The continued strength of American's economy depends on the availability of affordable energy, which has long been provided by the Nations rich supplies of fossil fuels. Forecasts indicate that fossil fuels will continue to meet much of the demand for economical electricity and transportation fuels for decades to come. It is projected that natural gas, oil, and coal will supply nearly 90% of US energy in 2020, with coal fueling around 50% of the electricity. It is essential to develop ways to achieve the objectives for a cleaner environment while using these low-cost, high-value fuels. A national commitment to improved technologies--for use in the US and abroad--is the solution. The Coal and Power Systems program is responding to this commitment by offering energy solutions to advance the clean, efficient, and affordable use of the Nations abundant fossil fuel resources. These solutions include: (1) Vision 21--A multi-product, pollution-free energy plant--producing electricity, fuels, and/or industry heat--could extract 80% or more of the energy value of coal and 85% or more of the energy value of natural gas; (2) Central Power Systems--Breakthrough turbines and revolutionary new gasification technologies that burn less coal and gas to obtain energy, while reducing emissions; (3) Distributed Generation--Fuel cell technology providing highly efficient, clean modular power; (4) Fuels--The coproduction of coal-derived transportation fuels and power from gasification-based technology; (5) Carbon Sequestration--Capturing greenhouse gases from the exhaust gases of combustion or other sources, or from the atmosphere itself, and storing them for centuries or recycling them into useful products; and (6) Advanced Research--Going beyond conventional thinking in the areas of computational science, biotechnology, and advanced materials.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
