R&D: Finding new uses for an old fuel

Since the 1980s, the production of lignite in North Dakota has been stable at about 30 million tons a year. Of that total, approximately 80 percent has been used to generate electricity and the other 20 percent has been sold to the Great Plains Synfuels Plant where it’s used to generate synthetic natural gas and several other byproducts including urea, anhydrous ammonia and other fertilizers and chemicals.

The board of directors of the Lignite Energy Council is interested in developing and promoting other uses for lignite. The Energy & Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks was commissioned to identify other value-added products that can be made from lignite.

Chad Wocken, an EERC principal engineer, has been working on the project. He said a couple of value-added products include synthetic graphite and rare earth materials…and they have the potential to be commercially produced in the next few years.

Synthetic graphite, which can be made from lignite, sells for approximately $20,000 per ton. The graphite is increasingly being used in lithium-ion batteries. Currently, China is responsible for nearly 100 percent current production.

A second value-added opportunity exists with rare earth elements (REE) which are critical in consumer goods – such as cell phones – along with defense applications. Currently, China is the dominate supplier of these critical materials, and the United States considers the REE market an issue of national security.

New evidence from the North Dakota Geological Survey shows that Fort Union lignite may have some of the highest concentrations of certain REEs in the nation. Of 352 rock samples analyzed from the state, 277 averaged 120 parts per million total of REE – twice the published average for U.S. coal.

While this study identified potential new products more work will need to be done to turn these opportunities into commercially viable enterprises. Wocken notes that EERC has the expertise to do just that if companies want to step forward to pursue these opportunities.

The LEC directors were briefed on the results of this study at their October board meeting by LEC Vice President of Research and Development Mike Holmes. He said the study conducted by the EERC should be completed by the end of October