News

• Fly Ash Bricks Clean Mercury from Air (May 1, 2007 News Release)
In a paper to be presented at the upcoming World of Coal Ash Conference in Cincinnati on May 7, researchers of the Freight Pipeline Company will announce their findings obtained from a recent laboratory study to determine the effect of using fly ash bricks on air quality. To the researchers’surprise, they found that the bricks not only do not release mercury into the air, the bricks actually adsorb mercury from air, causing the indoor air to be cleaner than without using the bricks. This is good news for electric utilities in the United States, which are able to find beneficial use for only one-third of their fly ash. The remaining two-thirds, more than 40 million tons a year, must be disposed of in slurry ponds near power plants, or in mine pits, in a carefully controlled manner.
Because the nation uses 9 billion bricks a year, the fly ash brick has a huge potential market, and could evolve into a major new technology for the nation to use in combating air pollution and global warming. This is so because clay brick factories burn much fossil fuel to heat green bricks in kilns to high temperature, emitting air pollutants and green house gas as a result. In contrast, fly ash bricks require no kiln heating and no burning of fossil fuel, thereby avoiding air pollution and global warming caused by manufacturing clay bricks.
According to Dr. Henry Liu, the Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation sponsored project, entitled “Compacting Fly Ash to Make Bricks,” the fly ash brick has several advantages over clay bricks, including the following:
• Energy Conservation – Clay bricks must be heated in kilns to over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which uses much energy and fossil fuel. In contrast, fly ash bricks are manufactured using a room-temperature process, using much less energy.
• Environmentally Friendly – Not only because the brick is made of recycled waste material, but also because use of it reduces the need for clay bricks, thereby reducing air pollution and global warming resulting from manufacturing clay bricks.
• Low Cost – Liu expects that when fly ash bricks are mass-produced, each brick will cost no more than 10 cents, which is at least 5 cents less than manufacturing a clay brick.
• High Quality – The fly ash brick not only meets the ASTM standard for building bricks, it also has appealing colors and uniform shape and size, features that make brick laying easier and more cost effective than laying clay bricks.
Due to these factors, Liu says that “once the fly ash brick is manufactured commercially, its market will rapidly grow and replace clay bricks, making it the green brick and the green building material of the future.”
The fly ash brick is an award winning technology. In 2006, it was selected as one of 25 Semifinalists of best inventions from a pool of more than 4,000 inventions screened by the Modern Marvels Invent Now, which is co-sponsored by the History Channel and National Inventers Hall of Fame. And in 2005, the brick won the Best Technical Presentation Award at the World of Coal Ash Conference. The fly ash brick also was given free exhibition in five major museums in the U.S., and at China’s Shanghai International Exhibition Center. Popular Science Magazine has an article on the fly ash brick, due to be published in the June 2007 issue.
What is unique about the new fly ash brick technology? According to Dr. Liu, who has a pending U.S. patent and a pending Chinese patent on this technology, “My invention uses a special process that makes the fly ash brick durable (freeze-thaw resistant). Prior to it, fly ash bricks were not durable and could not pass the freeze-thaw requirement of the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard for building bricks. Now they can pass the standard routinely.”
Note: For more details about the cited finding on mercury removal by fly ash bricks, see “Test of Mercury Vapor Emission from Fly Ash Bricks,” by Liu, Banerji, Burkett and Shinn, paper accepted for presentation at 2007 World of Coal Ash Conference, May 7-10 (Website: www.worldofcoalash.org). (A copy of this paper is under Company Publications and Patents .)
The following individuals are familiar with the cited mercury study, and they may be contacted for comments:
1. Principal Investigator of the NSF project cited in the news, Dr. Henry Liu, Phone:573-442-0080; E-mail: fpc_liuh@yahoo.com.
2. National Science Foundation (the NSF officer in charge of my project) -- Dr. Tom Allnutt, 703-292-5332, tallnutt@nsf.gov
3. American Coal Ash Association (Executive Director) -- Dave Goss, 720-870-7897, dcgoss@acaa-usa.org
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA's lead person in charge of coal ash utilization) -- John Sager, 703-308-7256, sager.john@epamail.epa.gov
5. U.S. Green Building Council -- Nick Peckham, 573-449-2683, npeckham@pwarchitects.com. (Mr. Peckham is the President of the Heartland Chapter of the GBC; he is also the co-owner of Peckham and Wright Architects, Inc. in Columbia, Missouri.)
6. Midwest Products Group (Large concrete block and brick manufacturer and distributor in the Midwest, headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri) Pat Schaefer, Sales Manager, 573-635-7119, pschaefer@midwestblock.com.
7. Associated Electric Cooperative -- Tom Watkins, 660-261-4211, twatkins@aeci.org (Tom is the Manager of the Thomas Hill Power Plant. His Plant supplied the fly ash used in making the bricks used in the test.)

Dr. Henry Liu at the environmental chamber used for testing possible emission of mercury from fly ash bricks.
USDA Funds Biomass Log Fuel Project(April 26, 2007 News Release)
The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant to FPC. The project, entitled “Biomass Log Fuel for Heating Farm Buildings,” will start on May 1, 2007, and will be completed by the end of 2007. The purpose of the project is to research and develop a promising new way to manufacture a special type of biomass fuel called “Biomass Log Fuel (BLF)”, and to burn such fuel in an efficient and convenient manner that is especially suited for farms. Farms are the place where biomass is most abundant, and farmers are most hard hit by increasing fuel cost to heat their homes and buildings. Being able to use a portion of the biomass generated from crop residues, such as corn stover and switchgrass, for heating buildings will enable farmers to make use of a currently wasted resource to fulfill most of the energy need for heating their buildings.

(a) Biomass log compacted from dry grass	(b) Biomass logs test-burned in a fireplace
(c) Automatic feeding of biomass logs into stoves (U.S. Patent Pending) Figure 1. Compacting biomass raw materials into dense logs (BLF fuel) for heating buildings.

The new technology to be tested and developed in this USDA project involves the following process or steps:
1. Collection of Biomass – In Fall, as soon as the crop residues are sufficiently sun-dried in the field, farmers can harvest such residues by using existing farm machinery such as silage choppers and tractors, and bring the chopped material back to a farm building where the BLF fuel is manufactured.
2. Manufacturing BLF – The chopped biomass is fed into a hopper, which in turn feeds the biomass into a mold for compaction by a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is powered by either the PTO or the hydraulics of a tractor, or by the electric power that exists on the farm. The cylinder compacts the biomass feed into dense logs or tablets of  5 to 6 inch diameter, which is the BLF – see photo below.
3. Combustion of BLF – The BLF will be burned in a specially designed stove that can feed the BLF into the stove automatically. The ash in the stove is also removed from the stove automatically by pneumatic conveying and stored in an outdoor bin for use as fertilizer or soil conditioner.
Using the foregoing process, the biomass materials will be used for heating buildings on farms without generating any solid waste. The USDA Phase 1 Project consists of four tasks: (1) compaction machine design and analysis, (2) automatic stove design and analysis, (3) laboratory test of biomass raw materials, and (4) preliminary cost analysis. Once the Phase 1 project has been completed successfully, then a Phase 2 project will be carried out to build a prototype system of the log compactor and the automatic stove for testing on farm. The Project will be conducted in cooperation with the Agronomy Center of the University of Missouri- Columbia.
FPC received 2^nd grant from NSF for developing fly ash bricks
In January 2006, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded FPC an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase II grant of $497,506. The grant, following the successful completion of the Phase I grant by FPC in 2005, is for the purpose of conducting and completing essential R&D needed for readying the durable fly ash brick technology for commercial use by the end of 2007, the expiration date of the Phase II project.
Fly ash is the dust removed from the smoke of coal-fired power plants by using air pollution abatement equipment. Each year, the United States consumes approximately 1.1 billion tons of coal, generating more than 70 million tons of fly ash. About one-third of the fly ash generated nationwide is used in various applications, such as for use as a concrete ingredient or for constructing roadbeds. The remaining two-thirds are unused, and they must be disposed of in slurry ponds or landfills, which may cause water pollution. Therefore, increased beneficial use of fly ash not only saves money but also solves a solid waste disposal problem. Furthermore, in manufacturing clay bricks, intensive heating in kilns are necessary, which consumes much energy derived from burning fossil fuels. The process causes air pollution and generates carbon dioxide, which in turn causes global warming. In contrast, no heating is necessary in making fly ash bricks, thereby saving fossil fuel and reducing global warming.
The fly ash brick technology was first studied at University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC) in 2001, sponsored by a grant from the Solid Waste Program of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Even though the UMC study succeeded in making strong fly ash bricks, the bricks made were vulnerable to freeze/thaw – being unable to pass more than 10 freeze/thaw cycles generated in the laboratory. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) requires that building bricks for use in most regions of the United States must be able to withstand a minimum of 50 freeze/thaw cycles in laboratory.
Through the NSF Phase-1 grant, FPC solved the freeze/thaw problem of the fly ash bricks, making it possible for such bricks to pass more than 50 freeze/thaw cycles. The success of the Phase-1 research, coupled with a high-quality Phase-2 proposal and a sound commercialization plan, enabled FPC to win the current highly competitive Phase-2 Grant from NSF. Completion of the Phase-2 study over the next year and half will ready the fly ash brick technology for commercial use. Collaborating with FPC in this project includes: two large electric utilities (Thomas Hill Energy Center of the Associated Electric Cooperative, in Clifton Hill, Missouri, and Ameren UE headquartered in St. Louis), one brick company (Midwest Block and Brick, Jefferson City), and one masonry product dealer (Wulff Bros Masonry, Columbia). They may all benefit from the development of this new fly ash brick technology.
Durable fly ash brick won semifinalist in Modern Marvels Inventions
In February, the History Channel and the National Inventors Hall of Fame jointly announced the 2006 selection of 25 Semifinalists of best inventions, selected from over 4,000 patents filed in the U.S. in 2005. Among the 25 Semifinalists was the Durable Fly Ash Brick. As a result of the selection, FPC’s durable fly ash bricks were exhibited free of charge in the science museums of five cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, New York and Akron. Dr. Liu also earned a free trip to New York City to exhibit and show the bricks to the public at a special event in the Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Station, May 24. This has brought good publicity to FPC and the fly ash brick technology—see photo below of the 25 Semifinalists gathered in New York City.
Extensive press coverage on fly ash brick technology
In April and May, 2006, FPC’s fly ash brick technology was covered in national, international and local news. Example articles that appeared in the press are copied below.
(Note: The above AP Article was featured in over 100 newspapers across the nation)
Columbia Business Times Article on NSF-SBIR Grant on Making Flyash Bricks -- April 2006

World Journal Article on Flyash Brick Project -- May 8, 2006
(This is a Chinese-language Newspaper published in the U.S.)

FPC filed new patent applications
In the beginning of 2006, FPC filed for a Non-Provisional U. S. patent and a PCT patent on the durable fly ash brick technology, and also filed for a Non-Provisional U.S. patent on a biomass fuel technology developed by FPC – see listing of these pending patents elsewhere on this website under Company Publications and Patents . Prior to the completion of the NSF Phase I project, the state-of-the-art of compacted (non-fired) fly ash bricks was that the bricks could pass the ASTM standard for compressive strength, but they could not pass the ASTM standard for freeze/thaw resistance. This problem was solved by the Phase I research, which enabled FPC to file for patents on the method (process) to produce “durable fly ash bricks”. Note that “durable” is the term normally used in the concrete literature to describe “freeze/thaw resistant ” concrete products. Also note that PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is an international filing, the first step to take normally before applying for a foreign patent in any one of the 100 somewhat nations that have signed PCT. FPC is currently working with a lawyer in China to file for a Chinese patent, translated from the PCT patent which is in English. Note that China uses coal and generates fly ash in huge quantity -- more than any other nation in the world. Filing for a Chinese patent in addition to the U.S. patent and PCT will protect FPC’s intellectual property rights on the durable fly ash brick technology in China.
Exhibiting FPC products/technologies in China
In June 2006, FPC took samples of its three main products/technologies -- fly ash brick, biomass logs, and pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP) -- to Shanghai, China, to exhibit at the Shanghai International Exhibition Hall (INTEX Shanghai). Several hundred visitors visited the booth that displayed the FPC products/technologies for three days. As a result of this exhibition, contacts have been made with Chinese companies and individuals interested in all the three products/technologies developed by FPC. See photo below for international experts visiting the FPC exhibit.
Liu gave talk at U. S. Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting
In July 2006, Dr. Henry Liu gave an invited presentation on “Use of Pneumatic Capsule Pipeline (PCP) to Transport Freight in Containers: Port Security and Other Implications ,” at the Summer Meeting of the U. S. Transportation Research Board (TRB). TRB is the nation’s highest body of professionals involved in transportation research, planning, implementation and policy making, under the U. S. Academy of Engineers. The full text of Dr. Liu’s presentation is listed under the Company Publication and Patents part of this website.
FPC succeeds in getting first patent
FPC (Freight Pipeline Company) being a startup company in technology must develop new technologies and own patents on such technologies in order to prosper and grow in the future. In September 2005, Dr. Henry Liu of FPC was notified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that a Non-Provisional Patent Application submitted by him as inventor, entitled “Method and Device to Prevent Indoor Release of Carbon Monoxide and Smoke from Combustors,” has been granted (allowed), and that a patent will be issued upon payment of issue and publication fees. In December 2005, the USPTO issued the patent to FPC -- U. S. Patent No.6979260B2.
According to Dr. Liu, “Each year in the U.S. more than 500 people died, and thousands more were injured, from accidental carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Current commercial devices to protect building occupants from carbon monoxide poisoning rely on monitors, which set off an alarm when the indoor CO level is high. However, this alone is ineffective because in many cases it happens at night when the building occupants are asleep and cannot hear the alarm. A device that automatically prevents indoor release of CO from burners, combined with a CO monitor and heat sensor, constitutes the most effective means to prevent such accidental deaths. The device patented by FPC is highly effective in preventing indoor release of CO not only from burners, stoves, furnaces and fireplaces, but also from other sources such as an idling car in a garage. The device is highly practical and economical. When widely used in the future, it will save many lives each year in the U.S."
FPC is now seeking for interested parties (manufacturers of building-related equipment, or safety equipment) either to buy the patent rights from FPC or to become a licensee of FPC, so that they can manufacture and sell the device commercially under an Agreement. Interested parties should contact FPC using the information provided on this website under “Contact Us”.
Completion of DOE project on minerals transport
In March 2005, Freight Pipeline Company (FPC) completed a project sponsored by the National Energy Technology Center, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), entitled “An Electromagnetic Pneumo Capsule System for Conveying Minerals and Mine Wastes.” The study designed and analyzed the performance and the cost of an advanced pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP) system for transporting minerals and mine wastes. The PCP system consists of: (1) a conduit of rectangular cross section of 1m (3.28 ft) x 1m (3.28 ft) cross section, either aboveground or underground, (2) a double-rail track on the bottom of the conduit to guide and support the motion of capsules in the conduit, (3) capsules similar to open-top rail cars specially designed for running on the track inside the conduit, (4) a capsule loading station at the inlet of the conduit where multiple capsules can be loaded simultaneously and continuously for launching into the conduit, (5) a capsule unloading station at the outlet of the conduit where loaded capsules can discharge their loads rapidly and continuously by opening the bottom gate of each capsule, and (6) an automatic control system consisting of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), RTUs (Remote Terminal Units), PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), and sensors and relays, to run the PCP in a highly automated manner. The PCP system can use single conduit when the design capacity (system throughput) is less than approximately 10 MTY (Million Tons per Year), and must use double conduits (twin lines) when the throughput is greater than about10 MTY.
Both steady and unsteady analyses of the system were performed to determine the feasibility and performance of the system. It was found that the system is not only feasible but also has superior performance. For instance, the system is capable of transporting huge quantity of minerals and/or mine wastes – more than 50 MTY, and the energy consumed for transporting minerals and/or mine wastes is less than ¼ that of using railroad trains and less than 1/10^th that of using trucks – namely, the system is super-efficient in energy consumption. Unlike ordinary railroads which require small slopes (normally limited to 3%), the PCP system is similar to roller coasters and can operate at maximum slopes of 30% approximately.
A cost analysis was also conducted, which showed that the system is cost-effective as compared to using trucks or trains in many situations, such as when the throughput is large (more than 5 MTY), or when the terrain conditions are rough, such as in mountains. Because the system is powered by electricity, it does not consume diesel fuel as trucks and trains do, thereby reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and eliminating air pollution, noise and accidents generated by trucks and trains used for the same purpose. Being enclosed except for the inlet and outlet, the PCP system is extremely safe and environmentally-friendly to both human and animals. Details of the study can be found in the project final report and a paper listed under Company Publications and Patents
Freight Pipelines for New York City?
Under the sponsorship of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Freight Pipeline Company completed a study to determine the technical and economic feasibility of using pneumatic capsule pipelines (PCPs) for underground freight transport in New York City (NYC). The study explored six potential applications of PCPs for NYC, including the use of: (1) temporary PCPs for transporting materials in and out underground tunnels during the construction of such tunnels, (2) a PCP of 1 m (40- inch) diameter steel pipe to transport solid wastes from NYC to a landfill/recycling-center in a neighboring state, (3) a PCP of 1 m diameter steel pipe to transport mail and parcels between NYC and Washington D.C., and for other cities along this pipeline route, (4) a PCP network consisting of interconnected underground tunnels of 2.13 m (7 -ft) diameter for transporting goods on pallets and in boxes, crates and bags, (5) an underground PCP of large diameter to transport 20- and 40-ft containers from seaports to an inland station for inspection and intermodal transport, and (6) a large underground PCP for ferrying trucks in NYC’s food processing center – the Hunts Point peninsula. The study found that all the six potential applications in NYC are technically feasible and environmentally desirable. Furthermore, the first five of the six potential applications are also highly cost-effective. They could transport freight in NYC at a fraction of the cost charged by trucks. Use of PCPs in NYC would reduce the City’s reliance on trucks for freight transport, resulting in reduced traffic jams, accidents and air pollution caused by trucks. The use of PCPs would also enhance the City’s security and safety. For instance, the 5th application mentioned above will enable security officials to inspect every container arriving from oversea without causing logjam at seaports, thereby enhancing the security of the Port and the City. For more information about this study, read the papers and/or the project final report under Company Publications and Patents.
Flyash brick Phase-1 study completed
In 2005, FPC completed an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase-1 research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project, entitled “Compacting Flyash to Make Bricks,” was directed by FPC President Henry Liu. Previous studies, also directed by Dr. Liu when he was Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU), found that under high pressure of the order of 5,000 psi (pounds per square inch), Class C flyash from power plants can be compacted into bricks without having to use either binder or heat. The bricks produced, upon curing in a wet environment, become as strong as ordinary concrete bricks. Since flyash is a byproduct of coal combustion that can be obtained cheaply from power plants, using flyash to make bricks costs much less than using cement or concrete to make bricks. Besides, flyash bricks have a natural color more appealing than that of concrete bricks, and they are more uniform in size and shape than ordinary fired clay bricks, thereby saving labor cost in laying bricks during construction. Thus, the technology of using flyash to make bricks appears highly promising. However, the flyash bricks made in the past had a serious flaw: they deteriorated in less than 10 cycles of freeze/thaw. The ASTM Standard requires structural bricks to pass 50 cycles of freeze/thaw. It is the purpose of this NSF-SBIR Phase-1 study to solve the freeze/thaw problem of the fly ash bricks.
In this NSF project, FPC tested several innovative methods to improve the freeze-thaw property of the flyash bricks. It was found that by adding a minute amount of an air entrainment agent in the water used to make flyash bricks, and by using the proper water-to-flyash ratio and the proper compaction pressure, durable flyash bricks that meet the ASTM standard on freeze/thaw can be made. As a result of this positive finding, FPC has applied for a Phase-2 NSF-SBIR grant to complete the development of the flyash brick technology for commercial use, and has also applied for a U.S. Patent – see Company Publications and Patents.
Award on FPC flyash research
In April 2005, Dr. Henry Liu, on behalf of FPC, presented a paper at the World of Coal Ash (WOCA) Conference in Lexington, Kentucky – a major international conference attended by over 500 scientists and engineers, and where more than 100 papers on various aspects of coal ashes were presented. The paper, based on the findings of the NSF-SBIR Phase-1 study, was entitled “Improving Freezing and Thawing Properties of Fly Ash Bricks.”  Following the Conference, FPC received a notification from the Conference organizers that the paper presented by Dr. Liu was selected by a panel of judges to be one of two best technical presentations at the Conference, and thus won the Barton A. Thomas Memorial Award of the Conference. The Award came with a plaque and $250 cash – quite an honor and encouragement to FPC. A copy of the award-winning paper is given on this website under Company Publications and Patents.
New building and new address for FPC
On July 1, 2004, FPC moved into a new building specifically designed and constructed for the Company. The building has a floor area of 3,000 sq. ft., including both offices and a laboratory—see Photo Gallery on this web site. Located on a 2.5-acre lot, there is plenty of room for the building to expand, and for having outdoor facilities whenever needed. It is a good start for FPC. The new address of FPC is 2601 Maguire Blvd. Columbia Missouri 65201. The phone number for FPC remains the same as before: 573-442-0080.
Dr. Liu published a book: PIPELINE ENGINEERING
In 2003, the CRC Press, a well-known publisher of scientific/engineering books headquartered in Boca Raton Florida, published a book entitled “PIPELINE ENGINEERING,” written by FPC President Dr. Henry Liu. The book provides an authoritative treatment of essential topics of pipeline engineering including: planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, pipe materials, pumps, pipeline instrumentation, corrosion prevention, safety and integrity monitoring, incompressible pipe flow, compressible pipe flow, pneumatic pipelines, slurry pipelines, capsule pipelines, and trenchless technologies in construction. The book was written for practicing engineers to broaden their knowledge in pipeline engineering, but it also can be used as a college textbook. For more information about the book, visit www.crcpress.com. (Search under the title PIPELINE ENGINEERING.)