US-Egypt Cooperative Research: Recovery of Value-added Fossil Resins from El-Maghara Coal in Egypt

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

0308626 Miller Description: This award is to support a cooperative research project between Dr. Jan D. Miller, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt lake City, Utah and Dr. Selim Mostafa, Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI), Helwan, Egypt. Coal is one of the principal sources of energy, and it has been identified recently also as an important source for fossil resins. The investigators will conduct a comparative research aimed at developing a methodology for the recovery of the value added fossil resin from El-Maghara (Egypt) coal and decreasing its sulfur content. El-Maghara coal contains organic and inorganic sulfur usually as fossil resin and pyrite respectively. Technology for the separation and extraction of resin will be developed based on advanced characterization using x-ray micro CT. Scope: The use of coal in thermal and power stations and during combustion produce large amounts of sulfur oxides, which contaminate the environment, in addition to burning large amounts of the fossil resins which have significant economic value. The presence of resins in Maghara coal makes it potentially much more valuable once a method for an economic recovery and extraction of resins from that coal is developed, as this project is seeking. This will be of considerable benefit to the Egyptian coal industry, and to similar coal-producing countries. This project is being supported under the US-Egypt Joint Fund Program, which provides grants to scientists and engineers in both countries to carry out these cooperative activities.