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Researcher seek to make coal innovations viable

 Researchers studying so-called "clean coal" technology unveiled some of their findings today during the first annual clean coal technology symposium in Laramie.

The research is part of an overall legislative effort to get more research on the topic.

Mark Northam is the director of the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming, which administers what is called Wyoming's clean coal technology fund that paid for the projects. He says scientists have already discovered ways of generating "zero emissions" fuel from coal, but that the technology is too expensive right now to be practical, and new research is hoping to bridge that gap.

"This work is moving towards improved efficiencies and improved economics of the system. Whether we will actually ever build a zero emissions power plant based on coal or not is highly debatable, but we can certainly improve the carbon footprint."

Among the research presented on Thursday was a study of carbon sequestration, which would trap C-O-2 in geologic formations, as well as a pilot project for reducing emissions at the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Point of Rocks.