[E&E seminars] Synergism between Nuclear Hydrogen, Renewable Electricity, and Coal Liquefaction

[Karen Gibson]

You are invited to attend a special CANES seminar by Dr. Charles  
Forsberg of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

   4 - 5 pm, Wednesday November 29, 2006, Room 24-121 of MIT.

Title:  Synergism between Nuclear Hydrogen, Renewable Electricity,  
and Coal Liquefaction


Abstract:
Different hydrogen production methods have different characteristics.  
The defining characteristics of hydrogen from nuclear systems are:  
(1) centralized, large-scale production, (2) co-production of  
hydrogen and oxygen, and (3) availability of low-cost heat. Those  
characteristics may enable the large-scale use of renewable  
electricity by providing a low-cost method to provide backup  
electricity when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow.  
Centralized nuclear hydrogen couples with large-scale underground  
storage of hydrogen and oxygen. That combination potentially enables  
the development of low-cost methods to produce intermediate and peak  
electrical power. The use of hydrogen and oxygen in power conversion  
systems potentially results in much lower costs for intermediate and  
peak electricity production than power conversion systems that use  
hydrogen and air. In the context of coal liquefaction, coal  
liquefaction plants require large inputs of hydrogen, oxygen, and  
heat. The inputs match the outputs of nuclear hydrogen production.  
Coal liquefaction with nuclear hydrogen avoids greenhouse gas  
releases in the production of liquid fuels. For traditional coal  
liquefaction plants, more greenhouse gases are released in the  
production of liquid fuels than in the burning of liquid fuels.


Dr. Charles Forsberg is a Corporate Fellow at Oak Ridge National  
Laboratory (ORNL), received the 2005 ORNL Engineer of the Year Award,  
and is the Senior Reactor Technical Advisor for the Nuclear Science  
and Technology Division. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear  
Society and received the 2002 American Nuclear Society Special Award  
for Innovative Nuclear Reactors. In 2005, Dr. Forsberg received the  
American Institute of Chemical Engineers Robert E. Wilson Award in  
recognition of chemical engineering contributions to nuclear energy,  
including his work on waste management and the hydrogen economy. He  
holds 10 patents and has published more than 250 papers. He earned  
his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of  
Minnesota and his doctorate degree in nuclear engineering from the  
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Forsberg's current  
research activities include the development of a new generation of  
advanced nuclear reactors and the basis for a global nuclear- 
renewables energy system.


Contact:
Pavel Hejzlar
hejzlar at MIT.EDU
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