The Fossil Report ossil Report ossil Report

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Fossil Energy Program Winter 2001

Energy Technology for the Future...and for the World

IN THIS ISSUE

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and

Methane Production Focus of

New Work

Counter-Terrorism Budget: A

Dramatic Increase

Reliability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Components Goal of New Work

Mark Your Calendar...

Clean Coal Power Initiative

Solicitation to be Issued

Carbon Sequestration Technology

Roadmap Posted

New Work Seeks to Extend Life of

Critical Gas Turbine

Components

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Paul T. Carlson

Editor and Publisher

Oak Ridge National Laboratory UNITED WE STAND Fossil Energy Program

Carbon Dioxide

Sequestration and Methane

Production Focus of New

Work

Exciting new research on CO2 sequestration in subterranean coal beds will

soon be underway in Oak Ridge National Laboratoryís Fossil Energy Program.

The work, Effects of Temperature and

Gas Mixing on Formation Pressure,

CO2 Sequestration and Methane Production in Underground Coal Beds,

will be led by James G. Blencoe of

ORNLís Chemical Sciences Division.

The laboratory data and theoretical

models generated by the research will

be vital in assessing the feasibility of

injecting CO2

 into deep, unmineable

coal beds. This promising new technology has two central objectivesó

long-term storage of CO2

in the coal layers, and production of greater

amounts of methane gas.

The work will complement

in an important way ongoing DOE efforts to identify an effective, affordable, and environmentally- acceptable means of

sequestering CO2

 in geologic reservoirs.

Sequestering CO2 in deep, unmineable

coal seams is highly effective, because

CO2

 is strongly adsorbed on coal surfaces.

After injection into an underground

coal bed, CO2

 remains trapped in the

bed for hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years.

Injection of CO2

 into a subterranean

coal bed enhances methane production because, as the CO2

 sorbs onto

coal surfaces, methane sticking to

those surfaces is released (desorbed).

This liberated methane subsequently

See Sequestration - page 2

ìLet every nation know, whether it

wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay

any price, bear any burden, meet any

hardship, support any friend, oppose

any foe, in order to assure the survival

and the success of liberty.î

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Counter-Terrorism Budget: A

Dramatic Increase

In the aftermath of the September 11th

terrorist attacks on the United States

and the subsequent, subversive horror of the threat of anthrax warfare,

President Bush and Congress have

united in proposing a counter-terrorism budget nearly three times the

level appropriated in FY 2001.

The FY 2002 counter-terrorism budget, on the order of $1.5 billion, represents a whopping 156.5% increase

over the $579 million enacted in FY

2001.

Remarkably, this increase is in contrast to a proposed cut in the counterSee Counter-Terrorism - page 2
2

THE FOSSI L REPORT WINTER 2001

Sequestration - from page 1

James G. (Jim) Blencoe is a research geochemist in the Chemical

Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National

Laboratory. During his 30-year professional

career, he has conducted numerous

experimental/theoretical investigations of the

thermodynamics and phase relations of

synthetic solids and fluids that serve as

chemical analogs for natural Earth materials

(rocks and hydrothermal solutions) found at

great depths below the surface.

Jim earned a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from

the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1968,

and a Ph.D. in Geology from Stanford University

in 1974. Between 1974 and 1983, he was a

postdoctoral fellow and assistant professor of

geochemistry at The Pennsylvania State University.

Jim accepted a position at ORNL in 1983 to join a

team of researchers responsible for providing

technical assistance to the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission. The objective of the work was to

evaluate the technical feasibility of constructing,

operating, and decommissioning a geological

repository for permanent disposal of high-level nuclear wastes generated by

energy production at commercial nuclear power plants.

In 1987, Jim resumed his basic research on rock-forming minerals, silicate

melts, and mixed-volatile fluids. In recent years, his attention has been

focused on determining the thermodynamics and phase relations of C-O-HN fluids at elevated temperatures and pressures.

Jim has reported the results of his research in peer-reviewed articles

published in leading geoscientific journals and has been active in various

professional organizations, including the Mineralogical Society of America,

for which he is currently serving as Treasurer.

flows through coal cleats (open fractures) into a production well, where

it can be recovered

for subsequent sale.

Blencoeís research

on CO2-enhanced

coal bed methane

production will focus on measuring the

densities and viscosities of the gas mixtures that are produced when either

pure CO2

 or deoxygenated flue gas

(largely a mixture of

CO2 and nitrogen) is

injected into deep,

unmineable coal layers.

Quantitative knowledge of these gas

properties will enable rigorous computer modeling of

gas adsorption and desorption, and

flow through coal cleats, during and

after CO2

 injection.

This work is supported DOE Office of

Fossil Energy, National Energy

Technology Laboratory.

For more information on this work,

contact Jim Blencoe, Oak Ridge National

Laboratory.

terrorism budget proposed by the

President in the preliminary budget proposal, prepared prior to the

September 11 attacks.

Approximately half of the total

budget derives from a $40 billion

emergency response fund created

after September 11.

Eleven federal agencies will

receive

counterterrorism funds this year. The Department of Energyís share of this budget

Counter-Terrorism - from page 1 is $194 million.

DOEís research and development for

counter-terrorism covers radiation

detection, biological threats, and

chemical and biological detectors. In

addition, DOE will receive funds to

upgrade security in its national laboratory infrastructure, as well as $78

million for nonproliferation R&D to

combat potential nuclear terrorism.

We will not tire,

 we will not falter,

 and we will not fail.

George W. Bush

September 20, 2001
3

THE FOSSI L REPORT WINTER 2001

Reliability of Solid Oxide Fuel

Cell Components Goal of

New Work

Over the past 170

years, fuel cells

have distinguished

themselves as

sources of clean,

environmentally

friendly power. A

wide variety of

types has emerged

over the intervening

years, and the current favorite for a

large number of applications is the

solid oxide fuel cell.

Solid oxide fuel

cells use ceramic, solid-phase electrolytes, which eliminate many of the

problems associated with managing

liquid electrolytes. However, a solid

oxide fuel cell, comprised of ceramic

electrolytes, must operate at higher

temperatures to achieve adequate

ionic conductivity. The higher temperatures, although contributing to

higher efficiencies, also result in

higher rates of material degradation.

Edgar Lara-Curzio of Oak Ridge

National Laboratoryís Metals &

Ceramics Division is identifying

the mechanisms responsible for

the failure of solid oxide fuel cell

components. The particular

components of interest are multilayer anode/electrolyte/cathode assemblies, which constitute

the building blocks of these systems.

Although fuel cells have been

used successfully in short-term

duration applications, their future viability in distributed

power applications will demand

reliable operation for times measured

in tens of thousands of hours.

Predictions of service life and reliability of solid oxide fuel cells

require a fundamental understanding of how and why

damage occurs and how

that damage proceeds to a

failure of the component.

To understand and prevent

long-term failures in solid

oxide fuel cell components,

Lara-Curzio is investigating

the effects of processing

and fabrication parameters,

and the resultant residual

stresses, on the initiation of

material damage and the

progression of the damage

in materials which are candidates for solid oxide fuel cell components.

This work is supported DOE Office of

Fossil Energy, National Energy

Technology Laboratory.

For more information on this work,

contact Edgar Lara-Curzio, Oak Ridge

National Laboratory.

Edgar Lara-Curzio

Mark Your Calendar...

The Sixteenth Annual Conference on Fossil Energy Materials will be

held at the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, from April 22-24, 2002.

The format for the conference will be the same as in years past, with

poster and oral presentations of materials-related activities on the DOE

Fossil Energy Program.

The conference will be sponsored jointly by DOE Office of Fossil

Energyís National Energy Technology Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Conference reservation and travel information will be available in the

near future on the ORNL Fossil Energy Program Web site.

Carbon Sequestration

Technology Roadmap

Posted

The Carbon Sequestration

Technology Roadmap, issued by the DOE National

Energy Technology Laboratory, has been posted to the

DOE-NETL Web site.

The roadmap covers the major research and development

pathways, which are most

promising for achieving the

goals of carbon sequestration.

Clean Coal Power Initiative

Solicitation to be Issued

The DOE National Energy Technology

Laboratory plans to issue a solicitation in mid-February for ìprojects

that demonstrate advanced coalbased technologies and accelerate

their deployment to commercial

See Solicitation - page 4
4

THE FOSSI L REPORT WINTER 2001

New Work Seeks to Extend

Life of Critical Gas Turbine

Components

The performance

goals and expectations for metallic

components of

large, land-based

gas turbines call for

the use of single

crystal airfoils.

The complexity of

the manufacture of

single crystal components for landbased turbine systems is significant,

owing to the considerably larger size

of these systems, as

compared to aircraft turbines.

This increased

complexity, of

course, results in

increased costs.

Due to the size of

the components,

remanufacturing a

failed part is a very

expensive proposition.

For improved and

more cost-effective use of single

crystal turbine

components, it is

essential that components can be repaired and refurbished, extending their lives for at

least one additional duty cycle.

Stan David and John Vitek of Oak

Ridge National Laboratoryís Metals &

Ceramics Division are leading an effort to address the repair of single

crystal components, such as blades

and vanes, of turbine systems through

the use of welding technology.

Welding is tool for

repairing rejected

as-cast components, as well as for

repairing and refurbishing used components.

The work will focus

on welding behavior and weldability

of single crystal

nickel-base superalloys.

Nickel-base superalloys are used extensively for the

components of

large, land-based

turbines.

Three major problems will be addressedóstray

grain formation,

weld cracking, and

irregular as-welded

microstructure formation.

David and Vitek

plan to concentrate

on these three

problems and to

determine the processes, process

conditions, and alloy compositions

necessary to make

possible the cost-effective repair

welding of critical superalloy compoStan David

John Vitek

nents in gas turbine systems

This work is supported DOE Office of

Fossil Energy, National Energy

Technology Laboratory.

For more information on this work,

contact Stan David or John Vitek, Oak

Ridge National Laboratory.

use.î

The Clean Coal Power Initiative is

open to ìtechnology advancement

related to coal-based power generation that results in efficiency, environmental and economic improvement.î

DOE national laboratories are permitted to respond to this solicitation, but

only as team members on CCPI

projects.

National laboratories are not eligible

to receive an award as the prime recipient.

The solicitation addresses technologies capable of producing any combination of heat, fuels, chemicals or

other useful by-products, in conjunction with power generation.

Proposed projects must show that

coal will be used for at least 75% of

the fuel energy input, to maintain the

focus of the solicitation on coal-based

power generation.

Prospective projects must also show

the potential for rapid market penetration upon successful demonstration of the technology or concept.

Solicitation from page 3