In recent years, advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have accelerated the extraction of natural gas from shale formations, ushering in a new era of energy productivity. But, once areas have been depleted of their hydrocarbons, is there a good use for the fractured shale formations left behind? NETL researchers are using complex experiments to determine if the formations can accommodate a new role as a reservoir for carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from fossil fuel burning power plants and other industries.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has announced the release of the final two of five 2017 revised edition best practice manuals for geologic carbon storage projects. Together, the five interconnected manuals provide a holistic approach to carrying out a geologic storage project, from inception to completion.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has announced the release of the final two of five 2017 revised edition best practice manuals for geologic carbon storage projects. Together, the five interconnected manuals provide a holistic approach to carrying out a geologic storage project, from inception to completion.

Multiphase flow research examines the way materials in different states like gas, liquid or solids with different chemical properties mix and flow together. Multiphase flows occur in most commercial energy and environmental processes, and understanding the interaction among these phases is critical to understanding and predicting the performance of many energy system devices. It’s a complex area of investigation but one which holds the key to unlocking advanced energy applications like using biomass feedstocks in energy-producing reactors.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the availability of a $50 million funding opportunity through the Office of Fossil Energy to design, construct, and operate two large-scale pilots for transformational coal technologies that improve coal-powered systems’ performance, efficiency, emission reduction, and cost of electricity.

Chemical reactors—like fluidized beds, transport beds, and gasifiers—are critical and complex components of power generation systems that involve a variety of multiphase chemical reactions. Understanding the reactions and designing optimized reactors requires intricate modeling and simulation. A new toolset being developed by NETL multiphase flow science experts will make the optimization process faster and more efficient.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected four projects to move on to a second phase of research in their efforts to advance recovery of rare earth elements (REE) from coal and coal byproducts. DOE will invest $17.4 million to develop and test REE recovery systems originally selected and designed under phase 1 of a prior funding opportunity announcement through DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE).

NETL is collaborating with Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the University of Colorado Boulder to develop MFIX-Exa, the next generation of NETL’s internationally acclaimed Multiphase Flow with Interphase Exchanges (MFIX)—a suite of specialized computational fluid dynamic codes (CFDs) that help researchers study the simultaneous flow of gases, liquids, or solid materials.

In addition to the robust in-house rare earth elements (REE) research conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Laboratory also partners with leaders in industry and academia to facilitate REE technology research and development, and its potential deployment.

Coal has helped power the nation for well over a century, but NETL researchers are beginning to find another use for this abundant energy source by developing advanced characterization techniques. Hidden within the black organic rock are tiny quantities of rare earth elements (REEs), and these special elements are widely used in high-tech products, including cell phones, computers, batteries, and lasers.