Energy Systems Commons^™

Consolidation Modeling To Support Closure Planning Of An Upstream Raise Ccr Surface Impoundment Containing Fgd Material, Tanya Walkenbach, Craig Schuettpelz, Todd Stong, Shane Stockdill

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Rainbow Energy Center’s (REC’s) Coal Creek Station has managed calcium sulfite flue gas desulfurization (FGD) material in composite-lined upstream raise surface impoundments since 2001. The upstream raise surface impoundment utilizes bottom ash (drainage zone) and fly ash (structural zone) produced at Coal Creek Station to contain the FGD placement. FGD material was hydraulically sluiced to the center of the 110-acre Upstream Raise 92 (UR92) coal combustion residual (CCR) unit between 2001 and 2021. The FGD was deposited to a maximum thickness of approximately 100 feet in the center of the unit. Significant consolidation of FGD material occurred with subsequent FGD …

Investigation Of A Historical Coal Combustion Residuals Management Unit (Ccrmu), Todd Stong, Shane Stockdill, Erin Hunter

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Rainbow Energy Center’s (REC’s) Coal Creek Station has managed coal combustion residuals (CCR) in various engineered impoundments and landfills since plant operation began in 1978. Since then, waste containment methods have evolved resulting in significant changes to their CCR management practice. In the late 1980s and early 1990s REC closed several existing CCR units with natural soil liners and constructed several new CCR units with composite liner systems. One of the closed units was an area now referred to as North Section 16, an impoundment that received CCR including bottom ash, fly ash, and flue gas desulfurization material. North Section …

Transportation Logistics Panel, John Ward, Andrew Vollmer, Tracy Zea, Marci Jenks

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

As the industry shifts from freshly generated ash to harvested materials and advanced utilization, logistics is becoming one of the primary drivers of project success or failure. This moderated panel will explore how sourcing, transportation, and storage realities are changing — and what project teams most often underestimate when working with harvested coal ash. Panelists will discuss what breaks, what becomes more complex, and how logistics considerations are reshaping planning and development.

Optimization Of Remedial Strategies For Ccr Site Corrective Action Through Advanced Geochemical Modeling, Cole Mayer, Pj Nolan

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

The power industry is actively designing and implementing corrective measures for Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR). In many cases, these measures include active remedies such as pump and treat, in-situ injection, or reactive barriers, all of which demand a thorough understanding of the underlying geochemical system. Depending on the geochemical characteristics of an aquifer, different chemical reagents can achieve varying degrees of success or even be detrimental to the remediation of the site. Advanced geochemical modeling is an invaluable tool for developing a remedy that is optimized to the site-specific geological, hydrological, and geochemical environment. In the case study presented here, …

Application Of Stable Isotopes In An Alternative Source Demonstration, Alison O'Connor

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Stable isotope analysis is commonly used in age dating, provenance studies and to differentiate between sources of groundwater. Multiple studies have shown that strontium and boron isotopic ratios can be successfully used in identifying CCR impacts to groundwater. This talk presents an applied case study using boron and strontium isotopes in conjunction with additional geochemical approaches in an alternative source demonstration. Boron and strontium isotopes were measured in both groundwater and CCR leachate over sampling events from 2019 to 2025. The data revealed that strontium and boron isotopic signatures in groundwater near the CCR unit differed significantly from both site-specific …

Distinguishing Ccp From Nuclear Impacts In Groundwater, Lea Millet

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

As the energy transition from fossil fuels to other generation technologies continues, many companies worldwide are evaluating the feasibility of constructing nuclear power plants at sites previously used for coal-powered generation. Thermal power plant sites offer advantages for siting nuclear generation such as proximity to cooling water and grid connections; however existing impacts to groundwater from coal combustion product (CCP) management units may confound monitoring programs designed to detect impacts from nuclear operations. For example, boron and lithium may be present in waters associated with CCP management and nuclear power plant operations, and potassium that often has concentrations above background …

Ccr Landfill Closure Challenges, Solutions And Innovation, Jay Mokotoff, Drew Browning, Steve Applegate

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

CCR landfills can present unique design and construction challenges for the industry when closing these units at the end of their life. In comparison to CCR surface impoundments, CCR landfills typically have greater flexibility under the CCR Rule for operations and beneficial use purposes and may not have defined closure dates which results in some of these closures extending further into the future. However, as coal burning plants continue to shudder, the closure of these landfills is rapidly approaching. This presentation will focus on the challenging site conditions, site specific considerations and potential solutions when designing and constructing the landfill …

Engineering Granulometry To Optimize Performance Of Reclaimed Ash, Russell Hill

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

As utility production of fresh fly ash declines, the concrete industry is turning to reclaimed and beneficiated materials to maintain reliable SCM supply. This transition creates an opportunity not only to secure volumes but to engineer improved performance. The ReCinis™ beneficiation process enables this by providing controls that tune particle-size distribution (PSD), sphericity, packing behavior, surface area, and surface activation. Processing trials show that blends combining fine ground fractions with spherical, broad-graded hydrocyclone overflow (OF) materials can balance high reactivity with favorable rheology. Mechanochemical activation during grinding appears to increase reactivity beyond what surface-area metrics alone predict, likely through removal …

Alternative Cover Permitting And The Ccr Rule, Evan Andrews, Victor Damasceno

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Federal rules (40 CFR Parts 9, 257 and 261) that regulate coal combustion residuals (CCR) created a significant demand associated with closure of coal ash management and storage facilities using liner systems. Timelines associated with these facility closures combined with substantial project scale and potential for future mining /reuse has driven the need for closure systems that perform beyond the prescriptive soil / geomembrane caps outlined in the federal regulations. As outlined in section 257.102 (d)(3)(i) of the CCR Rule, the standard cover system must include an infiltration layer of at least 18 inches of earthen material and an erosion …

Sustainability And Waste Diversion At Tva Shawnee "Project Phoenix", Bryan Jacob, Shane Harris

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

An engineered turf closure system can serve as an ideal foundation for a solar energy system to be installed atop coal combustion residual (CCR) impoundments. This approach not only enables productive power generation during the post-closure period, it also preserves opportunities for recovery and beneficial use of CCR material in the future. “Project Phoenix” at TVA’s Shawnee Fossil Plant offers an illustrative example. This paper will cover the sustainability benefits of the companion ClosureTurf® and PowerCap® systems installed at that site as well as waste diversion activities undertaken during construction to recycle as much as practical and minimize waste destined …

Demystifying Large Language Models: How Ai Is Transforming Data, Compliance, And Decision-Making In Coal Ash And Environmental Management, Scott Pfeiffer

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

The environmental and coal combustion residuals (CCR) industries generate vast amounts of information—from groundwater monitoring reports and RCRA documentation to closure plans and analytical data. Managing, interpreting, and communicating this information is a growing challenge for utilities, regulators, and consultants alike. Large Language Models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT architecture, represent a breakthrough in how organizations can interact with their technical data. These models use deep neural networks trained on billions of words to understand, summarize, and generate language with human-like accuracy. When securely adapted for enterprise use, LLMs can automate routine reporting, extract data from technical documents, generate regulatory …

Expert Perspectives On The U.S. Coal Combustion Products Market – Now, Then, And The Future, Mark Rokoff, David Cox, Walter Lemaire, John Ward

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

This panel discussion will explore the continued evolution of the U.S. coal combustion products market, with a focus on the impacts of dynamic regulatory and market forces. Invited expert panelists will share perspectives on developments over the past several years (building on discussions from WOCA 2022 and WOCA 2024), current conditions, and expected future trends—particularly those likely to shape the market between 2026 and 2030. The discussion will address the interrelated markets for engineering, construction, and beneficiation of ash from both operating and inactive plants. Panelists will offer perspectives relevant to the full coal ash industry, from owner/operator organizations to …

Subsurface Delineation Of Coal Combustion Residuals Using Multiple Geophysical Methods, Eric Hageman, Adam Rak, Thomas Jordan, Kate Mckinley

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

Geophysical techniques provide alternative methods of Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) delineation and characterization to supplement more invasive boring programs used for beneficial reuse planning. A demonstration project was designed to characterize the electromagnetic and seismic stratigraphy of CCR material and test the effectiveness of three geophysical techniques: Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI), Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) induction, and Multi-channel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW). The demonstration project was completed at a dry-stack CCR unit containing a variety of CCR ash, gypsum, and thin layers of drainage aggregate (limestone). During a single-day deployment, several geophysical survey tests were conducted in specific areas of …

Porous Hydrophobic Adsorbent Coatings For Carbon Dioxide Capture, Samuel Babatunde Olushola

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents the development of a porous, hydrophobic zeolite 13X coating for the separation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from flue gas or natural gas. Zeolite 13X was combined with yeast, glucose, and sodium alginate as pore-forming agents, and with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as hydrophobicity-inducing agents to enhance water resistance while maintaining CO₂ access to the adsorbent. The study explored PTFE/13X mass ratios ranging from 0 to 2.33 to investigate the interplay between hydrophobicity and CO₂ uptake. The wettability of the coating was characterized by using a temporal water contact angle (WCA) measurement. Increasing …

An Experimental Study On Turbine-Based Energy Harvesters For Thermal Underwater Gliders, Stephen Edward Coster

Theses and Dissertations

Buoyancy-driven underwater gliders have been optimized for long-duration missions primarily for continual monitoring of the ocean’s water column. However, longer missions and higher-powered sensors have increased the energy requirements of gliders. While current solutions aim to increase battery capacity, the development of energy-harvesting systems (EHMs) could greatly improve mission capabilities in both ability and duration. This thesis discusses the experimental testing of an underwater glider with an EHM as detailed in the theoretical study, “Development of a Turbine-Based Ocean Thermal Energy Harvesting Mechanism Applied to the Underwater Glider” by Hongbo Hou, PhD. The rear-mounted turbine captures energy using the kinetic …

Techno-Economic Analysis Of Hybrid Systems As A Solution For Electricity Supply During The Dry Season At The Bakaru Run-Of-River Hydropower Plant, Zamharir Aditya Febri, Mohammad Akita Indianto, Sheila Tobing

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Within the South Sulawesi power system (Sulbagsel), the Bakaru Hydro Power Plant serves as a key facility expected to provide consistent and reliable electricity supply. However, since the Bakaru plant operates under a Run of River scheme, its energy output is highly dependent on river discharge rates. In 2024, a significant decrease in water flow was recorded between August and October, which led to a drastic reduction in power generation. To address this challenge, a hybrid energy system is proposed to ensure continuous load coverage, particularly during the dry season. The optimal configuration of this hybrid system was modeled and …

A Review Of Energy Storage Technologies With Hydro Energy System Design For Off-Grid Electricity, Daniel H. Ngoma, Banet L. Masenga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Many renewable energy sources such hydropower—particularly small-scale run-of-river and micro-hydro—offers reliable, low-cost generation. However, their inherent intermittency (due to seasonal flow variations) and inability to instantly match demand necessitate integrated energy storage to ensure a stable, continuous power supply. This review synthesizes contemporary energy storage technologies in the context of their integration with off-grid hydro energy system design.

The study examine a spectrum of storage solutions, evaluating their technical characteristics, costs, and suitability for hybrid hydro applications. Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), while highly efficient and large-scale, is often geographically constrained and capital-intensive for small off-grid projects. Battery Energy Storage Systems …

Preliminary Study Of Circular Lithium-Ion Battery Thermal Management System With Intermittent Cooling, Muhammad Luthfi, Leo Van Gunawan, Yudhy Kurniawan, Sabda Ikhwal Rahmatullah, Alfarikh Muhammad Daen

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

The active battery thermal management system is important to maintain the lithium-ion battery temperature within the optimum and safe range. However, current research has not considered the potential for excessive energy consumption due to the continuous operation of a fluid flow source, such as a fan. This research aims to investigate the effect of a novel approach called intermittent cooling on the cooling efficacy and energy consumption of the circular-configuration BTMS. Both transient computational fluid dynamic simulation and experiment were conducted in this work with 30 pieces of 18650 Lithium-Ion batteries positioned in a staggered circular configuration. From the result, …

Gas Lift Valve Operation Under Elevated Pressure And Temperature Conditions, Pedro O. De Melo Flores

LSU Master's Theses

Gas lift valves are critical components in artificial lift systems, and their performance directly influences well unloading efficiency and long-term production. Current industry models used to correct valve opening and closing pressure for temperature rely on assumptions that have not been extensively validated against experimental data. This study experimentally investigates the opening and closing behavior of injection pressure-operated (IPO) gas lift valves under controlled elevated-temperature conditions. A load rate test bench was modified to include a heating system capable of maintaining valve temperatures up to 220°F. Five gas lift valve designs from multiple manufacturers were tested over a range of …

Performance Analysis Of A Converted Electric Underbone Motorcycle: A Combined Dynamometer And Road Test Approach, Dhimas Oki Permata Aji, Sigit Suwarto, Yunus Ari Rokhim

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

In developing countries, converting traditional underbone motorcycles to electric vehicles transforms sustainable transportation from a theoretical concept to a practical implementation. This paper describes the design and operational performance evaluation of an electric underbone motorcycle conversion system that integrates a 2.0 kW, 72 V BLDC motor and a 72 V, 20 Ah lithium-ion battery pack. Compared to previous studies, this paper combines, for the first time, both dynamometer and road tests as the basis for a comprehensive performance assessment of low-cost motorcycle conversion. The dynamometer test was conducted under laboratory conditions to evaluate the test system for torque, power output, …