Science & Engineering
BCS combines technical expertise with business acumen and critical problem-solving skills to deliver innovative technology solutions and expert scientific and engineering analysis. Our staff offers subject matter expertise in the areas of biomass conversion, hydrogen energy and fuel cells, coal mining and reclamation, wind and hydrokinetic technology development, energy storage, the chemical and allied industries, nanotechnology, metal casting, and others. With this expertise, BCS engineers and technical staff provide support for the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of energy and environmental technologies. Some specific activities include subject matter analysis and evaluations ranging from data analysis to detailed engineering or logistics, development and interpretation of high-level conceptual studies, and the development of modeling tools to calculate energy, environmental, and economic metrics.
- Technology Assessments
- Technology Scoping and Planning
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Engineering and Environmental Performance
- Life Cycle Analysis
Technology Assessments
BCS is experienced in conducting energy, environmental, and economic evaluations of the impact of conceptual, emerging, and commercial technologies in the industrial, utility, commercial, and residential sectors. BCS prepares focused topical research and provides well-referenced reports identifying technology and process characterization, opportunities and challenges, and the barriers and other limitations to technology implementation. BCS also identifies the needed coordination between developers, investors, technology users, government, and academia in pursuing potential research and commercialization to achieve energy and environmental savings.
Work in this area has included
- Engineering Scoping Study of Thermoelectric Generator Systems for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery
- Waste heat recovery using thermoelectric devices in the light metals industry
- A study on the potential applications for ionic liquids in clean chemical synthesis
- Evaluation of materials compatibility and infrastructure issues for efficient transportation and storage of biofuels.
Technology Scoping and Planning
BCS provides businesses with technical expertise in the scoping and planning of research and development of advanced energy and environmental technologies and concepts. BCS staff has extensive experience in the development of both conventional and renewable energy technologies, as well as other emerging advanced industrial technologies. BCS staff has extensive experience in conducting detailed technology evaluations, market assessments, and other types of technology and business case analyses that serve as the precursors to successful project scoping, planning, deployment, and implementation. BCS also provides clients with focused communication and information transfer expertise and maintains an extensive network of contacts that can be called upon to obtain specific subject matter expertise.
Work in this area has included
- Providing the U.S. Department of Agriculture with expertise and knowledge in the development of biorefineries, biomass, and biofuels, as well as in the theories, principles, and practices of regulatory public policy formulation, evaluation, and compliance
- Providing expertise to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on coal mine methane and coalbed methane (CBM/CMM) technology development and implementation, including regenerative oxidizers in the United Kingdom
- Support for Vision 2020 Sustainable Manufacturing in the U. S. Chemicals and Allied Industries
- Identifying the impact of copper tubing on Legionnaire's Disease for the Advanced Technology Institute.
Climate Change Mitigation
BCS provides technical expertise to clients in the development of methane emission mitigation strategies and the implementation of these technologies to minimize the emission of source methane from underground mines, coalbed deposits, and other known and quantifiable sources. Methane is a naturally occurring, flammable gas emitted by geological coal formations and by the decomposition of organic matter. There are various strategies that can be used to mitigate the impact of methane source emissions to the environment, and they all require a detailed assessment and quantification of the methane source and its potential.
BCS has performed significant work in the support of coal mine and coalbed methane (CMM /CBM) source mitigation, the development of technologies, and the strategies necessary for their successful implementation. BCS has experience in conducting the types of technology evaluations, market assessments, and other analytical studies that support the determination of methane-site potential and can coordinate the development of site-specific mitigation strategies.
Other work in support of climate-change mitigation includes expertise in the use of regenerative oxidizers in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States; the technical training of personnel; the development of assessment tools; and the full range of conference/workshop logistical support.
Work in this area has included
- Providing support for Metals, Minerals, and Energy Sector for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Providing expertise to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on CBM/CMM technology development and implementation—including regenerative oxidizers in the United Kingdom.
Engineering and Environmental Performance
BCS provides clients with technical expertise in the identification and use of engineering and environmental performance metrics and their incorporation in the corporate decision-making process. The ability to accurately monitor improvement in any endeavor is critically dependent on establishing valid methods of measuring performance. BCS works with clients to identify key performance metrics relevant to their business and the protocol to routinely measure performance against a set of established and recognized metrics. This enables organizations to benchmark their performance against an unlimited set of criteria and generate insight into technology cost and performance attributes. BCS understands that each organization has a unique set of motivations and constraints that it must respect and adhere to as it does business; BCS staff can help clients quickly sort out these issues and initiate or improve their performance objectives.
Life Cycle Analysis
BCS works with clients to determine the environmental impact of product manufacturing. BCS staff have extensive expertise in conducting full life cycle analyses on technologies, processes, and even manufactured products. Full life cycle analysis involves a cradle-to-grave assessment of costs and other relevant parameters such as energy use, emissions, or other production inputs and their substitutes. Through this type of analysis, clients, stakeholders, and other constituents can more clearly see the impacts—existing or potential—tied to energy use, efficiency, greenhouse and ground-level ozone emissions, and other parameters of interest. These analyses are used often to highlight economic externalities that are excluded from most financial analyses.