9/2/97
Attention editors: A photo accompanies this release and is available on the Web for downloading at http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/mharris.jpg. ATHENS, Ohio -- A $4.5 million grant from the Ohio Coal Development Office is helping fund a new project at Ohio University's Lausche heating plant aimed at reducing the plant's sulfur dioxide emissions by 85 percent and decreasing the university's energy expenses by almost $700,000 annually. Officials say the project could be a model for similar heating plants in Ohio and around the world.
Using a technology designed by researchers at Sorbent Technologies Corp. in Twinsburg, the university's partner in this project, engineers will retrofit the heating plant with a system that will use a sorbent made of natural materials to absorb and neutralize sulfur dioxide in the flue gas stream produced during the burning of Ohio high-sulfur coal, said Sherwood Wilson, director of facilities management at OhioUniversity.
"This grant, which is a result of the foresight of our engineers in facilities management, will allow us to keep our business at home," Wilson said. "We will burn Ohio coal, which is good for the state and the Southeastern Ohio economy and we will exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed clean air standards for the year 2000."
The sorbent, called Fluesorbent, was invented by technologists at Sorbent Technologies Corp., a small company that designs, manufactures and markets technologies for air pollution control applications. Researchers there began working on this sulfur dioxide removal system in 1990.
A mixture of vermiculite and perlite injected with lime, the sorbent acts as a sponge, removing the toxic materials from the flue gas. After the sulfur dioxide is absorbed, the gas flows through a series of devices that remove most of the particles from the flue gas.
The byproduct of this new, coal-fired heating system may have applications in the agricultural industry as a fertilizer. Field tests of the byproduct are in the final stages, and at least one Ohio-based business has expressed interest in buying the material, Wilson said.
Fluesorbent is designed for small capacity, coal-fired power plants. Once the technology had been tested in laboratories at Sorbent Technologies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and piloted at Ohio Edison's Burger Power Plant, they began looking for a commercial deployment site, said Richard Oehlberg, vice president of operations at Sorbent Technologies.
"Ohio University's Lausche heating plant provides steam and hot water for the campus's 190 buildings, and was the perfect test site for our technology," Oehlberg said.
Part of the plan at Ohio University's heating plan includes using the site as a demonstration plant and a showplace for representatives from other coal-fired plants in Ohio, other states in the United States and countries around the world, Oehlberg said.
"We needed a demonstration plant where we can bring potential users to see it in application," he said. "In Eastern Europe, for example, the main energy source is coal, and their coal is similar to Ohio's in terms of sulfur content. Their heating plants are small and work well for our technology."
Sorbent Technologies holds the patent on the Fluesorbent technology, and is giving Ohio University a license to use the technology. When the 18-month construction and one-year test phase is finished, Oehlberg said, the university will own the facility.
The plan is one of eight projects around the state to receive funding this year from the Ohio Coal Development Office, said Jackie Bird, director of the office, a division of the Ohio Department of Development.
"This project represents a win-win situation for everyone involved," Bird said. "Ohio University will benefit through the installation of equipment that will utilize Ohio coal in a cost-effective manner. At the same time, the project will contribute to the area's economy by utilizing a local energy resource in an environmentally friendly manner.
"Up to 56 percent of the electricity in the United States is produced by coal, and nearly 90 percent of Ohio's electric power is coal generated. "We are pleased to participate in this clean coal project and look forward to promoting the use of this progressive technology around the world."
During the first 18 months of the project, the partners will design, develop and construct the new sulfur dioxide removal system, said Mick Harris, director of plant operations at Ohio University. During the first year of the system's operation, researchers at Sorbent Technology and Ohio University will gather data and study the technology's effectiveness.
In addition to the support from the coal office, funding for the $6.4 million project includes a pledge for $500,000 from Sorbent Technologies, which also will provide design and process engineering services, supply the sorbent, transfer the byproducts to agricultural use and run the construction management services.
Ohio University's commitment includes approximately $650,000 and in-kind contributions of the supply of gases to be treated, utilities, space and personnel from facilities management to operate the system.
University officials hope the project will be one of many successful ventures between the university and the Ohio Coal Development Office, said Gary North, vice president for administration at Ohio University.
"This grant is one of the most significant service and research opportunities to the region that we have every received," he said. "It offers us an opportunity to make an even greater commitment to economic development by allowing for the testing of a technology to safely burn Ohio high-sulfur coal. The advantages to the university, region, coal industry and to our commitment to a clean and safe environment are all high points to this grant."