HC Deb 27 January 1993 vol 217 cc729-30W
Mr. Chris Smith

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what reasons underlay his refusal of a grant of £150,000 to the Coal Research Establishment for the development of membrane technology for the clean burning of coal.

Mr. Eggar

My Department has considered a proposal from the Coal Research Establishment of the British Coal

G6 and Swiss exports of machine tools to Iraq 1985–1990
US$ 000s
USA Japan France Germany Italy Switzerland United Kingdom
1990
728.1 0 0 0 2,124 1,270 578 570
731 537 645 1,279 22,209 2,783 7,666 8,278
733 5,891 911 499 6,992 1,070 2,762 246
735 2,377 39 1,331 6,286 10,824 1,743 2,955
TOTAL 8,805 1,595 3,109 37,611 15,947 12,749 12,049
1989
728.1 43 N/A 61 1,530 1,601 69 991
731 2,272 2,816 609 57,486 1,545 20,505 18,990
733 1,857 2,268 1,385 18,948 6,890 3,375 1,208
735 7,080 451 2,637 20,007 4,391 13,203 3,138
TOTAL 11,252 5,535 4,692 97,971 14,427 37,152 24,327

Corporation for development of membrane technology for the separation of hydrogen from carbon dioxide, as a method of capturing carbon dioxide formed during the combustion of coal or other fuels. It was concluded that in advance of the results of a major study which includes an assessment of a range of technical options for separation of carbon dioxide, it would be inappropriate for my Department to fund development work on one particular approach. The £1.8 million major study (involving 14 countries and the Commission of the European Community) is being carried out under the auspices of the International Energy Agency, with British Coal as the operating agent. My Department and British Coal took the lead in setting up this study, and National Power and PowerGen are also participating.

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