Coal-Fueled Diesel Technology Assessment Study: Systems Performance and Cost Comparisons

摘要

This report examines the performance of diesel engines operating on coal-based fuels and compares their power generation costs with those of corresponding oil-burning prime movers. Similar performance and cost comparisons are also presented for an alternative prime mover, the direct-fired gas turbine in both a simple-cycle and a regenerative-cycle configuration. The coal-based fuels under consideration include micronized coal, coal slurries, and coal-derived gaseous fuels. The study focuses on medium-speed diesel engines for locomotive, marine, small stationary power, and industrial cogeneration applications in the 1000 to 10,000 kW size range. This report reviews the domestic industrial and transportation markets for medium-speed engines currently using oil or gas. The major problem areas involving the operation of these engines on coal-based fuels are summarized. The characteristics of available coal-based fuels are discussed and the costs of various fuels are compared. Based on performance data from the literature, as well as updated cost estimates originally developed for the Total Energy Technology Alternatives Studies program, power generation costs are determined for both oil-fueled and coal-fueled diesel engines. Similar calculations are also performed for direct-fired gas turbines. The calculations illustrate the sensitivity of the power generation cost to the associated fuel cost for these prime movers. The results also show the importance of reducing the cost of available coal-based fuels, in order to improve the economic competitiveness of coal-fueled prime movers relative to engines operating on oil or gas. 50 refs., 9 figs., 11 tabs. (ERA citation 11:016508)