Flat flame evolution of pulverized coal with laser diagnostics.

NETL’s Advanced Research Coal Utilization Science (CUS) Program is a crosscutting research and development effort whose goal is to expand our basic understanding of the underlying chemical and physical processes involved in utilizing coal. A fundamental knowledge of these processes will also help us to understand the barriers to coal utilization. Research in this area falls under the Advanced Research Program’s broad mandate to conduct research that supports the development of technologies for clean, efficient electric power generation.

The CUS Program conducts R&D that directly benefits developers, designers, manufacturers, and operators in their efforts to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of advanced power systems.  Currently, the CUS Program is focused on two areas of investigation:

• Sensors & Controls – Novel Innovations
• Computational System Dynamics

Research from the CUS Program has produced important advances in the science of coal utilization. From this program, for example, has come the first one- and two-dimensional combustion-capable Computational Fluid Dynamics code in the United States. The program has also provided insights into coal devolitization, char reactivity, and ash behavior that have led to new mechanistic models now used in several commercial and research-oriented combustion codes. Many of today’s low-NOx (nitrogen oxides) burners and advanced reburning technologies are based on the kinetic data and models developed through this program.