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Product Development and Performance Testing
The EERC has a long history of working with companies in the areas of product development and performance testing. Examples of previous ash-containing products developed at the EERC include bricks, ceramic materials, blocks, and cement and concrete.
Perhaps the EERC’s most valuable asset in the area of research and development is its experienced staff. The EERC’s specialized staff has the capabilities to assemble equipment on-site in the machine shop. The EERC also houses extensive laboratory equipment, allowing the EERC to develop nearly any product.
The majority of projects conducted at the EERC are completed on a proprietary basis; however, a few projects have been jointly sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). An example of a DOE jointly sponsored project is the Mineral Wool Demonstration Project. The goal of this project was to demonstrate the manufacture of mineral wool insulation using molten slag obtained directly from a coal-fired cyclone boiler.
Manz Wool Maker
To produce mineral wool, the Manz Wool Maker system was developed on-site at the EERC to simulate production runs. The insulation produced from the production runs was used to insulate a 10 x 12-foot demonstration module. Module tests were conducted to demonstrate the insulating characteristics of mineral wool. The economic feasibility of mineral wool production was also examined in this study.
The project has contributed significantly to defining the problems associated with on-site production of mineral wool and in establishing the parameters of the equipment required to transport the slag from the slag tank to the production facility.