October VLS Meeting

This month VLS chair Noah Meeks will be pinch hitting as our scheduled speaker is unable to present.

Electricity generated by fossil fuel is generally a stable and low-cost commodity. Globally, electricity is being utilized in more areas of life than ever before, and the environmental impact of its generation is being minimized through various technologies. This month’s meeting is a review of some of those technologies including generation, non-catalytic and catalytic reduction of NOx, electrostatic precipitation, fabric filtration, desulfurization and acid gas control, mercury control, and carbon dioxide capture. Many of these technologies are inter-related, and the focus is on the system as whole. While these unit operations are sufficient for existing electricity generation, future technology development is also discussed.

Dr. Meeks is a Research Engineer at Southern Company, one of the largest electric utilities in the US. His work has focused on emissions control technology development, including those mercury, particulate, and acid gases and mist; as well as advanced energy concepts.  He has a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky (2012).