News

2007 news releases

OAQDA Approves Grant to Help Fund Clean-Coal Project at OSU
Method aimed at producing hydrogen, removing CO2 and sulfur in single reactor

(Columbus)  The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority (OAQDA), at its May meeting, approved up to $150,000 in Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) grant funds over the next 36 months to scale-up an ongoing laboratory work at The Ohio State University and demonstrate a method to produce hydrogen from coal, a stream of carbon dioxide suitable for underground sequestration, and sulfur capture in a single reactor.

The approved amount brings total OCDO funding for this ongoing research effort to approximately $640,000 over the past six years.  The project has also received more than $1.2 million in funding from the United States Department of Energy.  Other participants in the proposed scale-up demonstration include Clear Skies Consulting and Consol Energy, Inc. 

“If this work proves to be commercially feasible, it has the potential to substantially reduce costs for the production of hydrogen from coal for use as a ‘clean’ fuel source in an environmentally friendly manner,” said Mark R. Shanahan, OAQDA Executive Director.

Shanahan described the project – whose formal name is “High Purity H2 Production with In-situ CO2 and Sulfur Capture in a Single Stage Reactor” – as “anticipatory research and development.”  It is widely expected that carbon dioxide emissions will one day be regulated by the United States EPA.  Shanahan said the OSU project, which will produce a stream of CO2 during coal combustion, could help Ohio be better prepared should such regulations be established.

“This project is yet another example of the diversity and breakthrough nature of clean-coal research taking place at universities around the state.  It reaffirms Ohio’s recognition nationally and internationally as a leader in developing cleaner, more environmentally friendly ways to use our nation’s abundant coal reserves,” Shanahan said.

-30-

The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority is a non-regulatory government agency created to help Ohio businesses comply with clean air regulations.  Through its Ohio Coal Development Office, OAQDA also oversees the State of Ohio’s coal research, development, and technology deployment efforts.  Since its creation in 1970, the Authority has provided technical and financial help to hundreds of large and small Ohio businesses, awarding more than $4 billion to finance air quality projects.  For more information about OAQDA and its services, please visit its web site, at www.ohioairquality.org.