High-Temperature Viscous Sealing Glasses for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

The United States is the second largest producer and also the largest importer of natural gas in the world. The increasing price of natural gas along with a decreasing domestic supply presents an opportunity to develop low-cost replacements for natural gas. Thermo-chemical production of Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) from abundant, low-cost, domestic coal offers a viable solution to several concerns related to natural gas supply. However, conventional processes for SNG production such as hydrogasification or methanation of partial oxidation product gas have several limitations. Viresco Energy LLC has been involved for a number of years in the development of a new gasification technology based on Steam Hydrogasification Reaction (SHR) to produce methane rich gas from carbonaceous resources abundant in the US such as coal or biomass. SHR gasifier can handle wet feedstocks without drying, does not require expensive oxygen plants and operates below high ash-slagging temperatures. This technology was intensively reviewed by different institutions including DOE/NETL and has been demonstrated to be the most efficient and economic process compared to existing technologies. Selection of the target feedstocks that will lead to maximum process economic benefits and minimum life cycle greenhouse gas emissions will be the main objective during phase I of this proposal. During phase II of the project, experimental and simulation study of the gasification of selected feedstocks will be conducted, using a Process DevelopmentUnit (PDU) scale reactor and also Aspen Plus simulation tool. The results of this study will be used to develop an understanding and optimization of the process that used to establish the engineering design basis for the commercial scale production facility. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: By the successful completion of the project, Viresco¿s process will produce SNG from abundant domestic feedstocks such as coal and biomass in a cost effective and environmentally friendly manner. SNG can be used for a number of purposes as a clean burning fuel including transportation and also for fuel cell applications