Gellman to Lead Clean-Tech Team

Carnegie Mellon is leading efforts to make the process of fossil fuel burning less harmful to Earth's atmosphere and will be part of a three-university consortium in this area of research.

Chemical engineering professor Andrew Gellman will lead the consortium’s group of more than 75 scientists and student researchers from Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and West VirginiaUniversity.

The consortium will receive up to $26 million during the next two years to develop cleaner and more energy-efficient technologies for fossil fuels. Researchers expect that the project could result in reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Under Gellman's direction, the team's objectives are to develop new technologies for fossil fuel use, reduce the environmental impact of their use, and optimize the efficiency of energy generated by fossil fuels sources.

"We need to develop improved turbine generators and new fuel cell technologies that use coal-derived synthetic fuels, along with new ways to capture and store greenhouse gases instead of releasing them into the atmosphere," Gellman said.

Carnegie Mellon scientists have already advanced how CO₂ — once removed from coal — can be safely and economically captured, transported and sequestered deep underground. Interdisciplinary centers such as the Climate Decision Making Center and the Electricity Industry Center have spearheaded these initiatives.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, electricity plants — a majority of which are coal-burning — are the largest source of CO2 in United States. They make up 39 percent of all CO₂ emissions.

The consortium will be funded through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The national laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy, NETL has facilities in five states including Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Pennsylvania and West Virginia hold millions of tons of coal, and U.S. policymakers are calling on the region to utilize its fossil fuel resources in order to bolster U.S. energy security.

Related Links: Environment  |  Environmental Research Centers

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