EERC to present workshops in Colorado The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), the world’s leading coal research facility, will present four presymposium workshops focused on the challenges and opportunities for utilizing western coal for future power generation. The workshops will be held Monday, Oct. 23, at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver, Colo., prior to the 20th Symposium on Western Fuels: International Conference on Lignite, Brown, and Subbituminous Coals. The workshop topics include mercury control for western coals, advancements in predicting ash behavior in western coal-fired power plants, fine-particulate control, and gasification and carbon sequestration. “Western coals are among the most abundant resources in the world and offer the lowest fuel cost for fossil fuel-based power generation,” said EERC senior research manager and workshop presenter, Steve Benson. “We’re looking for opportunities to take advantage of their key properties to produce electricity cleanly and efficiently.” Workshop presenters also include Deputy Associate Director for Research Michael Holmes, Senior Research Manager Stanley Miller, Senior Research Advisor and Director of the EERC’s Center for Air Toxic Metals® (CATM®) John Pavlish, Research Scientist Nicholas Ralston, and Senior Research Advisor Ed Steadman. The Symposium on Western Fuels begins Tuesday, Oct. 24, and runs through Oct. 26. The two-and-a-half-day event will provide comprehensive educational sessions on the role of western coals in meeting future energy demands. The symposium will feature more than 80 program presenters from 10 countries: Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States; a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for western coals; and more than a dozen exhibitors representing the leading organizations in the power industry. Symposium sponsors include the EERC, the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The symposium and workshops are open to the public. For more information about the presymposium workshops or to register, visit the EERC Web site at www.undeerc.org/WFS.