Powerspan Background

Founded in 1994 as Zero Emissions Technology Inc. and later renamed as Powerspan Corp., the Company initially provided technology to control particulate emissions from coal-fired, electric power plants. As compliance deadlines of the Clean Air Act Acid Rain Program approached, Powerspan recognized the growing importance of a multi-pollutant solution for controlling emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in addition to particulate emissions. Standard technology generally addresses each pollutant individually, necessitating the installation of separate, costly devices, requiring large spaces not always available on space-constrained sites that are typical of existing power plants. Powerspan sought to develop an integrated approach to achieve multi-pollutant reductions at a lower cost than commercially available systems, enabling power plant owners to meet existing and future environmental requirements in a cost-effective manner. Powerspan's proprietary technology, called Electro-Catalytic Oxidation, or ECO^®, removes SO2, NOx, mercury, and fine particulate matter from coal-fired power plants. The ECO process also produces an ammonium sulfate fertilizer co-product, minimizing landfill disposal of waste.

ECO^® Development, Testing & Commercialization
Powerspan's ECO technology was originally conceived in fall 1996. In late 1997, FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, Ohio, visited Powerspan to observe a lab-scale demonstration of the ECO technology. Based on this demonstration and laboratory test results, FirstEnergy committed to fully fund the construction and testing of a larger-scale ECO pilot unit at the company's R.E. Burger Plant near Shadyside, Ohio.

The pilot test facility, originally operational in July 1998 and then modified in 2002, treated flue gas from 1-2 MW of output from a 156-MW coal-fired unit. Pilot testing conducted at the Burger Plant showed significant reductions in emissions of SO2, NOx, mercury, other heavy metals, fine particulate matter, and air toxics. Based on these successful results, FirstEnergy committed to jointly fund the first ECO commercial demonstration unit with Powerspan, a 50-MW equivalent unit costing over $20 million.

Additional project support was secured through the Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) within the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority office. The OCDO co-funds the research, development, and deployment of technologies that allow for cleaner and more economical use of Ohio coal. With the assistance of Powerspan, FirstEnergy requested, and was granted, $4.5 million from OCDO for the commercial demonstration of the ECO process at the Burger Plant. Construction of the commercial demonstration unit was completed, and unit commissioning and testing were initiated, in January 2004.

In September 2005, Powerspan successfully completed a 180-day performance run of the ECO unit. The unit met commercial performance objectives and demonstrated the capability to control outlet emissions to best available control technology standards. The ECO unit remains in operation at the Burger Plant today.

CO2 Capture Research & Development
Powerspan is currently developing a CO2 capture technology called ECO2^® which is readily integrated with the ECO process. In May 2004, Powerspan and the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop a cost-effective CO2 removal process for coal-based power plants. The regenerative process uses an ammonia-based solution to capture CO2 in flue gas and prepare it for subsequent sequestration; after regeneration the ammonia solution is recycled. The scope of the CRADA includes laboratory testing, pilot testing, and detailed studies of the CO2 capture process economics.

In September 2005, FirstEnergy announced plans to pilot test the CO2 capture process at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio, where the 50-MW ECO unit is in operation. Testing is scheduled to begin this year.