Broad national estimates of methane emissions obscure the ability to identify significant sources of methane at the regional level and the ability to target methane reduction opportunities effectively. An NETL-led study of natural gas liquids unloading provides a clear example of the importance of methane quantification research to improve the performance of the U.S. natural gas industry. The study highlights the need to consider variability in episodic emission sources and regional differences in developing robust methane emissions estimates.

NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., met recently with Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas in Morgantown, West Virginia, to discuss how the two organizations can collaborate on opportunities that bolster economic and workforce development in the Appalachian region.

Cutting-edge computational tools developed by the NETL-led Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) are available for the first time as open-source software. The revolutionary IDAES Process Systems Engineering (PSE) framework expands process modeling and optimization capabilities to boost the efficiency, reliability and flexibility of today’s fossil fuel-based power plants and accelerate next-generation energy technologies.

Peter Balash, Ph.D., a senior economist at NETL in Pittsburgh will be part of a day-long national event dedicated to power grid improvement topics that will also feature appearances by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry, U.S. Rep. David McKinley (WV 1st), and representatives of private industry and academia Friday, March 29 in the nation’s Capital.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have issued a Request for Information (RFI) for strategies for improving or creating emission-reduction or utilization technologies for hazardous substances resulting from coal combustion.

Medical X-ray machines use electromagnetic radiation — radiant energy with wavelengths shorter those produced by visible light — to gain information about what is happening inside the human body. Likewise, airport security checkpoints employ X-rays to examine the internal contents of travelers’ baggage.

In a cost-saving computer modeling effort, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) assisted in solving a critical technical issue at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), preventing a long-term delay of start-up operations.

NETL technology research and innovation dedicated to more efficient energy-related water management approaches and recovery of heavy metals like lead and useful rare earth elements (REEs) from domestic water supplies are being highlighted by the Laboratory March 22 as part of its recognition of International World Water Day — a United Nations designated time for reflecting on the importance of water in daily life. World Water Day was established in 1993 to increase awareness and action dedicated to sustainably managing water resources.

Researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) are reporting positive results in development of new pre-combustion solvents that can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) more effectively and economically than state-of-the-art solvents now in use. A solvent is a liquid capable of dissolving another substance. For example, water is a solvent for salt.

After 17 years of research involving NETL, industry partners, and a high-tech research group known as the AUSC Consortium, significant progress is being made toward scaling up the fabrication of components made from advanced nickel superalloys that will help bring advanced ultrasupercritical (AUSC) power plant technology to the level of readiness for commercial-scale demonstration.