Gas Separations for Fossil Energy Utilization

摘要

The United States Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratoryrn(NETL) is aggressively pursuing research and development directed towards mitigatingrnapprehensions over fuel independence, energy availability and reliability andrnenvironmental issues, especially as related to global warming. The production ofrn"synthesis gas" (syngas) from the gasification of indigenous carbonaceous feedstocks hasrnthe potential to address some of these energy and environmental concerns. Thernabundance of coal in the US in conjunction with the flexibility of syngas, which can bernconverted to electricity, hydrogen and/or liquid fuels, is considered a promising near- tornmid-term component in the transition to a renewable energy society. NETL has devotedrnsubstantial resources towards the identification and verification of efficient separationrntechnologies to enhance gasification efficiency as well as to mitigate greenhouse gasrnemissions. Specifically, gas separations of interest to advance fossil energy conversionrnprocesses include oxygen-nitrogen, carbon dioxide-nitrogen and hydrogen-carbonrndioxide are.