Faces of Energy: Deborah Kosmack, Consol Energy R&D

Deborah Kosmack has been a practicing engineer in various industries for 30 years, but she feels like a kid again. The Western PA native remembers her first job while at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where she got started working with a physicist on coal analysis for U.S. Steel.

"I was like 'Wow, they're actually paying me to do this,' " remembers Kosmack. "It was so enjoyable. Ironically, it has kind of come full circle."

The Murrsyville resident is again working with coal as a research engineer for CONSOL Energy Research and Development in South Park. One of her projects is with PFBC Environmental Energy Technology (PFBC-EET), the Monessen company that is perfecting pressurized fluidized bed combined cycle (PFBC) power generation technology that promises to be fuel-flexible and extremely efficient.  Clean or waste coal both can power PFBC technology, and it is Kosmack, a member of the original team that received startup funding some nine years ago, who is helping bring it to life.

PFBC can run on a variety of fuels. The technology, in combination with a carbon capture system, reduces carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions to near zero, and the byproduct of low-carbon ash is environmentally benign and safe for use in concrete or landfill liners. PFBC-EET counts the U.S. Department of Energy, CONSOL, Penn State University and Siemens among its partners. CONSOL's R&D facility in South Park is the site of PFBC's pilot test facility.

"What we've been testing lately is waste coal, which has significant heat value even if it's been discarded and sitting around," says Kosmack, who has also performed design, construction and operations functions in the plastics, food processing, semiconductors and chemicals industries. "We can burn that low-Btu fuel and clean up the waste coal while producing electricity cleanly and efficiently.

"I think that's a great combination."

THE DAILY GRIND: Experienced in distilling complex concepts down to manageable bits of information, Kosmack easily simplifies her job.

When it comes to PFBC technology, coal is mixed with limestone and water for combustion, which produces a lot of heat when burned. That in turn produces steam, which turns the turbine that makes electricity.  The limestone helps remove sulfur dioxide emissions from the flue gas. Kosmack's job lately is to measure how much limestone should be used, the amount of sulfur PFBC's process can remove, what other emissions are coming out of the reaction and how efficient the process is.

"I look at lots of numbers and data," says Kosmack. "That's challenging. I'm looking at molecular levels, reactions, emissions, so it's about understanding what's going on inside the equipment.

"We have such a good group of dedicated, hard-working people that work together to solve these problems, and it makes the days go fast."

EVOLUTION OF ELECTRICITY: Kosmack admits she was one of those people who took energy for granted before she started working for CONSOL.  She knows that half of our power comes from coal and Pennsylvania still has coal in abundance thanks to the unique Pittsburgh coal seam, which is thick and economical to extract using longwall technology.

Kosmack also believes that alternative energy can't handle the base load that coal can, meaning coal needs to be as clean as possible and seamlessly integrated with newer clean energy.

"We are all very fortunate to have reasonable electric bills," Kosmack says. "Coal provides stability and we can complement it with alternative energies. People don't realize that's the significance behind the coal-fired power plant. You are not going to be able to replace all this.

"People will argue that there's no such thing as clean coal. But we've taken out the particulate matter, the sulfur compounds, the nitrous oxide and the PFBC process takes it a step further, allowing for carbon capture as the next step of reduced emissions."

GETTING CLOSER TO MAINSTREAM: Kosmack is quick to point out that PFBC is a proven technology, pointing to plants that have operated in Sweden and Germany for more than a decade. But building those plants comes at a great cost and in the U.S., energy policy is still being developed. Therefore, things are at a bit of a standstill.

Kosmack talked about successful test runs the PFBC pilot test facility has produced. PFBC-EET also won grant money last year from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to include a CO2 separation system into the technology

"Every time you do a test run, you do something new," she says. "There's more movement and work going on to make these processes into full-scale plants. I see the momentum picking up."

IF SHE HAD A HAMMER: As a veteran engineer, Kosmack has seen more than her share of finely tuned machines. But nothing impresses her like an original Sam Rizzetta—hammered dulcimer, that is. She started playing the stringed musical instrument, played by striking strings stretched over a sounding board and popular among folk musicians all over the world, after first hearing one in college.

"The sound is just so sweet," says Kosmack, who played organ as a teenager.

Kosmack regularly gathers with musician friends, who bring their own dulcimers and guitars, to play a wide range of music. Surprisingly, though, she doesn't tinker much with her own Sam Rizzetta model.

"I take it back to the builder and say 'Here, fix it,'" she says.

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Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.

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