Clean Coal Technology Options –A Comparison of IGCC vs. Pulverized Coal Boilers

摘要

Following the run-up in 2000-2001 in natural gas and other fuel pricing in the USA, andthe strong need for increased security through use of domestic fuels, there has beenrenewed interest in new coal based power plants in the United States. Many coal-basedprojects, utilizing clean coal technology, are being considered. Integrated GasificationCombined Cycle (IGCC), which is the combination of proven clean coal gasificationtechnology coupled with the most advanced gas turbines, is increasingly being explored.The first coal based gasification plant licensed by Texaco was built by TennesseeEastman in Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1983 for the manufacture of chemicals. TampaElectric Company built the first coal IGCC unit licensed by Texaco in Tampa, Florida in1996, for power generation. These plants, along with coal gasification to ammoniafacilities in China and Japan and other IGCC projects, have produced a considerableexperience base to be applied to generate clean power from domestic coal, and alsopetroleum coke. With over seventy-two licensed gasification facilities worldwide, inoperation or under construction, ChevronTexaco is now the market leader in thedeployment of gasification technology to produce clean energy.IGCC technology can produce the lowest air and solids emissions from a solid feedstock,and recent IGCC experience has led to lower capital and operating costs. The fact thatIGCC can remove CO_2 in a pre-combustion step, producing pure hydrogen as a fuel forthe gas turbines or as a transportation fuel, is a concept that can be studied now for acommercial facility, assuming that the CO_2 in fact can be sequestered long-term orinjected for enhanced oil recovery.A relative examination of clean coal technologies, specifically IGCC vs. AdvancedPulverized Coal Boilers will be presented. Relative operating factors, costs, flexibility,future trends, and environmental performance will be compared.