Researchers who have been awarded funding for advanced coal combustion technology projects will present their findings at a public forum at the 2012 Clean Coal Technology Research Symposium Thursday, Aug. 23, at the University of Wyoming Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn in Laramie.
“We’re pleased to see the progress of these projects, and to learn more about the technologies being developed,” Carl Bauer says. Bauer, president of C.O. Bauer Consulting Inc., is a member of the Advanced Conversion Technologies Task Force (formerly the Clean Coal Task Force) and the University of Wyoming Energy Resources Council, which provides research and outreach direction to the UW School of Energy Resources.
“It’s critically important to find the best uses for our coal reserves in Wyoming, which are such a big part of this state’s economy,” Bauer says.
Fred Moore, global director of manufacturing and technology for the energy business at the Dow Chemical Company, will give the luncheon address. Moore is responsible for the safe and reliable production of power, steam and other utilities for Dow; that represents more than 10 percent of the company’s asset base.
The one-day symposium will include speakers from Western Research Institute, Sustainable Energy Solutions, Ceramatec and TD Research, who will cover topics ranging from new technologies to improve coal combustion to capturing carbon emissions generated by coal gasification.
The Wyoming State Legislature has appropriated more than $31 million to foster advanced coal techology research since 2007. About $25.5 million has been awarded to projects that investigate clean-coal technologies. By the close of 2012, 19 projects are expected to be completed. Several of these have resulted in patented technologies and pilot-scale demonstrations.
Research funded with this program focuses on overcoming two challenges that Wyoming coal faces with respect to gasification: high moisture content and high elevation. Many advanced coal technologies were developed for low-moisture-content coal and for conversion at lower elevations, which results in better conversion efficiency.
For more information on this symposium, contact Diana Hulme, deputy director of research at the School of Energy Resources, at dhulme@uwyo.edu.
To register for the symposium, visit www.uwyo.edu/ser and click on “Upcoming Conferences.” There is no registration fee.
