Source: United States map of the highest second daily maximum National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1986, Environmental Concentration, ppm Implementing the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 WHEREAS, the federal government took a significant step toward improving the nation's energy security and air quality through the enactment of the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988; and WHEREAS, the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988: established needed programs to foster the use of alternative fuels in light duty federal vehicles and commercial trucks; • expanded the testing of urban buses using alternative fuels in cooperation with State and local governments; • established the Interagency Commission on Alternative Motor Fuels; • established the United States Alternative Fuels Council; • required additional alternative fuel studies by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency; and permitted automakers who manufacture vehicles capable of using alternative fuels to take a credit for such vehicles against the Corporate Average Fleet Economy standards. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Western Interstate Energy Board urges: 1. Congress and the Executive Branch to fully fund and execute the programs established by the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988; 2. The appointment of representatives of western State and local governments to the United States Alternative Fuels Council; and 3. Coordinated State/Federal purchase of alternative fuel vehicle s including the opportunity for State and local governments to purchase such vehicles at the same price as federal agencies. Adopted December 2, 1988 Statement House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior by Leonard K. Peters Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies Mister Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: My testimony addresses the Department of Energy's non-nuclear R&D appropriations for oil shale research for Fiscal Year 1990. Eastern Oil Shale is potentially an enormous energy resource that will, with a very high degree of certainty, play a major role in meeting the energy and chemical feedstock needs of the Nation in the 21st century. It has been estimated that nationally this resource represents over 400 billion barrels of petroleum. Kentucky has an abundance of some of the richest of the eastern reserves. Since 1980, we have drilled over 65 cores and completed tens of thousands of chemical analysis. Using rigorous standards, we have found the equivalent of over 16 billion barrels of oil in a narrow belt of twenty counties surrounding Central Kentucky. This is equivalent to all of the oil in Texas, and only includes shale that is on or near the surface and could be easily recovered with present day technology. These figures are much higher when considered in light of recent advances in oil shale processing. Thus, Kentucky has much at stake in Eastern U.S. Oil Shale and has over the past decade put much effort into its study. In 1980, we conducted, along with two industrial partners, the first thorough study in the public domain of the economic feasibility of Eastern Oil Shale development. That study integrated technology assessment, mine design, and resource assessment in a single effort. Since then, the State of Kentucky has expended over $1.3 million dollars to co-sponsor, again with industrial partners, two pilot plant demonstrations of eastern U.S. shale. Kentucky has also developed and passed into statute a detailed set of environmental regulations for the mining of oil shale. We have also provided a forum for Eastern Oil Shale research. For the past eight years, we have co-sponsored with industry, the Kentucky Department of Energy, and the U.S. DOE, the Eastern Oil Shale Symposium. Over 240 technical papers have been published from researchers world-wide from this symposium. The focus of our work has been to develop a fundamental understanding of the chemical and physical characteristics of Eastern Oil Shale as applied to processing and environmental concerns. Very early, our researchers learned that Eastern U.S. Oil Shale is fundamentally different from that found in the Western United States. Eastern shale has a different type of kerogen, the solid material which generates the oil, and a different type of rock matrix. Thus, the processes which exist for Western Shale are inefficient for Eastern Oil Shale. We also found that the standard techniques used for estimating oil yield of shale consistently underestimates that of Eastern Oil Shale. Our initial studies concluded that advances in two research areas were critical to unlocking the energy potential of this resource. First, retorting technologies which are tailored to the unique characteristics of Eastern Oil Shale were needed; second, environmental research on the physical and chemical characteristics of retorted shale were necessary. Our experience in projects to commercialize oil shale earlier in the decade found that concern over the environmmental safety of the spent shale was the largest single impediment to the public acceptance of an oil shale energy industry. Our research in Kentucky has contributed breakthroughs in the development of new processing technologies. In 1982, research at the Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research discovered that the application of fluidized bed technology to Eastern Oil Shale pyrolysis resulted in yields much higher than expected. These findings were quickly confirmed at both the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and at the Morgantown Energy Technology Center of the U.S. DOE. However, the spent shale from fluidized bed processing was still high in sulfur and contained up to 50% of the original carbon as char. The sulfur can contribute to environmental problems in disposal, and the char represents wasted, unused energy. A long term program of research to solve these problems resulted in the formulation of the KENTORT II technology. This technology integrates three fluidized bed-based processing steps pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion into one thermally efficient process. In 1985 with additional support from the U.S. DOE, research to develop and prove the concept of this process was started using a small 5 pound per hour system. In the unique KENTORT II process, recirculating shale from the gasifier provides the heat for pyrolysis, and 15-20% of the residual carbon left after pyrolysis is converted to a hydrogen-rich gas which can be used to upgrade the crude shale oils. Furthermore, the inorganic sulfur from the shale is removed as hydrogen sulfide; this can be converted to elemental sulfur. The removal of sulfur in this stage also reduces sulfur dioxide emissions from subsequent combustion. The final combustion stage burns the remainder of carbon from the shale to ultimately provide all process heat requirements. The work of our researchers has proven the viability of gasification of pyrolyzed Eastern U.S. Oil Shale in a small unit. Up to 90% of the original sulfur has been removed, and as much as 20% of the starting carbon has been gasified at realistic temperatures and residence times. A final spent shale which contains almost no residual carbon and sulfur and should have no acid generating capacity has been produced. Thus, we have demonstrated that KENTORT II could completely recover the total energy potential of Eastern U.S. Oil Shale while producing a spent shale with enhanced environmental safety. By the end of the current program in FY 1989, the research program for KENTORT II will have successfully proven many aspects of the process. A larger system is essential if development of the process is to completely realistic simulation of commercial-scale conditions continue. A is necessary using a larger system. With a six-inch reactor, 80% of the heat for the pyrolysis zone would be provided by recirculating chat, and heat loaawa world be less severe. Scale-up would also enable evaluation of commeretal materiala of construction, and sufficient crude oil and spent whale would be prindin ed for upgrading studies and environmental research. Also, oil shalen from ether eastern states could be tested. The proposed research for FY 1990 is the most cost effective plan puaethle consistent with a reasonable development rate and meeting the hermanary technical criteria; $375,000 is requested for this effort. We will add large increment of support from the Center for Applied Energy Laboratory at the University of Kentucky. New Eastern Oil Shale technologies, such as KENTORT II, will produce spent shales which are physically and chemically different from those of the past, In our opinion, the time to conduct research in this area is now, simultaneunte with process development, when environmental solutions can be integrated into process design. For the past five years, our researchers have been studying the environmental characteristics of retorted Eastern 011 #hale produced From a conventional technology originally designed for Western U., oil shale, We focused on the geotechnical, leaching, and reclamation character iation of the spent shale and used a field research station in Montgomery County, Kentucky for the work. The field station has large concrete holding tanke (lyaimatora) where the elemental release or leaching characteristics of the materiale is being determined. Thus far, our researchers have found that the shale materials are capable of forming acidic drainage and could release environmentally meneillye elements. This has pointed out the need to further reduce the sulfur conkenk of retorted Eastern Oil Shale to eliminate these hazards, sulfur ENHUYSTY WAR one of the key considerations in the development of the PENT " gasification stage. We also found that small laboratory teste cannot predink the behavior of materials under actual field conditions, It is important that studies be initiated on the disposal of spank ghais having the characteristics of that from advanced metinio imm thm $4117 instrumented field research site operated by our Energy LabVENUE #1 used to study retorted Eastern 011 Shale mined in th 144isha, quantities of this shale was retorted under 9.5. 50% svomerely 14 # boys plant and will undergo further processing by fividing und KomiyakĵK, material will be similar in sature to that pro 11 a 401kKĄ KENYATA oil shale process like TENTORT 11 and wi11 54 8781185* in multiciduk for meaningful research. |