About

Eric Eddings is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah. His research interests encompass a broad range of topics related to combustion and energy, including biofuels, biomass combustion, biomass fuels, carbon dioxide capture, carbon-negative coal combustion, combustion chemistry, combustion emissions, gasification, heavy petroleum, high temperature chemistry, hydrocarbon fuels, oxy-fuel combustion, and pollutants from combustion systems. His work focuses on advancing understanding and development of sustainable energy technologies, particularly in the areas of bioenergy and clean combustion processes. Throughout his career, Professor Eddings has been recognized for his teaching excellence, being rated in the top 15% of instructors in the College of Engineering multiple times and receiving various awards for outstanding instruction. He has also been honored with an honorary degree, Doctor Honoris Causa, from the University of Miskolc. His scholarly contributions include numerous publications in reputable journals, where he investigates topics such as coal pyrolysis, supercritical CO2 gasification, electrostatic ash capture, and catalytic processes related to energy production and environmental protection. His work aims to improve combustion efficiency, reduce pollutants, and develop innovative energy solutions.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Chemical engineering
• Engineering
• Waste management
• Nuclear engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Thermodynamics
• Materials science
• Physics
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Harnessing High-Density-Polyethylene-Derived Liquid as a Model Solvent for the Co-Liquefaction of Low-Rank Coals: Toward Sustainable Mesophase Pitch for Making High-Quality Carbon Fibers from Waste Plastics

  Sustainability · 2025-05-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The accumulation of polyolefin waste, particularly high-density polyethylene (HDPE), presents a growing environmental challenge due to limited recycling options and poor end-of-life recovery. This study explores a strategy to convert HDPE into mesophase pitch (MP), a valuable carbon precursor, by integrating polyolefin recycling with the mild solvolysis liquefaction (MSL) of low-rank coals. HDPE was first hydrogenolyzed into a hydrogen-rich aromatic liquid (HDPE-liquid), which was then used as the liquefaction solvent. Under identical conditions (400 °C, 60 min), Utah Sufco coal co-liquefied with HDPE-liquid produced tar that formed mesophase pitch with a higher mesophase content (84.5% vs. 78.6%) and a lower softening point (~302 °C vs. >350 °C) compared to pitch from conventional tetralin (THN). The approach was extended to Illinois #6 and Powder River Basin coals, increasing the mesophase content from 12.4% to 32.6% and 17.8% to 62.1%, respectively. These improvements are attributed to differences in tar composition: HDPE-derived tars had lower terminal methyl (Hγ) contents, reducing cross-linking during thermal upgrading. This work demonstrates that HDPE-derived liquids can act as functional solvents for coal liquefaction, enabling an effective route to recycle polyolefin waste into durable carbon products, while also reducing reliance on fossil-based solvents for mesophase pitch production.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evolution of Molecular Stacking and Property Interactions Governing Softening Behavior and Spinnability in Mesophase Pitch

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Using Bayesian analysis to quantify and reduce uncertainty in experimental measurements — A narrow-angle radiometer case study

  Measurement Energy · 2025-03-08 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Formal uncertainty analysis is an important but sometimes overlooked component of experimental work. Without quantified uncertainty, it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions from the experimental data, as a lack of formal uncertainty analysis leaves the reliability of the data unknown. An added benefit to performing uncertainty analysis is that once uncertainty is quantified, steps may be taken to mitigate it. There are two layers of uncertainty in experimental measurements: uncertainty due to sources present during calibration of the measurement device (“calibration-scenario uncertainty”) and additional uncertainty due to sources present during the experimental measurement (“experimental-scenario,” or total, uncertainty). We formalize a generic protocol (the “Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification and Reduction Protocol”) for use in any experimental measurement to first quantify and then strategically refine error sources in the data. In this work, we utilize a method of Bayesian uncertainty quantification developed and presented by Spinti et al. (2021). Once the uncertainty is measured, the protocol targets the largest contributors to the uncertainty; the experimentalists may iterate the relevant steps of the protocol to refine these error sources until the uncertainty is either below a desired threshold or they reach the physical limits of the system. We illustrate the practical use of the protocol with radiometric intensity data taken in an industrial-scale power plant. First, we calculate the calibration-scenario uncertainty of the intensity data. Next, we modify the calibration procedure and the instrument model, which reduced the calibration-scenario uncertainty (2 σ ) from 21.5% to 2.81% (an 87% reduction). Lastly, we utilize this quantified uncertainty with replicate data at the experimental scale to estimate the total or experimental-scenario uncertainty of the quantity of interest: time-averaged intensity measurements in the industrial boiler. Our reduction in calibration-scenario uncertainty reduces the estimated total uncertainty of the intensity measurements by roughly one-third. Despite these reductions, the total uncertainty remains high. We recommend reapplying the protocol using data from a future experimental campaign, coupled with a high-fidelity model of the boiler, to address the high total uncertainty in these measurements. • Presented protocol to quantify and reduce uncertainty for any experimental data set. • Compared intensity of pulverized-coal and biomass co-firing in industrial boiler. • Used Bayesian uncertainty quantification to target largest uncertainty sources. • Reduced uncertainty during calibration in radiometric intensity data by 87%. • Reduced estimated total uncertainty in intensity data during experiment by 30%.

  PublisherDOI

• Transforming Uinta Basin Earth Materials for Advanced Products (TUBE-MAP)

  2024-12-31

  reportOpen access

  The objectives of this project were to quantify, assess, and plan to enable the transformation of Uinta Basin earth resources, such as coal, oil shale, resin, rare earth elements, and critical minerals into high value metal, mineral, and carbon-based products. The specific major goals were 1) basinal assessments and initial planning (Task 2), 2) basinal assessment for waste stream reuse with associated plan development (Task 3), 3) basinal strategies development for infrastructure, industries, and business (Task 4), 4) technology assessment, development, and field-testing plan (Task 5), 5) technology innovation center plan (Task 6), and 6) stakeholder outreach and education plan (Task 7).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Design of a Coal-Fired, High-Temperature Furnace for an Advanced Combined-Cycle System

  2024-12-10 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy has initiated a project to develop a High Performance Power System (HIPPS) to produce electricity from coal with an overall thermal efficiency of 47% or higher and minimal pollutant emissions. One technology option is a combined cycle system that uses a high-temperature, high-efficiency gas turbine driven by a working fluid separately heated in a coal-fired high temperature combustor. This paper describes the trade-offs associated with the design of a coal combustor that will satisfy the constraints of the high efficiency power system. The design study considered two basic combustor types: a rich, well-mixed, physically-staged system operating at the optimum stoichiometry to minimize fixed nitrogen species prior to the addition of staging air, and a controlled-mixing, axial flame. The paper uses a comprehensive coal combustion model, limiting-case detailed gas-phase kinetic models, and bench-scale experiments to evaluate the attractiveness of each combustion system for the HIPPS.

  PublisherDOI

• Funding Incentive Seed Grant Program at the University of Utah

  2024-02-08

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Environmentally Friendly Production of High-Quality and Multifunctional Carbon Quantum Dots from Coal

  2024-03-30 · 2 citations

  reportOpen access

  Researchers from the University of Wyoming and the University of Utah worked jointly to study the valorization of coal to carbon quantum dots (CQDs), a value-added product with a broad spectrum of applications. The CQDs were produced by an environmentally facile hydrothermal method, and the experimental factors influencing the properties of CQDs were investigated. We subsequently explored the applications of CQDs as co-sensitizers of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and photocatalysts of water treatment. As an outlook, techno-economic and environmental analysis studied the feasibility of mass production of CQDs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ultra-low cost supercapacitors from coal char: effect of electrolyte on double layer capacitance

  Energy Advances · 2023-01-01 · 18 citations

  articleOpen access

  Untreated coal char is explored as an ultra-low cost supercapacitor material in various electrolytes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Efficient Mesophase Pitch Precursor Production from Low-Rank Utah Sufco Coal Via Mild Solvolysis Liquefaction

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Flash-pyrolyzed coal char as a high-performance anode for sodium-ion batteries

  Fuel Processing Technology · 2023-11-22 · 9 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• SusChEM:US/China Workshop on Combustion Related to Sustainable Energy

  NSF · $50k · 2014–2015

• SusChEM: Co-firing Biomass and Coal under Pressurized Oxy-fired Combustion Conditions

  NSF · $537k · 2016–2022

Frequent coauthors

• Adel F. Sarofim

  46 shared

• Hongzhi R. Zhang

  University of Utah

  19 shared

• Maohong Fan

  University of Wyoming

  14 shared

• Árpád Bence Palotás

  University of Miskolc

  14 shared

• Joshua Malzahn

  University of Utah

  13 shared

• Terry A. Ring

  University of Utah

  13 shared

• Kerry E. Kelly

  11 shared

• D.W. Pershing

  10 shared

Labs

• Eric Eddings LabPI

Awards & honors

• Honorary Degree, Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Miskolc…
• Outstanding Instructor, 2009-2010, Department of Chemical En…
• Outstanding Instructor - 2007-2008, Department of Chemical E…
• Top 15% of Instructors in College of Engineering, Spring 200…
• Outstanding Teaching Award, College of Engineering (2007)