The U.S. Department of Energy selected nine projects this month to modernize existing coal infrastructure, backing a University of Wyoming study that treats bottom ash handling as a potential entry point for critical mineral recovery and carbon capture deployment.
Assessing the Financial and Operational Impact
- The University of Wyoming secured a $500,000 total award from the U.S. Department of Energy, comprising $400,000 in federal funding and $100,000 in matching funds.
- Funding flows through the Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy Office under funding opportunity DE-FOA-0003606, targeting pre-Front-End Engineering Design studies.
- The research investigates thermal bottom ash drying as an alternative to wet slurry systems to recover condensate, improve ash handling, and simplify downstream critical mineral extraction.
Thermal Drying Versus Wet Slurry Infrastructure
Most coal plants currently move heavier bottom ash out of boilers using wet slurry systems. While reliable, these systems require ongoing water consumption and generate substantial wastewater volumes governed by coal combustion residuals regulations. The University of Wyoming project, backed by the U.S. Department of Energy, tests whether thermal drying can replace that moisture-heavy process.
Instead of slurrying, thermal drying converts bottom ash into a dewatered solids stream. The recovered water becomes a plant-reusable condensate, potentially supplying carbon capture, utilization, and storage systems while reducing wastewater treatment overhead. Drier ash also stores more easily and presents fewer hurdles for downstream processing.
| Project Component | Funding Source | Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Thermal Bottom Ash Drying Study | U.S. Department of Energy | $400,000 |
| University Matching Funds | University of Wyoming | $100,000 |
| Total Project Award | Combined Federal and Institutional | $500,000 |
Unlocking Critical Minerals and Carbon Capture Integration
Vanadium is among the materials on the federal critical minerals list found in trace amounts within coal ash, alongside rare earth elements. Extracting these materials economically has remained difficult largely because wet ash complicates processing. Mechanical engineering professor Erica Belmont and Trina Igelsrud-Pfeiffer, director of the university’s Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion, lead the research to determine if moisture removal earlier in the handling chain makes recovery practical at commercial scale.
Near Gillette, the Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion runs a coal-to-products field demonstration plant capable of processing 11 tons per day of coal. That facility tests rare earth element extraction across multiple coal waste streams. The current DOE award funds a pre-Front-End Engineering Design study rather than a construction project, buying rigorous technical and economic assessments of whether the technology scales effectively.
Evaluating Pre-Front-End Engineering Design Across Nine Sites
The Wyoming study joins eight other selections under funding opportunity DE-FOA-0003606 aimed at existing coal and natural gas assets. Other recipients include an Indiana facility planning a retrofit and testing natural gas co-firing, an East Kentucky cooperative assessing how natural gas co-firing affects air pollution control systems, and a Tennessee firm using waste heat-driven evaporation to achieve zero liquid discharge for flue gas desulfurization wastewater.
These studies reflect federal strategy viewing existing coal facilities as underutilized assets rather than aging generation units waiting for retirement. Grid interconnection and an established workforce offer baseline value, while water reduction, mineral recovery, and carbon capture compatibility represent avenues to extract additional utility from current infrastructure.
