DOE SUPPORTS MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY FOR COAL-TO-HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

摘要

Taking a step closer toward its vision of ultraclean, highly efficient power generation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will collaborate with a Colorado firm on a 15 million dollars advanced research project to further develop coal-to-hydrogen production technology supporting DOE's zero-emissions FutureGen plant of tomorrow. Eltron Research Inc., of Boulder, Colo., will conduct scale-up and advanced research on metal, alloy, or ceramic-metal membranes to separate hydrogen from carbon dioxide in a stream of synthetic gas produced in coal gasification. Based in part on materials patented by Eltron, the membrane technology is significant to FutureGen because hydrogen derived from the process can be used to increase the efficiency of fuel cells and to fuel future hydrogen turbines, while, at the same time, separating carbon dioxide-a greenhouse gas-from the plant's gas stream. DOE's cost share of the project is just over 12 million dollars. The project will be managed for DOE by the National Energy Technology Laboratory.