ISGS - December 2002 Activity Highlights

ISGS Helps Local Business Develop Natural Gas Tracer Technology

Under a research agreement through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ISGS engineers have been assisting a local company in developing a process to introduce a tracer gas into natural gas that is stored underground. The tracer will make it easier to determine whether the gas is escaping from the underground storage reservoir. Under a Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity technology challenge grant, engineering data developed at the ISGS are being used by the Gas Technology Institute to design a pilot plant to implement the TRAGEN process (patent pending) at a storage field in Illinois. (Contacts: M. Rostam-Abadi and S. Chen)

Oxygen-Enriched Coal Combustion Technology Shows Promise

A comprehensive techno-economic study of oxygen-enriched coal combustion conducted by ISGS engineers shows that the technology is both technically and economically feasible. The ISGS-Air Liquide-McDermott Technologies, Inc. team has received a two-year grant from USDOE to further develop the technology. Because the technology could yield CO2-rich exhaust gas that could be sequestered in saline aquifers, coal beds or oil reservoirs without further processing, it offers the possibility of pollution-free coal combustion. (Contacts: S. Chen and M. Rostam-Abadi)

New Map Reveals Data on Illinois' Crops and Other Land Uses

At a workshop held December 3^rd at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, an ISGS expert described the products of the recently completed Land Cover of Illinois 1999-2000 project. Begun in October 1999, the project was a collaborative effort by scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

The 3-year project, which was led by ISGS, received a USDA Group Honor Award for Excellence in June, 2001. Detailed information regarding the project and Internet access to the Land Cover of Illinois 1999-2000 data products are available at the following Web site: http://www.agr.state.il.us/gis/index.html (Contact: D. Luman)

ISGS Hands Out Honors at Annual Meeting

ISGS has presented honors to distinguished staff members and external contributors to the success of our programs. The Distinguished Achievement Award went to Sally Denhart and Rick Hansen for their extraordinary efforts in maintaining the Survey's various computers. Herb Glass received the Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award for his many contributions to Survey projects through methods development and clay mineral analyses for more than 50 years. The Outstanding New Staff Member Award went to Antigone Dixon-Warren for her contributions to 3-D geologic mapping and other projects, and to Steve Gustison for his management of the Midwest Office of the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council and contributions to other projects. The members of the ISGS drilling team, Jack Aud, Steve Wildman, Matt Thompson and Chris Wilson, received the Special Achievement Award for their ability to safely retrieve high-quality geologic samples from significantly greater depths. Robert Bryant was recognized with the Survey's safety award for his quick reaction during an emergency that saved a colleague from further injury when a car backed into her. Lynne Padovan was recognized as an Outstanding External Advocate for her proactive advocacy of our mapping, energy and water research projects and the Illinois State University Geography-Geology Department was recognized as the Outstanding External Cooperator for their work with us on research projects funded by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Updated 08/08/2012 SLD