THE INCREASED RELIANCE OF THE POWER INDUSTRY ON U.

THE INCREASED RELIANCE OF THE POWER INDUSTRY ON U.S. COAL RESERVES IS THREATENED BY AN OVERALL DECLINE IN THE DEMAND OF POWER, THE HIGH COST OF FINANCING NEW PLANTS, MORE STRINGENT REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, AND INEFFICIENT ENERGY RECOVERY AND POLLUTION CONTROL. CONVENTIONAL AND ESTABLISHED EMERGING COAL-FIRED POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES DO NOT APPEAR TO OFFER THE DESIGN TECHNOLOGY BREAK-THROUGH NEEDED TO ALLEVIATE THIS SITUATION. PEI ASSOCIATES HAS DEVELOPED AN INNOVATIVE COAL COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY BASED ON THE FAST ROTARY REACTOR CONCEPT. THE FAST ROTARY REACTOR COAL COMBUSTOR "FLUIDIZES" THE COAL IN A HIGH SPEED ROTARY KILN, PERMITTING HIGH ENERGY RECOVERY. THE INJECTION OF LIMESTONE AND THE CONTROL OF COMBUSTION CONDITIONS PERMIT IN-SITU CONTROL OF SULFUR DIOXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS. RESEARCH TO DATE HAS EXTENDED THROUGH THE BENCH-SCALE DEVELOPMENT STAGE. THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH AN INTENSIVE PILOT PLANT TEST PROGRAM IN ORDER TO GENERATE RELIABLE PERFORMANCE AND ENGINEERING DATA FOR SCALE-UP.