COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Development's Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) have joined forces to fund and produce the commercial demonstration of a patented process for cleaning the flue gas created by burning coal.

The process, known as OSCAR (Ohio State Carbonation and Ash Reactivation), could increase the use of Ohio's coal in the nation's industries and create jobs in economically distressed areas across the state.

"A key tenet in our mission at Ohio State is to provide technology development and technology transfer that will benefit our society in fundamental ways," said David Ashley, dean of the College of Engineering. "We believe OSCAR will benefit Ohio as well as the nation and the world, by providing for the economic removal of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from the coal combustion process in an environmentally responsible fashion."

"Coal is Ohio's No. 1 energy resource, and therefore, it is essential that we continue to explore new methods of burning it in a cost-effective, environmentally sound manner," said C. Lee Johnson, state development director. "Efforts to address this important energy issue will ultimately enhance the state's ability to compete in the economic development arena."

An OSCAR-based flue gas desulfurization system for coal-fired combustors could result in more than $100 million in savings annually in Ohio alone, compared to current technologies. Savings would come from reducing the amount of byproducts sent to landfills, as well as from development of new uses for this resource.

The OSCAR process invented by L.S. Fan, chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, and Rajeev Agnihotri, a post-doctoral researcher in chemical engineering, provides for the economic removal of sulfur and nitrogen oxides from coal combustion processes in an environmentally responsible manner.

This $8.5 million project is a collaboration between Ohio State's departments of Chemical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, the OCDO and Ohio State's McCracken Power Plant, which will serve as the commercial demonstration site.

Wallace Giffen, director of University Physical Facilities, and his team will be heavily involved in the demonstration process.

Included in the project will be research on coal combustion byproduct utilization, led by Tarunjit Butalia of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science. The successful implementation of the OSCAR process will cause significant changes in the solid byproduct stream and will affect the properties of the byproducts generated. Any post-combustion use of these materials will depend on accurate measurements of the physical and chemical properties and identification of potential environmental impacts.

A study of the flue gas solid byproducts will be conducted to identify beneficial alternatives to the conventional practice of landfilling, and will also identify positive and negative environmental effects of various alternative uses.

Apart from the coal and power industries, the OSCAR process is being explored by other industries, including mineral ore processing and petroleum refining industries. Globally, this has potential to result in annual savings on the order of billions of dollars to such operations, while improving the environment.

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(ST/LO)