Lexington, KY - University of Kentucky researchers will look for ways to capture carbon emissions simply and cheaply from flue gas in coal-fired power plants both in Kentucky and around the nation.
Coal-fired power plants generate about half of the electricity in the United States and keep the electric bills of Kentuckians lower than in most other regions. But the plants also produce significant carbon pollution, which could have serious consequences for climate change, according to many scientists.
UK's $1.9 million grant, one of 37 energy-related projects awarded, aims to produce "revolutionary technologies to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants using a range of approaches, including solvents, sorbents, catalysts, enzymes, membranes and gas-liquid-solid phase changes," according to the Department of Energy.
"These projects show that the United States can lead the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, which will create new jobs, spur innovation and economic growth while helping to cut carbon pollution dramatically," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.
The federal grant is a boon for UK's Center for Applied Energy Research with expectations that it must produce tangible results.
"The Department of Energy is copying the Defense Department's Advance Research Projects that were successful in getting things from laboratory to use," said CAER Director Rodney Andrews, Ph.D. "Our grant program has a quick turnaround and is very much based on meeting goals and deliverables, rather than just studying things."
Andrews said the government sets time limits and expects solid feedback.
"They say to everyone, 'Here's a problem we want solved. Everybody give us your best ideas,' rather than having universities coming to them and telling them what they'd like to work on," he said.
The grant will be managed by a team led by Kunlei Liu, Ph.D., associate director of power generation and utility fuels for UK's Center for Applied Energy Research.
"We are trying to find a way to capture the CO2 at a minimal cost. That is our goal," said Liu, a native of China, whose work has a particular emphasis on the control, management and capture of CO2.
So, what's in it for Kentucky?
"There are two advantages," said Liu. "One is that it will make the environment cleaner; the other is that if there are new regulations coming regarding emissions, our process could reduce the cost of capturing the CO2 in the future."
Kentucky enjoys very low-cost electrical power because so much of it is produced from coal-fired power plants, which are still the cheapest way of producing power. New pollution crackdowns by the federal government "could mean a 60 to 200 percent increase in cost," Andrews predicted.
"To scrub those power plants to capture the CO2 so it's not released into the environment is going to consume 30 percent of a plant's energy alone," he said.
Andrews went on to explain that power companies would have to factor that 30 percent into their bottom lines. "So we would have to mine 30 percent more coal and burn 30 percent more coal, just to catch up and control CO2 emissions," he said.
If the country becomes regulated in CO2 emissions with cap and trade or some type of tax, states could see substantial increases in electrical costs. Essentially, cap and trade means that the federal government would set a cap on how much pollution, such as from power plants, would be allowed. Companies would be issued credits, essentially licenses to pollute, based on how large they are or what industries they work in. If a company comes in below its cap, it would have extra credits that it could trade with other companies. For companies that stay below their caps, the system is favorable. For companies that over-pollute, the system penalizes them.
On the economic development side, Liu said the grant will allow him to create a few new research jobs. Andrews said it is also important for UK to look at commercializing whatever new processes it discovers for capturing CO2.
"Definitely, our program in carbon capture is aimed at solving specific problems in industry," he said.
Anticipated new technologies could create new businesses, such as in engineering.
"If our coal-fired fleet can capture and store CO2 in a cost-effective way, we could see an expansion of power production here with possible sale to other states, or if we keep our costs down, it could attract new industries," Andrews concluded.
On the other hand, if new CO2 capture technologies are not developed, it could have severe economic repercussions across Kentucky. Andrews believes increases in electrical costs would mean "we lose our primary metal industry, aluminum smelters and stainless steel plants. The auto industry would be hit. If we don't develop this, it will mean anti-economic development," he warned.
The Obama administration hopes that in the spirit of American innovation, researchers across the country, including those at UK, will help build a clean energy industry that will create jobs that will last well into the future.