2006 Topical Conference

Separation Processes in the Power Generation Industry

The annual AFS Fall Topical Conference was held October 16-18 in Pittsburgh, PA and examined the separation processes for the Power Generation Industry.

Power (Electricity) generation is and will continue to be an area that presents huge business opportunities for U.S. companies domestically and worldwide. A recent estimate in a study by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicates that the export potential in Clean Coal Technology (CCT) for power generation for U.S. industries to China alone is worth nearly a billion dollars per year from now until 2030. More than 30% of the value of CCT based power plants can be classified as separation process equipment, ranging from filtration units and electrostatic precipitators for particle removal to absorbers and membrane separators for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture.

This conference brought together experts from the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Ohio Coal Research Center, the Institute of Clean Air Companies, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Akron, the University of Notre Dame, plus many private institutions. Many of the presenters and attendees were attending their first AFS conference.

The plenary speakers for the conference were Shiao-Hung Chiang, Professor Emeritus, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh and Sean Plasynski, the Sequestration Technology Manager in the Office of Coal and Power R&D within the Strategic Center for Coal at the National Energy Technology Laboratory of the Department of Energy.

Dr. Chiang spoke on “Separation Process: The Key to Power Generation” and Dr. Plasynski spoke on the “U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Sequestration Program: CO2 Capture from Flue Gas”.

The two day conference featured 14 technical sessions with over 50 presentations. Session topics included Nuclear, CO2 Capture, Advanced Energy & Pollution Control Systems, FGD, Advances in Filter Design & Operation, Hot Gas Filtration, Air Pollution, Water Utilization & Treatment, Advances in Filtration and Separation, Electrostatic Precipators for Particle Removal, and Filter Media.

In addition to the technical sessions for the conference, five short courses were offered. These courses included Basic Liquid Filtration, Basic Gas Filtration, Microfiltration Membrane, Fine Particle Control and Fabric Filter Baghouse Design.

The Program Committee Chair for the conference was Jerry Lynch of Sigma Design. The Technical Chair was Ed Homonoff of Edward C. Homonoff & Associates. Special thanks to Dr. Shaio-Hung Chiang, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, for his tireless efforts in supporting the conference.

The Conference included a reception sponsored by Flow Ezy Filters and Mott Corporation. There were lots of goodies to satisfy everyone’s appetite and plenty of fellowship.

Tabletop exhibits by Indigo Technologies, Global Material Technologies, and Madison Filter displayed new technology applications.

Conference Sponsors

Tabletop Displays