A free Zoom webinar to introduce a new NETL-led national laboratory consortium that addresses the gasification of alternative and blended feedstocks to produce syngas for chemicals, fuels or hydrogen is set for 11:30 a.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 21.

In addition to NETL, the new National Laboratory Gasification Consortium (NLGC) features top researchers from Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) 

Participation in the webinar requires registration available here.

Gasification is a process that uses a series of chemical reactions to convert raw material or blended feedstocks into synthesis gas, or syngas. Syngas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen that can be burned to produce power or used as a chemical feedstock to produce value added chemicals and fuels.

The goal of the NLGC is to facilitate use of a broader spectrum of alternative and blended feedstocks to ensure fuel resiliency in gasification systems. The NLGC will achieve this goal through: 

• Collaboration with industry to tackle gasification feedstock challenges using the national laboratories’ capabilities in gasification systems.
• Expansion of the gasification feedstock base to include waste resources like municipal solid waste, waste plastic biomass residues and mixtures with coal and biomass to produce syngas.
• Provision of information and tools to expand alternative and blended feedstock use in the gasification industry.

Mehrdad Shahnam, supervisor of NETL’s computational multiphase flow science team, and Nathan T. Weiland, NETL senior fellow for energy conversion engineering, are hosting the seminar along with Edward Wolfrum, principal researcher and group manager at NREL, James Parks II, section head for energy and industrial processes section at ORNL, Jordan Klinger, senior research engineer at INL and Michael Talmadge, senior research engineer at NREL.

The webinar will include an overview of NLGC and highlight planned work in four key areas:

• Feedstock supply-chain modeling and analysis.
• Feedstock preprocessing
• Feedstock variability sensing for gasifier control.
• Development of an AI-driven kinetic database for co-gasification.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory dedicated to advancing the nation's energy future by creating innovative solutions that strengthen the security, affordability and reliability of energy systems and natural resources. With laboratories in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, NETL creates advanced energy technologies that support DOE’s mission while fostering collaborations that will lead to a resilient and abundant energy future for the nation.