American Electric Power has halted testing of a new emission control technology developed by Thermal Energy International saying that, based on data collected from numerous tests to date, additional laboratory research is needed before the technology is ready for a full-scale commercial launch.

AEP had installed and tested THERMALONOx emission control system on Unit 6 of the company's Conesville Power Plant in Coshocton, Ohio. Despite the promising nature of the technology, the data from the demonstration indicate the system did not appreciably reduce NO emissions from the plant's 375 MW unit.

The system was expected to remove as much as 75 percent of the NOx-emission from the exhaust gases when used in combination with flue-gas desulfurization.

The demonstration at Conesville was the first full-scale application of Thermal Energy,s THERMALONOx technology on a power plant.

"We'd obviously hoped that the demonstration would prove successful and provide us with an economical and efficient alternative to existing emission control options," said Martin L. Mearhoff, AEP,s vice president of advanced technology and renewable energy. "While we knew the outcome would be uncertain, we felt the risk was reasonable when compared to the potential benefits."

Mearhoff said many of the design elements required for the demonstration will remain in place and will enhance plant safety and performance.

He added that AEP would consider further commercial development of the technology if technical solutions are achieved in a lab or in a pilot demonstration and if they can be scaled up and implemented economically compared with other technologies.