PROJECT SELECTIONS FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT 2596: UNIVERSITY TRAINING AND RESEARCH FOR FOSSIL ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT – UNIVERSITY COAL RESEARCH

Modular Reactor for Co-Generation of Liquid Chemicals and Electricity from Stranded Natural Gas — The Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas) team plans to design, demonstrate, and test a novel, techno-economically feasible, and process intensified system for value-added liquid chemicals (aromatics) production and simultaneous power generation from natural gas. The project proposes a modular system that increases natural gas conversion and aromatics yield by electrochemically utilizing hydrogen for power generation. The project aims to directly produce aromatics and generate power with a natural gas conversion of greater than 30%, achieve a greater than 50% increase in aromatics yield, and realize a greater than 90% reduction in emissions.

DOE Funding: $500,000

Aluminum Critical Mineral Production via Landfill Mining: Environmental, Community, and Technical Feasibility for Integrated Multi-Material Resource Recovery — Michigan Technological University (Houghton, Michigan) plans to utilize a multidisciplinary team of engineers (mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental) and social scientists to investigate if site selection is key to assessing the technical and economic feasibility of landfill mining for materials. Social science analysis of the landfill history/contents and community will be key to selecting a landfill pilot with a high probability of being viable economically, environmentally, and within the community.

DOE Funding: $ 749,980

Non-Catalytic Pyrolysis of Associated Gas to Zero-CO₂ Hydrogen and High Value Carbon Black — University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, North Dakota) proposes to perform an engineering design and economic analysis study of the conversion of associated gas in the Bakken Formation to high-value carbon black and hydrogen using the Microwave Plasma Pyrolysis (MPP) process developed by H Quest Vanguard, Inc. A multi-well pad producing oil and associated gas in the Bakken/Three Forks Shale Play will be selected as the basis of the design study. This project seeks to combine experimental testing, process modeling, and economic and environmental analysis to significantly de-risk the economics of deploying the MPP process at well pads within the Bakken region by quantifying the financial and economic benefits of the process for a representative well site operator or owner.

DOE Funding: $500,000

PROJECT SELECTION FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT 2598: UNIVERSITY TRAINING AND RESEARCH FOR FOSSIL ENERGY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT – MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS

Overcoming Technical and Community Barriers to Adopting Gasification Technologies — The University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso, Texas) plans to conduct research and development to demonstrate a 300 kilowatt thermal municipal solid waste (MSW)-biomass fluidized bed co-gasifier and investigate the interrelation between gasifier operating conditions (pressure, temperature, gasifying agent, residence time) and feedstock parameters (feedstock constituents, blending ratio, moisture content, particle size) to improve hydrogen production and syngas quality and efficiency. A major focus of this project is to conduct a techno-economic analysis and a life cycle analysis for the proposed effort with subsequent optimization considering multiple parameters (including feedstock variables) and post-gasification processes with carbon capture and storage. The project will also compare this approach to other MSW gasification processes to understand economic feasibility and carbon footprint reduction capabilities.

DOE Funding: $750,000