|
Bookmarks on this page |
 |
 |
 |
Overview |
|
|
Coal Gasification and IGCC Technologies Explained |
|
|
Coal Gasification Is
Ready for
Widespread Deployment |
|
|
A Technology
With Many
Environmental Advantages |
|
|
A Good Choice for a
Secure
Energy Future |
|
|
More Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overview |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
America and other nations stand at a critical energy juncture. With
limited supplies of natural gas (and skyrocketing prices), we
can no longer rely so heavily on gas to meet growing demands for
electricity. In the future we may get most of our electricity
from solar, wind, or other
renewable sources. Until then, we need alternatives that are
cost efficient and environmentally sound. IGCC power is one such alternative. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coal Gasification and IGCC
Technologies Explained |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coal gasification is a process that converts coal from a solid
to a gaseous state; it's a process that has been known and
refined for more than 100 years.
IGCC is a technology that generates electricity from the
synthetic gas produced from the gasification of coal or other
hydrocarbons. There are many succinct documents explaining both
coal gasification and IGCC, including: |
|
|
 |
How Coal Gasification Powerplants Work, U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, October 13,
2004.
 Page Link |
|
|
|
|
What Is Gasification?,
Gasification Technologies Council.
Page Link |
|
|
|
|
Fundamentals of Gasification, Ross Fava (Shell
Global Solutions), Gasification
Technologies Workshop, June 8, 2004 (21 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coal Gasification Is Ready for
Widespread Deployment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There are no technical or economic reasons why coal gasification
cannot be readily deployed by the electric power industry. Coal
gasification has been used to produce liquid fuels in South
Africa for 50 years and chemicals here in the United States for
more than 20 years. In addition, four demonstration-scale (i.e.
≈ 250 MWe) coal-based IGCC powerplants
(two in the United States and two in Europe) have been
successfully operating since the 1990s. Finally, large
commercial-scale (500-1,000 MWe) IGCC powerplants using petroleum
refinery residues are online or under development in the United
States, Italy, Japan, China, and many other countries. See, for
example: |
|
|
|
|
Industry In Transition - The 2004 World
Gasification Survey, James Childress (Gasification
Technologies Council), 2004 Gasification Technology
Conference, October 3, 2004 (15 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
IGCC - The Stars Are Aligned, Roger Goodman
(Cambridge Energy Research Associates), 2004
Gasification Technology Conference, October 3, 2004 (7
pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
Coal Gasification: Ready for Prime Time, Bill
Trapp, Nate Moock, and David Denton (all Eastman
Gasification Services), Power Magazine, March 2004.
Page Link |
|
|
|
|
Pioneering Gasification Plants, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, November 9,
2004.
Page Link |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Technology With Many
Environmental Advantages |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IGCC plants produce significantly lower levels of criteria air
pollutants, use less water, generate fewer solid wastes, and
consume less coal compared to other coal-based powerplants. In
addition -- as Eastman Chemical Company has proven at its
Tennessee facility -- gasification is readily amenable to
cost-effective mercury remediation. Finally, IGCC provides a
much more economically efficient pathway for the removal and
storage of carbon dioxide should such capture and sequestration
be required in the United States eventually. These documents are
recommended on these subjects: |
|
|
|
|
Major Environmental Aspects of
Gasification-Based Power Generation Technologies,
Jay Ratafia-Brown, Lynn Manfredo, Jeff Hoffman, and
Massood Ramezan (all Science Applications International
Corp.), 2002, (270 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
The BACT Analysis: Does IGCC Meet the
Test?, John Thompson (Clean Air Task
Force), Gasification Technologies Workshop, June 8, 2004
(11 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
Cost of Mercury Removal from Coal-Based
IGCC Relative to a PC Plant, Michael Rutkowski, M.
Klett, and R. Maxwell (all Parsons Infrastructure and
Technology Group, Inc.), 2002 Gasification Technology
Conference, October 28, 2002 (26 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
Summary of Recent IGCC Studies of CO2
Capture for Sequestration, Neville Holt and George
Booras (EPRI), Douglas Todd
(Process Power Plants), 2003 Gasification Technology
Conference, October 12, 2003 (9 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Good Choice for a Secure
Energy Future |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Many natural gas experts believe that gas production in the
United States (outside Alaska) is at or near maximum capacity.
Whether true or not, it is clear that known U.S. reserves of
natural gas -- ?? years by EIA estimates -- are far less than
the 250+ years of known U.S. coal reserves. While imports of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to grown dramatically
in future decades, many people believe that relying on gas
imports to meet America's growing demand for electricity is not as wise
as using coal gasification to produce synthetic natural gas. The
following document provides a good discussion of these topics. |
|
|
|
|
Coal and Wind: Thoughts on the Future of
Generation in a High-Priced and Volatile Natural Gas
Market, Charles Linderman (Edison Electric
Institute), National Energy Modeling System/Annual
Energy Outlook 2004, March 23, 2004 (23 pages).
Summary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The clean-energy.us information database includes a wide range
of topics that may be of interest to individual citizens
interested in U.S. energy policy: |
|
|
|
|
Technology Explanations - Gasification of Coal and Other
Hydrocarbons |
|
|
Technology Explanations - Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle (IGCC) |
|
|
IGCC vs. Other Power Generation Technologies |
|
|
Development Trends - North America |
|
|
General Environmental Assessments |
|
|
Emissions and Residues - Criteria Air Pollutants |
|
|
Emissions and Residues - Airborne Mercury |
|
|
Projects in Commercial Operation - Eastman |
|
|
Projects in Commercial Operation - Polk |
|
|
Projects in Commercial Operation - Wabash River |
|
|
Projects in Commercial Operation - Great Plains |
|
|
Additional topics |
|
|
|
|
|
|
top of page |
|
|
