CNX Coal Resources, OMNIS to develop solid energy refinery to produce clean coal
September 6, 2017
Observer-Reporter
Today, CNX Coal Resources LP and OMNIS Bailey LLC announced a partnership on Wednesday to build a first-of-a-kind solid energy refinery. The refinery will be used for processing waste coal at Consol Energy’s Bailey Mine Complex and converting it into high-quality clean carbon fuel.
A pilot plant was constructed at the Bailey Central Preparation Plant in May to allow for optimization of the production process and commercial-scale testing of CCF by power plant customers.
Successful scale-up of the process is expected to provide provide additional revenue streams from the sale of CCF and certain other byproducts having potential agricultural applications, and reduce the environmental footprint of its operations by eliminating or greatly reducing the need for future fine coal refuse impoundments.
“OMNIS’s technology development program has shown promising progress toward enabling alternative uses for coal byproducts,” said Jimmy Brock, CEO of CNX. “Following successful pilot testing and scale-up of the refinery, we’re optimistic that we will have a clean carbon fuel product that can be used to further enhance the energy content and performance characteristics of our already high-Btu, high-quality coal product. Brock added the project represents “a major step in line with our stewardship commitments to reduce our environmental footprint by eliminating or greatly reducing the future need for fine coal refuse impoundments.”
Simon Hodson, chairman of OMNIS, said the project “just makes sense to further remove the impurities from coal before burning it. This is truly clean coal production in our view. It makes even more sense to return ancient mineral matter to depleted top soils to grow better quality food.”
Charles Gassenheimer, CEO of OMNIS Bailey, noted “the impurities we are removing from coal are really fossilized mineral matter from plants. After several years of testing at USDA facilities, this topsoil has been shown to remediate mineral-depleted farmland, leading to both enhanced plant growth and nutritionally superior food. Simply stated, we are creating two marketable products from coal waste that offer significant benefits to society – cleaner energy and better food.”
CNX Coal Resources is a growth-oriented master limited partnership formed by Consol Energy Inc. to manage and further develop all of the company’s active coal operations in Pennsylvania.