Governor Announces Grant For Coal Research And Development

CARBONDALE - Governor George H. Ryan today announced that Dr. Sanjeev Kumar of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) has been awarded $151,828 for a coal research and development project that is benefiting Marion Hospital. The project incorporates the use of coal bottom ash, a coal combustion by-product, in concrete support piles for the hospital's new Medical Office Building and Power House.

"This technology is economically and environmentally sound," Ryan said. "Marion Hospital will recognize costs savings for the project while at the same time many tons of material will be kept out of the state's landfills."

Under the grant, awarded through the Department of Commerce and Community Affair's (DCCA) Coal Technology Development Assistance Fund, Dr. Kumar is overseeing the project which will use 200 tons of bottom ash from Springfield's City Water Light and Power's (CWLP) plant complex. The bottom ash replaces aggregate used in the concrete, cutting the cost of the concrete by $28 per cubic yard.

"As part of Governor Ryan's environmental efforts, DCCA has been charged with developing new programs and technologies to promote the recycling of a wide range of materials," said DCCA Director Pam McDonough. "This project achieves that goal and provides economic benefits for both the hospital and the utility company."

"We are very excited about this project and want to thank the Ryan Administration, and the dozens of companies and individuals who have helped make it a reality," said Dr. Kumar. "Without this grant there is no way we would have been able to proceed with this project. It will also now be easier to market and commercialize this process further."

Construction on the Medical Office Building and Pump House is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2002.