Nalco carbon process named top innovation

Nalco’s Thief carbon process has been named one of the top 100 innovations of 2009 by R&D Magazine, it has announced.

Developed by workers at the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and exclusively licensed to Nalco, the Thief technique involves the extraction of partially-burned coal from a pulverised coal-fired combuster via a suction pipe.

The carbon is then injected back into the flue gas stream to allow it to capture mercury that is produced in the combustion process.

R&D Magazine’s editors worked with a panel of experts to evaluate entries in a total of 18 categories to find what they believed to be the 100 most innovative new technologies of the year.

Commenting, Eric Fischer, president of Nalco, said: "As government regulations of mercury tighten, we expect greater market demand for this technology and are actively seeking partners to continue its development."

Earlier this month, Mary VanDeWeghe was appointed to the company’s board of directors.