Researchers at NETL and the University of Wyoming report that using brackish water — water that is not suitable for drinking or irrigation because it contains between 1,000 and 35,000 parts per million of dissolved solids — to cool power plants can reduce freshwater consumption by 94% to 100%. The results of the study were reported in a paper published online by Nature Portfolio and available here.  Thermoelectric power plants boil water to create steam, which then turns turbines that generate electricity. After the steam has passed through turbines, it must be cooled into water before it can be reused to produce more electricity.  In the United States, 90% of electricity comes from thermoelectric power plants that require cooling.  Nicholas Siefert, Ph.D., a research mechanical engineer at NETL, said power plants are a major source of water consumption in the United States.

High school and middle school teams that won NETL’s annual regional Science Bowl competitions for West Virginia and western Pennsylvania made strong showings at the national contest held April 27-May 1 in Washington, D.C. Suncrest Middle School Team 1 and Morgantown High School Team 1 earned trips to compete in the National Science Bowl after winning the 2023 West Virginia Regional Science Bowl. Also located in Morgantown, Suncrest finished second in its opening day of round-robin competition at the national contest and advanced to double-elimination play. Suncrest went on to win its first and third matches in double elimination before it was eliminated. Morgantown High School took fifth out of eight teams in its divisional round-robin competition, just one win away from advancing to the double-elimination portion of the contest. North Allegheny Senior High School Team 1 and North Allegheny Marshall Middle School Team 1 won the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Regional Science Bowl.

NETL will host an extended residency for a Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) doctoral candidate in chemical engineering under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program. CMU’s William Strahl is one of 87 awardees from 58 different universities who will conduct research at 16 DOE national laboratories. Strahl earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University with a minor in computer science before arriving in Pittsburgh to study at CMU for his doctorate. The goal of SCGSR is to prepare graduate students for science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) careers by providing graduate thesis research opportunities through extended residencies at DOE national laboratories. The program represents a pipeline for highly skilled scientific and technological workforce development.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques, NETL researchers are exploring a way to treat water that seeps through coal combustion waste using a sorbent synthesized from fly ash, itself a coal combustion waste ─ a development with implications for improving the costs of managing future waste sites. According to the University of Kentucky Geological Survey, the United States produces 100 to 130 million tons of combustion wastes annually at coal-fired power plants and in many cases, those materials are disposed of in impoundment ponds. Leachate is liquid pollution that can escape from impoundments, and it often contains chemicals that are bad for the environment. Sorbents are materials used to recover substances through adsorption. Sorbents can adsorb harmful substances in leachate. New sorbents can be expensive and time-consuming to design and create.

Earth Day is an annual event that has been celebrated since 1970 and closely aligns with NETL’s vision to develop sustainable energy solutions and protect the environment for future generations. In celebration of Earth Day, observed tomorrow, April 22, NETL proudly announces the winners of its annual Earth Day Poster Contest. This year’s contest drew approximately 950 entries from elementary students (grades 1-5) at schools near NETL’s sites in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who used their creativity and imaginations to showcase their favorite ways to protect the environment. This year, students were asked to design their posters around the theme, “Invest in Our Planet. What will you do?” NETL is proud to share the first-, second-, third- and fourth-place winning entries at each grade level. Click here to see the winning posters.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) today announced nearly $47 million in funding for 22 research projects to advance the development of new and innovative measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies to help detect, quantify, and reduce methane emissions across oil and natural gas producing regions of the United States.

March is Women’s History Month, providing NETL with an excellent opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women from across the Lab. As part of the celebration, women throughout our organization were invited to explain why it’s important for NETL to foster gender diversity within its workforce and discuss the steps they take to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or other careers at NETL. Lucy RomeoHere are the responses and insights they offered:

North Allegheny’s Marshall Middle School Team 1 captured first place at the 32nd Western Pennsylvania Science Bowl (WPASB) middle school competition, which was held Saturday, March 4. Twenty-five teams from the region competed in the event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL. For the third consecutive year, teams did not play head-to-head matches but instead competed against all other teams in a virtual competition. Regional competitions had at least three preliminary rounds in which each individual team was read the same sets of questions. The teams with the highest combined point totals from all preliminary rounds advanced to the Elimination Tournament. Coming in second, third and fourth place were North Allegheny’s Ingomar Middle School Team 1, Franklin Regional Middle School Team 1 and Bethel Park’s Independence Middle School Team 1, respectively.

North Allegheny Senior High School – Team 1 claimed victory at the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Science Bowl (WPASB) Regional High School Competition, held Saturday, Feb. 25, in a virtual format. Forty-one teams from 26 high schools participated in the contest, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL. The WPASB tested students’ knowledge of math and science in a fast-paced, quiz-style tournament. The same format will be used during the middle school portion of the competition this Saturday, March 4. “Congratulations to our high school winner of this outstanding academic challenge. Your hard work prepared you to excel against a tremendous field filled with talented students,” said NETL Director Brian Anderson. “I hope this exciting competition inspires you and all teams to pursue your dreams and make groundbreaking discoveries as our next generation of scientists and engineers.”

Some use their expertise to ask complex science- or math-based questions. Others carefully monitor the clock to ensure answers are provided within the prescribed time limit, accurately tally scores during each fast-paced round or complete other important tasks. Regardless of their specific duties, the volunteers who serve in these and other capacities at the annual NETL Science Bowl competitions, which began this month, all share an unwavering commitment to help the Lab present exciting, high-quality tournaments that generate enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and encourage middle and high school students to explore STEM-related careers. “I remember competing in Science Bowl as a high school student. This event helped me and continues to help today’s students understand how important STEM is and how much opportunity there is for those with