At its August 2019 meeting, the Lignite Research Council green-lighted three research and development projects that seek to enhance operations at existing power plants or to add value to the lignite industry by providing more products from coal, including rare earth elements.
Mitigation of alkali promoted ash disposition and emissions from coal combustion
One project, sponsored by Barr Engineering, has already received $4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The project is designed to reduce aerosols that lead to slagging the interior of power plant boilers. Sodium in lignite has been a bad actor inside boilers for decades. The solution to date has been mixing high sodium coal with low sodium coal and frequently cleaning the boiler. However, Barr is hoping to develop and test sorbents that will reduce the aerosols inside the boiler and keep the slagging to a minimum. The test facility will be the Milton R. Young Station. The request from the LRC is for $400,000.
Rare earth element extraction and concentration at pilot-scale
A second project – this one sponsored by UND – involves a demonstration project at the pilot scale to test a novel technology for rare earth recovery found in North Dakota lignite. UND is requesting nearly $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy and has received commitments from Great River Energy, Minnkota Power Cooperative, BNI Energy and North American Coal Corporation. UND also requested $900,000 from the Lignite Research Council. The project’s goal is to develop a low-cost, environmentally friendly concentration of rare earth elements from North Dakota lignite.
Co-production of multiple high-value solid products from lignite
A third project – this one also sponsored by UND – seeks to develop a synergic process for producing high-value sold products from lignite coal. The products would include a high value ore containing high concentrations of rare earth elements along with extracting the humic acid out of the coal which can be used for advanced batteries. Studies will also look at using lignite as a char or activated carbon. The $1 million project is largely funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The request from the Lignite Research Council is for $190,000. Both BNI Energy and North American Coal Corporation are also funders of the project.
Now that the Lignite Research Council approved the three grant proposals, they will be forwarded to the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which is comprised of Gov. Doug Burgum as chairman, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and the Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, for their consideration of final approval.
The NDIC is a partner with the regional lignite industry in the Lignite Research Program. State dollars are leveraged with industry investments for research and demonstration projects. Since 1987, when the partnership began, the state has invested more than $60 million in lignite research funds. Total investment in more than 190-plus projects is in excess of $700 million. Besides state dollars, R&D funding also comes from industry sources such as mines and utilities, research entities, such as the EERC, and the Department of Energy.