Startup and Shakedown of a Transport Gasifier and a Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustor at the Power Systems Development Facility

摘要

The purpose of the PSDF is to gain operating experience with new process configurations and critical components for advanced power generating and syngas-producing systems at a scale large enough to provide data for scaleup to demonstration or first commercial plants. The PSDF began about 10 years ago as a facility to study particle removal at high temperature and pressure, consisting of a dirty gas source (transport reactor) and one or more PCDs. The transport reactor has proven to be an excellent combustor for power production purposes with very high coal throughput and heat release rates. Filters have been developed and demonstrated with projected commercial lifetimes when operated at 1400 F under combustion conditions. New composite filters are also more resistant to thermal shock. In addition it appears likely that the transport reactor will be capable of meeting commercial goals as a gasifier when using subbituminous coal. Operation under gasification conditions has not yet been optimized. Testing of filters under gasification conditions will continue to identify a filter which can achieve commercial lifetimes under gasification conditions. The DOE is developing new fossil fuel conversion processes in the Vision 21 program to meet the goals of lower capital and operating costs and virtually pollution free operation, possibly including removal of CO2, making coal competitive with natural gas. In addition processes which co-produce a variety of products made from syngas and the use of alternate feedstocks such as biomass and petroleum coke are of interest. Many of the Vision 21 process modules, including hydrogen separation, air separation, multicontaminant removal to ppb levels, gasification-fuel cell systems, turbine-fuel cell systems, and CO2 removal and sequestration technologies are being developed at laboratory scale at this time. A large scale pilot facility will be needed to demonstrate integration of these processes and to provide data for scaleup. Plans are being developed to test these technologies at the PSDF when they are ready to be scaled up for commercialization.