DOE kills FutureGen Coal Gasification Plant

  • Thread starter Thread starter mheslep
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Coal Doe Plant
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The Department of Energy (DOE) has officially terminated the FutureGen Coal Gasification Plant project, which aimed to integrate clean coal technology, carbon capture, and hydrogen production. Initiated in 2003, the project faced significant budget overruns and concerns regarding its viability. The DOE plans to pivot from the FutureGen initiative to several smaller projects that will focus on maintaining clean coal and carbon capture technologies while abandoning other components of the original plan.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of clean coal technology
  • Knowledge of carbon capture and sequestration methods
  • Familiarity with deep geological storage principles
  • Awareness of project management challenges in large-scale energy projects
NEXT STEPS
  • Research advancements in carbon capture technology
  • Explore the principles of deep geological storage for CO2
  • Investigate the implications of transitioning from large-scale to smaller energy projects
  • Study the environmental impact assessments of clean coal initiatives
USEFUL FOR

Energy policy analysts, environmental scientists, project managers in the energy sector, and anyone interested in the future of clean coal technologies and carbon capture strategies.

mheslep
Gold Member
Messages
373
Reaction score
714
Futuregen was the DOE's clean coal, carbon capture, and hydrogen production prototype plant all rolled into one. Started in 2003, DOE http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2008/02/06/futuregen-fight-gloves-off/?mod=googlenews_wsj" it had enough of the big bang project, it was busting its budget and DOE thought it might fail regardless. DOE is now morphing Futuregen into several smaller projects that would keep the clean coal - carbon capture but dump the rest.


http://www.futuregenalliance.org/news/doe_proposal_fact_check_013108.stm"
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/FED1EF50F9C186CA862573E70017463B?OpenDocument"
http://www.futuregenalliance.org/news/futuregen_alliance_statement_020608.stm"

Block Diagram of Futuregen technology
 

Attachments

  • integrated.jpg
    integrated.jpg
    32.4 KB · Views: 432
Last edited by a moderator:
Computer science news on Phys.org
What was the principle of carbon capture ? I have personally my doubts about this, but then I can be wrong...

EDIT: I should have looked better: the carbon sequestration is by deep geological storage. It is funny that for millions of tons of non-decaying CO2 which should hence be kept for millions of years seems to be no problem in the eye of the (green) beholder, but if the same is proposed for much smaller quantities of nuclear waste that will be harmless after a few 1000 years, then this is an untollerable risk!
 
Last edited:
vanesch said:
What was the principle of carbon capture ? I have personally my doubts about this, but then I can be wrong...

EDIT: I should have looked better: the carbon sequestration is by deep geological storage. It is funny that for millions of tons of non-decaying CO2 which should hence be kept for millions of years seems to be no problem in the eye of the (green) beholder, but if the same is proposed for much smaller quantities of nuclear waste that will be harmless after a few 1000 years, then this is an untollerable risk!
Generally agree, though the occasional CO2 leak is perhaps not so dramatic