Cleaning up coal

Area Development Site and Facility Planning, Oct 2002

ENVIRONMENTAL

THE EPA IS HELPING TO FUND a new Ohio University laboratory for the development of clean-coal technologies. Research at the lab already has resulted in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) that uses flexible membranes to capture the fly ash particles produced when coal is burned for fuel.

The device, according to the EPA, is an improvement over expensive, heavy steel plates used to clean ash from the exhaust stream. The Ohio University lab will also examine other ways to make the ESP more environmentally efficient, and could help coal, steel, paper, and other industries meet EPA emissions regulations. The grant was provided through the agency's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program. For additional information about the program, go to www.epa.gov/ncer.