Clean Coal Technology Program Research Articles

Special Issue [Energies] “Clean Utilization and Conversion Technology of Coal”

Clean Utilization and Conversion Technology of Coal has at least 40 years of history, beginning with the USA-born Clean Coal Technology program and at the same time the European Thermie research and development program was started [...]

Cleaner Coal at the Crossroads: Coal Gasification for Chemicals and Power Technology in China and the United States

Developing cleaner coal technologies that would mitigate the environmental effects of burning coal, including emissions of SOX, NOX, particulate matter, and carbon dioxide, remains a critical task. For several decades coal has played an important role in the global energy portfolio. In the coming decades, most major energy models project growing coal use especially in the developing parts of the world, including China. Even in the United States, where low natural gas prices and regulatory uncertainty associated with the environmental impacts of coal use have largely stopped development of coal projects, coal-based power generation is expected to remain a significant part of the energy mix. In large parts because of the several initiatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, including the Clean Coal Technology Program, the U.S. has been a leader in the development of cleaner coal technologies. That picture is rapidly evolving, as China has been aggressively developing its coal resources to produce chemicals, liquid fuels, and substitute natural gas, and in the process is becoming a major user, developer, and constructor of cleaner coal technology. In this paper we study the implications of these market shifts and technological developments for the future of cleaner coal technologies, with a focus on coal gasification for power and chemicals applications.

The return on investment of the clean coal technology program in the USA

We analyze the return on investment of the U.S. federal government’s clean coal technology (CCT) program for the period 2000–2020. We estimate total costs to government and industry and quantify benefits for: (1) Reduced capital costs of advanced technologies in new plants; (2) Reduced capital and operating costs at existing plants to remain compliant with environmental regulations; (3) Reduced fuel costs due to higher efficiencies; (4) Avoided environmental costs; (5) The value of clean coal technology export sales; (6) Jobs created. We find that benefits over the 20-year period total $111 billion (2008 dollars); the benefits in individual categories range from $15 billion in fuel cost savings to $39 billion for capital and technology cost savings in new and existing plants; and that total jobs created exceed 1.2 million, with an annual average of about 60,000 jobs created. We also find that the return on investment to DOE from the CCT program is favorable and is growing rapidly: By 2020, the cumulative DOE costs will likely total $8.5 billion, for an ROI of more than 13.

4305 微粉炭火力からの高効率CO_2回収システム(酸素燃焼技術)の燃焼特性(S62-2 高効率石炭火力発電(2),S62 高効率石炭火力発電)

Pulverized-coal combustion under oxygen and recycle flue gas (Oxy-fuel combustion) is expected to be one of the promising systems on CO_2 recovery from pulverized-coal fired power plant. The research and development on Oxy-fuel combustion technology had advanced under the Clean Coal Technology Program from 1992. It can be suggested through these studies that Oxy-fuel combustion system is the economical and effective systems for CO_2 recovery from the pulverized-coal fired power plant. Feasibility study has been now carried out toward the demonstration of Oxy-fuel. Combustion test of three kinds of Australian coal was carried out using the pilot-test facilities in order to confirm the flame stability and combustion characteristics in it. In this paper, we introduce the test results with both air and oxy-fuel combustion.

3628 既設微粉炭火力からの高効率CO_2回収 : 酸素燃焼技術の紹介と現在の取組み(S54 高効率石炭火力発電技術)

Pulverized-coal combustion under oxygen and recycle flue gas (Oxy-fuel combustion) is expected to be one of the promising systems on CO_2 recovery from pulverized-coal fired power plant. The research and development on Oxy-fuel combustion technology had advanced under the Clean Coal Technology Program from 1992. It can be suggested through these studies that Qxy-fuel combustion system is the economical and high efficiency systems for CO_2 recovery from the pulverized-coal fired power plant. Feasible study is now advanced on the application of this technology to the actual existing power plant in Australia. In this paper, we introduce the results of previous study on the conceptual design of the boiler and the outline of current feasible study.

Coal Cell

This article focuses on coal mining that is incredibly disruptive, and coal is heavy and bulky, involving rumbling freight trains to transport it. The idea that fuel cells are every bit as clean as coal is dirty is just as widespread. Fuel cells, after all, take hydrogen and oxygen, and combine those elements to make electricity and water. The program, called the Clean Coal Technology Program, was, in part, an effort to promote commercial-scale integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) coal power plants in the United States. Molten carbonate fuel cell stacks routinely weigh in at 250 kW. For the Wabash River demonstration, eight stacks will be combined for 2 MW. It will be the largest carbonate fuel cell power plant operating on coal in the world. FuelCell Energy has been planning for this sort of project for more than 20 years.

03/02201 Mixed conducting membranes for pressure-driven hydrogen separation from syngas: Elangovan, S. et al. Preprints of Symposia — American Chemical Society. Division of Fuel Chemistry, 2003, 48, (1), 298–299

Introduction Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) systems show tremendous potential for very efficient, environmentally friendly power generation. In IGCC systems, a combined cycle is employed in which syngas (CO+H2) is used to drive a gas turbine and the exhaust gases are then used to heat water/steam to generate superheated steam that drives a steam turbine. IGCC systems typically operate at efficiencies higher than 40%, whereas coalburning plants that employ flue gas desulfurization processes reach a maximum efficiency of 34%. A number of demonstration projects, such as the Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project in Indiana and the Pinon Pine IGCC Power Project in Nevada, have been carried out as part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Coal Technology Program. Despite the significant potential of IGCC systems, economic considerations still limit their wide-spread commercial applicability. Fortunately, the total hydrogen in raw syngas is usually greater than 200% of the required amount. Thus, one critical advance that would significantly enhance the commercial viability of IGCC systems is the recovery of hydrogen fuel from syngas as a byproduct. There are a number of technologies and combinations of technologies being considered as alternatives for recovery of hydrogen from syngas. These technologies include membrane separation, pressure swing adsorption (PSA), methanation and nitrogen wash techniques. Each of these techniques has its strong points, and the choice of the specific technique is usually dictated by the economics of the process and the purity of hydrogen desired. Since ultra-high purity (>99 %) H2 is a high value commodity, a technique that could generate such a high purity gas stream would be most attractive from an economic standpoint.

CLEAN COAL BACK ON FRONT BURNER

WHILE MOST GOVERNMENT- supported energy R&D programs fared poorly in the Bush Administration budget proposal announced last month, one old standby thought to be long gone, got a jolt of new life. The Department of Energy's 15-year-old Clean Coal Technology Program was earmarked by President George W Bush for a $2 billion infusion of funds, spread over 10 years. The first installment, in the 2002 budget proposal, is $150 million. Government support of clean-coal technology research actually stretches back to the Carter Administration, according to DOE. Indeed, DOE-supplied figures show the department has invested more than $4 billion in clean-coal-related research. Industry has at least matched that amount, DOE says. Of late, however, the program has fallen on hard times. This year, the Clean Coal Technology Program hobbles along on about $9 million to finish up around 30 projects. In 2000, program funding went in the hole when support was shifted to other fossil fuel ...

00/03628 The Lakeland McIntosh Unit 4 advanced circulating fluidized bed combined cycle demonstration project

In December 1997, the City of Lakeland, Florida, signed a Cooperative Agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) that will facilitate the demonstration of the Advanced Circulating Fluidized-Bed Combined Cycle (ACFBCC) technology being developed by Foster Wheeler. The project will be conducted under the DOE Clean Coal Technology Program at the City of Lakeland's McIntosh Power Station in Lakeland, Florida. In August 1998, Lakeland released Foster Wheeler to begin preliminary engineering and permitting support of the demonstration plant. The Lakeland McIntosh Unit 4 Project is a nominal 240 MWe combined cycle plant that integrates the partial gasification of coal with pressurized circulating fluidized bed (PCFB) combustion. The partial gasification process produces a low Btu syngas and a coal char residue. The latter is burned in a PCFB boiler producing steam for a steam turbine and hot vitiated air/flue gas for a gas turbine. The syngas, in turn, is burned in the gas turbine (topping combustion) to heat the vitiated air to over 2,300 F. The plant is designed to burn both low and high sulfur coal and incorporates a Siemens V64.3 gas turbine with a 2,400 psig/1,000 F/1,000 F steam turbine. This paper describes the demonstration plant and identifiesmore » its design status.« less

99/02268 The role of the U.S. Clean Coal Technology Program in implementing the objectives of the joint Canada-U.S. acid rain mitigation initiative: Baldwin, A. L. et al. Proc., Annu. Meet. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 1997, 90, TP5805, 1–17

The Clean Coal Technology (CCT) Program was initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in part as a response to the 1986 Joint Report of the US and Canadian Special Envoys on Acid Rain, with a particular focus on coal-burning electric power plants. The fist three solicitations of the CCT Program were aimed primarily at mitigating the potential impacts of acid rain. Subsequently, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 established emission reduction targets for SO{sub 2} and No{sub x}, which influenced the goals of the last two CCT Program. This paper provides an overview of the CCT Program and reports the significant results, with emphasis on emissions reduction as well as their impact on ozone formation.

99/00144 Upgrading low-rank coals by TEK-KOL's liquids from coal technology

TEK-KOL is a partnership between SGI International of La Jolla, California, and a unit of Zeigler Coal Holding Company, Fairview Heights, Illinois. TEK-KOL`s Liquids From Coal (LFC) Process uses a mild gasification process to convert low-rank coals into value added products. Two primary products are generated as a result of LFC processing: (1) Process-Derived Fuel (PDF), a high heating value, clean burning solid fuel and carbon source for a variety of utility and industrial applications, and (2) Coal-Derived Liquid (CDL), a low sulfur hydrocarbon liquid suitable for fuel oil and chemical feedstock uses. Both PDF and CDL have been successfully utilized on a commercial scale. The LFC Process has been thoroughly demonstrated at the ENCOAL LFC Demonstration Plant at the Buckskin Mine in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming. The 1,000 short ton per day plant, constructed and operated at a cost of US $90 million, was designed and built to commercial standards. Construction and initial operating costs were partially funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) under Round Three of the Clean Coal Technology Program. The plant employs commercially available equipment and state of the art control system, and best available control technologies insure compliance with strict environmental standards.more » It became operational in June 1992. In the last five years, the plant and its supporting facilities have operated in an integrated mode for more than 14,500 hours. The major pieces of equipment, including the large blowers, combustors, dryer, pyrolyzer, and cooler have operated far more hours overall considering hot standby and ramping operations. The equipment has been demonstrated to operate reliably. The plant has processed 246,900 short tons of raw coal and produced 114,900 short tons of PDF and 116,100 barrels of CDL. A multi-phase process to identify and develop technically and financially viable LFC projects has been developed by TEK-KOL. Commercialization of the LFC technology is progressing worldwide. Permit work for a large scale commercial plant in Wyoming is now underway, and international commercialization activities are in progress. Worldwide opportunities for the application of the LFC Technology are addressed in this paper.« less

Clean Coal Technology Diffusion: The Impact of Electric Power Industry Restructuring

New technology, alternate fuel prices and availability, and industry restructuring all have undermined the premises that led the Department of Energy to sponsor the Clean Coal Technology program.

98/00595 Externally-fired combined cycle: an effective coal fueled technology for repowering and new generation

The Externally-Fired Combined Cycle (EFCC) is an attractive emerging technology for powering high efficiency combined gas and steam turbine cycles with coal or other ash bearing fuels. In the EFCC, the heat input to a gas turbine is supplied indirectly through a ceramic air heater. The air heater, along with an atmospheric coal combustor and ancillary equipment, replaces the conventional gas turbine combustor. A steam generator located downstream from the ceramic air heater and steam turbine cycle, along with an exhaust cleanup system, completes the combined cycle. A key element of the EFCC Development Program, the 25 MMBtu/h heat-input Kennebunk Test Facility (KTF), has recently begun operation. The KTF has been operating with natural gas and will begin operating with coal in early 1995. The US Department of Energy selected an EFCC repowering of the Pennsylvania Electric Company`s Warren Station for funding under the Clean Coal Technology Program Round V. The project focuses on repowering an existing 48 MW (gross) steam turbine with an EFCC power island incorporating a 30 MW gas turbine, for a gross power output of 78 MW and a net output of 72 MW. The net plant heat rate will be decreased by approximately 30% tomore » below 9,700 Btu/kWh. Use of a dry scrubber and fabric filter will reduce sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and particulate emissions to levels under those required by the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990. Nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) emissions are controlled by the use of staged combustion. The demonstration project is currently in the engineering phase, with startup scheduled for 1997. This paper discusses the background of the EFCC, the KTF, the Warren Station EFCC Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Project, the commercial plant concept, and the market potential for the EFCC.« less

97/03949 Evaluation of hybrid SNCR/SCR for NO x abatement on a utility boiler

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 have given rise to a wave of technology development that anticipates meeting clean air challenges. Indeed, in the first half of this decade, the US witnessed the retrofit of low NOx burners on coal, oil, and gas-fired boilers. Additionally, there were new developments in air staging technologies, gas reburn demonstrations under the Clean Coal Technology Program, in-field applications of SNCR retrofit on various types of utility boilers, and even a retrofit application of SCR on a cyclone coal-fired boiler. Industry observers predict large costs will be borne by major sources to meet the air quality goals in some Phase 2 provisions of the Act. In preparation for life beyond Phase 1, field development is now being focused on effective combinations of NOx controls. Potentially, two or more available means of NOx control can be compatibly combined to reduce NOx wherein the end result is more cost effective than the sum of its parts. Hybrid combinations of SNCR and SCR are a particularly flexible method for effecting moderate to deep reductions of NOx at cost ranges typically below those of a fully-engineered SCR retrofit. The purpose of this paper is to discuss redundant utilizationmore » observed in recent field work, and ramifications of increased utilization on lifestyle costs of NOx reduction borne by owners and operators.« less

97/01673 DOE's Clean Coal Technology Program: commercial successes

97/01673 DOE's Clean Coal Technology Program: commercial successes

97/02117 Turbulent mass transfer in the furnace of high output boilers

The up-to-date identification methods for the evaluation of combustion process quality provide a picture of what is taking place in the furnace. The Energetics Department of VSB-TU Ostrava concentrates its attention on untraditional methods which proceed from an analysis of turbulent transfer phenomena, especially the transfer of mass in the furnace of pulverized boilers. Particularly in the region of burners, this mass transfer influences the quality of the combustion process as well as the formation of solid and gaseous emissions. Measurements of combustion aerodynamics in the furnace of high output boilers are part of the Czech Clean Coal Technology program. A complex approach to these problems could lead to a decrease of pollutants released.

DOE INDIRECT COAL LIQUEFACTION PROGRAM —AN OVERVIEW

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been supporting an indirect coal liquefaction program aimed at developing improved technologies to convert coal based synthesis gas into economically competitive and environmentally clean hydrocarbon and oxygenate transportation fuels. A key element of this program is the development of a liquid phase reactor technology which could offer improved economics and operational flexibility over the conventional gas phase reactors. This paper will review the accomplishments of liquid phase methanol technology development at the proof-of-concept (POC) scale unit in LaPorte, Texas and the advancement of this technology to commercial demonstration which has been underway since 1993 under the support of DOE Clean Coal Technology program. The POC facility has recently been upgraded to allow for developing liquid phase reactor technologies for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and the production of other oxygenate fuels and chemicals from synthesis gas. The upgraded POC unit, now known as the Alternative Fuels Development Unit (AFDU), as well as the results of new campaigns that have been conducted at this unit will also be reviewed.

95/04863 EU clean coal technology program - the EU R and D strategy for combined use of coal and biomass

95/04863 EU clean coal technology program - the EU R and D strategy for combined use of coal and biomass

Modelling of fouling and slagging in coal-fired utility boilers

In a current study, models are under development to predict the impact of ash deposition in a pulverized coal-fired boiler. These models are being incorporated into a coal quality expert software product being developed under a DOE Clean Coal Technology Program. Slagging and fouling are addressed by two separate submodules that interact with each other and with a boiler performance model to account for changes in coal input properties and boiler operation. The input to these models includes results from detailed analysis of coal mineralogy obtained from computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy, coal size-distribution data, boiler design details, and boiler operating conditions. The output from the models is an assessment of boiler performance associated with the use of the coal specified in the model. This paper describes the slagging and fouling algorithms, the rationale used in their development, and algorithm validation with laboratory, pilot, and field test data. Submodel validation for slag deposition growth and heat transfer was carried out using data from well-controlled, pilot-scale combustor testing. Composition of the different layers within the deposit was compared with the model prediction to validate the ash particle stickiness model. In addition, the measured temporal heat flux profile was used to check the consistency of the parameters describing the deposit growth submodel. The fouling submodel was developed using information from a bench-scale drop-tube furnace, along with data from other laboratory- and pilot-scale studies. The fly-ash particle-size distribution, as a function of distance from the deposition tube, was compared for both upstream and downstream deposits in bench- and pilot-scale studies.

95/00687 Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project

The Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project was an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle plant built under the US Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Technology Program. The project featured the Destec (later E-Gas) Gasification Tecnology and a single train combined cycle plant including a General Electric Frame 7 combustion turbine and the steam generator of an existing conventional pulverized coal plant. Commercial operation began in 1995. The project’s net output rating was 262 MWe and it operated initially on Illinois Basin bituminous coal and then on petroleum coke for the greater part of its operating life. The project included many technological innovations aimed at demonstrating extremely low emissions of criteria pollutants.