“Clean Coal Technologies Workshop and Panel” Was Held
“Clean Coal Technologies Workshop and Panel” organized by TÜBA-Energy Working Group was held in Middle East Technical University (METU) on July 6, 2017.
TÜBA President Prof. Ahmet Cevat Acar: “We have to see that the use of coal is an irreplaceable potential.”
Starting his speech by thanking METU for the hosting, Prof Acar said that one of the main functions of the TÜBA is to determine policies and strategies, analyze institutions and create policy recommendations and to provide science-based consultancy especially to the public and public administration. Underlining that TÜBA has established working groups on important, prior and current issues in this framework, Prof. Acar continued his words as follows: “I would also like to appreciate Prof. İbrahim Dinçer's efforts when setting up the Energy Working Group. With this group, we will carry out activities related to the purpose of producing proposals for the solution of the energy issue which is a very basic question for Turkey. ‘Clean Coal Technologies Workshop and Panel’ that we are organizing today and ‘Solar Energy Technologies Workshop and Panel’ that we will organize tomorrow are the first activities of this solution process. In this sense, we are trying to make possible the participation of all stakeholders who have a say in the subject. As it is in our other works, the result which will be produced at the end of these workshops will be reported and presented to the public. Turkey has a coal reserve of over 15 billion tons, but we know that less than half of this amount is of poor quality. There is much work to be done to transform this entire reserve into energy without damaging the environment. For this reason, we have defined the name of our workshop and panel as ‘clean coal technologies’. At present, although the use of coal technology meets with a general disadvantage view in public, we have to see that the use of coal is an unquestionable potential especially for countries with energy costs above 90% imports. In this respect, ‘Clean Coal Technologies Workshop and Panel’ will be useful.”
METU Rector Prof. Mustafa Verşan Kök: “There is a need for environmentally sensitive new technologies and this issue is very important for Turkey.”
Giving information about that according to the International Energy Agency data, the share of coal consumption in the world is around 30%, and this ratio will be maintained until 2040 according to the studies, Prof. Kök said that: “Our country has very rich reserves especially in terms of lignite, and because of the high ash and humidity of our lignite, new environmentally sensitive technologies are needed and this issue is very important for Turkey. METU is a leading university in clean coal technologies research and the researches continue in different fields. We can focus our researches on three main goals. The ongoing work, mainly in the Mining Engineering Department, is to reduce pollution by obtaining and cleaning the car. The researches in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering are on clean coal technology, combustion technology. In these researches, it is aimed to provide energy conversion of the fuel in an effective and environmentally sensitive manner. Carbon dioxide capture and storage technology, which is evolved during power generation, and the control of emission reduction and emission rate in the environment are the final stages of the researches in this area. The Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering is working on this issue. In general, METU’s works continue in the field of coal technology at the national and international level.”
TÜBA-Energy Working Group Executive Prof. İbrahim Dinçer: “Our country is at a strategic point in energy.”
Emphasizing that the Energy Working Group was established with the aim of creating solutions to contribute to the energy field in Turkey, taking the necessary strategic plans, leading to create road maps and developing policies in this direction, Academy Principal Member Prof. İbrahim Dinçer said that “In this context, we are working together with scientists who have achieved significant achievements in energy in Turkey and abroad to work on energy in our country.” Prof. Dinçer continued his words as follow: “We have identified priority working issues that will respond to Turkey's energy needs. Clean Coal Technologies is one of the issues we discussed in the first place. Tomorrow we will continue with "Solar Energy Technologies Workshop and Panel" in METU. We will play a role in creating energy solutions for our country by contributing to the science policies of Turkey with different activities in this framework.”
After the speeches, Prof. Acar presented plaques to METU Rector Prof. Kök for his supports and Prof. Dinçer for his efforts. Two sessions and two panels were held in the program. The sessions and panels in which scientists from universities and managers from ministries, various companies and associations were involved, ended with a workshop summary and evaluation after the questions.
