SBIR Phase I: Novel Utilization of Fly Ash using a Sustainable Process

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种新的和可持续的工艺，利用工业废料和能源来制备高价值的商业结构材料。将燃煤电厂的飞灰与烟气反应，开发出油气勘探中水力压裂的支撑剂材料。使用飞灰不仅可以减少飞灰处理对环境的影响，还可以消除开采和运输大量陶瓷原料到支撑剂生产厂的需要。利用烟道废气产生的能源还将使生产支撑剂的过程可持续，而不需要高温陶瓷加工。因此，飞灰和烟道气的联合利用将使石油和天然气勘探的低成本和高强度支撑剂的生产成为可能。更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是提供一种可持续和低成本的工艺来利用燃煤电厂废弃物生产高强度结构材料的潜力。这些高强度材料可作为油气勘探中水力压裂的支撑剂。预计到2017年，全球油气勘探支撑剂市场规模将达到70亿美元，复合年增长率为10.75%。拟议工作的成功可大大减少处置飞灰所需的堆填区，以及由此对环境造成的影响。最后，利用烟气处理取代传统的高温陶瓷材料加工，将降低全球温室气体排放水平。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a novel and sustainable process to utilize industrial waste materials and energy to prepare high value commercial structural materials. Fly ash from coal power plants will be formulated and reacted with flue gas to develop proppant materials for hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas exploration. The use of fly ash will not only reduce the environmental impact of fly ash disposal but also eliminate the need to mine and transport a large quantity of ceramic raw materials to proppant production plants. Utilization of waste energy from flue gas will also enable a sustainable process to produce proppants without the need of high temperature ceramic processing. Therefore, the combined use of fly ash and flue gas will enable the production of low-cost and high-strength proppants for oil and gas exploration.The broader impacts/commercial potential will be the potential to provide a sustainable and low-cost process to utilize coal power plant wastes to produce high strength structural materials. These high strength materials can be used as proppants for hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas exploration. The global proppant market for oil and gas exploration is expected to reach $7 billion by 2017 with a 10.75% compound annual growth rate. The success of the proposed work could significantly reduce the landfill requirements for disposal of fly ash, and the resulting impact on the environment. Finally, the utilization of flue gas treatment to replace traditional high-temperature ceramic material processing will reduce the level of global greenhouse gas emissions.