Hydraulic fracturing technology advanced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) helped boost domestic natural gas production to unprecedented levels by enabling exploration of shale formations that were previously not recognized as a resource. Now, DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and its research collaborators are working to enhance hydraulic fracturing technology by using natural gas produced from unconventional wells to reduce water consumption and the associated environmental impacts.

An NETL-managed project is making impressive progress toward developing a state-of-the-art facility to produce a domestic supply of valuable mixed rare earth compounds from coal and coal byproducts. Fifteen lanthanide elements within the periodic table, including scandium and yttrium, are referred to as rare earth elements (REEs). They are essential components in many modern technologies — including cell phones, medical devices and national defense systems — yet challenging to extract, with China providing the bulk of the world’s supply.

An ambitious NETL project aimed at making membrane-based carbon capture more affordable for power plants is highlighted in the latest edition of the high-impact journal Energy and Environmental Science.

More than 35 years ago, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) worked on a promising technology to advance high-efficiency coal power generation using a device called a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generator. Their goal was to successfully develop a topping cycle based on the physics of MHD, whereby the forces and properties of electrically conductive fluids, such as plasmas, interact with an applied magnetic field to produce electrical power.

NETL researchers are unleashing the power of microwaves to convert fuels like coal, oil and natural gas into marketable fuels, chemicals and products. In addition to providing higher yields with lower temperatures and less energy, this work is also advancing understanding of the science behind the reactions through state-of-the-art bench-scale facilities with an eye toward scalable and economically viable systems.

NETL, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) only national laboratory devoted to advancing fossil energy technology, will host a special workshop Wednesday, Nov. 14 at the Pittsburgh Airport Hyatt Regency Hotel devoted to the development of a vital domestic materials supply chain for advanced coal-based power generation.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the development of transformational sensing capabilities for monitoring parameters associated with subsurface carbon dioxide ( CO2) storage.

Using an array of high-tech microscopy and X-ray diffraction capabilities, NETL researchers are discovering, developing and commercializing innovative technologies that allow the rearrangement of carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules – processes that can help protect the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and creating domestic supplies of fuels and chemicals that are used to benefit the economy.

Energy researchers from across the nation affiliated with the Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) – a partnership of research universities and Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories led by NETL – convened a wide-ranging workshop Thursday, Nov. 1, in Pittsburgh to discuss progress and review plans for 2019 focused on new computational tools to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing coal-fired power plants and support the development of the advanced energy systems of the future.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected 17 projects to receive approximately $18.7 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development. These projects will develop innovative technologies to generate novel, marketable products using carbon dioxide (CO2) or coal as a feedstock, potentially offering significant advantages over traditional products and creating new market opportunities for coal.