Coal's Future Might Lie in Gasification


 

While coal may be unpopular in the eyes of investors and regulators, the power industry is looking for cleaner ways to continue to use the ore that provides half of the power that keeps the lights on.

Gasifying coal and capturing the CO2 is seen as a cleaner alternative to today's coal burning process. While the DOE no longer wants to fund an uber "clean coal" power plant, researchers are hopeful that while costly, gasification would be viable in the upcoming era of carbon caps.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory say that based on their testing, coal gasification is a worthwhile technology. “Coal gasification offers one of the most versatile and clean ways to convert coal into electricity, hydrogen and other valuable energy products,” said PNNL staff scientist George Muntean, in a speech at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) today.

"If we plan to use our domestic supply of coal to produce energy, and do so in a way that does not intensify atmospheric CO2 concentrations, gasification is critical," he said.

GE, which signed a deal on a $100 million gasification plant with the University of Wyoming, is among one of many power companies that despite the DOE's hedging, will continue to pursue coal gasification.

What to with that carbon once it is siphoned off remains a serious challenge. Sending it via pipeline to be used for commercial purposes or burying it underground are very expensive.

Another formidable challenge to gasification plants are the "refractories" that line the inside of gasifiers, according to PNNL.

&The relining of a gasifier costs approximately $1 million and requires three to six weeks of downtime.

Ouch, lose a few weeks of time nearly once a year? That's no way to run a plant.

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Comments

Not all gasifiers use a refractory design, and many gasification plants us many gasifiers in series, so maintainance can be rotated through without taking the plant down. Many gasification plants operate for many years at a time without a full shutdown.

Too bad that the DOE just canceled the Futuregen project because it did not site in Texas, and the Natural Resources Defense Council has essentiually declared open war on gasification-based synthetic fuels, thereby trying thier level best to kill our best hope of realistic large-scale reduced carbon footprint, or even carbon neutral, synthetic fuels production, as well as our most effective technical bridge away from coal to renewable biomass sources. (sounds kind of counter to the core mission of an "environmental group" doesnt it?)
Posted By Stephen Johnson on February 16, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Seems to be a well kept secret that
a company by the name of Bixby Energy Systems has a coal gasification technology that does not produce the CO2 and is truly
"clean"
Posted By Robert Williams on March 21, 2008 at 04:25 PM
Robert, I see you made this post in March 2008. It is now nearly August, so if Bixby truly "has a coal gasification technology that does not produce CO2 and is truly clean," then where is it? Why haven't any results been published in the last six months?
Posted By Will on July 17, 2008 at 09:30 AM

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