Current SIU Research funded by ICCI

The following list includes research projects currently underway in the SIU community and funded by the Illinois Clean Coal Institute.  (To read more about individual projects, follow this link.)

DIRECT COAL LIQUEFACTION VIA NON-CATALYTIC HYDROGENATION IN SUPERCRITICAL CO2
Principal Investigator: Mondal
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:13/7A-1 Scheduled Completion:2014-09-30
The proposed project aims at developing and characterizing a low temperature (<150 oC) non catalytic process using a hydrogen transfer agent (instead of molecular hydrogen) for coal dissolution in super ....  

A HYBRID REVERSE OSMOSIS/ELECTRODIALYSIS PROCESS FOR OHD PRODUCT EXTRACTION
Principal Investigator: Mondal
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:13/7B-1 Scheduled Completion:2014-09-30
This research will address the separation and concentration of organics from the product mixture obtained during the Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution (OHD) process. The product mixture consists predominantly of water with small amounts of dissolved organics and in ....

INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF AN EXISTING PC BOILER USING VFDS AND IMPROVED HEAT EXCHANGERS
Principal Investigator: Mathias
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:13/5A-1 Scheduled Completion:2014-07-31
This proposal identifies ways to increase the overall efficiency of coal fired power plants by decreasing the auxiliary power used during operation, mostly through Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), and increasing efficiency of the power cycle by improving heat exchange ....


A NEW AIR-TABLE AND FLIP-FLOW SCREEN FOR DRY SEPARATION OF ILLINOIS FINE COAL
Principal Investigator: Mohanty
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:13/4B-2 Scheduled Completion:2014-06-30
Dry coal cleaning has generated renewed interest in the scientific and operating coal communities alike due to water scarcity in many parts of the world and negative environmental impacts of traditional wet coal preparation methods. The commercially available dry separa ....  

UNDERSTANDING AND IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF RESIN GROUTED BOLTS
Principal Investigator: Spearing
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:13/3A-1 Scheduled Completion:2014-04-30
Rock related safety remains one of the main sources of accidents in underground mines. The weak roof strata that is typically above a coal seam is prone to skin failure and massive failure in some cases. In addition, there are over 1,500 roof falls that occur every year ....  

ROCK MASS CHARACTERIZATION - FIRST STEP TO DESIGN SAFETY MEASURES AND CONTROL ROOF FALLS
Principal Investigator: Osouli
Institution:Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
ICCI Project:13/ER-8 Scheduled Completion:2014-04-30
Roof rock mass characterization is the critical element for evaluating roof conditions and designing roof support systems in underground coal mines. Coal Mine Roof Rating (CMRR) is the most internationally used and empirical-based rock mass classification system which w ....  


AN ANALYSIS OF THE WATER QUALITY DATA FOR SELECTED TRACE ELEMENTS FROM ACTIVE COAL MINING RELATED NPDES OUTFALLS IN ILLINOIS
Principal Investigator: Chugh
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:11/US-18 Scheduled Completion:2013-12-31
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has suggested that a scientific study be performed of Mine Effluents Quality for the period 2000 to 2011 to assess if there is credible evidence of the presence of zinc (Zn), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and selenium (Se) metals i ....  

WETTING BEHAVIOR AND CONTROL OF QUARTZ AND COAL DUSTS FROM ILLINOIS BASIN MINES - PHASE 4
Principal Investigator: Chugh
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/US-2 Scheduled Completion:2013-12-31
Increased productivity and high out-of-seam dilution (15-20%) mining in Illinois Basin coal mines have generated dust control problems. There is need to implement more efficient dust control technologies. Several mines are facing reduced dust standards due to high respi ....  

OHD PROCESS ENGINEERING DESIGN AND PILOT PLANT CONSTRUCTION
Principal Investigator: Derek Perry
Institution:Thermaquatica Inc.
ICCI Project:DEV11-3 Scheduled Completion:2013-12-31
Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution (OHD) is a novel coal conversion technology developed at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) with funding support from the Illinois Clean Coal Institute. This processing technology is an entirely novel approach to convert c ....  


AN INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY-GOVERNMENT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH ON FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF DUST CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR CONTINUOUS MINER SECTIONS
Principal Investigator: Chugh
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:DEV12-3 Scheduled Completion:2013-10-30
Several mines in Illinois experience significant dust control problems in partial extraction room-and-pillar mining areas utilizing wet-head continuous miners. One mining company in southern Illinois has agreed to work cooperatively with SIUC to develop and demonstrate ....  


DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF ALTERNATE STABLE MINING GEOMETRIES FOR SET-UP AND RECOVERY ROOMS IN ILLINOIS
Principal Investigator: Chugh
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:DEV11-5 Scheduled Completion:2013-08-31
Illinois longwall mining operations experience significant ground control problems (roof falls, rib sloughing, floor heave) and safety issues within set-up rooms (SR) layout and around the T-junctions of recovery rooms (RR). The SR problems rooms are concentrated around ....  

IN-PLANT DEMONSTRATION OF A LOW COST AUTOMATION SYSTEM FOR COAL SPIRALS
Principal Investigator: Mohanty
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/4A-4 Scheduled Completion:2013-07-31
Spiral concentrators are widely used in coal preparation plants in Illinois and elsewhere to generally clean 1 mm x 150 micron particle size coal fraction. Compound spirals are capable of providing excellent clean coal recovery at reasonably low ash content. The splitte ....  

INFLUENCE OF MACERAL AND MINERAL COMPOSITION ON OHD PROCESSING OF ILLINOIS COAL
Principal Investigator: Rimmer
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/7A-3 Scheduled Completion:2013-07-31
This proposal will address the influence pure coal macerals on the Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution (OHD) process, specifically how different macerals influence reaction rate and product, and similarly how mineral components react during the OHD process. OHD is a nove ....  


CHARACTERIZATION AND CONTROL OF QUARTZ DUST FROM ILLINOIS COAL MINES
Principal Investigator: Chugh
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:10/3C-3 Scheduled Completion:2013-05-31
Several coal mines in Illinois are currently facing reduced respirable dust compliance standards since the dust samples contain more than 5% respirable quartz. Some of the reasons for this situation are: 1) High production rates, 2) About 15-20 % out-of-seam mining and ....  

THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF A ROOM AND PILLAR MINE USING PASTE BACKFILLING
Principal Investigator: Spearing
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/3A-1 Scheduled Completion:2013-05-31
Backfilling using coal plant waste on coal mines may become the most viable disposal method when the new legislation is finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as surface disposal costs could increase significantly (Spearing, 2010). Earlier research by th ....  

FIELD DEMONSTRATION OF ALTERNATE COAL PROCESSING WASTE DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGY
Principal Investigator: Lefticariu
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/4C-5 Scheduled Completion:2013-05-31
The main objective of the proposed study is to demonstrate through field-scale column leaching experiments and geochemical testing, that co-disposal of coarse coal processing waste (CCPW) and fine coal processing waste (FCPW) will provide both the geotechnical stability ....

FISCHER-TROPSCH ON CARBON NANOTUBE CARALYST - MECHANISTIC AND REACTOR DESIGN STUDIES
Principal Investigator: Talapatra
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:12/7D-2 Scheduled Completion:2013-05-31
This proposal builds upon the past successful research performed by the PIs through funding received from ICCI, in which the PIs have unequivocally established that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can act as very efficient Fisher-Tropsch catalyst. The superior performance of th ....


MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF ILLINOIS COAL AND RISK ASSESSMENT OF SEQUESTERED CO2
Principal Investigator: Malhotra
Institution:Southern Illinois University
ICCI Project:11/US-2 Scheduled Completion:2012-05-31
The USA is embarking upon tackling the serious environmental challenges posed to the world by greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). The dimension of the problem is daunting. In fact, according to the Energy Information Agency (US Department o ....