General Program Information
The research conducted by the program directly contributes to Fossil Energy's objectives by providing information on the performance characteristics of materials being specified for the current generation of power systems, on the development of cost-effective materials for inclusion in Advanced Fossil Energy Systems, and for solving environmental emission problems related to fossil fired energy systems. Albany Research Center is working in partnership with NETL on advanced metallurgical processes.

Program Focus Areas
The following sections provide details for each of the program's six major focus areas.

1. Advanced Refractory Technologies

Both short-range industrial needs and long range issues in gasifiers have driven the emphasis of this high temperature material research. Program emphasis is on the following:

• Identifying material failure mechanisms

• Extending the lifetime of primary refractory liners in slagging gasifier systems

• Developing ways to shorten system downtime caused by refractory maintenance

• Developing improved thermocouples/temperature monitoring techniques

2. Advanced Casting Technologies

Advanced Casting Technologies research is focused on two broad areas:

• Developing TiC reinforced iron and steel castings for extreme abrasive wear conditions for use in coal crushing and grinding operations

• Developing modified cast austenitic stainless steels with performance characteristics necessary for process streams in advanced heat recovery and hot gas cleanup systems employed with advanced power generation systems (IGCC, PFBC and IGFC

3. Advanced Coating Techniques

The goal of the coating research activities is to develop sulfidation and/or oxidation resistant coatings on stainless steels by utilizing an ARC developed foil-lamination process. Conceptionally, the coating process would consist of a mechanical mechanism to bond a foil to a steel substrate, such as roll bonding or extrusion, followed by heat-treatment to convert the foil into an integral advanced coating.

4. Advanced Titanium Processing

Nearly 50% of the cost of titanium can be attributed to fabrication. The goal of this project is to develop continuous and lower cost process to prepare commercially pure titanium and titanium alloys in a variety of shapes including slab, plate, and billet would reduce costs, increase the usage of titanium, and lead to environmental benefits and energy savings.

5. Service Life Prediction

Abrasion and erosion are significant materials-related problems in the operation of fossil energy plants. The Service Life Prediction research focuses on the broad areas of:

• Developing an understanding of how materials behave as a result of particle impact

• Examining non-isothermal oxidation and hot corrosion.

6. Minerals & Metallurgical Processing for Emission and Waste Reduction

Minerals and Metallurgical Processing for Emission and Waste Reduction research addresses long term environmental emission and waste challenges resulting from the utilization of fossil fuels. Research efforts are focused on:

• Developing economically and environmentally acceptable integrated process for CO₂ sequestration
• Developing technologies to remediate multiple solid waste streams generated by the electric utility and process industries.