VARIETIES OF MAYBE CLEAN COAL

Nobody has really proved this can work yet but here's another story about Big Coal dropping Big Bucks trying to show it will.

New gasifiers in coal’s future
Kristyn Ecochard, March 20, 2007 (UPI)

WHO
HyMelt, an advance on U-GAS technology.

WHAT
A new, cleaner-burning coal and carbon capture and storage technology. Traditional gasification technology uses a gas turbine and steam power. More recent technologies include Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, U-GAS and now HyMelt. IGCC technology converts coal to gas, and then removes impurities from the coal gas before it is combusted. U-GAS technology allows clean conversion of low-value feedstock into high-value commodity products. It's a part of the IGCC process, as is HyMelt.

WHEN
Initial projects getting under way.

WHERE
The EnviRes LLC project in Kentucky.

WHY
The HyMelt technology uses a molten iron reactor to gasify a range of feedstocks including coal, petroleum coke, biomass and other biowastes. The molten iron transfers heat more directly and quickly than steam, allowing for smaller reactors and lower building costs.