The Potential for Converting California's Industrial Boilers to Coal: An Economic and Environmental Analysis

摘要

This report discusses the effect of curtailed natural gas supplies on California's industrial steam boiler plants, and whether those plants could economically burn coal instead. A linear programming model is developed which assumes a choice of fuels and fuel-using equipment including coal/oil slurry, natural gas, residual oil, LPG, distillate oil, medium Btu coal gas, conventional coal boilers with pollution control, and fluidized bed boilers. Costs are minimized within the constraint of alternate air quality regulatory schemes, and a shadow price for nitrogen oxide emissions is derived. Extensive appendices examine fuel supply for California, present costs and operating data for the technologies listed above, inventory California's steam boilers, and discuss air quality and fuel use regulations.