A comparative life cycle assessment review of conventional pulverized coal-fired electricity generation and underground coal gasification (UCG) linked with an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)

摘要

In a global climate where sustainable development is being prioritized for the benefit of current and futureudgenerations, it is necessary to make informed decisions about the type of technologies being deployed.udBecause coal plays such a significant role in the generation of electricity, understanding the impact it hasudon the environment is an important part of understanding energy and environmental issues in general. Toudthis end, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed on two methods of electricity generation whichudemploy coal as a primary source of energy. This assessment focused on the impacts from the power plantsudsuch as the emissions, resource consumption, and energy use of all processes required for the power plantudto operate, including any necessary waste disposal and material recycling.udTwo technologies were selected. A PCC plant which represents the average emissions and efficiencies ofudcurrently operating coal-fired power plants in the world, and an IGCC plant which uses combustible gasudderived from an UCG plant, hence a UCG-IGCC plant. The results of the LCA suggest that UCG-IGCCudtechnology is more sustainable than the conventional PCC technology. The results yielded significantudreductions in environmental stressors related to air, water, resource consumption and waste used in theudimpact assessment.udUltimately, LCA can be seen to be an ideal integrated environmental management tool to facilitateuddecision making on competing technologies to be deployed by assessing them throughout their entire lifeudcycles.