IBM, University of Saskatchewan working to make coal cleaner

The University of Saskatchewan and IBM are collaborating on an initiative to build coal-fired electricity plants that emit less carbon dioxide. The work employs high-performance computer chips and will also help determine how plants can be modified to harness carbon dioxide, before it’s released, and transform it into more benign by-products or even into environmentally friendly fuels such as methanol. The processors being used are approximately 20 times faster than an ordinary computer chip.