue gas. Several cost-saving strategies were identified 

as well as potential barriers that need to be overcome 

before commercial implementation. The study 

provides a baseline for evaluating future advances in 

oxy-fuel combustion based on technology that could 

be constructed between 2010 and 2015. 

Oxy-fuel Combustion Offers Environmental 

Benefits for Coal-Fired Power Plants—Studies 

completed by American Air Liquide, in partnership 

with NETL, show that replacing combustion air in 

coal-fired power plants with pure oxygen diluted 

with recycled flue gas results in a viable emissionscontrol option. Compared to flue gas from air-blown 

combustion, the emissions from oxy-fuel 

combustion—using Powder River Basin coal in a 

5 million Btu-per-hour pilot unit—contained about 

65 percent less NOx. Although oxy-fuel combustion 

yielded a higher amount of mercury, it was produced 

in a state more susceptible to capture than with 

traditional coal combustion. Moreover, the flue gas 

was reduced in volume by around 70 percent and 

was richer in CO2 content (80 percent vs. 15 percent), 

making the CO2 easier and more economical to 

capture and sequester. By adjusting burner 

parameters and oxygen-to-recycled-gas ratios, overall 

combustion characteristics can be achieved to make 

furnace temperatures compatible with conventional 

materials. An engineering feasibility study—

supported by experimental observations—indicates 

that oxy-fuel combustion, with its efficient multipollutant emission-control attributes, can be applied 

to existing pulverized-coal-fired boilers with minimal 

modifications.
49

Chemical looping combustion is a new 

method for converting either pulverized or 

gasified coal into energy. Instead of feeding 

the fuel with air, this flameless technology 

employs a dual fluidized bed system in which 

the metal oxide in a fuel reactor releases 

oxygen to feed combustion. The “reduced” 

metal is transferred to the second bed and reoxidized, then reintroduced to the fuel reactor, 

completing the loop. The by-products of 

chemical looping are CO

2

 and water in the 

form of steam. Once the steam is condensed, a 

relative pure stream of CO

2

 is produced, ready 

for capture.

Oxy-fuel combustion (aka oxycombustion) is 

the combustion of pulverized coal in a mixture 

of approximately 95 percent oxygen and 

5 percent recirculated flue gas. Using oxygen 

instead of air eliminates free nitrogen from the 

process. Nitrogen is the largest component of 

ambient air and a source of NO

X

 emissions. 

Oxy-fuel combustion also decreases the net 

amount of flue gas and produces a highly pure 

CO

2

 exhaust that can be captured at relatively 

low cost. FYi New Membrane Material Developed for 

Oxygen Production—In cooperation with NETL, 

Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, a member of a 

team developing an ion transport membrane (ITM) 

for the production of oxygen, has cast more than 

one mile of thin, flexible, ceramic ITM material. This 

tape contains a precursor to the membrane and 

can be shaped and layered to make commercialsize membrane wafers for a 150-ton-per-day 

oxygen-production module. 

Significant Milestone Reached Toward 

Commercialization of Oxygen Technology—

Two commercial-scale ITM oxygen-production 

modules in a 5-ton-per-day subscale prototype 

facility have logged nearly 9,000 hours of 

cumulative operating time, producing oxygen 

with a purity greater than 99 percent during 

optimal production periods. An advanced processcontrol technique allows unit cycling from full 

operating conditions to ambient temperature 

and back again with minimal ITM material or 

performance degradation for either module. A 

key milestone for the program, the technique 

significantly improves ITM module reliability by 

cutting heating and cooling cycle times nearly 

in half and decreasing stress in vital ceramic 

parts. In cooperation with NETL, Air Products 

and Chemicals, Inc., of Allentown, PA, leads the 

team that is developing the ITM oxygen process 

toward the goal of producing oxygen at a cost and 

energy requirement one-third lower than current 

processes. Integrated gasification combined cycle 

(IGCC) and other advanced power-generation 

systems, as well as traditional plants, stand to profit 

from the technology. 
This microhole drilling bit—part of BakerHughes Inteq’s CoilTrack microhole drilling system—

has been integrated with a small motor and is able to drill boreholes as small as 3 1⁄2-inches in diameter.

Big Role of Small Particles Is Brought to Light

It is nearly impossible for the human eye to follow a moving particle smaller than a grain of salt. Now imagine 

following that particle if it is one of millions moving randomly in a high-speed liquid or gas stream. NETL researchers 

have created a method to do just that by developing a high-speed particle imaging (HSPI) system that peers into fossil 

fuel processes and tracks particle dynamics.

A sequence of camera frames in which particle motion is automatically recognized and labeled by NETL’s HSPI software.

T = 25.5 μs

T = 102.0 μs

T = 51.0 μs

T = 127.5 μs

T = 76.5 μs

T = 153.0 μs

50

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy
The ability to see the motion of minute particles 

is of critical importance to NETL because particle 

motion is one of the primary factors that affect 

the efficiency and reliability of fossil fuel processes. 

HSPI is the only system that measures all critical 

parameters of a fossil fuel process—particle 

velocity, trajectory, concentration, size, and 

shape—and its measurements are highly accurate, 

with uncertainties of less than 1 percent for most 

applications. 

One fossil fuel process that depends on flow fields 

of small particles is coal gasification, in which 

coal is turned into a low-emission combustible 

gas. To study particle flow fields, NETL engineers 

needed an imaging system with extreme light 

sensitivity and very high frame rates at a resolution 

near that of high-definition television. The HSPI 

system obliges with components that include 

a high-speed image sensor, a high-intensity 

light source, and an endoscope (similar to those 

used in surgery) to probe flow fields of fossil 

fuel processes. NETL developed custom particle 

image recognition and tracking software to 

automatically convert hundreds of thousands of 

high-speed camera frames into relevant particle 

dynamics data. NETL has filed a provisional patent 

application for the HSPI software.

The first application of HSPI was the study of flow 

fields in NETL’s cold-flow circulating fluidized bed 

unit, a large cold-flow gasification experiment 

being conducted at the Laboratory’s site in 

Morgantown, WV. This experiment provided the 

first detailed observations and measurements of 

the dynamic behavior of small particles (less than 

1 millimeter) inside a particle flow field with very 

high particle concentrations. Researchers used 

the HSPI system to view, record, and measure 

the precise motion of microscopic particles 

that simulate the motion of coal particles in a 

gasification chamber. 

The success of the initial study was promptly 

followed by an innovative transfer of the 

technology to industry through collaboration 

with Particulate Solid Research, Inc. (PSRI), an 

international research organization comprising 

over 25 member companies from the chemical 

and energy industries and renowned for research 

in fluidization. Through PSRI, the HSPI technology 

was made available to multiple companies. Future 

plans with PSRI include a series of experiments 

to help accurately model flow particle size and 

density distribution. 

NETL is using the results from the HSPI system 

to validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) 

models, such as the Laboratory’s MFIX code. 

The new insight into the miniscule world of 

particle flow phenomena provided by HSPI could 

dramatically change the CFD models that are 

playing a major role in the design of coal-based 

power plants with near-zero emissions and other 

next-generation fossil fuel processes. 

51

FYi

Fluidized bed 

combustion

is a method 

of burning 

fuel in 

which solid 

fuels are 

suspended 

on upwardblowing 

jets of air 

during the 

combustion 

process. The result is a turbulent mixture of 

gases and solids that resembles a bubbling 

fluid. Fluidized beds were developed as 

part of the Office of Fossil Energy’s Clean 

Coal Technology Program, managed by 

NETL. They have long been used for the 

combustion of high-quality as well as difficult 

fuels, such as waste coal tailings, to improve 

chemical reactions and heat transfer.

Distributor

Air

Equal solids

and gas

1:2

solid

to

gas

Solid

All

gas

All

solids

Gas
52

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy

mounted array of 12 individual fuel cells is designed to 

provide data on the effects of trace coal contaminants 

on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) performance over 

a range of electric load conditions for extended 

periods of operation. Testing is supported by an 

analytical instrument known as a gas chromatograph 

inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. 

The instrument offers parts-per-billion sensitivity to 

inorganic gas-phase compounds such as arsenic, 

phosphorous, selenium, and mercury, which are 

typically found in trace amounts in coal synthesis gas. 

The multi-cell array operated for 200 continuous hours 

on direct synthesis gas at the facility. It is available to 

support fuel cell performance testing at other coal 

gasification sites. 

NETL Research Develops New Interconnect 

Materials for SOFCs—NETL researchers have 

discovered a titanium-containing ferritic stainless steel 

that can improve SOFC interconnect materials. Under 

specific laboratory conditions, a titanium-rich outer 

scale is developed on the interconnect material. The 

scale is thought to have a low electrical resistance, 

which would minimize the contamination of the 

SOFC’s cathode by chromium. The research results 

were published in the May 15, 2008, issue of Journal 

of Power Sources. A follow-up paper describing the 

critical titanium content is anticipated.

New Processes Improve SOFC Performance and 

Cost Efficiency—In an interagency and industrialpartner collaboration, researchers at NETL, ATI 

Allegheny Ludlum Corp., and Pacific Northwest 

National Laboratory have successfully modified 

the metallic alloy AISI 441 to help achieve SOFC 

electrical interconnect requirements for lifetimes 

of 40,000 hours or more. AISI 441 is an inexpensive 

ferritic stainless steel. Experimental work at Pacific 

Northwest National Laboratory and ATI Allegheny 

Ludlum indicated that, with a special coating, AISI 441 

exhibited very low and nearly constant area-specific 

resistance throughout 5,000 hours of testing. A rare 

earth treatment integral to the special coating and a 

manufacturing process that reduces silica formation 

have been developed by NETL and ATI respectively. 

In addition to these breakthroughs, the cost of 

commercially available AISI 441 is predicted to be 

considerably lower than the cost of producing stateNETL Research Shows Feasibility of Controlling 

Pressurized Fuel Cell-Turbine Hybrid—Simulation 

results obtained from the NETL Hybrid Performance 

(HYPER) test facility show that fluctuations in a 

pressurized fuel cell-turbine hybrid system can be 

managed using a control scheme based on the 

mathematics of H-Infinity control theory. During load 

upsets, the control scheme maintains fuel cell airflow 

input and synchronous turbine speed by using air 

bypass valves and an auxiliary fuel input. Developed 

with West Virginia University as part of NETL’s 

Insititute for Advanced Energy Studies, the results 

have important implications for scaling up hybrid 

systems for use with large coal-based power systems. 

The controls research initiated at NETL by the HYPER 

team represents the only experimentally derived 

development of system-transfer functions—those 

functions that characterize the control of a combined 

fuel cell-gas turbine application. 

Mobile Unit Measures Impact of Trace Species 

on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Performance—A mobile 

platform developed by NETL has been installed at the 

Power Systems Development Facility at Wilsonville, 

AL, to support the performance testing of fuel cells 

operating on coal-derived synthesis gas. The skidNETL research is steadily advancing toward costcompetitive fuel cells for a variety of power needs. 

Through management of the Office of Energy 

Efficency and Renewable Energy’s Solid State Energy 

Conversion Alliance (SECA)—a collaboration of 

government, private companies, and the wider scientific 

community—we are developing market-ready 

megawatt-class fuel cells for integrated gasificationfuel cell systems, which can produce reliable, efficient, 

environmentally friendly electric power from coal and 

other domestic resources. The high efficiency and 

unique features of these systems will allow a greater 

than 90 percent capture of CO2 , significantly reduce 

other emissions, and substantially decrease water 

requirements for power production. NETL also works 

in partnership with DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy to develop fuel cells for 

transportation and other small-scale applications.

Fuel Cells
53

of-the-art high-temperature metal alloys suitable for 

SOFC electrical interconnect service.

NETL Develops Improved Coating Process for 

SOFCs—As part of NETL’s Insititute for Advanced 

Energy Studies, collaborators at West Virginia 

University and NETL developed an environmentally 

friendly electroplating process for protecting SOFC 

interconnects with a manganese-cobalt coating. 

Electroplating is easier to employ and lower in cost 

than other coating methods, and data show that a 

test cell with interconnects coated using the new 

approach exhibits a lower degradation rate than 

one with uncoated interconnects. Results of this 

research were presented at the Materials Science 

& Technology 2008 Conference organized by the 

American Ceramic Society and appear in a patent 

disclosure and two peer-reviewed journals.

Fuel Cell vs. Battery

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts a common or specialty fuel (e.g., methane, 

coal-derived synthesis gas, biofuel) and an oxidant (air) into electrical energy without allowing 

the fuel and air to mix. A fuel cell operates much like a battery, using an anode, a cathode, and an 

electrolyte to generate electricity directly from the chemical energy of the fuel. This direct conversion 

is more efficient than producing electricity via combustion. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell will operate 

continuously for years while producing two to three times more power for a comparable volume. This 

is important to saving weight, space, and cost.

How it Works

Design Guide Documents Best SOFC Practices—

The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Design Guide has been 

prepared in a collaborative effort among NETL, 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge 

National Laboratory, and the American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers. The guide recommends the 

best in SOFC design practices, including modeling 

and analysis procedures, for use by designers and 

fabricators of SOFCs. Developed by SECA’s Core 

Technology Program, the guide describes analytical 

procedures developed to model electrochemical 

and thermomechanical performance of SOFCs. 

Additionally, it describes how these procedures 

and other tools can be used to design a structurally 

reliable and durable SOFC stack. As a living 

document, the guide will be updated and expanded 

on a regular basis to facilitate development of costeffective, reliable SOFC designs.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

(Open System) (Closed System)

Battery

Cathode

Load

Electron Flow

Electrolyte

Anion Flow

Cation Flow

Anode

Galvanic Cell (battery)

Fuel In Air In

Excess

Fuel

and

Water

Unused

Gases

Cathode

Electrical Current

eElectrolyte Anode

O2 H2

H2O

eO=

O=

SOFC Fuel Cell
54

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy

Industry Teams Test Fuel Cell Designs—

SECA, managed by NETL, is developing and testing 

SOFC designs for use in coal-fueled central power 

generation. One SECA industry team, led by Fuel Cell 

Energy, Inc., has developed two 11-kilowatt SOFCs 

that have exceeded 3,500 hours of operation. A 

second SECA industry team, Siemens Power 

Generation, has tested a 9.8-kilowatt SOFC stack for 

more than 2,700 hours. These SOFC stack tests, using 

scaled cells, have demonstrated a steady-state 

degradation of less than 2 percent per1,000 hours of 

operation. The tests are an important step in proving 

SOFCs for use in integrated gasification-fuel cell coal 

plants. Testing will continue through at least

5,000 hours of operation to assess materials stability. 

SECA has the goal of developing fuel cell power 

systems with capabilities greater than 100 megawatts 

that will produce affordable, efficient, environmentally 

friendly electrical power from coal. The systems 

should have at least a 15 percent greater overall 

efficiency than today’s average coal-fired power plant. 

Fuel Cell Reaches New Performance Level—

The Delta8 SOFC designed by Siemens Energy, 

Inc.—one of four NETL-supported industry teams 

from SECA—has performed better than all previous 

models in the Siemens’s high power density design 

series, with no noticeable voltage degradation. The 

new design has an active area greater by 58 percent 

than that of the largest previous cell, and has achieved 

80 percent fuel utilization during a 2,000-hour 

laboratory test. The higher power density and larger 

active area combine to reduce the number of cells, 

cell interfaces, and raw materials required for a system 

of given power output. The new design represents 

significant progress toward meeting the SECA cost 

goal of $700 per kilowatt by 2010.

Milestone Reached for Central Station SOFC—

In a substantial contribution toward achieving the 

SECA cost goal of $700 per kilowatt, Versa Power 

Systems, Inc., under subcontract to FuelCell Energy, 

has completed a successful test of a 1.3-kilowatt SOFC 

stack. Comprising six cells—each with an active areaof 

550 square centimeters, five times that of the 

baseline Versa cell—the stack’s performance was 

consistent with the performance of the baseline cell. 

Scaling to larger-area cells was achieved using 

proprietary manufacturing processes suitable for 

high-volume manufacturing.

Successful Fuel Cell-Gasifier Integration 

Encourages Private Sector Demonstration 

Project—In a project cosponsored by NETL and 

Xcel Energy, Inc., researchers at the University of 

North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research 

Center successfully completed proof-of-concept 

testing of a biomass power system consisting of 

an SOFC thermally integrated with a gasifier. In 

this system, the high-temperature effluent from 

the SOFC enables operation of a gasifier at an 

elevated temperature of 1,000 °C. At this extreme 

temperature, moisture in the biomass fuel acts as 

a carbon-gasifying medium, achieving complete 

carbon conversion and eliminating the need for gas 

cleanup and associated subsystems. Reduced system 

complexity and more stable gasifier operation can 

significantly lower operating and maintenance 

costs, making small-scale gasification economically 

viable. The findings led to approval of a 30-kilowatt 

demonstration plant for applying the thermal 

integration approach to a microturbine and smallscale gasifier, fully funded by Xcel Energy. 

Molecular Insights Lead to Novel 

Electrocatalysts—Fuel cells that use coal synthesis 

gas as a fuel tend to experience carbon build-up 

(coking) on their nickel catalysts, which eventually 

causes them to malfunction. Now, a team led 

by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and 

funded through NETL has developed a unique alloy 

material based on a micro-level understanding of 

the chemical transformations that lead to coking. 

The new catalyst material exhibits superior tolerance 

to coking compared to commonly used all-nickel 

catalysts and represents a rare example of designing 

novel electrocatalytic materials based on detailed 

molecular insights. 
55

Fuel Cell Power Unit Reduces Truck Emissions

Idling of vehicle engines is responsible for an 

estimated 11 million tons of CO2 and 150,000 

tons of nitrogen oxide emissions per year. Longdistance trucking contributes a significant share of 

these emissions, because as drivers rest for periods 

of 6–8 hours per day, engine idling is needed to 

provide heating, cooling, and electricity.

SOFCs can potentially eliminate truck-idling 

emissions. During a simulated 10-hour night, a 

Peterbilt truck Model 386 with the engine off 

was provided with 800 watts of power by an 

auxiliary power unit containing an SOFC. This was 

sufficient to supply the truck with air conditioning, 

communications, and heating.

The prototype power unit was developed by 

Delphi Automotive Systems, LLC, in cooperation 

with NETL under the Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy’s SECA program. The 

adoption of such power units across the trucking 

industry would reduce annual U.S. emissions, help 

truck drivers meet anti-idling regulations without 

compromising safety and comfort, and save on 

fuel, as well.

NETL Simulation Technology Optimizes 

Gasifier Design—Researchers have combined 

the power of process simulation with highfidelity computational fluid dynamics, advanced 

visualization, and high-performance computing 

in NETL’s Advanced Process Engineering 

Co-Simulation (APECS) software. APECS helps 

engineers understand and optimize the coupled 

fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and 

chemical reactions that drive energy conversion 

processes and power plant performance. NETL has 

now broadened APECS so that design engineers 

can also optimize equipment geometry of overall 

plant performance. Engineers at ALSTOM Power 

are using the new feature to automatically scale 

the geometric design for the gasifier model used 

in a simulated integrated gasification combined 

cycle (IGCC) system with carbon capture. 

Gasification, a technology first developed in the 

late 18th century, is finding new uses in large-scale 

power generation. Gasification technologies 

produce synthesis gas, which can be used to 

generate clean electrical energy in advanced 

turbines and fuel cells while also yielding an easily 

captured CO2 stream, ready for sequestration. 

NETL researchers work with computational fluid 

dynamics models to assist in the development 

of modern gasification technologies for future 

power plants. These technologies are expected to 

achieve thermal efficiencies nearing 60 percent 

while reducing emissions and conserving powerproduction resources. NETL’s work is helping to 

reduce gasification’s cost, improve its efficiency, 

increase its reliability, and broaden its ability to 

operate economically on feedstocks such as coal, 

biomass, and petroleum coke. 

Gasification

Gasification

is the cleanest 

coal-based power 

system available 

today. During 

gasification, coal, 

oxygen, and steam 

are reacted at high 

temperature and 

high pressure to 

produce synthesis 

gas—or syngas—a 

mixture of carbon 

monoxide and 

hydrogen. The 

syngas can be 

used in a turbine 

system to generate 

electrical power 

or can undergo 

further refining 

to produce 

transportation 

fuels, chemicals, 

or pure hydrogen.

FYi

Fuel cell power could make the idling of heavy 

trucks unnecessary.

Image courtesy of Delphi Automotive Systems
56

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy

NETL Applies Computational Fluid Dynamics to 

Help Design Novel Hydrogasifier—NETL researchers 

used standard computational fluid dynamics and 

statistical tools to specify engineering design values for 

the hydrogen nozzles and swirl angle of the advanced 

coal hydrogasifier being developed at Arizona Public 

Service Company (APS). The analysis considered 

solids mixing, solids flow, and gas temperature at four 

different elevations in the proposed reactor design. 

The analysis also specified values that would maximize 

gas-solids mixing through the reactor while minimizing 

recirculation near the hydrogen nozzles. APS engineers 

are working in cooperation with NETL to develop and 

demonstrate a pilot-scale coal hydrogasification process 

that produces both substitute natural gas and electricity. 

Initial systems analyses indicate that a coproduction 

plant using the hydrogasifier will meet DOE goals of an 

overall process efficiency greater than 60 percent with 

at least 90 percent CO2 capture for storage or reuse.

NETL Advances Gas Sensor Development—NETL 

researchers have developed theoretical calculations to 

explain the stability and electronic properties of different 

layers within the tin oxide materials important in 

catalysis and high-temperature sensor technologies. The 

analysis represents a first step toward an understanding 

of the properties of these materials and their surfaces 

at the atomic level, with direct implications for further 

development of high-temperature gas sensors. The 

achievement was presented by NETL in the January 30, 

2008, issue of Physical Review B.

NETL Tests Yield New Concept for Hydrogen Gas 

Turbine Combustion—Tests conducted in NETL’s 

simulation validation optical combustor suggest that 

an array-style, advanced hydrogen fuel injector could 

provide an alternative to premixed combustion for 

high-hydrogen fuels in gas turbines. The work is part of 

the Office of Fossil Energy’s Advanced Turbines Program, 

which is developing hydrogen-fuel turbines that emit 

less nitrous oxide (NOx) than current state-of-the-art 

turbines and can be used in IGCC applications with 

carbon capture. Test results are based on findings that 

a fuel tube configuration having high-velocity coaxial 

air flow, increased combustion pressure, and preheated 

air temperature of up to 550  ̊F will produce greater 

stability in the nitrogen-diluted flames and lower NOx

emission under certain conditions.

NETL Assesses Current and Future Power Plant 

Technologies—NETL analysts have evaluated 

advanced technologies for gasification-based power 

plants developed under the Office of Fossil Energy’s 

Clean Coal Research and Development program. 

Analysts found that, without carbon capture and 

sequestration, power plants that incorporate these 

technologies can achieve higher efficiencies and 

lower costs than today’s fossil-fuel power plants. With 

IGCC and fuel cell technologies, for example, potential 

efficiency improvements equal 11 percent and 

24 percent, respectively. Capital cost may be reduced 

by as much as $700 per kilowatt by using warm gas 

cleanup, ITM air separation, and other technology 

alternatives, and by producing more power with 

advanced synthesis-gas turbines. Taken together, 

the improvements that were studied decrease cost 

of electricity by more than 3 cents per kilowatt 

hour overall, or 35 percent. The full report, “IGCC 

Technologies: A Pathway Study Focused on Noncarbon Capture Advanced Power Systems R&D Using 

Bituminous Coal—Volume 1,” is available at www.netl.

doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/gasification/pubs/

market.html.

NETL Applies Raman Spectroscopy to Natural Gas 

and Synthesis Gas Analysis—As part of the 

Laboratory’s Insititute for Advanced Energy Studies, a 

collaboration of researchers from NETL, the University 

of Pittsburgh, and West Virginia University has yielded a 

Raman spectrometer configuration that simultaneously 

measures the major constituents—nitrogen, oxygen, 

and hydrogen—of natural gas and synthetic fuel gases. 

The process enhances the signal power several 

hundred times over what would otherwise be 

obtainable. A description of the work appears in the 

August 10, 2008, issue of Applied Optics published by 

the Optical Society of America.
57

FYi

Integrated 

gasification 

combined 

cycle, or IGCC,

systems turn coal 

into synthesis 

gas (syngas) 

to produce 

electricity. IGCC 

systems “integrate” 

two processes: 

gasification and 

power generation. 

The “combined 

cycle” provides 

a dual source of 

power. The gas 

turbine generates 

electricity; then 

the turbine’s waste 

heat produces 

steam, which 

generates even 

more electricity. 

Impurities are 

removed from 

the syngas before 

it is combusted, 

resulting in lower 

emissions of 

sulfur dioxide, 

particulates, and 

mercury. 

Warm Gas Cleanup Demonstrates ContaminantRemoval Technologies—An advanced gascleaning technology that could help make IGCC 

systems competitive in today’s power generation 

market is being developed by RTI International, 

Research Triangle Park, NC, in cooperation with 

NETL. During more than 3,000 hours of field 

testing of the commercial coal gasifier at Eastman 

Chemical Company in Kingsport, TN, RTI’s R&D 100 

Award-winning regenerable zinc-based sorbent 

removed more than 99.9 percent of the sulfur from 

a coal synthesis gas slipstream at temperatures of 

600–900  ̊F. Also demonstrated were the production 

of elemental sulfur by the patented Direct Sulfur 

Recovery Process at similar temperatures, and 

sorbents that remove ammonia, mercury, and arsenic 

at warm (greater than 400  ̊F) synthesis gas conditions. 

An independent economic analysis shows that these 

RTI warm-gas cleanup technologies can improve the 

overall efficiency of an IGCC plant by about 

2.3 percent and reduce the cost of electricity by 

4 percent. 

Experimental Data Support Feasibility of Novel 

Coal-to-Hydrogen Concept—Lehigh University 

investigators, working in cooperation with NETL, are 

studying a method for simultaneously producing 

fuel-cell grade hydrogen and compressed CO2 from 

synthesis gas. They have devised a “thermal swing 

sorption-enhanced” reaction in which desulfurized 

synthesis gas containing carbon monoxide, CO2, 

water, and hydrogen is introduced to a catalytic 

reactor. There, in the presence of excess steam, most 

of the carbon monoxide is converted to CO2, which 

is then removed from the reaction by a sorbent. 

Removal of CO2 from the reaction zone enhances 

hydrogen production. This concept of producing 

essentially pure CO2 and hydrogen in a single 

operation will allow for a smaller plant footprint by 

eliminating the elaborate separation equipment 

needed in other coal-to-hydrogen approaches. The 

technique should also reduce the cost of producing 

hydrogen from coal with carbon capture. Technical 

papers on the concept appeared in the January 2008 

issue of International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and 

the January 21, 2008, issue of Journal of Power Sources.

Bench-Scale Evaluations of Advanced Gasification 

Technology Completed—Working under an NETLmanaged Phase I Small Business Innovation Research 

grant, product developers at Diversified Energy 

Corporation successfully completed a series of benchscale tests of the advanced gasification technology 

HydroMax® using both Western and Eastern domestic 

coal as feedstocks. Achieving carbon conversion 

efficiencies of up to 78 percent and energy conversion 

efficiencies as high as 69 percent, the technology met or 

exceeded expectations for the initial evaluations. As the 

HydroMax process is optimized, carbon conversions 

exceeding 90 percent are anticipated. The patented 

technology, which utilizes molten metal iron and/or tin 

in oxidation and reduction processes, offers several 

critical features to industrial customers seeking to 

generate power in the 50–100 megawatt range or who 

seek to produce synthesis gas as a substitute for natural 

gas. Desirable features include scalability, small footprint, 

and feedstock flexibility (e.g., coal, biomass, waste 

products), which could translate to lower plant capital 

and operating costs. Based on results from Phase I, a 

Phase II follow-on grant was awarded to Diversified 

Energy to build a scaled-up version of the HydroMax 

reactor to demonstrate a continuous coal gasification 

operation.

Early-Entrance Coproduction Project Completed—

ConocoPhillips Company researchers, in cooperation 

with NETL, completed a two-phase project that 

confirmed the feasibility of integrating methanol 

production and power production using gasificationbased E-GasTM technology. The work showed that ridding 

synthesis gas of sulfur and other trace contaminants 

known to poison methanol catalysts is critical to the 

integration process. S ZorbTM) sulfur-removal technology 

was shown to be effective in removing hydrogen sulfide, 

carbonyl sulfide, and hydrogen chloride from synthesis 

gas in a slipstream test conducted onsite at the SG 

Solutions, LLC, gasification facility in West Terre Haute, IN. 

The capacity of the S Zorb sorbent was restored during 

each of six successive absorption-regeneration test 

cycles, and the sorbent exhibited no cumulative 

chemical or physical deterioration. A process and 

economic evaluation showed that, compared to the 

conventional gas cleanup process using amines, the 

S Zorb retrofit would result in a reduction in capital cost 

by as much as 40 percent in the gas cleanup section of 

the E-Gas process. 
58

Supply & Environment

Advanced Power for Clean Energy

Novel Sensor Proves Successful in Harsh 

Environment—An optically based sensor 

constructed entirely of silicon carbide reliably tracked 

temperatures during a 6-day period for a gas turbine 

test rig operating near 1,200  ̊C and 100 psig. 

Developed at Nuonics, Inc., Winter Park, FL, in 

cooperation with NETL, the sensor survived the 

significant thermal shocks associated with six turbineburner “light off” events in which temperatures 

increased from 250  ̊C to more than 1,000  ̊C in 3 

seconds. The six precious-metal thermocouples used 

as a comparison technology during the 28-day test 

sequence did not fare as well: one situated around the 

annulus of the turbine combustor failed on startup 

and two others became unstable. The fact that the 

new sensors survived the testing shows that a 

fundamental understanding of the high-temperature 

optical properties and vibration tolerance of the 

sensor design that underpins the technology could 

lead to a new suite of ultrahigh-temperature sensors 

for measuring temperature and pressure in highefficiency fossil-based energy systems.

Full-Scale Catalytic Injector Developed for 

Hydrogen Turbines—Precision Combustion, Inc., in 

cooperation with NETL, has optimized the design of a 

full-scale single injector module for megawatt-class 

turbines fueled with hydrogen. Featuring Rich 

Catalytic-Lean burn (RCL®) technology, the prototype 

injector is ready for testing with high-pressure 

hydrogen-nitrogen fuel mixtures at simulated engine 

conditions. RCL systems employ a catalytic reactor 

operating under fuel-rich, oxygen-lean conditions that 

are followed by a post-reaction mixing with air to 

produce final fuel-lean combustion conditions 

downstream. RCL systems have the flexibility to burn 

a variety of fuels, including hydrogen, synthesis gas, 

biogas, and natural gas. Subscale testing at increased 

pressure has successfully demonstrated lower NOx

emissions with stable operation. By reducing air, 

nitrogen, or other diluent requirements, the 

technology can increase the efficiency of hydrogenburning turbines while reducing NOx

 to less than 

3 parts per million and eliminating CO2 emissions.

Novel Turbine Concept Tested in Large-Scale, 

Multi-element Configuration—In cooperation with 

NETL, engineers at GE Energy’s gas turbine technology 

laboratory in Greensville, SC, have developed a fuelflexible concept for advanced premix combustion 

technology. The novel concept—employing advanced 

premix combustion technology to achieve very low NOx

emissions with high-hydrogen fuels—was successfully 

tested in a near-full-scale operation. 

Engineers are developing technology advancements for 

use in IGCC applications with CO2 capture and 

sequestration. When tested with pure hydrogen, natural 

gas, and hydrogen-nitrogen fuels, the concept achieved 

results consistent with those seen in earlier tests using a 

smaller-scale single nozzle, even when local flame 

temperatures exceeded requirements for extended 

periods. 

Successful combustor operation at elevated 

temperatures with highly reactive hydrogen fuel is 

critical to achieving the aggressive efficiency goals of the 

Advanced Turbines Program.

View of the end cover of the turbine combustion 

system showing the gas fuel nozzles.

Image courtesy of

GE Energy
59

Innovative Hydrogen Fuel Injectors Produce 

Stable Flames and Ultralow Emissions—Working 

in cooperation with NETL, product developers at 

Parker-Hannifin Corporation, in collaboration with 

combustion laboratory researchers at the University 

of California at Irvine, have demonstrated ultralow 

emissions and flame stability for turbine engines. 

Using innovative fuel injectors designed to rapidly 

pre-mix fuel with air, the system produced only 

1–5 parts per million of NOx.

Clean Oxy-syngas Combustor Developed—

Working in cooperation with NETL, investigators at 

Clean Energy Systems, Inc. (CES), have developed 

an oxy-fuel gas combustor that can utilize virtually 

any gaseous fuel—including coal-derived 

synthesis gas—to power turbines with near-zero 

emissions. By combusting clean fuels with oxygen, 

almost all NOx is eliminated. Further, the small 

amount of CO2 remaining can be readily separated 

and used for commercial purposes, sequestered, 

or injected for enhanced oil and natural gas 

recovery. Also in cooperation with NETL, CES has 

since designed a 100-megawatt oxy-syngas 

combustor, which is now ready for manufacture. In 

parallel with the oxy-syngas combustor, CES 

designed and built a full-scale, 170-megawatt 

oxy-fuel combustor that uses natural gas and 

deployed it to the CES test facility at Kimberlina 

Power Plant. This combustor is being tested to 

validate combustion characteristics and control 

system responsiveness and reliability.

High-Purity Thermal Barrier Coatings Offer 

More Durable Protection for High-Temperature 

Turbine Components—Working in cooperation 

with NETL, collaborators at the University of 

Pittsburgh and Praxair Surface Technologies have 

found that thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) of 

yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) with low amounts of 

aluminum and silicon oxides produce top coats 

resistant to sintering in high-temperature turbines, 

even after exposure to temperatures as high as 

1,500 °C for 100 hours. Coatings prepared from YSZ 

of conventional purity generally undergo 

significant sintering at temperatures as low as 

1,000 °C. Sintering causes undesirable structural 

changes in turbines, undermining the adherence 

and thermal protection afforded by the top coat. 

The TBCs were applied to traditional bond coats 

using the relatively low-cost air plasma spray 

method. 

Q+A 

Q What is the difference between absorp and adsorp ?

ASorbents are materials that take in or hold a liquid 

or gas. One application of sorbents is to capture CO2

through the mechanisms of absorption, adsorption, 

or both. 

Absorption is a widely used word that refers to a 

situation where a material is taken into a medium. One 

example of this is the absorption of water by a sponge. 

Adsorption is a specialized technical term referring 

to a situation where molecules or particles collect on 

the surface of a medium. Velcro demonstrates how 

the adsorption process works. When placed together, 

the loop side “collects” on the surface of the hook 

side forming a seemingly lasting bond; however, the 

connection is only temporary and the two sides can 

be pulled apart into their original forms. NETL uses 

adsorption to capture CO2 from gas mixtures during 

energy generation processes. 
60

Technology Transfer

Communication, Collaboration, & Commercialization
Technology transfer is central to 

NETL’s mission and to strengthening 

America’s role as a leader in science 

and technology. When research 

makes the leap from laboratory 

to marketplace, it contributes 

to solving the complex energy 

challenges faced today by our 

Nation and the world. 

NETL dedicates significant effort 

to transferring information and 

technologies domestically to 

maximize returns to the American 

people, and internationally to 

aid such multinational causes 

as the curbing of greenhouse 

gas emissions. Through patents, 

licensing, publications, policy 

discussions, and international 

partnerships, NETL is sharing its 

results and setting new trends in 

invention and innovation.

61

Facing page—NETL metallographer Paul Danielson reveals an in-depth 

complete microstructure of a metallic alloy.
62

Technology Transfer

Communication, Collaboration, & Commercialization

NETL Patents Laser Spark Plug—NETL researchers 

received Patent No. 7,421,166 for a novel laser spark 

plug ignition system developed at the Laboratory. 

The system uses fiber optics to transmit low-power 

laser pulses to the engine cylinder, then amplifies 

these pulses using a laser amplifier, or laser spark 

plug, located at the cylinder. The NETL spark plug 

has a compact profile and is designed to replace 

existing spark plugs in power production or pipeline 

pumping systems. Laser sparks allow these systems 

to operate at higher efficiency with lower emissions.

NETL Method Produces Low-Cost CO2 Capture 

Sorbent—NETL also has been awarded U.S. Patent 

No. 7,288,136 for a method of producing amineenriched sorbents with a high capacity for CO2

capture. In only a few steps, and without involving 

expensive reactants or solvents, the sorbents can 

capture CO2 at temperatures ranging 25–65  ̊C. The 

sorbents are then regenerated by heating them to 

90  ̊C, and little or no degradation occurs. Low-cost 

advantages afforded by the higher CO2 capture 

capacity and low energy cycle requirements make 

the long-lived sorbents suitable for large-scale 

processes, such as power plant emissions streams.

Powerspan Corporation Licenses NETL Carbon 

Capture Technology—Powerspan Corporation 

has licensed a novel NETL process that uses an 

ammonia-based solution to scrub CO2 and other 

acid gases (primarily sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide) 

from flue gas. The spent solution can be regenerated 

to release sequestration-ready CO2 and then recycled 

to the scrubbing unit. Powerspan has begun testing 

a 1-megawatt electrical pilot unit constructed at 

FirstEnergy Corporation’s R.E. Burger Plant near 

Shadyside, OH, to demonstrate the technology. 

The license supports a broader Powerspan goal 

of removing all components from flue gas. 

Compared to existing technology, the process could 

significantly reduce the capital cost and energy load 

associated with CO2 capture.

NETL Licenses Emissions-Control Patent to 

Jupiter Oxygen Corporation—NETL has signed an

exclusive license with Jupiter Oxygen Corporation for 

the Integrated Pollutant Removal (IPRTM) technology, 

which will allow conventional coal-fired power 

plants to produce a CO2-rich, sequestration-ready 

flue gas with greater fuel efficiency and lower 

overall cost. Invented by NETL and Jupiter under a 

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, 

the patent represents a combination of Jupiter’s 

oxy-fuel combustion expertise with NETL expertise 

in recovering energy from the process of CO2

purification and compression. The IPR technology 

is being tested at a Jupiter facility in Hammond, IN, 

to collect data, demonstrate stable operation of a 

full-scale (15 megawatt) oxy-fuel combustion burn, 

and quantify energy recovered from combustion gas 

when producing CO2 for sequestration. The process 

was described at the 9th International Conference 

on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies held in 

Washington, DC, in December 2008. 

Mercury Control Technology Commercialized—

Alstom Power has provided its MerCureTM activated 

carbon injection system for removing mercury to 

five Pennsylvania coal-fired power stations operated 

by Reliant Energy, Inc. NETL cofunded several 

cooperative agreements to field-test the technology 

under the Office of Fossil Energy’s Innovations for 

Existing Plants program. Employing a proprietary 

carbon-based sorbent for mercury control, MerCure 

has consistently demonstrated a greater than 

90 percent reduction in baseline stack mercury 

emissions—with lower sorbent injection rates than 

comparable technologies. MerCure can be used for 

the full range of coal types and air pollution control 

systems. The sale increases by more than 10 percent 

the total existing U.S. power plant capacity that 

uses activated carbon injection systems for mercury 

emissions control.

Patents and Commercialization
63

the software speeds up technology development 

and offers opportunities to achieve aggressive 

environmental, performance, and economic goals 

for advanced fossil energy power generation 

systems.

NETL Researchers Lead International 

Collaboration on CO2 Brinefield 

Sequestration—NETL researchers led a 

collaboration with West Virginia University, 

Clarkson University, and the University of Utrecht 

in the Netherlands that combined laboratory 

experiments, computations, and theory to 

develop more accurate and reliable equations for 

describing the flow of liquids through porous rock. 

This work will help improve the injection of CO2

into brine-saturated geologic sequestration sites, 

as well as the injection of water into oilfields to 

increase petroleum production. 

Asia-Pacific Partnership in Clean Development 

and Climate Participate in U.S. Peer 

Review—Approximately 90 delegates from 

Asia-Pacific Partnership (APP) member countries 

participated in the third U.S. Peer Review of 

Coal-Fired Generation in Sheboygan, WI. The 

NETL-supported review was part of a series 

during which participants shared information and 

experiences that will help improve the operational 

and environmental performance of existing coalfired power plants within the seven APP countries: 

Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, the Republic 

of Korea, and the United States. 

U.S.-China Science and Technology 

Symposium Focuses on Carbon Capture and 

Storage—The second U.S.-China CO2 Emissions 

Control Science & Technology Symposium, held 

in Hangzhou, China, drew 127 participants from 

37 organizations representing industry, academia, 

national laboratories, and government agencies 

in the two countries. The number of participants 

was nearly double the expected attendance. 

Jointly organized and chaired by NETL and China’s 

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the 

event focused on carbon capture and storage 

under the auspices of Annex IV of the Protocol on 

Cooperation between DOE and MOST. 

Sharing Our Expertise

NETL and United Kingdom Improve Virtual 

Power Plant Simulation

During a three-year collaborative effort, 

researchers from NETL and the United Kingdom 

have developed compatible software platforms for 

virtual process and equipment co-simulations of 

advanced power plants. An agreement between 

DOE and the UK Department of Energy and 

Climate Change led to the accomplishment.

NETL’s Advanced Process Engineering 

Co-Simulator (APECS) project and the UK Virtual 

Plant Demonstration Model (VPDM) project 

capitalized on the process industry CAPE-OPEN 

software standard to produce plug-and-play 

interoperable tools that combine power plant 

simulation with high-fidelity computational fluid 

dynamics models of key equipment items, such as 

gasifiers, combustors, gas turbines, heat recovery 

steam generators, and fuel cells. (See image 

above.)

The technology was demonstrated by 

co-simulating the 2,000-megawatt conventional 

coal-fired power station located near the town of 

Didcot in southeast England. The co-simulation 

enabled process engineers to optimize overall 

power plant performance by helping them 

analyze complex fluid flows, heat and mass 

transfer, and chemical reactions that impact 

overall power plant design and operation. By 

allowing a rigorous analysis of the entire plant, 
64

Technology Transfer

Communication, Collaboration, & Commercialization

NETL-Led Delegation Highlights Beneficial 

Technologies for India Power Plants—At 

the request of the U.S. Agency for International 

Development, known as USAID, NETL staff organized 

a delegation of 15 U.S. technology and service 

providers to participate in the Power Plant Summit 

2008 held in New Delhi, India. The delegation 

identified opportunities for poorly performing utility 

plants in India to improve efficiencies by as much as 

five percent with methods having payback periods 

of a few months or less. If applied throughout the 

country, the improved plants would avoid millions 

of tons of CO2 and other emissions annually while 

reducing costs and increasing power output. 

NETL Hosts International Visitors—During the 

course of 2008, NETL welcomed international visitors 

interested in reviewing the Laboratory’s research 

programs and discussing means for transferring U.S. 

energy expertise and technologies overseas. 

• Ambassadors to the U.S. from Sweden, Slovakia, 

and Denmark participated in a tour of NETL 

facilities, presentations relating to energy 

strategies, and a round-table discussion on 

technology development and its implications for 

climate change. 

• NETL key staff briefed a high-level delegation from 

the European Commission on the Laboratory’s 

research, particularly programs and facilities 

dealing with carbon sequestration. Discussion 

during the meeting identified several potential 

areas for cooperation. 

• Senior officials of the Geological Survey of Israel 

visited NETL for a second discussion of potential 

research and development cooperation related 

to NETL-managed coal and power programs. 

Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that 

uses significant amounts of coal to generate 

electric power. Israel is considering U.S. coal-based 

technologies—especially integrated gasification 

combined cycle (IGCC) power plants and carbon 

capture and storage—as part of a clean energy 

strategy to meet future electricity demand. 

Noteworthy Publications

Springer Publishes NETL Reference Book on 

Inorganic Membranes—Springer Publishing 

Company has released a single-source reference text, 

Inorganic Membranes for Energy and Environmental 

Applications, edited by NETL scientist Arun C. Bose. 

The book provides information on technologies, 

research areas, and prospectuses associated with 

oxygen and hydrogen membranes for advanced 

energy processes. Bose coauthored a chapter 

describing ion transport membranes for gas 

separation, and other researchers at NETL and the 

University of Pittsburgh contributed a chapter 

describing the influence of gasification on metalbased hydrogen transport mechanisms and 

predicting corrosion and classical poisoning 

phenomena with thermodynamic models. Started 

modestly in the mid-1980s, NETL’s membrane 

research has expanded to include a broad array of 

technologies. NETL’s successes have gained the 

Laboratory international recognition in professional 

forums dedicated to advancing membrane science. 

Membrane technologies can be applied to improve 

the cost and performance of such advanced physical 

and chemical processes as gas separation and 

reactor operation with simultaneous product 

removal.

Coauthors Make Best Seller List at American 

Chemical Society—The book Ultraclean 

Transportation Fuel, coedited by NETL researcher 

Isaac K. Gamwo and former NETL researcher Olayinka 

I. Ogunsola, who is now a program manager with the 

Office of Fossil Energy, is listed among the top ten 

best-selling American Chemical Society (ACS) 

publications. Gamwo and several other NETL 

researchers authored multiple chapters for the book, 

which presents outstanding research on topics in 

synthetic and hydrocarbon fuels. The Publications 

Division of ACS maintains a list of more than 

500 books and is viewed around the world by 

scientists as the best single source for published 

information on chemical research. 
65

NETL Researchers Coedit Special Issue of 

Catalysis Today—NETL researchers Dushyant 

Shekhawat and David Berry served as guest editors 

for a special issue of the Elsevier publication 

Catalysis Today (Vol. 136, Nos. 3-4), dealing with the 

reforming of liquid fuels for fuel cell applications. 

The special issue includes 14 of the best refereed 

papers presented by researchers from Korea, 

Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States at a related 

symposium during the 234th National Meeting 

of the American Chemical Society. Liquid fuels, 

such as gasoline and diesel, are globally attractive 

feedstock for fuel cell applications because of 

their existing infrastructure, high well-to-wheel 

efficiencies, and high energy densities. 

NETL Researcher Serves as Guest Editor of 

Scientific Journal—Evan Granite contributed the 

preface and served as guest editor for a special 

issue of Main Group Chemistry (Vol. 7, No. 3), 

dedicated to the cleanup of mercury and other 

trace elements in fuel gas and postcombustion 

emissions. The issue captures the best papers 

presented during four sessions dealing with 

the topic at the 235th National Meeting of the 

American Chemical Society. Co-organized and 

cochaired by Granite, the sessions covered the 

control of the trace elements mercury, arsenic, 

and selenium in coal-derived gas streams, the 

fate of arsenic and selenium in flue and fuel gas, 

and the online detection of mercury in flue gas. 

Other NETL researchers contributed a paper 

describing the results of an investigation into the 

ability of palladium-alumina sorbents to adsorb 

mercury from fuel gas. Mercury absorption was 

greatest at 204  ̊C when there were low amounts 

of palladium, and absorption was lowest with 

a higher temperature and a higher palladium 

concentration.

American Scientific Publishers Enlists NETL 

Expertise on Nanotechnology—NETL researcher 

Christopher Matranga authored a chapter in 

the American Scientific Publishers publication, 

Chemistry of Carbon Nanotubes. “Gas Interactions 

with Carbon Nanotubes” describes the use 

of carbon nanotubes for separating CO2 and 

hydrogen. The three-volume publication includes 

state-of-the-art reviews by leading experts from 

across the globe. Matranga and others at NETL 

have been actively applying nanotechnology 

to improve synthesis gas conversion catalysts 

and CO2 separation membranes for fossil energy 

systems.
66 Celebrating Success

Awards & Recognition
NETL’s tradition of 

excellence and record 

of accomplishments 

were widely recognized 

in 2008. NETL, its staff, 

and its partners were 

acknowledged for 

scientific contributions, 

technology development, 

and excellence in 

communication. NETL is 

proud that our work is 

making substantial and 

beneficial contributions to 

America’s energy economy.

67

Facing page—NETL scientist Ranjani Siriwardane working with a CO2

sorbent in one of the Laboratory’s two x-ray photoelectron spectrometers.
NETL Technology Transfer Achievements 

Recognized—The Federal Laboratory Consortium 

presented three 2008 Excellence in Technology 

Transfer Awards to NETL for successfully making 

available new commercially relevant technologies to 

the marketplace:

• At the national level, NETL received an award 

for licensing its patented high-temperature, 

palladium-based catalyst formulations to Johnson 

Matthey. The catalysts will be used to capture 

mercury, arsenic, and selenium at various stages in 

the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) 

process.

• NETL won a second award at the national level in 

recognition of the Laboratory’s sharing of a patentpending chemical engineering software—the 

Coal Chemistry Model—for modeling gasification 

processes. The module is available through the 

commercial software FLUENT. It was most recently 

used for gasifier design in collaboration with 

Southern Company and Kellogg Brown & Root. 

• The patented Thief Process, which won the 

award at the mid-Atlantic regional level, has 

been licensed to Nalco-Mobotec for commercial 

development. The Thief Process extracts partially 

combusted coal from the furnace of a coal-fired 

power boiler for re-injection downstream into flue 

gas ductwork. Pilot-scale tests have shown that the 

technology’s sorbent capacities are comparable to 

those of commercially available activated carbons, 

but because they are significantly less expensive, 

the novel sorbents promise to reduce the cost of 

mercury removal from flue gas. 

Two NETL Technologies Earn R&D 100 Awards—

NETL researchers accepted two 2008 R&D 100 

Awards in Chicago, IL, on October 16, 2008. The first 

award recognized NETL’s suite of palladium sorbents 

designed to capture mercury, arsenic, selenium, and 

phosphorus from high-temperature fuel gas. NETL 

has licensed the sorbent to Johnson Matthey for 

application in the IGCC process. The second award 

recognized the Advanced Process Engineering 

Co-Simulator (APECS)/ANSYS® Engineering 

Knowledge ManagerTM (EKM). APECS/EKM decreases 

the time, cost, and technical risks associated with 

developing technologies for future high-efficiency, 

near-zero emission plants. NETL developed APECS/

EKM in partnership with ANSYS, ALSTOM Power, 

Aspen Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University. 

NETL Researcher Recognized with Percy 

W. Nicholls Award—The American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has selected NETL 

researcher George Richards to receive its 2009 Percy 

W. Nicholls Award for “notable scientific or industrial 

achievement in the field of solid fuels.” The award 

is presented jointly each year by the Fuels and 

Combustion Technologies Division of ASME and the 

Coal Division of the American Institute of Mining,

Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. Richards 

conducts research in thermal science and energy 

production, with emphasis on combustion dynamics. 

As an NETL Focus Area Leader, he provides technical 

direction for research groups investigating turbine 

combustion, CO2 capture, high-temperature fuel cells, 

fuel processing, and stationary reciprocating engines. 

The presentation will take place during the 34th 

International Technical Conference on Coal Utilization 

& Fuel Systems in Clearwater, FL.

Atlas Wins 2008 Grand Award for Publication 

Excellence—NETL’s Carbon Sequestration Atlas of 

the United States & Canada was among 120 Grand 

Award winners selected from nearly 4,500 entries 

in 2008 by editors at Communications Concepts, 

Inc., publisher of Writing That Works, an authoritative 

monthly newsletter on practical writing, editing, and 

communications. Winners in this 20th annual Grand 

Award for Publication Excellence (APEX) competition 

were selected based on excellence in graphic design, 

editorial content, and overall communications 

effectiveness. Judged a “first-rate effort” in the 

One-of-a-Kind Publications category, the Atlas

won kudos for richness of data and exceptional 

visuals, including effective info-graphics and 

clear, understandable copy. The Atlas represents 

a coordinated effort by experts from industry, 

academia, and local, State, and provincial 

governments working as participants in the Regional 

Carbon Sequestration Partnerships to assess U.S. and 

Canadian carbon sources and potential sinks.

68 Celebrating Success

Awards & Recognition
American Chemical Society Applauds Field 

Screening Instrument—The American Chemical 

Society, the world’s largest scientific society, has 

honored developers of the X-WandTM analyzer 

with its 2007 Western Region Industrial Innovation 

Award. Developed at Western Research Institute 

in cooperation with NETL, the device detects 

common soil and water contaminants and is 

the first low-cost, portable field instrument that 

can quickly detect halogenated volatile organic 

compounds with a sensitivity comparable to that 

of laboratory instrumentation. The X-Wand can be 

used to perform ASTM International’s Method D 

7203, a standard test method for screening both 

water and soil for trichloroethylene, a chlorinated 

hydrocarbon. A patent is pending for X-Wand and 

discussions to license the technology are currently 

underway to commercially offer the product. 

Partnership Receives Prestigious Award for 

Environmental Stewardship—On November 

17, 2008, the Energy & Environmental Research 

Center at the University of North Dakota received a 

Chairman’s Stewardship Award from the Interstate 

Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) for 

leadership in technology development as part 

of the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, 

one of seven Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnerships managed by NETL. PCOR field tests 

will demonstrate the effectiveness of using CO2 for 

enhanced hydrocarbon production, exhibit costeffective use of oil reservoirs and lignite coal seams 

for safe CO2 storage, and establish a means by 

which carbon markets can facilitate more recovery 

of oil and gas from the region. Representing the 

highest IOGCC honor conferred for exemplary 

achievement in environmental stewardship, 

the award was presented by Chairman Brad 

Henry, Governor of Oklahoma, at the IOGCC 

Annual Meeting in Santa Fe, NM. The IOGCC is a 

multistate government agency that promotes the 

conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil 

and natural gas resources while protecting health, 

safety, and the environment. 

IntelliServe Network Wins World Oil Award—

The IntelliServe Network won the Best Drilling 

Technology Award at the World Oil Awards 

Ceremony in Houston, TX, on October 17, 2007. 

Incorporating IntelliPipe®, a revolutionary drill 

pipe with built-in telemetry developed at Novatek 

Engineering, Inc., Provo, UT, and Grant Prideco, Inc., 

Houston, through a cooperative agreement with 

NETL, the technology enables operators to obtain 

real-time downhole data at unprecedented speed 

and send commands to measurement-whiledrilling tools. The Best Drilling Technology Award 

recognizes tools and processes that have had a 

significant impact on industry either onshore or 

offshore. 

NETL Partner Wins Inaugural India Power 

Award—The Indian Council of Power Utilities, an 

umbrella organization of India’s power utilities, 

presented a 2008 India Power Award to officials of 

the Centre for Power Efficiency and Environmental 

Protection (CenPEEP) for outstanding efforts 

leading to the reduction of greenhouse gas 

emissions from India’s coal-fired power plants. 

Established in 2008, these awards recognize 

significant achievements and contributions by 

organizations and individuals in India’s power 

sector. To date, CenPEEP has sustainably reduced 

and/or avoided a total of approximately 

75 million tons of CO2 emissions from the sector. 

CenPEEP functions as a resource center for 

acquisition, demonstration, and dissemination 

of state-of-the-art technologies and practices 

that optimize the performance of power stations 

in India. NETL provides technical assistance to 

CenPEEP as part of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution 

Prevention Project implemented under the 1994 

Protocol between India and the United States 

by the New Delhi Mission of the U.S. Agency for 

International Development. CenPEEP previously 

received a 2003 Climate Protection Award from 

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and 

a 2002 Climate Technology Award from the 

Climate Technology Initiative for significant 

accomplishment in promoting climate-friendly 

technologies. 

69
NATCARB Produces “Best Paper of the Year”—

Researchers at the University of Kansas, who led 

development of the National Carbon Sequestration 

Relational Database and Geographic Information 

System (NATCARB) in cooperation with NETL, received 

the 2008 Geoscapes Best Paper of the Year Award from 

the Journal of Map and Geography Libraries/Geoscapes. 

The journal editors chose the paper, titled “The NatCarb 

Geoportal: Linking Distributed Data from the Carbon 

Sequestration Regional Partnerships,” for its public 

policy implications and relevance to the energy issues 

facing the world today. 

Project Produces Best Paper at Society of 

Exploration Geophysicists—A paper describing 

the use of multi-component seismic data for 

mapping gas hydrate accumulations in the Gulf of 

Mexico was selected for the Society of Exploration 

Geophysicists’ (SEG) Best Paper Award. The technical 

paper was one of hundreds published by the SEG in 

The Leading Edge during 2006. Representing cuttingedge hydrate research being performed under the 

Office of Fossil Energy’s Methane Hydrate Research 

and Development program, the new technique, 

developed in cooperation with NETL at the University 

of Texas’s Bureau of Economic Geology, combines 

ocean-bottom cable, chirp-sonar, and new rock 

physics models to estimate the concentration of 

hydrates in near seafloor sediments and ultimately to 

assess future hydrate resource potential. The award 

was presented at an honors and awards ceremony 

during the 77th Annual Meeting of the SEG in San 

Antonio, TX. 

Tool Measures Permeability, Garners Two Major 

Awards—Dr. Cynthia Dinwiddie received the 2007 

Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award from the 

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and 

Petroleum Engineers and the 2007 Alfred Noble 

Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers 

for her paper describing a portable tool designed to 

measure the permeability of various types of geologic 

strata in situ. Developed as part of an NETL-managed 

project at Clemson University, the device measures 

permeability while inserted into a small hole drilled 

into a rock outcrop. The tool is particularly useful 

where outcrops cannot be sampled for traditional 

permeability measurement techniques in the 

laboratory.

70 Celebrating Success

Awards & Recognition
About NETL

The National Energy Technology Laboratory is 

owned and operated by the U.S. Department of 

Energy. NETL’s efforts are focused on advancing 

energy options to fuel our economy, strengthen our 

security, and improve our environment.

To accomplish this mission, NETL draws on 

1,200 Federal and support-contractor employees to 

implement and manage a broad spectrum of 

research programs. NETL conducts more than 

1,300 research activities in the United States and in 

more than 40 foreign countries.

NETL is a single organization comprising three 

research facilities located in Albany, OR; Morgantown, 

WV; and Pittsburgh, PA. NETL also has offices in 

Fairbanks, AK, and Sugar Land, TX. The Laboratory’s 

activities are primary funded through DOE’s Office 

of Fossil Energy, but NETL also conducts work for 

other DOE offices and Federal agencies.

About This Report

2008 NETL Accomplishments is a collection of the 

most significant activities completed by the 

Laboratory’s Federal and support-contract 

researchers between October 1, 2007, and December 

31, 2008.

Previous accomplishment s rep or t s have 

documented the Laboratory’s activities on a fiscal 

year basis. Beginning with the 2008 report, NETL 

has adjusted its reporting period to reflect the 

calendar year. Starting in 2009, accomplishments 

realized between January 1 and December 31 of 

the reporting period will be included.

Find a link to this report at:

www.netl.doe.gov/publications

DOWNLOAD
Printed June 30, 2009

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