Across Appalachia, natural gas producers are supporting the energy security of the United States as they continue to tap the vast shale gas resources of the region. Shale gas is used for heating and power production, but the chemical industry also relies heavily on natural gas as a feedstock to manufacture valuable chemicals.

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Brad Deel, EnerVest An NETL-sponsored project that could unlock access to large reservoirs of natural gas in Central Appalachia and extract those resources with technology designed to leave a light environmental footprint has earned accolades from state and industry officials.

A project utilizing NETL and industry expertise in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is underway in southern Michigan to unlock access to significant resources in the Trenton/Black River play by injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) with specifically designed chemical additives into the subsurface to improve the flow of oil to production wells.

NETL’s pioneering Microwave Ammonia Synthesis (MAS) took home the 2020 IChemE Global Awards in the category of Research Project for its potential to aid in agriculture, energy production and other applications while also lowering costs and overall energy use. Ammonia is one of the most widely used chemicals compounds worldwide, alongside polyethylene, and is largely used in the fertilizer market. Liquid ammonia also possesses all the desired physiochemical properties for Carbon Neutral Liquid Fuels which allow power generation without carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) issued a Notice of Intent for a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) expected to support projects facilitating the design, construction, and operation of engineering-scale prototypes of water treatment technologies for the Nation’s existing and future fleet of thermoelectric power plants.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and NETL invites public comment about the technical issues needed 1) to make treated and untreated produced water available for non-oilfield and oilfield use and 2) to reduce the volume of oilfield flowback and produced water disposed of in salt water disposal wells within the Permian Basin, by promoting its beneficial use in the oilfield or its use within other industries. The goal is to transform the produced water from a waste to a resource.

NETL will showcase its research capabilities in materials engineering and manufacturing at this year’s Materials Science and Technology Technical Meeting and Exhibition (MS&T20), to be held Nov. 2-6.

A new, open-source computer model to quantify baseline life cycle impacts of electricity consumption in the United States is allowing for more robust and consistent analyses to inform decision makers and stakeholders. Developed through a collaboration among NETL, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the model is transparent and multifunctional for users.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and NETL announced selection of four projects for cost-shared research and development under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA), DE-FOA-0002180, Design Development and System Integration Design Studies for Coal FIRST Concepts. When fully negotiated and awarded, it is estimated that approximately $80 million in federal funding will be provided to these projects.

The final week of the 2020 Virtual Integrated Project Review Meeting, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL, will explore the accomplishments and upcoming work to be undertaken by two NETL-led programs — the National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) and the Science-informed Machine Learning for Accelerating Real-Time Decisions in Subsurface Applications (SMART) Initiative.