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

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

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 2
3 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

For 200 years, America’s energy demands have grown at a remarkable 

rate. As we have moved from an agricultural society, through industrial 

expansion, and into the current technological era, our society’s 

transformation has depended on reliable, affordable energy supplies.

Energy reliance is not limited to the United States. The worldwide 

need for on-demand electricity, modern transportation, and industrial 

power is driving a steep rise in global energy consumption. By 2030, we will collectively consume nearly 

double the energy we use today. 

In this climate, U.S. energy security is critical. It demands our extracting the maximum available energy from 

our nation’s coal, natural gas, and oil supplies and realizing a higher contribution from nuclear and renewable 

energy. It also means producing and using alternative liquid fuels and gaining access to such emerging resources 

as methane hydrate.

America must couple its energy consumption with environmental responsibility. Through advanced 

technologies, we can slash greenhouse gases and other air emissions, minimize water consumption and 

pollution, and fi nd benefi cial uses for the by-products of energy production.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is one of three Department of Energy national laboratories 

that address the marketplace challenges of meeting our nation’s energy demands. As the only laboratory with 

fossil energy as its principal focus, NETL applies basic science and engineering to resolve the environmental, 

supply, and reliability constraints of producing and using fossil resources.

Our onsite researchers solve complex problems in energy system dynamics, geologic and environmental 

challenges, advanced materials and processes, and computational and basic sciences. NETL seeks solutions 

to an even wider range of energy challenges through partnerships with industry, academia, and other national 

laboratories, and through contracted extramural research. 

America’s challenges in creating and maintaining a secure energy supply are formidable, but they are also 

surmountable. NETL continues to contribute solutions that bring positive change to our nation’s energy 

structure. I am pleased and proud to be part of such an important endeavor and to work with exceptional 

colleagues who invest themselves in addressing the energy needs of the nation and the world.

Carl O. Bauer

Director

National Energy Technology Laboratory

rate. As we have moved from an agricultural society, through industrial 

power is driving a steep rise in global energy consumption. By 2030, we will collectively consume nearly 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 4
5 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTS

en·er·gy [ énnərjee ] the capacity of a system to do work .................................... 6

Coal—America’s Most Abundant Energy Resource ................................................................... 8

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

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

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

 Air Quality ......................................................................................................................................................12

 Coal Utilization By-products ..........................................................................................................................13

 Technologies for Future Energy Plants ..................................................................................................................14

 Near-Zero-Emissions Technologies ................................................................................................................14

 Heat Engines ...................................................................................................................................................15

 Fuel Cells ........................................................................................................................................................17

 Carbon Sequestration ......................................................................................................................................19

 Hydrogen ........................................................................................................................................................20

 Materials .........................................................................................................................................................21

 Clean Coal Demonstration Projects .......................................................................................................................23

 Modeling and Simulation ......................................................................................................................................24

Natural Gas and Oil—Vital Resources, Innovative Technologies ............................................. 26

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

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

 Environmental Solutions ........................................................................................................................................34

 Energy Infrastructure .............................................................................................................................................35

 Modeling and Simulation ......................................................................................................................................36

Completing the Energy Cycle ..................................................................................................... 38

 Offi ce of Energy Effi ciency and Renewable Energy .............................................................................................39

 Offi ce of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability ...........................................................................................41

 Offi ce of Engineering and Construction Management ..........................................................................................43

Sharing Our Energy Expertise .................................................................................................... 44

Spotlighting Our Contributions.................................................................................................. 46

 Awards .................................................................................................................................................................47

 Noteworthy Publications ........................................................................................................................................49

 Patents .................................................................................................................................................................50
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 6

America’s energy bounty runs our robust 

economy. Energy drives the technologies that 

improve our productivity. Energy empowers 

industry and business to produce, transport, 

and market the goods and services that comprise our gross 

domestic product. Energy supports our municipalities, 

underpins our infrastructure, and provides our citizens with 

food, shelter, employment, and leisure. This capacity to 

do work has built our nation into a sophisticated society 

in which we enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of 

living and a position of global leadership.

The United States derives its energy from a variety of 

feedstocks—fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewables such 

as solar, wind, hydrogenation, and biofuels. All are needed 

to meet America’s continually growing demand for clean, 

reliable energy. The right mix of feedstocks, based on the 

needs of each area of our nation, is the most effective way to 

produce the power we need to maintain our quality of life.

Of these energy sources, America relies most heavily on 

fossil fuels. Fossil resources provide 85 percent of the 

energy we consume today, and tomorrow’s energy picture 

will be much the same. Despite advancements in renewable 

technologies and the potential resurgence of nuclear power, 

projections through 2030 show only a slight increase 

in energy percentage from these contributors. In the 

foreseeable future, fossil fuels will continue their dominant 

role in powering our nation.

The United States is endowed with abundant fossil energy 

resources. Our domestic reserves include one of the 

world’s largest oil shale deposits and potentially trillions 

of cubic feet of gas hydrate along our continental shelf. 

Combine these with our conventional coal, oil, and natural 

gas resources, and it becomes clear that the United States 

stands on a strong fossil fuel foundation.

America’s fossil endowment extends signifi cant benefi ts 

to each of its citizens, but it also poses a number of 

challenges. Environmental considerations, such as impacts 

to land, air, and water, demand that we manage our 

resources responsibly. Maintaining our nation’s energy 

security requires that we strike the optimal balance between 

domestic and imported supplies, diversify our energy 

portfolio, and modernize and protect our transmission and 

distribution systems.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) 

is contributing to U.S. successes in meeting these 

environmental and energy security challenges. Through 

applied science, NETL transforms the possible into the 

actual by developing technologies that produce clean, 

effi cient energy from fossil fuels. We explore ways to 

maximize our nation’s conventional and unconventional 

fossil resources, and we support national efforts to 

modernize and protect our energy transmission and 

distribution infrastructure.

Through onsite research, partnerships with industry and 

academia, and external projects, NETL aids today’s U.S. 

power plants in reducing emissions, conserving water, and 

recycling combustion by-products. Tomorrow’s energy 

facilities will produce some of the cleanest, most effi cient 

energy in the world as a direct result of NETL’s research 

into advanced materials, fuel cells and turbines, hydrogen 

and electricity co-production, and carbon dioxide capture 

and sequestration.

NETL and its research partners are also working to diversify 

the U.S. portfolio of domestic energy feedstocks and improve 

the effi ciency of our nation’s energy production. NETL 

technologies improve access to complex and challenging 

oil and natural gas deposits. We explore critical emerging 

resources, such as methane hydrate, and we research 

alternative liquid fuels, ultra-supercritical power plant 

mechanisms, and other unconventional technologies.

NETL also leverages its assets to benefi t the American 

public by teaming with various programs within the 

Department of Energy to develop a more reliable energy 

delivery system and advanced technologies for energy 

conservation. Together, we are creating a shared national 

vision of a modern electric grid and accelerating grid 

modernization, aiding the nation in responding to national 

emergencies involving the energy infrastructure, and 

supporting the innovation of technologies that conserve 

energy in residential and commercial structures.

en·er·gy [ énnərjee ] the capacity of a system to do work
7 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NETL’s accomplishments are the result of research 

activities that foster the inventive genius of America’s 

citizens and industries. The laboratory’s successes 

demonstrate real and measurable progress toward national 

energy security, a cleaner environment, and a robust 

American economy. Some of the most important programs 

NETL implements are FutureGen, the Clean Coal Power 

Initiative, the Methane Hydrate Research and Development 

Program, and the Modern Grid Initiative.

• FutureGen is a $1 billion industry-government 

partnership to design, build, and operate a coalgasifi cation-based near-zero-emission electricity 

and hydrogen production plant. The 275-megawatt 

prototype plant will serve as a large-scale engineering 

laboratory for testing advanced power, carbon capture, 

and coal-to-hydrogen technologies. A direct response 

to the President’s Climate Change and Hydrogen Fuels 

Initiatives, the FutureGen plant will employ cutting-edge 

technology to make it the cleanest coal-fueled power 

plant in the world.

• The Clean Coal Power Initiative is a cost-shared, 

large-scale technology demonstration program between 

government and industry. Its goal is to accelerate 

the commercialization of advanced, affordable, and 

environmentally sound technologies. Under this initiative, 

the nation’s power generators, equipment manufacturers, 

and coal producers help identify the most critical 

barriers to coal’s use in the private sector and select and 

demonstrate technologies that will economically meet 

environmental standards while increasing the effi ciency 

and reliability of coal power plants.

• The Methane Hydrate Research and Development 

Program is helping the energy and scientifi c 

communities understand the nature and potential of 

naturally occurring methane hydrate. In a collaborative 

effort, researchers from industry, academia, DOE 

national laboratories, and other federal agencies are 

exploring hydrate-related hazards to conventional 

deepwater oil and gas exploration, documenting the role 

methane hydrate plays in environmental processes, and 

researching the potential of methane hydrate as a source 

of domestic natural gas. 

• The Modern Grid Initiative (MGI) is developing a 

shared vision for the modernization of the U.S. electric 

grid and creating a fl agship government-industry 

partnership to invest signifi cant funds in grid-technology 

demonstration projects. MGI-funded projects will 

develop an integrated suite of technologies and 

processes to move the grid toward modernization. 

Projects will address key barriers and establish 

scalability, applicability, and a clear path to full 

deployment for solutions that offer compelling 

benefi ts. Each project will involve a full spectrum 

of national and regional stakeholders and multiple 

funding parties.

The following pages review NETL’s accomplishments 

during the past fi scal year and illustrate our commitment 

to securing clean, effi cient, reliable power for America’s 

energy future. 

7

2006

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

About NETL

The National Energy Technology Laboratory is 

owned and operated by the U.S. Department 

of Energy (DOE). As the only DOE national 

laboratory dedicated specifi cally to fossil 

energy research, NETL’s efforts are focused 

on resolving the environmental, supply, and 

reliability constraints of producing and using 

America’s fossil fuel resources.

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 1,800 onsite and 

contracted activities in the United States and in 

more than 40 foreign countries.

NETL is a single organization supported 

by facilities in Albany, OR; Fairbanks, AK; 

Morgantown, WV; Pittsburgh, PA; and Tulsa, 

OK. The laboratory’s activities are primarily 

funded through DOE’s Offi ce of Fossil Energy, 

but NETL also conducts work for other DOE 

offi ces and federal agencies.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 8

COAL—America’s Most 

Abundant Energy Resource

America’s energy bounty begins 

with coal. One quarter of the 

world’s coal reserves are found 

within the United States, and the 

energy content of our nation’s 

coal resources exceeds that of all 

the world’s known recoverable oil. 

Coal also provides the foundation 

for our electric power industry, 

supplying more than half of the 

electricity consumed by Americans. 

Yet, this “black diamond” presents 

an environmental challenge. 

Concerns over greenhouse gases, 

trace mercury emissions, and 

microscopic particles are driving 

the development of twenty-fi rstcentury clean-coal technologies. 

NETL is committed to improving 

the economy, effi ciency, and 

environmental impact of our 

nation’s existing coal-based 

power plants and to developing 

the innovations that will build 

tomorrow’s near-zero-emission 

power facilities.

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 8
9 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Mercury

NETL manages the largest research program in 

the country for studying fossil-combustion-based 

mercury emissions, providing increasingly effective 

mercury-control options that can meet existing and 

future regulations, such as the Clean Air Mercury 

Rule. Current research is focused on pilot- and 

full-scale fi eld testing of advanced mercury-control 

technologies at operating coal-fi red power plants, as 

well as the continued development of novel concepts 

to expand our fundamental understanding of mercury 

emissions and their control.

ALSTOM Completes Mercury Testing with Excellent 

Results—ALSTOM Power Inc. completed full-scale 

mercury testing at its second test site, Basin Electric’s Leland 

Olds station in Stanton, ND, as part of an NETL-managed 

project. The 220-megawatt electric unit is equipped with 

an electrostatic precipitator and burns North Dakota lignite. 

Testing was conducted using ALSTOM’s activated carbonbased sorbent, Mer-CleanTM, which promotes oxidation and 

capture of mercury. Long-term test results at the site indicate 

that Mer-Clean achieved 90 percent mercury removal at 

low injection rates and relatively high fl ue gas temperatures. 

These results are particularly signifi cant because previous 

activated carbon research suggested that performance 

decreases at higher temperatures.

Mercury-Control Field Testing Completed at TXU’s 

Monticello Station—The University of North Dakota 

Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and 

URA Corporation completed mercury-control fi eld testing 

at TXU Energy’s Monticello Station in Mt. Pleasant, TX. 

The objective of this NETL-managed project is to cost 

effectively oxidize elemental mercury in lignite combustion 

gases, followed by capture in a wet scrubber. The project 

involves mercury oxidation upstream of systems equipped 

with an electrostatic precipitator followed by wet fl ue gas 

desulfurization. Monticello Station fi res a 50/50 blend of 

Texas lignite and Powder River Basin coals. During longterm testing, calcium bromide was added to the coal feed to 

enhance mercury oxidation and capture. A calcium bromide 

injection resulted in 65 percent mercury removal. A highercalcium bromide injection averaged 86 percent mercury 

removal. Results from this project will help researchers 

develop technology options that will enable the current fl eet 

of coal-fi red power plants to cost effectively comply with the 

Clean Air Mercury Rule.

COAL

Technologies for 

Existing CoalFired Power 

Plants

NETL and its research partners 

develop solutions to address the 

environmental impacts of our 

nation’s existing coal-fi red power 

plants. Research efforts focus 

on cost-effective controls for 

mercury, nitrogen oxides (NOx), 

and fi ne particulate emissions, 

as well as benefi cial uses of 

coal utilization by-products and 

innovations to minimize the 

impact of fossil-fuel use on the 

nation’s water resources.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 10

COAL

Novel Sorbent Shows Promising Mercury Results—As 

part of an NETL-managed project, mercury-control 

testing was completed at Midwest Generation’s Crawford 

Generating Station in Chicago, IL, using C-PAC sorbent 

from Sorbent Technolgies Corporation, Twinsburg, OH. 

C-PAC was developed to control mercury emissions while 

minimizing negative impacts from activated carbon on the 

marketability of fl y ash. Midwest Generation markets its 

fl y ash, so it was important to identify mercury sorbents 

that would allow this revenue stream to continue. Testing 

was conducted on the 234-megawatt electric Unit 7, 

which burns subbituminous coal and is equipped with an 

electrostatic precipitator. Long-term results indicate that CPAC achieved 80 percent mercury removal at an injection 

rate of 4.6 pounds per million actual cubic feet. The fl y 

ash from these tests was saleable, based on an analysis 

conducted by Headwater Inc. of South Jordan, UT.

Sorbent-Enhancement Additives Evaluated—EERC 

has initiated testing to determine if sorbent-enhancement 

additives (SEA) will enhance mercury removal from coal 

combustion gases to achieve a high level of cost-effective 

mercury control. Bench-scale testing shows that powdered 

activated carbon is highly effective in capturing oxidized 

mercury but minimally effective in capturing elemental 

mercury—the dominant form produced by Powder River 

Basin subbituminous coals. This project, funded by NETL, 

tests two SEAs, SEA 1 and SEA 2, which will be tested 

independently and in combination with powdered activated 

carbon injection. The test are being conducted at Kansas 

City Power & Light’s Hawthorn Unit 5, which burns 

Powder River Basin coal, and Louisville Gas & Electric 

Company’s Mill Creek Unit 4, which burns a blend of 

medium- and high-sulfur bituminous coal. Although testing 

is ongoing, results for SEA1 show up to 74 percent mercury 

removal. The results of this effort will be applicable 

to virtually all utilities that burn subbituminous and 

bituminous coals in the United States.

Mercury-Control Field Testing Completed at Miami Fort 

Station—Amended Silicates LLC (a joint venture between 

ADA Technologies Inc. and CH2M HILL) completed longterm fi eld testing of an Amended SilicatesTM sorbent injection 

for mercury control at Cinergy’s (now Duke Energy’s) 

Miami Fort Station Unit 6 in North Bend, OH. Amended 

Silicates is a non-carbon-based sorbent that has been shown 

to be effective in capturing vapor-phased mercury from coalfi red power plants while allowing for the continued sale of 

fl y ash for use in manufacturing concrete. Miami Fort Unit 

6 is a 175-megawatt-rated unit burning eastern bituminous 

coal and equipped with 3 electrostatic precipitators in series. 

Results from long-term testing showed that both Amended 

Silicates sorbent and powdered activated carbon achieved 

about 40 percent mercury removal at injection rates of 5–6 

pounds per million actual cubic feet. Testing was conducted 

in cooperation with NETL.

Field Testing of Sorbent Injection for Mercury Control 

Completed—EERC, in cooperation with NETL, completed 

long-term fi eld testing of sorbent injection for mercury 

control at TXU’s Big Brown Station located in Fairfi eld, 

TX. Three sorbent-based technologies were evaluated: 

injection of activated carbon, enhanced activated carbon 

(produced from DARCO® Hg by EERC using a proprietary 

process), and activated carbon with an additive SEA4 (a 

proprietary technology of EERC). Of these technologies, the 

enhanced activated carbon provided the best balance between 

maximizing mercury removal and minimizing the total 

quantity of injected sorbent. An ongoing investigation seeks 

to explain the mercury-removal variations and root causes for 

balance-of-plant effects observed during the fi eld test.

Mercury-Control Testing Completed at Laramie River 

Station—ADA-ES Inc., Littleton, CO, completed mercurycontrol testing at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Laramie 

River Station Unit 3. Laramie River Station is one of fi ve sites 

being evaluated under an NETL-managed project aimed at 

evaluating sorbent injection for controlling mercury. Laramie 

River Station burns Powder River Basin coal and has a spray 

dryer absorber and electrostatic precipitator for air pollution 

control. Results identifi ed two technologies that have the 

potential to signifi cantly reduce mercury emissions. DARCO®

Hg-LH injected at a concentration of 4.5 pounds per million 

actual cubic feet resulted in mercury removal in excess of 90 

percent. When injected at a rate of 1.6 gallons per hour, KNXTM

achieved mercury removal of 94 percent at a carbon feed rate 

of 4.5 pounds per million actual cubic feet. Baseline mercury 

removal prior to testing was near zero percent. Upcoming fi eld 

tests are planned for AmerenUE’s Labadie Power Plant Unit 2.
11 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NETL Develops Novel Method for Evaluating Water 

Quality—NETL researchers have developed a method 

for more easily evaluating water quality data collected in 

periodic monitoring programs. The Scatterscore Water 

Quality Evaluation yields a quantitative score based on 

all measured variables. These data are often diffi cult to 

evaluate, especially if the number of parameters is high, the 

sampling schedule varies, and/or values differ in orders of 

magnitude. NETL applied its evaluation method at 20 sites 

that control acid mine drainage with coal utilization byproducts. The method indicated improved water quality at 

14 sites, random change at 4 sites, and poorer water quality 

at 2 sites. The methodology is described in the journal, 

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

Brownfi eld Screening Instrument Commercialized—

Bacharach Inc., of New Kensington, PA, is now including 

the patent-pending X-WandTM analyzer in its product line. 

Working in cooperation with NETL, researchers at Western 

Research Institute developed the portable, battery-powered 

device as a quick, low-cost, effective means of locating 

some of the most common soil and water contaminants 

in the United States. The novel fi eld kit employs a heated 

diode sensor (commonly used to fi nd refrigerant leaks) 

to detect halogenated volatile organic compounds in 

soil and water at a sensitivity comparable to that of gas 

chromatography/mass spectroscopy. The X-Wand has 

been approved by the American Society for Materials and 

Testing. The device can streamline testing at brownfi elds, 

contributing to their prompt decontamination.

Water

Thermoelectric energy production is the secondlargest consumer of freshwater in the United States, 

only slightly behind irrigation. To ensure that our 

nation’s energy needs are met while still protecting 

U.S. water supplies, NETL is conducting integrated 

water and energy research. This research is directed 

at developing advanced technologies and concepts to 

reduce the electric power sector’s use of freshwater 

and to innovatively manage and reuse water produced 

from oil extraction, gas extraction, and carbon 

sequestration.

NETL Completes Long-Term Assessment of Freshwater 

Needs for Thermoelectric Power Generation—

NETL analysis shows that freshwater withdrawals by 

thermoelectric power plants could decline by up to 30 

percent nationally between 2005 and 2030. However, water 

consumption, typically through evaporation into the air, 

could increase by as much as 48 percent in the same time 

period. This increase is expected to affect all regions of 

the United States but will be particularly signifi cant in 

California, Florida, New York, the Rocky Mountains, and 

the southwestern desert region. Because water availability 

is becoming an increasingly important factor in power 

plant siting, fi ndings of the study will help industry, policy 

makers, regulators, and others understand the potential 

limitations faced by the future thermoelectric fl eet. This is 

especially important as the U.S. population and associated 

economic development with its demand for electricity 

continue to grow.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 12

Project Provides Insight on Coal’s Air Quality Impact—

The Steubenville Comprehensive Air Monitoring project 

team, led by Consol Energy of Pittsburgh, PA, and the 

Harvard School of Public Health, produced particulate 

matter data specifi c to Steubenville, OH, and its vicinity, 

including levels of personal exposure for at-risk individuals. 

Results of the study show that regional sources, most 

likely coal-fi red power plants to the west and southwest 

of Steubenville, contribute the largest single portion (40 

percent) of total particulates observed in the city, with 

local sources accounting for approximately 25 percent. 

The ability of ambient concentrations to refl ect personal 

exposure levels depended on home ventilation and particle 

type. However, overall data show that ambient levels are 

strong proxies for corresponding personal exposures of 

older adults and, to a lesser extent, children. Conducted in 

cooperation with NETL, the study will help policy makers 

and the toxicological research community create sciencebased strategies to address air pollution.

No Adverse Biological Effects from Coal Plant 

Particulates in Field Experiments—The National Ambient 

Air Quality Standards for particulate matter are based solely 

on mass concentration and do not refl ect that some types of 

particles are inherently more toxic than others. Field-test data 

obtained by researchers from the Electric Power Research 

Institute in Palo Alto, CA, and the Harvard School of Public 

Health show that laboratory animals exposed to particulate 

matter from an Upper-Midwest power plant burning very 

low-sulfur, low-ash coal sustained no adverse pulmonary, 

systemic, or cardiovascular effects. Similar tests are planned 

for plants burning low-sulfur and medium-to-high-sulfur 

bituminous coal. The work is being conducted in cooperation 

with NETL to help planners mitigate public health impacts 

of air pollution.

Novel Device for Measuring Catalyst Deactivation Nears 

Commercialization—A device that provides a real-time 

view of catalyst deactivation was successfully fi eld-tested 

during the 2005 and 2006 ozone seasons on a full-scale 

selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit at Alabama Power 

Company’s William Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating 

Plant near Parrish, AL. SCR systems are the predominant 

control technology for reducing NOx emissions from large 

coal-fi red power plants. The in-situ catalyst-performance 

measurement system was developed by researchers at 

Fossil Energy Research Corporation (FERCo) of Laguna 

Hills, CA, in collaboration with NETL, Southern Company, 

and the Electric Power Research Institute. FERCo has 

applied for a technology patent and expects to begin 

commercial production of the device after successful 

testing of Internet-based data access and reporting features. 

The technology will help optimize catalyst management for 

year-round SCR operation by predicting remaining catalyst 

life and evaluating replacement options without requiring a 

unit outage to obtain catalyst samples.

Sensor on Course to Commercialization—The 18-

month commercialization plan accompanying a licensing 

agreement between the University of Florida and 

Emissions-Detection Technologies Inc., part of Fuel FX 

Inc. in San Diego, CA, calls for the full-scale production of 

a low-cost, highly durable solid-state sensor that can detect 

and measure parts-per-million levels of carbon monoxide 

and NOx. Developed by investigators under a University 

Coal Research grant administered at NETL, the sensor can 

be used in the transportation, industrial, and energy sectors 

to improve combustion controls as well as meet current and 

anticipated emissions monitoring regulations.

Air Quality

In light of current and future regulations to address 

ambient air quality concerns, advanced emissioncontrol and related air-quality research remain 

important to NETL’s environmental program. The 

goal of this research is to develop advanced NOxcontrol technologies that are signifi cantly cheaper to 

build and operate than current technology. Research 

is focused on advanced in-furnace NOx-control 

technologies and related diagnostic equipment 

applicable to the broad range of boiler confi gurations 

and coal types currently used in the United States. 

In addition, research is being carried out to better 

understand any potential link between coal-plant 

emissions and ambient air quality.

COAL
13 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Coal Utilization By-products

Developing more benefi cial uses for coal utilization 

by-products (CUBs)—the solid materials formed 

during coal-fueled electric power generation—will 

improve power generation economics, conserve 

natural resources and landfi ll space, and reduce 

carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. NETL conducts and 

sponsors research to support the environmentally 

safe, technically sound handling of CUB material, 

with the goal of increasing the use of CUBs in 

construction and other industries. Our research 

efforts explore the environmental impacts of 

CUB disposal versus utilization, the optimization 

of utilization methods, and the collection and 

dissemination of data to assist in regulatory decisions 

related to CUBs.

Conceptual Process Would Use Industrial Wastes to 

Permanently Sequester CO2—NETL researchers have 

demonstrated the feasibility of reacting CO2 with two 

large-volume waste products—coal-utilization fl y ash 

and the brine wastewater produced during oil and gas 

extraction—to create a solid calcium carbonate material 

that permanently locks in the greenhouse gas. The inert 

material would be placed in a landfi ll as is, while leftover 

brine water would be used in enhanced oil recovery 

efforts. This conceptual process provides a new option 

for CO2 sequestration, as well as reducing the cost and 

environmental impact related to the disposal of these 

industrial wastes. Results of the laboratory study have been 

published in the Elsevier publication, Energy Conversion & 

Management.

Coal Gasifi er Slag Improves Foam Glass Products—

Working in cooperation with NETL, collaborators at 

Mississippi State University and Earthstone International 

LLC, Richardson, TX, have found that coal gasifi er 

slag can replace some of the glass used in mixtures for 

foam glass products. Foam glass blocks can be used as 

building insulation, abrasive sanding blocks, and, potentially, 

as armor for military vehicles. Use of gasifi er slag in foam 

glass lowers the cost of production and increases abrasion 

resistance. As advanced gasifi cation becomes the technology 

of choice, disposal of gasifi cation slag will become more 

diffi cult. Finding benefi cial uses for slag today will enhance 

the utilization of future gasifi cation by-products.

Novel Coal Ash Benefi ciation Technology 

Demonstrated—Power plant combustion of bituminous 

and subbituminous coals invariably produces carbon-laden 

fl y ash. Fly ash containing more than 6 percent unburned 

carbon is generally thought to be unsuitable for concrete 

applications. However, treatment with ozone gas neutralizes 

the effect of unburned carbon and renders the fl y ash 

usable for this purpose. Testing conducted at PPL Montour 

Plant in Washingtonville, PA, was the fi rst power plant 

demonstration of an ash-ozonation technology at near 

full-scale (10 tons of ash per day). Estimated capital and 

operating costs suggest the emerging ozone technology 

could compete with alternative commercially available 

processes for treating unburned carbon. The work was 

completed in cooperation with NETL under the Offi ce 

of Fossil Energy’s Environmental and Water Resources 

program.

NETL Zeros in on Mercury in Wet Flue Gas 

Desulfurization Products—NETL researchers have 

discovered that, during SO2 capture via wet fl ue gas 

desulfurization (FGD), oxidized mercury is caught and held 

in the iron-rich portion of synthetic gypsum—the primary 

by-product of forced-oxidation FGD. Evidence suggests 

that a portion of the gypsum becomes iron rich when 

limestone is introduced to the FGD slurry to neutralize 

and capture acidic SO2. If so, oxidized mercury capture 

could be a near-zero-cost fringe benefi t of the limestone 

neutralization process. The ability to capture and separate 

the mercury before using the gypsum to manufacture 

wallboard, cement, and soil amendments will prevent 

the mercury’s reintroduction into the environment when 

these products are exposed to water. The results have been 

described in Elsevier’s publication, Fuel.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 14

Testing of High-Temperature Desulfurization System 

Initiated in Commercial Coal Gasifi er—Developed 

at RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, in 

cooperation with NETL, an advanced gas-cleaning 

technology that could make integrated gasifi cation 

combined cycle (IGCC) systems competitive in today’s 

power generation market is undergoing a fi eld test at the 

1,000-ton-per-day coal gasifi er at Eastman Chemical 

Company in Kingsport, TN. Using an R&D 100 awardwinning regenerable zinc-based sorbent (RTI-3), the hightemperature desulfurization system operates at a pressure 

of 600 psig with an absorber temperature of 900 oF and a 

regenerator temperature above 1,300 oF. Almost halfway 

through the 2,000-hour planned run, preliminary results 

showed that the absorber removed sulfur from synthesis 

gas at an effi ciency greater than 99.95 percent. Completion 

of this long-term test will be a signifi cant step toward 

commercialization, eventually leading to IGCC capital cost 

reductions up to $80 per kilowatt electric and an effi ciency 

improvement greater than 1 percentage point. 

Oxygen Transport Membrane Technology Achieves 

Key Milestone for Advanced Boiler Process—As part of 

a cooperative agreement with NETL, process developers 

at Praxair Inc. of Danbury, CT, completed a series of 

laboratory experiments in which the complete combustion 

of natural gas and recycled fuel gas was achieved using a 

set of six Oxygen Transport Membrane tubes. The tubes 

feature a ceramic membrane that separates oxygen from 

air less expensively than conventional cryogenics. By 

using oxygen instead of air, this advanced boiler process 

will produce concentrated CO2 that is easily captured, 

consume less parasitic power, and operate at lower cost 

than conventional boiler processes with postcombustion 

CO2 capture. 

Near-Zero-Emissions 

Technologies 

Coal is a vital asset in our energy portfolio. NETL 

and its research partners are conducting advanced 

research to forge the highly effi cient, near-zeroemissions fl eet that will continue to fuel the majority 

of our energy needs while leaving the smallest 

environmental footprint possible. Integrating climatechange strategies, such as carbon sequestration, into 

advanced systems is an essential tactic for using coal 

to power our nation’s future.

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Technologies for 

Future Energy 

Plants

The realization of the FutureGen 

prototype—which will produce 

electricity and hydrogen with 

near-zero emissions—grows 

sharper on the horizon as NETL 

continues research for the 

power plants of tomorrow. NETL 

supports coal and power systems 

development through advanced 

research in materials, sensors 

and controls, biotechnology and 

bioprocessing, pollutant formation 

and removal, and advanced 

computational processes.
15 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Commissioning Trials Successful for Ion Transport 

Membrane Oxygen Prototype Facility—Air Products 

and Chemicals Inc. of Allentown, PA, completed three 

commissioning trials of its Ion Transport Membrane 

Oxygen process at a subscale engineering prototype 

facility. The process achieved target performance for 

system pressure and temperature at an airfl ow rate 

approaching that of aggressive commercial operation. 

It also produced oxygen of at least 95 percent purity. 

Subsequent experiments assessed commercial-scale module 

performance through a series of scheduled process variable 

changes, eventually producing oxygen of more than 

99 percent purity. The Ion Transport Membrane Oxygen 

process is being developed in cooperation with NETL to 

produce oxygen at one-third-lower capital cost and energy 

requirement compared to cryogenic processes in IGCC and 

other advanced power generation systems. 

Hydrogen Separation Membrane Exceeds 2010 

Commercial Target—Southwest Research Institute of 

San Antonio, TX, has developed a sulfur-tolerant metal 

alloy membrane that can separate hydrogen from coalderived synthesis gas at a rate exceeding DOE’s 2010 

commercial target. The novel, low-cost material is much 

thinner than current state-of-the-art materials, allowing 

hydrogen fl uxes that would be practical for commercial 

applications. The membrane is compatible with coalgas processing conditions and can produce a gas stream 

that is 99.95 percent pure hydrogen. This is a signifi cant 

milestone toward the achievement of viable coal-tohydrogen production technology for FutureGen and other 

future coproduction plants. The work is being performed 

in cooperation with NETL as part of the Offi ce of Fossil 

Energy’s Hydrogen from Coal program.

Heat Engines

Turbines are the heart of nearly all the world’s 

electric generating systems. Because of their potential 

for higher performance and their adaptability to 

fossil-fuel-based power systems that capture CO2, 

turbines are a prime component in providing secure 

domestic power production that is clean, effi cient, and 

affordable. NETL manages a research, development, 

and demonstration project portfolio designed to 

develop near-zero-emission turbine technologies that 

eliminate environmental concerns over future coal 

use. Researchers also use NETL’s unique facilities to 

evaluate new concepts in combustion, sensors, and 

turbine materials.

NETL Facility Gains Recognition for High-Quality 

Data—NETL’s Simulation Validation Studies combustor—

known as SimVal—is a unique, fuel-fl exible combustor that 

generates data sets under realistic gas turbine conditions. 

SimVal is gaining recognition as a valuable source of 

high-quality data sets suitable for model validation. It also 

supports NETL’s goal of developing advanced turbines for 

IGCC applications. Three signifi cant achievements were 

realized with SimVal in 2006:

• NETL researchers generated parametric pollutantemissions data produced from hydrogen and natural gas 

in the SimVal combustor. This data set is one of the most 

complete available for hydrogen fl ames produced in a 

turbine-scale combustor at pressure up to 8 atmospheres 

and was utilized at Siemens Power Generation Inc. 

of Orlando, FL, for validating detailed computer 

simulations involving combustion of hydrogen-methane 

fuel mixtures.

• Using laser diagnostics, NETL researchers collected 

highly resolved images of hydroxyl radicals in fl ames 

produced from hydrogen and natural gas in the SimVal 

combustor at pressure up to 8 atmospheres. This work, 

the result of a collaboration between NETL and the 

Sandia National Laboratories Combustion Research 

Facility, will accelerate the development and validation 

of comprehensive combustion models that can reduce 

the lead time and cost of constructing future ultra 

low-emission high-effi ciency fuel-fl exible combustion 

systems.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 16

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• Researchers demonstrated that NETL’s Combustion 

Control and Diagnostics Sensor (CCADS) will 

operate in combustors with either bare metal liners 

or thermal barrier coating and can detect fl ashback 

during combustion of fuels containing up to 80 percent 

hydrogen. This demonstration highlights the broad 

applicability of CCADS and is an important step toward 

its commercial deployment. Incorporated into the fuel 

nozzles of a turbine combustor, CCADS sensors have a 

much shorter response time for fl ashback detection than 

traditional temperature sensors and could be a key to 

developing controls that would ensure reliable turbine 

operation in FutureGen applications. NETL is working 

with Woodward Governor Company, Fort Collins, 

CO, to commercialize the NETL-patented CCADS 

technology for facilitating improved performance and 

lower emissions in advanced power systems. 

NETL Facility Expands Fuel Cell-Turbine Hybrid 

Simulation Capabilities—Researchers have successfully 

integrated and tested a high-speed computing platform 

called dSpace for NETL’s Hybrid Performance Facility. 

The new addition is designed for “hardware in the loop” 

applications—simulations that incorporate actual major 

hardware components to allow for a more detailed study of 

the least-understood parts of the system. The unique facility

integrates real gas-turbine and heat-exchanger hardware 

with fuel cell simulators to better understand how the 

fuel cell will interact with the rest of the system. dSpace 

provides the higher-speed computer platforms necessary to 

complete this type of simulation. 

Non-intrusive Technique Predicts Remaining Life 

of Turbine Blade Coatings—Working in cooperation 

with NETL, collaborators at the Electric Power Research 

Institute, Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, 

TX, and Turbine Technology International of Rochester, 

NY, developed an analytic approach for predicting 

thermal fatigue damage to the critical coatings that protect 

hot section components (e.g., liners, blades, vanes) of 

combustion turbines. The team developed algorithms 

to estimate remaining life based on stress, strain, and 

temperature profi les at various operating conditions and 

verifi ed these predictions against actual fi eld observations. 

The new technique will help optimize intervals between 

turbine refurbishment. It will also reduce the risk of coating 

failure, which can lead to catastrophic damage, costly 

replacement, prolonged outage, disrupted electric service, 

and revenue loss. 

University Turbine Systems Research Project Yields 

Important Design Tool—Researchers at Virginia 

Polytechnic Institute and State University have identifi ed 

computer simulation algorithms for predicting complex 

fl ows and heat transfer within the internal cooling channels 

of turbine airfoils. Greater accuracy afforded by this 

computational advancement will allow designers to specify 

the airfl ow paths and quantities that achieve more precise 

cooling, cutting aerodynamic losses and improving turbine 

performance. The work was accomplished under the Offi ce 

of Fossil Energy’s University Turbine Systems Research 

program, a government-industry-academia collaboration 

managed by the South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies 

at Clemson University under a cooperative agreement with 

NETL.
17 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Fuel Cells

NETL’s fuel cell research is conducted under the 

banner of the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance 

(SECA), a collaboration managed by NETL that 

brings together government, the private sector, 

and the scientifi c community. SECA is focused on 

developing, by 2010, commercial-grade fuel cells 

with a market-competitive $400-per-kilowatt 

manufactured cost. Concurrently, the scale-up, 

aggregation, and integration of SECA’s technologies 

are leading to the validation of prototype 

megawatt-class products by 2012, with testing at 

the FutureGen facility or an equivalent site. Finally, 

SECA’s coal-based and combined-cycle projects are 

developing megawatt-class fuel cell power systems 

that will produce affordable, reliable, effi cient, and 

environmentally friendly electrical power from coal.

Offi ce of Management and Budget Praises SECA as 

Partnership Leader—In the Budget of the United States 

Government, Fiscal Year 2007, the Offi ce of Management 

and Budget (OMB) cited SECA as leading the way in 

government-industry partnerships. OMB’s description 

of the SECA program helps illustrate DOE’s efforts 

to demonstrate the future of coal, one of our nation’s 

priorities. OMB stated: The SECA program leverages 

private-sector ingenuity by providing Government funding 

to industry teams developing fuel cells, as long as the 

teams continue to exceed a series of stringent technical 

performance hurdles. This novel incentive structure has 

generated a high level of competition between the teams 

and an impressive array of technical approaches. The 

SECA program also develops certain core technologies 

that can be used by all the industry teams to avoid 

duplication of effort. The program exceeded its 2005 

performance targets, and it is on track to meet its goal for 

an economically competitive technology by 2010.

Industry Teams Exceed Phase I Targets—SECA system 

prototypes, manufactured with scalable mass-production 

techniques, exceeded Phase I targets for availability, 

effi ciency, and production cost. A typical system 

demonstrated an availability of 90 percent compared to 

the SECA target of 80 percent. An effi ciency of 35–40 

percent was achieved in the small 3–10 kilowatt systems, 

surpassing the target of 35 percent. This superior effi ciency 

in a small size demonstrates the achievability of much 

higher effi ciencies for larger systems. Most signifi cantly, 

the independently audited system costs ranged $691–$784 

per kilowatt—a major breakthrough toward achieving 

market-competitive costs. These Phase I numbers represent 

aggregated results across six industry teams. NETL is 

operating select units for verifi cation.

SECA Transitions to Coal-Based Systems—To address 

the issues of fuel cell scalability and incorporation into 

IGCC plants, DOE integrated SECA’s cost-reduction 

activities into its Coal-Based Systems projects. The goal 

of these projects is to develop and demonstrate fuel cell 

technologies that will improve coal-based central power 

stations and provide a 10–50 megawatt power block for 

inclusion with FutureGen or equivalent demonstrations. 

Three industry teams—Siemens Power Generation 

of Pittsburgh, PA, General Electric Hybrid Power 

Generation of Torrance, CA, and FuelCell Energy Inc. of 

Danbury, CT—transitioned their cost-reduction projects 

into Coal-Based Systems and are working to develop 

fuel cell systems for an IGCC plant with capacities of 

100 megawatts or greater. All SECA industry teams will 

continue their cost reduction activities through 2010 with 

the best fuel cell stacks available for development.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 18

Fuel Cell Power Density Improved—One of SECA’s 

primary goals is to enable fuel cells to produce more 

watts of electric power from smaller volumes of materials. 

This improved power density is needed to make fuel cells 

economically competitive with gas turbines and diesel 

electric generation. Several of SECA’s industry teams are 

developing high-power-density solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) 

prototypes with a net power output of 3–10 kilowatts and 

the potential for mass production. The following are some 

examples of the power-density improvements that SECA’s 

industry teams have realized: 

• Siemens Power Generation’s new corrugated design 

increased surface density by 40 percent, and its new fuel 

cell stack design increases power density by as much as 

52 percent. 

• General Electric’s prototype SOFC reduced system 

volume by 75 percent, enabling the power density of the 

SOFC system to increase by 37 percent. 

• Acumentrics Corporation of Westwood, MA, doubled 

the power density of its SOFC unit from 2005 to 2006. 

Research Team Develops and Demonstrates 

Commercial SOFC Interconnect Material—Allegheny 

Technologies Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA, Pacifi c Northwest 

National Laboratory, and NETL have identifi ed and 

successfully tested a cost-effective interconnect material 

based on ferritic stainless steels for applications in coalbased SOFC systems. The team’s development goal was 

to use an inexpensive metal alloy to eliminate the negative 

effects of metallic interconnects on electrical conductivity 

in SOFCs. With funding and direction from the SECA 

Core Technology program, Pacifi c Northwest National 

Laboratory achieved success in laboratory tests with a 

commercial alloy from Allegheny Ludlum Corporation 

of Pittsburgh, PA. More extensive investigations are in 

progress to determine whether, with appropriate surface 

treatment, an alloy of this type can fully satisfy stringent 

SOFC interconnect requirements.

High-Temperature Blowers Developed for SOFC 

Systems—Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies 

Inc. of Tempe, AZ, and R&D Dynamics Corporation 

of Bloomfi eld, CT, have successfully demonstrated two 

distinctly different high-temperature pumps and blowers for 

SOFC systems. Each of the novel technologies successfully 

separates hot fuel cell gases from temperature-sensitive 

pump components, such as bearings, magnets, electronics, 

and motor windings. This work is key to improving SOFC 

effi ciencies, and it supports the achievement of fuel cell 

systems that can adapt to diverse fuels. The efforts were 

conducted for SECA under a series of Small Business 

Innovation Research grants.

Crack-Resistant Compliant Glass Seal Identifi ed—

SOFC systems are more robust if their seals can 

accommodate motion in cell components and recover from 

stress-induced cracking. The University of Cincinnati has 

identifi ed a glass composition that does not crystallize at 

SOFC operating temperatures and remains soft, so that 

cracks fl ow shut as the stack cools to room temperature. 

University of Missouri-Rolla is now working to improve 

the chemical compatibility of this class of fl owable glass, 

and Sandia National Laboratories is examining composites 

in which ceramic fi ller particles improve the resiliency of 

the soft glass seal. Engineered materials systems that utilize 

novel glass formulations and composite structures hold 

promise for successful seal solutions.

Cathode Poisoning from Interconnect Chromium 

Mitigated—Chromium is a common element in costeffective fuel cell metal interconnects. However, it often 

migrates from the fuel cell’s interconnect to its cathode 

material, forming compounds that may decrease cell 

performance. The SECA Core Technology program has 

developed a “chromium poisoning” mitigation strategy 

through work performed at Argonne National Laboratory, 

Pacifi c Northwest National Laboratory, and Carnegie 

Mellon University. The approach allows SECA’s industry 

teams to slow chromium transport with applied coatings, 

remove it via airfl ow, and capture it in cathode structures—

all without signifi cant loss in cell performance.

COAL
19 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NETL Study Highlights Regulatory Barriers to Carbon 

Sequestration—In response to the Intergovernmental 

Panel on Climate Change’s special report on carbon 

capture and storage, several U.S. and international efforts 

are underway to strengthen the regulatory environment 

for carbon capture and storage projects. An NETL review 

of these projects throughout the world highlights the 

major legal and regulatory issues that remain unresolved 

(e.g., CO2 purity specifi cation, access and property rights, 

intellectual property rights, monitoring and verifi cation 

requirements, liability) and summarizes international 

efforts to address them. NETL prepared fi ve case studies 

by contacting project developers in several countries to 

discuss their efforts in addressing each major legal issue 

and by interviewing national and international carbon 

capture and storage experts working to develop a regulatory 

framework. Findings of the study will be useful to 

international programs, such as the Carbon Sequestration 

Leadership Forum and the Asia-Pacifi c Partnership on 

Clean Development and Climate. 

New Method Accounts for Coal Swelling During CO2

Isotherm Measurements—NETL researchers have 

developed a unique method that more accurately quantifi es 

the extent to which coal swells during CO2 injection. 

The method combines volume and weight measurements 

relative to a constant temperature. Traditional techniques 

ignore coal swelling, despite the fact that it affects injection 

rates and the accuracy of CO2 sorption measurements. The 

amount of swelling increases with CO2 pressure, as do the 

resulting errors incurred by ignoring coal swelling. If the 

amount of swelling is unknown, accurate measurements 

of a coal seam’s CO2 sorption capacity are not possible. 

Details about the method appear in the March 2006 issue of 

Chemical and Engineering Technology.

New Tools Offer Breakthrough in Measuring Terrestrial 

Sequestration Effectiveness—Researchers at The Nature 

Conservancy, Arlington, VA, and Stanford University 

have developed a process that traces the crown diameters 

of treetops using geographic information system image 

analysis. The information generated by the procedure can 

be used in conjunction with other data collection tools to 

automatically calculate the carbon content in forests. The 

technology will greatly reduce uncertainties associated 

with the measurement and verifi cation of carbon in forestry 

projects established for carbon sequestration. The process 

was developed under a cooperative agreement between 

NETL and The Nature Conservancy aimed at developing 

accurate, low-cost tools and models to measure the carbon 

stored in terrestrial sequestration projects. 

Technology for Sequestering CO2 Through 

Photosynthesis Licensed to Commercial Developer—

GreenShift Corporation of New York, NY, obtained a 

license from Ohio University to commercialize a patented 

technology for sequestering CO2 via photosynthesis. 

Developed in cooperation with NETL, this technology 

removes up to 50 percent of CO2 from fl ue gas using 

photobioreactors—small, closed systems that contain algae 

and water. Scaling up the process to industrial dimensions 

would also produce value-added products, such as biodiesel 

fuel and fertilizer.

Carbon Sequestration

NETL explores many facets of carbon sequestration, 

including capture and separation technologies for 

CO2; direct and indirect storage options; mitigation 

of non-CO2 greenhouse gases; monitoring, 

mitigation, and verifi cation for ensuring permanent 

sequestration; and breakthrough concepts for 

reducing the cost of capture. NETL also manages 

DOE’s seven Regional Carbon Sequestration 

Partnerships, which collaborate with regional, state, 

and local governments, universities, and private 

companies to determine the best approaches for 

capturing and permanently storing greenhouse gases 

in each region of the country.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 20

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Hydrogen

Advanced hydrogen production and delivery 

technologies can supply tomorrow’s energy and 

transportation systems with clean, affordable 

hydrogen power. Long term, the predominant sources 

of hydrogen will likely be renewables and nuclear 

energy. However, until these technologies are 

viable, fossil fuels can provide a mid-term source of 

hydrogen. NETL manages a portfolio of research and 

development projects focused on producing hydrogen 

from coal fuels for use in fuel cells, as merchant gas, in 

the petrochemical industry, and in other systems.

Hydrogen Separation Membrane Technology Exceeds 

Performance Targets—NETL industrial partners are 

developing novel membrane materials for producing 

pure hydrogen and sequestration-ready CO2 from coalderived synthesis gas at process temperatures consistent 

with downstream gasifi cation-unit operations. Successful 

membrane development will lead to higher thermal 

effi ciencies and lower capital and operating costs compared 

to conventional hydrogen separation technologies, 

ultimately enabling a viable coal-to-hydrogen production 

process.

• In bench-scale tests, novel materials engineered at 

Eltron Research Inc. in Boulder, CO, have already met 

DOE’s 2015 targets for sulfur tolerance and operating 

conditions and surpassed those for hydrogen production 

rate. The cost of the technology is estimated to be 

approximately half that of commercial pressure swing 

adsorption technology. 

• Researchers at IdaTech LLC, Bend, OR, have verifi ed 

that a novel material engineered at Southwest Research 

Institute, San Antonio, TX, can separate hydrogen 

from coal-derived gas at a rate that exceeds DOE’s 

2010 commercial target. The sulfur-tolerant palladiumcopper alloy can be deposited on a porous base in layers 

as thin as one micron to produce robust, defect-free 

membrane wafers. The wafers transport 99.95 percent 

pure hydrogen from shifted synthesis gas (a mixture 

of hydrogen and CO2) and represent a signifi cant 

milestone toward achieving the FutureGen project goal 

of developing a viable coal-to-hydrogen production 

technology.

Advanced Molecular Sieve Could Enable Hydrogen 

Production from Coal—Working in cooperation with 

NETL, researchers at Media and Process Technologies 

(MPT), Pittsburgh, PA, have developed a carbon molecular 

sieve that is highly selective for hydrogen and particularly 

well suited for coal-derived gas. Teaming with Pall 

Corporation of East Hills, NY, MPT successfully produced 

a functional porous stainless-steel base that will support 

the fabrication of a membrane reactor based on a carbon 

molecular sieve in which the hydrogen production and 

separation could occur simultaneously. The technology 

could enable economic production of hydrogen from coal 

using advanced coal-based power concepts being developed 

for the FutureGen project.

Composite Membrane Exceeds Performance Target 

for Hydrogen Separation—Sulfur-resistant palladium 

alloys normally fail when they encounter the carbon oxides 

present in shifted-coal gas feeds. However, researchers 

at the Colorado School of Mines have developed a novel 

alloy of palladium and gold that remains intact despite trace 

levels of carbon monoxide, CO2, and hydrogen sulfi de. 

The alloy was deposited on a Pall AccuSep commercial 

membrane base and tested at commercially relevant 

operating conditions. The membrane exceeded DOE’s 2015 

target for hydrogen separation by almost 70 percent. These 

successes, achieved by the NETL-managed University Coal 

Research program, represent a signifi cant milestone in the 

effort to produce hydrogen from coal.
21 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Materials

Advanced materials and processes will be vital 

to future power and fuels production plants, 

including FutureGen. Working in partnership 

with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NETL’s 

Materials program addresses the need for new 

materials that can withstand the corrosive, hightemperature environments of advanced power 

generation technologies, such as coal gasifi ers, 

turbines, combustors, and fuel cells. Research areas 

include structural ceramics, new alloys and coatings, 

functional materials, and corrosion abatement.

Materials Program Evaluates Ultra-supercritical 

Conditions Components—Under NETL’s management, a 

consortium of U.S. boilermakers has laid the groundwork 

for the selection and use of materials that reliably operate 

under harsh ultra-supercritical steam conditions (1,400 

°F and 5,000 pounds per square inch pressure). Ultrasupercritical steam conditions would increase the effi ciency 

of the current domestic fl eet and enable coal-fi red power 

plants to generate electricity at competitive rates while 

reducing CO2 and other fuel-related emissions. Partners 

supporting this project include Energy Industries of Ohio 

in Independence, OH, the Electric Power Research Institute 

in Palo Alto, CA, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Signifi cant accomplishments for 2006 follow:

• Using electron microscopic techniques to characterize 

microstructural changes in both aged and stressed 

samples of nickel-based superalloys, researchers at 

the University of Cincinnati can now more accurately 

forecast the long-term behavior of these alloys under 

ultra-supercritical steam conditions. Understanding 

the properties of high-temperature materials, including 

the properties of resistance to deformation and thermal 

fatigue, will help ensure the reliability of ultrasupercritical power plants. The project trains future 

materials scientists while providing valuable tools for 

predicting and extending the life of advanced alloys.

• Researchers at the Babcock & Wilcox Company, 

Barberton, OH, have found that a metal fi nishing 

procedure known as “shot blasting” signifi cantly 

improves the resistance of advanced alloys to oxidation 

by high-temperature steam. This fi nding is the result 

of ongoing exposure tests exceeding 2,000 hours. 

Application of this process could provide boiler 

fabricators a relatively inexpensive and straightforward 

method for steam protection of boiler tubes.

• Foster Wheeler Inc. of Clinton, NJ, produced corrosion 

probes made of various new alloys, coatings, and weld 

overlays to evaluate the candidate materials’ fi reside 

corrosion resistance in advanced coal-fi red boilers. 

The air-cooled, retractable probes operated problemfree in the Duke Energy high-sulfur coal-fi red unit 

at the Gibson Generating Station in Owensville, IN, 

and in the Xcel Energy low-sulfur coal-fi red Pawnee 

Station in Brush, CO. In 2007, another set of probes 

will be installed at the American Electric Power eastern 

coal-fi red General James M. Gavin Plant in Cheshire, 

OH, for a test of an extended exposure period at the 

temperature expected for advanced superheater/reheater 

components (1,200–1,600 °F).

• Researchers at ALSTOM Power Inc., Windsor, CT, 

have developed a modern, simplifi ed method for 

studying the effects of mechanical stress on headers 

made of various materials for use with advanced 

ultra-supercritical steam boilers. The novel procedure 

provides valuable information on cyclic responses and 

structural safety in systems that produce temperature 

and pressure fl uctuations greater than those encountered 

in conventional boilers. Further development and 

application of the procedure, combined with detailed 

models of ultra-supercritical boilers, will help ensure the 

cycling capability of key components. 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 22

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• Long-term mechanical strength testing for several 

alloys under consideration for use at ultra-supercritical 

steam conditions has exceeded 26,000 hours—much 

longer than previous tests and at higher temperature 

(1,350 °F). The testing, performed at Oak Ridge 

National Laboratory, confi rmed that certain alloy 

modifi cations reduce the accumulation of damage to a 

material over time. 

• Researchers at the Babcock & Wilcox Company 

completed successful bending trials with two candidate 

construction materials for advanced high-effi ciency 

coal-fi red boilers. Both materials—one a sophisticated 

nickel-based alloy, the other a stainless steel composed 

mainly of austenite—remained intact as they were 

processed into 3-, 5-, and 7-inch-radius cold bends. 

These achievements confi rm that the materials can be 

fabricated without cracking or pitting.

• Researchers at the Babcock & Wilcox Company 

produced heavy-section joints from new materials being 

considered for advanced boilers that are capable of 

operating at much higher temperatures and effi ciencies 

than those of conventional plants. The joints were 

completed using the gas tungsten arc-welding technique, 

based on results of weld characterization studies 

conducted at EWI, of Columbus, OH. The technique 

could provide boiler fabricators with a rapid process 

for making steam lines and headers from the candidate 

high-temperature materials. The joints’ mechanical 

strength at high temperature will be evaluated at Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory. 

• The realization of a 1,400 °F steam power plant 

depends on the successful development of advanced 

alloys and fabrication components. Contributing to this 

effort, researchers at the Babcock & Wilcox Company 

have successfully applied prototypic manufacturing 

operations to fabricate a thick-walled header section 

which incorporates high-temperature materials, 

including advanced steels and nickel-based alloys. 

Surface Treatment Improves Oxidation Resistance of 

High-Temperature Alloys—Methodologies to improve 

the oxidation resistance of low-cost stainless steels are 

paramount to the development of economical solid oxide 

fuel cells. Critical components, such as interconnects, 

are subjected to high temperatures, which can degrade 

the steel and subsequently the fuel cell’s performance. 

Using cerium, NETL researchers developed a simple and 

inexpensive surface treatment that dramatically improves 

the oxidation resistance of stainless steel in laboratory 

tests. The patent-pending method is of interest for a wide 

range of power generation applications in which system 

performance, reliability, and affordability are signifi cantly 

affected by the corrosion of structural materials in hostile 

environments. 

Nanostructured Coatings Offer Advantage for Boiler 

Component Protection—In cooperation with NETL, 

researchers at Karta Technologies Inc., San Antonio, 

TX, used an advanced process to coat metal surfaces 

with a nanostructured aluminum alloy (grain sizes below 

15 nanometers). Coatings comprised of such fi ne grains 

form protective barriers more quickly than do conventional 

coatings, potentially providing a less expensive approach 

to protecting boiler components from the harsh conditions 

of advanced fossil energy systems. In future testing, power 

plant operators with City Public Service will expose 

samples coated with the novel material to boiler fi resides, 

where tube failures often occur.
23 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Clean Coal 

Demonstration 

Projects

Initially established to combat acid 

rain, the Clean Coal Technology 

program is now dedicated to 

reducing emissions of mercury, 

fi ne particulates, and greenhouse 

gases. Since 1986, NETL has 

actively supported cost-shared 

demonstration projects that 

improve the power plant fl eet 

and have great potential for public 

benefi t. Demonstrations must 

exceed existing technologies in 

terms of effi ciency, environmental 

performance, and/or economy. 

Many demonstrations conducted 

through this program have 

resulted in the commercial 

acceptance and application of 

innovative technologies.

Clean Coal Power Initiative Project Adds Value to 

Coal Ash in Field Tests—Ash benefi ciation technology 

developed at the University of Kentucky Center for 

Applied Energy Research was successfully tested at the 

Kentucky Utilities Company’s Ghent Generating Station 

near Carrollton, KY. The results pave the way for designing 

a near-commercial-scale demonstration plant capable of 

turning CUBs into such marketable products as recycled 

carbon fuel, fi ll material for plastic manufacture, aggregate 

and other construction materials, and pozzolan for concrete 

manufacturing. The fi eld tests, conducted in cooperation 

with NETL, used a mobile pilot-scale test rig to process 

approximately 150 tons of pond ash. Ash benefi ciation 

technologies help eliminate the cost and environmental 

liability of constructing ash-settling ponds.

Landmark Coal Drying Study Completed—Lehigh 

University researchers completed a 3-year investigation 

of a novel lignite coal-drying process. Based on models 

developed for low-temperature drying kinetics, the process 

uses waste heat to dry high-moisture coal in a fl uidizedbed unit. The university’s evaluation forecasts several 

power plant benefi ts, including improved boiler effi ciency, 

reduced auxiliary power consumption, lower emissions, 

and reduced cooling-water usage. The study represents a 

signifi cant milestone toward improving the performance of 

steam plants fi red with Powder River Basin subbituminous 

and lignite coals and high-moisture biomass fuels. The 

process is being successfully demonstrated at the Great 

River Energy Coal Creek Station in Underwood, ND, in 

cooperation with NETL and other industrial partners.

Multipollutant Clean Coal Power Initiative Project 

Begins Operational Phase—Operation of the 

TOXECONTM process, which could offer coal-fi red power 

plants a low-cost retrofi t option for reducing mercury 

emissions by up to 90 percent, was initiated at the We 

Energies Presque Isle Power Plant located in Marquette, 

MI. Mercury levels before and after TOXECON treatment 

are monitored by a continuous emissions monitoring 

instrument developed at Thermo Electron Corporation 

in Waltham, MA, with NETL support. During initial 

operation, a production model of the instrument was stable 

and responsive to activated carbon injection and recorded 

signifi cant mercury reductions. This project demonstrates 

the fi rst full-scale commercial mercury-emission-control 

system for permanent operation at the We Energies Presque 

Isle Plant.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 24

COAL

One Thousand Copies of NETL’s Power Systems 

Financial Model Delivered—One thousand copies of 

the Power Systems Financial Model have been delivered 

worldwide to more than 900 organizations representing the 

fi nancial, engineering, manufacturing, energy, academic, 

and governmental sectors. Originally developed within 

the Offi ce of Fossil Energy and now managed by NETL, 

the spreadsheet-based discounted cash fl ow model has 

been provided free of charge since December 2001 as a 

tool for evaluating the economic feasibility of power plant 

investments. The most recent upgrade calculates levelized 

cost of electricity.

NETL Scientists Produce Prototype of Next-Generation 

Multiphase Flow Software—NETL researchers have 

developed a prototype of MFOAM, the next generation of 

multiphase fl ow software, which will greatly increase the 

fi delity and speed of simulating coal gasifi ers and chemical 

looping systems. MFOAM combines the geometric fi delity 

available in commercial software with the source code 

access provided by NETL-developed MFIX (Multiphase 

Flow with Interphase eXchanges) software. MFOAM is 

based on the open-source framework OpenFOAM (Field 

Operation and Manipulation), instead of being developed as 

an entirely new program.

Modeling and 

Simulation 

Modeling and simulation activities 

speed innovation by reducing 

the cost of developing new 

technologies and addressing 

problems unsolvable by 

traditional approaches. Stateof-the-art research led by 

NETL incorporates high-speed 

computing into the laboratory’s 

ongoing programs. This approach 

accelerates development and 

saves substantial program costs 

by reducing the number of 

experimental studies required to 

achieve an end.
25 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NETL Modeling Study Provides Insight into CO2

Injection—A modeling study completed by NETL 

researchers provides insight into the “quarter-power 

mixing rule”—a calculation used to determine the 

thickness of displaced fl uids—that applies when CO2 

is injected underground for enhanced oil recovery 

and carbon sequestration. Model simulations reveal 

why the longstanding empirical relation depends on 

properties of the injected and displaced fl uids but not 

the underground medium. The work also contributes to 

a better understanding of how the characteristics of the 

fl uid and rock interact to negatively impact the success of 

oil recovery or the sequestration capacity of a geological 

formation.

Advanced Geological Sequestration Model Accounts 

for CO2-Induced Coal Swelling—Researchers at NETL 

developed and tested a three-dimensional swelling and 

shrinkage model to account for the effects of both CO2 

sorption and methane desorption on coal. The new model is 

an improvement over simpler one-dimensional models that 

consider only the effects of methane. The new shrinkageswelling model was incorporated into a previously 

validated reservoir simulator, and the results showed that 

coal swelling can signifi cantly reduce the amount of CO2

absorbed by coal. Results of the study were presented at the 

2006 International Coalbed Methane Symposium.

NETL Model Describes Electromagnetic Field Effects 

on Metal Oxides—In a paper appearing in the July 

2006 Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, NETL 

researchers have proposed one of the fi rst atomistic models 

describing microwave-induced transport in ionic solids. 

The project, which was computational in nature, was 

performed at NETL in collaboration with the University 

of Pittsburgh. Microwave processing of materials, such as 

tungsten carbide with cobalt, produce functional materials 

with much higher strength and corrosion resistance than 

thermal- and pressure-treated materials. However, there is 

as yet little fundamental understanding of the underlying 

physics of microwave processing. This project advances 

the understanding of how electromagnetic fi elds affect 

metal oxide systems, which will contribute to the design of 

new types of materials as well as improved approaches in 

materials processing.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 26

NATURAL GAS & OIL—

Vital Resources, Innovative 

Technologies

U.S. natural gas and oil resources 

are a tremendous energy asset to 

our nation, providing more than 60 

percent of the total energy used by our 

industries, businesses, and citizens. After 

more than a century of exploration 

and production activities, most of our 

conventional oil supplies remain in 

place, and we have barely begun to tap 

the unconventional resources within our 

borders. However, the majority of our 

natural gas and oil—both conventional 

and unconventional—lies in geologically 

and operationally complex settings. 

America’s challenge is to fi nd 

economical methods for extracting and 

using these vital reserves with minimal 

impact to the environment. NETL seeks 

to meet this challenge by pursuing 

advanced exploration and production 

technologies, investigating emerging 

resources, and tackling the issues faced 

by our aging transmission, distribution, 

and refi ning infrastructure.

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 26
27 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

GAS & OIL

Exploration and 

Production 

The United States is the world’s 

most thoroughly explored and 

developed oil and gas region. 

Because of this, costs associated 

with fi nding, developing, and 

producing our remaining domestic 

stores are also among the world’s 

highest. Continued U.S. gas and oil 

production depends on locating 

fi elds among obscure geologic 

sources and recovering discovered 

resources as economically as 

possible. NETL is developing 

advanced exploration and 

production technologies to ensure 

that America’s oil and natural gas 

resources are recovered to their 

fullest potential.

Leading Drill Pipe Manufacturer Announces 

Commercialization of Revolutionary Technology— 

Grant Prideco of Houston, TX, announced the commercial 

launch of its IntelliServ® Network. Developed with 

Novatek Engineering Inc., Provo, UT, in cooperation 

with NETL, the revolutionary built-in telemetry system 

uses an innovative coupler to transmit two-way, real-time 

data across pipe sections regarding conditions tens of 

thousands of feet below the surface. The network was also 

successfully interfaced with another oil and gas service 

company’s downhole drilling- and formation-evaluation 

tools. Field tests showed that the network delivers critical 

downhole data to the surface up to 10,000 times faster than 

do currently available technologies.

Technology Helps America’s Independent Producers 

and Small Businesses—Through the support of NETL’s 

Stripper Well Consortium, Vortex Flow LLC of Englewood, 

CO, has developed and begun marketing seven new 

advanced-technology downhole and surface tools for the 

oil and natural gas service industry. Market sales for these 

tools have increased exponentially since their introduction. 

The Vortex FlowTM tools are based on a revolutionary fl uiddynamics system that accelerates the velocity of water and 

reduces the friction that causes pressure drops as fl uids 

fl ow through a pipe, resulting in far greater effi ciency 

when moving fl uids. These tools have been proven to 

increase production and decrease maintenance costs. Over 

200 Vortex Flow surface tools have been installed in gasgathering and production-fl ow lines across the United 

States. Vortex Flow also won the Platts 2004 Global Energy 

Newcomer of the Year Award.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 28

“Supercement” Project Isolates New Materials for 

Field Testing and Commercialization Potential—In an 

NETL-managed project, CSI Technologies of Houston, TX, 

identifi ed two candidate supercements with a strong 

potential for reducing annular seal failures in deep wells 

(greater than 15,000 feet). Highly expansive Portland-based 

pre-stressed cement (patent pending) and non-Portlandbased epoxy resin cement (patent pending) will both be the 

focus of fi eld testing in high-temperature, high-pressure 

wells. The resin cement has already undergone more than 

50 preliminary tests at a variety of temperatures and depths, 

with excellent results.

Improved Deep Seismic Imaging Technologies Offered 

Commercially—An NETL-managed project has yielded 

two new techniques for improving hydrocarbon detection in 

deep, complex reservoirs. Rock Solid Images of Houston, 

TX, developed technology that employs the degree of 

seismic wave lengthening or “attenuation” to track how 

thoroughly a reservoir is saturated with gas and the quality 

of the reservoir. Another company, 3DGeo of Houston, 

TX, developed a seismic processing methodology for 

ultradeep seismic imaging in the Gulf of Mexico. The 

methodology uses the most accurate technique—based on 

full three-dimensional wave equations—to optimize the 

seismic image quality for deep reservoirs, providing a more 

accurate subsurface model. These new seismic imaging and 

detection technologies will improve exploration success 

rates in deep areas of the Gulf of Mexico and in other deep 

environments.

Field Tests Demonstrate Effi ciency of Microhole Drilling 

Technology—A project conducted by the Gas Technology 

Institute of Des Plaines, IL, has successfully tested a 

coiled-tubing drilling rig in the Niobrara Chalk formation, 

which includes the shallow, low-margin natural gas fi elds 

of Kansas and Colorado. The rig, developed under NETL’s 

Microhole Initiative, demonstrated the effi ciency of 

microhole drilling in the fi eld tests. The U.S. Geological 

Survey has estimated the potential natural gas recovery 

from the Niobrara Chalk reservoirs at 340–2,100 billion 

cubic feet, with a mean recovery of 984 billion cubic feet.

Study Facilitates Longer Winter Operations on 

Alaska’s North Slope—The Alaska Department of Natural 

Resources opened the lower foothills of state-owned land 

on the North Slope to oil and gas exploration activity 

on December 14, 2005—the earliest for that area since 

1995. The decision was based on new snow depth and 

soil temperature criteria developed in the Tundra Travel 

Study, completed through an NETL-managed grant by 

the department’s Division of Mining, Land, and Water. 

The new standard, based on snow cover and subsurface 

temperature measured at 16 sites, increased the winter 

operating season to 161 days, compared with 104 days in 

2002. Data showed that early exploration activity allowed 

by the new standards in the prior year had no adverse 

impact on the tundra. Combined with improved ice road 

construction techniques, a longer operating season helps 

companies complete exploration wells within one season 

rather than two, signifi cantly reducing overall costs.

Appalachian Basin Trenton-Black River Guide 

Completed—West Virginia University Research 

Corporation has developed a geological guide for the 

Trenton-Black River reservoirs in the Appalachian Basin 

(New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and 

Kentucky). The guide includes an integrated model for the 

origin of the Trenton-Black River reservoirs, with structural 

and tectonic analyses to identify possible favorable areas. 

The guide gives industry a solid basis for evaluating gasbearing sandstone, shale, and dolomite formations targeted 

for potential drilling. Industry can ultimately develop 

these gas resources with optimum well design, location, 

and completion practices. Also, reservoir characterization 

studies completed for the Appalachian Basin can be applied 

to similar formations, such as the Barnett shale in Texas.

GAS & OIL
29 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Microhole Tools Successfully Complete Field Tests—

Two critical components of an advanced drilling, steering, 

and logging bottomhole assembly performed successfully 

during fi eld tests in an Alaskan North Slope well operated 

by British Petroleum. The smart drill-bit steering motor—

integrated with a high-performance downhole motor—and 

the magnetic propagation resistivity sensor that provides 

real-time information about the rock being drilled will 

aid in better directional control when drilling horizontal 

wells. The tools were produced by the INTEQ division of 

Baker Hughes Inc. of Houston, TX, as part of a cooperative 

agreement with NETL.

Gulf of Mexico Resource Assessment Completed—The 

University of Alabama completed an assessment of deep 

natural gas resources of the onshore interior salt basins 

of the north-central and northeastern Gulf of Mexico. 

The work was conducted at the University of Alabama in 

cooperation with NETL to assist in formulating advanced 

strategies that reduce the costs, risks, and environmental 

impacts associated with the exploration and recovery of 

deep natural gas resources. U.S. deep gas resources are 

considerable and have the potential to increase domestic 

fuel supplies in the near term.

Research Partnership Selected to Administer New 

Research Program—NETL has selected the non-profi t 

Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America to 

administer the Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional 

Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Consortium. 

NETL’s selection was made in accordance with specifi c 

directives in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 “to maximize 

the value of natural gas and other petroleum resources 

of the United States” by increasing resource supplies, 

improving the cost and effi ciency of exploration 

and production, improving safety, and minimizing 

environmental impacts.

Success of Advanced Hydraulic Fracture-Mapping 

System in Texas Lowers Cost—Pinnacle Technologies 

Inc. of San Francisco, CA, successfully tested an advanced 

hydraulic fracture-mapping system with improved 

instrumentation that incorporates geophones and tiltmeters 

into one tool. The new combination tool, developed in a 

project managed by NETL, was placed in an observation 

well with conventional seismic mapping tools to monitor 

hydraulic fracture stimulation. The test showed that signals 

could be transmitted and received without interference—a 

breakthrough for the industry where, normally, sensors of 

different types must be placed in separate wells. Pinnacle 

Technologies plans to place the tool in a new wellbore by 

the end of calendar year 2007.

Measurement-While-Drilling Tool Proves Successful—

Schlumberger Technology Corporation of Sugar Land, 

TX, has confi rmed data transmission and mechanical 

functions of a prototype measurement-while-drilling tool 

in preliminary fi eld tests conducted in Zapata County, TX. 

Completed in cooperation with NETL, this prototype tool 

represents a signifi cant milestone in the development of a 

retrievable and reseatable high-temperature, high-pressure 

measurement-while-drilling tool with real-time continuous 

monitoring of inclination, seismic vibration, annular 

pressure, and gamma radiation. These functions equip 

the tool with the “look-ahead” capability needed to detect 

high-pressure gas zones earlier and to achieve optimum 

penetration rates for reduced operating costs.

Successful Telemetry System Provides Optimum Data 

at Great Depths—With support from NETL, E-Spectrum 

Technologies Inc. of San Antonio, TX, has developed and 

tested a wireless, electromagnetic telemetry system that 

could reduce the cost and risk associated with deep, hightemperature oil and natural gas drilling applications both 

onshore and offshore. The “through-the-earth” telemetry 

system matches an innovative signal receiver with an 

improved, high-power subterranean transmitter to provide 

low-cost, high-quality data without the need for a special 

drill pipe. Even in the noisy environment associated with 

well drilling, the unique receiver recovers very weak, 

ultralow-frequency signals from measurement-whiledrilling sensors downhole near the drill bit or from wireless 

well logging.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 30

GAS & OIL

NETL-Sponsored Study Prompts Interest in New 

Alaska Leases—Field work conducted in cooperation 

with NETL identifi ed seeps in Alaska’s Bristol Bay Basin 

as thermogenic gas, indicating the presence of oil. The 

project elevated interest in the fi rst Alaska Peninsula areawide oil and gas lease sale that drew two bids totaling 

$1.3 million on 37 onshore and offshore tracts. Prior to this 

study, most wells drilled on the Alaska Peninsula reported 

oil and gas shows, but none of the wells had produced. 

The Bristol Bay project was established to reassess this 

frontier basin and create a publicly available, modern basin 

analysis and hydrocarbon assessment. Results of this fi eld 

work were published by the Alaska Division of Geological 

& Geophysical Surveys and presented at the Annual 

Convention of the American Association of Petroleum 

Geologists in June 2006.

High-Temperature Electronics Nearing 

Commercialization—Funded through NETL, Honeywell 

International Inc. of Plymouth, MN, accomplished a 

fi rst-pass design success for a high-temperature fi eldprogrammable gate array (HT FPGA) and a nonvolatile 

memory capability, EEPROM (electrically erasable, 

programmable, read-only memory), that demonstrated its 

application at high temperatures (greater than 200 °C). The 

EEPROM concept is highly complex and, before this, had 

never been successfully realized. However, by coupling HT 

FPGA with HT EEPROM, downhole tools will no longer 

need to be pulled out of the well if power is lost during the 

drilling process or if drilling parameters change. The two 

chips together will reprogram the tool in place.

Design Specifi cations Completed for an All-Fiber-Optic 

Seismic Sensor—Paulsson Geophysical Services Inc. 

of Brea, CA, in a project managed by NETL, completed 

design specifi cations for a fi ber-optic micro-electromechanical-system (MEMS) sensor for use in a borehole 

seismic array. As a one-of-a-kind sensor, the design is 

now ready to be built as a prototype. The MEMS sensor 

device is designed to operate at high pressures and high 

temperatures and to be manufactured with standard MEMS 

foundry processes and materials. The sensor device 

materials are matched with the interrogator-type fi ber to 

minimize insertion losses, thermally induced stress and 

strain, and stray refl ection losses. The sensor and uplink 

system are designed to operate at temperatures up to 400 °F 

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

allow operation under conditions encountered in deep gas 

reservoirs. This design represents the fi rst all-fi ber-optic 

downhole seismic recording system, and unlike all other 

receiver strings, it would operate with no electronics in 

the borehole. This eliminates the need for temperature and 

pressure protection of the electronics, and it eliminates the 

need to send power downhole.

Project Yields New High-Strength, Faster-Drilling TSP 

Diamond Cutters—Working in cooperation with NETL, 

Technology International Inc. of Kingwood, TX, concluded 

a successful research project to develop unique thermally 

stable polycrystalline (TSP) diamond cutters with lower 

wear rates and greater fracture resistance than conventional 

polycrystalline diamond cutters currently used by industry. 

The ENDURUSTM cutters exhibit high-attachment shear 

strength—exceeding 50,000 pounds per square inch—and 

36 percent increased impact strength, which together 

help maintain sharp cutting edges when exposed to hard, 

abrasive rock. These new cutters are expected to have a 

signifi cant impact on new industry drill bits by reducing 

wear and lowering drilling costs.
31 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

High Water Production Problems Identifi ed in BasinCentered Formations—In an NETL-managed project, 

Advanced Resources International Inc. of Arlington, VA, 

worked with industry partners to sample and analyze 

formation water from several Mesaverde sandstone 

reservoirs. The data and results indicate that, due to the low 

saline content of reservoir waters, conventional analysis can 

result in false interpretations of well logs and lead to the 

erroneous identifi cation of gas-bearing zones. The project 

developed a geochemical database of formation waters 

in tight gas reservoirs in western basins to aid in well-log 

interpretation. The fi nal report will help the petroleum 

industry reduce completion costs in developing tight gas 

sandstone reservoirs by identifying gas-charged intervals 

more effi ciently.

New Imaging Technology Accurately Tracks CO2

Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery—Using theoretical 

analysis of CO2-saturated fl uid and rock properties, 

researchers at 4th Wave Imaging Corporation of Aliso 

Viejo, CA, have developed a new way to predict and 

quantify the effects of CO2 on time-lapse seismic data 

recorded over porous reservoirs. The method can estimate 

injected CO2 saturation distributions in subsurface oil 

reservoirs and remotely monitor injected CO2 for safe 

storage and enhanced hydrocarbon recovery. Developed 

in cooperation with NETL, the technique is of immediate 

interest for extracting signifi cant amounts of additional oil 

from reservoirs by improved recovery rates and optimized 

well patterns.

New Seismic Attenuation Methodology Locates and 

Quantifi es Hydrocarbon Reservoirs—Researchers at 

Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, have 

demonstrated a new methodology for processing and 

interpreting surface and subsurface data at borehole scale 

to determine reservoir properties and predict hydrocarbon 

locations and volume estimates in complex geological 

environments. The technique is based on an understanding 

of how seismic energy dissipates through the ground. 

Developed in cooperation with NETL, the methodology 

will be of immediate interest to both small and large oil 

and gas producers for recovering additional resources from 

deepwater and other complex geological regions.

Project Improves Oil Reservoir Imaging Technology—

Working in cooperation with NETL, investigators at 

Paulsson Geophysical Services produced a seismic data 

processing and interpretation framework that makes vertical 

seismic profi ling (VSP) more accessible and usable. Built 

on widely used software and standard visualization toolkits, 

the higher-resolution VSP images will help oil companies 

more accurately determine known reservoir structure, 

locate previously overlooked reservoirs in large oil and gas 

fi elds, and lower the economic risk of producing smaller, 

more marginal fi elds.

Milestone Reached in Assessing Oil and Gas Resources 

in the Russian Arctic—As part of an interagency 

agreement with NETL, investigators at the U.S. Geological 

Survey, working in conjunction with Russian geophysicists, 

have produced a tectono-stratigraphic map as a basis for 

future USGS assessments. Knowledge of the potential 

resource base in the Arctic is necessary for industry to plan 

long-term investments in exploration and development. 

This knowledge is also useful to the U.S. government in 

formulating energy strategies that anticipate potential oil 

supply disruptions in politically unstable areas. Prospective 

hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic regions are immense—

as much as one-fourth of the world’s undiscovered oil and 

natural gas.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 32

NETL Funding, Expertise Support Discovery of Rich 

Gas Hydrate in Indian Ocean—The joint methane 

hydrate research program undertaken by the U.S. 

Geological Survey and India’s Directorate General of 

Hydrocarbons discovered and closely examined one of 

the richest gas hydrate accumulations yet documented in 

the Bay of Bengal; confi rmed the presence of methane 

hydrate-bearing systems within two major sedimentary 

basins in the Bay of Bengal; and documented in the 

Andaman Sea possibly the thickest and deepest gas hydrate 

stability zone yet known worldwide. The May 2–August 

19, 2006, expedition included extensive drilling, coring, 

and shipboard data collection and analysis of methane 

hydrate-bearing sites. NETL funding provided equipment 

critical to the success of the project and allowed scientists 

from several national laboratories and the U.S. Geological 

Survey to conduct scientifi c analyses of samples and 

data. In addition, NETL staff contributed shipboard 

sedimentology and co-chief scientist expertise to the 

program.

Major Equipment Deployed at First Permanent Deep 

Marine Hydrate Seafl oor Observatory—Researchers 

associated with the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research 

Consortium lead by the University of Mississippi’s Center 

for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology 

completed an equipment-deployment cruise to Mississippi 

Canyon Block 118 in the Gulf of Mexico. The cruise 

was completed aboard the Seward Johnson with use of 

the manned submersible Johnson Sea Link. Managed 

by NETL, the activity deployed a major suite of novel 

array of visual, geochemical, geophysical, and biological 

monitoring sensors, a major step in establishing a fi rst-ofits-kind, long-term seafl oor hydrate monitoring station. In 

addition, the cruise served to provide site reconnaissance 

for deployment of infrastructure (system power, data 

collection system, and data transmission system), which, 

when completed, will serve as the backbone of the 

permanent seafl oor observatory.

GAS & OIL

Methane 

Hydrate

The global storehouse of 

methane hydrate is vast, and, 

because it is widespread, methane 

hydrate will immensely impact 

the international balance of 

power in terms of energy supply. 

However, this “ice that burns” is 

also a threat to other deepwater 

drilling that passes through 

overlying marine hydrate deposits. 

Pioneering this frontier, NETL 

research is focused on improving 

our fundamental understanding 

of methane hydrate. With a solid 

knowledge base, computer models 

can be developed to accurately 

predict issues associated with 

climate, resource potential, seabed 

stability, and drilling safety. 
33 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Computer Program Provides Insight into Gas 

Hydrates—An innovative simulation program developed 

with support from NETL’s Methane Hydrate Research and 

Development program is helping identify future energy 

supplies. The fi rst publicly available simulator of its kind, 

the TOUGH-Fx/Hydrate program is helping researchers 

and industry partners better understand the behavior of 

gas hydrates in the natural environment. The program 

models gas release, phase behavior, and fl ow of fl uids and 

heat in complex geological media. The code can simulate 

production from natural methane hydrate deposits in 

the subsurface (i.e., in the permafrost and in deep ocean 

sediments), as well as in the laboratory. Since its public 

release, there has been considerable interest in the program, 

both domestically and abroad. Program licenses have been 

granted to 25 noncommercial organizations in 11 countries. 

Two major oil and gas companies have also purchased 

licenses—the fi rst steps into industry application. Nearly 

80 researchers are estimated to now have access to the 

TOUGH-Fx/Hydrate program.

Prestigious DOE Methane Hydrate Fellowship Program 

Announced—NETL has established a new fellowship 

program for methane hydrate researchers. Two-year 

appointments will support three to fi ve fellows engaged 

in masters, doctoral, or postdoctoral programs that 

advance hydrate science either in industrial applications 

or academic research. The National Academy of Sciences 

will be responsible for creating and administering the 

program in close cooperation with NETL and other federal 

agencies participating in the National Methane Hydrate 

program. The fellowship program responds to requirements 

contained in Section 968 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act.

Research Equipment Assists in Successful Recovery 

of Gas Hydrate Cores and Samples—The Integrated 

Ocean Drilling Program, an international marine research 

drilling program funded primarily by the U.S. National 

Science Foundation and operated by Joint Oceanographic 

Institutions Alliance, completed a 37-day cruise off the 

western coast of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. The 

purpose of the cruise was to investigate the occurrence of 

gas hydrate deposits. NETL provided infrared scanning 

equipment, temperature-pressure probes, x-ray linear 

scanners, and in-situ pressure coring devices, which were 

instrumental in successfully identifying and recovering 

gas hydrate samples for analysis. This location and similar 

areas off the northwest coast of the United States are 

known to contain signifi cant marine gas hydrate deposits, 

which are under study for their gas resource potential, 

possible role in seafl oor safety and stability, and role in 

climate change.

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Completes New 

Zealand Cruise—The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 

in association with New Zealand’s Institute of Geological 

and Nuclear Sciences, completed its latest cruise over 

the Hikurangi Margin located off the east coast of New 

Zealand’s North Island. The purpose of the NETLsupported cruise was to characterize seafl oor mound 

features over possible methane hydrate deposits by 

geochemical, thermal, and microbial analysis. Mounds 

were selected for sampling based on the presence of 

bottom-simulating refl ectors, which indicated the probable 

presence of methane hydrate. About 30 core samples 

were collected for pore water geochemistry and microbial 

analysis, and 12 locations were sampled for heat fl ow.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 34

Microfi ltration Proves Effective at Treating Produced 

Water—In an NETL-managed project, a mobile 

desalination unit developed by Texas A&M University 

holds the potential to produce freshwater from produced 

brinewater less expensively than transporting the water 

to a disposal area. The unit has been employed in several 

fi eld tests on both gas-condensate wells and oil wells. 

Microfi ltration removed all of the suspended solids 

while reverse osmosis removed more than 97 percent 

of the dissolved salts. The total projected cost for onsite 

desalination is less than $6 per 1000 gallons of freshwater 

produced, or $0.26 per barrel. By comparison, well 

operators pay $2.50 per barrel to transport produced 

brinewater to commercial disposal wells. For this 

demonstration, the landowner was given the freshwater 

at no cost. Under some circumstances, the freshwater 

represents income to the operator. Texas A&M expects to 

commercialize the technology in fi scal year 2007.

Process Enhances Quality of Water Produced with 

Coalbed Natural Gas—In a project funded by NETL 

and the Colorado School of Mines, Argonne National 

Laboratory and the Gas Technology Institute have used an 

integrated electrodialysis process for water treatment. The 

process is being evaluated for its potential to economically 

demineralize the large volumes of water associated with 

coalbed natural gas production, with the objective of 

generating water for benefi cial use. The use of special 

membranes may allow the removal of problematic sodium 

while retaining needed minerals, such as calcium and 

magnesium. Results have shown greater than 90 percent 

produced-water recovery effi ciency, 92 percent removal of 

dissolved solids, and modest energy input.

Onshore Platform Reduces Environmental Impacts—In 

conjunction with Texas A&M University and Noble 

Drilling Inc. of Sugar Land, TX, NETL is demonstrating 

the environmental benefi ts of an onshore drilling platform. 

Using offshore technology to minimize surface disturbance, 

the onshore platform will also minimize disturbance 

to wildlife and other key environmental resources. The 

project will document these reduced impacts in an effort to 

demonstrate that access to oil and gas resources in sensitive 

environmental settings can be developed without harm to 

ecosystems. The platform was fi rst used on Alaska’s North 

Slope to drill an experimental methane hydrate well.

GAS & OIL

Environmental 

Solutions 

NETL works with its partners to 

protect the environment while 

developing effi cient recovery 

systems to ensure adequate 

energy supplies. To achieve 

these goals, NETL develops new 

environmental technologies, 

pursues improvements to the 

regulatory process, and supplies 

the sound science needed 

for energy policy decisions. 

The results are lower costs 

and improved environmental 

protection technologies that 

will result in greater production 

of the nation’s oil and natural 

gas. Current research is focused 

on produced water, federal 

lands access, and regulatory 

streamlining.
35 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NETL Generates Storage-Base Gas Report for the 

White House—NETL staff provided a report to the White 

House on the potential of drawing down storage-base gas 

in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Storage-base 

gas is the gas that must remain in storage to deliver the 

working energy needed by consumers at required rates 

and pressures; operators do not typically remove this gas. 

However, with the concern about possible gas shortages 

during the winter due to the impact of the hurricanes in the 

Gulf of Mexico area, NETL was charged with determining 

how much base gas could be used.

Prototype Gas Line Repair Tool Successfully 

Demonstrated—Product developers at Timberline Tool 

of Whitefi sh, MT, demonstrated a novel repair tool for 

permanently patching damaged or defective polyethylene 

natural gas pipelines laid underground. The demonstration, 

held at facilities owned by Southwest Gas Corporation 

in Tempe, AZ, and NICOR in Naperville, IL, produced a 

long-term evaluation of repaired pipe samples and revealed 

no adverse effects to the pipe. The results have generated 

offers from nearly a dozen U.S. utilities to host additional 

demonstrations of the prototype process. Developed in 

cooperation with NETL, the single-operator repair tool 

requires minimal excavation and would reduce to about 

2 hours a repair that currently can take up to 14 hours to 

complete. 

Newly Developed Tools Enable Operators to Identify 

Well Damage—Supported by NETL, Schlumberger 

Holditch-Reservoir Technologies of Pittsburgh, PA, 

developed software modules that use wellhead electronic 

fl ow measurement data to plot trends in well damage over 

time. Understanding when damage develops can help 

identify its cause so that operational changes can be made 

to prevent recurrence.

Energy 

Infrastructure

An extensive network of pipelines 

transports America’s natural 

gas. As demand for natural gas 

increases, our current pipeline 

infrastructure will need to be 

technologically enhanced. The 

pipeline-compressor system 

must be sustained, but advanced 

delivery systems must also be 

developed. NETL’s research 

is developing economical and 

environmental solutions to 

upgrade the nation’s critical gas 

network as it adapts to rapidly 

changing natural gas markets.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 36

Project Produces Advanced Well-Hole Drilling 

Simulator—Working in cooperation with NETL, 

researchers at Terralog Technologies USA of Arcadia, CA, 

produced a computer model and its associated algorithms 

that more accurately simulate the interactions between 

drill bit and rock formation, as well as the removal 

and transport of rock fragments by drilling fl uids. By 

encompassing percussion and rotary motion in a drill bit, 

faster penetration with a straighter hole can theoretically 

be accomplished. The advanced simulator provides a tool 

for modeling a bit design that may change the theory into 

a reality and provide for more effi cient and lower-cost 

drilling and exploration of hard-rock reservoirs.

NETL Models Fuel Variability Anticipated for U.S. 

Natural Gas Infrastructure—Using a combination of 

semianalytical formulas and computational fl uid dynamics, 

NETL researchers are modeling how two gas streams 

with differing compositions will mix. The technique is 

being applied to understand how variations in pipeline 

gas composition resulting from gas supply changes 

or the introduction of liquefi ed natural gas may affect 

the operation of natural gas turbines and other end-use 

equipment, especially those tuned to produce very low 

emissions. 

Modeling and 

Simulation

Modeling and simulation 

technologies play an important 

role in natural gas and oil 

recovery. Computer simulators 

refi ne models of oil and gas 

reservoirs to better predict how 

much oil and gas can be produced. 

Increasing a fi eld’s production 

involves numerical modeling 

to minimize the risk involved 

in development or enhanced 

recovery decisions. Additionally, 

modeling and simulation exercises 

provide some assurance to 

operators that investing in 

technologies such as chemical 

fl ooding or in-situ combustion will 

result in a successful venture.

GAS & OIL
37 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

South Central Alaska Demand Study Completed—A 

fi nal report assessing the potential natural gas demand 

from an Alaska spur pipeline was released publicly in June 

2006. Produced by NETL, the report projects anticipated 

natural gas demand from existing and new industrial, 

commercial, and residential users in the Alaskan interior 

and south central Alaska. The demand would make 

economically viable the installation and operation of a spur 

pipeline extending from a proposed North Slope-to-Lower 

48 natural gas pipeline. The study will serve as a basis 

for estimating potential in-state natural gas demand and 

evaluating the viability of locating heavy-gas-use industries 

in Alaska. 

New Reservoir Simulation Software Released—The 

latest version of Miscible Applied Simulation Techniques 

for Energy Recovery (MASTER 3.0) is now publicly 

available for modeling enhanced oil recovery processes. 

The new version includes a foaming option for the Water 

Alternating with Gas process and makes overall usability 

improvements. Developed at the New Mexico Institute 

of Mining and Technology in cooperation with NETL, 

MASTER is a widely accepted computer simulator used 

to model a depleted oilfi eld and the production expected 

to result from the injection of water, CO2, natural gas, 

solvents, or other liquids or gases of known physical 

properties.

Internal Revenue Service Uses Software Developed 

at NETL—Internal Revenue Service agents are using 

Geo-Engineering Modeling through Internet Informatics 

(GEMINI) software developed in cooperation with NETL 

at the Kansas Geological Survey where it is publicly 

available. The GEMINI website receives approximately 

12,000–18,000 visits per month by domestic and 

international engineers who utilize the interactive 

programs designed to model and interpret rock properties, 

wireline logs, seismic data, and reservoir performance for 

predicting remaining petroleum reserves. The production 

decline curve module is of particular interest at Internal 

Revenue Service fi eld offi ces that are conducting oil and 

gas reserve audits.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 38

COMPLETING THE ENERGY 

CYCLE

Meeting America’s energy challenges 

demands attention to every phase of 

the energy cycle—not only production 

and generation, but also transmission, 

distribution, and consumption. In 

addition, our success depends on 

collaboration rather than isolated 

endeavors. Toward these ends, NETL 

supports efforts by DOE’s Offi ces 

of Energy Effi ciency and Renewable 

Energy (EERE), Electricity Delivery 

and Energy Reliability (OE), and 

Engineering and Construction 

Management to increase the reliability 

and effi ciency of the nation’s electricity 

grid, secure America’s energy 

infrastructure, and improve energy 

conservation in our homes, vehicles, and 

businesses. NETL lends its expertise 

to a diverse selection of projects 

focused on advanced transmission 

and conservation technologies, State 

Energy and Weatherization Assistance 

programs, building code and standards 

revisions, and coordinated federal 

response to energy emergencies.

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 38
39 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

OFFICE OF ENERGY 

EFFICIENCY AND 

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Mining Project Demonstrates Improved Recovery 

of Fine-Size Coal in Commercial Coal Preparation 

Plant—Researchers from CQ Inc., Blairsville, PA, 

demonstrated commercial viability for the GranuFlowTM

coal-fi nes-recovery process in tests conducted at the Jim 

Walter Resources Inc. No. 7 Coal Preparation Plant in 

Brookwood, AL. GranuFlow was developed to capture 

high-quality fi ne-sized coal that normally would be 

landfi lled or impounded. The process, patented by 

NETL, uses a bitumen emulsion to displace water from 

fi ne coal, agglomerating the coal prior to dewatering, 

thereby improving coal recovery. In addition to improved 

energy recovery and reduced waste at the plant, economic 

estimates forecast an increase in annual profi ts from 

$600,000 to $3,000,000 (for coal market values ranging 

from $50–$100 per ton). The work is being conducted as 

part of EERE’s Mining Industry of the Future. 

Improved Particle Separation Reduces Coal and 

Mineral Processing Costs—A project team led by 

researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 

University demonstrated the enhanced capabilities of 

new hydraulic separator designs for mineral classifi cation 

and concentration. The designs are based on fl uidizedbed technology, and data show that they substantially 

improve the performance of sizing and concentration 

circuits for both mineral and coal producers. This results 

in signifi cantly higher plant production, improved product 

quality, lower operating costs, and reduced environmental 

impacts. Full-scale prototypes were installed and 

commissioned at one coal site and two phosphate sites. 

Based on the performance improvements, phosphate 

producer The Mosaic Company, Plymouth, MN, procured 

four additional units, and KenAmerican Resources Inc. 

installed a unit purchased for its coal cleaning plant 

near Central City, KY. The feasibility of retrofi tting the 

technology to existing column fl otation cells at relatively 

low cost is under evaluation. The project was undertaken 

in cooperation with NETL as part of EERE’s Mining 

Industry of the Future. 

Nanoscale Building Blocks Yield Breakthrough for 

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes—In cooperation 

with NETL, researchers at Pacifi c Northwest National 

Laboratory have devised a method for building inherently 

small blue-light-emitting organic molecular fragments 

into larger molecules that can be processed into stable 

thin fi lms. The objective of this research is to improve the 

performance of blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) 

devices, the limiting factor in OLED device performance. 

The breakthrough will enable development of an entirely 

new class of higher-effi ciency OLED devices appropriate 

for solid-state lighting applications. Use of this fabrication 

method produced an OLED that demonstrates record 

short wavelength light emission (335 nanometers) at a 

remarkably low operating voltage as well as a record 

performance for blue OLED devices. This research was 

reported in the weekly journal Applied Physics Letters. 

White OLEDs Achieve Record Effi ciency—Working in 

cooperation with NETL, collaborators at the University 

of Southern California, the University of Michigan, and 

Universal Display Corporation in Ewing, NJ, developed 

a new OLED that achieves lighting effi ciency 50 

percent greater than a standard incandescent light bulb 

and 20 percent greater than the previous OLED record 

(24 lumens per watt at a face brightness of 500 candelas per 

square meter). The new device employs a combination of 

red-and-green-phosphorescent and blue-fl uorescent dopants 

that overcome many of the shortcomings (e.g., short 

lifetime and poor color stability) of standard OLEDs. 

New Benchmarks Achieved in Light-Emitting Diode 

Effi ciency and Brightness—The new white XLamp® 

7090 power light-emitting diode (LED) released by Cree 

Inc. delivers 85 lumens per watt, providing brightness 

and effi ciency suitable in general applications, such as 

street, industrial, and parking garage lighting. This nextgeneration XLamp is the fi rst device based on Cree’s 

breakthrough, a gallium-nitride-based EZBrightTM LED. 

The XLamp and EZBright product lines were developed 

at Cree’s Santa Barbara Technology Center with NETL 

support. 

ENERGY CYCLE
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 40

Advancements Lead to Record White OLED 

Milestone—Through Small Business Innovative 

Research grants administered at NETL, Universal 

Display Corporation and its partners at Princeton 

University and the University of Southern California 

demonstrated WOLEDTM—a white OLED with a power 

effi cacy of 40 lumens per watt at 1,000 candelas per 

square meter (similar output to a 100-watt incandescent 

bulb). The team is targeting a 100-lumen-per-watt white 

OLED by 2010, which is well in line with the DOE 

multiyear projection for white OLED light sources. 

Warm white emission from the new OLEDs has a colorrendering index of 70, closely resembling the color of 

incandescent lamps, which WOLEDs are targeted to 

replace in the lighting industry. 

NETL Helps Industry Lower Solar Cell Cost—A 

cooperative effort between NETL and Dow Corning, 

Midland, MI, has realized a milestone in the development 

of solar energy technology—a solar-grade silicon derived 

from metallurgical silicon that exhibits good solar cell 

characteristics. NETL scientists worked with Dow 

Corning to develop a method for producing solar-grade 

silicon from low-cost feed sources. Since January 2006, 

a number of tests using low-cost silica, higher-purity 

carbon briquettes, and woodchips have been performed to 

produce acceptable, high-purity silicon for photovoltaic 

use. The process developed was very effi cient in 

producing silicon with excellent power and electrode 

consumption.

Laser Ignition Multiplexing Demonstrated—As part 

of an NETL-managed project under EERE’s Distributed 

Energy program, Colorado State University researchers 

successfully demonstrated the multiplexed fi ber-optical 

delivery of laser ignition sparks in laboratory tests. 

Spark distribution occurred among 6 channels at 1,800 

revolutions per minute—an important milestone toward 

multicylinder engine applications. Researchers are 

building a system for installation on a full-size multiplecylinder engine. 

Heavy Duty Truck Engine Project Reaches Major 

Milestone—In cooperation with NETL, product 

developers at Cummins Inc. of Columbus, IN, 

demonstrated steady-state operation of its 15-liter, 

6-cylinder ISX diesel engine at 50 percent brake 

thermal effi ciency while producing no more than 0.2 

grams of NOx or 0.01 grams of particulate matter per 

brake horsepower-hour. These low emissions, achieved 

through advanced combustion techniques, comply with 

2010 levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency for class 8 vehicles. In addition to this success, 

the engine also extracts and converts otherwise wasted 

thermal energy into electricity via an expansion turbine/

generator. The electricity is then used to power an electric 

motor connected to the vehicle’s driveline or fl ywheel to 

improve the engine’s thermal effi ciency by approximately 

16 percent.

Projects Will Reduce Petroleum-Based Fuel 

Consumption—NETL awarded more than $26 million in 

cost-shared projects for reducing national transportation 

fuel consumption by up to 30 million gallons per year. 

Sixteen new projects will be managed by NETL under the 

Clean Cities program of the EERE Offi ce of FreedomCAR 

and Vehicle Technologies:

• Thirteen projects were awarded to install blending and 

refueling infrastructure for dispensing E85, biodiesel, 

and other alternative fuels at more than 200 new or 

converted service stations in 28 states and Washington, 

DC. 

• A single project for placing highway-certifi ed propanepowered vehicles in service was awarded under the 

program’s Incremental Cost for Alternative Fuel 

Vehicles area. 

• Two projects in the program’s Idle Reduction Training 

and Awareness for School Districts were awarded for 

the development and implementation of comprehensive 

school bus driver, student, faculty, and parent education 

and awareness programs designed to reduce or eliminate 

engine idling. 

Weatherization Assistance Program Grants Total 

$100 Million—NETL manages 23 Weather Assistance 

Program grants to state agencies for conserving energy 

while improving health and safety in homes of low-income 

citizens. Federal appropriations for fi scal year 2006 resulted 

in the weatherization of approximately 36,000 homes and 

reduced heating bills by 31 percent and overall energy 

bills by an average of $358 per year. Each dollar of DOE 

investment in weatherization returns $3.71 in energyand non-energy-related benefi ts. Across the nation, the 

Weatherization Assistance Program generates 8,000 jobs 

and decreases U.S. energy use the equivalent of 15 million 

barrels of oil annually.

ENERGY CYCLE
41 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

OFFICE OF ELECTRICITY 

DELIVERY AND ENERGY 

RELIABILITY

NETL Assists OE in Responding to National Energy 

Emergencies—NETL supports OE in emergency 

preparedness and response by leading the Visualization 

and Modeling Working Group (VMWG), a national 

laboratory consortium that conducts predictive and actual 

impact analyses during exercises and emergencies. These 

analyses enable decision makers to position staff and 

energy resources in advance of an anticipated catastrophic 

event. Over the fi scal year, the team provided support to 

headquarters for forest fi res, fl oods, and tropical storms, 

as well as permit locations for electrical transmission line 

border crossings of both Canada and Mexico. VMWG’s 

efforts included these specifi c examples:

• In response to 2006 hurricane season national 

emergencies, NETL federal staff were deployed to 

Washington, DC, and impacted areas in the Gulf of 

Mexico to provide DOE’s Emergency Support Function 

12 (ESF 12) assistance. ESF 12 helps restore the nation’s 

energy systems following a major disaster, emergency, 

or other signifi cant event requiring a federal response. 

ESF 12 also provides direct coordination with all other 

departmental response elements.

• State Energy Assurance Guidelines were prepared 

and published to assist state and local governments in 

responding to emergencies involving energy assets and 

infrastructure. Addressing petroleum, electricity, natural 

gas, and other energy sources, the guidelines serve as 

a benchmark for states when preparing or updating 

their Energy Assurance Plans, which then may be 

incorporated into the states’ Emergency Response Plans.

NETL Responds to Energy Emergencies and 

Infrastructure Disruptions—NETL’s Energy 

Infrastructure and Security Research Group (EISRG) 

coordinates DOE’s response to energy emergencies and 

assists with recovery efforts from disruption in the energy 

infrastructure. EISRG also integrates the infrastructure 

analysis expertise of various DOE laboratories during 

emergency operations associated with disaster response 

efforts. By deploying resources and providing vital 

information, EISRG improves the ability of government 

agencies and the energy sector to prevent, prepare for, and 

respond to hazards, emergencies, natural disasters, or any 

other threat to the nation’s energy supply. EISRG realized 

the following 2006 accomplishments: 

• Developed and deployed geographic information system 

capability to senior-level ESF 12 responders, enabling 

the responders to quickly evaluate locations and 

attributes of the energy infrastructure. This capability 

was also implemented at OE Headquarters. 

• Performed an in-depth analysis of the Gulf of Mexico 

focused on production and delivery system connectivity. 

The analysis resulted in an increased capability for 

recovery response after a disruption as well as the 

building of a predictive capability for shut-in production 

up to 36 hours ahead of a hurricane. 

• Initiated development of an Energy Infrastructure 

Library to assist in national and regional analysis of 

energy supplies; national emergencies involving energy 

assets and emergency preparedness, training, and 

exercises. NETL also developed 42 Asset Summaries 

for the library. The summaries include essential data 

and analyses for the nation’s most important energy 

infrastructure facilities.

• In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, began 

developing a model to evaluate the transportation of 

fuels used in power generation. Phase 1 will provide 

the team with a capability to track coal from source to 

generation. Although the model is under development, 

the team was able to provide analysis and expertise on 

the nation’s coal infrastructure for rail congestion in the 

Powder River Basin and perform high-level analyses 

for the impact of the “stand-down” order issued in West 

Virginia due to a series of coal mining fatalities. 
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 42

Modern Grid Initiative Team Commences Field 

Tests and Holds Regional Summits—To accelerate 

modernization of the nation’s electricity grid, NETL and 

OE have established the Modern Grid Initiative (MGI). 

MGI aims to develop a shared national vision of a modern 

grid’s principal characteristics and key technologies by 

analyzing performance and technology gaps, developing 

a national concept of the grid, encouraging industry 

consensus, and coordinating regional technology 

integration projects. The MGI team realized two primary 

accomplishments this fi scal year:

• Began fi eld-testing integrated suites of advanced grid 

technologies using part of Allegheny Power Company’s 

electric grid in Morgantown, WV. The main focus of the 

test is to deploy advanced sensors, switches, and control 

technologies to either prevent outages or, if outages do 

occur, isolate them to a smaller number of customers 

than would be affected under current grid conditions. 

Additional results are expected to demonstrate 

signifi cantly improved reliability and power quality 

as well as better protection of the region’s electricity 

distribution circuits. Successful integration would also 

more fully utilize the capacity of existing infrastructure, 

leading to signifi cant overall cost savings.

• Conducted fi ve regional summit meetings to engage a 

broad range of stakeholders in creating a shared vision 

of the future electricity grid in the United States and to 

identify key issues with each region’s electricity grid. 

Results of the summits show general acceptance of 

the approach the MGI team is taking and the principal 

characteristics and key technology areas it has identifi ed 

as critical to achieving grid modernization. Stakeholder 

feedback focused on the need for changes to state 

regulations, a clearer federal policy, improved consumer 

education, stronger business cases, and the establishment 

of performance metrics for the grid. 

ENERGY CYCLE

Low-Swirl Injector Technology Demonstrated for 

Industrial Turbines—Low-swirl injector combustion 

technology was demonstrated in a Solar Taurus 70 

natural-gas-fi red industrial turbine in a project managed 

and sponsored by NETL. Patented at Lawrence Berkeley 

National Laboratory, the low-swirl injector is a simple, 

robust, cost-effective device that can increase system 

effi ciency while maintaining ultralow emissions of 

NOx and carbon monoxide. The technology is already 

commercialized for industrial heaters. 

Novel Injector Emits Ultralow NOx—Combustion testing 

on the scale of a model C65 microturbine from Capstone 

Turbine Corporation, Chatsworth, CA, indicated that the 

injector produced NOx levels below those specifi ed in the 

California Air Resources Board 2007 regulation. NETL 

manages the project in support of OE’s Distributed Energy 

program.

Composite Material Signifi cantly Improves Gas 

Turbine Performance—Installation of a full set of silicon 

carbide-based shrouds in the fi rst stage of a GE Energy 

F-class gas turbine has resulted in signifi cant performance 

improvement at a JEA utility in Jacksonville, FL. The 

project was undertaken to assist GE in developing a more 

energy-effi cient turbine with industrial applications. 

Invented at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, 

NY, the Melt-Infi ltrated Ceramic Matrix Composite permits 

a higher operating temperature compared to that of metal 

components, enabling higher gas-turbine power output 

and effi ciency with lower emissions and longer intervals 

between scheduled maintenance outages. The project is 

managed by NETL in support of OE’s Distributed Energy 

program. 
43 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

Combustor Liner Achieves Longevity Milestone—Solar 

Turbines Inc. of San Diego, CA, has achieved a record 

23,000 hours of operation in ongoing tests of an oxidebased ceramic matrix composite outer-combustor liner. 

The liner was developed by GE Global Research Center in 

Niskayuna, NY, and is installed on a Centaur 50 industrial 

gas turbine at a Chevron Corporation cogeneration site 

in Bakersfi eld, CA. Solar Turbines is interested in using 

advanced combustor liners to increase the lifetime of gas 

turbine components that operate at the higher temperatures 

necessary to build on the 38.5 percent effi ciency now 

achieved in Solar Turbines’s Mercury 50 product. 

The project is managed by NETL under a cooperative 

agreement between GE and DOE. 

Advanced Reciprocating Engine Systems Offered 

Commercially—Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL, and 

Waukesha Engine in Waukesha, IL, are offering their 

Advanced Reciprocating Engine Systems for commercial 

sale, and Advanced Reciprocating Engine Systems 

technology totaling 2.3 gigawatts is operating in the fi eld. 

The technology was developed through research and 

development support from NETL’s Advanced Reciprocating 

Engine Systems program. With 44 percent effi ciency, 

advanced reciprocating engine systems offer greater overall 

effi ciency than standard reciprocating engines, which 

operate at 38 percent effi ciency. 

OFFICE OF 

ENGINEERING AND 

CONSTRUCTION 

MANAGEMENT

External Independent Reviews Conducted—NETL 

provided technical oversight and contracting for 39 

external independent reviews for various programs and 

projects within DOE at a cost of $9.7 million. External 

independent reviews are required for DOE projects with 

a value over $100 million and are conducted by teams of 

external subject-matter experts who provide evaluations and 

recommendations on the projects.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 44

SHARING OUR ENERGY 

EXPERTISE

NETL has a longstanding history of 

disseminating its knowledge of fossil 

fuels to its research partners, other 

government entities, and the public 

at large. Through training courses, 

interagency cooperation, domestic and 

international workshops, and database 

exchanges, NETL plays a key role in 

supporting DOE’s efforts to be the 

authoritative source of energy-related 

information in the nation.

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 44
45 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

SHARING

Study Shows Promise for Using Coal to Support 

Industrial Activity in Alaska—In July 2006, NETL 

completed its “Beluga Coal Gasifi cation Study (Phase 

1).” Among the study’s fi ndings, economic replacement 

of natural gas with coal-derived synthesis gas can provide 

an alternative feedstock for the petrochemical industry. 

This technology could provide industry with an incentive 

to consider development of Cook Inlet, AK—the last 

tidewater coal asset in the United States open to year-round 

shipping. The Beluga study used Agrium Inc.’s nitrogen 

facility in Kenai, AK, as a case study for investigating 

the feasibility of integrated gasifi cation combined cycle 

technology. Based in part on NETL’s study, which 

complemented Agrium’s concurrent investigations into the 

same technology, Agrium plans to develop a world-class 

low-emission coal-gasifi cation facility to supply feedstock 

to its Kenai facility. Excess CO2 from the facility would be 

used for enhanced oil recovery in Cook Inlet, potentially 

doubling oil production from the area.

NETL Assists in Solving HUMVEE Rollover Problem—

NETL is collaborating with the Army Research Laboratory, 

Picatinny Arsenal, International Titanium Powder of 

Rockport, IL, and vehicle manufacturers to develop a 

weight-reducing modifi cation that would help prevent 

armored HUMVEEs from overturning during combat 

maneuvering. The modifi cation would replace steel-based 

armor with a combination of titanium alloy and transparent 

alumina, making the vehicle less top-heavy by halving 

the weight in the turret area and simultaneously providing 

the turret gunner greater protection from roadside bombs. 

NETL scientists produced prototype titanium plates from 

a low-cost powder manufactured using a novel process 

invented at Argonne National Laboratory. These plates were 

then ballistically tested at the Army Research Laboratory’s 

Ballistic Research Laboratory located in Aberdeen, MD. 

Results from this classifi ed testing were forwarded to the 

Picatinny Arsenal for use in the fabrication of the transparent 

alumina/titanium armor prototypes for fi eld testing. 

NETL Assists in Meeting Challenge Posed by 

Improvised Explosive Devices—A cast-steel armor 

produced by a lost-foam method variation fi rst developed 

by NETL in the 1990s holds great promise for protecting 

heavy convoy vehicles and personnel from improvised 

explosive devices and other roadside bombs. The material 

is already used for applications at the U.S. Army Tank 

and Automotive Command located in Warren, MI. Army 

Research Laboratory personnel in Aberdeen, MD, have 

used the castings on targets during ballistics tests, and new 

castings were produced with fabrication modifi cations to 

enhance the ballistic performance of the plates.

NETL Provides Critical Information During Hurricane 

Recovery—NETL personnel served as members of the 

DOE Hurricane Recovery Monitoring Team. The team 

monitored the operational status of the natural gas supply 

industry within the Gulf of Mexico region as the industry 

recovered from the effects of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. 

Specifi c emphasis was placed on generating a daily status 

report used to brief the White House relative to the damage 

assessments and repair schedules for platforms, processing 

plants, and pipelines. The team also provided an estimate of 

the combined daily Gulf of Mexico gas production, based 

upon analysis of the best available information from Gulf 

of Mexico operators. 

NETL Staff Member Supports Iraq Study Group—

NETL engineer Thomas L. Ochs served on an advisory 

panel that provided a report to the Iraq Study Group 

with ideas and recommendations for developing the oil, 

natural gas, refi ning, transportation, power generation, 

and electrical distribution components of Iraq’s economy. 

Ochs has worked for more than two years, fi rst with the 

Coalition Provisional Authority and then with the Iraq 

Reconstruction Management Offi ce, to advise and support 

the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity. He continues to support 

the Iraq Reconstruction Management Offi ce and the State 

Department. 

NETL Joins U.S. Department of State in Training 

Foreign Service Offi cers—For the seventh consecutive 

year, NETL staff organized a week-long course that equips 

Foreign Service Offi cers and other U.S. governmental 

foreign-affairs employees with a basic understanding 

of coal- and power-related technologies and associated 

issues. This cradle-to-grave training covers coal formation, 

mining, preparation, combustion, gasifi cation, emissions 

control, by-product utilization and disposal, and carbon 

capture and storage. Natural-gas-based power generation 

using gas turbines and distributed energy systems was 

also covered. Participants attended a variety of speaker 

seminars and toured several facilities, including coal mines, 

coal- and natural-gas-fi red power plants, and a solid-oxide 

fuel cell research and production facility. In addition to the 

Department of State, this year’s participants represented 

the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the 

U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy. The course 

complements a similar one on oil and gas exploration 

and production organized by the Petroleum Equipment 

Suppliers Association with support from the Offi ce of 

Fossil Energy.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 46

SPOTLIGHTING OUR 

CONTRIBUTIONS

As a testament to its effectiveness in 

advancing fossil energy technologies, 

NETL and its researchers received awards 

and recognition from a wide variety of 

stakeholders in 2006. Our research fi ndings 

were featured in leading technology journals, 

and our scientists earned patents for their 

innovations and breakthroughs. This external 

recognition affi rms NETL’s commitment to 

overcoming America’s energy challenges.

NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 46
47 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

AWARDS

Three Products Earn Prestigious R&D 100 Awards—

Three technologies developed with support from NETL 

were selected by an independent judging panel and 

the editors of R&D Magazine as among the 100 most 

technologically signifi cant products introduced into the 

marketplace over the past year. Dubbed the “Oscars of 

Invention,” R&D 100 awards are recognized by industry, 

government, and academia as proof that a company has 

commercialized one of the most innovative ideas of the 

year. An R&D 100 award provides an important boost to 

technologies just entering the marketplace. 

• Sandia National Laboratories, High Power Battery 

Systems Company in Nizhny Novogorad, Russia, 

and General Atomics in San Diego, CA, developed 

a solid-state battery containing fl uoride instead of 

lithium for high-temperature (250 °C) operation. 

Unlike lithium batteries, which are considered a 

hazardous waste and have a high risk of explosion when 

used in high-temperature oil and natural gas drilling 

operations, the fl uoride-based battery is operationally 

and environmentally safe, even at temperatures 

exceeding conventional design limits. Sandia National 

Laboratories and General Atomics teamed up to develop 

a manufacturing process and packaging for this proven 

battery technology. The device can greatly improve the 

reliability of power supplied to electronic components 

used in measurement-while-drilling tools. The project 

was part of a federal laboratory partnership funded 

through NETL.

• The Data Transmission SystemTM, developed by 

Stolar Research Corporation of Raton, NM, upgrades 

conventional and coiled drilling equipment with 

a two-way data-communications capability using 

modulated radio waves inductively coupled to the skin 

of the drill pipe through loop antennas. By relaying to 

surface operators a more complete picture of drill-hole 

conditions in less time than competing technologies, 

drilling effi ciency and accuracy are increased and 

operational costs are reduced. The technology was 

developed in cooperation with NETL with support 

from the Offi ce of Fossil Energy and the Industrial 

Technologies program of EERE.

• The NETL-funded EXPLORER pipeline inspection 

robot is a long-range, tetherless, self-powered robotic 

system for the live, visual inspection of natural gas 

and other pipelines of 6–8-inch diameter. The system 

was created through research by NETL, the Robotics 

Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, NYSEARCH/

Northeast Gas Association, Polytechnic University, 

California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion 

Lab, and ULC Robotics in Deer Park, NY. Because 

the system is wireless, it can negotiate around bends, 

trees, and other obstacles. It is the fi rst robotic system 

capable of providing semiautonomous visual inspection, 

as well as nondestructive evaluation of the natural gas 

pipeline infrastructure. It also requires only a minimum 

number of access points into the pipeline. Additional 

enhancements, currently underway, will permit the 

platform to carry advanced sensors capable of longrange inspection of many currently inaccessible natural 

gas distribution pipelines. 

Technology Transfer Achievements Recognized—The 

Federal Laboratory Consortium (Mid-Atlantic Region) 

presented 2006 Excellence in Technology Transfer 

Awards to two NETL researchers for innovative efforts 

in transferring new commercially relevant computational 

tools to the private sector. The awards were presented to 

Dr. Stephen Zitney for the Advanced Process Engineering 

Co-Simulator (APECS) and to Dr. Madhava Syamlal for 

Multiphase Flow with Interphase eXchanges (MFIX). Both 

of these software packages were developed at NETL by 

federal researchers in collaboration with private industry 

and the university community. The awards were presented 

at the Consortium’s annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting 

on September 21, 2006, in Cumberland, MD. 

Manager Chosen as Fellow of The Electrochemistry 

Society—Dr. Mark Williams, NETL Fuel Cells Technology 

Manager, was elected Fellow, The Electrochemistry 

Society, for his work in electrochemical energy conversion 

technology development, especially fuel cells. The society 

conferred its highest honor, and the fi rst-of-its-kind for 

NETL, October 19, 2005, at the 208th Meeting of The 

Electrochemistry Society in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Williams 

helped establish the Offi ce of Fossil Energy’s Solid State 

Energy Conversion Alliance and the High-Temperature 

Electrochemistry Center located at Pacifi c Northwest 

National Laboratory. These programs are expected to 

become major funding sources for high-temperature 

electrochemistry research over the next decade. With a 

membership of more than 8,000 scientists, engineers, 

and corporations worldwide, The Electrochemistry 

Society has become the leading society for solid-state and 

electrochemical science and technology. 

SPOTLIGHT
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 48

SPOTLIGHT

Project Receives the Generation Technology Transfer 

Award from the Electric Power Research Institute—Great 

River Energy of Elk River, MN, along with several industrial 

partners, received the Generation Technology Transfer 

Award for coal-drying technology demonstrated at its Coal 

Creek Station in Underwood, ND. Based on lignite-drying 

research sponsored by NETL, the technology uses the 

power plant’s waste heat to reduce lignite moisture so that 

more power can be produced with less fuel. The 54-month 

demonstration was conducted in cooperation with NETL. 

This coal-drying technology could potentially be applied to 

more than 100 gigawatts of installed capacity of units burning 

high-moisture coals, offering effi ciency improvements and 

emissions reduction to the U.S. power industry. 

Project Selected for EPA Award—An ash-benefi ciation 

technology developed in cooperation with NETL at the 

University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy 

Research was presented with the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Special Recognition Award 

in Innovation.” The technology, developed through 

DOE’s Clean Coal Power Initiative, was tested at the 

Ghent Generating Station in Carrollton, KY. The award 

was presented by the EPA’s Coal Combustion Products 

Partnership in Atlanta, GA, at the Annual Congress of the 

National Recycling Coalition in October 2006. 

Project Earns Society of Petroleum Engineers Award—

The Society of Petroleum Engineers presented Dr. Hao 

Cheng with the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal in recognition 

of his signifi cant contribution in hydrocarbon distribution 

simulation. Dr. Cheng’s work draws on research to identify 

the location and distribution of remaining and bypassed 

hydrocarbons—a resource that could amount to 100 billion 

barrels of recoverable oil in domestic oilfi elds. The research 

was completed in cooperation with NETL at Texas A&M 

University’s Texas Engineering Experiment Station at 

College Station, TX. The medal is awarded to members 

under age 33 who conducted signifi cant technical research 

the previous year. The Society of Petroleum Engineers 

presented the medal at its annual meeting and banquet on 

September 25, 2006, in San Antonio, TX. 

NOx-Control Technology Among Kirkpatrick Award 

Finalists—Oxygen Enhanced Combustion, developed by 

Praxair Inc., Danbury, CT, was among fi ve fi nalists for the 

prestigious Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement 

Award. Developed in cooperation with NETL, the 

technology replaces a small part of burner combustion air 

with oxygen, which is injected into the critical area of the 

fl ame. The technology can lower the cost of NOx control 

by as much as 40 percent compared to selective catalytic 

reduction, and can accomplish this without substantial boiler 

modifi cations or the hazards of ammonia. The technology 

is operating in two pulverized coal boilers at Pulpwood 

Glatfelter Company’s manufacturing facility in Spring 

Grove, PA. It is particularly well-suited for retrofi tting older, 

space-constrained units with capacities of 300 megawatts or 

less, which represent 66 percent of U.S. boilers.

NETL Wins Best Paper Awards—The American 

Society of Mechanical Engineers selected two technical 

papers authored by NETL researchers Eric Liese, George 

Richards, Edward Robey, and David Tucker for Best Paper 

Awards. The papers were prepared for the International Gas 

Turbine Institute Meeting held in conjunction with the 2005 

American Society of Mechanical Engineers Turbo Expo 

in Reno, NV, and the awards were presented in Barcelona, 

Spain, at the May 2006 American Society of Mechanical 

Engineers Turbo Expo. The awards recognize leadership 

in combustion-dynamics and hybrid-systems research 

and development demonstrated by NETL researchers in 

collaboration with West Virginia University.

Collaborator Receives Society for Mining, Metallurgy, 

and Exploration Award—Dr. Gerald Luttrell received 

the 2006 Percy W. Nichols Award for notable achievement 

in the fi eld of solid fuels. Dr. Luttrell is a professor at 

Virginia State University and Polytechnic Institute. He is 

also associated with the Center for Advanced Separation 

Technologies—a university consortium cooperating with 

NETL in long-term, high-risk research and development of 

technologies that can be used by the U.S. mining industry 

to create new products, reduce production costs, and meet 

environmental regulations. Named for a pioneer in the 

science and technology of fuels utilization, the Percy W. 

Nichols award is presented annually to a member of the 

American Society of Mechanical Engineers or the Society 

for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration.

Collaborator Honored—Alaska Engineering Societies 

named Shirish Patil the 2005 Engineer-of-the-Year at the 

annual award banquet for the Alaska Society of Professional 

Engineers in February 2006. The University of Alaska 

Fairbanks professor is a key principal investigator for several 

projects managed by NETL in viscous oil production, carbon 

sequestration, and methane gas hydrates. Collaborating with 

industry and academia, the NETL-University of Alaska 

Fairbanks partnership seeks to overcome technical, economic, 

market, and environmental barriers to the deployment of 

effi cient, clean, and affordable energy production systems 

in arctic climates and sparsely populated areas in Alaska.
49 NETL Accomplishments FY 2006

NOTEWORTHY

PUBLICATIONS

Project Produces Leading Paper for National Science 

Publication—The leading manuscript for the January 

2006 American Association of Petroleum Geologists 

Bulletin discusses the distribution, character, and relative 

age of fractures in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska as 

yielding important clues toward discovering hydrocarbons 

there. The peer-reviewed paper is based on a study 

completed in cooperation with NETL at the University 

of Alaska Fairbanks to increase the knowledge of fl uid 

migration and trap formation in the Colville Basin—the 

next logical area for exploration as Prudhoe Bay ages. 

Research Provides Cover Story for Scientifi c 

Publication—The cover of the December 1, 2005, issue 

of The Journal of Physical Chemistry B features an image 

developed by computational and experimental work 

performed by NETL in collaboration with the University 

of Pittsburgh. The accompanying article describes the 

chemical adsorption of alkanethiol onto a gold surface at 

ultralow temperatures. The alkanethiol-gold system holds 

great promise for tailoring the chemical functionality of a 

surface. Such systems are of interest in a variety of fossil 

energy applications, including improved lubricants and fuel 

cell applications.

Metallography Featured in Chemical & Engineering 

News—The work of NETL metallographer Paul 

Danielson is highlighted in the May 2006 issue of 

Chemical & Engineering News as part of an article 

titled “The Gorgeous Inside Stories of Metal.” The cover 

featured one of Danielson’s images, and a gallery of his 

work was presented on the Chemical & Engineering 

News website. Utilizing a combination of polishing 

and chemical-etching techniques, Danielson produces 

spectacular color images of alloy surfaces as viewed 

through an optical microscope. These images reveal a 

wealth of scientifi c information about localized changes in 

chemistry and structure resulting from manufacture or use. 

Researchers Author Chapter for Catalysis—NETL 

researchers Dushyant Shekhawat, Dave Berry, and Todd 

Gardner, in collaboration with Dr. James J. Spivey of 

Louisiana State University, have authored a chapter for 

Catalysis, Volume 19, published by the Royal Society of 

Chemistry. The chapter provides a comprehensive review 

of the available literature in the area of catalytic reforming 

of liquid hydrocarbon fuels for fuel cell applications. 

Other chapters in this volume cover biofuels, FischerTropsch and nitride catalysts, kinetic theory, and methane 

decomposition. The book series publishes worldwide 

reviews of current interest in various fi elds involving 

catalysis. 

Computational Study on Flexible Carbon Nanotubes 

Published—A paper published by NETL authors Karl 

Johnson and David Sholl in the February 9, 2006, Journal 

of Physical Chemistry B demonstrates that membranes 

containing single-walled carbon nanotubes could transcend 

the current limits of fl ux and selectivity. The study shows 

that fl exibility (thermal vibrations) would not impact 

transport diffusion in carbon nanotubes as signifi cantly 

as expected, providing impetus to continue development 

of membrane materials that incorporate nanotubes as the 

active transport component. Such membranes could be the 

key to the noncryogenic production of oxygen or nitrogen 

from air, hydrogen separation technologies, and the 

economic capture of CO2 from power plant fl ue gas. 

Catalytic Production of Hydrogen Research 

Published—A paper detailing computational chemistry 

performed at NETL on catalytic decomposition of 

hydrogen sulfi de was published by Elsevier in its August 

2006 issue of Surface Science. Authored by researchers 

Erik J. Albenze and Abolghasem Shamsi, the work focuses 

on hydrogen sulfi de dissociation on bimetallic nickelmolybdenum catalysts as a way of producing hydrogen 

from the hydrogen sulfi de associated with natural gas, oil, 

and brine water. 

Thermal Imaging Research Published in Scientifi c 

Journal—A paper by NETL authors Stephen Beer, Steven 

Woodruff, T. Mike Dera, and Mark Tucker describing 

an infrared thermal imaging system for temperature 

measurement was published in the February 2006 issue of 

the peer-reviewed journal Review of Scientifi c Instruments. 

Compared to commercial imagers, the system is less 

expensive and more accurate for combustors, fuel cells, and 

other high-temperature devices with optical access.
NETL Accomplishments FY 2006 50

Research on Hydrogen-Storage Material Published—

NETL researchers have found that nitroprussides—a 

class of easily produced micro-porous powders with 

stable crystalline structures and high surface areas—have 

a higher affi nity for hydrogen than physical adsorbents, 

such as carbons. This research, which contributes to 

the development of structures with still higher heats of 

adsorption and greater hydrogen capacities, is summarized 

in a paper appearing in the April 27, 2006 issue of the 

Journal of Physical Chemistry B.

Combustion Expert Coauthors Article for Mechanical 

Engineering—Editors of Mechanical Engineering

approached NETL to learn how researchers are addressing 

the combustion intricacies associated with a growing 

diversity of fuel choices driven by market and regulatory 

forces. In response, NETL’s George Richards, along with 

Tim Lieuwen of the Georgia Institute of Technology, 

authored the article “Burning Question,” featured in the 

March 2006 issue of the magazine, a monthly publication 

of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The 

article highlights the search for cleaner ways to tap the 

nation’s vast coal resources while meeting ever-tightening 

environmental requirements, including a reduction in CO2

emissions. 

PATENTS

Metal-Based Sorbent Method Captures Mercury in 

High-Temperature Gas Streams—NETL scientists Evan 

Granite and Henry Pennline were issued a patent for a 

process that facilitates mercury extraction from fl ue/fuel 

gas utilizing regenerable metal-based sorbents at both 

elevated and ambient temperatures. Metals such as iridium, 

ruthenium, palladium, and platinum can be dispersed on 

an inert support to increase surface area per gram of active 

sorbent. Alloys of these metals can be formulated to capture 

mercury from many industrial effl uent gas streams that are 

highly corrosive. The process is particularly suited for coal 

gasifi cation because it is effective for capturing mercury 

at various process stages with negligible effect on thermal 

effi ciency. 

New Process Recovers Energy from Cool Compressed 

Gas—A newly patented method could help offset the cost 

of capturing and transporting CO2 emitted from power 

plants—a procedure which currently increases the cost of 

gas-stream processing. NETL researchers Thomas Ochs 

and William O’Connor patented an invention that exploits 

the waste gas stream in power plants for energy recovery by 

using economical heat sources. The innovation uses the hot 

exit cooling water from a power plant condenser (or other 

comparable low-quality heat source) to heat the high-pressure 

waste gas stream. The compressed warm gas is then recycled 

back through multiple turbines to produce additional energy. 

Innovative Hybrid System Combines a Direct-Fired 

Reciprocating Engine with a Fuel Cell—By reversing the 

usual sequence, the high-temperature fuel cell in this NETLdeveloped system processes fuel that has been suffi ciently 

reformed in a heat engine to obtain synergistic benefi ts, such 

as signifi cantly improved fuel effi ciency, power density, and 

environmental performance of the engine, as well as startup, 

load-following, and portability characteristics of the fuel cell. 

The system was invented by Rodney Geisbrecht and Norman 

Holcombe of NETL. 

NETL Patents Ultrasonic Method for Analyzing 

Three-Phase Slurries at Elevated Pressure and 

Temperature—NETL researchers Yee Soong and Arthur 

Blackwell invented a way to measure the concentration 

and particle-size distribution of a slurry in a reactor 

operating under conditions of high temperature and 

pressure. The approach uses a cooling chamber to maintain 

environmentally sensitive ultrasonic transducers at ambient 

conditions while attached to opposite sides of the reactor. 

Slurry parameters can be determined from the velocity and 

attenuation of sound waves between the transducers, which 

are isolated from the hostile conditions within the reactor 

yet experience no signal distortion or loss. 

Patent Issued for Combustion Sensor Codeveloped 

at NETL—Capitalizing on the wealth of information 

provided by fl ame ionization, NETL researchers Kelly 

Benson, Jimmy Thornton, George Richards, and Douglas 

Straub, in collaboration with Woodward Governor 

Company of Fort Collins, CO, invented and patented a 

novel sensor to detect combustion instability. The aim 

of the project was to develop a sensor for monitoring 

the hydrogen combustion and deployment of NETLpatented combustion control and diagnostics technology. 

Deployment of this novel sensor technology is expected 

to facilitate improved performance and lower emissions in 

advanced power systems.

National Energy 

Technology Laboratory

1450 Queen Avenue SW

Albany, OR 97321-2198

541-967-5892

2175 University Avenue South

Suite 201

Fairbanks, AK 99709

907-452-2559

3610 Collins Ferry Road

P.O. Box 880

Morgantown, WV 26507-0880

304-285-4764

626 Cochrans Mill Road

P.O. Box 10940

Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940

412-386-4687

One West Third Street, Suite 1400

Tulsa, OK 74103-3519

918-699-2000

Visit the NETL website at:

www.netl.doe.gov

Customer Service:

1-800-553-7681

U.S. Department of Energy

Offi ce of Fossil Energy 

Printed in the United States on recycled paper 

April 2007