Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium - West Virginia Water Research Institute
In a recent dispatch concerning just some of the potential values that could be attained by starting to view the solid by-products of Coal combustion, most often lumped together under the label of "fly ash", now accessible via the link:
Iowa Mines Metals from Coal Ash for the USDOE | Research & Development;
and, which demonstrates that fly ash can actually be utilized almost as an "ore" from which we can extract certain valuable and needed metals; we included a link to a recent news article published by the West Virginia Coal Association, concerning:
Federal Coal & Energy Legislation: H.R. 2273 Passes House | Latest;
which tells us that the: "H.R. 2273, 'Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act' was passed ... by the US House of Representatives by a vote of 267 to 14 with all three House Members from West Virginia voting in favor of the legislation. H.R. 2273, introduced by Congressman McKinley, R-WV, relates to the classification of “fly ash” from coal–fired electric generators and preserves its beneficial uses".
More about "H.R. 2273", also known as "the McKinley Bill", can be learned via:
http://www.wvcoal.com/
wherein we're told that: "HR 2273: The McKinley Bill, the Coals Residuals Reuse and Management Act, is sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (WV). The bill comes in response to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to reclassify coal ash -- used in such things as cement and drywall, and on surface mines to mitigate acid drainage -- as a hazardous waste. It amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to enable states to adopt and run permit programs to manage and dispose of fossil fuel combustion products -- particularly coal ash, also called fly ash."
We'll be returning to our thesis that accumulations of Coal-derived fly ash also could and should start to be seen as pre-processed stores of valuable metal ores, and other raw materials, in coming reports; but, herein, we wanted to introduce you to a valuable ally West Virginia's Congressman McKinley might have in his push to change the way we view and treat the by-products of Coal combustion and conversion, an ally seated in the Morgantown heart of West Virginia scholarship and learning.
Via the initial link, above, in this dispatch, we gain access to:
"The Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium", an operational group of entities housed and managed from within the "West Virginia Water Research Institute", concerning whom more can be learned via:
About Us - West Virginia Water Research Institute; wherein we're told that:
"The West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) has been in existence since 1967 and has served as a statewide vehicle for performing research related to water issues. WVWRI is the premier water research center in West Virginia and, within selected fields, an international leader. WVWRI serves as the coordinating body for the following programs: the National Mine Land Reclamation Center, Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative, Acid Drainage Technology Initiative, Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium, National Environmental Education Training Center, State Water Institutes, Geo-Technical Center, West Virginia Water Gaging Council, Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center, and Hydrology Research Center.
Under Federal legislation, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) supports a Water Research Institute in each U.S. state and territory. The West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) has been in existence since 1967 and serves as a statewide vehicle for performing research related to water issues. An advisory board serves to direct the activities of the WVWRI."
And, through that link, we also gain access to the initial link, above, in this dispatch, which contains information specific to the "Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium" itself, which explains that:
"More than 123 million tons of solid byproducts are produced by coal-burning electric utilities each year in the U.S. The mission of the Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium (CBRC) is to develop and demonstrate technologies to address issues related to the recycling of these byproducts.
By 2010, the CBRC hopes to:
- increase the overall ash utilization rate from the current 43% to 50%,
- increase the current rate of flue gas desulfurization byproduct use,
- increase the number of uses considered allowable under state regulations, and
- examine the environmental impact of byproduct use and disposal.
To meet these goals, the CBRC provides seed money to researchers to develop innovative applications for coal combustion byproducts while ensuring their economic and environmental viability. Since it was established in 1998, the CBRC has funded 52 projects in excess of $10 million ($5,973,861 in federal funds and more than $4,775,313 in cost share). As a result, many of the CBRC's technologies have been selected for large-scale demonstrations, with several technologies generating results that have been adopted as agency policy or adopted by industry as commercial processes.
The CBRC is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory and is supported by the American Coal Ash Association, the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, and numerous state and corporate sponsors."
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Additional links are also accessible, such as:
http://wvwri.nrcce.wvu.edu/
"The Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium (CBRC) supports and promotes the commercially viable and environmentally-sound recycling of CCBs (coal combustion byproducts). These materials are left behind after coal is burned to generate electricity. Once viewed as waste, the CBRC recognizes the value of CCBs as a resource and provides seed money for researchers to develop and field test innovative and productive uses for these materials.
Since its inception in 1998, the CBRC has funded 52 research projects nationwide with a total value exceeding $10 million from federal, state, and private sources of support. When the CBRC began its work, only 25% of CCBs were used beneficially. Today that number exceeds 43%. The CBRC has significantly contributed to this increase in CCB utilization by working to develop exciting new uses for CCBs as well as by improving and expanding current uses."
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And, catalogues of their accomplishments and current activities can also be found, which include:
In Situ Stabilization of Gravel Roads with CCPs
New Technology Based Approach to Advance Higher Volume Fly Ash Concrete with Acceptable Performance
Manufacturing Building Products with Fly Ash and Advanced CCBs
Evaluation of the Durability and Commercial Potential of 100% Fly Ash Concrete
Manufacturing Fired Bricks with Class F Fly Ash from Illinois Basin coals
Development of CCB Fill Materials for Use as Mechanically Stabilized Marine Structures
High Performance Masonry Units from 100% Fly Ash; Synergistic Approach
A development of Structural Materials from Sulfate-Rich Wet Scrubber
Numerous "fact sheets" and publications about those, and other, uses for Coal fly ash are also available, as accessible, as just a condensed sample, via:
Manufacturing Fired Bricks with Class F Fly Ash from Illinois Basin Coals
Power Plant Combustion Byproducts for Improved Crop Productivity of Agricultural Soils
"Evaluation of Fly Ash Admixtures for Final Cover and Composite Liner Applications."
"Soil Stabilization and Drying by Use of Fly Ash"
Crushed Aggregates from Class C Fly Ash
Development of Fly Ash Derived Sorbents to Capture CO2 from Flue Gas of Power Plants"
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That last one's kind of intriguing, isn't it?
We note that the Combustion Byproducts Recycling Consortium does receive at least some of it's funding from the US Government, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the USDOE, and, some of their pending projects include, as seen via:
http://www.netl.doe.gov/
"The Combustion By-products Recycling Consortium (CBRC), sponsored by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy through its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and managed by the West Virginia University Water Research Institute, has been carrying out important R&D projects to identify and examine the potential for new and expanded markets for coal combustion by-products (CCBs).
Once viewed negatively, CCBs are now largely regarded as an untapped, recyclable resource with tremendous industrial market potential.
Expansion of markets for CCBs will be critical as demand for coal-fired electrical power increases, with corresponding public objections to landfill disposal. Additionally, implementation of new Federal and
State air regulations — such as the Clean Air Interstate Rule and the Clean Air Mercury Rule — produces a greater quantity of CCBs with varying characteristics, for which reuse markets must be found.
Each year, the U.S. electric utility industry generates over 120 million tons of CCBs. Just over half of this amount is fly ash, which is removed from the boiler flue gas via particulate control devices such as electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) or fabric filters. Another quarter of CCBs are the heavier, coarser solids removed from the bottoms of the boilers — bottom ash for boiler slag.
The remaining CCBs are flue gas desulfurization (FGD) by-products, most of which are calcium sulfates or calcium sulfites from wet FGD systems that are installed downstream of the particulate control devices. A small but growing percentage of FGD by-products come from dry FGD systems or fluidized bed combustion (FBC) systems that remove sulfur upstream of the particulate control devices. These CCBs are inseparable mixtures of fly ash, bottom ash, and calcium sulfates/sulfites.
Given their different points of origin within the power plant, each CCB has a unique set of physical and chemical properties determining its suitability for specific reuse applications. Finding the proper application requires a thorough knowledge of the CCB properties and the requirements of the potential end-use markets. CCBs must compete in the marketplace against other raw materials; even when reuse is technically feasible, economic factors such as transportation costs often preclude CCB recycling.
In 2004, approximately 40 percent of CCBs were reused for productive purposes — largely fly ash in Portland cement, and FGD gypsum for wallboard — and CBRC wants to raise that figure to 50% by 2010. To achieve its goals, CRBC will focus on increasing FGD by-product use, while continuing to study the environmental impacts of CUB use and disposal and working to expand the slate of CCB applications."
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In any case, the concept embodied in Representative David McKinley's HR 2273: The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, isn't a reflexive, specious exercise in defensiveness against the seemingly-relentless war against Coal, the origins of whose financing and motivation we again insist should be scrutinized, since no possible collection of sandal-wearing, vegetarian bird-watchers could feasibly be supposed to voluntarily fund it.
The concept of HR 2273 is rooted in very real science and documented efforts and accomplishments.
There is, there must be, as they say, more to the story as to why, just as there must be more to the stories as to why technologies and potentials such as those documented, for just two instances, in our reports of:
US Navy Awarded September, 2011, CO2 Recycling Patent | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 8,017,658 - Synthesis of Hydrocarbons via Catalytic Reduction of CO2; September 13, 2011; The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy; Abstract: A method of: introducing hydrogen and a feed gas containing at least 50 % carbon dioxide into a reactor containing a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst; and heating the hydrogen and carbon dioxide to a temperature of at least about 190 C. to produce hydrocarbons"; and:
USDOE Converts Coal to Gasoline with Solar Power | Research & Development; concerning: "United States Patent 4,229,184 - Apparatus and Method for Solar Coal Gasification; 1980; The USA; Abstract: Apparatus for using focused solar radiation to gasify coal and other carbonaceous materials (wherein steam) reacts with the heated coal to produce gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, commonly called "synthesis gas", which can be converted to methane, methanol, gasoline, and other useful products";
in addition to, as herein, the potentials for Coal Combustion Byproducts, aren't being fully reported to and disseminated among the people who most deserve to know about all of it:
The common, everyday public citizens of United States Coal Country.