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

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) today announced more than $18 million in available funding for research and development projects that focus on the characterization, treatment, and management of produced water—or wastewater associated with oil and natural gas development and production—as well as management of legacy wastewater associated with coal-based thermal electric power generation facilities, primarily coal combustion residuals waste streams.

Morgantown High School-Team 1 and Suncrest Middle School-Team 1, also from Morgantown, claimed first-place victories in the 2023 West Virginia Regional Science Bowl sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL. The annual competition was held in a virtual setting Feb. 3-4. Seventeen teams representing 12 high schools and 12 teams from nine middle schools took part. The winners move on to represent West Virginia in DOE’s National Science Bowl scheduled for April 27-May 1 in Washington, D.C. “Congratulations to this year’s winners and good luck as you prepare for the National Science Bowl,” said NETL Director Brian Anderson. “At NETL, we are proud to host this regional competition because it encourages talented students to focus on science and mathematics by participating in an exciting, fun contest while developing their interests to serve as tomorrow’s researchers and engineers who will make amazing discoveries.”

NETL and the University of Pittsburgh have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore areas of cooperation in the field of novel sensors for infrastructure monitoring. Such sensors are essential to ensuring the optimum operation of existing and new energy technologies while driving economic development. “This MOU presents an exciting opportunity for both the Lab and our academic partners at Pitt to combine our strengths in pursuit of common goals,” said NETL’s David Alman, associate director, Materials Engineering & Manufacturing. “Both of our organizations will leverage our capabilities to support the acceleration of technology innovation, solutions, workforce development and industry engagement for emerging sensor technologies to ensure reliability, resilience and sustainability of energy and other infrastructure,” Alman said.