Cleaning up after high-sulfur coal

New technologies in the United States are enabling industries and utilities to burn low-cost, high-sulfur coals competitively and within environmental regulations. The economic benefit of clean-coal technologies is that power-plant and factory managers can consider firing high-sulfur coals from Eastern and Midwestern states instead of having to ship more-expensive low-sulfur Western coals. The areas of clean-coal research and development that are considered promising are replacing coke with granulated coal in steelmaking, improving burner technology through the development of advanced cyclonic combustors, and enhancing flue-gas-clean-up technology. American industries using the new technologies are discussed and the capabilities of the new technology are given.