W&J center hosting webinar on carbon capture
The Center for Energy Policy and Management at Washington & Jefferson College will resume its Energy Lecture Series on Thursday.
CEPM will host “The Future of Carbon Capture,” a free webinar focusing on the basics of carbon capture and direct air capture. The hour-long session, which is open to the public, will begin at 11 a.m.
Dave Luebke will be the featured speaker. He is technical director of the Direct Air Capture Center at the National Energy Technology Laboratory in South Park Township.
Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by humans who burn fossil fuels. CO2 contributes to global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Technologies are being developed that can capture CO2 from industrial emissions at their source and capture CO2 from transportation and other activities directly from the atmosphere. Captured CO2 would be stored deep underground in geologic formations or used to make other products.
The technology is considered to be promising, but advances in technology and reduction of costs are paramount.
Luebke will explain the basics of carbon capture and storage (CCS), and explain how point-source CCS and direct air capture (DAC) can help the nation reduce its CO2 atmospheric levels. He also will talk about NETL’s Direct Air Capture Center on its Pittsburgh campus, which was established in 2023 as a federal government initiative.
To register, visit eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-carbon-capture-ticketsaff.
For more information, email Linda Ritzer, lritzer@washjeff.edu.
More carbon
Two NETL researchers have been awarded a patent for improvements to laser technology that could be used to detect CO2 leaks more efficiently from underground carbon storage sites. The technology also holds potential for use as an online sensor in a range of other hostile environments that require environmental monitoring.
NETL’s Dustin McIntyre, of South Strabane Township, and Daniel Hartzler were recently awarded the fifth in a series of technology patents that cover aspects of a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy probe for underground storage site monitoring.
“Estimates are that carbon emissions should reach net-zero by 2050 to meet important climate targets,” McIntyre said. “Carbon capture is likely necessary to reach these targets, requiring a long-term storage solution such as underground carbon sequestration in geologic formations.
“However, as with any subsurface activity, leakage can occur, potentially impacting groundwater quality near storage sites. Rapid detection is essential to mitigate leakage.”
84 Lumber
The nation’s largest privately held building materials supplier is pursuing more golden opportunities in the Golden State.
North Strabane Township-based 84 Lumber has announced further expansion plans in California. The company, which operated only three California locations in 2020, will be up to eight plus two facilities that are in the permitting process for La Mirada and Lancaster.
The new locations include a production yard and truss plant in Bakersfield; stores in Stockton and La Mirada; production yards in Lancaster and Riverside; and a truss plant expansion in Yuma, Ariz., to service Arizona and Southern California
As part of this expansion, 84 Lumber has finalized a deal to purchase certain assets from West Coast Lumber, with the plan to move the West Coast Lumber team to 84 Lumber as West Coast Lumber exits the production yard business.
CB Financial Services Inc.
CB Financial Services Inc., the holding company of Community Bank, recently announced that its annual meeting of stockholders will be held at 9 a.m. May 15. It will be at the Ralph J. Sommers Jr. Operations Center at 600 EverGreene Drive, Waynesburg.
Community Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered commercial bank, offers a broad array of retail and commercial lending and deposit services. It operates its branch network in Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia.