Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Completes Performance Tests on Compact Gasifier

PARIS, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PARIS AIR SHOW -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed the last in a series of performance tests on its compact gasifier, making the technology ready for implementation in a demonstration plant.  The compact gasifier is designed to reduce the cost of coal gasification, provide a clean alternative fuel source and strengthen U.S. energy security.  With some modifications it could also gasify biomass. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"The results from our compact gasifier tests demonstrate our ability to achieve the higher performance levels we predicted and confirm the economic advantages we expect for commercial use of our technology," said Neeta Patel, director, Future Programs, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.  "We look forward to working with our team to further prove the technology in a demonstration plant."

In total, 765 hours of long- and short-duration tests were conducted on the compact gasifier at the pilot plant in Des Plaines, Ill., using bituminous and sub-bituminous coals, and petcoke.  The results establish the gasifier's performance and demonstrated stable operation over a range of operating conditions.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is working with a number of potential partners to initiate a demonstration plant project this year in either Asia or North America.

Compact gasification is a higher-efficiency and lower-cost alternative to current gasification systems.  The capital cost to build a commercial-scale compact gasification plant using Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's technology is estimated to be 10 to 20 percent less than conventional gasification plants.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's compact gasifier is also expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 percent compared to standard gasification technologies.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has collaborated with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering (EMRE), and with Canada's Alberta Innovates – Energy & Environmental Solutions (EES) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunities (DCEO) to develop this technology, and has granted a global non-exclusive license to Zero Emission Energy Plants, Inc. (ZEEP) for commercial implementation of the compact gasifier system.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.  Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is headquartered in Canoga Park, Calif., and has facilities in Huntsville, Ala.; Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Stennis Space Center, Miss; and Carlstadt, N.J.  For more information about Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, go to www.prattwhitneyrocketdyne.com.      

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

Please visit www.utcaero.com for news from Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies at the Paris Air Show 2011.

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Erin Dick
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
+1-860-726-8387
[email protected]

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney