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.

NETL experts used a suite of sophisticated data-gathering instruments at the Marcellus Shale Energy Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL) near Morgantown, West Virginia, to secure a greater understanding of emissions and dispersion rates of various compounds — geological and environmental systems research that could help avoid future adverse impacts on local and regional air quality where unconventional oil and gas activities are underway.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)  and NETL have announced up to $30 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) for front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture systems. The projects, funded by the Office of Fossil Energy’s Carbon Capture program will support FEED studies for CO2 systems on both coal and natural gas power plants.

Two of NETL’s innovative technological achievements have been selected to receive prestigious awards from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Science Center. NETL’s global oil and gas infrastructure (GOGI) database won in the Innovation in Energy category, while the Lab’s permeability engineering through strain annealing technology won in the Advanced Manufacturing and Materials category. The honorees were announced at a VIP reception March 12, and the awards will be presented at a May 10 celebration.

NETL Director Brian Anderson joined a prestigious panel this week at CERAWeek, the world’s premier energy event, in Houston, Texas. Anderson spoke alongside three other national laboratory leaders at the five-day conference, which brought together 4,000 global industry leaders and policymakers from more than 75 countries to discuss a range of energy-related topics.

A recent NETL study demonstrated that laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology can provide a cost-effective, rapid and precise method for determining the elemental composition of organic-rich shales like the Marcellus Shale formation, the largest reservoir of natural gas in the Appalachian basin. This characterization work is paving the way for producers to begin rapidly targeting resources with greater accuracy.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Regional Workforce Initiative will present a free Energy 101 Webinar at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 28. The on-line event is designed to inform participants about evolving technology solutions related to rare earth elements (REEs) and advanced composites/materials and manufacturing and their potential economic development impact on the Appalachian Region.

Photos courtesy of Brookhaven National Laboratory.NETL researchers studying the chemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful products are using powerful X-rays available at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities to shed light on the process.

National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) researchers developed a new catalyst that can selectively convert syngas into light hydrocarbon compounds called olefins for application in a $200 billion per year chemical industry market. The work has been detailed in ChemCatChem, a premier catalysis journal.