Virginia Tech to receive grant for clean coal research

WSLS News Staff
Published: May 21, 2008

Virginia Tech receives big bucks to help research ways to fight America’s energy crisis.  Specifically, a federal grant for clean coal research.

Congressman Rick Boucher says the U.S. Department of Energy will give Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research $1.8 million to help research the potential of storing carbon dioxide (CO2) in unmineable coal seams.

Boucher says the money will allow a large scale test of CO2 storage.  That test will involve injecting 100,000 tons of CO2 into a southwest Virginia coal seam.

“Coal has a great capacity to store CO2, and injecting CO2 into coal seams increases the production of methane while the coal captures the carbon dioxide,” Boucher said in a news release.  “The ongoing research in Southwest Virginia will enhance our region’s economic development opportunities, making our region more attractive to industries requiring the use of carbon capture storage technologies, such as coal to liquids conversion facilities or biofuels plants,” Boucher added.

The 9th district Congressman also predicted that a large research and development facility will be built in the region to support the research.

“When completed, this project will advance the research and development effort necessary to make carbon capture and storage technology widely commercially available, and I am pleased that the Department of Energy has provided this allocation of federal funding to further this goal,” Boucher concluded.