• General Questions about the Project
• Questions about Gasification
• Feedstock and Products
• Location and Economics
• Health, Safety and Environmental Concerns
• Carbon Dioxide
• Carbon Cycle

General Questions About the Project

What is the purpose of the project?
The project will produce 85 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from 6,000 tons per day of petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining. The natural gas, enough to heat about 400,000 homes, will be sold to existing natural gas providers and will increase the known New York State gas reserves by about 50%.

What technologies will the plant use?
The plant will use gasification to convert petroleum coke to natural gas. Gasification is the cleanest technology in use today to convert high-sulfur carbonaceous feedstocks, like petroleum coke, into usable products.

Is Lackawanna Clean Energy a power plant?
No. LCE is a clean energy plant that turns petroleum coke into natural gas. LCE will sell its natural gas to natural gas wholesalers, who then sell to end users including local utilities.

What is the project schedule?
The LCE Team has completed the preliminary engineering, financing and commercial arrangements. Construction contracts are expected to be awarded during 2010 and the plant will begin operation during 2012.

How much will the project cost?
The LCE project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.

What is NYSDEC?
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is the state agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and improving the State’s environment and natural resources. Its website is available at http://www.dec.ny.gov.

What is NYSERDA?
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is a public benefit corporation chartered in 1975. Its mission is to use innovation and technology to solve some of New York's most difficult energy and environmental problems in ways that improve the State's economy. NYSERDA’s website is available at http://www.nyserda.org.

Back to top

Questions about Gasification

The largest collection of public information is available from The Gasification Technology Council at www.gasification.org.

What is gasification?
Gasification is a technology that uses intense heat and pressure to break down feedstocks containing carbon and hydrogen into synthesis gas, which is a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Gasification plants clean the raw synthesis gas and make it into a clean fuel. LCE will take this one step further by converting the synthesis gas into clean natural gas – exactly what your home furnace and kitchen stove use.

How many other gasification plants are there in the USA? In the world?
There are 23 currently operating gasification plants in the United States, and 160 worldwide. They produce a range of products, including natural gas, fertilizer, hydrogen, and electricity.

Are there any other gasification plants that produce natural gas?
The Great Plains Synfuels Plant, owned by the Dakota Gasification Company, located in Beulah, North Dakota, has been converting low-grade coal into natural gas since 1984. LCE will be the first plant in the world to produce natural gas from petroleum coke. We are excited to be at the vanguard of clean energy in New York State.

Back to top

Feedstock and Products

What is petroleum coke (petcoke)?
Petroleum coke is the residual solid, carbon-rich material left over after all the useful products are removed from crude oil. It is produced by the following refinery processing steps:

Compared to coal, petroleum coke (or pet coke) is generally higher in sulfur, higher in noble metals such as vanadium, very hard (it has a low Hardgrove Grindability Index, or HGI), higher in ash melting point and it has very little inherent moisture. There are several pet coke grades, but we are interested in the very lowest quality, known as fuels grade or green petroleum coke. Fuels grade coke has various physical forms such as shot or sponge or fluid depending upon the crude source and the coking technology employed.

As the name implies, this fuels grade coke can be used in place of coal. However, because of its very high sulfur content, its high vanadium content, and its low HGI, some coal-burning plants have been reluctant to use it.

It is important to note how production rates are quoted. Process engineers for coke plants generally provide coke production rates on a dry basis and coke sales are generally quoted on an as-received basis. Delayed coke has about a 6-10% moisture content because water is used to cut the coke from the drum. Fluid coke has a lower as-received moisture content, because water is not used to remove the coke.

What are current uses of petroleum coke?
There are two main grades of petroleum coke: anode grade and fuel grade. Anode grade petcoke is almost pure carbon and is used mainly in aluminum and steel. LCE will use fuel grade petcoke, which is mainly burned as fuel in cement plants and power plants.

What would happen to LCE’s petroleum coke if LCE did not use it?
The United States exports about 70% of the petroleum coke it makes to many countries, especially China, India, and Brazil. In many of these countries, the petcoke is burned with little or no pollution controls. LCE will cleanly convert this byproduct fuel into clean natural gas for use in New York State. Keeping this valuable energy source in the United States will also help reduce the burning of high-sulfur fuel by ships transporting petcoke overseas.

But won’t LCE be contributing to our dependence on oil by using oil industry byproducts?
No. The United States will continue to use oil whether or not LCE is built. The LCE project will help us cleanly use a valuable energy resource that would otherwise be exported and burned. Think of it this way: the United States imports 2/3 of its oil. Seventy percent of the petroleum coke made from that oil gets re-exported. At about $140 a barrel, why would we want to export this energy-rich byproduct of the oil we’ve paid to bring to the country?

What are the byproducts of the process?
Elemental sulfur and mineral slag are salable byproducts of the gasification of petroleum coke. Sulfur is used in a wide variety of industrial processes and is also part of the mechanism that lets the body utilize oxygen. It is an almost odorless, lemon-yellow crystal at room temperature. Slag is a non-hazardous, glass-like material that is useful as an aggregate in concrete. It is commonly used as an additive to make roads harder.

Back to top

Location and Economics

Why is the plant being built in Lackawanna?
The former Bethlehem Steel Works site offers convenient strategic access to shipments by barge and rail and to natural gas pipelines for product delivery. Existing infrastructure on the site may be upgraded and reused. In addition, the City of Lackawanna’s plans for the site’s redevelopment have designated a clean energy facility next to the existing wind farm. The LCE plant is that facility.

But isn’t this prime waterfront property?
Yes – prime waterfront property for industry. The 1100 acre site was host to an integrated steel mill for 80 years. It is designated a Superfund site and is contaminated with many hazardous industrial wastes, including acids, coal tar, benzene, and other volatile organic compounds. The LCE project will remediate much of the contamination on its 180 acres, but the property will still only be fit for industry.

What types of jobs will be created?
The plant will create a direct need for approximately 200 high-quality, full-time jobs. Almost all positions will command an annual salary of over $50,000. In addition, over 1,500 construction workers will be needed to build the plant for the 24 month construction period.

During operation, the plant will spend approximately $15 million per year on payroll and benefits. Plant operations will create about 200 jobs at the plant itself. Additional indirect jobs countywide are expected to exceed 160, with total estimated annual payroll and benefits of $66 million. Thus, the LCE plant could create up to about 360 jobs and $81 million in payroll and benefits in Erie County during operation.

Are there other economic benefits to the community?
Yes. The LCE plant will require additional support services such as periodic and routine maintenance; it is likely the most cost-effective manner of supplying these services is through local businesses.

The high level of technology will require educated engineers and technicians which could be supplied from the University of Buffalo or other Universities and Colleges.

Local and state governments will gain revenues in the form of property, sales and corporate income taxes.

The plant will be built on 180 acres of industrial property that has lain dormant for 25 years; remediation of the property will be accelerated because of the LCE project.

What is the project schedule?
The project developers have completed the preliminary engineering and financing and commercial arrangements. Construction contracts will be awarded in 2010 and the plant will begin operation in 2012.

How much will the project cost?
The project is estimated cost is estimated at $1.5 billion.

Back to top

Health, Safety and Environmental Concerns

What are the environmental impacts of the project?
The plant will meet all state and local environmental regulations.

What impact will the plant have on Lake Erie and local waterways?
Water for the LCE plant will be provided from the existing onsite water system, which has been using Lake Erie water for many years. The LCE plant water system is designed to recycle water and results in 98% less water consumption than conventional cooling technologies. This is accomplished by recycling the plant cooling water through cooling towers to minimize consumption, and a state-of-the-art Zero Liquid Discharge system will minimize any other water discharges.

How will dust emissions be controlled?
Virtually all of the petcoke and coal receiving, handling, and storage facilities will be enclosed.  The railcar unloading building, storage barn and crusher building will all be equipped with dust collection systems exhausting to the atmosphere through a fabric filter baghouse to minimize ambient emissions and enclosure ambient concentrations of particulates.  The 30-day inactive storage pile will be coated with a latex-based encapsulant to minimize fugitive dust emissions.

Back to top

Carbon Dioxide

How will CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere be reduced?
Carbon dioxide, or CO₂, emissions are currently unregulated. Since the LCE project does not burn petcoke, CO₂ emissions from the project are significantly less than for any plant that burns petcoke (or coal).

How much carbon dioxide will LCE make? Is that a lot?
LCE will make about 13,000 tons per day of CO₂. Of that, it will be able to capture about 12,000 tons per day. In contrast, typical power plants burning this amount of petcoke would make approximately 18,500 tons per day of CO₂, and would not be able to capture any of it.

What is the difference between capture and storage?
These two terms are easily confused. Capture of carbon dioxide means getting it into a pure form where it can be easily controlled for another use. LCE will capture about 90% of its total CO₂ production. Storage refers to putting the CO₂ somewhere safe and secure, instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

Who is in charge of CO₂ regulation in New York State?
While there are no CO₂ regulations in place in New York State, the State has selected NYSERDA to help develop regulations. LCE has secured a grant from NYSERDA to develop CO₂ solutions for LCE’s carbon dioxide.

Will LCE capture its CO₂?
Yes! Gasification is the only currently available technology that allows for easy capture of CO₂. The LCE plant will capture about 90% of the CO₂ it makes.

What will LCE do with its captured CO₂?
We are working closely with the NYSDEC and New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) to investigate opportunities. LCE would place Western New York in the vanguard of determining the best method to manage Greenhouse Gas emissions. During October 2007, LCE was awarded a grant from NYSERDA to investigate the feasibility of underground storage, which is also known as “geosequestration”.

Will you store CO₂ underground?
LCE and New York State are working together to examine the CO₂ options which may or may not include underground storage.

How does underground storage work?
Geosequestration is the injection of CO₂ into deep underground formations called deep saline aquifers. These aquifers are generally at least 3,000 feet beneath the surface and are filled with saltwater. They are not useable for drinking, but their use is regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act.

Carbon dioxide pumped into these formations takes on the form of a thick liquid due to the high pressures found at these depths. Over time, the carbon dioxide reacts with the rock to form new minerals.

Has underground storage been accomplished before?
Yes. Naturally occurring CO₂ deposits exist in many places in the world.  It is not commonly known that the oil industry uses large amounts of CO₂ in a process called enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In EOR, CO₂ is pumped into oil fields to pressurize the oil field and increase oil production. The same geological formations that kept the oil and gas in place for hundreds of millions of years keep the CO₂ in place.

There are also four operating projects to store CO₂ in deep saline aquifers. Two are operating in the North Sea, one in the United States, and one in Australia.

What is LCE’s CO₂ plan?
Greenhouse gas emissions are not local, but are emitted all over the world.  LCE will act locally to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.  When the petcoke destined for LCE is used around the world in other typical applications such as combustion or cement manufacture, the CO₂ emissions are substantially greater than those from LCE.  In addition, the CO₂ generated from shipping and handling the petcoke to its final markets in Europe or Asia, generates even more CO₂.

So LCE substantially reduces CO₂ emissions derived from typical usage of petcoke by converting the petcoke into clean burning natural gas.

LCE is working closely with NYSDEC and NYSERDA to determine the best Greenhouse gas and CO₂ management solution and will do whatever the State requires.


Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle
Carbon (C), the fourth most abundant element in the Universe, after hydrogen (H), helium (He), and oxygen (O), is the building block of life. It’s the element that anchors all organic substances, from fossil fuels to DNA. On Earth, carbon cycles through the land, ocean, atmosphere, and the Earth’s interior in a major biogeochemical cycle (the circulation of chemical components through the biosphere from or to the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere). The global carbon cycle can be divided into two categories: the geological, which operates over large time scales (millions of years), and the biological/physical, which operates at shorter time scales (days to thousands of years).  Click here to continue reading about the Carbon Cycle from NASA’s Earth Observatory.


In any given year, tens of billions of tons of carbon move between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. Human activities add about 5.5 billion tons per year of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The illustration above shows total amounts of stored carbon in black, and annual carbon fluxes in purple. (Illustration courtesy NASA Earth Science Enterprise)

Back to top