Development of Cost Effective Oxy-Combustion Retrofitting for Coal-Fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamid Farzan

2010-12-31

The overall objective of this project is to further develop the oxy-combustion technology for commercial retrofit in existing wall-fired and Cyclone boilers by 2012. To meet this goal, a research project was conducted that included pilot-scale testing and a full-scale engineering and economic analysis.

Improved NOx emissions and combustion characteristics for a retrofitted down-fired 300-MWe utility boiler.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhengqi; Ren, Feng; Chen, Zhichao; Liu, Guangkui; Xu, Zhenxing

2010-05-15

A new technique combining high boiler efficiency and low-NO(x) emissions was employed in a 300MWe down-fired boiler as an economical means to reduce NO(x) emissions in down-fired boilers burning low-volatile coals. Experiments were conducted on this boiler after the retrofit with measurements taken of gas temperature distributions along the primary air and coal mixture flows and in the furnace, furnace temperatures along the main axis and gas concentrations such as O(2), CO and NO(x) in the near-wall region. Data were compared with those obtained before the retrofit and verified that by applying the combined technique, gas temperature distributions in the furnace become more reasonable. Peak temperatures were lowered from the upper furnace to the lower furnace and flame stability was improved. Despite burning low-volatile coals, NO(x) emissions can be lowered by as much as 50% without increasing the levels of unburnt carbon in fly ash and reducing boiler thermal efficiency.

MHD power station with coal gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brzozowski, W.S.; Dul, J.; Pudlik, W.

1976-01-01

A description is given of the proposed operating method of a MHD-power station including a complete coal gasification into lean gas with a simultaneous partial gas production for the use of outside consumers. A comparison with coal gasification methods actually being used and full capabilities of power stations heated with coal-derived gas shows distinct advantages resulting from applying the method of coal gasification with waste heat from MHD generators working within the boundaries of the thermal-electric power station. (author)

Microfine coal firing results from a retrofit gas/oil-designed industrial boiler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, R.; Borio, R.W.; Liljedahl, G. [Combustion Engineering, Inc., Windsor, CT (United States)] [and others

1995-11-01

Under US Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) support, the development of a High Efficiency Advanced Coal Combustor (HEACC) has been in progress since 1987 at the ABB Power Plant Laboratories. The initial work on this concept produced an advanced coal firing system that was capable of firing both water-based and dry pulverized coal in an industrial boiler environment.

APPLICATION OF REBURNING TO COAL-FIRED INDUSTRIAL BOILERS IN TAIWAN

Science.gov (United States)

The paper gives an overview of the characteristics of coal-fired industrial boilers in Taiwan and projections of the cost and performance data for retrofitting several boilers with reburning. The impacts of reburning fuel type on the reburning system design and cost effectivenes...

Economic Decision-Making for Coal Power Flexibility Retrofitting and Compensation in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunning Na

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In China, in order to integrate more renewable energy into the power grid, coal power flexibility retrofitting is imperative. This paper elaborates a generic method for estimating the flexibility potential from the rapid ramp rate and peak shaving operation using nonlinear programming, and defines three flexibility elastic coefficients to quantify the retrofitted targets. The optimized range of the retrofitted targets determined by the flexibility elastic coefficients have a reference significance on coal power flexibility retrofitting. Then, in order to enable economic decisions for coal power flexibility retrofitting, we address a profit maximizing issue regarding optimization decisions for coal power flexibility retrofitting under an assumption of perfect competition, further analyzing the characteristic roots of marginal cost equal to marginal revenue. The rationality of current compensation standards for peak shaving in China can also be judged in the analysis. The case study results show that economic decision-making depends on the compensation standard and the peak shaving depth and time. At a certain peak shaving depth and time, with rational compensation standard power plants are willing to carry out coal power flexibility retrofitting. The current compensation standard in Northeast China is high enough to carry out coal power flexibility retrofitting. These research conclusions have theoretical significance for China’s peak shaving compensation standards formulation.

CCS Retrofit: Analysis of the Global Installed Power Plant Fleet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

Electricity generation from coal is still growing rapidly and energy scenarios from the IEA expect a possible increase from today’s 1 600 GW of coal-fired power plants to over 2 600 GW until 2035. This trend will increase the lock-in of carbon intensive electricity sources, while IEA assessments show that two-thirds of total abatement from all sectors should come from the power sector alone to support a least-cost abatement strategy. Since coal-fired power plants have a fairly long lifetime, and in order to meet climate constraints, there is a need either to apply CCS retrofit to some of today’s installed coal-fired power plants once the technology becomes available. Another option would be to retire some plants before the end of their lifetime. This working paper discusses criteria relevant to differentiating between the technical, cost-effective and realistic potential for CCS retrofit. The paper then discusses today’s coal-fired power plant fleet from a statistical perspective, by looking at age, size and the expected performance of today’s plant across several countries. The working paper also highlights the growing demand for applying CCS retrofitting to the coal-fired power plant fleet of the future. In doing so this paper aims at emphasising the need for policy makers, innovators and power plant operators to quickly complete the development of the CCS technology and to identify key countries where retrofit applications will have the biggest extent and impact.

Comparing post-combustion CO2 capture operation at retrofitted coal-fired power plants in the Texas and Great Britain electric grids

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Stuart M.; Chalmers, Hannah L.; Webber, Michael E.; King, Carey W.

2011-04-01

This work analyses the carbon dioxide (CO2) capture system operation within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Great Britain (GB) electric grids using a previously developed first-order hourly electricity dispatch and pricing model. The grids are compared in their 2006 configuration with the addition of coal-based CO2 capture retrofits and emissions penalties from 0 to 100 US dollars per metric ton of CO2 (USD/tCO2). CO2 capture flexibility is investigated by comparing inflexible CO2 capture systems to flexible ones that can choose between full- and zero-load CO2 capture depending on which operating mode has lower costs or higher profits. Comparing these two grids is interesting because they have similar installed capacity and peak demand, and both are isolated electricity systems with competitive wholesale electricity markets. However, differences in capacity mix, demand patterns, and fuel markets produce diverging behaviours of CO2 capture at coal-fired power plants. Coal-fired facilities are primarily base load in ERCOT for a large range of CO2 prices but are comparably later in the dispatch order in GB and consequently often supply intermediate load. As a result, the ability to capture CO2 is more important for ensuring dispatch of coal-fired facilities in GB than in ERCOT when CO2 prices are high. In GB, higher overall coal prices mean that CO2 prices must be slightly higher than in ERCOT before the emissions savings of CO2 capture offset capture energy costs. However, once CO2 capture is economical, operating CO2 capture on half the coal fleet in each grid achieves greater emissions reductions in GB because the total coal-based capacity is 6 GW greater than in ERCOT. The market characteristics studied suggest greater opportunity for flexible CO2 capture to improve operating profits in ERCOT, but profit improvements can be offset by a flexibility cost penalty.

Comparing post-combustion CO2 capture operation at retrofitted coal-fired power plants in the Texas and Great Britain electric grids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, Stuart M; Webber, Michael E; Chalmers, Hannah L; King, Carey W

2011-01-01

This work analyses the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture system operation within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Great Britain (GB) electric grids using a previously developed first-order hourly electricity dispatch and pricing model. The grids are compared in their 2006 configuration with the addition of coal-based CO 2 capture retrofits and emissions penalties from 0 to 100 US dollars per metric ton of CO 2 (USD/tCO 2 ). CO 2 capture flexibility is investigated by comparing inflexible CO 2 capture systems to flexible ones that can choose between full- and zero-load CO 2 capture depending on which operating mode has lower costs or higher profits. Comparing these two grids is interesting because they have similar installed capacity and peak demand, and both are isolated electricity systems with competitive wholesale electricity markets. However, differences in capacity mix, demand patterns, and fuel markets produce diverging behaviours of CO 2 capture at coal-fired power plants. Coal-fired facilities are primarily base load in ERCOT for a large range of CO 2 prices but are comparably later in the dispatch order in GB and consequently often supply intermediate load. As a result, the ability to capture CO 2 is more important for ensuring dispatch of coal-fired facilities in GB than in ERCOT when CO 2 prices are high. In GB, higher overall coal prices mean that CO 2 prices must be slightly higher than in ERCOT before the emissions savings of CO 2 capture offset capture energy costs. However, once CO 2 capture is economical, operating CO 2 capture on half the coal fleet in each grid achieves greater emissions reductions in GB because the total coal-based capacity is 6 GW greater than in ERCOT. The market characteristics studied suggest greater opportunity for flexible CO 2 capture to improve operating profits in ERCOT, but profit improvements can be offset by a flexibility cost penalty.

Mercury emissions from South Africa’s coal-fired power stations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belinda L. Garnham

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Mercury is a persistent and toxic substance that can be bio-accumulated in the food chain. Natural and anthropogenic sources contribute to the mercury emitted in the atmosphere. Eskom’s coal-fired power stations in South Africa contributed just under 93% of the total electricity produced in 2015 (Eskom 2016. Trace amounts of mercury can be found in coal, mostly combined with sulphur, and can be released into the atmosphere upon combustion. Coal-fired electricity generation plants are the highest contributors to mercury emissions in South Africa. A major factor affecting the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere is the type and efficiency of emission abatement equipment at a power station. Eskom employs particulate emission control technology at all its coal-fired power stations, and new power stations will also have sulphur dioxide abatement technology. A co-beneficial reduction of mercury emissions exists as a result of emission control technology. The amount of mercury emitted from each of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations is calculated, based on the amount of coal burnt and the mercury content in the coal. Emission Reduction Factors (ERF’s from two sources are taken into consideration to reflect the co-benefit received from the emission control technologies at the stations. Between 17 and 23 tons of mercury is calculated to have been emitted from Eskom’s coal-fired power stations in 2015. On completion of Eskom’s emission reduction plan, which includes fabric filter plant retrofits at two and a half stations and a flue gas desulphurisation retrofit at one power station, total mercury emissions from the fleet will potentially be reduced by 6-13% by 2026 relative to the baseline. Mercury emission reduction is perhaps currently not the most pressing air quality problem in South Africa. While the focus should then be on reducing emissions of other pollutants which have a greater impact on human health, mercury emission reduction

FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING OF MERCURY CONTROL IN COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

Science.gov (United States)

The paper discusses the existing knowledge base applicable to mercury (Hg) control in coal-fired boilers and outlines the gaps in knowledge that can be filled by experimentation and data gathering. Mercury can be controlled by existing air pollution control devices or by retrofit...

ULTRA LOW NOx INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR NOx EMISSION CONTROL FROM COAL-FIRED BOILERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galen H. Richards; Charles Q. Maney; Richard W. Borio; Robert D. Lewis

2002-12-30

ALSTOM Power Inc.'s Power Plant Laboratories, working in concert with ALSTOM Power's Performance Projects Group, has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) to conduct a comprehensive study to develop/evaluate low-cost, efficient NOx control technologies for retrofit to pulverized coal fired utility boilers. The objective of this project was to develop retrofit NOx control technology to achieve less than 0.15 lb/MMBtu NOx (for bituminous coals) and 0.10 lb/MMBtu NOx (for subbituminous coals) from existing pulverized coal fired utility boilers at a cost which is at least 25% less than SCR technology. Efficient control of NOx is seen as an important, enabling step in keeping coal as a viable part of the national energy mix in this century, and beyond. Presently 57% of U.S. electrical generation is coal based, and the Energy Information Agency projects that coal will maintain a lead in U.S. power generation over all other fuel sources for decades (EIA 1998 Energy Forecast). Yet, coal-based power is being strongly challenged by society's ever-increasing desire for an improved environment and the resultant improvement in health and safety. The needs of the electric-utility industry are to improve environmental performance, while simultaneously improving overall plant economics. This means that emissions control technology is needed with very low capital and operating costs. This project has responded to the industry's need for low NOx emissions by evaluating ideas that can be adapted to present pulverized coal fired systems, be they conventional or low NOx firing systems. The TFS 2000{trademark} firing system has been the ALSTOM Power Inc. commercial offering producing the lowest NOx emission levels. In this project, the TFS 2000{trademark} firing system served as a basis for comparison to other low NOx systems evaluated and was the foundation upon which refinements were made to further

NO{sub x} controls for coal-fired utility boilers in East Central Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eskinazi, D. [Electric Power Research Inst., Washington, DC (United States); Tavoulareas, E.S. [Energy Technologies Enterprises Corp., McLean, VA (United States)

1995-12-01

Increasing environmental pressures worldwide, including East Central Europe are placing greater emphasis on NO{sub x} emission controls in utility power plants. Western Europe, Japan and the U.S. have significant experience in applying NO{sub x} controls, especially in boilers firing hard coal. Some countries in Europe (i.e., Germany and Austria), have gained experience in applying NO{sub x} controls in boilers firing low-rank coal. This experience can be applied to East Central European countries in providing the basis for planning NO{sub x} control projects, suggesting cost-effective solutions, and providing lessons learned. However, while the experience is generally applicable to East Central European countries, differences in boiler design, operation and coal characteristics also need to be considered. This paper begins with a comparison of the NO{sub x} regulations, identifies the key NO{sub x} control technologies and the worldwide experience with them, and discusses the achievable NO{sub x} reduction, O&M impacts, and retrofit costs for each technology. Emphasis is placed on retrofit applications for existing boilers, because new coal-fired power plants are not expected to be built for the next 5-10 years. This paper also focuses on technologies with relatively low cost and operational simplicity: combustion system tuning/optimization. low-NO{sub x} burners (LNB), overfire air (OFA), selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), and reburning.

MHD power generation research, development and engineering. Quarterly progress report, October-December 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1979-01-01

Progress is reported on the following tasks: characterization of coal for open-cycle MHD power generation systems; compressive creep and strength studies of MHD preheater materials; preparation of coals for utilization in direct coal-fired MHD generation; characterization of volatile matter in coal; MHD materials evaluation; operability of the Moderate Temperature Slag Flow Facility; slag-seed equilibria and separations related to the MHD system; thermionic emission of coal and electrode materials; MHD instrumentation, consolidated inversion simulator, and data acquisition; combined MHD-steam plant cycle analysis and control; and slag physical properties - electrical and thermal conductivity. (WHK)

Some retrofit considerations for revitalizing and upgrading the Oji-River coal-fired thermal power station for service in 21st century Nigeria

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oguejofor, G.C. [Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (Nigeria). Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2003-02-01

The aim of this article is to show that in the context of sustainable development, coal and its downstream power generation industry could complement petroleum and hydroelectric industries in the national power generation scheme. The continued utilization of coal in power generation schemes in the world as well as environmental pollution caused by other fossil fuels were examined. These were presented as justifications for the proposed reintegration of coal as a complement to hydropower and oil/gas sources of electric energy in Nigeria. The scheme of power generation in the Oji-River thermal station was reviewed to enhance the appreciation of the retrofit models to be presented for the revitalization of the plant. Subsequently, two sustainable development retrofit models were considered for the revitalization of the Oji-River thermal power station and enhanced industrial civilization of the Oji neighbourhood. To ensure self-sufficiency, the paper shows how the two retrofit models depend on abundant locally available resources, namely, coal, limestone, water and air.

COST OF SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION (SCR) APPLICATION FOR NOX CONTROL ON COAL-FIRED BOILERS

Science.gov (United States)

The report provides a methodology for estimating budgetary costs associated with retrofit applications of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology on coal-fired boilers. SCR is a postcombustion nitrogen oxides (NOx) control technology capable of providing NOx reductions >90...

Characterization of Oxy-combustion Impacts in Existing Coal-fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, Bradley R. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Fry, Andrew R. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Senior, Constance L. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Shim, Hong Shig [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Otten, Brydger Van [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Wendt, Jost [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Shaddix, Christopher [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Tree, Dale [Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (United States)

2010-06-01

This report summarizes Year 2 results of a research program designed to use multi-scale experimental studies and fundamental theoretical models to characterize and predict the impacts of retrofit of existing coal-fired utility boilers for oxy-combustion. Year 2 focused extensively on obtaining experimental data from the bench-scale, lab-scale and pilot-scale reactors. These data will be used to refine and validate submodels to be implemented in CFD simulations of full-scale boiler retrofits. Program tasks are on schedule for Year 3 completion. Both Year 2 milestones were completed on schedule and within budget.

Ways to Improve Russian Coal-Fired Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tumanovskii, A. G.; Olkhovsky, G. G.

2015-01-01

Coal is an important fuel for the electric power industry of Russia, especially in Ural and the eastern part of the country. It is fired in boilers of large (200 – 800 MW) condensing power units and in many cogeneration power plants with units rated at 50 – 180 MW. Many coal-fired power plants have been operated for more than 40 – 50 years. Though serviceable, their equipment is obsolete and does not comply with the current efficiency, environmental, staffing, and availability standards. It is urgent to retrofit and upgrade such power plants using advanced equipment, engineering and business ideas. Russian power-plant engineering companies have designed such advanced power units and their equipment such as boilers, turbines, auxiliaries, process and environmental control systems similar to those produced by the world’s leading manufacturers. Their performance and ways of implementation are discussed

Ways to Improve Russian Coal-Fired Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tumanovskii, A. G., E-mail: vti@vti.ru; Olkhovsky, G. G. [JSC “All-Russia Thermal Engineering Institute,” (Russian Federation)

2015-07-15

Coal is an important fuel for the electric power industry of Russia, especially in Ural and the eastern part of the country. It is fired in boilers of large (200 – 800 MW) condensing power units and in many cogeneration power plants with units rated at 50 – 180 MW. Many coal-fired power plants have been operated for more than 40 – 50 years. Though serviceable, their equipment is obsolete and does not comply with the current efficiency, environmental, staffing, and availability standards. It is urgent to retrofit and upgrade such power plants using advanced equipment, engineering and business ideas. Russian power-plant engineering companies have designed such advanced power units and their equipment such as boilers, turbines, auxiliaries, process and environmental control systems similar to those produced by the world’s leading manufacturers. Their performance and ways of implementation are discussed.

Characterization of open-cycle coal-fired MHD generators. Quarterly technical summary report No. 6, October 1--December 31, 1977. [PACKAGE code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolb, C.E.; Yousefian, V.; Wormhoudt, J.; Haimes, R.; Martinez-Sanchez, M.; Kerrebrock, J.L.

1978-01-30

Research has included theoretical modeling of important plasma chemical effects such as: conductivity reductions due to condensed slag/electron interactions; conductivity and generator efficiency reductions due to the formation of slag-related negative ion species; and the loss of alkali seed due to chemical combination with condensed slag. A summary of the major conclusions in each of these areas is presented. A major output of the modeling effort has been the development of an MHD plasma chemistry core flow model. This model has been formulated into a computer program designated the PACKAGE code (Plasma Analysis, Chemical Kinetics, And Generator Efficiency). The PACKAGE code is designed to calculate the effect of coal rank, ash percentage, ash composition, air preheat temperatures, equivalence ratio, and various generator channel parameters on the overall efficiency of open-cycle, coal-fired MHD generators. A complete description of the PACKAGE code and a preliminary version of the PACKAGE user's manual are included. A laboratory measurements program involving direct, mass spectrometric sampling of the positive and negative ions formed in a one atmosphere coal combustion plasma was also completed during the contract's initial phase. The relative ion concentrations formed in a plasma due to the methane augmented combustion of pulverized Montana Rosebud coal with potassium carbonate seed and preheated air are summarized. Positive ions measured include K/sup +/, KO/sup +/, Na/sup +/, Rb/sup +/, Cs/sup +/, and CsO/sup +/, while negative ions identified include PO/sub 3//sup -/, PO/sub 2//sup -/, BO/sub 2//sup -/, OH/sup -/, SH/sup -/, and probably HCrO/sub 3/, HMoO/sub 4//sup -/, and HWO/sub 3//sup -/. Comparison of the measurements with PACKAGE code predictions are presented. Preliminary design considerations for a mass spectrometric sampling probe capable of characterizing coal combustion plasmas from full scale combustors and flow trains are presented

Oxygen-Fired CO{sub 2} Recycle for Application to Direct CO{sub 2} Capture form Coal-Fired Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas Gale

2010-09-26

The Southern Research/Southern Company 1 MWth Pilot-Scale Coal-Fired Test Facility was successfully retrofit to fire in either the traditional air-fired mode or with 100% oxygen and recycled flue gas, with a fully integrated feedback and control system, including oxygen and recycled flue gas modulation during startup, transfer, and shutdown, safety and operational interlocks, and data acquisition. A MAXON Staged Oxygen Burner for Oxy-Coal Applications produced a stable flame over a significant range of firing turn-down, staging, and while firing five different U.S. coal types. The MAXON burner design produces lower flame temperatures than for air firing, which will enable (A) Safe operation, (B) Reduction of recycle flow without concern about furnace flame temperatures, and (C) May likely be affective at reducing slagging and fouling in the boiler and super heater at full-scale Power Plants. A CFD model of the Oxy-fired Combustion Research Facility (OCRF) was used to predict the flame geometry and temperatures in the OCRF and make a comparison with the air-fired case. The model predictions were consistent with the experimental data in showing that the MAXON burner fired with oxygen produced lower flame temperatures than the air-fired burner while firing with air.

Report on results of contract research. 'Research on MHD generation system'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-03-01

'Research on MHD generation system' was implemented by its expert committee in the electric joint study group, with the results of fiscal 1980 reported. This year, a detailed conceptual design was carried out on a coal fired MHD generation system, with points for the technological development concretely examined. In addition, investigation was conducted on the progress of MHD generation technology, development situation of other generation systems, state of energy resources, etc., in various foreign countries. In the conceptual design of the coal fired MHD generation plant, the system structure of a 2,000 MWt class commercial MHD generation plant was explained, as were the conceptual design of the structural elements and proposals for a 500 MWt class demonstration plant and an 100 MWt class experimental plant, for example. In the overseas trend of R and D on MHD generation, investigations were made concerning the U.S., Soviet Union, and China, with details compiled for such items as generation plants, combustors, generation channels, heat resisting materials, superconducting magnets, heat exchangers, seed slags, inverters, boilers and environments, and commercial plants. (NEDO)

Coal-fired MHD test progress at the Component Development and Integration Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hart, A.T.; Rivers, T.J.; Alsberg, C.M.; Filius, K.D.

1992-01-01

The Component Development and Integration Facility (CDIF) is a Department of Energy test facility operated by MSE, Inc. In the fall of 1984, a 50-MW t , pressurized, slag rejecting coal-fired combustor (CFC) replaced the oil-fired combustor in the test train. In the spring of 1989, a coal-fired precombustor was added to the test hardware, and current controls were installed in the spring of 1990. In the fall of 1990, the slag rejector was installed. MSE test hardware activities included installing the final workhorse channel and modifying the coalfired combustor by installing improved design and proof-of-concept (POC) test pieces. This paper discusses the involvement of this hardware in test progress during the past year. Testing during the last year emphasized the final workhorse hardware testing. This testing will be discussed. Facility modifications and system upgrades for improved operation and duration testing will be discussed. In addition, this paper will address long-term testing plans

Low NOx firing systems for bituminous coal and lignite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knyrim, W.; Scheffknecht, G.

1997-01-01

In the case of lignite fluidized boilers the denitrification down to less than 200 mg/m 3 was possible with primary measures on the firing side only. On account of the excellent results achieved with the reconstructed plants the firing systems for the new generation of brown coal fire steam generators with a capacity of 800 MW and more is designed in a similar way. For bituminous coal fire steam generators the primary measures on the firing side are nor sufficient to keep the German NO x emission limit. Therefore these units had to be retrofitted with a SCR-DENOX plant. The experience with the new firing system made in a 110 MW steam generator in Austria with a wide range of fuels is introduced. One of the largest bituminous coal fired once-trough steam generator built by EVT is the boiler for the power station Bexbach I (750 MW). The firing system is designed as a tangential firing system with 32 jet burners. These are arranged in pairs in the corners and divided into 4 burner levels with 4 burner pairs each. One mill is allocated to each burner level. An important characteristic feature is that the four bowl mills are arranged on one side of the steam generator. The plant is constructed with upper air nozzles which are arranged above the top burner level for the reduced of nitrogen oxides. During tests at steam generator with similar design, the nO x formation could be reduced from 750 to 500 mg/m 3 s.t.p. (dry, 6% O 2 ) with an addition of upper air of 20% at 100% unit capacity and constant total flow. As a main approach for the further reduction of the primary NO x emission at bituminous coal fired steam generators with tangential firing systems, the experience gained from the firing of brown coal has also been taken into account. A fundamental aspect in this respect was the vertical air staging in the direction of the furnace height. The results of many tests in a test reactor have shown that the differences of the achievable NO x values of brown and

Report on results of contract research. 'Research on MHD generation system'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-03-01

'Research on MHD generation system' was implemented by its expert committee in the electric joint study group, with the results of fiscal 1980 reported. This year, a detailed conceptual design was carried out on a coal fired MHD generation system, with points for the technological development concretely examined. In addition, investigation was conducted on the progress of MHD generation technology, development situation of other generation systems, state of energy resources, etc., in various foreign countries. In the conceptual design of the coal fired MHD generation plant, the system structure of a 2,000 MWt class commercial MHD generation plant was explained, as were the conceptual design of the structural elements and proposals for a 500 MWt class demonstration plant and an 100 MWt class experimental plant, for example. In the overseas trend of R and D on MHD generation, investigations were made concerning the U.S., Soviet Union, and China, with details compiled for such items as generation plants, combustors, generation channels, heat resisting materials, superconducting magnets, heat exchangers, seed slags, inverters, boilers and environments, and commercial plants. (NEDO)

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Engineering Test Facility (ETF) 200 MWe power plant Conceptual Design Engineering Report (CDER)

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

The reference conceptual design of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Engineering Test Facility (ETF), a prototype 200 MWe coal-fired electric generating plant designed to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of open cycle MHD, is summarized. Main elements of the design, systems, and plant facilities are illustrated. System design descriptions are included for closed cycle cooling water, industrial gas systems, fuel oil, boiler flue gas, coal management, seed management, slag management, plant industrial waste, fire service water, oxidant supply, MHD power ventilating

Maximizing economic and environmental performance of existing coal-fired assets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bartley, Pat; Foucher, Jean-Claude; Hestermann, Rolf; Hilton, Bob; Keegan, Bill; Stephen, Don

2007-07-01

In recent years, Plant Owners and innovative suppliers such as ALSTOM have come to realize that existing coal-fired assets have in many cases hidden capacity. This largely results from the conservative nature of their original design, but also from the possibility of integrating the latest advances in technology without the need to buy complete power plant components. ALSTOM's Optimized Plant Retrofit (OPR) process is a proven method to identify the full potential of existing equipment, taking a systemic and holistic approach to achieve full optimisation. OPRs are supported by ALSTOM's comprehensive portfolio of available technologies and a proven capability to integrate retrofit opportunities encompassing innovative solutions for a variety of plant components such as coal mills, boiler, air pollution control equipment, turbogenerator, feedheating and condensing plant. By teaming utility representatives with ALSTOM's technical experts we can collectively identify solutions for enhancing both heat rate and net output, to maximise the value of existing assets. This often gives a return on investment significantly better than greenfield construction for supply margin improvement. This paper introduces the OPR concept in detail and presents case studies and insights into future developments, in particular retrofitting existing assets in an emissions constrained environment. (auth)

Overview of liquid-metal MHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, P.F.

1978-01-01

The basic features of the two-phase liquid-metal MHD energy conversion under development at Argonne National Laboratory are presented. The results of system studies on the Rankine-cycle and the open-cycle coal-fired cycle options are discussed. The liquid-metal MHD experimental facilities are described in addition to the system's major components, the generator, mixer and nozzle-separator-diffuser

MHD Integrated Topping Cycle Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-01-01

The overall objective of the project is to design and construct prototypical hardware for an integrated MHD topping cycle, and conduct long duration proof-of-concept tests of integrated system at the US DOE Component Development and Integration Facility in Butte, Montana. The results of the long duration tests will augment the existing engineering design data base on MHD power train reliability, availability, maintainability, and performance, and will serve as a basis for scaling up the topping cycle design to the next level of development, an early commercial scale power plant retrofit. The components of the MHD power train to be designed, fabricated, and tested include: A slagging coal combustor with a rated capacity of 50 MW thermal input, capable of operation with an Eastern (Illinois {number sign}6) or Western (Montana Rosebud) coal, a segmented supersonic nozzle, a supersonic MHD channel capable of generating at least 1.5 MW of electrical power, a segmented supersonic diffuser section to interface the channel with existing facility quench and exhaust systems, a complete set of current control circuits for local diagonal current control along the channel, and a set of current consolidation circuits to interface the channel with the existing facility inverter.

Characterization of Oxy-combustion Impacts in Existing Coal-fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradley Adams; Andrew Fry; Constance Senior; Hong Shim; Huafeng Wang; Jost Wendt; Christopher Shaddix

2009-06-30

This report summarizes Year 1 results of a research program designed to use multi-scale experimental studies and fundamental theoretical models to characterize and predict the impacts of retrofit of existing coal-fired utility boilers for oxy-combustion. Through the course of Year 1 activities, great progress was made toward understanding the issues associated with oxy-combustion retrofit of coal-fired boilers. All four Year 1 milestones and objectives have been, or will be, completed on schedule and within budget. Progress in the four milestone areas may be summarized as follows: • University of Utah has performed size segregated ash composition measurements in the Oxy-Fuel Combustor (OFC). These experiments indicate that oxy-combustion retrofit may impact ash aerosol mineral matter composition. Both flame temperature and flue gas composition have been observed to influence the concentration of calcium, magnesium and iron in the fine particulate. This could in turn impact boiler fouling and slagging. • Sandia National Labs has shown that char oxidation rate is dependent on particle size (for sizes between 60 and 100 microns) by performing fundamental simulations of reacting char particles. These predictions will be verified by making time-resolved optical measurements of char particle temperature, velocity and size in bench-scale experiments before the end of Year 1. • REI and Siemens have completed the design of an oxy-research burner that will be mounted on University of Utah’s pilot-scale furnace, the L1500. This burner will accommodate a wide range of O2, FGR and mixing strategies under conditions relevant for utility boiler operation. Through CFD modeling of the different burner designs, it was determined that the key factor influencing flame stabilization location is particle heat-up rate. The new oxy-research burner and associated equipment is scheduled for delivery before the end of Year 1. • REI has completed a literature survey of slagging and

Coal fires in Indonesia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitehouse, Alfred E.; Mulyana, Asep A.S. [Office of Surface Mining/Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Coal Fire Project, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Agency for Training and Education, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Kav. 49, Jakarta 12950 (Indonesia)

2004-07-12

Indonesia's fire and haze problem is increasingly being ascribed to large-scale forest conversion and land clearing activities making way for pulpwood, rubber and oil palm plantations. Fire is the cheapest tool available to small holders and plantation owners to reduce vegetation cover and prepare and fertilize extremely poor soils. Fires that escaped from agricultural burns have ravaged East Kalimantan forests on the island of Borneo during extreme drought periods in 1982-1983, 1987, 1991, 1994 and 1997-1998. Estimates based on satellite data and ground observations are that more than five million hectares were burned in East Kalimantan during the 1997/1998 dry season. Not only were the economic losses and ecological damage from these surface fires enormous, they ignited coal seams exposed at the ground surface along their outcrops.Coal fires now threaten Indonesia's shrinking ecological resources in Kutai National Park and Sungai Wain Nature Reserve. Sungai Wain has one of the last areas of unburned primary rainforest in the Balikpapan-Samarinda area with an extremely rich biodiversity. Although fires in 1997/1998 damaged nearly 50% of this Reserve and ignited 76 coal fires, it remains the most valuable water catchment area in the region and it has been used as a reintroduction site for the endangered orangutan. The Office of Surface Mining provided Indonesia with the capability to take quick action on coal fires that presented threats to public health and safety, infrastructure or the environment. The US Department of State's Southeast Asia Environmental Protection Initiative through the US Agency for International Development funded the project. Technical assistance and training transferred skills in coal fire management through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource's Training Agency to the regional offices; giving the regions the long-term capability to manage coal fires. Funding was also included to extinguish coal fires as

Staged fluidized-bed coal combustor for boiler retrofit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehmat, A.; Dorfman, L.; Shibayama, G.; Waibel, R.

1991-01-01

The Advanced Staged Fluidized-Bed Coal Combustion System (ASC) is a novel clean coal technology for either coal-fired repowering of existing boilers or for incremental power generation using combined-cycle gas turbines. This new technology combines staged combustion for gaseous emission control, in-situ sulfur capture, and an ash agglomeration/vitrification process for the agglomeration/vitrification of ash and spent sorbent, thus rendering solid waste environmentally benign. The market for ASC is expected to be for clean coal-fired repowering of generating units up to 250 MW, especially for units where space is limited. The expected tightening of the environmental requirements on leachable solids residue by-products could considerably increase the marketability for ASC. ASC consists of modular low-pressure vessels in which coal is partially combusted and gasified using stacked fluidized-bed processes to produce low-to-medium-Btu, high-temperature gas. This relatively clean fuel gas is used to repower/refuel existing pulverized-coal, natural gas, or oil-fired boilers using bottom firing and reburning techniques. The benefits of ASC coal-fired repowering include the ability to repower boilers without obtaining additional space while meeting the more stringent environmental requirements of the future. Low NO x , SO x , and particulate levels are expected while a nonleachable solid residue with trace metal encapsulation is produced. ASC also minimizes boiler modification and life-extension expenditures. Repowered efficiencies can be restored to the initial operating plant efficiency, and the existing boiler capacity can be increased by 10%. Preliminary cost estimates indicate that ASC will have up to a $250/kW capital cost advantage over existing coal-fired repowering options. 4 figs., 4 tabs

Coal-fired generation

CERN Document Server

Breeze, Paul

2015-01-01

Coal-Fired Generation is a concise, up-to-date and readable guide providing an introduction to this traditional power generation technology. It includes detailed descriptions of coal fired generation systems, demystifies the coal fired technology functions in practice as well as exploring the economic and environmental risk factors. Engineers, managers, policymakers and those involved in planning and delivering energy resources will find this reference a valuable guide, to help establish a reliable power supply address social and economic objectives. Focuses on the evolution of the traditio

Opportunities for Decarbonizing Existing U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants via CO2 Capture, Utilization and Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Haibo; Ou, Yang; Rubin, Edward S

2015-07-07

This study employs a power plant modeling tool to explore the feasibility of reducing unit-level emission rates of CO2 by 30% by retrofitting carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to existing U.S. coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs). Our goal is to identify feasible EGUs and their key attributes. The results indicate that for about 60 gigawatts of the existing coal-fired capacity, the implementation of partial CO2 capture appears feasible, though its cost is highly dependent on the unit characteristics and fuel prices. Auxiliary gas-fired boilers can be employed to power a carbon capture process without significant increases in the cost of electricity generation. A complementary CO2 emission trading program can provide additional economic incentives for the deployment of CCS with 90% CO2 capture. Selling and utilizing the captured CO2 product for enhanced oil recovery can further accelerate CCUS deployment and also help reinforce a CO2 emission trading market. These efforts would allow existing coal-fired EGUs to continue to provide a significant share of the U.S. electricity demand.

On MHD waves, fire-hose and mirror instabilities in anisotropic plasmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.-N. Hau

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Temperature or pressure anisotropies are characteristic of space plasmas, standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD model for describing large-scale plasma phenomena however usually assumes isotropic pressure. In this paper we examine the characteristics of MHD waves, fire-hose and mirror instabilities in anisotropic homogeneous magnetized plasmas. The model equations are a set of gyrotropic MHD equations closed by the generalized Chew-Goldberger-Low (CGL laws with two polytropic exponents representing various thermodynamic conditions. Both ions and electrons are allowed to have separate plasma beta, pressure anisotropy and energy equations. The properties of linear MHD waves and instability criteria are examined and numerical examples for the nonlinear evolutions of slow waves, fire-hose and mirror instabilities are shown. One significant result is that slow waves may develop not only mirror instability but also a new type of compressible fire-hose instability. Their corresponding nonlinear structures thus may exhibit anticorrelated density and magnetic field perturbations, a property used for identifying slow and mirror mode structures in the space plasma environment. The conditions for nonlinear saturation of both fire-hose and mirror instabilities are examined.

Upgrading and efficiency improvement in coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-08-01

Improving the efficiencies of the large number of older coal-fired power plants operating around the world would give major savings in CO2 emissions together with significant other benefits. This report begins with a summary of the ways efficiency can become degraded and of the means available to combat the decrease in performance. These include improvements to operating and maintenance practices and more major techniques that are available, including boiler and turbine retrofits. There is also an update on fuel drying developments as a route to higher efficiency in plants firing high moisture lignites. The largest chapter of the report contains a number of descriptions of case study improvement projects, to illustrate measures that have been applied, benefits that have been achieved and identify best practices, which are summarised. Major national and international upgrading programmes are described.

Marginal costs of water savings from cooling system retrofits: a case study for Texas power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Loew, Aviva; Jaramillo, Paulina; Zhai, Haibo

2016-10-01

The water demands of power plant cooling systems may strain water supply and make power generation vulnerable to water scarcity. Cooling systems range in their rates of water use, capital investment, and annual costs. Using Texas as a case study, we examined the cost of retrofitting existing coal and natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plants with alternative cooling systems, either wet recirculating towers or air-cooled condensers for dry cooling. We applied a power plant assessment tool to model existing power plants in terms of their key plant attributes and site-specific meteorological conditions and then estimated operation characteristics of retrofitted plants and retrofit costs. We determined the anticipated annual reductions in water withdrawals and the cost-per-gallon of water saved by retrofits in both deterministic and probabilistic forms. The results demonstrate that replacing once-through cooling at coal-fired power plants with wet recirculating towers has the lowest cost per reduced water withdrawals, on average. The average marginal cost of water withdrawal savings for dry-cooling retrofits at coal-fired plants is approximately 0.68 cents per gallon, while the marginal recirculating retrofit cost is 0.008 cents per gallon. For NGCC plants, the average marginal costs of water withdrawal savings for dry-cooling and recirculating towers are 1.78 and 0.037 cents per gallon, respectively.

Research and development of leading, fundamental energy-saving techniques. Report on the R and D of coal-fired magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) electrical power generation (Prompt report by Electrotechnical Laboratory); Sekitan nensho MHD hatsuden no kenkyu ni kansuru seika hokoku. Densoken kenkyu sokuho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-03-30

Summarized herein are the reports on the R and D of coal-fired magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) electrical power generation, received by March 30, 1990. For the coal combustor, the air flow tests have been conducted using a 5MW-scale plastic model since 1984, and the model has been later scaled-up to 15MW. The actual combustion tests have been conducted using a 1MW-scale combustor, designed based on the results of air flow tests using the 15MW-scale model, mainly for the cyclone combustor in the first stage. For a coal-fired generation channel, the studies on the cathodes and insulation walls have been conducted since 1986, the research themes including causes for and measures against inter-cathode shorting, and insulating walls of SiC. The anode walls have been studied since 1986, deepening understanding of, e.g., the anode arc phenomenon and anode discharge phenomenon which relates to the causes for exhaustion of the inter-anode insulators and anode materials. For the high temperature regenerative heat exchanger, the existing materials have been screened since 1985, and the basic data related to, e.g., slag viscosity and its effects on material corrosion have been collected since 1986. (NEDO)

Oxy-coal Combustion Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wendt, J. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Eddings, E. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Lighty, J. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Ring, T. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Smith, P. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Thornock, J. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Y Jia, W. Morris [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Pedel, J. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Rezeai, D. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Wang, L. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Zhang, J. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Kelly, K. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

2012-01-06

The objective of this project is to move toward the development of a predictive capability with quantified uncertainty bounds for pilot-scale, single-burner, oxy-coal operation. This validation research brings together multi-scale experimental measurements and computer simulations. The combination of simulation development and validation experiments is designed to lead to predictive tools for the performance of existing air fired pulverized coal boilers that have been retrofitted to various oxy-firing configurations. In addition, this report also describes novel research results related to oxy-combustion in circulating fluidized beds. For pulverized coal combustion configurations, particular attention is focused on the effect of oxy-firing on ignition and coal-flame stability, and on the subsequent partitioning mechanisms of the ash aerosol.

Studies of MHD generator performance with oxygen enriched coal combustion

Science.gov (United States)

Wormhoudt, J.; Yousefian, V.; Kolb, C. E.; Martinez-Sanchez, M.

1980-07-01

This paper presents calculations made using the Aerodyne PACKAGE (Plasma Analysis, Chemical Kinetics, and Generator Efficiency) computer code which bear on two questions which arise in connection with choices between oxygen enrichment and air preheating to attain the high combustion temperatures needed for open-cycle, coal-fired MHD power generation. The first question is which method produces the highest enthalpy extraction per unit channel length. The second is, in test facilities intended to study tradeoffs between oxygen enrichment and preheated air, can good generator performance be obtained from the same physical channel for different combustor compositions. The answer to the first question is found to depend on what combustor conditions are taken to be comparable. As for the second question, it is found that operation with channel input from off-design combustor conditions can cause serious problems, which can be partially alleviated by changing the channel load factors.

Seed recovery and regeneration in coal-fired, open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheth, A.C.; Jackson, D.M.; Attig, R.C.

1986-01-01

Coal-fired magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power systems not only have high cycle efficiency, but they also have an inherent sulfur removal capability. The potassium compound uses as ''seed'' plays a dual role. It 1) increases the electrical conductivity of the plasma needed to produce power in the MHD electrical topping cycle, and 2) reacts with sulfur dioxide to form potassium sulfate, thereby eliminating most of the sulfur oxides from the gaseous effluent. For economical reasons, the spent seed must be recovered, desulfurized and recycled to the MHD power plant. This paper reviews some of the available experimental results and literature relating to SO 2 removal and seed recovery, and will also discuss several potential seed regeneration processes. Three methods of potassium extraction are discussed, i.e., hot aqueous digestion with CA(OH) 2 /NaOH, acid washing, and aqueous extraction. The selected candidate regeneration systems are discussed from the viewpoint of energy and process water requirements and environmental considerations such as waste discharges and emissions of gaseous, particulate and trace element pollutants

UTSI/CFFF MHD Program Completion and Related Activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-04-01

Routine preventive maintenance of the DOE Coal Fired Flow Facility (CFFF) is being performed. Modernization programs, being funded under subcontract from Foster Wheeler Development by the DOE HIPPS Program, are being implemented on the coal processing system, the data acquisition and control system and control room. Environmental restoration actions continued with monitoring of groundwater wells and holding pond effluent. Actions are under way to dispose of spent seed/ash mixtures and excess coal remaining from the MHD POC program.

ENGINEERING FEASIBILITY AND ECONOMICS OF CO2 SEQUESTRATION/USE ON AN EXISTING COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carl R. Bozzuto; Nsakala ya Nsakala

2000-01-31

The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the technical feasibility and the economics of alternate CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration/use technologies for retrofitting an existing pulverized coal-fired power plant. To accomplish this objective three alternative CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration systems will be evaluated to identify their impact on an existing boiler, associated boiler auxiliary components, overall plant operation and performance and power plant cost, including the cost of electricity. The three retrofit technologies that will be evaluated are as follows: (1) Coal combustion in air, followed by CO{sub 2} separation from flue gas with Kerr-McGee/ABB Lummus Global's commercial MEA-based absorption/stripping process. (2) Coal combustion in an O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} environment with CO{sub 2} recycle. (3) Coal combustion in air with oxygen removal and CO{sub 2} captured by tertiary amines In support of this objective and execution of the evaluation of the three retrofit technologies a literature survey was conducted. It is presented in an ''annotated'' form, consistent with the following five sections: (1) Coal Combustion in O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} Media; (2) Oxygen Separation Technologies; (3) Post Combustion CO{sub 2} Separation Technologies; (4) Potential Utilization of CO{sub 2}; and (5) CO{sub 2} Sequestration. The objective of the literature search was to determine if the three retrofit technologies proposed for this project continue to be sound choices. Additionally, a review of the literature would afford the opportunity to determine if other researchers have made significant progress in developing similar process technologies and, in that context, to revisit the current state-of-the-art. Results from this literature survey are summarized in the report.

Innovative clean coal technology (ICCT): demonstration of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology for the control of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission from high-sulfur, coal-fired boilers - economic evaluation of commercial-scale SCR applications for utility boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Healy, E.C.; Maxwell, J.D.; Hinton, W.S.

1996-09-01

This report presents the results of an economic evaluation produced as part of the Innovative Clean Coal Technology project, which demonstrated selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology for reduction of NO x emissions from utility boilers burning U.S. high-sulfur coal. The document includes a commercial-scale capital and O ampersand M cost evaluation of SCR technology applied to a new facility, coal-fired boiler utilizing high-sulfur U.S. coal. The base case presented herein determines the total capital requirement, fixed and variable operating costs, and levelized costs for a new 250-MW pulverized coal utility boiler operating with a 60-percent NO x removal. Sensitivity evaluations are included to demonstrate the variation in cost due to changes in process variables and assumptions. This report also presents the results of a study completed by SCS to determine the cost and technical feasibility of retrofitting SCR technology to selected coal-fired generating units within the Southern electric system

Technical surveys on MHD combustors. Surveys on incorporation of pressurized coal partial combustion furnaces; MHD combustor gijutsu chosa. Kaatsugata sekitan bubun nenshoro no donyu chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-03-01

The pressurized coal partial combustion (PCPC) furnace is surveyed/studied for its incorporation in MHD generation. The technical development of the atmospheric CPC has been basically completed, and the concept is demonstrated using a test system of commercial size. Many techniques developed for the atmospheric CPC are applicable to the PCPC system. These include structures of the CPC furnace walls, and slag handling and simulation techniques. Combination of PFBC with PCPC or IGCC can bring about many merits, e.g., enhanced efficiency and abated NOx emissions for the combined cycle power generation. These topping cycles, therefore, should be developed in the early stage. MHD power generation is one of the concepts that can enhance efficiency. In particular, the techniques for closed cycle MHD generation have notably advanced recently. The PCPC techniques are useful for coal combustors for MHD generation. Full-scale development works for the direct coal combustion gas turbine systems have been just started for the IGCC systems of the next generation, and the PCPC-related techniques are expected to serve as the central techniques for these turbine systems. (NEDO)

Firing a sub-bituminous coal in pulverized coal boilers configured for bituminous coals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N. Spitz; R. Saveliev; M. Perelman; E. Korytni; B. Chudnovsky; A. Talanker; E. Bar-Ziv [Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel)

2008-07-15

It is important to adapt utility boilers to sub-bituminous coals to take advantage of their environmental benefits while limiting operation risks. We discuss the performance impact that Adaro, an Indonesian sub-bituminous coal with high moisture content, has on opposite-wall and tangentially-fired utility boilers which were designed for bituminous coals. Numerical simulations were made with GLACIER, a computational-fluid-dynamic code, to depict combustion behavior. The predictions were verified with full-scale test results. For analysis of the operational parameters for firing Adaro coal in both boilers, we used EXPERT system, an on-line supervision system developed by Israel Electric Corporation. It was concluded that firing Adaro coal, compared to a typical bituminous coal, lowers NOx and SO{sub 2} emissions, lowers LOI content and improves fouling behavior but can cause load limitation which impacts flexible operation. 21 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs.

The world behind electricity from coal. The dubious origin of coal for Dutch coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Five energy companies in the Netherlands want to build additional coal-fired power plants: Essent and Nuon, the German company RWE and E.ON and the Belgian company Electrabel. Coal-fired power plants emit 70 percent more CO2 than gas-fired power plants. Especially because of the threat to the climate Greenpeace believes that no more coal-fired power plants should be built. In this publication Greenpeace explores the pollution, the working conditions and human rights with regard to the exploitation of coal. That has been elaborated for the three countries from which Dutch energy companies import coal: South Africa, Colombia and Indonesia. In addition to information about the origin of coal also insight is given into the coal market (stocks and use), the enormous coal transport and the world trade [nl

Tests and studies of USSR materials at the US coal burning MHD facility UTSI-2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Telegin, G P; Romanov, A I; Rekov, A I; Spiridonov, E G; Barodina, T I; Vysotsky, D A

1978-10-01

In accordance with the overall program of the US--USSR cooperation in the field of MHD power generation tests of Soviet electrode materials were conducted at the coal burning MHD facility UTSI-2 of the University of Tennessee Space Institute. The main purposes of the tests are evaluation of electrode materials behavior in the channel of the MHD generator operating with combustion products of coal containing ionizing alkali seed, study of thermal and physical stability of materials in the presence of corrosive slag, study of electrophysical characteristics of electrode materials when they are subjected to the passage of current through the plasma-slag-electrode system. Tests were conducted on electrodes made of silicon carbide doped with titanium and LaCrO/sub 3/--Cr cermet. Results are reported on the phase and chemical composition and structure of these two materials, their thermophysical and electrophysical properties, and the electrode fabrication methods. The MHD facility UTSI-2, where the tests were conducted is one of few utilizing actual coal as the fuel. A description of this facility is given, and its main operating parameters and the methods used to conduct electrode tests with and without an applied current are described.

Scrubbing system design for CO2 capture in coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heischkamp, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

Within the last decades a continuous tightening of environmental regulations has been observed in several countries around the world. These include restriction of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, since they are considered responsible for intensifying global warming. Coal-fired power plants represent a good possibility for capturing CO 2 before it is emitted in the atmosphere, thereby contributing to combat global warming. This work focuses on reducing the CO 2 emissions of such a power plant by 90 %. For this purpose a hard coal power plant is retrofitted with a chemical absorption using different solutions of piperazine promoted potassium carbonate. The resulting power plant's efficiency losses have been accounted for. A comparison of different scenarios such as the variation of operating parameters offer an insight in detecting suitable operating conditions that will allow to minimize efficiency penalties. Simulation details are provided along with a technical and an economic analysis.

A bottom-up method to develop pollution abatement cost curves for coal-fired utility boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vijay, Samudra; DeCarolis, Joseph F.; Srivastava, Ravi K.

2010-01-01

This paper illustrates a new method to create supply curves for pollution abatement using boiler-level data that explicitly accounts for technology cost and performance. The Coal Utility Environmental Cost (CUECost) model is used to estimate retrofit costs for five different NO x control configurations on a large subset of the existing coal-fired, utility-owned boilers in the US. The resultant data are used to create technology-specific marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) and also serve as input to an integer linear program, which minimizes system-wide control costs by finding the optimal distribution of NO x controls across the modeled boilers under an emission constraint. The result is a single optimized MACC that accounts for detailed, boiler-specific information related to NO x retrofits. Because the resultant MACCs do not take into account regional differences in air-quality standards or pre-existing NO x controls, the results should not be interpreted as a policy prescription. The general method as well as NO x -specific results presented here should be of significant value to modelers and policy analysts who must estimate the costs of pollution reduction.

Adding a much needed 300 MWe at South Africa's Arnot coal fired power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rich, G. [Alstom, Rugby (United Kingdom)

2008-12-15

As power stations built in the last thirty years approach the end of their design life, and the cost of new capacity continues to increase, along with demands for improved efficiency and lower emissions, an integrated approach to retrofit looks increasingly compelling. The ambitious upgrade project currently underway at the Arnot coal fired plant in South Africa, which will result in an update from 6 x 350 MWe to 6 x 400 MWe and a life extension of 20 years, illustrates the benefits. 2 figs.

Coal Field Fire Fighting - Practiced methods, strategies and tactics

Science.gov (United States)

Wündrich, T.; Korten, A. A.; Barth, U. H.

2009-04-01

Subsurface coal fires destroy millions of tons of coal each year, have an immense impact to the ecological surrounding and threaten further coal reservoirs. Due to enormous dimensions a coal seam fire can develop, high operational expenses are needed. As part of the Sino-German coal fire research initiative "Innovative technologies for exploration, extinction and monitoring of coal fires in Northern China" the research team of University of Wuppertal (BUW) focuses on fire extinction strategies and tactics as well as aspects of environmental and health safety. Besides the choice and the correct application of different extinction techniques further factors are essential for the successful extinction. Appropriate tactics, well trained and protected personnel and the choice of the best fitting extinguishing agents are necessary for the successful extinction of a coal seam fire. The chosen strategy for an extinction campaign is generally determined by urgency and importance. It may depend on national objectives and concepts of coal conservation, on environmental protection (e.g. commitment to green house gases (GHG) reductions), national funding and resources for fire fighting (e.g. personnel, infrastructure, vehicles, water pipelines); and computer-aided models and simulations of coal fire development from self ignition to extinction. In order to devise an optimal fire fighting strategy, "aims of protection" have to be defined in a first step. These may be: - directly affected coal seams; - neighboring seams and coalfields; - GHG emissions into the atmosphere; - Returns on investments (costs of fire fighting compared to value of saved coal). In a further step, it is imperative to decide whether the budget shall define the results, or the results define the budget; i.e. whether there are fixed objectives for the mission that will dictate the overall budget, or whether the limited resources available shall set the scope within which the best possible results shall be

Preliminary analysis of 500 MWt MHD power plant with oxygen enrichment

Science.gov (United States)

1980-04-01

An MHD Engineering Test Facility design concept is analyzed. A 500 MWt oxygen enriched MHD topping cycle integrated for combined cycle operation with a 400 MWe steam plant is evaluated. The MHD cycle uses Montana Rosebud coal and air enriched to 35 mole percent oxygen preheated to 1100 F. The steam plant is a 2535 psia/1000 F/1000 F reheat recycle that was scaled down from the Gilbert/Commonwealth Reference Fossil Plant design series. Integration is accomplished by blending the steam generated in the MHD heat recovery system with steam generated by the partial firing of the steam plant boiler to provide the total flow requirement of the turbine. The major MHD and steam plant auxiliaries are driven by steam turbines. When the MHD cycle is taken out of service, the steam plant is capable of stand-alone operation at turbine design throttle flow. This operation requires the full firing of the steam plant boiler. A preliminary feasibility assessment is given, and results on the system thermodynamics, construction scheduling, and capital costs are presented.

Radiation heat transfer within an open-cycle MHD generator channel

Science.gov (United States)

Delil, A. A. M.

1983-05-01

Radiation heat transfer in an MHD generator was modeled using the Sparrow and Cess model for radiation in an emitting, absorbing and scattering medium. The resulting general equations can be considerably reduced by introducing simplifying approximations for the channel and MHD gas properties. The simplifications lead to an engineering model, which is very useful for one-dimensional channel flow approximation. The model can estimate thermo-optical MHD gas properties, which can be substituted in the energy equation. The model considers the contribution of solid particles in the MHD gas to radiation heat transfer, considerable in coal-fired closed cycle MHD generators. The modeling is applicable also for other types of flow at elevated temperatures, where radiation heat transfer is an important quantity.

Priority pollutant analysis of MHD-derived combustion products

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Katherine D.

An important factor in developing Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) for commercial applications is environmental impact. Consequently, an effort was initiated to identify and quantify any possible undesirable minute chemical constituents in MHD waste streams, with special emphasis on the priority pollutant species. This paper discusses how priority pollutant analyses were used to accomplish the following goals at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI): comparison of the composition of solid combustion products collected from various locations along a prototypical MHD flow train during the firing of Illinois No. 6 and Montana Rosebud coals; comparison of solid waste products generated from MHD and conventional power plant technologies; and identification of a suitable disposal option for various MHD derived combustion products. Results from our ongoing research plans for gas phase sampling and analysis of priority pollutant volatiles, semi-volatiles, and metals are discussed.

Natural radioactivity level in coal and ash collected from Baoji coal-fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Xiaodan; Lu Xinwei

2006-01-01

Specific activities of natural radionuclides 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K were assessed in coal (3 samples), fly ash (17 samples) and bottom ash (6 samples) collected from Baoji coal-fired power plant. This paper analyzed the characteristics of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K contents in bottom ash and fly ash, and studied the concentration factors of these radionuclides in ash in relation to those in coal. The level of natural radionuclides 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K of coal collected from Baoji coal-fired power plant are in the range of radionuclides contents of Chinese coal. The natural radioactivity level of fly ash collected from Baoji coal-fired power plant is close to Beijing and Shanghai coal-fired power plants. The paper farther assessed the possibility of fly ash of Baoji coal-fired power plant used as building materials according to the state standard. The results show that there are 29% samples exceeding the state limit when fly ash used as building materials. So the usage of fly ash in building material should be controlled. (authors)

Coal-fired electricity generation in Ontario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-03-01

This report examines coal-fired electricity generation in Ontario and recommends actions to be taken by the provincial government to protect the environment. The recommendations are also designed to assist in making decisions about the environmental safeguards needed for a competitive electricity industry. The report examines air emissions from coal-fired generating plants in the larger context of air pollution in the province; summarizes background information on key air pollutants; provides an individual profile of all coal-fired power stations in the province; and benchmarks Ontario's emissions performance by comparing it with 19 nearby U.S. jurisdictions. Current and proposed environmental controls for fossil fuel power generation in the province are elaborated. Options for maximizing environmental performance and the framework for strengthening environmental protection are reviewed. The report also contains a series of findings and recommendations which are deemed necessary before the moratorium imposed on the sale of coal-fired electricity plants imposed in May 2000, can be lifted. tabs., figs

MHD repowering of a 250 MWe unit of the TVA Allen Steam Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, J.N.; Attig, R.C.

1992-01-01

In this paper coal fired MHD repowering is considered for the TVA Allen Steam Plant. The performance of the repowered plant is presented. Cost comparisons are made of the cost of repowering with MHD versus the cost of meeting similar standards by installing scrubbers and selective catalytic NO x reduction (SCNR). For repowering of a single 250 MW e unit, the costs favor scrubbing and SCNR. If one considers a single repowering of all three 250 MW e units by a single MHD topping cycle and boiler, MHD repowering is more economical. Environmental emissions from the repowered plant are estimated

acme: The Amendable Coal-Fire Modeling Exercise. A C++ Class Library for the Numerical Simulation of Coal-Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Wuttke, Manfred W.

2017-04-01

At LIAG, we use numerical models to develop and enhance understanding of coupled transport processes and to predict the dynamics of the system under consideration. Topics include geothermal heat utilization, subrosion processes, and spontaneous underground coal fires. Although the details make it inconvenient if not impossible to apply a single code implementation to all systems, their investigations go along similar paths: They all depend on the solution of coupled transport equations. We thus saw a need for a modular code system with open access for the various communities to maximize the shared synergistic effects. To this purpose we develop the oops! ( open object-oriented parallel solutions) - toolkit, a C++ class library for the numerical solution of mathematical models of coupled thermal, hydraulic and chemical processes. This is used to develop problem-specific libraries like acme( amendable coal-fire modeling exercise), a class library for the numerical simulation of coal-fires and applications like kobra (Kohlebrand, german for coal-fire), a numerical simulation code for standard coal-fire models. Basic principle of the oops!-code system is the provision of data types for the description of space and time dependent data fields, description of terms of partial differential equations (pde), their discretisation and solving methods. Coupling of different processes, described by their particular pde is modeled by an automatic timescale-ordered operator-splitting technique. acme is a derived coal-fire specific application library, depending on oops!. If specific functionalities of general interest are implemented and have been tested they will be assimilated into the main oops!-library. Interfaces to external pre- and post-processing tools are easily implemented. Thus a construction kit which can be arbitrarily amended is formed. With the kobra-application constructed with acme we study the processes and propagation of shallow coal seam fires in particular in

Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Retrofit Issues for Coal Fired Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Several studies have been published on carbon capture technology as an independent island. In contrast, this evaluation considered the impact on the existing plant and the potential improvements to ease the retrofit of a carbon capture process. This paper will provide insight i...

Application of Paste Backfill in Underground Coal Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Masniyom, M.; Drebenstedt, C.

2009-04-01

Coal fires are known from different coalfields worldwide. China, India, USA, Australia, Indonesia and South Africa are the main countries affected by coal fires. The fires is thermally intensive and cause numerous sinkholes, large-scale subsidence, air pollution, global warming, loss of mining productivity and increasing safety risk. The Wuda Inner Mongolia coalfield has been selected as a possible test area for paste backfill. The traditional methods, executed by fire fighting teams, by covering the coalfire areas with soil, blasting burning coal outcrops and injecting water in the subsurface fire pockets are continuously improved and extended. Initiatives to introduce modern techniques, such as backfill placement at fracture and borehole, to cool down the burning coal and cut off the air supply. This study is to investigate backfill materials and techniques suited for underground coal fires. Laboratory tests were carried out on physical, chemical and mechanical properties of different backfill materials and mixtures thereof. Special attention was paid to materials generated as by-products and other cheaply available materials e.g. fly ash from power plants. There is a good chance that one of the different material mixtures investigated can be used as a technically and economically viable backfill for underground coal fires.

Oxidation and carbonisation of coals: a case study of coal fire affected coals from the Wuda coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China

Science.gov (United States)

Kus, Jolanta; Meyer, Uwe; Ma, Jianwei; Chen-Brauchler, Dai

2010-05-01

At the coalfield of Wuda (Inner Mongolia, PR China) extensive underground coal fires cause widespread thermal and oxidative effects in coal seams. Within phase B of the Coal Fire Research Project of the Sino-German Initiative, methods for innovative fire-extinguishing technologies were investigated in multifaceted research approaches. Extensive investigations of oxidative and thermally affected coal seams in coal fire zone 18 were conducted in 2008 prior to application of new fire-extinguishing methods. We present results from the outcrop of coal seam No. 4 in the fire zone 18. The coal of seam No. 4 is of Early Permian age and belongs stratigraphically to the Shanxi Formation. The unaffected coal displays a high volatile bituminous A rank with a background value of random vitrinite reflectance ranging from 0.90 to 0.96 % Rr. Coal channel samples were coallected at actively extracted coal faces along multiple profiles with surface temperatures ranging from about 50° to 600°C. Microscopic examinations revealed a variety of products of coal exposure to the fire. Within coal samples, a marked rise in vitrinite reflectance from background values to 5.55% Rr (6.00 % Rmax) is encountered. In addition, a number of coal samples showed suppressed vitrinite reflectances ranging between 0.82 to 0.88% Rr. Further, seemingly heat unaffected coal samples display intensive development of oxidations rims at coal grain edges and cracks as well as shrinkage cracks and formation of iron oxides/hydroxides. Instead, thermally affected coal samples with higher coalification grade are further characterised by development of macropores (devolatilisation pores) in vitrinitic streaks, transformation of liptinite to meta-liptinite and micrinite as well as by natural coke particles of mostly porous nature and fine to coarse grained anisotropic mosaic. Coal petrographic investigations confirmed a hypothesis that both, oxidations as well as low temperature carbonisation govern the thermal

A Study of Coal Fire Propagation with Remotely Sensed Thermal Infrared Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongyuan Huo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Coal fires are a common and serious problem in most coal-bearing countries. Thus, it is very important to monitor changes in coal fires. Remote sensing provides a useful technique for investigating coal fields at a large scale and for detecting coal fires. In this study, the spreading direction of a coal fire in the Wuda Coal Field (WCF, northwest China, was analyzed using multi-temporal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+ thermal infrared (TIR data. Using an automated method and based on the land surface temperatures (LST that were retrieved from these thermal data, coal fires related to thermal anomalies were identified; the locations of these fires were validated using a coal fire map (CFM that was developed via field surveys; and the cross-validation of the results was also carried out using the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER thermal infrared images. Based on the results from longtime series of satellite TIR data set, the spreading directions of the coal fires were determined and the coal fire development on the scale of the entire coal field was predicted. The study delineated the spreading direction using the results of the coal fire dynamics analysis, and a coal fire spreading direction map was generated. The results showed that the coal fires primarily spread north or northeast in the central part of the WCF and south or southwest in the southern part of the WCF. In the northern part of the WCF, some coal fires were spreading north, perhaps coinciding with the orientation of the coal belt. Certain coal fires scattered in the northern and southern parts of the WCF were extending in bilateral directions. A quantitative analysis of the coal fires was also performed; the results indicate that the area of the coal fires increased an average of approximately 0.101 km2 per year.

Refurbishment priorities at the Russian coal-fired power sector for cleaner energy production-Case studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grammelis, P.; Koukouzas, N.; Skodras, G.; Kakaras, E.; Tumanovsky, A.; Kotler, V.

2006-01-01

The paper aims to present the current status of the coal-fired power sector in Russia, the prospects for renovation activities based on Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) and two case studies on potential refurbishment projects. Data were collected for 180 thermoelectric units with capacity higher than 100 MWe and the renovation needs of the power sector, among the retrofitting, repowering and reconstruction options, were estimated through a multi-criteria analysis. The most attractive system to renovate a power plant between the Supercritical Combustion (SC) and the Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) technologies was evaluated. The application of each of the aforementioned technologies at the Kashirskaya and Shaturskaya power plants was studied and their replication potential in the Russian coal-fired power plant park was examined. Nowadays, the installed capacity of coal-fired power plants in the Russian Federation is 29.3 GWe, while they account for about 19% of the total electricity generation in the area. The low efficiency and especially the advanced age are the determinant factors for renovation applications at the Russian units. Even in the more conservative modernization scenario, over 30% of the thermoelectric units have to be repowered or reconstructed. Concrete proposals about the profitable and reliable operation of two Russian thermoelectric units with minimized environmental effects were elaborated. A new unit of 315 MWe with supercritical steam parameters and reburning for NO x abatement is envisaged to upgrade Unit 1 of Kashirskaya power station, while new Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers of the same steam generation is the most promising renovation option for the boilers of Unit 1 in Shaturskaya power station

Refurbishment priorities at the Russian coal-fired power sector for cleaner energy production case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. Grammelis; N. Koukouzas; G. Skodras; E. Kakaras; A. Tumanovsky; V. Kotler [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute of Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (CERTH/ISFTA), Ptolemaida (Greece)

2006-11-15

The paper reviews the current status of the coal-fired power sector in Russia, the prospects for renovation activities based on Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) and presents two case studies on potential refurbishment projects. Data were collected for 180 thermoelectric units with capacity higher than 100 MWe and the renovation needs of the power sector, among the retrofitting, repowering and reconstruction options, were estimated through a multi-criteria analysis. The most attractive system to renovate a power plant between the Supercritical Combustion (SC) and the Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) technologies was evaluated. The application of each of the aforementioned technologies at the Kashirskaya and Shaturskaya power plants was studied and their replication potential in the Russian coal-fired power plant park was examined. Nowadays, the installed capacity of coal-fired power plants in the Russian Federation is 29.3 GWe, while they account for about 19% of the total electricity generation in the area. The low efficiency and especially the advanced age are the determinant factors for renovation applications at the Russian units. Even in the more conservative modernization scenario, over 30% of the thermoelectric units have to be repowered or reconstructed. Concrete proposals about the profitable and reliable operation of two Russian thermoelectric units with minimized environmental effects were elaborated. A new unit of 315 MWe with supercritical steam parameters and reburning for NOx abatement is envisaged to upgrade Unit 1 of Kashirskaya power station, while new circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers of the same steam generation is the most promising renovation option for the boilers of Unit 1 in Shaturskaya power station. 11 refs., 15 figs., 7 tabs.

Refurbishment priorities at the Russian coal-fired power sector for cleaner energy production-Case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grammelis, P. [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute of Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (CERTH/ISFTA), 4 km N.R. Ptolemaida-Kozani, P.O. Box 95, Ptolemaida 50200 (Greece) and Laboratory of Steam Boilers and Thermal Plants, Mechanical Engineering Department, National Technical University of Athens, Athens (Greece)]. E-mail: pgra@central.ntua.gr; Koukouzas, N. [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute of Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (CERTH/ISFTA), 4 km N.R. Ptolemaida-Kozani, P.O. Box 95, Ptolemaida 50200 (Greece); Skodras, G. [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute of Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (CERTH/ISFTA), 4 km N.R. Ptolemaida-Kozani, P.O. Box 95, Ptolemaida 50200 (Greece); Kakaras, E. [Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Institute of Solid Fuels Technology and Applications (CERTH/ISFTA), 4 km N.R. Ptolemaida-Kozani, P.O. Box 95, Ptolemaida 50200 (Greece); Laboratory of Steam Boilers and Thermal Plants, Mechanical Engineering Department, National Technical University of Athens, Athens (Greece); Tumanovsky, A. [VTI All Russia Thermal Engineering Institute (Russian Federation); Kotler, V. [VTI All Russia Thermal Engineering Institute (Russian Federation)

2006-11-15

The paper aims to present the current status of the coal-fired power sector in Russia, the prospects for renovation activities based on Clean Coal Technologies (CCT) and two case studies on potential refurbishment projects. Data were collected for 180 thermoelectric units with capacity higher than 100 MWe and the renovation needs of the power sector, among the retrofitting, repowering and reconstruction options, were estimated through a multi-criteria analysis. The most attractive system to renovate a power plant between the Supercritical Combustion (SC) and the Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) technologies was evaluated. The application of each of the aforementioned technologies at the Kashirskaya and Shaturskaya power plants was studied and their replication potential in the Russian coal-fired power plant park was examined. Nowadays, the installed capacity of coal-fired power plants in the Russian Federation is 29.3 GWe, while they account for about 19% of the total electricity generation in the area. The low efficiency and especially the advanced age are the determinant factors for renovation applications at the Russian units. Even in the more conservative modernization scenario, over 30% of the thermoelectric units have to be repowered or reconstructed. Concrete proposals about the profitable and reliable operation of two Russian thermoelectric units with minimized environmental effects were elaborated. A new unit of 315 MWe with supercritical steam parameters and reburning for NO {sub x} abatement is envisaged to upgrade Unit 1 of Kashirskaya power station, while new Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers of the same steam generation is the most promising renovation option for the boilers of Unit 1 in Shaturskaya power station.

Scrubbing system design for CO{sub 2} capture in coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heischkamp, Elizabeth

2017-07-01

Within the last decades a continuous tightening of environmental regulations has been observed in several countries around the world. These include restriction of anthropogenic CO{sub 2} emissions, since they are considered responsible for intensifying global warming. Coal-fired power plants represent a good possibility for capturing CO{sub 2} before it is emitted in the atmosphere, thereby contributing to combat global warming. This work focuses on reducing the CO{sub 2} emissions of such a power plant by 90 %. For this purpose a hard coal power plant is retrofitted with a chemical absorption using different solutions of piperazine promoted potassium carbonate. The resulting power plant's efficiency losses have been accounted for. A comparison of different scenarios such as the variation of operating parameters offer an insight in detecting suitable operating conditions that will allow to minimize efficiency penalties. Simulation details are provided along with a technical and an economic analysis.

MHD Integrated Topping Cycle Project. Thirteenth quarterly technical progress report, August 1, 1990--October 31, 1990

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-01-01

The overall objective of the project is to design and construct prototypical hardware for an integrated MHD topping cycle, and conduct long duration proof-of-concept tests of integrated system at the US DOE Component Development and Integration Facility in Butte, Montana. The results of the long duration tests will augment the existing engineering design data base on MHD power train reliability, availability, maintainability, and performance, and will serve as a basis for scaling up the topping cycle design to the next level of development, an early commercial scale power plant retrofit. The components of the MHD power train to be designed, fabricated, and tested include: A slagging coal combustor with a rated capacity of 50 MW thermal input, capable of operation with an Eastern (Illinois {number_sign}6) or Western (Montana Rosebud) coal, a segmented supersonic nozzle, a supersonic MHD channel capable of generating at least 1.5 MW of electrical power, a segmented supersonic diffuser section to interface the channel with existing facility quench and exhaust systems, a complete set of current control circuits for local diagonal current control along the channel, and a set of current consolidation circuits to interface the channel with the existing facility inverter.

Case Study on Incentive Mechanism of Energy Efficiency Retrofit in Coal-Fueled Power Plant in China

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Donghai; Guo, Xujing; Cao, Yuan; He, Liansheng; Wang, Jinggang; Xi, Beidou; Li, Junqi; Ma, Wenlin; Zhang, Mingshun

2012-01-01

An ordinary steam turbine retrofit project is selected as a case study; through the retrofit, the project activities will generate emission reductions within the power grid for about 92,463 tCO2e per annum. The internal rate of return (IRR) of the project is only −0.41% without the revenue of carbon credits, for example, CERs, which is much lower than the benchmark value of 8%. Only when the unit price of carbon credit reaches 125 CNY/tCO2, the IRR could reach the benchmark and an effective carbon tax needs to increase the price of carbon to 243 CNY/tce in order to make the project financially feasible. Design of incentive mechanism will help these low efficiency enterprises improve efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, which can provide the power plants sufficient incentive to implement energy efficiency retrofit project in existing coal-fuel power generation-units, and we hope it will make a good demonstration for the other low efficiency coal-fueled power generation units in China. PMID:23365532

Case Study on Incentive Mechanism of Energy Efficiency Retrofit in Coal-Fueled Power Plant in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donghai Yuan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available An ordinary steam turbine retrofit project is selected as a case study; through the retrofit, the project activities will generate emission reductions within the power grid for about 92,463 tCO2e per annum. The internal rate of return (IRR of the project is only −0.41% without the revenue of carbon credits, for example, CERs, which is much lower than the benchmark value of 8%. Only when the unit price of carbon credit reaches 125 CNY/tCO2, the IRR could reach the benchmark and an effective carbon tax needs to increase the price of carbon to 243 CNY/tce in order to make the project financially feasible. Design of incentive mechanism will help these low efficiency enterprises improve efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, which can provide the power plants sufficient incentive to implement energy efficiency retrofit project in existing coal-fuel power generation-units, and we hope it will make a good demonstration for the other low efficiency coal-fueled power generation units in China.

Case study on incentive mechanism of energy efficiency retrofit in coal-fueled power plant in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Donghai; Guo, Xujing; Cao, Yuan; He, Liansheng; Wang, Jinggang; Xi, Beidou; Li, Junqi; Ma, Wenlin; Zhang, Mingshun

2012-01-01

An ordinary steam turbine retrofit project is selected as a case study; through the retrofit, the project activities will generate emission reductions within the power grid for about 92,463 tCO(2)e per annum. The internal rate of return (IRR) of the project is only -0.41% without the revenue of carbon credits, for example, CERs, which is much lower than the benchmark value of 8%. Only when the unit price of carbon credit reaches 125 CNY/tCO(2), the IRR could reach the benchmark and an effective carbon tax needs to increase the price of carbon to 243 CNY/tce in order to make the project financially feasible. Design of incentive mechanism will help these low efficiency enterprises improve efficiency and reduce CO(2) emissions, which can provide the power plants sufficient incentive to implement energy efficiency retrofit project in existing coal-fuel power generation-units, and we hope it will make a good demonstration for the other low efficiency coal-fueled power generation units in China.

Thermal surface characteristics of coal fires 1 results of in-situ measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jianzhong; Kuenzer, Claudia

2007-12-01

Natural underground coal fires are fires in coal seams occurring subsurface. The fires are ignited through a process named spontaneous combustion, which occurs based on a natural reaction but is usually triggered through human interaction. Coal mining activities expose coal to the air. This leads to the exothermal oxidation of the carbon in the coal with the air's oxygen to CO 2 and - under certain circumstances - to spontaneous combustion. Coal fires occur in many countries world wide - however, currently the Chinese coal mining industry faces the biggest problems with coal fires. Coal fires destroy the valuable resource coal and furthermore lead to many environmental degradation phenomena such as the deterioration of surrounding vegetation, land subsidence and the emission of toxic gasses (CO, N 2O). They additionally contribute to the emission of green house relevant gasses such as CO 2 and CH 4 to the atmosphere. In this paper we present thermal characteristics of coal fires as measured in-situ during a field campaign to the Wuda coal fire area in south-central Inner Mongolia, China. Thermal characteristics include temperature anomaly measurements at the surface, spatial surface temperature profiles of fire areas and unaffected background areas, diurnal temperature profiles, and temperature measurements inside of coal fire induced cracks in the overlying bedrock. For all the measurements the effects of uneven solar heating through influences of slope and aspect are considered. Our findings show that coal fires result in strong or subtle thermal surface anomalies. Especially the latter can easily be influenced by heating of the surrounding background material through solar influences. Temperature variation of background rocks with different albedo, slope, aspect or vegetation cover can substantially influence the detectability of thermal anomalies. In the worst case coal fire related thermal anomalies can be completely masked by solar patterns during the daytime

Ash transformation in suspension fired boilers co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

In this literature report is provided a status for the present knowledge level on ash properties when co-firing coal and biomass. The fly ash formed in boilers using co-firing of coal and straw do have a large influence on ash deposit formation, boiler corrosion, fly ash utilization and operation...

Life Cycle Assessment of Coal-fired Power Production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spath, P. L.; Mann, M. K.; Kerr, D. R.

1999-09-01

Coal has the largest share of utility power generation in the US, accounting for approximately 56% of all utility-produced electricity (US DOE, 1998). Therefore, understanding the environmental implications of producing electricity from coal is an important component of any plan to reduce total emissions and resource consumption. A life cycle assessment (LCA) on the production of electricity from coal was performed in order to examine the environmental aspects of current and future pulverized coal boiler systems. Three systems were examined: (1) a plant that represents the average emissions and efficiency of currently operating coal-fired power plants in the US (this tells us about the status quo), (2) a new coal-fired power plant that meets the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), and (3) a highly advanced coal-fired power plant utilizing a low emission boiler system (LEBS).

Development, characterization and evaluation of materials for open cycle MHD. Quarterly report, June 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.L.; Marchant, D.D.

1979-10-01

The objectives of this program are to develop, test, characterize, and evaluate materials for open-cycle, coal-fired MHD power generators. The specific immediate goals emphasize electrode and insulator materials, including: (1) testing and evaluation of the enhanced effects of alkali seed on materials in a dc electric field; (2) development and testing of improved electrodes and insulators with controlled microstructures, compositions and properties; and (3) characterization and evaluation of materials relating to both the US MHD Program and the US-USSR Cooperative Program for MHD power generators. Progress is reported

Special requirements for the fluid mechanical design of hard coal-fired SCR retrofit units

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

The system design of high-dust SCR units for retrofits is a challenge that is to be mastered in order to meet the fluid mechanical requirements. Retrofitting power plants with NOx control technologies is a cost-intensive adventure that many utilities are undertaking. Except for a few recent new boiler installations, SCR installations must be considered as retrofit projects. In most cases the limitation of space on site entails unfavorable conditions that do not allow appropriate upstream conditions for SCR catalysts. To comply with the requirements of high performance DeNOx systems and to lower the investment costs for retrofit units, several technical solutions and concepts for the reactor layout, for NOx and dust distribution, for flow stabilization in diffusers, and advanced ammonia injection systems are explained in this paper. Balcke-Duerr offers customer-tailored solutions for flow optimization, which are evaluated by model studies. Physical flow and dust model tests in an appropriate scale provide flexibility to test various engineering concepts. The experience of Balcke-Duerr is based on continuous research and development activities over the last 25 years and more than 350 executed projects for gas flow optimization applications. The success of these installations is a direct result of the key decisions based on the improved fluid mechanical design and proper system integration. This paper also identifies the sensible design particularities and solutions that have two be considered in the fluid mechanical design of high-dust SCR retrofit units. This article demonstrates that the layout of SCR units must be carefully reviewed in order to meet the performance requirements and to avoid problems, i.e. wear, catalyst plugging and ammonia slip. 9 refs., 18 figs.

Superconducting dipole magnet for the UTSI MHD facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, S.T.; Niemann, R.C.; Turner, L.R.

1978-01-01

The Argonne National Laboratory is designing and will build a large superconducting dipole magnet system for use in the Coal Fired Flow MHD Research Facility at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). Presented in detail are the conceptual design of the magnet geometry, conductor design, cryostability evaluation, magnetic pressure computation, structural design, cryostat design, the cryogenics system design, and magnet instrumentations and control

Ash transformation during co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

2007-01-01

Co-firing straw with coal in pulverized fuel boilers can cause problems related to fly ash utilization, deposit formation, corrosion and SCR catalyst deactivation due to the high contents of Cl and K in the ash. To investigate the interaction between coal and straw ash and the effect of coal...... quality on fly ash and deposit properties, straw was co-fired with three kinds of coal in an entrained flow reactor. The compositions of the produced ashes were compared to the available literature data to find suitable scaling parameters that can be used to predict the composition of ash from straw...... and coal co-firing. Reasonable agreement in fly ash compositions regarding total K and fraction of water soluble K was obtained between co-firing in an entrained flow reactor and full-scale plants. Capture of potassium and subsequent release of HCl can be achieved by sulphation with SO2 and more...

The economics of coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-10-01

Coal-fired plants are the most polluting way to produce electricity due to their high CO2 emissions. But are they a good choice from an economic point of view? According to Greenpeace the answer is no: the price of coal is rising, construction costs are increasing and CO2 emissions will be priced. Nevertheless, E.On is developing plans for a new coal-fired plant at the Maasvlakte with the support of the Dutch government. [mk] [nl

Detection of coal mine fires in the Jharia coal field using NOAA/AVHRR data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal, R.; Singh, D.; Chauhan, D.S.; Singh, K.P. [Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur (India)

2006-09-15

Coal fires represent a major problem in most coal producing countries. The Jharia coal field (JCF) has been affected by surface and sub-surface coal fires since the beginning of mining in the region in the mid 1800s. Currently research is focused on using freely available satellite data such as NOAA/AVHRR, MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectrometer) etc for various applications. The potential of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images for detecting coal fires and monitoring their progress and associated environmental hazards and risks to the local communities in the JCF has been reviewed. Three models, namely the thresholding model, the contextual model and the fuel mask model have been used to determine the potential fire pixels. Due to the coarse resolution of the NOAA/AVHRR data it was essential to determine sub-pixel fires as well. Results of this study have been verified using the MODIS active fires product, MOD14 (Terra). We have used ten images of NOAA/AVHRR for the year 2004 in this study, and the results are in broad agreement with the ground truth data.

RETROFIT COSTS FOR SO2 AND NOX CONTROL OPTIONS AT 200 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, VOLUME I - INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study, the objective of which was to significantly improve engineering cost estimates currently being used to evaluate the economic effects of applying SO2 and NOx controls at 200 large SO2-emitting coal-fired utility plants. To accomplish the object...

Combustion and NOx emission characteristics of a retrofitted down-fired 660 MWe utility boiler at different loads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Z.Q.; Liu, G.K.; Zhu, Q.Y.; Chen, Z.C.; Ren, F. [Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin (China)

2011-07-15

Industrial experiments were performed for a retrofitted 660 MWe full-scale down-fired boiler. Measurements of ignition of the primary air/fuel mixture flow, the gas temperature distribution of the furnace and the gas components in the furnace were conducted at loads of 660, 550 and 330 MWe. With decreasing load, the gas temperature decreases and the ignition position of the primary coal/air flow becomes farther along the axis of the fuel-rich pipe in the burner region under the arches. The furnace temperature also decreases with decreasing load, as does the difference between the temperatures in the burning region and the lower position of the burnout region. With decreasing load, the exhaust gas temperature decreases from 129.8{sup o}C to 114.3{sup o}C, while NOx emissions decrease from 2448 to 1610 mg/m{sup 3}. All three loads result in low carbon content in fly ash and great boiler thermal efficiency higher than 92%. Compared with the case of 660 MWe before retrofit, the exhaust gas temperature decreased from 136 to 129.8{sup o}C, the carbon content in the fly ash decreased from 9.55% to 2.43% and the boiler efficiency increased from 84.54% to 93.66%.

Report of results of contract research. 'Research on magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) generation'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1980-03-01

Examination was conducted in detail on an MHD generation system by coal combustion, with the results reported. Concerning a gas table calculation program in coal combustion, it was prepared assuming 100% slag removal ratio in the combustor as the primary approximation. A combustor for MHD generation needs to efficiently burn fuel using high temperature pre-heated air as the oxidant, to fully dissociate/electrolytically dissociate seed, and to supply to the generation channel a high speed combustion gas plasma having a high electrical conductivity which is required for MHD generation. This year, an examination was conducted on technological problems in burning coal in an MHD combustor. As for the NOx elimination system in an MHD generation plant, an examination was made if the method studied so far in MHD generation using heavy oil as the fuel is applicable to coal. Also investigated and reviewed were various characteristics, change in physical properties, recovery method, etc., in a mixed state of seed and slag in the case of coal combustion MHD. (NEDO)

Techno-economic study of CO2 capture from an existing coal-fired power plant: MEA scrubbing vs. O2/CO2 recycle combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, D.; Croiset, E.; Douglas, P.L.; Douglas, M.A.

2003-01-01

The existing fleet of modern pulverised coal fired power plants represents an opportunity to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years providing that efficient and economical CO 2 capture technologies are available for retrofit. One option is to separate CO 2 from the products of combustion using conventional approaches such as amine scrubbing. An emerging alternative, commonly known as O 2 /CO 2 recycle combustion, involves burning the coal with oxygen in an atmosphere of recycled flue gas. Both approaches can be retrofitted to existing units, however they consume significant amounts of energy to capture, purify and compress the CO 2 for subsequent sequestration. This paper presents a techno-economic comparison of the performance of the two approaches. The comparison was developed using the commercial process simulation packages, Hysys and Aspen Plus. The results show that both processes are expensive options to capture CO 2 from coal power plants, however O 2 /CO 2 appears to be a more attractive retrofit than MEA scrubbing. The CO 2 capture cost for the MEA case is USD 53/ton of CO 2 avoided, which translates into 3.3 cents/kW h. For the O 2 /CO 2 case the CO 2 capture cost is lower at USD 35/ton of CO 2 avoided, which translates into 2.4 cents/kW h. These capture costs represent an approximate increase of 20-30% in current electricity prices

Evaluation of retrofitting gas-fired cooling and heating systems into BCHP using design optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Jiacong

2009-01-01

The influence of energy prices on the feasibility of a retrofit is investigated. The retrofit describes the conversion of a system from HVAC to BCHP for energy-saving. This includes two optimal retrofit design models, of which the exergetic efficiency and annual costs (AC) are the separate objective functions. The retrofit scheme is planned to insert gas engines as prime movers into the original system, which have adopted gas-fired absorption chillers. The solutions of the optimizations show that such a retrofit can result in a remarkable rise in exergetic efficiency but is not viable with current energy prices. The contradictory solutions reveal a gap between the current energy prices system of the country and the present energy situation. Further investigation gives the critical lines of which each divides the coordinate plane of natural gas-electric prices into two parts of benefit and deficit. If the electric price rises to a certain extent, the retrofit will be advantageous both in benefit and energy-saving. So it is really an urgent task to reform the energy prices system in China. Conclusions may be helpful for other similar retrofit projects, and for legislators and the government which are responsible for improving the energy market in China.

Report on the phase II R and D program of magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) electrical power generation. Prompt report by Electrotechnical Laboratory; Denji ryutai (MHD) hatsuden no dainiki kenkyu kaihatsu ni kansuru hokokusho. Densoken kenkyu sokuho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1989-07-28

This report summarizes results of the phase II R and D program of MHD electrical power generation (FY 1976 - 1983), which has been now completed. The phase II R and D efforts were concentrated on development of the durable power generation channels, where the designs and manufacture of the Mark II system were started, and the elementary techniques were simultaneously studied for, e.g., phenomena occurring around the electrodes, seed condensation and its effects on the electrode phenomena, and electrode and insulator materials for the power generation channels. The power generation channel was tested for its durability for a total of 430 hours, after it was incorporated in the Mark II system. The MHD power generation can incorporate direct combustion of coal, and will hold a dominant position in coal-fired power generation, which is expected to grow in the future. For this reason, the basic research schedules were revised in March, 1983, and the Mark II system was operated by firing a mixed fuel of kerosene and finely divided coal in a kerosene combustor, in line with the revised project, to understand the basic power generation characteristics with the combustion gases containing coal slag. (NEDO)

Performance analysis and pilot plant test results for the Komorany fluidized bed retrofit project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snow, G.C. [POWER International, Inc., Coeur d`Alene, ID (United States)

1995-12-01

Detailed heat and mass balance calculations and emission performance projections are presented for an atmospheric fluidized bed boiler bottom retrofit at the 927 MWt (steam output) Komorany power station and district heating plant in the Czech Republic. Each of the ten existing boilers are traveling grate stoker units firing a local, low-rank brown coal. This fuel, considered to be representative of much of the coal deposits in Central Europe, is characterized by an average gross calorific value of 10.5 MJ/kg (4,530 Btu/lb), an average dry basis ash content of 47 %, and a maximum dry basis sulfur content of 1.8 % (3.4 % on a dry, ash free basis). The same fuel supply, together with limestone supplied from the region will be utilized in the retrofit fluidized bed boilers. The primary objectives of this retrofit program are, (1) reduce emissions to a level at or below the new Czech Clean Air Act, and (2) restore plant capacity to the original specification. As a result of the AFBC retrofit and plant upgrade, the particulate matter emissions will be reduced by over 98 percent, SO{sub 2} emissions will be reduced by 88 percent, and NO{sub x} emissions will be reduced by 38 percent compared to the present grate-fired configuration. The decrease in SO{sub 2} emissions resulting from the fluidized bed retrofit was initially predicted based on fuel sulfur content, including the distribution among organic, pyritic, and sulfate forms; the ash alkalinity; and the estimated limestone calcium utilization efficiency. The methodology and the results of this prediction were confirmed and extended by pilot scale combustion trials at a 1.0 MWt (fuel input), variable configuration test facility in France.

Feasibility of applying coal-fired boiler technology to process heaters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Sullivan, T F

1978-01-01

The preponderance of coal in US fossil fuel reserves has raised the question of the conversion of hydrocarbon process heaters to coal firing. A review undertaken in 1977 by an API sub-committee concluded that neither existing heaters nor existing heater designs were capable of modification or revision to burn coal, and that new coal-fired design consistent with process requirements would be needed for this purpose. In recognition of this need a cooperative investigation was undertaken by Combustion Engineering and Lummus. The present paper, reporting on this investigation, reviews existing coal-fired boiler equipment and techniques and describes their adaptation to the development of a design concept for a coal-fired process heater. To this end, the design parameters for both steam boilers and fired heaters have been compared and have been incorporated into a workable coal-fired process heater design which includes the following features; a coutant bottom for ash removal, an ash-hopper located under both radiant and convection chambers, a tangent type finned wall construction, a straight through gas flow pattern, a vertical tube convection section, horizontal firing using round burners, and an overall geometry allowing a coil arrangement capable of accommodating varying numbers of parallel serpentine coils. These features are integrated into a conceptual heater design which is detailed in a series of illustrations.

Coal fires in Northwest China. Detection, monitoring, and prediction using remote sensing data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiangmin

1998-01-01

Coal fires in China occur within a region that stretches over 5,000 km in the east- western part and 750 km. in the north-southern part. These fires cause an economic and environmental threat by making a significant contribution to the global CO2 budget. The studies made in this thesis can be divided into two parts. Part one is based on field work and laboratory analysis that includes the dating of the paleo coal fires; part two concerns remote sensing applications for the active coal fires. In Chapter 2, the evolution of the paleo coal fires in Toutunhe and Xinjiang areas are studied. Several age groups of burnt rock have been recognized and their relationships with the river terraces will be discussed. The causes of the paleo coal fires are addressed, and the areas of coal fires with different ages have been dated. In Chapter 3, the physical basis of thermal infrared remote sensing for the detection and measurement of coal fires are addressed with an emphasis on the spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution. In Chapter 4, a method to reduce the effect of solar heating, the main factor of confusion when investigating the thermal anomalies of coal fires, is discussed with the help of a DEM. In Chapter 5, as the coal fires normally occupy only part of one pixel of the Landsat TM thermal channel data, the capability of sub pixel coal fire detection is addressed. In Chapter 6, the airborne data from different wavelengths acquired at different times are studied to analyze the spatial thermal characteristics of the coal fires. Spreading direction and different types of coal fires are studied. Chapter 7 presents, based on multi-sensor data fusion techniques, a hierarchical methodology for detection and monitoring of the coal fires. 120 refs

Tapping global expertise in coal technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shepard, M

1986-01-01

The basic technology of fossil-fuel-fired electricity generation has remained virtually the same for 30 years. To encourage the development of new coal technology for US utilities, EPRI has signed contracts with power equipment manufacturers from Europe, Japan and the USA. These firms will work cooperatively to demonstrate improved designs, materials and procedures in existing commercial plants and large-scale laboratory facilities. The manufacturers will focus on boilers, turbines, balance-of-plant components and retrofit applications, and will validate individual components in separate installations and develop equipment specifications. EPRI and its contractors will spend approximately 25 million dollars over the next 5 years on developing improved coal-fired plant. (6 refs.)

Report of results of contract research. 'Research on magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) generation'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1980-03-01

Examination was conducted in detail on an MHD generation system by coal combustion, with the results reported. Concerning a gas table calculation program in coal combustion, it was prepared assuming 100% slag removal ratio in the combustor as the primary approximation. A combustor for MHD generation needs to efficiently burn fuel using high temperature pre-heated air as the oxidant, to fully dissociate/electrolytically dissociate seed, and to supply to the generation channel a high speed combustion gas plasma having a high electrical conductivity which is required for MHD generation. This year, an examination was conducted on technological problems in burning coal in an MHD combustor. As for the NOx elimination system in an MHD generation plant, an examination was made if the method studied so far in MHD generation using heavy oil as the fuel is applicable to coal. Also investigated and reviewed were various characteristics, change in physical properties, recovery method, etc., in a mixed state of seed and slag in the case of coal combustion MHD. (NEDO)

Political and technical issues of coal fire extinction in the Kyoto framework

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, U.; Chen-Brauchler, D.; Rüter, H.; Fischer, C.; Bing, K.

2009-04-01

It is a highly desirable effort to extinguish as much coal fires as possible in short time to prevent large losses of energy resources and to minimise CO2 and other exhaust gas releases from such sources. Unfortunately, extinguishing coal fires needs massive financial investments, skilled man power, suited technology and a long time. Even mid to small scale coal fires need several months of extinguishing measures and of monitoring time after extinction resulting in expenditures of a minimum of several hundred thousand Euros. Large companies might be willing to spend money for coal fire extinction measures but smaller holdings or regional governments might not have the monetary resources for it. Since there is no law in China that demands coal fire extinction, measures under the Kyoto framework may be applied to sell CO2 certificates for prevented emissions from extinguished coal fires and thus used as a financial stimulus for coal fire extinction activities. The set-up for methodologies and project designs is especially complex for coal fire extinction measures and thus for necessary exploration, evaluation and monitoring using geophysical and remote sensing methods. A brief overview of most important formal and technical aspects is given to outline the conditions for a potentially successful CDM application on coal fires based on geophysical observations and numerical modelling.

Sintering in Biofuel and Coal-Biofuel Fired FBC's

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Weigang; Dam-Johansen, Kim

1998-01-01

This report presents the results of systematic experiments conducted in a laboratory scale fluidized bed combustor in order to study agglomeration phenomena during firing straw and co-firing straw with coal. The influence of operating conditions on ag-glomeration was investigated. The effect of co......-firing straw with coal on agglomeration was also examined. The results show that temperature has the most pronounced effect on the agglomeration tendency. As bed temperature increases, the defluidiza-tion time decreases sharply, which indicates an increasing tendency of agglomera-tion. When co-firing straw...... with coal, the defluidization time can be extended signifi-cantly. Examination of the agglomerates sampled during combustion by various analytical techniques indicates that the high potassium content in straw is the main cause for the formation of agglomerates. In the combustion process, potassium...

Validation/Uncertainty Quantification for Large Eddy Simulations of the heat flux in the Tangentially Fired Oxy-Coal Alstom Boiler Simulation Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, P.J.; Eddings, E.G.; Ring, T.; Thornock, J.; Draper, T.; Isaac, B.; Rezeai, D.; Toth, P.; Wu, Y.; Kelly, K.

2014-08-01

The objective of this task is to produce predictive capability with quantified uncertainty bounds for the heat flux in commercial-scale, tangentially fired, oxy-coal boilers. Validation data came from the Alstom Boiler Simulation Facility (BSF) for tangentially fired, oxy-coal operation. This task brings together experimental data collected under Alstom’s DOE project for measuring oxy-firing performance parameters in the BSF with this University of Utah project for large eddy simulation (LES) and validation/uncertainty quantification (V/UQ). The Utah work includes V/UQ with measurements in the single-burner facility where advanced strategies for O2 injection can be more easily controlled and data more easily obtained. Highlights of the work include: • Simulations of Alstom’s 15 megawatt (MW) BSF, exploring the uncertainty in thermal boundary conditions. A V/UQ analysis showed consistency between experimental results and simulation results, identifying uncertainty bounds on the quantities of interest for this system (Subtask 9.1) • A simulation study of the University of Utah’s oxy-fuel combustor (OFC) focused on heat flux (Subtask 9.2). A V/UQ analysis was used to show consistency between experimental and simulation results. • Measurement of heat flux and temperature with new optical diagnostic techniques and comparison with conventional measurements (Subtask 9.3). Various optical diagnostics systems were created to provide experimental data to the simulation team. The final configuration utilized a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) camera to measure heat flux and temperature, which was synchronized with a high-speed, visible camera to utilize two-color pyrometry to measure temperature and soot concentration. • Collection of heat flux and temperature measurements in the University of Utah’s OFC for use is subtasks 9.2 and 9.3 (Subtask 9.4). Several replicates were carried to better assess the experimental error. Experiments were specifically designed for the

No more coal-fired units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

According to Minister of the Environment Pekka Haavisto natural gas, bioenergy and renewables are the ways of responding to future base load power need. Greenhouse gas emissions using natural gas are around 60 % of those with coal. Increasing the share of generation accounted for by natural gas in the Nordic region is just as feasible in principle as elsewhere in Europe. A good proportion of new power stations elsewhere in the community are natural gas-fired. Vattenfall is planning a combined cycle station in the 700 - 900 MW range for Imatra, and Imatran Voima a 600 MW gas-fired unit for Inkoo. Replacing coal with natural gas is an essential part of efforts to stabile CO 2 emissions

CEZ utility's coal-fired power plants: towards a higher environmental friendliness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kindl, V.; Spilkova, T.; Vanousek, I.; Stehlik, J.

1996-01-01

Environmental efforts of the major Czech utility, CEZ a.s., are aimed at reducing air pollution arising from electricity and heat generating facilities. There are 3 main kinds of activity in this respect: phasing out of coal fired power plants; technological provisions to reduce emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from those coal fired units that are to remain in operation after 1998; and completion of the Temelin nuclear power plant. In 1995, emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide from CEZ's coal fired power plants were 19%, 79%, 59%, and 60%, respectively, with respect to the situation in 1992. The break-down of electricity generation by CEZ facilities (in GWh) was as follows in 1995: hydroelectric power plants 1673, nuclear power plants 12230, coal fired power plants without desulfurization equipment 30181, and coal fired power plants with desulfurization equipment 2277. Provisions implemented to improve the environmental friendliness of the individual CEZ's coal fired power plants are described in detail. (P.A.). 5 tabs., 1 fig

Coal fired flue gas mercury emission controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jiang; Pan, Weiguo; Cao, Yan; Pan, Weiping

2015-01-01

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic heavy metals, harmful to both the environment and human health. Hg is released into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources and its emission control has caused much concern. This book introduces readers to Hg pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources and systematically describes coal-fired flue gas mercury emission control in industry, especially from coal-fired power stations. Mercury emission control theory and experimental research are demonstrated, including how elemental mercury is oxidized into oxidized mercury and the effect of flue gas contents on the mercury speciation transformation process. Mercury emission control methods, such as existing APCDs (air pollution control devices) at power stations, sorbent injection, additives in coal combustion and photo-catalytic methods are introduced in detail. Lab-scale, pilot-scale and full-scale experimental studies of sorbent injection conducted by the authors are presented systematically, helping researchers and engineers to understand how this approach reduces the mercury emissions in flue gas and to apply the methods in mercury emission control at coal-fired power stations.

Coal fired flue gas mercury emission controls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jiang; Pan, Weiguo [Shanghai Univ. of Electric Power (China); Cao, Yan; Pan, Weiping [Western Kentucky Univ., Bowling Green, KY (United States)

2015-05-01

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic heavy metals, harmful to both the environment and human health. Hg is released into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources and its emission control has caused much concern. This book introduces readers to Hg pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources and systematically describes coal-fired flue gas mercury emission control in industry, especially from coal-fired power stations. Mercury emission control theory and experimental research are demonstrated, including how elemental mercury is oxidized into oxidized mercury and the effect of flue gas contents on the mercury speciation transformation process. Mercury emission control methods, such as existing APCDs (air pollution control devices) at power stations, sorbent injection, additives in coal combustion and photo-catalytic methods are introduced in detail. Lab-scale, pilot-scale and full-scale experimental studies of sorbent injection conducted by the authors are presented systematically, helping researchers and engineers to understand how this approach reduces the mercury emissions in flue gas and to apply the methods in mercury emission control at coal-fired power stations.

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Engineering Test Facility (ETF) 200 MWe power plant. Conceptual Design Engineering Report (CDER). Volume 2: Engineering. Volume 3: Costs and schedules

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

Engineering design details for the principal systems, system operating modes, site facilities, and structures of an engineering test facility (ETF) of a 200 MWE power plant are presented. The ETF resembles a coal-fired steam power plant in many ways. It is analogous to a conventional plant which has had the coal combustor replaced with the MHD power train. Most of the ETF components are conventional. They can, however, be sized or configured differently or perform additional functions from those in a conventional coal power plant. The boiler not only generates steam, but also performs the functions of heating the MHD oxidant, recovering seed, and controlling emissions.

Evidence of Human Health Impacts from Uncontrolled Coal Fires in Jharia, India

Science.gov (United States)

Dhar, U.; Balogun, A. H.; Finkelman, R.; Chakraborty, S.; Olanipekun, O.; Shaikh, W. A.

2017-12-01

Uncontrolled coal fires and burning coal waste piles have been reported from dozens of countries. These fires can be caused by spontaneous combustion, sparks from machinery, lightning strikes, grass or forest fires, or intentionally. Both underground and surface coal fires mobilize potentially toxic elements such as sulfur, arsenic, selenium, fluorine, lead, and mercury as well as dangerous organic compounds such as benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene and deadly gases such as CO2 and CO. Despite the serious health problems that can be caused by uncontrolled coal fires it is rather surprising that there has been so little research and documentation of their health impacts. Underground coal fires in the Jharia region of India where more than a million people reside, have been burning for 100 years. Numerous villages exist above the underground fires exposing the residents daily to dangerous emissions. Local residents near the fire affected areas do their daily chores without concern about the intensity of nearby fires. During winter children enjoy the heat of the coal fires oblivious to the potentially harmful emissions. To determine if these uncontrolled coal fires have caused health problems we developed a brief questionnaire on general health indices and administered it to residents of the Jharia region. Sixty responses were obtained from residents of two villages, one proximal to the coal fires and one about 5 miles away from the fires. The responses were statistically analyzed using SAS 9.4. It was observed that at a significance level of 5%, villagers who lived more than 5 miles away from the fires had a 98.3% decreased odds of having undesirable health outcomes. This brief survey indicates the risk posed by underground coal fires and how it contributes to the undesirable health impacts. What remains is to determine the specific health issues, what components of the emissions cause the health problems, and what can be done to minimize these problems

Using plasma-fuel systems at Eurasian coal-fired thermal power stations

Science.gov (United States)

Karpenko, E. I.; Karpenko, Yu. E.; Messerle, V. E.; Ustimenko, A. B.

2009-06-01

The development of plasma technology for igniting solid fuels at coal-fired thermal power stations in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and other Eurasian countries is briefly reviewed. Basic layouts and technical and economic characteristics of plasma-fuel systems installed in different coal-fired boiles are considered together with some results from using these systems at coal-fired thermal power stations.

Effects of new environmental regulations on coal-fired generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaCount, R.

1999-01-01

As restructuring of the electricity industry places downward pressure on power production costs, new environmental regulations are having the opposite effect. Although power plants may be subject to a variety of environmental regulations over the next ten years including reductions in mercury, toxics, and carbon dioxide, new regulations for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) are poised to impact the electricity industry in the very short term. The cost for coal-fired power plants to comply with these new regulations has the potential to alter their competitive position. January 1, 2000 marks the beginning of Phase II for the Environmental Protection Agency's SO2 allowance market. Starting in January, all coal and oil plants above 25 MW will be required to comply with the federal SO2 provisions. Regulatory deadlines for NOX are also fast approaching; though the ultimate requirements are still subject to change. On May 1, 1999, a NOX allowance market began for states within the Northeast Ozone Transport Commission (OTC). A second phase of this program is scheduled to begin in 2003 that will lower the overall cap for allowable NOX emissions in the participating states. EPA is also working to expand the reach of regional NOX reductions in 2003 through its NOX SIP call. This program, which is currently subject to litigation, would require NOX reductions in 14 states outside of the OTC. A new study by Resource Data International (RDI), Coal-Fired Generation in Competitive Power Markets, assessed the potential impact that the new SO2 and NOX regulations may have on the competitiveness of coal-fired generation. Overall, the study shows that coal-fired generation will continue to grow despite significant environmental costs and competition from natural gas-fired units. The new environmental regulations have the effect of increasing the dispatch cost of coal-fired units from $0.65/MWh on average in the WSCC to $4.14/MWh on average in the MAAC region. The addition

ESTIMATION OF NEAR SUBSURFACE COAL FIRE GAS EMISSIONS BASED ON GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Science.gov (United States)

Chen-Brauchler, D.; Meyer, U.; Schlömer, S.; Kus, J.; Gundelach, V.; Wuttke, M.; Fischer, C.; Rueter, H.

2009-12-01

Spontaneous and industrially caused subsurface coal fires are worldwide disasters that destroy coal resources, cause air pollution and emit a large amount of green house gases. Especially in developing countries, such as China, India and Malaysia, this problem has intensified over the last 15 years. In China alone, 10 to 20 million tons of coal are believed to be lost in uncontrolled coal fires. The cooperation of developing countries and industrialized countries is needed to enforce internationally concerted approaches and political attention towards the problem. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the framework of the Kyoto Protocol may provide an international stage for financial investment needed to fight the disastrous situation. A Sino-German research project for coal fire exploration, monitoring and extinction applied several geophysical approaches in order to estimate the annual baseline especially of CO2 emissions from near subsurface coal fires. As a result of this project, we present verifiable methodologies that may be used in the CDM framework to estimate the amount of CO2 emissions from near subsurface coal fires. We developed three possibilities to approach the estimation based on (1) thermal energy release, (2) geological and geometrical determinations as well as (3) direct gas measurement. The studies involve the investigation of the physical property changes of the coal seam and bedrock during different burning stages of a underground coal fire. Various geophysical monitoring methods were applied from near surface to determine the coal volume, fire propagation, temperature anomalies, etc.

Coal fire mapping of East Basuria Colliery, Jharia coalfield using ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

detect coal fire regions based on surface tem- perature ..... and non-coal fire regions have been delineated well in the ..... System Development Notes; Paterson Grant and Watson .... Schloemer S 2006 Innovative technologies for exploration,.

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Engineering Test Facility (ETF) 200 MWe power plant. Conceptual Design Engineering Report (CDER). Volume 2: Engineering. Volume 3: Costs and schedules. Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-09-01

Engineering design details for the principal systems, system operating modes, site facilities, and structures of an engineering test facility (ETF) of a 200 MWE power plant are presented. The ETF resembles a coal-fired steam power plant in many ways. It is analogous to a conventional plant which has had the coal combustor replaced with the MHD power train. Most of the ETF components are conventional. They can, however, be sized or configured differently or perform additional functions from those in a conventional coal power plant. The boiler not only generates steam, but also performs the functions of heating the MHD oxidant, recovering seed, and controlling emissions

Development of a fire detector for underground coal mines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hemingway, M.A.; Walsh, P.T.; Hunneyball, S.R.; Williams, M.; Jobling, S.; Pell, B.; West, N.G. [Health and Safety Laboratory, Buxton (United Kingdom)

2005-07-01

Current fire detectors in use in UK coal mines, based on semiconductor sensors which detect gaseous products of combustion, are under-utilised, are not user-friendly, have performance limitations due to interferences and are obsolete. A joint research project was therefore instigated to develop an improved fire detector. This paper describes tests performed in an experimental mine roadway on various types of sensor. The sensors were exposed to smouldering conveyor belt, coal, wood, oil and grease, and diesel exhaust fume. A potential advanced detector is based on the combination of blue and infrared optical smoke sensors which distinguish fires and diesel exhaust from coal dust, nitric oxide or nitrogen dioxide sensors to distinguish smoulderi8ng fires form diesel exhaust, and carbon monoxide sensors for general body monitoring. 6 refs., 5 figs.

ADVANCED FLUE GAS CONDITIONING AS A RETROFIT UPGRADE TO ENHANCE PM COLLECTION FROM COAL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY BOILERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenneth E. Baldrey

2002-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy and ADA Environmental Solutions are engaged in a project to develop commercial flue gas conditioning additives. The objective is to develop conditioning agents that can help improve particulate control performance of smaller or under-sized electrostatic precipitators on utility coal-fired boilers. The new chemicals will be used to control both the electrical resistivity and the adhesion or cohesivity of the fly ash. There is a need to provide cost-effective and safer alternatives to traditional flue gas conditioning with SO(sub 3) and ammonia. During this reporting quarter, performance testing of flue gas conditioning was underway at the PacifiCorp Jim Bridger Power Plant. The product tested, ADA-43, was a combination resistivity modifier with cohesivity polymers. This represents the first long-term full-scale testing of this class of products. Modifications to the flue gas conditioning system at Jim Bridger, including development of alternate injection lances, was also undertaken to improve chemical spray distribution and to avoid spray deposition to duct interior surfaces. Also in this quarter, a firm commitment was received for another long-term test of the cohesivity additives. This plant fires a bituminous coal and has opacity and particulate emissions performance issues related to fly ash re-entrainment. Ammonia conditioning is employed here on one unit, but there is interest in liquid cohesivity additives as a safer alternative

Diagnostic instrumentation development program for the heat recovery/seed recovery system of the open-cycle, coal-fired magnetohydrodynamic power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphree, D.L.; Cook, R.L.; Bauman, L.E.

1981-01-01

Highly efficient and environmentally acceptable, the coal-fired MHD power plant is an attractive facility for producing electricity. The design of its downstream system, however, presents technological risks which must be corrected if such a plant is to be commercially viable before the end of the century. The heat recovery/seed recovery system (HRSR) at its present stage is vulnerable to corrosion on the gas side of the radiant furnace, the secondary superheater, and the intermediate temperature air heater. Slagging and fouling of the heat transfer surface have yet to be eliminated. Gas chemistry, radiant heat transfer, and particulate removal are other problematic areas which are being researched in a DOE development program whose test activities at three facilities are contributing to an MHD/HRSR data base. In addition, a 20 MWt system to study HRSR design, is being now assembled in Tennessee

Recent coal-fire and land-use status of Jharia Coalfield, India from satellite data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martha, T.R.; Guha, A.; Kumar, K.V.; Kamaraju, M.V.V.; Raju, E.V.R. [NRSC, Hyderabad (India). Geoscience Division

2010-07-01

The Jharia Coalfield (JCF) in India is known for its high grade coal and associated coal fires. Before it can be exploited, valuable coal reserves are destroyed in the sub-surface due to fire. The combined act of fire and subsidence has endangered the environmental safety of the JCF, although several methods have been adopted to control the coal fires. Coal fire is a dynamic phenomenon, hence, its location and extent changes with time. To control the coal fires effectively, the status of the fires and the landscape must be assessed periodically. In this study, the thermal band in Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data (daytime) of 29 March 2003 and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data (night-time) of 9 October 2006 are used to delineate the coal-fire areas. The kinetic temperature of the coal fire-affected areas is calculated from Landsat-7 ETM+ data using a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)-derived emissivity model, and from band 13 of ASTER data with a fixed emissivity value. The study showed that the eastern part of the JCF is more affected by coal fires than the western part. The affected collieries in the eastern part are Kusunda, Lodna, Bararee, Gonudih and Ena. Among all collieries, Kusunda is the most affected by coal fires (29% of the area) and showed a 0.56 km2 increase in fire area from the year 2003 to 2006. During this period, a total increase in coal-fire area of 0.51 km{sup 2} occurs in the JCF. The land-use map prepared from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellite-P6 Linear Imaging Self-scanning Sensor (LISS)-III data showed that 6.9% of the area in the JCF is occupied by mining-related activities, which indicates its vulnerability to environmental degradation.

Evaluation of activated carbon for control of mercury from coal-fired boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, S.; Laudal, D.; Dunham, G.

1995-01-01

The ability to remove mercury from power plant flue gas may become important because of the Clean Air Act amendments' requirement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assess the health risks associated with these emissions. One approach for mercury removal, which may be relatively simple to retrofit, is the injection of sorbents, such as activated carbon, upstream of existing particulate control devices. Activated carbon has been reported to capture mercury when injected into flue gas upstream of a spray dryer baghouse system applied to waste incinerators or coal-fired boilers. However, the mercury capture ability of activated carbon injected upstream of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or baghouse operated at temperatures between 200 degrees and 400 degrees F is not well known. A study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric power Research Institute is being conducted at the University of North Dakota Energy ampersand Environmental Research Center (EERC) to evaluate whether mercury control with sorbents can be a cost-effective approach for large power plants. Initial results from the study were reported last year. This paper presents some of the recent project results. Variables of interest include coal type, sorbent type, sorbent addition rate, collection media, and temperature

Evaluation of activated carbon for control of mercury from coal-fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, S.; Laudal, D.; Dunham, G. [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)

1995-11-01

The ability to remove mercury from power plant flue gas may become important because of the Clean Air Act amendments` requirement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assess the health risks associated with these emissions. One approach for mercury removal, which may be relatively simple to retrofit, is the injection of sorbents, such as activated carbon, upstream of existing particulate control devices. Activated carbon has been reported to capture mercury when injected into flue gas upstream of a spray dryer baghouse system applied to waste incinerators or coal-fired boilers. However, the mercury capture ability of activated carbon injected upstream of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or baghouse operated at temperatures between 200{degrees} and 400{degrees}F is not well known. A study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Electric power Research Institute is being conducted at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) to evaluate whether mercury control with sorbents can be a cost-effective approach for large power plants. Initial results from the study were reported last year. This paper presents some of the recent project results. Variables of interest include coal type, sorbent type, sorbent addition rate, collection media, and temperature.

Emissions from coal-fired electric stations : environmental health effects and reduction options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Love, P.; Lourie, B.; Pengelly, D.; Labatt, S.; Ogilvie, K.; Kelly, B.

1998-01-01

Findings of a study on the environmental effects of current emissions from coal-fired electric stations were summarized. Current and projected emissions from coal-fired electric stations for five emission reduction scenarios were estimated for Ontario, Eastern Canada, Ohio Valley/Great Lakes, and the U.S. northeast regions. Coal-fired electric stations generate a wide range of environmentally significant air emissions. The five pollutants selected - sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (less than 10 micrometres in size), mercury, and carbon dioxide - are considered to impact most on environmental health. This report focused on 312 coal-fired electric stations in the regions named above. They were selected based on the likelihood that long-range transport of the emissions from these coal-fired utilities would have an impact on human health and the environment. 55 refs., 10 tabs., 8 figs

Coal fired flue gas mercury emission controls

CERN Document Server

Wu, Jiang; Pan, Weiguo; Pan, Weiping

2015-01-01

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic heavy metals, harmful to both the environment and human health. Hg is released into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources and its emission control has caused much concern. This book introduces readers to Hg pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources and systematically describes coal-fired flue gas mercury emission control in industry, especially from coal-fired power stations. Mercury emission control theory and experimental research are demonstrated, including how elemental mercury is oxidized into oxidized mercury and the effect of

Coal-fired Power Plants with Flexible Amine-based CCS and Co-located Wind Power: Environmental, Economic and Reliability Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, Rubenka

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies provide a means to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the existing fleet of fossil-fired plants, and hence can facilitate a gradual transition from conventional to more sustainable sources of electric power. This is especially relevant for coal plants that have a CO2 emission rate that is roughly two times higher than that of natural gas plants. Of the different kinds of CCS technology available, post-combustion amine based CCS is the best developed and hence more suitable for retrofitting an existing coal plant. The high costs from operating CCS could be reduced by enabling flexible operation through amine storage or allowing partial capture of CO2 during high electricity prices. This flexibility is also found to improve the power plant's ramp capability, enabling it to offset the intermittency of renewable power sources. This thesis proposes a solution to problems associated with two promising technologies for decarbonizing the electric power system: the high costs of the energy penalty of CCS, and the intermittency and non-dispatchability of wind power. It explores the economic and technical feasibility of a hybrid system consisting of a coal plant retrofitted with a post-combustion-amine based CCS system equipped with the option to perform partial capture or amine storage, and a co-located wind farm. A techno-economic assessment of the performance of the hybrid system is carried out both from the perspective of the stakeholders (utility owners, investors, etc.) as well as that of the power system operator. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

MHD/gas turbine systems designed for low cooling water requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annen, K.D.; Eustis, R.H.

1983-01-01

The MHD/gas turbine combined-cycle system has been designed specifically for applications where the availability of cooling water is very limited. The base case systems which were studied consist of a coal-fired MHD plant with an air turbine bottoming plant and require no cooling water. In addition to the base case systems, systems were considered which included the addition of a vapor cycle bottoming plant to improve the thermal efficiency. These systems require a small amount of cooling water. The results show that the MHD/gas turbine systems have very good thermal and economic performances. The base case I MHD/gas turbine system (782 MW /SUB e/ ) requires no cooling water, has a heat rate which is 13% higher, and a cost of electricity which is only 7% higher than a comparable MHD/steam system (878 MW /SUB e/ ) having a cooling tower heat load of 720 MW. The case I vapor cycle bottomed systems have thermal and economic performances which approach and even exceed those of the MHD/steam system, while having substantially lower cooling water requirements. Performances of a second-generation MHD/gas turbine system and an oxygen-enriched, early commercial system are also evaluated. An analysis of nitric oxide emissions shows compliance with emission standards

Direct estimation of diffuse gaseous emissions from coal fires: current methods and future directions

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Mark A.; Olea, Ricardo A.; O'Keefe, Jennifer M. K.; Hower, James C.; Geboy, Nicholas J.

2013-01-01

Coal fires occur in nature spontaneously, contribute to increases in greenhouse gases, and emit atmospheric toxicants. Increasing interest in quantifying coal fire emissions has resulted in the adaptation and development of specialized approaches and adoption of numerical modeling techniques. Overview of these methods for direct estimation of diffuse gas emissions from coal fires is presented in this paper. Here we take advantage of stochastic Gaussian simulation to interpolate CO2 fluxes measured using a dynamic closed chamber at the Ruth Mullins coal fire in Perry County, Kentucky. This approach allows for preparing a map of diffuse gas emissions, one of the two primary ways that gases emanate from coal fires, and establishing the reliability of the study both locally and for the entire fire. Future research directions include continuous and automated sampling to improve quantification of gaseous coal fire emissions.

Theoretical-probability evaluation of the fire hazard of coal accumulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikora, F F

1978-01-01

An evaluation is suggested for the fire hazard of coal accumulations, based on determining the probability of an endogenic fire. This probability is computed by using the statistical characteristics of the temperature distribution of spontaneous heating in large accumulations, and the criteria of Gluzberg's fire hazard that is determined by the coal's physico-chemical properties, oxygen concentration, and the size of the accumulations. 4 references.

Techno-economic study of CO{sub 2} capture from an existing coal-fired power plant: MEA scrubbing vs. O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} recycle combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, D; Croiset, E; Douglas, P L [Waterloo Univ., Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Douglas, M A [Natural Resources Canada, CANMET Energy Technology Centre, Nepean, ON (Canada)

2003-11-01

The existing fleet of modern pulverised coal fired power plants represents an opportunity to achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years providing that efficient and economical CO{sub 2} capture technologies are available for retrofit. One option is to separate CO{sub 2} from the products of combustion using conventional approaches such as amine scrubbing. An emerging alternative, commonly known as O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} recycle combustion, involves burning the coal with oxygen in an atmosphere of recycled flue gas. Both approaches can be retrofitted to existing units, however they consume significant amounts of energy to capture, purify and compress the CO{sub 2} for subsequent sequestration. This paper presents a techno-economic comparison of the performance of the two approaches. The comparison was developed using the commercial process simulation packages, Hysys and Aspen Plus. The results show that both processes are expensive options to capture CO{sub 2} from coal power plants, however O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} appears to be a more attractive retrofit than MEA scrubbing. The CO{sub 2} capture cost for the MEA case is USD 53/ton of CO{sub 2} avoided, which translates into 3.3 cent/kW h. For the O{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} case the CO{sub 2} capture cost is lower at USD 35/ton of CO{sub 2} avoided, which translates into 2.4 cent/kW h. These capture costs represent an approximate increase of 20-30% in current electricity prices. (Author)

Innovative clean coal technology: 500 MW demonstration of advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. Final report, Phases 1 - 3B

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-01-01

This report presents the results of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICCT) project demonstrating advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. The project was conducted at Georgia Power Company`s Plant Hammond Unit 4 located near Rome, Georgia. The technologies demonstrated at this site include Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation`s advanced overfire air system and Controlled Flow/Split Flame low NOx burner. The primary objective of the demonstration at Hammond Unit 4 was to determine the long-term effects of commercially available wall-fired low NOx combustion technologies on NOx emissions and boiler performance. Short-term tests of each technology were also performed to provide engineering information about emissions and performance trends. A target of achieving fifty percent NOx reduction using combustion modifications was established for the project. Short-term and long-term baseline testing was conducted in an {open_quotes}as-found{close_quotes} condition from November 1989 through March 1990. Following retrofit of the AOFA system during a four-week outage in spring 1990, the AOFA configuration was tested from August 1990 through March 1991. The FWEC CF/SF low NOx burners were then installed during a seven-week outage starting on March 8, 1991 and continuing to May 5, 1991. Following optimization of the LNBs and ancillary combustion equipment by FWEC personnel, LNB testing commenced during July 1991 and continued until January 1992. Testing in the LNB+AOFA configuration was completed during August 1993. This report provides documentation on the design criteria used in the performance of this project as it pertains to the scope involved with the low NOx burners and advanced overfire systems.

Gas emissions, minerals, and tars associated with three coal fires, Powder River Basin, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Mark A; Radke, Lawrence F; Heffern, Edward L; O'Keefe, Jennifer M K; Hower, James C; Smeltzer, Charles D; Hower, Judith M; Olea, Ricardo A; Eatwell, Robert J; Blake, Donald R; Emsbo-Mattingly, Stephen D; Stout, Scott A; Queen, Gerald; Aggen, Kerry L; Kolker, Allan; Prakash, Anupma; Henke, Kevin R; Stracher, Glenn B; Schroeder, Paul A; Román-Colón, Yomayra; ter Schure, Arnout

2012-03-15

Ground-based surveys of three coal fires and airborne surveys of two of the fires were conducted near Sheridan, Wyoming. The fires occur in natural outcrops and in abandoned mines, all containing Paleocene-age subbituminous coals. Diffuse (carbon dioxide (CO(2)) only) and vent (CO(2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane, hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S), and elemental mercury) emission estimates were made for each of the fires. Additionally, gas samples were collected for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis and showed a large range in variation between vents. The fires produce locally dangerous levels of CO, CO(2), H(2)S, and benzene, among other gases. At one fire in an abandoned coal mine, trends in gas and tar composition followed a change in topography. Total CO(2) fluxes for the fires from airborne, ground-based, and rate of fire advancement estimates ranged from 0.9 to 780mg/s/m(2) and are comparable to other coal fires worldwide. Samples of tar and coal-fire minerals collected from the mouth of vents provided insight into the behavior and formation of the coal fires. Published by Elsevier B.V.

GASCON and MHDGAS: FORTRAN IV computer codes for calculating gas and condensed-phase compositions in the coal-fired open-cycle MHD system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blackburn, P E

1977-12-01

Fortran IV computer codes have been written to calculate the equilibrium partial pressures of the gaseous phase and the quantity and composition of the condensed phases in the open-cycle MHD system. The codes are based on temperature-dependent equilibrium constants, mass conservation, the mass action law, and assumed ideal solution of compounds in each of two condensed phases. It is assumed that the phases are an oxide-silicate phase and a sulfate-carbonate-hydroxide phase. Calculations are iterated for gas and condensate concentrations while increasing or decreasing the total moles of elements, but keeping mole ratios constant, to achieve the desired total pressure. During iteration the oxygen partial pressure is incrementally changed. The decision to increase or decrease the oxygen pressure in this process depends on comparison of the oxygen content calculated in the gas and condensate phases with the initial amount of oxygen in the ash, coal, seed, and air. This process, together with a normalization step, allows the elements to converge to their initial quantities. Two versions of the computer code have been written. GASCON calculates the equilibrium gas partial pressures and the quantity and composition of the condensed phases in steps of thirteen temperature and pressure combinations in which the condensate is removed after each step, simulating continuous slag removal from the MHD system. MHDGAS retains the condensate for each step, simulating flow of condensate (and gas) through the MHD system.

Reducing water freshwater consumption at coal-fired power plants : approaches used outside the United States.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elcock, D. (Environmental Science Division)

2011-05-09

desalination. Some of the direct approaches, such as dry air cooling, desalination, and recovery of cooling tower water for boiler makeup water, are costly and are deployed primarily in countries with severe water shortages, such as China, Australia, and South Africa. Table 1 shows drivers and approaches for reducing freshwater consumption in several countries outside the United States. Indirect approaches reduce water consumption while meeting other objectives, such as improving plant efficiency. Plants with higher efficiencies use less energy to produce electricity, and because the greater the energy production, the greater the cooling water needs, increased efficiency will help reduce water consumption. Approaches for improving efficiency (and for indirectly reducing water consumption) include increasing the operating steam parameters (temperature and pressure); using more efficient coal-fired technologies such as cogeneration, IGCC, and direct firing of gas turbines with coal; replacing or retrofitting existing inefficient plants to make them more efficient; installing high-performance monitoring and process controls; and coal drying. The motivations for increasing power plant efficiency outside the United States (and indirectly reducing water consumption) include the following: (1) countries that agreed to reduce carbon emissions (by ratifying the Kyoto protocol) find that one of the most effective ways to do so is to improve plant efficiency; (2) countries that import fuel (e.g., Japan) need highly efficient plants to compensate for higher coal costs; (3) countries with particularly large and growing energy demands, such as China and India, need large, efficient plants; (4) countries with large supplies of low-rank coals, such as Germany, need efficient processes to use such low-energy coals. Some countries have policies that encourage or mandate reduced water consumption - either directly or indirectly. For example, the European Union encourages increased efficiency

Study of the Radiological Impact of the Coal Fired Power Plants on the Environment. The As Pontes coal-fired Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cancio, D.; Robles, B.; Mora, J. C.

2009-01-01

As part of the Study carried out to determine the radiological impact of the four main Spanish coal-fired power plants, the Study on the As Pontes Coal-Fired Coal Power Plant was finalized. In the Report containing the study are included every measurement performed, as well as the modelling and evaluations carried out in order to assess the radiological impact. The general conclusion obtained is that under a radiological point of view, the impact of this installation on the public and the environment is very small. Also the radiological impact on the workers of the installation was assessed, obtaining too very small increases over the natural background. (Author) 61 refs.

Numerical study on NO formation in a pulverized coal-fired furnace using oxy-fuel combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Aiyue; Chen, Yuan; Sheng, Changdong [Southeast Univ., Nanjing (China). School of Energy and Environment

2013-07-01

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach was employed to numerically investigate NO formation in a 600 MW wall-fired pulverized coal-fired furnace retrofitted for oxy-coal combustion, aimed at the impacts of flue gas recycle ratio, O{sub 2} staging and recycled NO with the recycled flue gas (RFG) on NO formation and emission. An in-house CFD research code for conventional air combustion was developed and extended to simulate O{sub 2}/RFG combustion with specific considerations of the change of gas properties and its impact on coal particle combustion processes. The extended De Soete mechanisms including NO reburning mechanism were applied to describe transformations of fuel nitrogen. It was shown that CFD simulation represented the significant reduction of NO formation during O{sub 2}/RFG combustion compared to that during air combustion. The in-burner and particularly the in-furnace O{sub 2} staging were confirmed still to play very important roles in NO formation control. Changing the recycle ratio had significant impact on the combustion performance and consequently on NO formation and emission. With the combustion performance ensured, decreasing the flue gas recycle ratio or increasing the inlet O{sub 2} concentration of combustion gas led to reduction of NO formation and emission. Although NO formation and emission was found to increase with increasing the inlet NO concentration of combustion gas, CFD simulation indicated that {proportional_to}74% of the inlet NO was reduced in the furnace, consistent with the experimental data reported in the literature. This demonstrated the significant contribution of reburning mechanism to the reduction of the recycled NO in the furnace.

Reaching an agreement to build a new coal-fired power plant near a national park by mitigating potential environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, R.L.; Ruppel, T.C.; Evans, E.W.; Heintz, S.J.

1994-01-01

This paper presents an interesting example of compromise through comprehensive environmental analysis and intensive negotiation to build a coal-fired power plant near an environmentally sensitive area. In December 1993, the US Department of Energy (DOE) completed the final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Healy clean Coal Project (HCCP), a proposed demonstration project that would be cost- shared by DOE and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). The HCCP would be built adjacent to the existing coal-fired Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. (GVEA) Unit No. 1 in Healy, Alaska, about 4 miles north of Denali National Park and Preserve (DNPP). In response to US Department of the Interior (DOI) concerns about potential air quality related impacts on DNPP, DOE facilitated negotiations among DOE, AIDEA, and GVEA which overcame a ''stalemate'' situation. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed by all four parties, enabling DOI to withdraw its objections. The cornerstone of the Agreement is the planned retrofit of Unit No. 1 to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen. If the demonstration technologies operate as expected, combined emissions from the Healy site would increase by only about 8% but electrical generation would triple. The Agreement is a ''win/win'' outcome: DOE can demonstrate the new technologies, AIDEA can build a new power plant for GVEA to operate, and DOE can safeguard the pristine environment DNPP

Milliken Station Demonstration Project FDG retrofit update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alder, R.C.; Jackson, C.E.; O`Dea, D.T. [and others

1994-12-31

The Milliken Clean Coal Demonstration Project is one of the nine Clean Coal Projects selected for funding in Round 4 of the U.S. DOE`s Clean Coal Demonstration Program. The project`s sponsor is New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG). Project team members include CONSOL Inc., Saarberg-Holter-Umwelttechnik (SHU), NALCO/FuelTech, Stebbins Engineering and Manufacturing Co., DHR Technologies, and CE Air Preheater. Gilbert/Commonwealth is the Architect/Engineer and Construction Manager for the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) retrofit. The project will provide full-scale demonstration of a combination of innovative emission-reducing technologies and plant upgraded for the control of sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) emissions from a coal-fired steam generator without a significant loss of station efficiency. The overall project goals are the following: 98% SO{sub 2} removal efficiency using limestone while burning high sulfur coal; up to 70% NO{sub x} reduction using the NOXOUT selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) technology in conjunction with combustion modifications; minimization of solid waste by producing marketable by-products including commercial grade gypsum, calcium chloride, and fly ash; zero wastewater discharge; maintenance of station efficiency by using a high efficiency heat-pipe air heater system and a low-power-consuming scrubber system. The demonstration project is being conducted at NYSEG`s Milliken Station, located in Lansing, New York. Milliken Station has two 150-MWe pulverized coal-fired units built in the 1950s by Combustion Engineering. The SHU FGD process and the combustion modifications are being installed on both units, but the NOXOUT process, Plant Economic Optimization Advisor (PEOA), and the high-efficiency air heater system will be installed on only one unit.

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandra, Avinash

1980-01-01

The concept of MHD power generation, principles of operation of the MHD generator, its design, types, MHD generator cycles, technological problems to be overcome, the current state of the art in USA and USSR are described. Progress of India's experimental 5 Mw water-gas fired open cycle MHD power generator project is reported in brief. (M.G.B.)

Fast and safe gas detection from underground coal fire by drone fly over.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunnington, Lucila; Nakagawa, Masami

2017-10-01

Underground coal fires start naturally or as a result of human activities. Besides burning away the important non-renewable energy resource and causing financial losses, burning coal seams emit carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide and methane, and is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air toxins. In the U.S. alone, the combined cost of coal-fire remediation projects that have been completed, budgeted, or projected by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Remediation and Enforcement (OSM), exceeds $1 billion. It is estimated that these fires generate as much as 3% of the world's annual carbon dioxide emissions and consume as much as 5% of its minable coal. Considering the magnitude of environmental impact and economic loss caused by burning underground coal seams, we have developed a new, safe, reliable surface measurement of coal fire gases to assess the nature of underground coal fires. We use a drone mounted with gas sensors. Drone collected gas concentration data provides a safe alternative for evaluating the rank of a burning coal seam. In this study, a new method of determining coal rank by gas ratios is developed. Coal rank is valuable for defining parameters of a coal seam such as burn temperature, burn rate, and volume of burning seam. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced char burnout models for the simulation of pulverized coal fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T. Severin; S. Wirtz; V. Scherer [Ruhr-University, Bochum (Germany). Institute of Energy Plant Technology (LEAT)

2005-07-01

The numerical simulation of coal combustion processes is widely used as an efficient means to predict burner or system behaviour. In this paper an approach to improve CFD simulations of pulverized coal fired boilers with advanced coal combustion models is presented. In simple coal combustion models, first order Arrhenius rate equations are used for devolatilization and char burnout. The accuracy of such simple models is sufficient for the basic aspects of heat release. The prediction of carbon-in-ash is one aspect of special interest in the simulation of pulverized coal fired boilers. To determine the carbon-in-ash levels in the fly ash of coal fired furnaces, the char burnout model has to be more detailed. It was tested, in how far changing operating conditions affect the carbon-in-ash prediction of the simulation. To run several test cases in a short time, a simplified cellnet model was applied. To use a cellnet model for simulations of pulverized coal fired boilers, it was coupled with a Lagrangian particle model, used in CFD simulations, too. 18 refs., 5 figs., 5 tabs.

Fast and safe gas detection from underground coal fire by drone fly over

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunnington, Lucila; Nakagawa, Masami

2017-01-01

Underground coal fires start naturally or as a result of human activities. Besides burning away the important non-renewable energy resource and causing financial losses, burning coal seams emit carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide and methane, and is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air toxins. In the U.S. alone, the combined cost of coal-fire remediation projects that have been completed, budgeted, or projected by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining Remediation and Enforcement (OSM), exceeds $1 billion. It is estimated that these fires generate as much as 3% of the world's annual carbon dioxide emissions and consume as much as 5% of its minable coal. Considering the magnitude of environmental impact and economic loss caused by burning underground coal seams, we have developed a new, safe, reliable surface measurement of coal fire gases to assess the nature of underground coal fires. We use a drone mounted with gas sensors. Drone collected gas concentration data provides a safe alternative for evaluating the rank of a burning coal seam. In this study, a new method of determining coal rank by gas ratios is developed. Coal rank is valuable for defining parameters of a coal seam such as burn temperature, burn rate, and volume of burning seam. - Graphical abstract: Concluding Figure for Gas Ratios: Plotted points and ranges of adjusted literature data. Stars represent bituminous and subbituminous coal types; Ovals represent lignite. - Highlights: • Recognize underground coal fire as a potential source of energy. • Developed a creative, safe, reliable and fast gas detection method. • Developed a concept of gas ratio measurement method that can provide more accurate description of underground burning coal resource.

Review and assessments of potential environmental, health and safety impacts of MHD technology. Final draft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

The purpose of this document is to develop an environmental, health and safety (EH and S) assessment and begin a site - specific assessment of these and socio - economic impacts for the magnetohydrodynamics program of the United States Department of Energy. This assessment includes detailed scientific and technical information on the specific EH and S issues mentioned in the MHD Environmental Development Plan. A review of current literature on impact-related subjects is also included. This document addresses the coal-fired, open-cycle MHD technology and reviews and assesses potential EH and S impacts resulting from operation of commercially-installed technology.

Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods

Science.gov (United States)

Engle, Mark A.; Radke, Lawrence F.; Heffern, Edward L.; O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K.; Smeltzer, Charles; Hower, James C.; Hower, Judith M.; Prakash, Anupma; Kolker, Allan; Eatwell, Robert J.; ter Schure, Arnout; Queen, Gerald; Aggen, Kerry L.; Stracher, Glenn B.; Henke, Kevin R.; Olea, Ricardo A.; Román-Colón, Yomayara

2011-01-01

Coal fires occur in all coal-bearing regions of the world and number, conservatively, in the thousands. These fires emit a variety of compounds including greenhouse gases. However, the magnitude of the contribution of combustion gases from coal fires to the environment is highly uncertain, because adequate data and methods for assessing emissions are lacking. This study demonstrates the ability to estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions for the Welch Ranch coal fire, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, using two independent methods: (a) heat flux calculated from aerial thermal infrared imaging (3.7–4.4 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions) and (b) direct, ground-based measurements (7.3–9.5 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions). Both approaches offer the potential for conducting inventories of coal fires to assess their gas emissions and to evaluate and prioritize fires for mitigation.

Cyclone reburn using coal-water fuel: Pilot-scale development and testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eckhart, C.F.; DeVault, R.F.

1991-10-01

There is an ongoing effort to develop retrofit technologies capable of converting oil- and/or gas-fired boilers to coal combustion. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of an improved portion of a previously developed retrofit system designed for the purpose of converting oil/gas boilers. This improvement would almost entirely eliminate the use of premium fuels, thereby significantly increasing the economical attractiveness of the system. Specifically, the goals in this program were to replace natural gas as a reburning fuel with coal-water fuel (CWF). The advantages of such a system include: (1) increased return on investment (ROI) for conversions; (2) nearly complete elimination of premium oil or gas fuel; (3) a more integrated approach to the conversion of oil- or gas-designed boilers to CWF.

Radioactivity of coals and ash and slag wastes at coal-fired thermal power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Krylov, D. A.; Sidorova, G. P.

2013-04-01

This paper presents an analysis of published data on the content of radioactive nuclides in coals originating from various coal deposits, and in ash and slag wastes produced at coal-fired thermal power plants, as well as in fly ash emitted from thermal power plants into the atmosphere. Problems related to the use of coals with an elevated content of natural radionuclides (NRNs) and methods of their solution implemented at the Urtuyskoe coalfield are dealt with. Data on the analysis of Transbaikal coals for the NRN content, as well as weighted mean content of uranium and thorium in coals from the Siberian Region, are given. In order to reduce irradiation of plant personnel and the population of the areas where coal producers and coal-fired thermal power plants are located, it is necessary to organize very careful control of the NRN content in both coals and products of their combustion that are released into the environment. To solve the problem related to the control of radioactivity, the centralized approach and creation of a proper normative base are needed. Experience gained in developing the Urtuyskoe coalfield shows that it is possible to create an efficient system of coal quality control with respect to the radiation hygiene factor and provide protection of the environment and health of the population.

How can we reduce carbon in ash in firing pulverized coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Keefe, W. (and others)

1992-12-01

The article discusses solutions to the problem of reducing carbon in ash in firing pulverized coal. Suggested solutions to the problem include: reviewing air flow through the mills; examining the pulverizers for coal fineness variations; investigating air distribution in the burners; review dual-firing equations; examining the burners for slag build up; checking coal fineness is appropriate to the boiler; increasing air flow; and checking instrumentation. 2 figs., 1 photo.

Future CO2 emissions and electricity generation from proposed coal-fired power plants in India

Science.gov (United States)

Fofrich, R.; Shearer, C.; Davis, S. J.

2017-12-01

India represents a critical unknown in global projections of future CO2 emissions due to its growing population, industrializing economy, and large coal reserves. In this study, we assess existing and proposed construction of coal-fired power plants in India and evaluate their implications for future energy production and emissions in the country. In 2016, India had 369 coal-fired power plants under development totaling 243 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity. These coal-fired power plants would increase India's coal-fired generating capacity by 123% and would exceed India's projected electricity demand. Therefore, India's current proposals for new coal-fired power plants would be forced to retire early or operate at very low capacity factors and/or would prevent India from meeting its goal of producing at least 40% of its power from renewable sources by 2030. In addition, future emissions from proposed coal-fired power plants would exceed India's climate commitment to reduce its 2005 emissions intensity 33% - 35% by 2030.

Technology Roadmap: High-Efficiency, Low-Emissions Coal-Fired Power Generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

Coal is the largest source of power globally and, given its wide availability and relatively low cost, it is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The High-Efficiency, Low-Emissions Coal-Fired Power Generation Roadmap describes the steps necessary to adopt and further develop technologies to improve the efficiency of the global fleet of coal. To generate the same amount of electricity, a more efficient coal-fired unit will burn less fuel, emit less carbon, release less local air pollutants, consume less water and have a smaller footprint. High-efficiency, low emissions (HELE) technologies in operation already reach a thermal efficiency of 45%, and technologies in development promise even higher values. This compares with a global average efficiency for today’s fleet of coal-fired plants of 33%, where three-quarters of operating units use less efficient technologies and more than half is over 25 years old. A successful outcome to ongoing RD&D could see units with efficiencies approaching 50% or even higher demonstrated within the next decade. Generation from older, less efficient technology must gradually be phased out. Technologies exist to make coal-fired power generation much more effective and cleaner burning. Of course, while increased efficiency has a major role to play in reducing emissions, particularly over the next 10 years, carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be essential in the longer term to make the deep cuts in carbon emissions required for a low-carbon future. Combined with CCS, HELE technologies can cut CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation plants by as much as 90%, to less than 100 grams per kilowatt-hour. HELE technologies will be an influential factor in the deployment of CCS. For the same power output, a higher efficiency coal plant will require less CO2 to be captured; this means a smaller, less costly capture plant; lower operating costs; and less CO2 to be transported and stored.

Committed CO2 Emissions of China's Coal-fired Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Suqin, J.

2016-12-01

The extent of global warming is determined by the cumulative effects of CO2 in the atmosphere. Coal-fired power plants, the largest anthropogenic source of CO2 emissions, produce large amount of CO2 emissions during their lifetimes of operation (committed emissions), which thus influence the future carbon emission space under specific targets on mitigating climate change (e.g., the 2 degree warming limit relative to pre-industrial levels). Comprehensive understanding of committed CO2 emissions for coal-fired power generators is urgently needed in mitigating global climate change, especially in China, the largest global CO2emitter. We calculated China's committed CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generators installed during 1993-2013 and evaluated their impact on future emission spaces at the provincial level, by using local specific data on the newly installed capacities. The committed CO2 emissions are calculated as the product of the annual coal consumption from newly installed capacities, emission factors (CO2emissions per unit crude coal consumption) and expected lifetimes. The sensitivities about generators lifetimes and the drivers on provincial committed emissions are also analyzed. Our results show that these relatively recently installed coal-fired power generators will lead to 106 Gt of CO2 emissions over the course of their lifetimes, which is more than three times the global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2010. More than 80% (85 Gt) of their total committed CO2 will be emitted after 2013, which are referred to as the remaining emissions. Due to the uncertainties of generators lifetime, these remaining emissions would increase by 45 Gt if the lifetimes of China's coal-fired power generators were prolonged by 15 years. Furthermore, the remaining emissions are very different among various provinces owing to local developments and policy disparities. Provinces with large amounts of secondary industry and abundant coal reserves have higher committed

Coal-fired power plants and the causes of high temperature corrosion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oakey, J E; Simms, N J [British Coal Corporation, Coal Technology Development Div., Cheltenham, Glos (United Kingdom); Tomkings, A B [ERA Technology Ltd., Leatherhead, Surrey (United Kingdom)

1996-12-01

The heat exchangers in all types of coal-fired power plant operate in aggressive, high temperature environments where high temperature corrosion can severely limit their service lives. The extent of this corrosion is governed by the combined effects of the operating conditions of the heat exchanger and the presence of corrosive species released from the coal during operation. This paper reviews the coal-related factors, such as ash deposition, which influence the operating environments of heat exchangers in three types of coal-fired power plant - conventional pulverized coal boilers, fluidized bed boilers and coal gasification systems. The effects on the performance of the materials used for these heat exchangers are then compared. (au) 35 refs.

Evaluation of NOX emissions from TVA coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, J.W.; Stamey-Hall, S.

1991-01-01

The paper gives results of a preliminary evaluation of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from 11 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal-fired power plants. Current EPA AP-42 emission factors for NOx from coal-fired utility boilers do not account for variations either in these emissions as a function of generating unit load, or in designs of boilers of the same general type, particularly wall-fired boilers. The TVA has compiled short-term NOx emissions data from 30 units at 11 TVA coal-fired plants. These units include cyclone, cell burner, single wall, opposed wall, single tangential, and twin tangential boiler firing designs. Tests were conducted on 29 of the 30 units at high load; 18 were also tested at reduced load. NOx emissions rates were calculated for each test and compared to the calculated rate for each boiler type using AP-42. Preliminary analysis indicates that: (1) TVA cyclone-fired units emit more NOx than estimated using AP-42; (2) TVA cell burner units emit considerably more NOx than estimated; (3) most TVA single-wall-fired units emit slightly more NOx than estimated; (4) most TVA single-furnace tangentially fired units emit less NOx than estimated at high load, but the same as (or more than) estimated at reduced load; and (5) most TVA twin-furnace tangentially fired units, at high load, emit slightly more NOx than estimated using AP-42

Analysis of radionuclides in airborne effluents from coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosner, G.; Chatterjee, B.; Hoetzl, H.; Winkler, R.

1982-01-01

In order to assess the level of radioactivity emitted by coal-fired power plants in detail, specific activities of several radionuclides have been measured in samples from a coal-fired and a brown coal-fired plant in the Federal Republic of Germany. Samples measured included coal, brown coal, bottom ash, collected fly ash from the various electrostatic precipitator stages and sieve fractions of collected fly ash as well as samples of escaping fly ash taken from the exhaust stream, all taken simultaneously on three operating days. Nuclides measured were U-238, U-234, Th-232, Th-230, Th-228, Ra-226, Pb-210, Po-210 and K-40. Methods applied included (i) direct gamma spectrometry, (ii) radiochemical separation with subsequent alpha spectrometry and (iii) direct alpha spectrometry. Methods are described and discussed. Finally, annual emission rates of airborne radionuclides are calculated for both plants.

Analysis of radionuclides in airborne effluents from coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosner, G.; Chatterjee, B.; Hoetzl, H.; Winkler, R.

1982-01-01

In order to assess the level of radioactivity emitted by coal-fired power plants in detail, specific activities of several radionuclides have been measured in samples from a coal-fired and a brown coal-fired plant in the Federal Republic of Germany. Samples measured included coal, brown coal, bottom ash, collected fly ash from the various electrostatic precipitator stages and sieve fractions of collected fly ash as well as samples of escaping fly ash taken from the exhaust stream, all taken simultaneously on three operating days. Nuclides measured were U-238, U-234, Th-232, Th-230, Th-228, Ra-226, Pb-210, Po-210 and K-40. Methods applied included (i) direct gamma spectrometry, (ii) radiochemical separation with subsequent alpha spectrometry and (iii) direct alpha spectrometry. Methods are described and discussed. Finally, annual emission rates of airborne radionuclides are calculated for both plants. (orig.)

Waste generation comparison: Coal-fired versus nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaGuardia, T.S.

1998-01-01

Low-level radioactive waste generation and disposal attract a great deal of attention whenever the nuclear industry is scrutinized by concerned parties, be it the media, the public, or political interests. It is therefore important to the nuclear industry that this issue be put into perspective relative to other current forms of energy production. Most of the country's fossil-fueled power comes from coal-fired plants, with oil and gas as other fuel sources. Most of the generated waste also comes from coal plants. This paper, therefore, compares waste quantities generated by a typical (1150-MW(electric)) pressurized water reactor (PWR) to that of a comparably sized coal-fired power plant

Historical costs of coal-fired electricity and implications for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNerney, James; Doyne Farmer, J.; Trancik, Jessika E.

2011-01-01

We study the cost of coal-fired electricity in the United States between 1882 and 2006 by decomposing it in terms of the price of coal, transportation cost, energy density, thermal efficiency, plant construction cost, interest rate, capacity factor, and operations and maintenance cost. The dominant determinants of cost have been the price of coal and plant construction cost. The price of coal appears to fluctuate more or less randomly while the construction cost follows long-term trends, decreasing from 1902 to 1970, increasing from 1970 to 1990, and leveling off since then. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of using long time series and comparing electricity generation technologies using decomposed total costs, rather than costs of single components like capital. By taking this approach we find that the history of coal-fired electricity suggests there is a fluctuating floor to its future costs, which is determined by coal prices. Even if construction costs resumed a decreasing trend, the cost of coal-based electricity would drop for a while but eventually be determined by the price of coal, which fluctuates while showing no long-term trend. - Research highlights: → 125-year history highlights the dominant determinants of coal-fired electricity costs. → Results suggest a fluctuating floor to future costs, determined by coal prices. → Analysis emphasizes importance of comparing technologies using decomposed total costs.

Hazardous air pollutants emission from coal and oil-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deepak Pudasainee; Jeong-Hun Kim; Sang-Hyeob Lee; Ju-Myon Park; Ha-Na Jang; Geum-Ju Song; Yong-Chil Seo [Yonsei University, Wonju (Republic of Korea). Department of Environmental Engineering

2010-03-15

Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emission characteristics from coal (anthracite, bituminous) and oil-fired power plants were studied in order to control pollutants by formulating US maximum achievable control technology (MACT)-like regulation in Korea. Sampling and analysis were carried out according to either Korean standard test method or US EPA method. Relatively lower levels of NOx and SOx were emitted from plants burning bituminous than the anthracite coal. Less dust was emitted from oil-fired power plants. Mercury, lead, and chromium were dominant in coal-fired power plants, following which, nickel and chromium were emitted from oil-fired power plants. The major volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from coal-fired plants were 1,2-dichloroethane, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, trichloro-ethylene. The emission of mercury and other heavy metals in flue gas was attributed to fuel types, operating conditions, residence time in the control devices and the type of air pollution control devices. After emission tests in the field and on analysis of the continuous emission monitoring data collected from facilities under operation and consideration of other various factors, management guidelines will be suggested with special reference to US MACT-like regulation.

Natural radionuclides in coal and waste material originating from coal fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marovic, Gordana; Franic, Zdenko; Sencar, Jasminka; Petrinec, Branko; Bituh, Tomislav; Kovac, Jadranka

2008-01-01

This paper presents long-term investigations of natural radioactivity in coal, used for power production in the coal-fired power plant (CFPP) situated on the Adriatic coast, and resulting slag and ash. Activity concentrations of 40 K, 232 Th, 226 Ra and 238 U in used coal and resulting waste material have been measured for 25 years. As expected, it was demonstrated that the content of radionuclides in deposited bottom and filter ash material are closely related with radionuclide activity concentrations and mineral matter fraction in used coals. The external hazard index has been calculated and discussed for the slag and ash depository. During the first decade of operation of the CFPP has been used domestic coal produced in nearby area characterized by higher background radiation compared with the rest of Croatia. Therefore, the coal itself had relatively high 226 Ra and 238 U activity concentrations while potassium and thorium content was very low, 40 K activity concentrations being 2-9% and those of 232 Th 1-3% of total activity. As, in addition, the sulphur concentrations in coal were very high use of domestic coal was gradually abandoned till it was completely substituted by imported coal originated from various sources and of low natural radioactivity. Upon this, activity concentrations of uranium series radionuclides in deposited waste materials decreased significantly. Consequently, waste material i.e., slag and ash, generated in the last several years of coal fired power plant operation could be readily used in cement industry and as additive to other building materials, without any special restrictions according to the Croatian regulations dealing with building materials and European directives. (author)

Toxecon Retrofit for Mercury and Mulit-Pollutant Control on Three 90-MW Coal-Fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven Derenne; Robin Stewart

2009-09-30

This U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) project was based on a cooperative agreement between We Energies and the DOE Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to design, install, evaluate, and demonstrate the EPRI-patented TOXECON{trademark} air pollution control process. Project partners included Cummins & Barnard, ADA-ES, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The primary goal of this project was to reduce mercury emissions from three 90-MW units that burn Powder River Basin coal at the We Energies Presque Isle Power Plant in Marquette, Michigan. Additional goals were to reduce nitrogen oxide (NO{sub x}), sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}), and particulate matter emissions; allow reuse and sale of fly ash; advance commercialization of the technology; demonstrate a reliable mercury continuous emission monitor (CEM) suitable for use at power plants; and demonstrate recovery of mercury from the sorbent. Mercury was controlled by injection of activated carbon upstream of the TOXECON{trademark} baghouse, which achieved more than 90% removal on average over a 44-month period. During a two-week test involving trona injection, SO{sub 2} emissions were reduced by 70%, although no coincident removal of NOx was achieved. The TOXECON{trademark} baghouse also provided enhanced particulate control, particularly during startup of the boilers. On this project, mercury CEMs were developed and tested in collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific, resulting in a reliable CEM that could be used in the power plant environment and that could measure mercury as low as 0.1 {micro}g/m{sup 3}. Sorbents were injected downstream of the primary particulate collection device, allowing for continued sale and beneficial use of captured fly ash. Two methods for recovering mercury using thermal desorption on the TOXECON{trademark} PAC/ash mixture were successfully tested during this program. Two methods for using the TOXECON

Recent digital control and protection retrofits in power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fournier, R.D.; Hammer, M.; Smith, J.E.

1987-01-01

Digital computers are now being retrofitted to all types of power plants, replacing analog equipment and solving problems such as equipment obsolescence and low reliability. Three diverse examples of retrofits are presented in this paper, representing trends in man/machine interface design at an oil-fired plant, protection system in pressurized heavy-water reactors, and control systems in light water reactors (LWRs). The examples have been chosen to illustrate diverse reasons for the retrofits and the benefits derived. The cases presented report retrofits at Northern States Power's Monticello boiling water reactor, New Brunswick Electric Power Commission's (NBEPC's) Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, and finally NBEPC's oil-fired plant at Courtney Bay

Natural Radionuclides in Slag/Ash Pile from Coal-Fired Power Plant Plomin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barisic, D.; Lulic, S.; Marovic, G.; Sencar, J.

2001-01-01

Full text: The coal slag/ash pile contains about one million tons of different (bottom ash, filter ash, gypsum) waste material deposited in vicinity of Plomin coal-fired power plant. Activities of 40 K, 228 Ra, 226 Ra and 238 U in materials deposited on slag/ash pile as well as in used coals were occasionally measured during past more than two and half decades of Plomin coal-fired plant operation. The radionuclides content in deposited bottom and filter ash material are related with radionuclide activities and mineral matter fraction in coals used. Up to the middle of nineties, the majority of coal used was anthracite from Istrian local mines. In that period, deposited waste material was characterised with relatively high 226 Ra and 238 U activities while potassium and thorium content was very low. When Istrian coal has been completely substituted with imported coal, uranium series radionuclide concentrations in deposited waste materials decreased significantly. Meanwhile, potassium and thorium activities in slag/ash pile material increased. It seems that slag/ash pile material generated in the last several years of Plomin coal-fired power plant operation could be generally used in cement industry without any special restriction. (author)

Cyclone reburn using coal-water fuel: Pilot-scale development and testing. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eckhart, C.F.; DeVault, R.F.

1991-10-01

There is an ongoing effort to develop retrofit technologies capable of converting oil- and/or gas-fired boilers to coal combustion. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of an improved portion of a previously developed retrofit system designed for the purpose of converting oil/gas boilers. This improvement would almost entirely eliminate the use of premium fuels, thereby significantly increasing the economical attractiveness of the system. Specifically, the goals in this program were to replace natural gas as a reburning fuel with coal-water fuel (CWF). The advantages of such a system include: (1) increased return on investment (ROI) for conversions; (2) nearly complete elimination of premium oil or gas fuel; (3) a more integrated approach to the conversion of oil- or gas-designed boilers to CWF.

Ultra-Low Carbon Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants through Bio-Oil Co-Firing and Biochar Sequestration.

Science.gov (United States)

Dang, Qi; Mba Wright, Mark; Brown, Robert C

2015-12-15

This study investigates a novel strategy of reducing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants through co-firing bio-oil and sequestering biochar in agricultural lands. The heavy end fraction of bio-oil recovered from corn stover fast pyrolysis is blended and co-fired with bituminous coal to form a bio-oil co-firing fuel (BCF). Life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kWh electricity produced vary from 1.02 to 0.26 kg CO2-eq among different cases, with BCF heavy end fractions ranging from 10% to 60%, which corresponds to a GHG emissions reduction of 2.9% to 74.9% compared with that from traditional bituminous coal power plants. We found a heavy end fraction between 34.8% and 37.3% is required to meet the Clean Power Plan's emission regulation for new coal-fired power plants. The minimum electricity selling prices are predicted to increase from 8.8 to 14.9 cents/kWh, with heavy end fractions ranging from 30% to 60%. A minimum carbon price of $67.4 ± 13 per metric ton of CO2-eq was estimated to make BCF power commercially viable for the base case. These results suggest that BCF co-firing is an attractive pathway for clean power generation in existing power plants with a potential for significant reductions in carbon emissions.

Southeast Asia - air pollution control and coal-fired power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soud, H.N.

1997-12-01

Coal-fired power generation in Southeast Asia continues to grow in order to satisfy the increasing demand for electricity throughout the region. Emissions standards have been adopted in some Southeast Asian countries. Particulate matter, SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} emissions are the main air pollutants for which standards have been introduced. Coal cleaning, and upgrading are not used much currently. Blending is used in Thailand and is being investigated in Indonesia. Pulverised coal combustion continues to dominate the coal-fired generating capacity. FBC is used at smaller scale and in a few cases. PFBC and IGCC are considered only as options for the future. Control priority is given to particulate matter and ESPs are installed on most (existing and new) coal-fired plants. Although FGD has been installed at Mae Moh in Thailand and is planned for Paiton in Indonesia and Sual in the Philippines, the technology is still considered expensive and its application is likely to remain limited. Boiler optimisation is the main NO{sub x} abatement method currently used. It is expected that low NO{sub x} burners will be used in the future especially in new plant. 166 refs., 1 fig., 40 tabs.

Detection of Coal Fires: A Case Study Conducted on Indian Coal Seams Using Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, B. B.

2016-12-01

India produces majority of its electricity from coal but a huge quantity of coal burns every day due to coal fires and also poses a threat to the environment as severe pollutants. In the present study we had demonstrated the usage of Neural Network based approach with an integrated Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) inversion technique. The Self Potential (SP) data set is used for the early detection of coal fires. The study was conducted over the East Basuria colliery, Jharia Coal Field, Jharkhand, India. The causative source was modelled as an inclined sheet like anomaly and the synthetic data was generated. Neural Network scheme consists of an input layer, hidden layers and an output layer. The input layer corresponds to the SP data and the output layer is the estimated depth of the coal fire. A synthetic dataset was modelled with some of the known parameters such as depth, conductivity, inclination angle, half width etc. associated with causative body and gives a very low misfit error of 0.0032%. Therefore, the method was found accurate in predicting the depth of the source body. The technique was applied to the real data set and the model was trained until a very good correlation of determination `R2' value of 0.98 is obtained. The depth of the source body was found to be 12.34m with a misfit error percentage of 0.242%. The inversion results were compared with the lithologs obtained from a nearby well which corresponds to the L3 coal seam. The depth of the coal fire had exactly matched with the half width of the anomaly which suggests that the fire is widely spread. The inclination angle of the anomaly was 135.510 which resembles the development of the geometrically complex fracture planes. These fractures may be developed due to anisotropic weakness of the ground which acts as passage for the air. As a result coal fires spreads along these fracture planes. The results obtained from the Neural Network was compared with PSO inversion results and were found in

MHD power generation for the synthetic-fuels industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, M.S. Jr.

1982-01-01

The integration of open cycle MHD with various processes for the recovery of hydrocarbons for heavy oil deposits, oil sands, and oil shales are examined along with its use in producing medium Btu gas, synthetic natural gas and solvent refined coal. The major features of the MHD cycle which are of interest are: (a) the ability to produce hydrogen through the shift reaction by introducing H 2 O into the substoichiometric combustion product flow exiting the MHD diffuser, (b) the use of high temperature waste heat in the MHD exhaust, and (c) the ability of the seed in the MHD flow to remove sulfur from the combustion products. Therefore the use of the MHD cycle allows coal to be used in an environmentally acceptable manner in place of hydrocarbons which are now used to produce process heat and hydrogen. The appropriate plant sizes are in the range of 25 to 50 MWe and the required MHD generator enthalpy extraction efficiencies are low. Sale of electricity produced, over and above that used in the process, can provide a revenue stream which can improve the economics of the hydrocarbon processing. This, coupled with the replacement of coal for hydrocarbons in certain phases of the process, should improve the overall economics, while not requiring a high level of performance by the MHD components. Therefore, this area should be an early target of opportunity for the commercialization of MHD

Predicting the market penetration of the next generation of coal-fired technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guha, M.K.; McCall, G.W.

1990-01-01

This paper discusses what role clean coal-fired technology will have in future generating capacity based on availability and prices of coal and natural gas, the nuclear option, environmental regulations, limitations of current air pollution control technologies, and economics. The topics of the paper include the need for new electric generating capacity, why coal must remain a source of energy for generating electricity, technology effectiveness and market penetration analysis methodologies, coal-fired technology economic and technical assumptions, cost estimates, and high and low growth scenarios

Up the stack : coal-fired electricity's toxic impact : an OCAA air quality report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rang, S.

2002-07-01

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) must report annually its releases and transfers of 268 chemicals to the federal National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Each OPG facility reports the amount of chemicals released to the air, land, water and injected under ground at the facility site. The facilities must also report the amount of chemicals that are transferred off-site for treatment, sewage, disposal, recycling or energy recovery. In 1999 and 2000, atmospheric releases from OPG's coal-fired plants accounted for a significant percentage of the total pollutants released for Ontario and Canada. OPG's facilities are often in the top 5 in Ontario and Canada for releases of various chemicals, including persistent toxic chemicals. In 1999, the Nanticoke coal-fired power plant on Lake Erie was ranked first in Canada for releases to the air. Data reported for the 1999 and 2000 reporting period for dioxins and furans, hexachlorobenzene, mercury, metals (chromium, nickel and arsenic), and acid gases such as hydrochloric acid, hydrogen fluoride, and sulphuric acid clearly indicates that OPG coal-fired plants are a leading source of air pollution in Canada and Ontario. The Ontario Clean Air Alliance suggests the data is sufficient to phase-out the use of coal for power generation in Ontario. It recommends conserving energy and replacing coal-fired power with renewable energy sources such as wind and water power. Converting coal facilities to high-efficiency natural gas units would also reduce the toxic impacts of OPG's coal-fired power plants. As an immediate first step, it was recommended that the government should ban non-emergency exports of coal-fired electricity during smog-alert periods in Ontario. 11 tabs

Dynamics of clean coal-fired power generation development in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue, Li

2012-01-01

Coal-fired power technology will play an important role over a long period in China. Clean coal-fired power technology is essential for the global GHG emission reduction. Recently, advanced supercritical (SC)/ultra-supercritical (USC) technology has made remarkable progress in China and greatly contributed to energy saving and emission reduction. This study analyzes the dynamics of SC/USC development in China from an integrated perspective. The result indicates that, besides the internal demand, the effective implementation of domestic public policy and technology transfer contributed greatly to the development of SC/USC technology in China. In future low carbon scenario, SC/USC coal-fired power technology might still be the most important power generation technology in China until 2040, and will have a significant application prospect in other developing countries. The analysis makes a very useful introduction for other advanced energy technology development, including a renewable energy technology, in China and other developing countries. - Highlights: ► The US/USC technology is the key clean coal-fired power technology in current China. ► The domestic policy and technology transfer largely contributed to their development. ► This makes a useful introduction for the development of renewable energy in China.

Cost-Effectiveness of Emission Reduction for the Indonesian Coal-Fired Power Plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Handayani, Kamia; Krozer, Yoram

2014-01-01

This paper presents the result of research on the cost-effectiveness of emission reduction in the selected coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) in Indonesia. The background of this research is the trend of more stringent environmental regulation regarding air emission from coal-fired power plants (CFPPs)

Characteristics of an open-cut coal mine fire pollution event

Science.gov (United States)

Reisen, Fabienne; Gillett, Rob; Choi, Jason; Fisher, Gavin; Torre, Paul

2017-02-01

On 9 February 2014, embers from a nearby grass/shrub fire spotted into an unused part of the Hazelwood open-cut brown coal mine located in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria, Australia and started a fire that spread rapidly and extensively throughout the mine under strong south-westerly winds and burned over a period of 45 days. The close proximity of the town to the coal mine and the low buoyancy of the smoke plume led to the accumulation of dense smoke levels in the township of Morwell (population of 14,000) particularly under south-westerly winds. A maximum daily PM2.5 concentration of 731 μg m-3 and 8-h CO concentration of 33 ppm were measured at Morwell South, the closest residential area located approximately 500 m from the mine. These concentrations were significantly higher than national air quality standards. Air quality monitoring undertaken in the Latrobe Valley showed that smoke from the Hazelwood mine fire affected a wide area, with particle air quality standards also exceeded in Traralgon (population of 25,000) located approximately 13 km from the mine. Pollutant levels were significantly elevated in February, decreased in March once the fire abated and then returned to background levels once the fire was declared safe at the end of March. While the smoke extent was of a similar order of magnitude to other major air pollution events worldwide, a closer look at emissions ratios showed that the open combustion of lignite brown coal in the Hazelwood mine was different to open combustion of biomass, including peat. It suggested that the dominant combustion process was char combustion. While particle and carbon monoxide monitoring started approximately 4 days after the fire commenced when smoke levels were very high, targeted monitoring of air toxics only began on 26 February (17 days after the fire) when smoke levels had subsided. Limited research on emission factors from open-cut coal mine fires make it difficult to assess the likely concentrations of air

Income risk of EU coal-fired power plants after Kyoto

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abadie, Luis M.; Chamorro, Jose M.

2009-01-01

Coal-fired power plants enjoy a significant advantage relative to gas plants in terms of cheaper fuel cost. This advantage may erode (or turn into disadvantage) depending on CO 2 emission allowance price. Financial risks are further reinforced when the price of electricity is determined by natural gas-fired plants' marginal costs. We aim to empirically assess the risks in EU coal plants' margins up to the year 2020. Parameter values are derived from actual market data. Monte Carlo simulation allows compute the expected value and risk profile of coal plants' earnings. Future allowance prices may spell significant risks on utilities' balance sheets. (author)

Empirical prediction of ash deposition propensities in coal-fired utilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frandsen, F.

1997-01-01

This report contain an outline of some of the ash chemistry indices utilized in the EPREDEPO (Empirical PREdiction of DEPOsition) PC-program, version 1.0 (DEPO10), developed by Flemming Frandsen, The CHEC Research Programme, at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark. DEPO10 is a 1st generation FTN77 Fortran PC-programme designed to empirically predict ash deposition propensities in coal-fired utility boilers. Expectational data (empirical basis) from an EPRI-sponsored survey of ash deposition experiences at coal-fired utility boilers, performed by Battelle, have been tested for use on Danish coal chemistry - boiler operational conditions, in this study. (au) 31 refs.

Coal-Fired Power Plant Heat Rate Reductions

Science.gov (United States)

View a report that identifies systems and equipment in coal-fired power plants where efficiency improvements can be realized, and provides estimates of the resulting net plant heat rate reductions and costs for implementation.

Market for new coal powerplant technologies in the US: 1997 annual energy outlook results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutzler, M.J. [Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States). Energy Information Administration

1997-12-31

Over the next 20 years, the combination of slow growth in the demand for electricity, even slower growth in the need for new capacity, especially baseload capacity, and the competitiveness of new gas-fired technologies limits the market for new coal technologies in the US. In the later years of the 1997 Annual Energy Outlook projections, post-2005, when a significant amount of new capacity is needed to replace retiring plants and meet growing demand, some new coal-fired plants are expected to be built, but new gas-fired plants are expected to remain the most economical choice for most needs. The largest market for clean coal technologies in the United States may be in retrofitting or repowering existing plants to meet stricter environmental standards, especially over the next 10 years. Key uncertainties include the rate of growth in the demand for electricity and the level of competing fuel prices, particularly natural gas. Higher than expected growth in the demand for electricity and/or relatively higher natural gas prices would increase the market for new coal technologies.

An MHD energy storage system comprising a heavy-water producing electrolysis plant and a H2/O2/CsOH MHD generator/steam turbine combination to provide a means of transferring nuclear reactor energy from the base-load regime into the intermediate-load and peaking regimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Townsend, S.J.; Koziak, W.W.

1975-01-01

The concept is presented of the MHD Energy Storage System, comprising a heavy-water producing electrolysis plant for electricity absorption, hydrogen/oxygen storage and a high-efficiency MHD generator/steam turbine unit for electricity production on demand from the grid. The overall efficiency at 56 to 60 percent is comparable to pumped storage hydro, but at only one-half to two-thirds the capital cost and at considerably greater freedom of location. The MHD Energy Storage System combined with the CANDU nuclear reactor in Canadian use can supply all-nuclear energy to the grid at a unit energy cost lower than when oil or coal fired plants are used in the same grid

The magnetohydrodynamics Coal-Fired Flow Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-07-01

In this quarterly technical progress report, UTSI summarizes the results of a multi-task research and development project directed toward the development of the technology for the commercialization of the steam bottoming plant for the MHD steam combined cycle power plant. The report covers the final test in a 2000-hour proof-of-concept (POC) test series on eastern coal, the plans and progress for the facility modifications and the conduct of the POC tests to be conducted with western coal. Results summarized in the report include chloride emissions from the particle removal (ESP/BH) processes, nitrogen and sulfur oxide emissions for various tests conditions, measurements of particulate control efficiency and management of the facility holding ponds during testing. Activities relating to corrosion and deposition probe measurements during testing and the fouling of heat transfer tubes and interaction with sootblowing cycles are summarized. The performance of both UTSI and Mississippi State University (MSU) advanced diagnostic systems is reported. Significant administrative and contractual actions are included. 2 refs., 28 figs., 7 tabs.

77 FR 58170 - Proposed Renewal of Existing Information Collection; Fire Protection (Underground Coal Mines)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-19

... Renewal of Existing Information Collection; Fire Protection (Underground Coal Mines) AGENCY: Mine Safety... INFORMATION: I. Background Fire protection standards for underground coal mines are based on section 311(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act). 30 CFR 75.1100 requires that each coal mine...

Relative population exposures from coal-fired and nuclear power plants in India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramachandran, T.V.; Lalit, B.Y.; Mishra, U.C.

1987-01-01

Coal combustion for electric power generation results in dispersal of fly ash, and hence an additional radiation dose to the population living in the neighbourhood of the coal-fired power plants due to natural radioactivity present in coal. The radiation hazards of coal based and nuclear power plants operating in India are given. The dose commitments to the population living within an 88.5 km radius of the thermal and nuclear power plants in India have been computed using the method outlined in an ORNL report. The estimated dose rates for these two types of power plant were compared. The present study shows that the radiation dose from coal-fired and nuclear power plants are comparable.

Retrofit options to enable biomass firing at Irish peat plants: Background report 4.2 for the EU Joule 2+ project: Energy from biomass: An assessment of two promising systems for energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Broek, R.; Faaij, A.; Blaney, G.

1995-05-01

An overview is given of the most promising options for retrofitting existing Irish peat plants to accept biomass fuel. It is expected that with low investment costs the existing peat stations can be adapted to enable them to fire biomass. It will also be possible to co-fire peat and biomass, this option will become a way of using biomass in power generation with relatively low risk, both on the field of initial investments and supply security. The objectives of this report are: assessing the different technical options for retrofitting the plants to enable biomass firing; provide investment costs, efficiencies, emissions and expected lifetimes for the different retrofit options. The results from this study are used in the final integration phase of the EU-Joule project 'Energy from biomass'. Chapter 2 deals with methodological considerations which have been made in estimation of the investment costs. In chapter 3 the present situation is described. Both peat harvesting and power plant operation of both sod and milled peat plants are explained. Also some past experiences with wood chips firing in Irish peat stations are discussed. Chapter 4 gives a general view on retrofitting peat plants to enable biomass firing. Some starting points like biomass fuel feeding and emission standards that have to be met are highlighted. The rationale behind four main choices are given. Finally, a technical description is presented of the two boiler adaptations that will be considered among the different retrofit options, namely conversion of milled peat units into bubbling fluidized bed and into a whole tree energy unit. Six retrofit options are described in more detail in chapter 5. Information is given on the present status of the plants, the technical considerations of the retrofit, expected performance and an estimation of a range in which the investment costs can be expected. 4 figs., 10 tabs., 5 appendices

Coal fired steam generation for heavy oil recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Firmin, K.

1992-01-01

In Alberta, some 21,000 m 3 /d of heavy oil and bitumen are produced by in-situ recovery methods involving steam injection. The steam generation requirement is met by standardized natural-gas-fired steam generators. While gas is in plentiful supply in Alberta and therefore competitively priced, significant gas price increases could occur in the future. A 1985 study investigating the alternatives to natural gas as a fuel for steam generation concluded that coal was the most economic alternative, as reserves of subbituminous coal are not only abundant in Alberta but also located relatively close to heavy oil and bitumen production areas. The environmental performance of coal is critical to its acceptance as an alternate fuel to natural gas, and proposed steam generator designs which could burn Alberta coal and control emissions satisfactorily are assessed. Considerations for ash removal, sulfur dioxide sorption, nitrogen oxides control, and particulate emission capture are also presented. A multi-stage slagging type of coal-fired combustor has been developed which is suitable for application with oilfield steam generators and is being commissioned for a demonstration project at the Cold Lake deposit. An economic study showed that the use of coal for steam generation in heavy oil in-situ projects in the Peace River and Cold Lake areas would be economic, compared to natural gas, at fuel price projections and design/cost premises for a project timing in the mid-1990s. 7 figs., 3 tabs

Coal-fired power materials - Part II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viswanathan, V.; Purgert, R.; Rawls, P. [Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

2008-09-15

Part 1 discussed some general consideration in selection of alloys for advanced ultra supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plant boilers. This second part covers results reported by the US project consortium, which has extensively evaluated the steamside oxidation, fireside corrosion, and fabricability of the alloys selected for USC plants. 3 figs.

Healy Clean Coal Project: Healy coal firing at TRW Cleveland Test Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koyama, T.; Petrill, E.; Sheppard, D.

1991-08-01

A test burn of two Alaskan coals was conducted at TRW's Cleveland test facility in support of the Healy Clean Coal Project, as part of Clean Coal Technology III Program in which a new power plant will be constructed using a TRW Coal Combustion System. This system features ash slagging technology combined with NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} control. The tests, funded by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and TRW, were conducted to verify that the candidate Healy station coals could be successfully fired in the TRW coal combustor, to provide data required for scale-up to the utility project size requirements, and to produce sufficient flash-calcined material (FCM) for spray dryer tests to be conducted by Joy/NIRO. The tests demonstrated that both coals are viable candidates for the project, provided the data required for scale-up, and produced the FCM material. This report describes the modifications to the test facility which were required for the test burn, the tests run, and the results of the tests.

A bottom-up method to develop pollution abatement cost curves for coal-fired utility boilers

Science.gov (United States)

This paper illustrates a new method to create supply curves for pollution abatement using boiler-level data that explicitly accounts for technology costs and performance. The Coal Utility Environmental Cost (CUECost) model is used to estimate retrofit costs for five different NO...

RETROFIT COSTS FOR SO2 AND NOX CONTROL OPTIONS AT 200 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, VOLUME II - SITE SPECIFIC STUDIES FOR AL, DE. FL, GA, IL

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study, the objective of which was to significantly improve engineering cost estimates currently being used to evaluate the economic effects of applying SO2 and NOx controls at 200 large SO2-emitting coal-fired utility plants. To accomplish the object...

Radiation doses from coal-fired plants in Oxfordshire and Berkshire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, S.L.; Wrixon, A.D.

1988-12-01

This report contains an assessment of the radiation doses to members of the public living in Oxfordshire and Berkshire from the releases to atmosphere of natural radioactivity from Didcot Power Station and the coal-fired boilers that operate at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston and the Harwell Laboratory of UKAEA. The calculated annual effective dose equivalents to adults from the emissions from Didcot Power Station and the coal-fired plants at AWE, Aldermaston, and UKAEA, Harwell, at 5 km from the sites are, respectively, 0.3, 0.06 and 0.01 μSv. The dose to red bone marrow are broadly comparable with these values. The doses to the other age groups considered (1-year-old and 10-year-old children) are similar to those to the adults. The conclusion is therefore drawn that the discharges from the coal-fired plants make a negligible contribution to the total radiation doses received by the population living around the sites. (author)

Coal-fired high performance power generating system. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-31

As a result of the investigations carried out during Phase 1 of the Engineering Development of Coal-Fired High-Performance Power Generation Systems (Combustion 2000), the UTRC-led Combustion 2000 Team is recommending the development of an advanced high performance power generation system (HIPPS) whose high efficiency and minimal pollutant emissions will enable the US to use its abundant coal resources to satisfy current and future demand for electric power. The high efficiency of the power plant, which is the key to minimizing the environmental impact of coal, can only be achieved using a modern gas turbine system. Minimization of emissions can be achieved by combustor design, and advanced air pollution control devices. The commercial plant design described herein is a combined cycle using either a frame-type gas turbine or an intercooled aeroderivative with clean air as the working fluid. The air is heated by a coal-fired high temperature advanced furnace (HITAF). The best performance from the cycle is achieved by using a modern aeroderivative gas turbine, such as the intercooled FT4000. A simplified schematic is shown. In the UTRC HIPPS, the conversion efficiency for the heavy frame gas turbine version will be 47.4% (HHV) compared to the approximately 35% that is achieved in conventional coal-fired plants. This cycle is based on a gas turbine operating at turbine inlet temperatures approaching 2,500 F. Using an aeroderivative type gas turbine, efficiencies of over 49% could be realized in advanced cycle configuration (Humid Air Turbine, or HAT). Performance of these power plants is given in a table.

Assessment of nitrogen oxide emission for designing boilers fired with coal dust

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kotler, V.R.; Gusev, L.N.; Babii, V.I.

1983-09-01

A method for forecasting emission of nitrogen oxides from steam boilers fired with coal is described. The method produces accurate results when nitrogen oxide emission from furnaces with straight-flow burners and turbulent-type burners fired with coal dusts is forecast. Oxides formed by decomposition of chemical compounds in coal (so-called 'fuel' nitrogen oxides) and nitrogen oxides formed by oxidation of molecular nitrogen by atomic oxygen (so-called 'thermal' nitrogen oxides) are evaluated. Zones in which the two types of nitrogen oxide are formed in flames are characterized. Factors which influence formation of nitrogen oxides in a furnace are evaluated: excess air, flue gas recirculation, design of a furnace and burners, movement of air and coal dust mixture in a furnace, temperature, methods for coal dust preparation, coal dust properties. Equations for forecasting emission of nitrogen oxides from furnaces are derived. Nomograms for easy calculation of emission are also given. Examples of using the method for forecasting emission of nitrogen oxides from furnaces fired with coal from the Kuzbass, the Donbass and Ehkibastuz are discussed. Comparisons of emission of nitrogen oxides calculated on the basis of the method and emission determined experimentally show that forecasting accuracy is high and errors do not exceed 10%. 5 references.

Detection and delineation of coal mine fire in Jharia coal field (JCF ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

71

Africa, Indonesia, Poland (Zhang et al. 2005; Kuenzer et al. .... is about 8 Km in west direction from Dhanbad Rrailway station. The location of the ...... International conference on Spontaneous coal seam fires: Mitigating a global. 543 disaster at ...

Subsequent flue gas desulfurization of coal-fired power plant units

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willibal, U.; Braun, Gy.

1998-01-01

The presently operating coal-fired power plant in Hungary do not satisfy the pollution criteria prescribed by the European Union norms. The main polluting agent is the sulfur dioxide emitted by some of the power plants in Hungary in quantities over the limit standards. The power plant units that are in good operating state could be made competitive by using subsequent desulfurization measures. Various flue gas desulfurization technologies are presented through examples that can be applied to existing coal-fired power plants. (R.P.)

A Study on Spreading Direction of Coal-fire Based with TIR Remote Sensing in Wuda Coalfield from 2000 to 2006, Northern China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huo, H-Y; Jiang, X-G; Song, X-F; Liu, L; Ni, Z-Y; Gao, C-X; Zhang, Y-Z

2014-01-01

Coal fires are a common and serious problem in most coal producing countries. Coal fires could not only lead to a huge loss of non-renewable energy resources, but it also can cause many environmental problems such as GHG emission, land subsidence and increment of surface temperature. So it is very important to monitor the dynamic changes of coal fires. As far as large scale coal field, remote sensing provided researchers with a new and useful technique for coal fire detection. This paper developed a research over coal fire spreading direction using a multi-temporal TIR remote sensing approach. The results successfully showed that the direction of coal fire spreading and predicted the coal fire direction of development on a regional scale or on a whole coal field scale, and a quantitative analysis of coal fires was made in the research. The results showed that the coal fires had an average annual increase of 0.5 million square meters from 1999 to 2006, and the TIR remote sensing proved to be an available tool for coal fire mapping and prediction of coal fire development

Thermodynamic analysis and conceptual design for partial coal gasification air preheating coal-fired combined cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yue; Wu, Yining; Deng, Shimin; Wei, Shirang

2004-02-01

The partial coal gasification air pre-heating coal-fired combined cycle (PGACC) is a cleaning coal power system, which integrates the coal gasification technology, circulating fluidized bed technology, and combined cycle technology. It has high efficiency and simple construction, and is a new selection of the cleaning coal power systems. A thermodynamic analysis of the PGACC is carried out. The effects of coal gasifying rate, pre-heating air temperature, and coal gas temperature on the performances of the power system are studied. In order to repower the power plant rated 100 MW by using the PGACC, a conceptual design is suggested. The computational results show that the PGACC is feasible for modernizing the old steam power plants and building the new cleaning power plants.

Ash transformation in suspension fired boilers co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

To study the influence of local conditions on the reaction between gaseous KCl and kaolin or coal fly ash experiments were done on CHECs electrically heated entrained flow reactor, which can simulate the local conditions in suspension fired boilers. The experimental results were compared with mod...

CO(2), CO, and Hg emissions from the Truman Shepherd and Ruth Mullins coal fires, eastern Kentucky, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Keefe, Jennifer M K; Henke, Kevin R; Hower, James C; Engle, Mark A; Stracher, Glenn B; Stucker, J D; Drew, Jordan W; Staggs, Wayne D; Murray, Tiffany M; Hammond, Maxwell L; Adkins, Kenneth D; Mullins, Bailey J; Lemley, Edward W

2010-03-01

Carbon dioxide (CO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO), and mercury (Hg) emissions were quantified for two eastern Kentucky coal-seam fires, the Truman Shepherd fire in Floyd County and the Ruth Mullins fire in Perry County. This study is one of the first to estimate gas emissions from coal fires using field measurements at gas vents. The Truman Shepherd fire emissions are nearly 1400t CO(2)/yr and 16kg Hg/yr resulting from a coal combustion rate of 450-550t/yr. The sum of CO(2) emissions from seven vents at the Ruth Mullins fire is 726+/-72t/yr, suggesting that the fire is consuming about 250-280t coal/yr. Total Ruth Mullins fire CO and Hg emissions are estimated at 21+/-1.8t/yr and >840+/-170g/yr, respectively. The CO(2) emissions are environmentally significant, but low compared to coal-fired power plants; for example, 3.9x10(6)t CO(2)/yr for a 514-MW boiler in Kentucky. Using simple calculations, CO(2) and Hg emissions from coal-fires in the U.S. are estimated at 1.4x10(7)-2.9x10(8)t/yr and 0.58-11.5t/yr, respectively. This initial work indicates that coal fires may be an important source of CO(2), CO, Hg and other atmospheric constituents.

The effect of Co-firing with Straw and Coal on High Temperature Corrosion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Frandsen, Flemming; Larsen, OH

2001-01-01

As a part of ELSAMS development programme into alternative energy sources, various concepts of straw-firing have been investigated. This paper concerns co-firing of straw with coal to reduce the corrosion rate observed in straw-fired power plants. Co-firing with coal reduces the amount of potassium......: a) the exposure of metal rings on water/air cooled probes, and b) the exposure of a range of materials built into the existing superheaters. A range of austenitic and ferritic steels was exposed in the steam temperature region of 520-580°C. The flue gas temperature ranged from 925-1100°C....... The corrosion products for the various steel types were investigated using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. Corrosion mechanisms for the austenitic and ferritic steels are presented. These are discussed in relation to temperature and deposit composition. Co-firing with coal has removed potassium...

China's coal-fired power plants impose pressure on water resources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Xinxin; Liu, Junguo; Tang, Yu; Zhao, Xu; Yang, Hong; Gerbens-Leenes, P.W.; Vliet, van Michelle T.H.; Yan, Jinyue

2017-01-01

Coal is the dominant fuel for electricity generation around the world. This type of electricity generation uses large amounts of water, increasing pressure on water resources. This calls for an in-depth investigation in the water-energy nexus of coal-fired electricity generation. In China,

Corrosion protection pays off for coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, T.

2006-11-15

Zinc has long been used to hot-dip galvanise steel to deliver protection in harsh environments. Powder River Basin or eastern coal-fired plants benefit from using galvanized steel for conveyors, vibratory feeders, coal hoppers, chutes, etc. because maintenance costs are essentially eliminated. When life cycle costs for this process are compared to an alternative three-coal paint system for corrosion protection, the latter costs 5-10 times more than hot-dip galvanizing. An AEP Power Plant in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the McDuffie Coal Terminal in Mobile, AL, USA have both used hot-dip galvanized steel. 1 fig., 1 tab.

Cleaning up coal-fired plants : multi-pollutant technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Granson, E.

2009-06-15

Coal is the source of 41 per cent of the world's electricity. Emission reduction technologies are needed to address the rapid growth of coal-fired plants in developing countries. This article discussed a multi-pollutant technology currently being developed by Natural Resources Canada's CANMET Energy Technology Centre. The ECO technology was designed to focus on several types of emissions, including sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), mercury and particulates, as well as acid gases and other metals from the exhaust gas of coal-fired plants. The ECO process converts and absorbs incoming pollutants in a wet electrostatic precipitator while at the same time producing a valuable fertilizer. The ECO system is installed as part of the plant's existing particulate control device and treats flue gas in 3 process steps: (1) a dielectric barrier discharge reactor oxidizes gaseous pollutants to higher oxides; (2) an ammonia scrubber then removes sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) not converted by the reactor while also removing the NOx; and (3) the wet electrostatic precipitator captures acid aerosols produced by the discharge reactor. A diagram of the ECO process flow was included. It was concluded that the systems will be installed in clean coal plants by 2015. 2 figs.

Geographic information technology monitoring and mapping of coal fires in Ukraine, according to the space survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pivnyak, G.; Busygin, B.; Garkusha, I. [National Mining Univ., Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)

2010-07-01

Coal fires are a significant problem around the world, particularly in China, India, and the United States. Coal fires burn thousands of tons of coal reserves and lead to serious problems for the environment, degradation and destruction of landscape, and harm public health. Technology, such as spectrology analysis of signatures with high temperature activity can be used to calculate vegetation algorithms and soil indexes, and multispectral survey data in the thermal channels of scanners. This paper presented the perspectives of technology development in coal fires and the approach to the detection, monitoring, and quantitative estimation of coal fires by the instruments using geographic information systems. Specifically, the paper considered the use of coal fire fragment monitoring technology from data of a diachronous survey obtained by Landsat satellites, to classify dangerous coal waste banks of the Donbass Mine located in Ukraine. The paper provided a description of the study area and discussed the detection technology of temperature-active waste banks. It was concluded that geoinformation technology provides an opportunity to effectively mark mining dumps, in particular, waste banks in multispectrum space images made by Landsat satellites. 7 refs., 6 figs.

Technologically enhanced natural radioactivity around the coal fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovac, J.; Marovic, G.

1997-01-01

In some situations the exposure to natural radiation sources is enhanced as a result to technological developments. Burning of coal is one source of enhanced radiation exposure to naturally occurring elements, particularly radium, thorium and uranium. Most of the radioactive substances are concentrated in the ash and slag, which are heavy and drop to the bottom of a furnace. Lighter fly ash is carried up the chimney and into the atmosphere. The bottom ash and slag are usually deposited in a waste pile, from where some activity may leach into aquifers or be dispersed by wind.The main pathways through which the populations living around coal fired power plants are exposed to enhanced levels of natural radionuclides are inhalation and ingestion of the activity discharged into the Exosphere. For this reason, extensive investigations have been under way for several years in the coal fired power plant in Croatia, which uses an anthracite coal with a higher than usual uranium content. (authors)

Coal fired air turbine cogeneration

Science.gov (United States)

Foster-Pegg, R. W.

Fuel options and generator configurations for installation of cogenerator equipment are reviewed, noting that the use of oil or gas may be precluded by cost or legislation within the lifetime of any cogeneration equipment yet to be installed. A coal fueled air turbine cogenerator plant is described, which uses external combustion in a limestone bed at atmospheric pressure and in which air tubes are sunk to gain heat for a gas turbine. The limestone in the 26 MW unit absorbs sulfur from the coal, and can be replaced by other sorbents depending on types of coal available and stringency of local environmental regulations. Low temperature combustion reduces NOx formation and release of alkali salts and corrosion. The air heat is exhausted through a heat recovery boiler to produce process steam, then can be refed into the combustion chamber to satisfy preheat requirements. All parts of the cogenerator are designed to withstand full combustion temperature (1500 F) in the event of air flow stoppage. Costs are compared with those of a coal fired boiler and purchased power, and it is shown that the increased capital requirements for cogenerator apparatus will yield a 2.8 year payback. Detailed flow charts, diagrams and costs schedules are included.

RETROFIT COSTS FOR SO2 AND NOX CONTROL OPTIONS AT 200 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, VOLUME III - SITE SPECIFIC STUDIES FOR IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study, the objective of which was to significantly improve engineering cost estimates currently being used to evaluate the economic effects of applying SO2 and NOx controls at 200 large SO2-emitting coal-fired utility plants. To accomplish the object...

RETROFIT COSTS FOR SO2 AND NOX CONTROL OPTIONS AT 200 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, VOLUME V - SITE SPECIFIC STUDIES FOR PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, WV

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study, the objective of which was to significantly improve engineering cost estimates currently being used to evaluate the economic effects of applying SO2 and NOx controls at 200 large SO2-emitting coal-fired utility plants. To accomplish the object...

Ash transformation in suspension fired boilers co-firing coal and straw

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

The properties of the ash from co-firing of coal and straw have a large influence on boiler operation, flue gas cleaning equipment and appropriate utilization of the fly ash. A study on the fuel composition and local conditions influence on fly ash properties has been done by making entrained flo...

Life cycle assessment of solar aided coal-fired power system with and without heat storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai, Rongrong; Li, Chao; Chen, Ying; Yang, Yongping; Patchigolla, Kumar; Oakey, John E.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The comprehensive performances of three kinds of different systems were compared through LCA. • The comprehensive results of all systems were evaluated by grey relation theory. • The effects of life span, coal price, and solar collector field cost, among other factors, on the results were explored. - Abstract: Pollutant emissions from coal-fired power system have been receiving increasing attention over the past few years. Integration of solar thermal energy can greatly reduce pollutant emissions from these power stations. The performances of coal-fired power system (S1), solar aided coal-fired power system with thermal storage (S2), and solar aided coal-fired power system without thermal storage (S3) with three capacities of each kind of system (i.e., nine subsystems) were analyzed over the entire life span. The pollutant emissions and primary energy consumptions (PECs) of S1, S2, and S3 were estimated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The evaluation value of global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), respiratory effects potential (REP) and PEC were obtained based on the LCA results. Furthermore, the system investments were estimated, and grey relation theory was used to evaluate the performance of the three types of systems comprehensively. Finally, in order to find the effect of some main factors on the solar aided coal-fired power system (SACFPS), uncertainty analysis has been carried out. The LCA results show that the pollutant emissions and PEC mainly take place in the fuel processing and operation stages for all three system types, and S2 performs the best among the three systems based on the grey relation analysis results. And the uncertainty analysis shows that with longer life span, the power system have better performance; with higher coal price, the power system will have worse performance; with lower solar collector field cost, the solar aided coal-fired power system will be more profitable than the base

Cofiring of biofuels in coal fired boilers: Results of case study analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tillman, D.A. [Ebasco Environmental, Sacramento, CA (United States); Hughes, E. [Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Gold, B.A. [TVA, Chattanooga, TN (United States)

1993-12-31

Ebasco Environmental and Reaction Engineering, under contract to EPRI, performed a case study analysis of cofiring biomass in coal-fired boilers of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The study was also sponsored by DOE. This analysis included evaluating wood fuel receiving, preparation, and combustion in pulverized coal (PC) boilers and cyclone furnaces and an assessment of converting wood into pyrolysis oil or low Btu gas for use in a new combined cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) installation. Cofiring wood in existing coal-fired boilers has the most immediate potential for increasing the utilization of biofuels in electricity generation. Cofiring biofuels with coal can potentially generate significant benefits for utilities including: (1) reducing emissions of SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x}; (2) reducing the net emissions of CO{sub 2}; (3) potentially reducing the fuel cost to the utility depending upon local conditions and considering biomass is potentially exempt from the proposed Btu tax and may get a 1.5 cent/kWh credit for energy generated by wood combustion; (4) supporting local industrial forest industry; and (5) providing a long term market for the development of a biofuel supply and delivery industry. Potential benefits are reviewed in the context of cofiring biofuel at a rate of 15% heat input to the boiler, and compares this cofiring strategy and others previously tested or developed by other utilities. Other issues discussed include: (1) wood fuel specifications as a function of firing method; (2) wood fuel receiving and preparation system requirements; (3) combustion system requirements for cofiring biofuels with coal; (4) combustion impacts of firing biofuels with coal; (5) system engineering issues; (6) the economics of cofiring biofuel with coal. The Allen, TN 330 MW(e) cyclone boiler and Kingston, TN 135 MW(e) Boiler {number_sign}1, a tangentially fired PC unit, case studies are then summarized in the paper, highlighting the cofiring opportunities.

Environmental radioactivity and radiation exposure by radioactive emissions of coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobi, W.

1981-03-01

On the basis of measurements of the radioactive emissions of a 300 MW coal-fired power plant and of a 600 MW lignite-fired power plant the expected activity increase in air and soil in the environment of both plants is estimated and compared with the normal, natural activity level. Due to these emissions it results for the point of maximum immission a committed effective dose equivalent per GW x a of about 0.2 mrem = 0.002 mSv for the coal-fired plant and of about 0.04 mrem = 0.0004 mSv for the lignite-fired plant. This dose is caused to nearly equal parts by inhalation, ingestion and external γ-radiation. The normalized effective dose equivalent in the environment of the modern coal-fired power plant is in the same order of magnitude like that of a modern pressurized water reactor. The total, collective effective dose equivalent commitment by the annual radioactive emissions of coal-fired power plants in the F.R.Germany is estimated to 2000-6000 Man x rem = 20-60 Man x Sv. This corresponds to a mean per caput-dose in the population of the F.R.Germany of about 0.03-0.1 mrem = 0.0003-0.001 mSv; this is about 0.02-0.06% of the mean normal natural radiation exposure of the population. (orig.) [de

Future carbon regulations and current investments in alternative coal-fired power plant technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekar, Ram C.; Parsons, John E.; Herzog, Howard J.; Jacoby, Henry D.

2007-01-01

We analyze how uncertain future US carbon regulations shape the current choice of the type of power plant to build. Our focus is on two coal-fired technologies, pulverized coal (PC) and integrated coal gasification combined cycle technology (IGCC). The PC technology is cheapest-assuming there is no need to control carbon emissions. The IGCC technology may be cheaper if carbon must be captured. Since power plants last many years and future regulations are uncertain, a US electric utility faces a standard decision under uncertainty. A company will confront the range of possible outcomes, assigning its best estimate of the probability of each scenario, averaging the results and determining the power plant technology with the lowest possible cost inclusive of expected future carbon related costs, whether those costs be in the form of emissions charges paid or capital expenditures for retrofitting to capture carbon. If the company assigns high probability to no regulation or to less stringent regulation of carbon, then it makes sense for it to build the PC plant. But if it assigns sufficient probability to scenarios with more stringent regulation, then the IGCC technology is warranted. We provide some useful benchmarks for possible future regulation and show how these relate back to the relative costs of the two technologies and the optimal technology choice. Few of the policy proposals widely referenced in the public discussion warrant the choice of the IGCC technology. Instead, the PC technology remains the least costly. However, recent carbon prices in the European Emissions Trading System are higher than these benchmarks. If it is any guide to possible future penalties for emissions in the US, then current investment in the IGCC technology is warranted. Of course, other factors need to be factored into the decision as well

A probe into informatisation management in coal-fired enterprises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhenghai

2003-01-01

Starting from an analysis of the current situation and the reason about the application of MIS in the power plant, this paper is intended to expound some new way to informatisation management and positioning of MIS in the power plant from the designer. In addition, it probes into the idea and requirement about how to update the management efficiency in the coal-fired enterprises with the informatisation technology. What is more, the ways to choose the core applied platform in the power plant according to different management methods are discussed, thus, some suggestions about how to implement the informatisation are made in and attempt to offer an informatisation management model for the coal-fired enterprises. (authors)

Development, characterization and evaluation of materials for open cycle MHD. Quarterly report for the period ending June 1978

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bates, J.L.; Marchant, D.D.; Daniel, J.L.

1978-10-01

The objectives of this program are directed toward the development and characterization of high temperature ceramics for open-cycle, coal-fired MHD power generators. The current activities are directed to electrode and insulator materials, and include (1) determination of the effects of alkali seed on the behavior of ceramics in a dc electric field; (2) development and testing of improved high temperature ceramic electrodes and insulators with controlled composition, microstructure, and properties; and (3) characterization and evaluation of materials utilized in channels being tested for MHD power generator development. Research is reported on (1) evaluation of metal electrodes from 250 hour MHD test, (2) characterization and properties of USSR MgO insulating wall material, (3) thermal diffusivity/thermal conductivity of electrode and insulator materials, (4) coprecipitation of ceramic powders, (5) properties of yttria chromites, and (6) rare earth hafnates. (WHK)

Novel approach for extinguishing large-scale coal fires using gas-liquid foams in open pit mines.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xinxiao; Wang, Deming; Qin, Botao; Tian, Fuchao; Shi, Guangyi; Dong, Shuaijun

2015-12-01

Coal fires are a serious threat to the workers' security and safe production in open pit mines. The coal fire source is hidden and innumerable, and the large-area cavity is prevalent in the coal seam after the coal burned, causing the conventional extinguishment technology difficult to work. Foams are considered as an efficient means of fire extinguishment in these large-scale workplaces. A noble foam preparation method is introduced, and an original design of cavitation jet device is proposed to add foaming agent stably. The jet cavitation occurs when the water flow rate and pressure ratio reach specified values. Through self-building foaming system, the high performance foams are produced and then infused into the blast drilling holes at a large flow. Without complicated operation, this system is found to be very suitable for extinguishing large-scale coal fires. Field application shows that foam generation adopting the proposed key technology makes a good fire extinguishment effect. The temperature reduction using foams is 6-7 times higher than water, and CO concentration is reduced from 9.43 to 0.092‰ in the drilling hole. The coal fires are controlled successfully in open pit mines, ensuring the normal production as well as the security of personnel and equipment.

Impact of heat and mass transfer during the transport of nitrogen in coal porous media on coal mine fires.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Bobo; Zhou, Fubao

2014-01-01

The application of liquid nitrogen injection is an important technique in the field of coal mine fire prevention. However, the mechanism of heat and mass transfer of cryogenic nitrogen in the goaf porous medium has not been well accessed. Hence, the implementation of fire prevention engineering of liquid nitrogen roughly relied on an empirical view. According to the research gap in this respect, an experimental study on the heat and mass transfer of liquid nitrogen in coal porous media was proposed. Overall, the main mechanism of liquid nitrogen fire prevention technology in the coal mine is the creation of an inert and cryogenic atmosphere. Cryogenic nitrogen gas vapor cloud, heavier than the air, would cause the phenomenon of "gravity settling" in porous media firstly. The cryogen could be applicable to diverse types of fires, both in the openings and in the enclosures. Implementation of liquid nitrogen open-injection technique in Yangchangwan colliery achieved the goals of fire prevention and air-cooling. Meanwhile, this study can also provide an essential reference for the research on heat and mass transfer in porous media in the field of thermal physics and engineering.

Impact of Heat and Mass Transfer during the Transport of Nitrogen in Coal Porous Media on Coal Mine Fires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bobo Shi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The application of liquid nitrogen injection is an important technique in the field of coal mine fire prevention. However, the mechanism of heat and mass transfer of cryogenic nitrogen in the goaf porous medium has not been well accessed. Hence, the implementation of fire prevention engineering of liquid nitrogen roughly relied on an empirical view. According to the research gap in this respect, an experimental study on the heat and mass transfer of liquid nitrogen in coal porous media was proposed. Overall, the main mechanism of liquid nitrogen fire prevention technology in the coal mine is the creation of an inert and cryogenic atmosphere. Cryogenic nitrogen gas vapor cloud, heavier than the air, would cause the phenomenon of “gravity settling” in porous media firstly. The cryogen could be applicable to diverse types of fires, both in the openings and in the enclosures. Implementation of liquid nitrogen open-injection technique in Yangchangwan colliery achieved the goals of fire prevention and air-cooling. Meanwhile, this study can also provide an essential reference for the research on heat and mass transfer in porous media in the field of thermal physics and engineering.

Energy economics of nuclear and coal fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kee Won; Cho, Joo Hyun; Kim, Sung Rae; Choi, Hae Yoon

1995-01-01

The upturn of Korean nuclear power program can be considered to have started in early 70's while future plants for the construction of new nuclear power plants virtually came to a halt in United States. It is projected that power plant systems from combination of nuclear and coal fired types might shift to all coal fired type, considering the current trend of construction on the new plants in the United States. However, with the depletion of natural resources, it is desirable to understand the utilization of two competitive utility technologies in terms of of invested energy. Presented in this paper is a comparison between two systems, nuclear power plant and coal fired steam power plant in terms of energy investment. The method of comparison is Net Energy Analysis (NEA). In doing so, Input-Output Analysis (IOA) among industries and commodities is done. Using these information, net energy ratios are calculated and compared. NEA is conducted for power plants in U.S. because the availability of necessary data are limited in Korea. Although NEA does not offer conclusive solution, this method can work as a screening process in decision making. When considering energy systems, results from such analysis can be used as a general guideline. 2 figs., 12 tabs., 5 refs. (Author)

Cofiring of rice straw and coal in a coal-fired utility boiler: thermodynamic analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyake, Raphael Guardini; Bazzo, Edson [Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering], Emails: miyake@labcet.ufsc.br, ebazzo@emc.ufsc.br; Bzuneck, Marcelo [Tractebel Energia, Capivari de Baixo, SC (Brazil)], E-mail: marcelob@tractebelenergia.com.br

2010-07-01

Cofiring combustion of biomass and coal is a near-term, low cost alternative for reduction fossil greenhouse gas emissions in coal fired power plants. Recent reviews identified over 288 applications in over 16 countries with promising results for different coal and biomass combinations. In Brazil, there is no previous experience of cofiring biomass and coal, resulting in new challenges to fuel handling and boiler operation. A first experience is now proposed into an existing coal power plant, using rice straw as biomass fuel. A thermodynamic model was developed in order to predict operating and emissions data, which should be used in cofiring system design. For 10% of biomass input, the total CO{sub 2} emission is expected to slightly increase. However, considering only the coal CO{sub 2} emission, it is expected to decrease in about 10%. Also, the corresponding SO{sub 2} emission decreases in about 8%. (author)

Slagging in a pulverised-coal-fired boiler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Devir, G.P.; Pohl, J.H.; Creelman, R.A. [University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld. (Australia). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2000-07-01

This paper describes a technique to evaluate the severity of slagging of a coal in a pulverised-coal-fired boiler. There are few data in the literature on the nature of in-situ boiler slags, their rate of growth and/or their strength properties relevant to sootblowing. The latter is thought to be of more concern to boiler operators and gives rise to the significance of selecting suitable strength tests. As well as standardised methods for characterising pulverised coal performance in a boiler, several novel and less popular techniques are discussed in detail. A suite of three sub-bituminous coals from the Callide Coalfields, Biloela (600 km north of Brisbane), has been selected for slagging tests in the 350 MW{sub e} units of Callide 'B' power station. Disposable air-cooled mild steel slagging probes have been constructed to simulate the conditions for deposit formation in the boiler region. To date, tests for one of these coals has been completed and preliminary results are presented. Once testing for the remaining coals has been completed, it is anticipated that the differences exhibited in deposit growth and strength may be correlated with typical variations in physical and chemical properties of the pulverised coal.

CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING OF THE FORMS OF MERCURY FROM COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis L. Laudal

2001-08-01

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAAs) required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether the presence of mercury in the stack emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric utility power plants poses an unacceptable public health risk. EPA's conclusions and recommendations were presented in the Mercury Study Report to Congress (1) and the Utility Air Toxics Report to Congress (1). The first report addressed both the human health and environmental effects of anthropogenic mercury emissions, while the second addressed the risk to public health posed by the emission of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from steam-electric generating units. Given the current state of the art, these reports did not state that mercury controls on coal-fired electric power stations would be required. However, they did indicate that EPA views mercury as a potential threat to human health. In fact, in December 2000, the EPA issued an intent to regulate for mercury from coal-fired boilers. However, it is clear that additional research needs to be done in order to develop economical and effective mercury control strategies. To accomplish this objective, it is necessary to understand mercury behavior in coal-fired power plants. The markedly different chemical and physical properties of the different mercury forms generated during coal combustion appear to impact the effectiveness of various mercury control strategies. The original Characterization and Modeling of the Forms of Mercury from Coal-Fired Power Plants project had two tasks. The first was to collect enough data such that mercury speciation could be predicted based on relatively simple inputs such as coal analyses and plant configuration. The second was to field-validate the Ontario Hydro mercury speciation method (at the time, it had only been validated at the pilot-scale level). However, after sampling at two power plants (the Ontario Hydro method was validated at one of them), the EPA issued

Techno-economic assessments of oxy-fuel technology for South African coal-fired power stations

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oboirien, BO

2014-03-01

Full Text Available at the technical and economic viability of oxy-fuel technology for CO(sub2) capture for South African coal-fired power stations. This study presents a techno-economic analysis for six coal fired power stations in South Africa. Each of these power stations has a...

MHD channel performance for potential early commercial MHD power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swallom, D.W.

1981-01-01

The commercial viability of full and part load early commercial MHD power plants is examined. The load conditions comprise a mass flow of 472 kg/sec in the channel, Rosebud coal, 34% by volume oxygen in the oxidizer preheated to 922 K, and a one percent by mass seeding with K. The full load condition is discussed in terms of a combined cycle plant with optimized electrical output by the MHD channel. Various electrical load parameters, pressure ratios, and magnetic field profiles are considered for a baseload MHD generator, with a finding that a decelerating flow rate yields slightly higher electrical output than a constant flow rate. Nominal and part load conditions are explored, with a reduced gas mass flow rate and an enriched oxygen content. An enthalpy extraction of 24.6% and an isentropic efficiency of 74.2% is predicted for nominal operation of a 526 MWe MHD generator, with higher efficiencies for part load operation

Proceedings of the advanced coal-fired power systems `95 review meeting, Volume I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDaniel, H.M.; Mollot, D.J.; Venkataraman, V.K.

1995-06-01

This document contains papers presented at The advanced Coal-Fired Power Systems 1995 Review Meeting. Research was described in the areas of: integrated gasification combined cycle technology; pressurized fluidized-bed combustion; externally fired combined cycles; a summary stauts of clean coal technologies; advanced turbine systems and hot gas cleanup. Individual projects were processed separately for the United States Department of Energy databases.

Technical progress report for UTSI/CFFF MHD program completion and related activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapman, James N.; Muehlhauser, Joel W.

1998-01-01

Routine preventive maintenance of the DOE Coal Fired Flow Facility (CFFF) is being performed. Modernization programs, funded under subcontract from Foster Wheeler Development Corporation by the DOE HIPPS Program, have been completed on the coal processing system, the data acquisition and control system and the control room. Late in the quarter, all work was stopped on maintenance of the CFFF at DOE instruction. Environmental restoration actions continued with monitoring of groundwater wells and holding pond effluent. Progress is reported on the approved groundwater remediation plan. Actions are underway to dispose of spent seed/ash mixtures and excess coal remaining from the MHD POC program. The status of five (5) High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) projects is reported. A summary is included of the results attained with sol-gel experiments with buffer layers and YBCO. The status of the cost/performance study of electron beam and PLD deposition is pre-sented. A summary of work performed in diagnostics for real time control of HTS processes is presented

TECHNICAL PROGRESS REPORT FOR UTSI/CFFF MHD PROGRAM COMPLETION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DR. JAMES N. CHAPMAN; DR. JOEL W. MUEHLHAUSER

1998-10-23

Routine preventive maintenance of the DOE Coal Fired Flow Facility (CFFF) is being performed. Modernization programs, funded under subcontract from Foster Wheeler Development Corporation by the DOE HIPPS Program, have been completed on the coal processing system, the data acquisition and control system and the control room. Late in the quarter, all work was stopped on maintenance of the CFFF at DOE instruction. Environmental restoration actions continued with monitoring of groundwater wells and holding pond effluent. Progress is reported on the approved groundwater remediation plan. Actions are underway to dispose of spent seed/ash mixtures and excess coal remaining from the MHD POC program. The status of five (5) High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) projects is reported. A summary is included of the results attained with sol-gel experiments with buffer layers and YBCO. The status of the cost/performance study of electron beam and PLD deposition is pre-sented. A summary of work performed in diagnostics for real time control of HTS processes is presented.

Control strategies of atmospheric mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Hezhong; Wang, Yan; Cheng, Ke; Qu, Yiping; Hao, Jiming; Xue, Zhigang; Chai, Fahe

2012-05-01

Atmospheric mercury (Hg) emission from coal is one of the primary sources of anthropogenic discharge and pollution. China is one of the few countries in the world whose coal consumption constitutes about 70% of total primary energy, and over half of coals are burned directly for electricity generation. Atmospheric emissions of Hg and its speciation from coal-fired power plants are of great concern owing to their negative impacts on regional human health and ecosystem risks, as well as long-distance transport. In this paper, recent trends of atmospheric Hg emissions and its species split from coal-fired power plants in China during the period of 2000-2007 are evaluated, by integrating each plant's coal consumption and emission factors, which are classified by different subcategories of boilers, particulate matter (PM) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) control devices. Our results show that the total Hg emissions from coal-fired power plants have begun to decrease from the peak value of 139.19 t in 2005 to 134.55 t in 2007, though coal consumption growing steadily from 1213.8 to 1532.4 Mt, which can be mainly attributed to the co-benefit Hg reduction by electrostatic precipitators/fabric filters (ESPs/FFs) and wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD), especially the sharp growth in installation of WFGD both in the new and existing power plants since 2005. In the coming 12th five-year-plan, more and more plants will be mandated to install De-NO(x) (nitrogen oxides) systems (mainly selective catalytic reduction [SCR] and selective noncatalytic reduction [SNCR]) for minimizing NO(x) emission, thus the specific Hg emission rate per ton of coal will decline further owing to the much higher co-benefit removal efficiency by the combination of SCR + ESPs/FFs + WFGD systems. Consequently, SCR + ESPs/FFs + WFGD configuration will be the main path to abate Hg discharge from coal-fired power plants in China in the near future. However advanced specific Hg removal technologies are necessary

Evaluation methods of solar contribution in solar aided coal-fired power generation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Yong; Zhai, Rongrong; Zhao, Miaomiao; Yang, Yongping; Yan, Qin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Five methods for evaluating solar contribution are analyzed. • Method based on the second law of thermodynamics and thermal economics is more suitable for SACPGS. • Providing reliable reference for the formulation of feed-in tariff policies in China. - Abstract: Solar aided coal-fired power plants utilize solar thermal energy to couple with coal-fired power plants of various types by adopting characteristics of different thermal needs of plants. In this way, the costly thermal storage system and power generating system will become unnecessary, meanwhile the intermittent and unsteady nature of power generation can be avoided. In addition, large-scale utilization of solar thermal power and energy saving can be achieved. With the ever-deepening analyses of solar aided coal-fired power plants, the contribution evaluating system of solar thermal power is worth further exploration. In this paper, five common evaluation methods of solar contribution are analyzed, and solar aided coal-fired power plants of 1000 MW, 600 MW and 330 MW are studied with these five methods in a comparative manner. Therefore, this study can serve as a theoretical reference for future research of evaluation methods and subsidies for new energy

RETROFIT COSTS FOR SO2 AND NOX CONTROL OPTIONS AT 200 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, VOLUME IV - SITE SPECIFIC STUDIES FOR MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH

Science.gov (United States)

The report gives results of a study, the objective of which was to significantly improve engineering cost estimates currently being used to evaluate the economic effects of applying SO2 and NOx controls at 200 large SO2-emitting coal-fired utility plants. To accomplish the object...

Life-cycle comparison of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption for coal and shale gas fired power generation in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Yuan; Huang, Runze; Ries, Robert J.; Masanet, Eric

2015-01-01

China has the world's largest shale gas reserves, which might enable it to pursue a new pathway for electricity generation. This study employed hybrid LCI (life cycle inventory) models to quantify the ETW (extraction-to-wire) GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and water consumption per kWh of coal- and shale gas-fired electricity in China. Results suggest that a coal-to-shale gas shift and upgrading coal-fired power generation technologies could provide pathways to less GHG and water intensive power in China. Compared to different coal-fired generation technologies, the ETW GHG emissions intensity of gas-fired CC (combined cycle) technology is 530 g CO 2 e/kWh, which is 38–45% less than China's present coal-fired electricity. Gas-fired CT (combustion turbine) technology has the lowest ETW water consumption intensity at 960 g/kWh, which is 34–60% lower than China's present coal-fired electricity. The GHG-water tradeoff of the two gas-fired power generation technologies suggests that gas-fired power generation technologies should be selected based on regional-specific water resource availabilities and electricity demand fluctuations in China. However, the low price of coal-fired electricity, high cost of shale gas production, insufficient pipeline infrastructures, and multiple consumers of shale gas resources may serve as barriers to a coal-to-shale gas shift in China's power sector in the near term. - Highlights: • The GHG and water footprints of coal- and shale gas-fired electricity are estimated. • A coal-to-shale gas shift can enable less GHG and water intensive power in China. • The GHG emissions of shale gas-fired combined cycle technology is 530 g CO 2 e/kWh. • The water consumption of shale gas-fired combustion turbine technology is 960 g/kWh. • Shale gas-fired power generation technologies selection should be regional-specific

Natural radioactivity around the coal-fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovac, J.; Bajlo, M.

1996-01-01

By far the greatest part of the radiation received by the worlds population comes from natural sources, in some situations the exposure to natural radiation sources is enhanced as a result of technological developments. Burning of coal is one source of enhanced radiation exposure to naturally occurring elements, particularly radium, thorium and uranium. Extensive investigations have been performed in the coal-fired power plant (CFPP) Plomin in Croatia, using an anthracite coal with a higher than usual uranium content and normal thorium content. A network of TL dosimeters (TLD), working levels (WL) measurements, air pollution monitoring and monitoring of waste pile were organized. Some of the measurements have been repeated, and the results have shown decreased contamination. (author)

Healy Clean Coal Project: Healy coal firing at TRW Cleveland Test Facility. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koyama, T.; Petrill, E.; Sheppard, D.

1991-08-01

A test burn of two Alaskan coals was conducted at TRW`s Cleveland test facility in support of the Healy Clean Coal Project, as part of Clean Coal Technology III Program in which a new power plant will be constructed using a TRW Coal Combustion System. This system features ash slagging technology combined with NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} control. The tests, funded by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and TRW, were conducted to verify that the candidate Healy station coals could be successfully fired in the TRW coal combustor, to provide data required for scale-up to the utility project size requirements, and to produce sufficient flash-calcined material (FCM) for spray dryer tests to be conducted by Joy/NIRO. The tests demonstrated that both coals are viable candidates for the project, provided the data required for scale-up, and produced the FCM material. This report describes the modifications to the test facility which were required for the test burn, the tests run, and the results of the tests.

A new proposed approach for future large-scale de-carbonization coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Gang; Liang, Feifei; Wu, Ying; Yang, Yongping; Zhang, Kai; Liu, Wenyi

2015-01-01

The post-combustion CO 2 capture technology provides a feasible and promising method for large-scale CO 2 capture in coal-fired power plants. However, the large-scale CO 2 capture in conventionally designed coal-fired power plants is confronted with various problems, such as the selection of the steam extraction point and steam parameter mismatch. To resolve these problems, an improved design idea for the future coal-fired power plant with large-scale de-carbonization is proposed. A main characteristic of the proposed design is the adoption of a back-pressure steam turbine, which extracts the suitable steam for CO 2 capture and ensures the stability of the integrated system. A new let-down steam turbine generator is introduced to retrieve the surplus energy from the exhaust steam of the back-pressure steam turbine when CO 2 capture is cut off. Results show that the net plant efficiency of the improved design is 2.56% points higher than that of the conventional one when CO 2 capture ratio reaches 80%. Meanwhile, the net plant efficiency of the improved design maintains the same level to that of the conventional design when CO 2 capture is cut off. Finally, the match between the extracted steam and the heat demand of the reboiler is significantly increased, which solves the steam parameter mismatch problem. The techno-economic analysis indicates that the proposed design is a cost-effective approach for the large-scale CO 2 capture in coal-fired power plants. - Highlights: • Problems caused by CO 2 capture in the power plant are deeply analyzed. • An improved design idea for coal-fired power plants with CO 2 capture is proposed. • Thermodynamic, exergy and techno-economic analyses are quantitatively conducted. • Energy-saving effects are found in the proposed coal-fired power plant design idea

Impact of Heat and Mass Transfer during the Transport of Nitrogen in Coal Porous Media on Coal Mine Fires

OpenAIRE

Shi, Bobo; Zhou, Fubao

2014-01-01

The application of liquid nitrogen injection is an important technique in the field of coal mine fire prevention. However, the mechanism of heat and mass transfer of cryogenic nitrogen in the goaf porous medium has not been well accessed. Hence, the implementation of fire prevention engineering of liquid nitrogen roughly relied on an empirical view. According to the research gap in this respect, an experimental study on the heat and mass transfer of liquid nitrogen in coal porous media was pr...

Exergetic and Parametric Study of a Solar Aided Coal-Fired Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Hu

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A solar-aided coal-fired power plant realizes the integration of a fossil fuel (coal or gas and clean energy (solar. In this paper, a conventional 600 MW coal-fired power plant and a 600 MW solar-aided coal-fired power plant have been taken as the study case to understand the merits of solar-aided power generation (SAPG technology. The plants in the case study have been analyzed by using the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics principles. The solar irradiation and load ratio have been considered in the analysis. We conclude that if the solar irradiation was 925 W/m2 and load ratio of the SAPG plant was 100%, the exergy efficiency would be 44.54% and the energy efficiency of the plant (46.35%. It was found that in the SAPG plant the largest exergy loss was from the boiler, which accounted for about 76.74% of the total loss. When the load ratio of the unit remains at 100%, and the solar irradiation varies from 500 W/m2 to 1,100 W/m2, the coal savings would be in the range of 8.6 g/kWh to 15.8 g/kWh. If the solar irradiation were kept at 925 W/m2 while the load ratio of the plant changed from 30% to 100%, the coal savings could be in the range of 11.99 g/kWh to 13.75 g/kWh.

Multi-objective Optimization of Coal-fired Boiler Combustion Based on NSGA-II

OpenAIRE

Tingfang Yu; Hongzhen Zhu; Chunhua Peng

2013-01-01

NOx emission characteristics and overall heat loss model for a 300MW coal-fired boiler were established by Back Propagation (BP) neural network, by which the the functional relationship between outputs (NOx emissions & overall heat loss of the boiler) and inputs (operational parameters of the boiler) of a coal-fired boiler can be predicted. A number of field test data from a full-scale operating 300MWe boiler were used to train and verify the BP model. The NOx emissions & heat loss pr...

ECONOMICS AND FEASIBILITY OF RANKINE CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richard E. Waryasz; Gregory N. Liljedahl

2004-09-08

ALSTOM Power Inc.'s Power Plant Laboratories (ALSTOM) has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL), American Electric Company (AEP) and Parsons Energy and Chemical Group to conduct a comprehensive study evaluating coal fired steam power plants, known as Rankine Cycles, equipped with three different combustion systems: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and Circulating Moving Bed (CMB{trademark}). Five steam cycles utilizing a wide range of steam conditions were used with these combustion systems. The motivation for this study was to establish through engineering analysis, the most cost-effective performance potential available through improvement in the Rankine Cycle steam conditions and combustion systems while at the same time ensuring that the most stringent emission performance based on CURC (Coal Utilization Research Council) 2010 targets are met: > 98% sulfur removal; < 0.05 lbm/MM-Btu NO{sub x}; < 0.01 lbm/MM-Btu Particulate Matter; and > 90% Hg removal. The final report discusses the results of a coal fired steam power plant project, which is comprised of two parts. The main part of the study is the analysis of ten (10) Greenfield steam power plants employing three different coal combustion technologies: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and Circulating Moving Bed (CMB{trademark}) integrated with five different steam cycles. The study explores the technical feasibility, thermal performance, environmental performance, and economic viability of ten power plants that could be deployed currently, in the near, intermediate, and long-term time frame. For the five steam cycles, main steam temperatures vary from 1,000 F to 1,292 F and pressures from 2,400 psi to 5,075 psi. Reheat steam temperatures vary from 1,000 F to 1,328 F. The number of feedwater heaters varies from 7 to 9 and the associated feedwater temperature varies from 500 F to 626 F. The main part of the

Process simulation of co-firing torrefied biomass in a 220 MWe coal-fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jun; Zhang, Xiaolei; Pawlak-Kruczek, Halina; Yang, Weihong; Kruczek, Pawel; Blasiak, Wlodzimierz

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The performances of torrefaction based co-firing power plant are simulated by using Aspen Plus. • Mass loss properties and released gaseous components have been studied during biomass torrefaction processes. • Mole fractions of CO 2 and CO account for 69–91% and 4–27% in total torrefied gases. • The electrical efficiency reduced when increasing either torrefaction temperature or substitution ratio of biomass. - Abstract: Torrefaction based co-firing in a pulverized coal boiler has been proposed for large percentage of biomass co-firing. A 220 MWe pulverized coal-power plant is simulated using Aspen Plus for full understanding the impacts of an additional torrefaction unit on the efficiency of the whole power plant, the studied process includes biomass drying, biomass torrefaction, mill systems, biomass/coal devolatilization and combustion, heat exchanges and power generation. Palm kernel shells (PKS) were torrefied at same residence time but 4 different temperatures, to prepare 4 torrefied biomasses with different degrees of torrefaction. During biomass torrefaction processes, the mass loss properties and released gaseous components have been studied. In addition, process simulations at varying torrefaction degrees and biomass co-firing ratios have been carried out to understand the properties of CO 2 emission and electricity efficiency in the studied torrefaction based co-firing power plant. According to the experimental results, the mole fractions of CO 2 and CO account for 69–91% and 4–27% in torrefied gases. The predicted results also showed that the electrical efficiency reduced when increasing either torrefaction temperature or substitution ratio of biomass. A deep torrefaction may not be recommended, because the power saved from biomass grinding is less than the heat consumed by the extra torrefaction process, depending on the heat sources

The development of coal-based technologies for Department of Defense facilities. Volume 1, Technical report. Semiannual technical progress report, September 28, 1994--March 27, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, B.G.; Bartley, D.A.; Hatcher, P. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Energy and Fuels Research Center] [and others

1996-10-15

This program is being conducted as a cooperative agreement between the Consortium for Coal Water Mixture Technology and the U.S. Department of Energy. Activities this reporting period are summarized by phase. Phase I is nearly completed. During this reporting period, coal beneficiation/preparation studies, engineering designs and economics for retrofitting the Crane, Indiana boiler to fire coal-based fuels, and a 1,000-hour demonstration of dry, micronized coal were completed. In addition, a demonstration-scale micronized-coal water mixture (MCWM) preparation circuit was constructed and a 1,000-hour demonstration firing MCWM began. Work in Phase II focused on emissions reductions, coal beneficiation/preparation studies, and economic analyses of coal use. Emissions reductions investigations involved literature surveys of NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, trace metals, volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter capture. In addition, vendors and engineering firms were contacted to identify the appropriate emissions technologies for the installation of commercial NO{sub x} and SO{sub 2} removal systems on the demonstration boiler. Information from the literature surveys and engineering firms will be used to identify, design, and install a control system(s). Work continued on the refinement and optimization of coal grinding and MCWM preparation procedures, and on the development of advanced processes for beneficiating high ash, high sulfur coals. Work also continued on determining the basic cost estimation of boiler retrofits, and evaluating environmental, regulatory, and regional economic impacts. In addition, the feasibility of technology adoption, and the public`s perception of the benefits and costs of coal usage was studied. A coal market analysis was completed. Work in Phase III focused on coal preparation studies, emissions reductions and economic analyses of coal use.

Report of commission for investigating MHD on a visit to U.S. Part 2. Report on each place of visit; Hobei MHD chosadan hokokusho. 2. Homonsakibetsu hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1981-01-01

The members of MHD project examination subcommittee made an investigative tour of the U.S. on the state of development of MHD generation. This report of the 2nd part explains opinions and the present status of the R and D on MHD generation by each of the 19 institutions visited. The U.S. research on MHD generation is under the leadership of DOE, whereby the budget for the development is so large as nearly one hundred million dollars have been provided for several years. The purpose is the effective use of domestic coal. General Electric is of the opinion that a combined gas turbine system will be put to practical use earlier because MHD takes time for practicability despite its highest efficiency in coal-utilized power generation. Yet, GE thinks MHD will be more attractive in the future. Reynolds Metal is considering application of MHD generation to the electro-chemical industry at present. According to Reynolds, combined supply of electric output and heat of MHD can reduce the use of calorie per ton of aluminum from 240 MBTU to 100. Montana Power is promoting practicability through a combined plan with DOE-built MHD generation. (NEDO)

Membrane Process to Capture CO{sub 2} from Coal-Fired Power Plant Flue Gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merkel, Tim; Wei, Xiaotong; Firat, Bilgen; He, Jenny; Amo, Karl; Pande, Saurabh; Baker, Richard; Wijmans, Hans; Bhown, Abhoyjit

2012-03-31

This final report describes work conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) on development of an efficient membrane process to capture carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from power plant flue gas (award number DE-NT0005312). The primary goal of this research program was to demonstrate, in a field test, the ability of a membrane process to capture up to 90% of CO{sub 2} in coal-fired flue gas, and to evaluate the potential of a full-scale version of the process to perform this separation with less than a 35% increase in the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Membrane Technology and Research (MTR) conducted this project in collaboration with Arizona Public Services (APS), who hosted a membrane field test at their Cholla coal-fired power plant, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and WorleyParsons (WP), who performed a comparative cost analysis of the proposed membrane CO{sub 2} capture process. The work conducted for this project included membrane and module development, slipstream testing of commercial-sized modules with natural gas and coal-fired flue gas, process design optimization, and a detailed systems and cost analysis of a membrane retrofit to a commercial power plant. The Polaris? membrane developed over a number of years by MTR represents a step-change improvement in CO{sub 2} permeance compared to previous commercial CO{sub 2}-selective membranes. During this project, membrane optimization work resulted in a further doubling of the CO{sub 2} permeance of Polaris membrane while maintaining the CO{sub 2}/N{sub 2} selectivity. This is an important accomplishment because increased CO{sub 2} permeance directly impacts the membrane skid cost and footprint: a doubling of CO{sub 2} permeance halves the skid cost and footprint. In addition to providing high CO{sub 2} permeance, flue gas CO{sub 2} capture membranes must be stable in the presence of contaminants including SO{sub 2}. Laboratory tests showed no

The coal-fired gas turbine locomotive - A new look

Science.gov (United States)

Liddle, S. G.; Bonzo, B. B.; Purohit, G. P.

1983-01-01

Advances in turbomachine technology and novel methods of coal combustion may have made possible the development of a competitive coal fired gas turbine locomotive engine. Of the combustor, thermodynamic cycle, and turbine combinations presently assessed, an external combustion closed cycle regenerative gas turbine with a fluidized bed coal combustor is judged to be the best suited for locomotive requirements. Some merit is also discerned in external combustion open cycle regenerative systems and internal combustion open cycle regenerative gas turbine systems employing a coal gasifier. The choice of an open or closed cycle depends on the selection of a working fluid and the relative advantages of loop pressurization, with air being the most attractive closed cycle working fluid on the basis of cost.

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Engineering Test Facility (ETF) 200 MWe power plant. Conceptual Design Engineering Report (CDER). Volume 4: Supplementary engineering data

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

The reference conceptual design of the Magnetohydrodynamic Engineering Test Facility (ETF), a prototype 200 MWe coal-fired electric generating plant designed to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of open cycle MHD is summarized. Main elements of the design are identified and explained, and the rationale behind them is reviewed. Major systems and plant facilities are listed and discussed. Construction cost and schedule estimates, and identification of engineering issues that should be reexamined are also given. The latest (1980-1981) information from the MHD technology program are integrated with the elements of a conventional steam power electric generating plant. Supplementary Engineering Data (Issues, Background, Performance Assurance Plan, Design Details, System Design Descriptions and Related Drawings) is presented.

Assessing the value of retrofitting cement plants for carbon capture: A case study of a cement plant in Guangdong, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Xi; Li Jia

2012-01-01

existing coal-fired power plants, the economics of retrofitting cement plants to carbon capture is less attractive. However, given the uncertainties in climate policy, regulation and carbon market, new-build cement plants in China, with long lifetime, should consider an essential level of “CCS Ready” to reduce the cost of retrofit and keep the retrofitting option open.

Retrofit of new digital control systems in existing power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.E.; Baird, C.F.

1986-01-01

With the notable exception of the Canadian CANDU nuclear power stations, little use has been made of digital control in North American nuclear stations. Recently, however, there has been renewed interest in such systems within the nuclear industry in response to demands for better ergonomics in control room design and the obsolescence of control equipment whose fundamental design has changed little in 20 yr. Early in 1985, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited was asked by New Brunswick Power to advise on the redesign of the control systems for two fossil-fired generating stations, Coleson Cove and Courtenay Bay Unit 4. Coleson Cove is to be converted from oil to coal firing with consequent extensive control system changes and Courtenay Bay Unit 4 required a low-cost solution to the problem of relocating its control room from the existing isolated location to the combined control center used by units 1, 2, and 3. In both cases, the recommended solution involves the retrofit of state-of-the-art digital control systems. Although the units involved are nonnuclear the experience is applicable

Heavy metal atmospheric emissions from coal-fired power plants - Assessment and uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lecuyer, I.; Ungar, A.; Peter, H.; Karl, U.

2004-01-01

Power generation using fossil fuel combustion (coal and fuel-oil) participates, with other sectors, to heavy metal atmospheric emissions. The dispersion of these hazardous pollutants throughout the environment is more and more regulated. In order to assess the annual flows emitted from EDF coal-fired power plants, a computerized tool has been developed, based on the methodology defined by IFARE/DFIU in 1997. The heavy metal partition factors within the plant unit are determined according to the type of unit and the coal characteristics. Heavy metals output flows, and especially those emitted with flue gas at the stack, are then deduced from the actual coal consumption and chemical composition. A first inventory of heavy metal emissions from EDF coal-fired power plants has been achieved for year 2001. Values are accurate (± 40 %) for nonvolatile elements (Cr, Cu, Co, Mn, Ni, V) and for PM 10 and PM 2.5 (particulate matter below 10 μm and 2.5 μm). The uncertainty is higher (± 80 %) for volatile elements (As, Pb, Zn). Excess indicative values are given for elements which are both volatile and at low concentrations in coal (Hg, Se, Cd). (author)

CFD simulation of coal and straw co-firing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Junker, Helle; Hvid, Søren L.; Larsen, Ejvind

This paper presents the results of a major R&D program with the objective to develop CFD based tools to assess the impact of biomass co-firing in suspension fired pulverized coal power plants. The models have been developed through a series of Danish research projects with the overall objective...... to collect results from fundamental research and make it operational in boiler design through implementation in a Computational Fluid Dynamics based simulation tool. This paper summarizes the developments in modeling of; particle motion, particle conversion, ash deposition on heat transfer surfaces, and NOx...

Temporal trends and spatial variation characteristics of primary air pollutants emissions from coal-fired industrial boilers in Beijing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue, Yifeng; Tian, Hezhong; Yan, Jing; Zhou, Zhen; Wang, Junling; Nie, Lei; Pan, Tao; Zhou, Junrui; Hua, Shenbing; Wang, Yong; Wu, Xiaoqing

2016-01-01

Coal-fired combustion is recognized as a significant anthropogenic source of atmospheric compounds in Beijing, causing heavy air pollution events and associated deterioration in visibility. Obtaining an accurate understanding of the temporal trends and spatial variation characteristics of emissions from coal-fired industrial combustion is essential for predicting air quality changes and evaluating the effectiveness of current control measures. In this study, an integrated emission inventory of primary air pollutants emitted from coal-fired industrial boilers in Beijing is developed for the period of 2007–2013 using a technology-based approach. Future emission trends are projected through 2030 based on current energy-related and emission control policies. Our analysis shows that there is a general downward trend in primary air pollutants emissions because of the implementation of stricter local emission standards and the promotion by the Beijing municipal government of converting from coal-fired industrial boilers to gas-fired boilers. However, the ratio of coal consumed by industrial boilers to total coal consumption has been increasing, raising concerns about the further improvement of air quality in Beijing. Our estimates indicate that the total emissions of PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2 , NO x , CO and VOCs from coal-fired industrial boilers in Beijing in 2013 are approximately 19,242 t, 13,345 t, 26,615 t, 22,965 t, 63,779 t and 1406 t, respectively. Under the current environmental policies and relevant energy savings and emission control plans, it may be possible to reduce NO x and other air pollutant emissions by 94% and 90% by 2030, respectively, if advanced flue gas purification technologies are implemented and coal is replaced with natural gas in the majority of existing boilers. - Highlights: • A unit-based emission inventory of coal-fired industrial boilers is developed. • Temporal trend of historical period 2007–2013 and the future till 2030 is

Power generation from chemically cleaned coals: do environmental benefits of firing cleaner coal outweigh environmental burden of cleaning?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryberg, Morten W.; Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Laurent, Alexis

2015-01-01

Power generation from high-ash coals is a niche technology for power generation, but coal cleaning is deemed necessary to avoid problems associated with low combustion efficiencies and to minimize environmental burdens associated with emissions of pollutants originating from ash. Here, chemical...... beneficiation of coals using acid and alkali–acid leaching procedures is evaluated as a potential coal cleaning technology employing life cycle assessment (LCA). Taking into account the environmental benefits from firing cleaner coal in pulverized coal power plants and the environmental burden of the cleaning...... itself, it is demonstrated that for a wide range of cleaning procedures and types of coal, chemical cleaning generally performs worse than combustion of the raw coals and physical cleaning using dense medium separation. These findings apply for many relevant impact categories, including climate change...

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), Westinghouse phase 1. Volume 8: Open-cycle MHD. [energy conversion efficiency and design analysis of electric power plants employing magnetohydrodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, D. Q.

1976-01-01

Electric power plant costs and efficiencies are presented for three basic open-cycle MHD systems: (1) direct coal fired system, (2) a system with a separately fired air heater, and (3) a system burning low-Btu gas from an integrated gasifier. Power plant designs were developed corresponding to the basic cases with variation of major parameters for which major system components were sized and costed. Flow diagrams describing each design are presented. A discussion of the limitations of each design is made within the framework of the assumptions made.

Exergy evaluation of a typical 330 MW solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Shuo; Wang, Zhaoguo; Hong, Hui; Xu, Da; Jin, Hongguang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Exergy analysis of solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant has been processed. • EUD method is utilized to obtain detailed information on the exergy destruction in each process. • Off-design thermodynamic performances are discussed to identify the advantages. • Exergy destruction of several parts under varying solar radiation is examined. - Abstract: This study discusses the thermodynamic performance of a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant that uses solar heat with temperature lower than 300 °C to replace the extracted steam from a steam turbine to heat the feed water. Through this process, the steam that was to be extracted can efficiently expand in the steam turbine to generate electricity. The flow rate of steam returning to the turbine retains only a small part of the main stream, allowing the steam turbine to run close to design conditions for all DNI. A solar-only thermal power plant without storage is also discussed to illustrate the advantages of a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant. The off-design performances of both plants are compared based on the energy-utilization diagram method. The exergy destruction of the solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant is found to be lower than that of the solar-only thermal power plant. The comparison of two plants, which may provide detailed information on internal phenomena, highlights several advantages of the solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant in terms of off-design operation: lower exergy destruction in the solar feed water heater and steam turbine and higher exergy and solar-to-electricity efficiency. Preliminary technological economic performances of both plants are compared. The results obtained in this study indicate that a solar-hybrid coal-fired power plant could achieve better off-design performance and economic performance than a solar-only thermal power plant

Techno-Economic Analysis of Integration of Low-Temperature Geothermal Resources for Coal-Fired Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bearden, Mark D.; Davidson, Casie L.; Horner, Jacob A.; Heldebrant, David J.; Freeman, Charles J.

2016-05-11

Presented here are the results of a techno-economic (TEA) study of the potential for coupling low-grade geothermal resources to boost the electrical output from coal-fired power plants. This study includes identification of candidate 500 MW subcritical coal-fired power plants in the continental United States, followed by down-selection and characterization of the North Valmy generating station, a Nevada coal-fired plant. Based on site and plant characteristics, ASPEN Plus models were designed to evaluate options to integrate geothermal resources directly into existing processes at North Valmy. Energy outputs and capital costing are presented for numerous hybrid strategies, including integration with Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs), which currently represent the primary technology for baseload geothermal power generation.

The Research of Utilization Hours of Coal-Fired Power Generation Units Based on Electric Energy Balance

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Junhui; Yang, Jianlian; Wang, Jiangbo; Yang, Meng; Tian, Chunzheng; He, Xinhui

2018-01-01

With grid-connected scale of clean energy such as wind power and photovoltaic power expanding rapidly and cross-province transmission scale being bigger, utilization hours of coal-fired power generation units become lower and lower in the context of the current slowdown in electricity demand. This paper analyzes the influencing factors from the three aspects of demand, supply and supply and demand balance, and the mathematical model has been constructed based on the electric energy balance. The utilization hours of coal-fired power generation units have been solved considering the relationship among proportion of various types of power installed capacity, the output rate and utilization hours. By carrying out empirical research in Henan Province, the utilization hours of coal-fired units of Henan Province in 2020 has been achieved. The example validates the practicability and the rationality of the model, which can provide a basis for the decision-making for coal-fired power generation enterprises.

MHD Generating system

Science.gov (United States)

Petrick, Michael; Pierson, Edward S.; Schreiner, Felix

1980-01-01

According to the present invention, coal combustion gas is the primary working fluid and copper or a copper alloy is the electrodynamic fluid in the MHD generator, thereby eliminating the heat exchangers between the combustor and the liquid-metal MHD working fluids, allowing the use of a conventional coalfired steam bottoming plant, and making the plant simpler, more efficient and cheaper. In operation, the gas and liquid are combined in a mixer and the resulting two-phase mixture enters the MHD generator. The MHD generator acts as a turbine and electric generator in one unit wherein the gas expands, drives the liquid across the magnetic field and thus generates electrical power. The gas and liquid are separated, and the available energy in the gas is recovered before the gas is exhausted to the atmosphere. Where the combustion gas contains sulfur, oxygen is bubbled through a side loop to remove sulfur therefrom as a concentrated stream of sulfur dioxide. The combustor is operated substoichiometrically to control the oxide level in the copper.

Life cycle assessment of coal-fired power plants and sensitivity analysis of CO2 emissions from power generation side

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Libao; Liao, Yanfen; Zhou, Lianjie; Wang, Zhao; Ma, Xiaoqian

2017-05-01

The life cycle assessment and environmental impacts of a 1000MW coal-fired power plant were carried out in this paper. The results showed that the operation energy consumption and pollutant emission of the power plant are the highest in all sub-process, which accounts for 93.93% of the total energy consumption and 92.20% of the total emission. Compared to other pollutant emissions from the coal-fired power plant, CO2 reached up to 99.28%. Therefore, the control of CO2 emission from the coal-fired power plants was very important. Based on the BP neural network, the amount of CO2 emission from the generation side of coal-fired power plants was calculated via carbon balance method. The results showed that unit capacity, coal quality and unit operation load had great influence on the CO2 emission from coal-fired power plants in Guangdong Province. The use of high volatile and high heat value of coal also can reduce the CO2 emissions. What’s more, under higher operation load condition, the CO2 emissions of 1 kWh electric energy was less.

CO-FIRING COAL: FEEDLOT AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND CLB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thein; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan; Senthil Arumugam; Kevin Heflin

2003-08-28

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain-diet diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. The manure could be used as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in an existing coal suspension fired combustion systems. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Reburn is a process where a small percentage of fuel called reburn fuel is injected above the NO{sub x} producing, conventional coal fired burners in order to reduce NO{sub x}. The manure could also be used as reburn fuel for reducing NO{sub x} in coal fired plants. An alternate approach of using animal waste is to adopt the gasification process using a fixed bed gasifier and then use the gases for firing in gas turbine combustors. In this report, the cattle manure is referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) and chicken manure as litter biomass (LB). The report generates data on FB and LB fuel characteristics. Co-firing, reburn, and gasification tests of coal, FB, LB, coal: FB blends, and coal: LB blends and modeling on cofiring, reburn systems and economics of use of FB and LB have also been conducted. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, lower in heat content, higher in moisture, and higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution) compared to coal. Small-scale cofiring experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO{sub x} emissions will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. Further experiments showed that biomass is twice or more effective than coal when

Report on results of contract research. 'Research on MHD generation system'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1983-03-01

'Research on MHD generation system' was implemented by its expert committee in the electric joint study group, with the results of fiscal 1982 reported. This year is the final year of this research; therefore, reexamination was made from the practical standpoint on the R and D of coal fired MHD generation, evaluating the present technological level as well as clarifying the development procedures, with proposals made as to the R and D from now on. The present technological level in the practicability is still in the basic stage, where the essential problem is the development of combustors, air heaters and generation channels in particular. An examination was conducted for the problems, procedures and period of the development for each component equipment, with the results provided as materials for studying the path to the experimental plant of 100 MW heat input. In the method of proceeding with the R and D in the future, it was decided as essential, in order to enter the stage of the experimental plant from the element technology development, that R and D is carried out on the unestablished component technology, making sure that no excessive risk is taken in scaling up to the next stage. (NEDO)

Results from study of potential early commercial MHD power plants and from recent ETF design work

Science.gov (United States)

Hals, F.; Kessler, R.; Swallom, D.; Westra, L.; Zar, J.; Morgan, W.; Bozzuto, C.

1980-06-01

The study deals with different 'moderate technology' entry-level commercial MHD power plants. Two of the reference plants are based on combustion of coal with air preheated in a high-temperature regenerative air heater separately fired with a low-BTU gas produced in a gasifier integrated with the power plant. The third reference plant design is based on the use of oxygen enriched combustion air. Performance calculations show that an overall power plant efficiency of the order of 44% can be reached with the use of oxygen enrichment.

The hybrid MPC-MINLP algorithm for optimal operation of coal-fired power plants with solvent based post-combustion CO2 capture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norhuda Abdul Manaf

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an algorithm that combines model predictive control (MPC with MINLP optimization and demonstrates its application for coal-fired power plants retrofitted with solvent based post-combustion CO2 capture (PCC plant. The objective function of the optimization algorithm works at a primary level to maximize plant economic revenue while considering an optimal carbon capture profile. At a secondary level, the MPC algorithm is used to control the performance of the PCC plant. Two techno-economic scenarios based on fixed (capture rate is constant and flexible (capture rate is variable operation modes are developed using actual electricity prices (2011 with fixed carbon prices ($AUD 5, 25, 50/tonne-CO2 for 24 h periods. Results show that fixed operation mode can bring about a ratio of net operating revenue deficit at an average of 6% against the superior flexible operation mode.

Fuel characterization requirements for cofiring biomass in coal-fired boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prinzing, D.E.; Tillman, D.A.; Harding, N.S.

1993-01-01

The cofiring of biofuels with coal in existing boilers, or the cofiring of biofuels in combined cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) systems presents significant potential benefits to utilities, including reductions in SO 2 and NO x emissions as a function of reducing the mass flow of sulfur and nitrogen to the boiler, reducing CO 2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels; potentially reducing fuel costs both by the availability of wood residues and by the fact that biofuels are exempt from the proposed BTU tax; and providing support to industrial customers from the forest products industry. At the same time, cofiring requires careful attention to the characterization of the wood and coal, both singly and in combination. This paper reviews characterization requirements associated with cofiring biofuels and fossil fuels in boilers and CCCT installations with particular attention not only to such concerns as sulfur, nitrogen, moisture, and Btu content, but also to such issues as total ash content, base/acid ratio of the wood ash and the coal ash, alkali metal content in the wood ash and wood fuel (including converted fuels such as low Btu gas or pyrolytic oil), slagging and fouling indices, ash fusion temperature, and trace metal contents in the wood and coal. The importance of each parameter is reviewed, along with potential consequences of a failure to adequately characterize these parameters. The consequences of these parameters are reviewed with attention to firing biofuels with coal in pulverized coal (PC) and cyclone boilers, and firing biofuels with natural gas in CCCT installations

Monitoring subsurface coal fires in Jharia coalfield using ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

ing adverse effects on the regional environment ... subsurface coal fires and to study its lateral prop- ... as is the case with the recently developed Persis- .... using Statistical-Cost, Network-Flow Algorithm ..... dence of Kolkata (Calcutta) City, India during the 1990s ... a case study in the east of France; Int. J. Remote Sens.

Influence of the co-firing on the leaching of trace pollutants from coal fly ash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maria Izquierdo; Natalia Moreno; Oriol Font; Xavier Querol; Esther Alvarez; Diano Antenucci; Henk Nugteren; Yolanda Luna; Constantino Fernandez-Pereira [Institute of Earth Sciences ' Jaume Almera' (CSIC), Barcelona (Spain)

2008-08-15

The (co)-firing of low-cost alternative fuels is expected to increase in the forthcoming years in the EU because of the economic and environmental benefits provided by this technology. This study deals with the impact of the different coal/waste fuel ratio of the feed blend on the mineralogy, the chemical composition and especially on the leaching properties of fly ash. Different blends of coal, petroleum coke, sewage sludge, wood pellets, coal tailings and other minor biomass fuels were tested in PCC (pulverised coal combustion) and FBC (fluidized bed combustion) power plants. The co-firing of the studied blends did not drastically modify the mineralogy, bulk composition or the overall leaching of the fly ash obtained. This suggests that the co-firing process using the alternative fuels studied does not entail significant limitations in the re-use or management strategies of fly ash. 34 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.

Natural desulfurization in coal-fired units using Greek lignite.

Science.gov (United States)

Konidaris, Dimitrios N

2010-10-01

This paper analyzes the natural desulfurization process taking place in coal-fired units using Greek lignite. The dry scrubbing capability of Greek lignite appears to be extremely high under special conditions, which can make it possible for the units to operate within the legislative limits of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions. According to this study on several lignite-fired power stations in northern Greece, it was found that sulfur oxide emissions depend on coal rank, sulfur content, and calorific value. On the other hand, SO2 emission is inversely proportional to the parameter gammaCO2(max), which is equal to the maximum carbon dioxide (CO2) content by volume of dry flue gas under stoichiometric combustion. The desulfurization efficiency is positively correlated to the molar ratio of decomposed calcium carbonate to sulfur and negatively correlated to the free calcium oxide content of fly ash.

Feedlot biomass co-firing: a renewable energy alternative for coal-fired utilities. Paper no. IGEC-1-128

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arumugam, S.; Thien, B.; Annamalai, K.; Sweeten, J.

2005-01-01

The swiftly growing feedlot industry in the United States upshots in the production of manure from one or more animal species in excess of what can safely be applied to farmland in accordance with nutrient management plans. Disposal of the vast quantity of manure produced as a by-product of the cattle feeding industry is one of the major operating tasks of the industry. Aside from the traditional means of disposal as fertilizer, an alternative and attractive way of overcoming this threat is to develop processes that make use of manure as an energy resource. In the present study, the feasibility of using of manure as a fuel in existing coal fired power plants is considered and appropriately termed Feedlot Biomass (FB). The technology of co-firing coal: feedlot biomass facilitates an environment friendly utilization of animal waste for the production of valuable power/steam concurrently addressing the renewable energy, groundwater contamination, and greenhouse gas concerns. Co-firing tests were performed at the Texas AandM University 30 kW t (100,000 Btu/h) laboratory-scale facility. The trials revealed the enhanced combustion of the blends. The NO emissions were less for the blend even with higher nitrogen content of FB as compared to coal. (author)

Comparison of electricity production costs of nuclear and coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peltzer, M.

1980-01-01

Electricity production costs of nuclear and coal-fired power plants their structure and future development are calculated and compared. Assumed beginning of operation is in the mid-1980. The technical and economical data are based on a nuclear power unit of 1 300 MW and on a coal-fired twin plant of 2 x 750 MW. The study describes and discusses the calculational method and the results. The costs for the electricity generation show an economic advantage for nuclear power. A sensitivity analysis shows that these results are valid also for changed input parameters. (orig.) [de

Underground Coal-Fires in Xinjiang, China: A Continued Effort in Applying Geophysics to Solve a Local Problem and to Mitigate a Global Hazard

Science.gov (United States)

Wuttke, M. W.; Halisch, M.; Tanner, D. C.; Cai, Z. Y.; Zeng, Q.; Wang, C.

2012-04-01

Spontaneous uncontrolled coal seam fires are a well known phenomenon that causes severe environmental problems and severe impact on natural coal reserves. Coal fires are a worldwide phenomenon, but in particular in Xinjiang, that covers 17.3 % of Chinas area and hosts approx 42 % of its coal resources. In Xinjiang since more than 50 years a rigorous strategy for fire fighting on local and regional scale is persued. The Xinjiang Coalfield Fire Fighting Bureau (FFB) has developed technologies and methods to deal with any known fire. Many fires have been extinguished already, but the problem is still there if not even growing. This problem is not only a problem for China due to the loss of valuable energy resources, but it is also a worldwide threat because of the generation of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. Through the FFB, China is struggling to overcome this, but the activities could be much enhanced by the continuation of the already successful conjoint operations. The last ten years have seen two successful cooperative projects between China and Germany on the field of coal-fire fighting, namely the German Technical Cooperation Project on Coal Fire in Xinjiang and the Sino-German Coal Fire Research Initiative funded by the corresponding ministeries of both countries. A persistent task in the fire fighting is the identification and supervision of areas with higher risks for the ignition of coal fires, the exploration of already ignited fire zones to extinguish the fires and the monitoring of extinguished fires to detect as early as possible process that may foster re-ignition. This can be achieved by modeling both the structures and the processes that are involved. This has also been a promising part of the past cooperation projects, yet to be transformed into a standard application of fire fighting procedures. In this contribution we describe the plans for a new conjoint project between China and Germany where on the basis of field investigations and

Monetization of External Costs Using Lifecycle Analysis—A Comparative Case Study of Coal-Fired and Biomass Power Plants in Northeast China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingling Wang

2015-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, the structures of external costs are built in line with coal-fired and biomass power plant life cycle activities in Northeast China. The external cost of coal-fired and biomass power plants was compared, using the lifecycle approach. In addition, the external costs of a biomass power plant are calculated for each stage for comparison with those of a coal-fired power plant. The results highlight that the external costs of a coal-fired plant are 0.072 US $/kWh, which are much higher than that of a biomass power plant, 0.00012 US$/kWh. The external cost of coal-fired power generation is as much as 90% of the current price of electricity generated by coal, while the external cost of a biomass power plant is 1/1000 of the current price of electricity generated by biomass. In addition, for a biomass power plant, the external cost associated with SO2, NOX, and PM2.5 are particularly lower than those of a coal-fired power plant. The prospect of establishing precise estimations for external cost mechanisms and sustainable energy policies is discussed to show a possible direction for future energy schemes in China. The paper has significant value for supporting the biomass power industry and taxing or regulating coal-fired power industry to optimize the energy structure in China.

UNEP Demonstrations of Mercury Emission Reduction at Two Coal-fired Power Plants in Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozewicz W.

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP partnership area “Mercury releases from coal combustion” (The UNEP Coal Partnership has initiated demonstrations of mercury air emission reduction at two coal-fired power plants in Russia. The first project has modified the wet particulate matter (PM scrubber installed in Toliatti thermal plant to allow for addition of chemical reagents (oxidants into the closedloop liquid spray system. The addition of oxidant resulted in significant improvement of mercury capture from 20% total mercury removal (without the additive up to 60% removal (with the additive. It demonstrates the effectiveness of sorbent injection technologies in conjunction with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP. ESPs are installed at 60%, while wet PM scrubbers are installed at 30% of total coal-fired capacity in Russia. Thus, the two UNEP Coal Partnership projects address the majority of PM emission control configurations occurring in Russia.

Economic aspects of ecological risk due to nuclear and coal-fired electricity production (general comparison, related to the USSR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, V.; Wahlstroem, B.; Demin, V.; Lebedev, O.; Ignatiyev, V.

1991-05-01

The content of this paper is reflected in the chapter headings: (1) Introduction (2) Environmental problems relating to the coal-fired power plants (3) Costs of environmental protection for coal-fired power plants (4) Comparison of economic efficiency of nuclear and coal-fired power plants (5) Cost of environmental protection for normal operation of a nuclear power plant and its fuel facilities (6) Accidental risk from off-reactor nuclear fuel cycle facilities (7) Conclusion. (Quittner)

Industry perspectives on increasing the efficiency of coal-fired power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrens, I.M. [Shell Coal International, London (United Kingdom); Stenzel, W.C.

1997-12-31

Independent power producers will build a substantial fraction of expected new coal-fired power generation in developing countries over the coming decades. To reduce perceived risk and obtain financing for their projects, they are currently building and plan to continue to build subcritical coal-fired plants with generating efficiency below 40%. Up-to-date engineering assessment leads to the conclusion that supercritical generating technology, capable of efficiencies of up to 45%, can produce electricity at a lower total cost than conventional plants. If such plants were built in Asia over the coming decades, the savings in carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetime would be measured in billions of tons. IPPs perceive supercritical technology as riskier and higher cost than conventional technology. The truth needs to be confirmed by discussions with additional experienced power engineering companies. Better communication among the interested parties could help to overcome the IPP perception issue. Governments working together with industry might be able to identify creative financing arrangements which can encourage the use of more efficient pulverized clean coal technologies, while awaiting the commercialization of advanced clean coal technologies like gasification combined cycle and pressurized fluidized bed combustion.

Depositional history of the Fire Clay coal bed (Late Duckmantian), Eastern Kentucky, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Greb, S.F.; Eble, C.F.; Hower, J.C.

1999-01-01

More than 3800 coal thickness measurements, proximate analyses from 97 localities, and stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses from more than 300 outcrops and cores were used in conjunction with previously reported palynological and petrographic studies to map individual benches of the coal and document bench-scale variability in the Fire Clay (Hazard No. 4) coal bed across a 1860 km2 area of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. The bench architecture of the Fire Clay coal bed consists of uncommon leader benches, a persistent but variable lower bench, a widespread, and generally thick upper bench, and local, variable rider benches. Rheotrophic conditions are inferred for the leader benches and lower bench based on sedimentological associations, mixed palynomorph assemblages, locally common cannel coal layers, and generally high ash yields. The lower bench consistently exhibits vertical variability in petrography and palynology that reflects changing trophic conditions as topographic depressions infilled. Infilling also led to unconfined flooding and ultimately the drowning of the lower bench mire. The drowned mire was covered by an air-fall volcanic-ash deposit, which produced the characteristic flint clay parting. The extent and uniform thickness of the parting suggests that the ash layer was deposited in water on a relatively flat surface without a thick canopy or extensive standing vegetation across most of the study area. Ash deposits led to regional ponding and establishment of a second planar mire. Because the topography had become a broadly uniform, nutrient-rich surface, upper-bench peats became widespread with large areas of the mire distant to clastic sources. Vertical sections of thick (> 70 cm), low-ash yield, upper coal bench show a common palynomorph change from arborescent lycopod dominance upward to fern and densospore-producing, small lycopod dominance, inferred as a shift from planar to ombrotrophic mire phases. Domed mires appear to have been

An improvement of SiC insulator performances for MHD generator channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuo, T.; Ookouchi, T.; Aoki, Y.

1988-01-01

A water cooled ceramic-metal bonded wall element has been developed for a coal combustion MHD generator channels. It was shown to have excellent characters of stability under high heat flux and thermal shock conditions and good electrical insulation performance in the splash test stand and the small scale MHD simulation channel of ETL COM Fired Facility. Temperature of the compliant and brazed layer rises significantly with heat flux, and cause troubles such as oxidation, corrosion and deterioration of strength of the compliant material. Not only an application for the ceramics-metal bonding with high reliability, but also an improvement of allowable heat flux is possible. New compliant material made of grooved copper and a high reliable metallizing and brazing method were developed. It will make possible raising the limitation of allowable heat flux up to 1,000 W/cm 2 . Through this research, the compatibility of the grooved copper compliant structure was proved and a design concept obtained to construct a highly efficient, water cooled SiC insulator

[Emission Characteristics of Water-Soluble Ions in Fumes of Coal Fired Boilers in Beijing].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yue-qi; Ma, Zhao-hui; Feng, Ya-jun; Wang, Chen; Chen, Yuan-yuan; He, Ming

2015-06-01

Selecting coal fired boilers with typical flue gas desulfurization and dust extraction systems in Beijing as the study objects, the issues and characteristics of the water-soluble ions in fumes of coal fired boilers and theirs influence factors were analyzed and evaluated. The maximum mass concentration of total water-soluble ions in fumes of coal fired boilers in Beijing was 51.240 mg x m(-3) in the benchmark fume oxygen content, the minimum was 7.186 mg x m(-3), and the issues of the water-soluble ions were uncorrelated with the fume moisture content. SO4(2-) was the primary characteristic water-soluble ion for desulfurization reaction, and the rate of contribution of SO4(2-) in total water-soluble ions ranged from 63.8% to 81.0%. F- was another characteristic water-soluble ion in fumes of thermal power plant, and the rate of contribution of F- in total water-soluble ions ranged from 22.2% to 32.5%. The fume purification technologies significantly influenced the issues and the emission characteristics of water-soluble ions in fumes of coal fired boilers. Na+ was a characteristic water-soluble ion for the desulfurizer NaOH, NH4+ and NO3+ were characteristic for the desulfurizer NH4HCO3, and Mg2+ was characteristic for the desulfurizer MgO, but the Ca2+ emission was not increased by addition of the desulfurizer CaO or CaCO3 The concentrations of NH4+ and NO3- in fumes of thermal power plant were lower than those in fumes of industrial or heating coal fired boilers. The form of water-soluble ions was significantly correlated with fume temperature. The most water-soluble ions were in superfine state at higher fume temperature and were not easily captured by the filter membrane.

NOx Control Options and Integration for US Coal Fired Boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mike Bockelie; Marc Cremer; Kevin Davis; Martin Denison; Adel Sarofim; Connie Senior; Hong-Shig Shim; Dave Swenson; Bob Hurt; Eric Suuberg; Eric Eddings; Kevin Whitty; Larry Baxter; Calvin Bartholomew; William Hecker

2006-06-30

This is the Final Report for DOE Cooperative Agreement No: DE-FC26-00NT40753. The goal of the project was to develop cost-effective analysis tools and techniques for demonstrating and evaluating low-NOx control strategies and their possible impact on boiler performance for boilers firing US coals. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) provided co-funding for this program. This project included research on: (1) In furnace NOx control; (2) Impacts of combustion modifications on boiler operation; (3) Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst testing and (4) Ammonia adsorption/removal on fly ash. Important accomplishments were achieved in all aspects of the project. Rich Reagent Injection (RRI), an in-furnace NOx reduction strategy based on injecting urea or anhydrous ammonia into fuel rich regions in the lower furnace, was evaluated for cyclone-barrel and PC fired utility boilers. Field tests successfully demonstrated the ability of the RRI process to significantly reduce NOx emissions from a staged cyclone-fired furnace operating with overfire air. The field tests also verified the accuracy of the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling used to develop the RRI design and highlighted the importance of using CFD modeling to properly locate and configure the reagent injectors within the furnace. Low NOx firing conditions can adversely impact boiler operation due to increased waterwall wastage (corrosion) and increased soot production. A corrosion monitoring system that uses electrochemical noise (ECN) corrosion probes to monitor, on a real-time basis, high temperature corrosion events within the boiler was evaluated. Field tests were successfully conducted at two plants. The Ohio Coal Development Office provided financial assistance to perform the field tests. To investigate soot behavior, an advanced model to predict soot production and destruction was implemented into an existing reacting CFD modeling tool. Comparisons between experimental data collected

MINIMIZATION OF NO EMISSIONS FROM MULTI-BURNER COAL-FIRED BOILERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E.G. Eddings; A. Molina; D.W. Pershing; A.F. Sarofim; T.H. Fletcher; H. Zhang; K.A. Davis; M. Denison; H. Shim

2002-01-01

The focus of this program is to provide insight into the formation and minimization of NO{sub x} in multi-burner arrays, such as those that would be found in a typical utility boiler. Most detailed studies are performed in single-burner test facilities, and may not capture significant burner-to-burner interactions that could influence NO{sub x} emissions. Thus, investigations of such interactions were made by performing a combination of single and multiple burner experiments in a pilot-scale coal-fired test facility at the University of Utah, and by the use of computational combustion simulations to evaluate full-scale utility boilers. In addition, fundamental studies on nitrogen release from coal were performed to develop greater understanding of the physical processes that control NO formation in pulverized coal flames--particularly under low NO{sub x} conditions. A CO/H{sub 2}/O{sub 2}/N{sub 2} flame was operated under fuel-rich conditions in a flat flame reactor to provide a high temperature, oxygen-free post-flame environment to study secondary reactions of coal volatiles. Effects of temperature, residence time and coal rank on nitrogen evolution and soot formation were examined. Elemental compositions of the char, tar and soot were determined by elemental analysis, gas species distributions were determined using FTIR, and the chemical structure of the tar and soot was analyzed by solid-state {sup 13}C NMR spectroscopy. A laminar flow drop tube furnace was used to study char nitrogen conversion to NO. The experimental evidence and simulation results indicated that some of the nitrogen present in the char is converted to nitric oxide after direct attack of oxygen on the particle, while another portion of the nitrogen, present in more labile functionalities, is released as HCN and further reacts in the bulk gas. The reaction of HCN with NO in the bulk gas has a strong influence on the overall conversion of char-nitrogen to nitric oxide; therefore, any model that

Small, modular, low-cost coal-fired power plants for the international market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zauderer, B.; Frain, B.; Borck, B. [Coal Tech Corp., Merion Station, PA (United States); Baldwin, A.L. [Dept. of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center

1997-12-31

This paper presents recent operating results of Coal Tech`s second generation, air cooled, slagging coal combustor, and its application to power plants in the 1 to 20 MW range. This 20 MMBtu/hour combustor was installed in a new demonstration plant in Philadelphia, PA in 1995. It contains the combustion components of a 1 MWe coal fired power plant, a 17,500 lb/hour steam boiler, coal storage and feed components, and stack gas cleanup components. The plant`s design incorporates improvements resulting from 2,000 hours of testing between 1987 and 1993 on a first generation, commercial scale, air cooled combustor of equal thermal rating. Since operations began in early 1996, a total of 51 days of testing have been successfully completed. Major results include durability of the combustor`s refractory wall, excellent combustion with high ash concentration in the fuel, removal of 95% to 100% of the slag in the combustor, very little ash deposition in the boiler, major reduction of in-plant parasitic power, and simplified power system control through the use of modular designs of sub-systems and computer control. Rapid fuel switching between oil, gas, and coal and turndown of up to a factor of three was accomplished. All these features have been incorporated in advanced coal fired plant designs in the 1 to 20 MWe range. Incremental capital costs are only $100 to $200/kW higher than comparable rated gas or oil fired steam generating systems. Most of its components and subsystems can be factory assembled for very rapid field installation. The low capital, low operating costs, fuel flexibility, and compatibility with very high ash fuels, make this power system very attractive in regions of the world having domestic supplies of these fuels.

Economic evaluation of environmental externalities in China’s coal-fired power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Xiaoli; Cai, Qiong; Ma, Chunbo; Hu, Yanan; Luo, Kaiyan; Li, William

2017-01-01

Serious environmental externalities exist in China’s power industry. Environmental economics theory suggests that the evaluation of environmental externality is the basis of designing an efficient regulation. The purposes of this study are: (1) to identify Chinese respondents’ preferences for green development of electric power industry and the socio-economic characteristics behind them; (2) to investigate the different attitudes of the respondents towards pollution and CO_2 reduction; (3) to quantitatively evaluate the environmental cost of China’s coal-fired power generation. Based on the method of choice experiments (CE) and the 411 questionnaires with 2466 data points, we found that Chinese respondents prefer PM2.5, SO_2 and NO_x reduction to CO_2 reduction and that the environment cost of coal-fired power plants in China is 0.30 yuan per kWh. In addition, we found that the socio-economic characteristics of income, education, gender, and environmental awareness have significant impacts on respondents’ choices. These findings indicate that the environmental cost of coal-fired power generation is a significant factor that requires great consideration in the formulation of electric power development policies. In addition, importance should also be attached to the implementation of green power price policy and enhancement of environmental protection awareness. - Highlights: • Chinese respondents have willingness to pay premium for green development. • The environment cost of coal-fired power plants in China is 0.30 yuan/kwh. • Chinese respondents prefer PM2.5, SO_2 and NO_x reduction to CO_2 reduction. • Environmental awareness has significant impacts on respondents’ preferences. • Income, education and gender affect the evaluation results.

Combustion aerosols from co-firing of coal and solid recovered fuel in a 400 mw pf-fired power plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Anne Juul; Wu, Hao; Jappe Frandsen, Flemming

2010-01-01

In this work, combustion aerosols (i.e. fine particles fired power plant was sampled with a low-pressure impactor, and analysed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The power plant was operated at both dedicated coal combustion conditions...... and under conditions with cofiring of up to 10% (thermal basis) of solid recovered fuel (SRF). The SRFs were characterized by high contents of Cl, Ca, Na and trace metals, while the coal had relatively higher S, Al, Fe and K content. The mass-based particle size distribution of the aerosols was found...... to be bi-modal, with an ultrafine (vaporization) mode centered around 0.1 μm, and a coarser (finefragmentation) mode above 2 μm. Co-firing of SRF tended to increase the formation of ultrafine particles as compared with dedicated coal combustion, while the coarse mode tended to decrease. The increased...

Radioactivity level of soil around Baqiao coal-fired power plant in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Xinwei; Zhao, Caifeng; Chen, Cancan; Liu, Wen

2012-01-01

Natural radioactivity level of soil around Baqiao coal-fired power plant in China was determined using gamma ray spectrometry. The concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K in the studied soil samples range from 27.6 to 48.8, 44.4 to 61.4 and 640.2 to 992.2 Bq kg −1 with an average of 36.1, 51.1 and 733.9 Bq kg −1 , respectively, which are slightly higher than the average values of Shaanxi soil. The radium equivalent activity, the air absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose rate were calculated and compared with the internationally reported or reference values. The radium equivalent activities of the studied samples are below the internationally accepted values. The air absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose rate received by the local residents due to the natural radionuclides in soil are slightly higher than the mean value of Xi'an and worldwide. - Highlights: ► Natural radioactivity in soil around the coal-fired power plant was determined. ► Radiological parameters were used to assess radiation hazard. ► The coal-fired power plant has affected the local radioactivity level.

[Emission characteristics of PM10 from coal-fired industrial boiler].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chao; Li, Xing-Hua; Duan, Lei; Zhao, Meng; Duan, Jing-Chun; Hao, Ji-Ming

2009-03-15

Through ELPI (electrical low-pressure impactor) based dilution sampling system, the emission characteristics of PM10 and PM2.5 was studied experimentally at the inlet and outlet of dust catchers at eight different coal-fired industrial boilers. Results showed that a peak existed at around 0.12-0.20 microm of particle size for both number size distribution and mass size distribution of PM10 emitted from most of the boilers. Chemical composition analysis indicated that PM2.5 was largely composed of organic carbon, elementary carbon, and sulfate, with mass fraction of 3.7%-21.4%, 4.2%-24.6%, and 1.5%-55.2% respectively. Emission factors of PM10 and PM2.5 measured were 0.13-0.65 kg x t(-1) and 0.08-0.49 kg x t(-1) respectively for grate boiler using raw coal, and 0.24 kg x t(-1) and 0.22 kg x t(-1) for chain-grate boiler using briquette. In comparison, the PM2.5 emission factor of fluidized bed boiler is 1.14 kg x t(-1), much her than that of grate boiler. Due to high coal consumption and low efficiency of dust separator, coal-fired industrial boiler may become the most important source of PM10, and should be preferentially controlled in China.

Impacts of TMDLs on coal-fired power plants.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veil, J. A.; Environmental Science Division

2010-04-30

The Clean Water Act (CWA) includes as one of its goals restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. The CWA established various programs to accomplish that goal. Among the programs is a requirement for states to establish water quality standards that will allow protection of the designated uses assigned to each water body. Once those standards are set, state agencies must sample the water bodies to determine if water quality requirements are being met. For those water bodies that are not achieving the desired water quality, the state agencies are expected to develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) that outline the maximum amount of each pollutant that can be discharged to the water body and still maintain acceptable water quality. The total load is then allocated to the existing point and nonpoint sources, with some allocation held in reserve as a margin of safety. Many states have already developed and implemented TMDLs for individual water bodies or regional areas. New and revised TMDLs are anticipated, however, as federal and state regulators continue their examination of water quality across the United States and the need for new or revised standards. This report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Existing Plants Research Program, which has an energy-water research effort that focuses on water use at power plants. This study complements its overall research effort by evaluating water issues that could impact power plants. One of the program missions of the DOE's NETL is to develop innovative environmental control technologies that will enable full use of the Nation's vast coal reserves, while at the same time allowing the current fleet of coal-fired power plants to comply with existing and emerging environmental regulations. Some of the parameters for which TMDLs are being developed are components in discharges

COAL-FIRED UTILITY BOILERS: SOLVING ASH DEPOSITION PROBLEMS; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christopher J. Zygarlicke; Donald P. McCollor; Steven A. Benson; Jay R. Gunderson

2001-01-01

The accumulation of slagging and fouling ash deposits in utility boilers has been a source of aggravation for coal-fired boiler operators for over a century. Many new developments in analytical, modeling, and combustion testing methods in the past 20 years have made it possible to identify root causes of ash deposition. A concise and comprehensive guidelines document has been assembled for solving ash deposition as related to coal-fired utility boilers. While this report accurately captures the current state of knowledge in ash deposition, note that substantial research and development is under way to more completely understand and mitigate slagging and fouling. Thus, while comprehensive, this document carries the title ''interim,'' with the idea that future work will provide additional insight. Primary target audiences include utility operators and engineers who face plant inefficiencies and significant operational and maintenance costs that are associated with ash deposition problems. Pulverized and cyclone-fired coal boilers are addressed specifically, although many of the diagnostics and solutions apply to other boiler types. Logic diagrams, ash deposit types, and boiler symptoms of ash deposition are used to aid the user in identifying an ash deposition problem, diagnosing and verifying root causes, determining remedial measures to alleviate or eliminate the problem, and then monitoring the situation to verify that the problem has been solved. In addition to a step-by-step method for identifying and remediating ash deposition problems, this guideline document (Appendix A) provides descriptions of analytical techniques for diagnostic testing and gives extensive fundamental and practical literature references and addresses of organizations that can provide help in alleviating ash deposition problems

Cocombustion of biomass in coal-fired power plants; Meestoken van biomassa in kolengestookte E-centrales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrink, W.G.M. [Stork Thermeq, Hengelo (Netherlands)

2001-12-01

The aim of the desk study is to determine to what degree several types of biomass can be cofired with existing coal fired utility boilers in the Netherlands. All results with regard to boiler performances are obtained by making use of a computer model of a typical coal fired boiler which make part of a 600 MWe coal fired power plant. Because the existing coal fired units in the Netherlands do deviate more or less from the used model all outcomes and conclusions of this study are indicative. Slagging and corrosion which become more important when firing biogas in a coal fired boiler are considered superficially. More close investigations are necessary when carry out concrete projects. Furthermore all results are based on 100% boiler load and may not be used or extrapolated to part load conditions. The extent of firing biomass gas may depend on available space in the boiler house and correlated restrictions for necessary constructive adaptations. These aspects were leave out of consideration. For information the necessary size of piping for biomass gas from gasifier to the boiler has been determined for several amounts of biomass. [Dutch] Het doel van de studie is te onderzoeken hoeveel biomassa, in percentage van het thermisch vermogen, volgens verschillende concepten kan worden meegestookt in een kolengestookte elektriciteitscentrale. Dit wordt in deze studie behandeld aan de hand van een aantal aspecten: Rookgashoeveelheden door de ketel. Hierbij kornen de volgende zaken aan de orde: snelheden, drukval, belasting van DeNox, DeSox en E-filters, capaciteit van de ventilatoren; Rookgastemperaturen. Dit betreft temperaturen uitlaat vuurhaard, uitlaat ketel en uitlaat LUVO (luchtverhitter); Verslakking en corrosie van oververhitters; Water/stoomzijdige flows. Dit betreft aspecten als flows, temperaturen, flow door de turbine (slikvermogen) en uitlaatconditie stoomturbine (vochtgehalte). Voor de verwerking van biomassa worden alleen vergassing (in hoofdzaak) en, minder

MERCURY CONTROL IN MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS AND COAL-FIRED UTILITIES

Science.gov (United States)

Control of mercury (Hg) emissions from municipal waste combustors (MWCs) and coal-fired utilities has attracted attention due to current and potential regulations. Among several techniques evaluated for Hg control, dry sorbent injection (primarily injection of activated carbon) h...

Innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICCT): 180 MW demonstration of advanced tangentially-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NO{sub x}) emissions from coal-fired boilers. Topical report, LNCFS Levels 1 and 3 test results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-08-17

This report presents results from the third phase of an Innovative Clean Coal Technology (ICC-1) project demonstrating advanced tangentially-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NO{sub x}) emissions from a coal-fired boiler. The purpose of this project was to study the NO{sub x} emissions characteristics of ABB Combustion Engineering`s (ABB CE) Low NO{sub x} Concentric Firing System (LNCFS) Levels I, II, and III. These technologies were installed and tested in a stepwise fashion at Gulf Power Company`s Plant Lansing Smith Unit 2. The objective of this report is to provide the results from Phase III. During that phase, Levels I and III of the ABB C-E Services Low NO{sub x} Concentric Firing System were tested. The LNCFS Level III technology includes separated overfire air, close coupled overfire air, clustered coal nozzles, flame attachment coal nozzle tips, and concentric firing. The LNCFS Level I was simulated by closing the separated overfire air nozzles of the LNCFS Level III system. Based upon long-term data, LNCFS Level HI reduced NO{sub x} emissions by 45 percent at full load. LOI levels with LNCFS Level III increased slightly, however, tests showed that LOI levels with LNCFS Level III were highly dependent upon coal fineness. After correcting for leakage air through the separated overfire air system, the simulated LNCFS Level I reduced NO{sub x} emissions by 37 percent. There was no increase in LOI with LNCFS Level I.

Strategic planning on carbon capture from coal fired plants in Malaysia and Indonesia: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Othman, M.R.; Martunus; Zakaria, R.; Fernando, W.J.N.

2009-01-01

Malaysia and Indonesia benefit in various ways by participating in CDM and from investments in the GHG emission reduction projects, inter alia, technology transfer such as carbon capture (CC) technology for the existing and future coal fired power plants. Among the fossil fuel resources for energy generation, coal is offering an attractive solution to the increasing fuel cost. The consumption of coal in Malaysia and Indonesia is growing at the fastest rate of 9.7% and 4.7%, respectively, per year since 2002. The total coal consumption for electricity generation in Malaysia is projected to increase from 12.4 million tons in 2005 to 36 million tons in 2020. In Indonesia, the coal consumption for the same cause is projected to increase from 29.4 million tons in 2005 to 75 million tons in 2020. CO 2 emission from coal fired power plants are forecasted to grow at 4.1% per year, reaching 98 million tons and 171 million tons in Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively.

Coal-Fired Power Plants, Region 9, 2011, US EPA Region 9

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Approximate locations of active coal-fired power plants located in US EPA's Region 9. Emission counts from the 2005 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) are included...

MHD generator performance analysis for the Advanced Power Train study

Science.gov (United States)

Pian, C. C. P.; Hals, F. A.

1984-01-01

Comparative analyses of different MHD power train designs for early commercial MHD power plants were performed for plant sizes of 200, 500, and 1000 MWe. The work was conducted as part of the first phase of a planned three-phase program to formulate an MHD Advanced Power Train development program. This paper presents the results of the MHD generator design and part-load analyses. All of the MHD generator designs were based on burning of coal with oxygen-enriched air preheated to 1200 F. Sensitivities of the MHD generator design performance to variations in power plant size, coal type, oxygen enrichment level, combustor heat loss, channel length, and Mach number were investigated. Basd on these sensitivity analyses, together with the overall plant performance and cost-of-electricity analyses, as well as reliability and maintenance considerations, a recommended MHD generator design was selected for each of the three power plants. The generators for the 200 MWe and 500 MWe power plant sizes are supersonic designs. A subsonic generator design was selected for the 1000 MWe plant. Off-design analyses of part-load operation of the supersonic channel selected for the 200 MWe power plant were also conductd. The results showed that a relatively high overall net plant efficiency can be maintained during part-laod operation with a supersonic generator design.

NOX EMISSION CONTROL OPTIONS FOR COAL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY BOILERS

Science.gov (United States)

The paper reviews NOx control options for coal-fired electric utility boilers. (NOTE: Acid Rain NOx regulations, the Ozone Transport Commission's NOx Budget Program, revision of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for NOx emissions from utility sources, and Ozone Transpor...

The challenge for gas: get price-competitive with coal-fired electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gill, Len

1999-01-01

The challenge for the gas industry is to become price competitive with coal-fired electricity if it wants a larger share of the energy market. Returning to the issue of greater use of gas for electricity generation, the author points out that although electricity prices were rising they were still below the point where gas-fired electricity generation was viable. Copyright (1999) The Australian Gas Journal

Recent advances in prediction of emission of hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senior, C.L.; Helble, J.J.; Sarofim, A.F.

2000-01-01

Coal-fired power plants are a primary source of mercury discharge into the atmosphere along with fine particulates containing arsenic, selenium, cadmium, and other hazardous air pollutants. Information regarding the speciation of these toxic metals is necessary to accurately predict their atmospheric transport and fate in the environment. New predictive tools have been developed to allow utilities to better estimate the emissions of toxic metals from coal-fired power plants. These prediction equations are based on fundamental physics and chemistry and can be applied to a wide variety of fuel types and combustion conditions. The models have significantly improved the ability to predict the emissions of air toxic metals in fine particulate and gas-phase mercury. In this study, the models were successfully tested using measured mercury speciation and mass balance information collected from coal-fired power plants

Fossil fuel-fired power generation. Case studies of recently constructed coal- and gas-fired plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henderson, C. [IEA Clean Coal Centre, London (United Kingdom)

2007-10-23

To meet future energy demand growth and replace older or inefficient units, a large number of fossil fuel-fired plants will be required to be built worldwide in the next decade. Yet CO{sub 2} emissions from fossil-fired power generation are a major contributor to climate change. As a result, new plants must be designed and operated at highest efficiency both to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions and to facilitate deployment of CO{sub 2} capture and storage in the future. The series of case studies in this report, which respond to a request to the IEA from the G8 Summit in July 2005, were conducted to illustrate what efficiency is achieved now in modern plants in different parts of the world using different grades of fossil fuels. The plants were selected from different geographical areas, because local factors influence attainable efficiency. The case studies include pulverized coal combustion (PCC) with both subcritical and supercritical (very high pressure and temperature) steam turbine cycles, a review of current and future applications of coal-fuelled integrated gasification combined cycle plants (IGCC), and a case study of a natural gas fired combined cycle plant to facilitate comparisons. The results of these analyses show that the technologies for high efficiency (low CO{sub 2} emission) and very low conventional pollutant emissions (particulates, SO{sub 2}, NOx) from fossil fuel-fired power generation are available now through PCC, IGCC or NGCC at commercially acceptable cost. This report contains comprehensive technical and indicative cost information for modern fossil fuel-fired plants that was previously unavailable. It serves as a valuable sourcebook for policy makers and technical decision makers contemplating decisions to build new fossil fuel-fired power generation plants.

Controlling ventilation for safe escape from coal mine fires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wala, A M [University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States). Mining Engineering Dept.

1966-04-01

If a fire occurs outby an underground coal mine section, the immediate safe evacuation of miners from the working section should always take precedence. Unfortunately, in many cases, the dedicated escapeway (escape routes) for the evacuation of the miners become contaminated by the byproducts of fire from the adjacent entries. The purpose of this paper is to present the ventilation-control process that would keep the escapeway free from contaminants and, thus, available for travel. A few scenarios of mine fires in longwall development panels are analysed and discussed. To perform these studies, a mine-fire simulator (MFS) was used. This (MFS) provides a dynamic representation of the fire`s progress (in real time) and gives a color-graphic visualization of the spready of oxygen, combustion products and temperature of the gases throughout the ventilation system. Also presented and discussed are ways in which the MFS can be used as a training and teaching tool for miners and particularly, for ventilation and safety specialists. 7 refs., 10 figs.

Burning low volatile fuel in tangentially fired furnaces with fuel rich/lean burners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Xiaolin; Xu Tongmo; Hui Shien

2004-01-01

Pulverized coal combustion in tangentially fired furnaces with fuel rich/lean burners was investigated for three low volatile coals. The burners were operated under the conditions with varied value N d , which means the ratio of coal concentration of the fuel rich stream to that of the fuel lean stream. The wall temperature distributions in various positions were measured and analyzed. The carbon content in the char and NO x emission were detected under various conditions. The new burners with fuel rich/lean streams were utilized in a thermal power station to burn low volatile coal. The results show that the N d value has significant influences on the distributions of temperature and char burnout. There exists an optimal N d value under which the carbon content in the char and the NO x emission is relatively low. The coal ignition and NO x emission in the utilized power station are improved after retrofitting the burners

Future CO2 emissions and electricity generation from proposed coal-fired power plants in India

Science.gov (United States)

Shearer, Christine; Fofrich, Robert; Davis, Steven J.

2017-04-01

With its growing population, industrializing economy, and large coal reserves, India represents a critical unknown in global projections of future CO2 emissions. Here, we assess proposed construction of coal-fired power plants in India and evaluate their implications for future emissions and energy production in the country. As of mid-2016, 243 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generating capacity are under development in India, including 65 GW under construction and an additional 178 GW proposed. These under-development plants would increase the coal capacity of India's power sector by 123% and, when combined with the country's goal to produce at least 40% of its power from non-fossil sources by 2030, exceed the country's projected future electricity demand. The current proposals for new coal-fired plants could therefore either "strand" fossil energy assets (i.e., force them to retire early or else operate at very low capacity factors) and/or ensure that the goal is not met by "locking-out" new, low-carbon energy infrastructure. Similarly, future emissions from the proposed coal plants would also exceed the country's climate commitment to reduce its 2005 emissions intensity 33% to 35% by 2030, which—when combined with the commitments of all other countries—is itself not yet ambitious enough to meet the international goal of holding warming well below 2°C relative to the pre-industrial era.

Summary and evaluation of the conceptual design study of a potential early commercial MHD power plant (CSPEC)

Science.gov (United States)

Staiger, P. J.; Penko, P. F.

1982-01-01

The conceptual design study of a potential early commercial MHD power plant (CSPEC) is described and the results are summarized. Each of two contractors did a conceptual design of an approximtely 1000 MWe open-cycle MHD/steam plant with oxygen enriched combustion air preheated to an intermediate temperatue in a metallic heat exchanger. The contractors were close in their overall plant efficiency estimates but differed in their capital cost and cost of electricity estimates, primarily because of differences in balance-of-plant material, contingency, and operating and maintenance cost estimates. One contractor concluded that its MHD plant design compared favorably in cost of electricity with conventional coal-fired steam plants. The other contractor is making such a comparison as part of a follow-on study. Each contractor did a preliminary investigation of part-load performance and plant availability. The results of NASA studies investigating the effect of plant size and oxidizer preheat temperature on the performance of CSPEC-type MHD plants are also described. The efficiency of a 1000 MWe plant is about three points higher than of a 200 MWe plant. Preheating to 1600 F gives an efficiency about one and one-half points higher than preheating to 800 F for all plant sizes. For each plant size and preheat temperature there is an oxidizer enrichment level and MHD generator length that gives the highest plant efficiency.

Rare-earth hafnium oxide materials for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) generator application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marchant, D. D; Bates, J. L.

1979-01-01

Several ceramic materials based on rare-earth hafnium oxides have been identified as potential high-temperature electrodes and low-temperature current leadouts for open cycle coal-fired MHD generator channels. The electrode-current leadouts combination must operate at temperatures between 400 and 2000K with an electrical conductivity greater than 10/sup -2/ ohm/sup -1/ cm/sup -1/. The electrodes will be exposed to flowing (linear flow rates up to 100 m/s) potassium seeded coal combustion gases (plasma core temperatures between 2400 to 3200/sup 0/K) and coal slag. During operation the electrodes must conduct direct electric current at densities near 1.5 amp/cm/sup 2/. Consequently, the electrodes must be resistant to electrochemical decompositions and interactions with both the coal slag and potassium salts (e.g., K/sub 2/SO/sub 4/, K/sub 2/CO/sub 3/). The current leadout materials are placed between the hot electrodes and the water-cooled copper structural members and must have electrical conductivities greater than 10/sup -2/ ohm/sup -1/ cm/sup -1/ between 1400 and 400/sup 0/K. The current leadouts must be thermally and electrochemically compatible with the electrode, copper, and potassium salts. Ideally, the electrodes and current leadouts should exhibit minimal ionic conductivity. The fabrication, electrical conductivity, and electrochemical corrosion of rare-earth hafnium oxide materials are discussed. (WHK)

A novel solar energy integrated low-rank coal fired power generation using coal pre-drying and an absorption heat pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Cheng; Bai, Pu; Xin, Tuantuan; Hu, Yue; Xu, Gang; Yang, Yongping

2017-01-01

Highlights: •An improved solar energy integrated LRC fired power generation is proposed. •High efficient and economic feasible solar energy conversion is achieved. •Cold-end losses of the boiler and condenser are reduced. •The energy and exergy efficiencies of the overall system are improved. -- Abstract: A novel solar energy integrated low-rank coal (LRC) fired power generation using coal pre-drying and an absorption heat pump (AHP) was proposed. The proposed integrated system efficiently utilizes the solar energy collected from the parabolic trough to drive the AHP to absorb the low-grade waste heat of the steam cycle, achieving larger amount of heat with suitable temperature for coal’s moisture removal prior to the furnace. Through employing the proposed system, the solar energy could be partially converted into the high-grade coal’s heating value and the cold-end losses of the boiler and the steam cycle could be reduced simultaneously, leading to a high-efficient solar energy conversion together with a preferable overall thermal efficiency of the power generation. The results of the detailed thermodynamic and economic analyses showed that, using the proposed integrated concept in a typical 600 MW LRC-fired power plant could reduce the raw coal consumption by 4.6 kg/s with overall energy and exergy efficiencies improvement of 1.2 and 1.8 percentage points, respectively, as 73.0 MW th solar thermal energy was introduced. The cost of the solar generated electric power could be as low as $0.044/kW h. This work provides an improved concept to further advance the solar energy conversion and utilisation in solar-hybrid coal-fired power generation.

Operational experiences of (in)direct co-combustion in coal and gas fired power plants in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Ree, R.; Korbee, R.; Meijer, R.; Konings, T.; Van Aart, F.

2001-02-01

The operational experiences of direct and indirect co-combustion of biomass/waste in European coal and natural gas fired power plants are addressed. The operational experiences of mainly Dutch direct co-combustion activities in coal fired power plants are discussed; whereas an overview of European indirect co-combustion activities is presented. The technical, environmental, and economic feasibility of different indirect co-combustion concepts (i.e. upstream gasification, pyrolysis, combustion with steam-side integration) is investigated, and the results are compared with the economic preferable concept of direct co-combustion. Main technical constraints that limit the co-combustion capacity of biomass/waste in conventional coal fired power plants are: the grindability of the biomass/coal blend, the capacity of available unit components, and the danger of severe slagging, fouling, corrosion and erosion. The main environmental constraints that have to be taken into account are the quality of produced solid waste streams (fly ash, bottom ash, gypsum) and the applicable air emission regulations. 6 refs

Life assessment and emissions monitoring of Indian coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-07-01

At the request of the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) of the United States Department of Energy (USDOE), the traveler, along with Dr. R. P. Krishnan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee spent three weeks in India planning and performing emissions monitoring at the coal-fired Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS). The coordination for the Indian participants was provided by BHEL, Trichy and CPRI, Bangalore. The trip was sponsored by the PETC under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Government of India (GOI)P Alternate Energy Resources Development (AERD) Project. The AERD Project is managed by PETC, and ORNL is providing the technical coordination and support for four coal projects that are being implemented with BHEL, Trichy. The traveler, after briefing the USAID mission in New Delhi visited BHEL, Trichy and CPRI, Bangalore to coordinate and plan the emissions test program. The site selection was made by BHEL, CPRI, TVA, and PETC. Monitoring was performed for 4 days on one of the 4 existing 210 MW coal-fired boilers at the VTPS, 400 km north of Madras, India.

Off-design thermodynamic performances on typical days of a 330 MW solar aided coal-fired power plant in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Shuo; Hong, Hui; Wang, Yanjuan; Wang, Zhaoguo; Jin, Hongguang

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Optical loss and heat loss of solar field under different turbine load were investigated. • Off-design thermodynamic feature was disclosed by analyzing several operational parameters. • Possible schemes was proposed to improve the net solar-to-electricity efficiency. - Abstract: The contribution of mid-temperature solar thermal power to improve the performance of coal-fired power plant is analyzed in the present paper. In the solar aided coal-fired power plant, solar heat at <300 °C is used to replace the extracted steam from the steam turbine to heat the feed water. In this way, the steam that was to be extracted could consequently expand in the steam turbine to boost output power. The advantages of a solar aided coal-fired power plant in design condition have been discussed by several researchers. However, thermodynamic performances on off-design operation have not been well discussed until now. In this paper, a typical 330 MW coal-fired power plant in Sinkiang Province of China is selected as the case study to demonstrate the advantages of the solar aided coal-fired power plant under off-design conditions. Hourly thermodynamic performances are analyzed on typical days under partial load. The effects of several operational parameters, such as solar irradiation intensity, incident angle, flow rate of thermal oil, on the performance of solar field efficiency and net solar-to-electricity efficiency were examined. Possible schemes have been proposed for improving the solar aided coal-fired power plant on off-design operation. The results obtained in the current study could provide a promising approach to solve the poor thermodynamic performance of solar thermal power plant and also offer a basis for the practical operation of MW-scale solar aided coal-fired power plant

Coal quality influence on availability and reliability of two 620 MW lignite fired units after 100 000 operating hours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovic, Dragomir

1997-01-01

General statistics data on operation of two 620 MW low calorific value coal fired units are foundation for analysis of influence of variable coal characteristics on availability and reliability. Changeable mineralogical structure, ash contents and heating value cause the following problems: increased abrasive wear and unstable firing. Almost 23 % of plant shutting down are caused by the mentioned reasons, which have multiplied in the last years. Analysis will show how it is possible to plan terms of overhaul of boilers with respect to quality of used coal and reliability of pipe system and maintenance of high level of availability and reliability in spite of periodical low heating value of coal. Described experiences are also important for planning, design, construction and operation of new power plants firing with same coal. (Author)

Comprehensive evaluation of coal-fired power plants based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Gang; Yang Yongping; Lu Shiyuan; Li Le; Song Xiaona

2011-01-01

In China, coal-fired power plants are the main supplier of electricity, as well as the largest consumer of coal and water resources and the biggest emitter of SO x , NO x , and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Therefore, it is important to establish a scientific, reasonable, and feasible comprehensive evaluation system for coal-fired power plants to guide them in achieving multi-optimisation of their thermal, environmental, and economic performance. This paper proposes a novel comprehensive evaluation method, which is based on a combination of the grey relational analysis (GRA) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), to assess the multi-objective performance of power plants. Unlike the traditional evaluation method that uses coal consumption as a basic indicator, the proposed evaluation method also takes water consumption and pollutant emissions as indicators. On the basis of the proposed evaluation method, a case study on typical 600 MW coal-fired power plants is carried out to determine the relevancy rules among factors including the coal consumption, water consumption, pollutant, and GHG emissions of power plants. This research offers new ideas and methods for the comprehensive performance evaluation of complex energy utilisation systems, and is beneficial to the synthesised consideration of resources, economy, and environment factors in system optimising and policy making. - Research highlights: → We proposed a comprehensive evaluation method for coal-fired power plants. → The method is based on the grey relational analysis (GRA). → The method also introduces the idea of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). → The method can assess thermal, economic and environmental performance. → The method can play an active role in guiding power plants' improvements.

Comprehensive evaluation of coal-fired power plants based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Gang, E-mail: xg2008@ncepu.edu.c [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Yang Yongping, E-mail: yyp@ncepu.edu.c [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Lu Shiyuan; Li Le [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Song Xiaona [Electromechanical Practice Center, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, Beijing (China)

2011-05-15

In China, coal-fired power plants are the main supplier of electricity, as well as the largest consumer of coal and water resources and the biggest emitter of SO{sub x}, NO{sub x}, and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Therefore, it is important to establish a scientific, reasonable, and feasible comprehensive evaluation system for coal-fired power plants to guide them in achieving multi-optimisation of their thermal, environmental, and economic performance. This paper proposes a novel comprehensive evaluation method, which is based on a combination of the grey relational analysis (GRA) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), to assess the multi-objective performance of power plants. Unlike the traditional evaluation method that uses coal consumption as a basic indicator, the proposed evaluation method also takes water consumption and pollutant emissions as indicators. On the basis of the proposed evaluation method, a case study on typical 600 MW coal-fired power plants is carried out to determine the relevancy rules among factors including the coal consumption, water consumption, pollutant, and GHG emissions of power plants. This research offers new ideas and methods for the comprehensive performance evaluation of complex energy utilisation systems, and is beneficial to the synthesised consideration of resources, economy, and environment factors in system optimising and policy making. - Research highlights: {yields} We proposed a comprehensive evaluation method for coal-fired power plants. {yields} The method is based on the grey relational analysis (GRA). {yields} The method also introduces the idea of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). {yields} The method can assess thermal, economic and environmental performance. {yields} The method can play an active role in guiding power plants' improvements.

Experimental analysis of a combustion reactor under co-firing coal with biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, Fabyo Luiz; Bazzo, Edson; Oliveira Junior, Amir Antonio Martins de [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). LabCET], e-mail: ebazzo@emc.ufsc.br; Bzuneck, Marcelo [Tractebel Energia S.A., Complexo Termeletrico Jorge Lacerda, Capivari de Baixo, SC (Brazil)], e-mail: marcelob@tractebelenergia.com.br

2010-07-01

Mitigation of greenhouse gases emission is one of the most important issues in energy engineering. Biomass is a potential renewable source but with limited use in large scale energy production because of the relative smaller availability as compared to fossil fuels, mainly to coal. Besides, the costs concerning transportation must be well analysed to determine its economic viability. An alternative for the use of biomass as a primary source of energy is the co-firing, that is the possibility of using two or more types of fuels combined in the combustion process. Biomass can be co-fired with coal in a fraction between 10 to 25% in mass basis (or 4 to 10% in heat-input basis) without seriously impacting the heat release characteristics of most boilers. Another advantage of cofiring, besides the significant reductions in fossil CO{sub 2} emissions, is the reduced emissions of NO{sub x} and SO{sub x}. As a result, co-firing is becoming attractive for power companies worldwide. This paper presents results of some experimental analysis on co-firing coal with rice straw in a combustion reactor. The influence of biomass thermal share in ash composition is also discussed, showing that alkali and earth alkaline compounds play the most important role on the fouling and slagging behavior when co-firing. Some fusibility correlations that can assist in the elucidation of these behavior are presented and discussed, and then applied to the present study. Results show that for a biomass thermal share up to 20%, significant changes are not expected in fouling and slagging behavior of ash. (author)

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMISSION REDUCTIONS FROM THE COAL-FIRED POWER SECTOR IN GROWING ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF COAL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY PLANTS IN RUSSIA

Science.gov (United States)

China, Russia and India together contribute over one-fourth of the total global greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil-fuels. This paper focuses on the Russian coal-fired power sector, and identifies potential opportunities for reducing emissions. The Russian powe...

Coal Direct Chemical Looping Retrofit to Pulverized Coal Power Plants for In-Situ CO2 Capture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeng, Liang; Li, Fanxing; Kim, Ray; Bayham, Samuel; McGiveron, Omar; Tong, Andrew; Connell, Daniel; Luo, Siwei; Sridhar, Deepak; Wang, Fei; Sun, Zhenchao; Fan, Liang-Shih

2013-09-30

A novel Coal Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) system is proposed to effectively capture CO2 from existing PC power plants. The work during the past three years has led to an oxygen carrier particle with satisfactory performance. Moreover, successful laboratory, bench scale, and integrated demonstrations have been performed. The proposed project further advanced the novel CDCL technology to sub-pilot scale (25 kWth). To be more specific, the following objectives attained in the proposed project are: 1. to further improve the oxygen carrying capacity as well as the sulfur/ash tolerance of the current (working) particle; 2. to demonstrate continuous CDCL operations in an integrated mode with > 99% coal (bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite) conversion as well as the production of high temperature exhaust gas stream that is suitable for steam generation in existing PC boilers; 3. to identify, via demonstrations, the fate of sulfur and NOx; 4. to conduct thorough techno-economic analysis that validates the technical and economical attractiveness of the CDCL system. The objectives outlined above were achieved through collaborative efforts among all the participants. CONSOL Energy Inc. performed the techno-economic analysis of the CDCL process. Shell/CRI was able to perform feasibility and economic studies on the large scale particle synthesis and provide composite particles for the sub-pilot scale testing. The experience of B&W (with boilers) and Air Products (with handling gases) assisted the retrofit system design as well as the demonstration unit operations. The experience gained from the sub-pilot scale demonstration of the Syngas Chemical Looping (SCL) process at OSU was able to ensure the successful handling of the solids. Phase 1 focused on studies to improve the current particle to better suit the CDCL operations. The optimum operating conditions for the reducer reactor such as the temperature, char gasification enhancer type, and flow rate were identified. The

Results from study of potential early commercial MHD power plants and from recent ETF design work. [Engineering Test Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Hals, F.; Kessler, R.; Swallom, D.; Westra, L.; Zar, J.; Morgan, W.; Bozzuto, C.

1980-01-01

The study deals with different 'moderate technology' entry-level commercial MHD power plants. Two of the reference plants are based on combustion of coal with air preheated in a high-temperature regenerative air heater separately fired with a low-BTU gas produced in a gasifier integrated with the power plant. The third reference plant design is based on the use of oxygen enriched combustion air. Performance calculations show that an overall power plant efficiency of the order of 44% can be reached with the use of oxygen enrichment.

Efficiency and environmental impacts of electricity restructuring on coal-fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, H. Ron [Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Economics; Fell, Harrison [Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States). Division of Economics and Business; Lange, Ian [Stirling Univ. (United Kingdom). Division of Economics; Li, Shanjun [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

2013-03-15

We investigate the impacts of electricity market restructuring on fuel efficiency, utilization and, new to this area, cost of coal purchases among coal-fired power plants using a panel data set from 1991 to 2005. Our study focuses exclusively on coal-fired power plants and uses panel data covering several years after implementation of restructuring. The estimation compares how investor-owned (IOs) plants in states with restructuring changed their behavior relative to IOs in states without. Our analysis finds that restructuring led to: (1) a two percent improvement in fuel efficiency for IOs, (2) a ten percent decrease in unit cost of heat input, and (3) a lower capacity factor even after adjusting for cross-plant generation re-allocation due to cost reductions. Based on these estimates, back-of-the-envelope calculations find that restructuring has led to about 6.5 million dollars in annual cost savings or nearly 12 percent of operating expenses and up to a 7.6 percent emissions reduction per plant.

Formulation, Pretreatment, and Densification Options to Improve Biomass Specifications for Co-Firing High Percentages with Coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaya Shankar Tumuluru; J Richard Hess; Richard D. Boardman; Shahab Sokhansanj; Christopher T. Wright; Tyler L. Westover

2012-06-01

There is a growing interest internationally to use more biomass for power generation, given the potential for significant environmental benefits and long-term fuel sustainability. However, the use of biomass alone for power generation is subject to serious challenges, such as feedstock supply reliability, quality, and stability, as well as comparative cost, except in situations in which biomass is locally sourced. In most countries, only a limited biomass supply infrastructure exists. Alternatively, co-firing biomass alongwith coal offers several advantages; these include reducing challenges related to biomass quality, buffering the system against insufficient feedstock quantity, and mitigating the costs of adapting existing coal power plants to feed biomass exclusively. There are some technical constraints, such as low heating values, low bulk density, and grindability or size-reduction challenges, as well as higher moisture, volatiles, and ash content, which limit the co-firing ratios in direct and indirect co-firing. To achieve successful co-firing of biomass with coal, biomass feedstock specifications must be established to direct pretreatment options in order to modify biomass materials into a format that is more compatible with coal co-firing. The impacts on particle transport systems, flame stability, pollutant formation, and boiler-tube fouling/corrosion must also be minimized by setting feedstock specifications, which may include developing new feedstock composition by formulation or blending. Some of the issues, like feeding, co-milling, and fouling, can be overcome by pretreatment methods including washing/leaching, steam explosion, hydrothermal carbonization, and torrefaction, and densification methods such as pelletizing and briquetting. Integrating formulation, pretreatment, and densification will help to overcome issues related to physical and chemical composition, storage, and logistics to successfully co-fire higher percentages of biomass ( > 40

LOCAL IMPACTS OF MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

SULLIVAN, T.M.; BOWERMAN, B.; ADAMS, J.; LIPFERT, D.D.; MORRIS, S.M.; BANDO, A.; ET AL.

2004-03-30

A thorough quantitative understanding of the processes of mercury emissions, deposition, and translocation through the food chain is currently not available. Complex atmospheric chemistry and dispersion models are required to predict concentration and deposition contributions, and aquatic process models are required to predict effects on fish. There are uncertainties in all of these predictions. Therefore, the most reliable method of understanding impacts of coal-fired power plants on Hg deposition is from empirical data. A review of the literature on mercury deposition around sources including coal-fired power plants found studies covering local mercury concentrations in soil, vegetation, and animals (fish and cows (Lopez et al. 2003)). There is strong evidence of enhanced local deposition within 3 km of the chlor-alkali plants, with elevated soil concentrations and estimated deposition rates of 10 times background. For coal-fired power plants, the data show that atmospheric deposition of Hg may be slightly enhanced. On the scale of a few km, modeling suggests that wet deposition may be increased by a factor of two or three over background. The measured data suggest lower increases of 15% or less. The effects of coal-fired plants seem to be less than 10% of total deposition on a national scale, based on emissions and global modeling. The following summarizes our findings from published reports on the impacts of local deposition. In terms of excesses over background the following increments have been observed within a few km of the plant: (1) local soil concentration Hg increments of 30%-60%, (2) sediment increments of 18-30%, (3) wet deposition increments of 11-12%, and (4) fish Hg increments of about 5-6%, based on an empirical finding that fish concentrations are proportional to the square root of deposition. Important uncertainties include possible reductions of RGM to Hg(0) in power plant plumes and the role of water chemistry in the relationship between Hg

Ultra-supercritical (USC) technology. The best practical and economic way to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mao, Jianxiong [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Thermal Engineering

2013-07-01

China is the largest coal producer and consumer with largest coal power capacity in the world. By the end of 2010, the total installed power capacity in China was 962,190 MWe, in which coal fired power capacity was 706,630 MWe, accounting for over 73.4%. China has been the largest CO{sub 2} emission country as well and its huge coal power capacity is the largest CO{sub 2} emission source. How does China reduce its CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants is an austere challenge now we are facing. How does China reduce its CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants? There are three ways to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants: (1) carbon capture and storage (CCS); (2) co-firing biomass with coal; (3) much improvement of efficiency. For the first option of CCS, the technology is still under development and there are still several uncertainties today to be widely used for coal fired power plants in the short term. For the second option of biomass co-firing, it can reduce CO{sub 2} emissions in a way, but it is difficult to implement it in China without strong support of incentive policy. Therefore, the third option of improvement of efficiency is the only but also the best and feasible economic option for China to much reduce CO{sub 2} emissions from coal fired power plants. This paper will discuss how China to take a active policy to strongly promote the application of supercritical (SC)/Ultra supercritical (USC) technology. Only in 4 years from 2007 to 2010, ordered capacity of coal fired SC/USC units was 482 units with installed capacity of 230,060 MWe, in which, 1,000 MWe USC with 600 C steam parameters was almost 100 units with 100,000 MWe in which 33 units have been in operation. Today, China has been a country with the largest SC/USC units and capacity. The fast application of SC/USC units for coal fired power plants has resulted in energy saving and reduction of emissions. The average coal consumption in China reduced from 366

An Improved Flexible Solar Thermal Energy Integration Process for Enhancing the Coal-Based Energy Efficiency and NOx Removal Effectiveness in Coal-Fired Power Plants under Different Load Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Han

2017-09-01

Full Text Available An improved flexible solar-aided power generation system (SAPG for enhancing both selective catalytic reduction (SCR de-NOx efficiency and coal-based energy efficiency of coal-fired power plants is proposed. In the proposed concept, the solar energy injection point is changed for different power plant loads, bringing about different benefits for coal-fired power generation. For partial/low load, solar energy is beneficially used to increase the flue gas temperature to guarantee the SCR de-NOx effectiveness as well as increase the boiler energy input by reheating the combustion air. For high power load, solar energy is used for saving steam bleeds from turbines by heating the feed water. A case study for a typical 1000 MW coal-fired power plant using the proposed concept has been performed and the results showed that, the SCR de-NOx efficiency of proposed SAPG could increase by 3.1% and 7.9% under medium load and low load conditions, respectively, as compared with the reference plant. The standard coal consumption rate of the proposed SAPG could decrease by 2.68 g/kWh, 4.05 g/kWh and 6.31 g/kWh for high, medium and low loads, respectively, with 0.040 USD/kWh of solar generated electricity cost. The proposed concept opens up a novel solar energy integration pattern in coal-fired power plants to improve the pollutant removal effectiveness and decrease the coal consumption of the power plant.

MINIMIZATION OF NO EMISSIONS FROM MULTI-BURNER COAL-FIRED BOILERS; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

E.G. Eddings; A. Molina; D.W. Pershing; A.F. Sarofim; T.H. Fletcher; H. Zhang; K.A. Davis; M. Denison; H. Shim

2002-01-01

The focus of this program is to provide insight into the formation and minimization of NO(sub x) in multi-burner arrays, such as those that would be found in a typical utility boiler. Most detailed studies are performed in single-burner test facilities, and may not capture significant burner-to-burner interactions that could influence NO(sub x) emissions. Thus, investigations of such interactions were made by performing a combination of single and multiple burner experiments in a pilot-scale coal-fired test facility at the University of Utah, and by the use of computational combustion simulations to evaluate full-scale utility boilers. In addition, fundamental studies on nitrogen release from coal were performed to develop greater understanding of the physical processes that control NO formation in pulverized coal flames-particularly under low NO(sub x) conditions. A CO/H(sub 2)/O(sub 2)/N(sub 2) flame was operated under fuel-rich conditions in a flat flame reactor to provide a high temperature, oxygen-free post-flame environment to study secondary reactions of coal volatiles. Effects of temperature, residence time and coal rank on nitrogen evolution and soot formation were examined. Elemental compositions of the char, tar and soot were determined by elemental analysis, gas species distributions were determined using FTIR, and the chemical structure of the tar and soot was analyzed by solid-state(sup 13)C NMR spectroscopy. A laminar flow drop tube furnace was used to study char nitrogen conversion to NO. The experimental evidence and simulation results indicated that some of the nitrogen present in the char is converted to nitric oxide after direct attack of oxygen on the particle, while another portion of the nitrogen, present in more labile functionalities, is released as HCN and further reacts in the bulk gas. The reaction of HCN with NO in the bulk gas has a strong influence on the overall conversion of char-nitrogen to nitric oxide; therefore, any model that

Digital bus technology in new coal-fired plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blaney, J.; Murray, J. [Emerson Process Management (United States)

2007-10-15

The main issues associated with including digital bus technology such as Foundation fieldbus, Profibus-DP or DeviceNet, in a coal-fired power plant are deciding which systems to install and determining how to implement it. Although still new, digital bus experiences to date have shown that the technology performs solidly and when wiring best practices are followed a significantly shorted commissioning cycle can be achieved. 1 fig., 2 tabs.

On the economics of nuclear and coal-fired electric generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pouris, A.

1987-01-01

This article addresses the relative merit of nuclear versus coal-fired electricity generation for plants beginning base-load service in South Africa after the year 2000. Emphasis is placed on the economic merits of the two technologies, and environmental and social implications are taken into account only in so far as legislation, security, and other considerations affect the economics of the technologies. It is assumed that nuclear and coal-fired generating plants wil represent the most cost-effective and feasible options for base-load service in the foreseeable future. Socio-political consideration and lack of indigenous oil production forbid the use of oil for the production of electricity, independently of economic merits. Similarly, the absence of local research on alternative renewable technologies, their stage of development abroad and their current economics limit the possibility of their extensive use in the time horizon under examination. The measure of economic merit used in the study is the 'levelized busbar cost' over the lifetime of the station

Co-firing Bosnian coals with woody biomass: Experimental studies on a laboratory-scale furnace and 110 MWe power unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smajevic Izet

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of research into cofiring two Bosnian cola types, brown coal and lignite, with woody biomass, in this case spruce sawdust. The aim of the research was to find the optimal blend of coal and sawdust that may be substituted for 100% coal in large coal-fired power stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two groups of experimental tests were performed in this study: laboratory testing of co-firing and trial runs on a large-scale plant based on the laboratory research results. A laboratory experiment was carried out in an electrically heated and entrained pulverized-fuel flow furnace. Coal-sawdust blends of 93:7% by weight and 80:20% by weight were tested. Co-firing trials were conducted over a range of the following process variables: process temperature, excess air ratio and air distribution. Neither of the two coal-sawdust blends used produced any significant ash-related problems provided the blend volume was 7% by weight sawdust and the process temperature did not exceed 1250ºC. It was observed that in addition to the nitrogen content in the co-fired blend, the volatile content and particle size distribution of the mixture also influenced the level of NOx emissions. The brown coal-sawdust blend generated a further reduction of SO2 due to the higher sulphur capture rate than for coal alone. Based on and following the laboratory research findings, a trial run was carried out in a large-scale utility - the Kakanj power station, Unit 5 (110 MWe, using two mixtures; one in which 5%/wt and one in which 7%/wt of brown coal was replaced with sawdust. Compared to a reference firing process with 100% coal, these co-firing trials produced a more intensive redistribution of the alkaline components in the slag in the melting chamber, with a consequential beneficial effect on the deposition of ash on the superheater surfaces of the boiler. The outcome of the tests confirms the feasibility of using 7%wt of sawdust in combination

Nuclear and coal-fired power plant capital costs 1978 -June 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harbour, R.T.

1981-07-01

This bibliography covers 16 papers dealing with the economics of power generation - mainly comparisons between the capital costs of nuclear and coal fired plants. Some of the papers additionally discuss fuel, operating and maintenance costs, and performance. (U.K.)

CO-FIRING COAL, FEEDLOT, AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND LFB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thien; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan

2002-01-01

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. In this project a co-firing technology is proposed which would use manure that cannot be used for fertilizer, for power generation. Since the animal manure has economic uses as both a fertilizer and as a fuel, it is properly referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) for cow manure, or litter biomass (LB) for chicken manure. The biomass will be used a as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in existing coal fired combustion devices. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Therefore, it is the goal of the current research to develop an animal biomass cofiring technology. A cofiring technology is being developed by performing: (1) studies on fundamental fuel characteristics, (2) small scale boiler burner experiments, (3) gasifier experiments, (4) computer simulations, and (5) an economic analysis. The fundamental fuel studies reveal that biomass is not as high a quality fuel as coal. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, higher in moisture, higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution), and lower in heat content than coal. Additionally, experiments indicate that the biomass fuels have higher gas content, release gases more readily than coal, and less homogeneous. Small-scale boiler experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO(sub x) pollutant emissions produced will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. This is a surprising

CO-FIRING COAL, FEEDLOT, AND LITTER BIOMASS (CFB AND LFB) FUELS IN PULVERIZED FUEL AND FIXED BED BURNERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalyan Annamalai; John Sweeten; Saqib Mukhtar; Ben Thien; Gengsheng Wei; Soyuz Priyadarsan

2002-01-15

Intensive animal feeding operations create large amounts of animal waste that must be safely disposed of in order to avoid environmental degradation. Cattle feedlots and chicken houses are two examples. In feedlots, cattle are confined to small pens and fed a high calorie grain diet in preparation for slaughter. In chicken houses, thousands of chickens are kept in close proximity. In both of these operations, millions of tons of manure are produced every year. In this project a co-firing technology is proposed which would use manure that cannot be used for fertilizer, for power generation. Since the animal manure has economic uses as both a fertilizer and as a fuel, it is properly referred to as feedlot biomass (FB) for cow manure, or litter biomass (LB) for chicken manure. The biomass will be used a as a fuel by mixing it with coal in a 90:10 blend and firing it in existing coal fired combustion devices. This technique is known as co-firing, and the high temperatures produced by the coal will allow the biomass to be completely combusted. Therefore, it is the goal of the current research to develop an animal biomass cofiring technology. A cofiring technology is being developed by performing: (1) studies on fundamental fuel characteristics, (2) small scale boiler burner experiments, (3) gasifier experiments, (4) computer simulations, and (5) an economic analysis. The fundamental fuel studies reveal that biomass is not as high a quality fuel as coal. The biomass fuels are higher in ash, higher in moisture, higher in nitrogen and sulfur (which can cause air pollution), and lower in heat content than coal. Additionally, experiments indicate that the biomass fuels have higher gas content, release gases more readily than coal, and less homogeneous. Small-scale boiler experiments revealed that the biomass blends can be successfully fired, and NO{sub x} pollutant emissions produced will be similar to or lower than pollutant emissions when firing coal. This is a surprising

PM1 particles at coal- and gas-fired power plant work areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Jeffrey B; McCarthy, Sheila A; Mezei, Gabor; Sayes, Christie M

2012-03-01

With the increased interest in the possible adverse health effects attributed to inhalation of fine particle matter, this study was conducted to gather preliminary information about workplace exposures at coal- and gas-fired power plants to fine particles (PM(1); i.e. <1 μm) and ultrafine particles (i.e. <0.1 μm). Combustion of fossil fuel is known to produce fine particles, and due to their proximity and durations of exposure, power plant workers could be a group of individuals who experience high chronic exposures to these types of particles. The results of a series of real-time instrument measurements showed that concentrations of PM(1) were elevated in some locations in power plants. The highest concentrations were in locations near combustion sources, indicating that combustion materials were leaking from conventional fossil fuel-fired boilers or it was associated with emission plume downwash. Concentrations were the lowest inside air-conditioned control rooms where PM(1) were present at levels similar to or lower than upwind concentrations. Microscopic examinations indicate that PM(1) at the coal-fired plants are dominated by vitrified spheres, although there were also unusual elongated particles. Most of the PM(1) were attached to larger coal fly ash particles that may affect where and how they could be deposited in the lung.

The Tiptop coal-mine fire, Kentucky: Preliminary investigation of the measurement of mercury and other hazardous gases from coal-fire gas vents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hower, James C.; Henke, Kevin [University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, Lexington, KY 40511 (United States); O' Keefe, Jennifer M.K. [Morehead State University, Morehead, KY 40351 (United States); Engle, Mark A. [U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192 (United States); Blake, Donald R. [Department of Chemistry, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States); Stracher, Glenn B. [East Georgia College, Swainsboro, GA 30401 (United States)

2009-10-01

The Tiptop underground coal-mine fire in the Skyline coalbed of the Middle Pennsylvanian Breathitt Formation was investigated in rural northern Breathitt County, Kentucky, in May 2008 and January 2009, for the purpose of determining the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), carbon monoxide (CO), and mercury (Hg) in the vent and for measuring gas-vent temperatures. At the time of our visits, concentrations of CO{sub 2} peaked at 2.0% and > 6.0% (v/v) and CO at 600 ppm and > 700 ppm during field analysis in May 2008 and January 2009, respectively. For comparison, these concentrations exceed the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) eight-hour safe exposure limits (0.5% CO{sub 2} and 50 ppm CO), although the site is not currently mined. Mercury, as Hg{sup 0}, in excess of 500 and 2100 {mu}g/m{sup 3}, in May and January, respectively, in the field, also exceeded the OSHA eight-hour exposure limit (50 {mu}g/m{sup 3}). Carbonyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, and a suite of organic compounds were determined at two vents for the first sampling event. All gases are diluted by air as they exit and migrate away from a gas vent, but temperature inversions and other meteorological conditions could lead to unhealthy concentrations in the nearby towns. Variation in gas temperatures, nearly 300 C during the January visit to the fire versus < 50 C in May, demonstrates the large temporal variability in fire intensity at the Tiptop mine. These preliminary results suggest that emissions from coal fires may be important, but additional data are required that address the reasons for significant variations in the composition, flow, and temperature of vent gases. (author)

The development of coal-based technologies for Department of Defense facilities. Semiannual technical progress report, September 28, 1993--March 27, 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, B.G.; Morrison, J.L.; Sharifi, R.; Shepard, J.F.; Scaroni, A.W.; Hogg, R.; Chander, S.; Cho, H.; Ityokumbul, M.T.; Klima, M.S. [and others

1994-11-30

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), through an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has initiated a three-phase program with the Consortium for Coal-Water Slurry Fuel Technology, with the aim of decreasing DOD`s reliance on imported oil by increasing its use of coal. The program is being conducted as a cooperative agreement between the Consortium and DOE and the first two phases of the program are underway. To achieve the objectives of the program, a team of researchers was assembled. Phase I activities are focused on developing clean, coal-based combustion technologies for the utilization of both micronized coal-water slurry fuels (MCWSFS) and dry, micronized coal (DMC) in fuel oil-designed industrial boilers. Phase II research and development activities will continue to focus on industrial boiler retrofit technologies by addressing emissions control and precombustion (i.e., slagging combustion and/or gasification) strategies for the utilization of high ash, high sulfur coals. Phase III activities will examine coal-based fuel combustion systems that cofire wastes. Each phase includes an engineering cost analysis and technology assessment. The activities and status of Phases I and II are described below. The objective in Phase I is to deliver fully engineered retrofit options for a fuel oil-designed watertube boiler located on a DOD installation to fire either MCWSF or DMC. This will be achieved through a program consisting of the following five tasks: (1) Coal Beneficiation and Preparation; (2) Combustion Performance Evaluation; (3) Engineering Design; (4) Engineering and Economic Analysis; and (5) Final Report/Submission of Design Package.

Water vulnerabilities for existing coal-fired power plants.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elcock, D.; Kuiper, J.; Environmental Science Division

2010-08-19

This report was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Existing Plants Research Program, which has an energy-water research effort that focuses on water use at power plants. This study complements the Existing Plants Research Program's overall research effort by evaluating water issues that could impact power plants. Water consumption by all users in the United States over the 2005-2030 time period is projected to increase by about 7% (from about 108 billion gallons per day [bgd] to about 115 bgd) (Elcock 2010). By contrast, water consumption by coal-fired power plants over this period is projected to increase by about 21% (from about 2.4 to about 2.9 bgd) (NETL 2009b). The high projected demand for water by power plants, which is expected to increase even further as carbon-capture equipment is installed, combined with decreasing freshwater supplies in many areas, suggests that certain coal-fired plants may be particularly vulnerable to potential water demand-supply conflicts. If not addressed, these conflicts could limit power generation and lead to power disruptions or increased consumer costs. The identification of existing coal-fired plants that are vulnerable to water demand and supply concerns, along with an analysis of information about their cooling systems and related characteristics, provides information to help focus future research and development (R&D) efforts to help ensure that coal-fired generation demands are met in a cost-effective manner that supports sustainable water use. This study identified coal-fired power plants that are considered vulnerable to water demand and supply issues by using a geographical information system (GIS) that facilitated the analysis of plant-specific data for more than 500 plants in the NETL's Coal Power Plant Database (CPPDB) (NETL 2007a) simultaneously with 18 indicators of water demand and supply. Two types of demand indicators were

Hinkley Point 'C' power station public enquiry: proof of evidence on coal fired power station sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fothergill, S.; Witt, S.

1988-11-01

The Coalfield Communities Campaign (CCC) has argued that if a new base-load power station is required it should be coal-fired rather than nuclear, and that it should use UK coal. Proposals for new power stations at both Hinkley Point and at Fawley have encountered very considerable local and regional opposition, and this is increasingly likely to be the case at many other sites especially in Southern England. In contrast the CCC has sought to demonstrate that its member authorities would generally welcome the development of new coal-fired capacity on appropriate sites within their areas. In particular, this proof establishes that there is a prima facie case for considering three sites - Thorpe Marsh, Hams Hall and Uskmouth - as potential locations for a new large coal-fired power station as an alternative to Hinkley Point C. The relevant local authorities have expressed their willingness to co-operate in more detailed planning or technical investigations to secure a coal-fired power station on these sites. The CCC considers this to be a major and unprecedented offer to the CEGB and its successor bodies, which could greatly speed the development of new power staion capacity and be of considerable economic and social benefit to coalfield communities.

500 MW demonstration of advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sorge, J.N.; Larrimore, C.L.; Slatsky, M.D.; Menzies, W.R.; Smouse, S.M.; Stallings, J.W.

1997-12-31

This paper discusses the technical progress of a US Department of Energy Innovative Clean Coal Technology project demonstrating advanced wall-fired combustion techniques for the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from coal-fired boilers. The primary objectives of the demonstration is to determine the long-term NOx reduction performance of advanced overfire air (AOFA), low NOx burners (LNB), and advanced digital control optimization methodologies applied in a stepwise fashion to a 500 MW boiler. The focus of this paper is to report (1) on the installation of three on-line carbon-in-ash monitors and (2) the design and results to date from the advanced digital control/optimization phase of the project.

Review of central power magnetohydrodynamics at the University of Tennessee Space Institute and its relation to the world effort in MHD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dicks, J.B.

1975-01-01

The first generation of electrical plants powered by MHD generators performs at 50 to 55 percent thermal efficiencies, while later versions of these plants perform at efficiencies up to 75 percent. There are three types of MHD energy conversion: (1) the open-cycle system utilizes the fossil fuel as its heat source, the resulting combustion gas being the working fluid; (2) the closed-cycle generator usually refers to the closed-cycle plasma generator which requires an external heating source to heat a noble gas as the working fluid; and (3) there is the liquid-metal generator which is also closed-cycle, but utilizes a two-phase mixture. The open-cycle system is the most promising, the most advanced, and is emphasized in this paper; the Univ. of Tennessee Space Institute has focused its attention on directly coal-fired MHD generators and has succeeded in demonstrating successful operation. A review of MHD research in the USSR indicates that all three types of generators are being tested, but emphasis is also placed there on the open-cycle system. Its most important facility is the U-25 at the Institute of High Temperatures; this generator was expected to be delivering 20 MW by the end of 1975. The cost savings to the U. S. through the development of MHD power generation is discussed. It is concluded that from its development, the sulfur dioxide pollution in high-sulfur coals is reduced by 120 times, nitrogen oxides by many times, particulate matter by 10 times and finally, thermal pollution is reduced by more than 50 percent even without the use of cooling towers. The cost of this development is placed at $410 million in 10 years

Mathematical modelling of flue gas tempered flames produced from pulverised coal fired with oxygen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breussin, A.; Weber, R.; Kamp, W.L. van de

1997-10-01

The combustion of pulverised coal in conventional utility boilers contributes significantly to global CO{sub 2} emissions. Because atmospheric air is used as the combustion medium, the exhaust gases of conventional pulverised coal fired utility boilers contain approximately 15 % CO{sub 2}. This relatively low concentration makes separating and recovering CO{sub 2} a very energy-intensive process. This process can be simplified if N{sub 2} is eliminated from the comburent before combustion by firing the pulverised coal with pure oxygen. However, this concept will result in very high flames temperatures. Flue gas recirculation can be used to moderate the flame temperature, whilst generating a flue gas with a CO{sub 2} concentration of 95 %. In this presentation, both experimental and modelling work will be described. The former deals with identifying the issues related to the combustion of pulverised coal in simulated turbine exhaust gas, particularly with respect to stability, burnout and pollutant emissions. The second part of this presentation describes mathematical modelling of type 2 as well as type 1 swirling pulverised coal flames. Future work will concentrate on high CO{sub 2} levels environments. (orig.)

Technico-economic evaluation of abatement systems applying to air pollution resulting from coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mounier, Marc.

1981-09-01

The aim of this study is to contribute to the analysis of the health care policies which could be considered in coal-fired power plants, in the comparative framework of the radiation protection in nuclear power plants. After a recall of the typical parameters of the air pollution due to the normal operation of a coal-fired power plant, we develop a heuristic model which allows, after having quantified the releases, to determine the theoretical health effects associated to a one-year operation of the power plant. The comparison of the various protection policies has been done with the help of a cost-effectiveness analysis. An examination of the results shows that the policy presently implemented forms a part of the cost-effective options. Nevertheless, it can be seen that the marginal protection cost is higher in nuclear power plants than in coal-fired power plants [fr

Economic aspects of advanced coal-fired gas turbine locomotives

Science.gov (United States)

Liddle, S. G.; Bonzo, B. B.; Houser, B. C.

1983-01-01

Increases in the price of such conventional fuels as Diesel No. 2, as well as advancements in turbine technology, have prompted the present economic assessment of coal-fired gas turbine locomotive engines. A regenerative open cycle internal combustion gas turbine engine may be used, given the development of ceramic hot section components. Otherwise, an external combustion gas turbine engine appears attractive, since although its thermal efficiency is lower than that of a Diesel engine, its fuel is far less expensive. Attention is given to such a powerplant which will use a fluidized bed coal combustor. A life cycle cost analysis yields figures that are approximately half those typical of present locomotive engines.

Radiological impact from airborne routine discharges of Coal-Fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norasalwa Zakaria; Rohyiza Baan; Kathiravale, Sivapalan

2010-01-01

Radioactivity exists everywhere in nature. We are exposed to intense and continuous natural radiation coming from the sun, cosmic radiation, telluric radiation and even to the internal radiation of our own body. The fly ash emitted from burning coal for electricity by a power plant carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy. This paper presents the information of studies on the radiological impact from airborne routine discharge of coal-fired power plants. (author)

The development of coal-based technologies for Department of Defense facilities: Phase 1 final report. Volume 1: Technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, B.G.; Morrison, J.L.; Pisupati, S.V. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Energy and Fuels Research Center] [and others

1997-01-31

The first phase of a three-phase project investigating the development of coal-based technologies for Department of Defense facilities has been completed. The objectives of the project are to: decrease DOD`s dependence on foreign oil and increase its use of coal; promote public and private sector deployment of technologies for utilizing coal-based fuels in oil-designed combustion equipment; and provide a continuing environment for research and development of coal-based fuel technologies for small-scale applications at a time when market conditions in the US are not favorable for the introduction of coal-fired equipment in the commercial and industrial capacity ranges. The Phase 1 activities were focused on developing clean, coal-based combustion technologies for the utilization of both micronized coal-water mixtures (MCWMs) and dry, micronized coal (DMC) in fuel oil-designed industrial boilers. The specific objective in Phase 1 was to deliver fully engineered retrofit options for a fuel oil-designed watertube boiler located on a DOD installation to fire either MCWM or DMC. This was achieved through a project consisting of fundamental, pilot-sale, and demonstration-scale activities investigating coal beneficiation and preparation, and MCWM and DMC combustion performance. In addition, detailed engineering designs and an economic analysis were conducted for a boiler located at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, near Crane, Indiana. Results are reported on MCWM and DMC combustion performance evaluation; engineering design; and cost/economic analysis.

Do emission ceilings ruin coal-fired power plants?; Emissieplafonds nekken kolencentrales?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wijmenga, J. [Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu, Den Haag (Netherlands)

2011-04-15

The case of the new coal-fired power plants has already racked the brains of many. The advice offered to the court by the attorney-general constitutes the next step in this process. A temporary solution has been found for the coal-fired plants, but one question remains unanswered so far: how should an emission ceiling be used as a test instrument for permits? This article provides a direction in which a solution can be found. [Dutch] De zaak betreffende de nieuwe kolencentrales heeft al tot heel wat hoofdbrekens geleid. Het advies dat de advocaat-generaal heeft uitgebracht aan het hof is een volgende stap in dit proces. Voor de kolencentrales is een tijdelijke oplossing gevonden, maar de vraag is nog niet beantwoord hoe een emissieplafond moet worden gebruikt als toetsinstrument voor vergunningen. In dit artikel wordt aangegeven in welke richting een oplossing kan worden gezocht.

‘As snug as a bug in a rug’: post-war housing, homes and coal fires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynda Nead

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines the layers of meaning and value attached to the image of the open coal fireside in the years immediately following the end of the Second World War. Although the open fire has a much longer economic, social and cultural history, it is argued here that after 1945 it took on new, emergent meanings that tapped into pressing contemporary debates concerning the nature of the modern British nation, the home and the family. Whilst writers often evoked the experience of the open fire as a timeless comfort, addressing basic human needs, the fireside of post-war British journalism and illustration was a very modern thing indeed, able to express specific debates arising from the requirements of reconstruction and modernisation. The almost folkloric associations of the open fire made it harder in the 1950s to legislate against domestic smoke than it was to regulate industrial pollution. Vested interests drew on the powerful rhetoric of the coal fire to combat the smoke pollution reports of the early 1950s and the growing inevitability of legislation. The coal fire was part of a post-war chain of being that started with the domestic hearth and progressed to the nuclear family, the self-contained home, the nation, and ultimately to the Commonwealth.

MHD power plants - a reality of the 80's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pishchikov, S.

1981-01-01

A 300 MW MHD generator and a conventional turbogenerator of the same capacity will be used for the first MHD power block assembly projected in the USSR. The power plant's own consumption will not exceed 12% and the availability will be approximately 50%. Compared with a conventional power generating unit of a capacity of 500 MW the projected unit will provide fuel savings of at least 23%. The project is based on almost seven years long experience with the U-25 experimental MHD facility. Similar to the U-25, the MHD power plant projected will be fired with natural gas. (B.S.)

MHD power plants - a reality of the 80's

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pishchikov, S

1981-02-01

A 300 MW MHD generator and a conventional turbogenerator of the same capacity will be used for the first MHD power block assembly projected in the USSR. The power plant's own consumption will not exceed 12% and the availability will be approximately 50%. Compared with a conventional power generating unit of a capacity of 500 MW the projected unit will provide fuel savings of at least 23%. The project is based on almost seven years long experience with the U-25 experimental MHD facility. Similar to the U-25, the MHD power plant projected will be fired with natural gas.

Impact on CCGT plants of the use of decarbonised syngas from coal gasification - a retrofit study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, S.; Goy, C.; Periselneris, J. [E.ON UK, Nottingham (United Kingdom). Power Technology

2006-07-01

This paper describes a feasibility study of the modification of an existing combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) unit to fire on a coal-derived syngas, both with and without pre-combustion carbon capture. It includes plant reliability study and the estimation of capital and operating costs for the converted unit. 6 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

Projected costs of generating electricity from nuclear and coal-fired power stations for commissioning in 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

This report updates and extends the previous NEA study, ''The Costs of Generating Electricity in Nuclear and Coal-fired Power Stations'', published by the OECD in late 1983. Despite the changed expectations concerning coal prices and the considerable movements in exchange rates since the first study was completed, the conclusions remain essentially the same. Nuclear Power is projected to be economically superior by a significant margin to coal-fired plants for base load electricity production in Europe, Japan and some regions of North America. In areas of North America in close proximity to supplies of cheap coal, this would be the more economic fuel, unless future nuclear investment costs can be reduced to match the best US and Canadian experience. In all regions considered, the economic advantage of both coal and nuclear over oil and gas-fired plants for commissioning in the mid-1990s is expected to be substantial. These conclusions are based on an analysis of cost projections for 900 MWe to 1400 MWe Light Water Reactors to be commissioned in 1995, operating at a levelised load factor of about 72 per cent over an assumed 25 years economic life and calculated with a 5 per cent (real) discount rate. This parallels the reference reactor selected for the NEA report ''The Economics of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle'', which was published by the OECD in June 1985, though it deviates somewhat from the reference conditions of the previous generation cost study. Contemporary coal-fired stations ranging in capacity from 330 MWe to 700 MWe with the same assumed economic life and load factor provide the basis for comparison. Some data are included on CANDU Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, and a brief comment is annexed on the relevance of the comparisons for the smaller plants that may be of interest to countries with smaller electricity networks or where special circumstances apply

Sustainable development with clean coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-08-01

This paper discusses the opportunities available with clean coal technologies. Applications include new power plants, retrofitting and repowering of existing power plants, steelmaking, cement making, paper manufacturing, cogeneration facilities, and district heating plants. An appendix describes the clean coal technologies. These include coal preparation (physical cleaning, low-rank upgrading, bituminous coal preparation); combustion technologies (fluidized-bed combustion and NOx control); post-combustion cleaning (particulate control, sulfur dioxide control, nitrogen oxide control); and conversion with the integrated gasification combined cycle.

Application of the decree 2910 for coal fired boilers; Application de l`arrete 2910 aux chaudieres a charbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hing, K. [CDF Energie, Charbonnages de France, 92 - Rueil-Malmaison (France)

1997-12-31

The impacts of the new French decree 2910 concerning the classification of all combustion equipment with regards to their energy sources, energy efficiency and pollution control, on 2 to 20 MW coal-fired boilers, are discussed, with emphasis on their pollutant emissions (SO{sub 2}, NO{sub x} and ashes). The compositions of several coals is presented and the various types of coal-fired boilers adapted to the new decree are presented: automatic boilers, dense fluidized bed boilers, vibrating and chain grids with fume tubes and water tubes

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER'S CONESVILLE POWER PLANT UNIT NO.5 CO2 CAPTURE RETROFIT STUDY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carl R. Bozzuto; Nsakala ya Nsakala; Gregory N. Liljedahl; Mark Palkes; John L. Marion

2001-06-30

ALSTOM Power Inc.'s Power Plant Laboratories (ALSTOM) has teamed with American Electric Power (AEP), ABB Lummus Global Inc. (ABB), the US Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL), and the Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) to conduct a comprehensive study evaluating the technical feasibility and economics of alternate CO{sub 2} capture and sequestration technologies applied to an existing US coal-fired electric generation power plant. The motivation for this study was to provide input to potential US electric utility actions concerning GHG emissions reduction. If the US decides to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions, action would need to be taken to address existing power plants. Although fuel switching from coal to natural gas may be one scenario, it will not necessarily be a sufficient measure and some form of CO{sub 2} capture for use or disposal may also be required. The output of this CO{sub 2} capture study will enhance the public's understanding of control options and influence decisions and actions by government, regulators, and power plant owners in considering the costs of reducing greenhouse gas CO{sub 2} emissions. The total work breakdown structure is encompassed within three major reports, namely: (1) Literature Survey, (2) AEP's Conesville Unit No.5 Retrofit Study, and (3) Bench-Scale Testing and CFD Evaluation. The report on the literature survey results was issued earlier by Bozzuto, et al. (2000). Reports entitled ''AEP's Conesville Unit No.5 Retrofit Study'' and ''Bench-Scale Testing and CFD Evaluation'' are provided as companion volumes, denoted Volumes I and II, respectively, of the final report. The work performed, results obtained, and conclusions and recommendations derived therefrom are summarized.

Enhanced Combustion Low NOx Pulverized Coal Burner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David Towle; Richard Donais; Todd Hellewell; Robert Lewis; Robert Schrecengost

2007-06-30

For more than two decades, Alstom Power Inc. (Alstom) has developed a range of low cost, infurnace technologies for NOx emissions control for the domestic U.S. pulverized coal fired boiler market. This includes Alstom's internally developed TFS 2000{trademark} firing system, and various enhancements to it developed in concert with the U.S. Department of Energy. As of the date of this report, more than 270 units representing approximately 80,000 MWe of domestic coal fired capacity have been retrofit with Alstom low NOx technology. Best of class emissions range from 0.18 lb/MMBtu for bituminous coal to 0.10 lb/MMBtu for subbituminous coal, with typical levels at 0.24 lb/MMBtu and 0.13 lb/MMBtu, respectively. Despite these gains, NOx emissions limits in the U.S. continue to ratchet down for new and existing boiler equipment. On March 10, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR requires 25 Eastern states to reduce NOx emissions from the power generation sector by 1.7 million tons in 2009 and 2.0 million tons by 2015. Low cost solutions to meet such regulations, and in particular those that can avoid the need for a costly selective catalytic reduction system (SCR), provide a strong incentive to continue to improve low NOx firing system technology to meet current and anticipated NOx control regulations. The overall objective of the work is to develop an enhanced combustion, low NOx pulverized coal burner, which, when integrated with Alstom's state-of-the-art, globally air staged low NOx firing systems will provide a means to achieve: Less than 0.15 lb/MMBtu NOx emissions when firing a high volatile Eastern or Western bituminous coal, Less than 0.10 lb/MMBtu NOx emissions when firing a subbituminous coal, NOx reduction costs at least 25% lower than the costs of an SCR, Validation of the NOx control technology developed through large (15 MWt) pilot scale demonstration, and Documentation required for

Waterwall corrosion evaluation in coal-fired boilers using electrochemical measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, K.; Lee, C.; Seeley, R.; Harding, S.; Heap, M.; Cox, W.

2000-07-01

Until recently, waterwall corrosion in North American coal-fired boilers was uncommon and relatively mild. However, the introduction of combustion modifications to reduce in-furnace NOx formation has led to notable increases in the frequency and severity of waterwall wastage. Reaction Engineering International (REI) has worked with the Department of Energy and EPRI to improve predictive capabilities and provide solutions for furnace wall wastage for a wide range of coal-fired furnaces. To date, this work has emphasized computational simulations. More recently, REI in partnership with Corrosion Management has begun complementary efforts to improve their services by evaluating technologies capable of determining the location/rate of high water wall wastage resulting from corrosion. After an evaluation of commercially available options, electrochemical noise (EN) technology has been chosen for continued development. This approach has been successfully applied to corrosion-related problems involving acid dewpoint corrosion in flue gas ductwork, FGD systems, cooling water systems, oil and gas production, and acid cleaning (Cox et al, 1999). This paper presents the results of preliminary testing of an EN probe in a high temperature environment typical of the lower furnace of a cyclone-fired boiler operating under staged conditions. The relationship between electrochemical responses and (1) stoichiometry and (2) local hydrogen sulfide concentration is investigated and the qualitative and quantitative usefulness of the approach for on-line risk management is considered.

Geothermal, Geochemical and Geomagnetic Mapping Of the Burning Coal Seam in Fire- Zone 18 of the Coal Mining Area Wuda, Inner Mongolia, PR China.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessels, W.; Han, J.; Halisch, M.; Lindner, H.; Rueter, H.; Wuttke, M. W.

2008-12-01

Spontaneous combustion of coal has become a world wide problem caused by and affecting technical operations in coal mining areas. The localization of the burning centre is a prerequisite for any planning of fire fighting operations. In the German - Chinese coal fire project sponsored by the German Ministry of Science and Technologies (Grant No. 0330490K) the so called fire zone 18 of the coal mining area of Wuda (InnerMongolia, PR China) serves as a test area for geophysical measurements. For the geothermal and geochemical mapping 25 up to 1m deep boreholes with a diameter of approx. 30 mm are distributed over the particular fire-zone with an extension of 320 × 180 m2. To avoid the highly dynamic gas flow processes in fire induced fractures caused by weather conditions, all boreholes were situated in the undisturbed rock compartments. In these boreholes, plastic tubes of 12 mm diameter provide access to the borehole ground filled with highly permeable gravel. The boreholes are otherwise sealed to the atmosphere by clay. The geothermal observations consist of measurements of temperature profiles in the boreholes and thermal conductivity measurement on rock samples in the lab. For depths greater then 0.2 m diurnal variations in the temperature gradient were neglected. The derived heat flow with maximum values of 80 W/m2 is more then three orders of magnitude higher than the natural undisturbed heat flow. The high heat flow suggests that the dominant heat transport is gas convection through the system of porous rock and fractures. Any temperature anomaly caused by the burning coal in a depth of more than 18 m would need years to reach the surface by a heat transport restricted to conduction. The geochemical soil gas probing is performed by gas extraction from the boreholes. Measured are the concentrations of O2, CO, CO2, H2S and CH4. The O2 deficit in the soil air and the concentrations of the other combustion products compared to the concentrations in the free

Co-firing straw and coal in a 150-MWe utility boiler: in situ measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, P. F.B.; Andersen, Karin Hedebo; Wieck-Hansen, K.

1998-01-01

A 2-year demonstration program is carried out by the Danish utility I/S Midtkraft at a 150-MWe PF-boiler unit reconstructed for co-firing straw and coal. As a part of the demonstration program, a comprehensive in situ measurement campaign was conducted during the spring of 1996 in collaboration...... with the Technical University of Denmark. Six sample positions have been established between the upper part of the furnace and the economizer. The campaign included in situ sampling of deposits on water/air-cooled probes, sampling of fly ash, flue gas and gas phase alkali metal compounds, and aerosols as well...... deposition propensities and high temperature corrosion during co-combustion of straw and coal in PF-boilers. Danish full scale results from co-firing straw and coal, the test facility and test program, and the potential theoretical support from the Technical University of Denmark are presented in this paper...

Assessment of 210Po deposition in moss species and soil around coal-fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nita Salina Abu Bakar; Ahmad Saat

2013-01-01

In the present study, the depositions of 210 Po were assessed in the surface soil and some mosses species found in the area around coal fired power plant using radiochemical deposition and alpha spectrometry counting system. The purposes of the study were to determine activity concentrations of 210 Po in mosses and surface soil collected around coal-fired power plant in relation to trace the potential source of 210 Po and to identify most suitable moss species as a bio-indicator for 210 Po deposition. In this study, different species of mosses, Orthodontium imfractum, Campylopus serratus and Leucobryum aduncum were collected in May 2011 at the area around 15 km radius from Tanjung Bin coal-fired power plant located in Pontian, Johor. The 210 Po activity concentrations in mosses and soil varied in the range 102 ± 4 to 174 ± 8 Bq/kg dry wt. and 37 ± 2 to 184 ± 8 Bq/kg dry wt., respectively. Corresponding highest activity concentration of 210 Po observed in L. aduncum, therefore, this finding can be concluded this species was the most suitable as a bio-indicator for 210 Po deposition. On the other hand, it is clear the accumulation of 210 Po in mosses might be supplied from various sources of atmospheric deposition such as coal-fired power plant operation, industrial, plantation, agriculture and fertilizer activities, burned fuel fossil and forest; and other potential sources. Meanwhile, the main source of 210 Po in surface soil is supplied from the in situ deposition of radon decay and its daughters in the soil itself. (author)

Soil to plant transfer factor in the vicinity of coal fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolic, J.; Todorovic, D.; Jankovic, M.; Radenkovic, M.; Joksic, J.

2009-01-01

In this paper, the monitoring of working and living environment results in 5 coal fired powered plants, for the period from 2004. to 2009. are presented. Soil-plant transfer factor, suitable for estimation of possible contamination of food chain was chosen, as a measure of influence of power plants on the environment. The results gathered over the years of monitoring of working and living environment in the vicinity of the coal fired power plant were analyzed, and it was determined that no significant discrepancy exists comparing to the results reported in world literature. Also, the basic mathematical analysis was conducted, in order to assess the model of the behavior of the results in respect to the frequency count. (author) [sr

Coal-fired high performance power generating system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-07-01

The goals of the program are to develop a coal-fired high performance power generation system (HIPPS) by the year 2000 that is capable of > 47% thermal efficiency; NO[sub x] SO [sub x] and Particulates < 25% NSPS; Cost of electricity 10% lower; coal > 65% of heat input and all solid wastes benign. In order to achieve these goals our team has outlined a research plan based on an optimized analysis of a 250 MW[sub e] combined cycle system applicable to both frame type and aeroderivative gas turbines. Under the constraints of the cycle analysis we have designed a high temperature advanced furnace (HITAF) which integrates several combustor and air heater designs with appropriate ash management procedures. Most of this report discusses the details of work on these components, and the R D Plan for future work. The discussion of the combustor designs illustrates how detailed modeling can be an effective tool to estimate NO[sub x] production, minimum burnout lengths, combustion temperatures and even particulate impact on the combustor walls. When our model is applied to the long flame concept it indicates that fuel bound nitrogen will limit the range of coals that can use this approach. For high nitrogen coals a rapid mixing, rich-lean, deep staging combustor will be necessary. The air heater design has evolved into two segments: a convective heat exchanger downstream of the combustion process; a radiant panel heat exchanger, located in the combustor walls; The relative amount of heat transferred either radiatively or convectively will depend on the combustor type and the ash properties.

MINIMIZATION OF CARBON LOSS IN COAL REBURNING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lissianski, Vitali V.; Loc Ho; Maly, Peter M.; Zamansky, Vladimir M.

2002-01-01

This project develops Fuel-Flexible Reburning (FFR), which combines conventional reburning and Advanced Reburning (AR) technologies with an innovative method of delivering coal as the reburning fuel. The FFR can be retrofit to existing boilers and can be configured in several ways depending on the boiler, coal characteristics, and NO x control requirements. Fly ash generated by the technology will be a saleable byproduct for use in the cement and construction industries. FFR can also reduce NO x by 60%-70%, achieving an emissions level of 0.15 lb/10 6 Btu in many coal-fired boilers equipped with Low NO x Burners. Total process cost is expected to be one third to one half of that for Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). Activities during reporting period included design, manufacture, assembly, and shake down of the coal gasifier and pilot-scale testing of the efficiency of coal gasification products in FFR. Tests were performed in a 300 kW Boiler Simulator Facility. Several coals with different volatiles content were tested. Data suggested that incremental increase in the efficiency of NO x reduction due to the gasification was more significant for less reactive coals with low volatiles content. Experimental results also suggested that the efficiency of NO x reduction in FFR was higher when air was used as a transport media. Up to 14% increase in the efficiency of NO x reduction in comparison with that of basic reburning was achieved with air transport. Temperature and residence time in the gasification zone also affected the efficiency of NO x reduction

Field test corrosion experiences when co-firing straw and coal: 10 year status within Elsam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Rasmus Berg; Montgomery, Melanie; Larsen, Ole Hede

2007-01-01

and straw at the 150 MW pulverized coal fired boiler Studstrup unit 1. Two exposure series lasting 3000 hours each were performed for co-firing 10 and 20% of straw (% energy basis) with coal. Using built in test tubes in the hot end of the actual superheaters and air/water cooled corrosion probes...... to 575 degrees C and for the flue gas from 1025 to 1300 degrees C. All these test tubes have been removed during the last three years at one year intervals for corrosion studies. The corrosion studies performed on all investigated tubes included measurements of the corrosion attack, light optical...

Low NO{sub x} burner modifications to front-fired pulverized coal boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broderick, R G; Wagner, M

1998-07-01

Madison Gas and Electric Blount Street Station Units 8 and 9 are Babcock and Wilcox pulverized coal fired and natural gas fired boilers. These boilers were build in the late 1950's and early 1960's with each boiler rated at 425,000 lb./hr of steam producing 50 MW of electricity. The boilers are rated at 9,500 F at 1,350 psig. Each unit is equipped with one Ljungstroem air heater and two B and W EL pulverizers. These units burn subbituminous coal with higher heating value of 10,950 Btu/LB on an as-received basis. The nitrogen content is approximately 1.23% with 15% moisture. In order to comply with the new Clean Air Act Madison Gas and Electric needs to reduce NO{sub x} on these units to less than .5 LB/mmBtu. Baseline NO{sub x} emissions on these units range between .8--.9 lb./mmBtu. LOIs average approximately 8%. Madison Gas and Electric contracted with RJM Corporation to modify the existing burners to achieve this objective. These modifications consisted of adding patented circumferentially and radially staged flame stabilizers, modifying the coal pipe, and replacing the coal impeller with a circumferentially staged coal spreader. RJM Corporation utilized computational fluid dynamics modeling in order to design the equipment to modify these burners. The equipment was installed during the March 1997 outage and start-up and optimization was conducted in April 1997. Final performance results and economic data will be included in the final paper.

Influences of coal slag on electrical characteristics of a Faraday MHD generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, M.; Umoto, J.

1989-01-01

In order to clarify the influence of coal slag on the electrical characteristics of a large scale Faraday MHD generator, numerical analysis by a new equivalent circuit method is performed. At first, an equivalent circuit for a space element in the Faraday channel and a slag layer element are derived. Next, the numerical results are compared with the experimental ones obtained from the ETL Mark VII. The results are: (1) when the thickness, conductivity, etc. of the slag are nonuniform the distribution of not only the load voltage, but also the voltage between adjacent electrodes, becomes nonuniform, and the latter may cause interelectrode breakdown; (2) when shorting over several cathodes occurs a typical distribution of the load voltage appears near the shorted region, in which, at first, the load voltage rises a little, then decreases gradually, and finally, recovers rapidly to the normal voltage along the gas flow. As a result of the short-circuit, the distribution of the voltage between adjacent electrodes is made significantly nonuniform, and this may lead to another inter-electrode breakdown. (author)

CFD analysis of NOx reduction by domestic natural gas added to coal combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bar-Ziv, E.; Yasur, Y.; Chudnovsky, B. [Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Inst. for Applied Research

2004-07-01

To date, Israel's electrical energy has been based only on imported fuels. However, with the recently discovered natural gas in the Ashqulon shores, Israel can examine the benefits to its energy resources, environment, and economy of blending its domestic natural gas with imported coal. As for using natural gas, the proposal is to burn it in existing IEC coal-fired boilers in order to significantly reduce NOx emission by reburning. An important aspect is to provide retrofitting in existing IEC boilers by replacing a fraction of the coal by natural gas. This would allow the purchase of coal with a wide range of parameters, which is less expensive. Hence, mixed gas-coal burning would benefit Israel. The authors have made numerical simulations in order to study the optimal conditions of operation and evaluate the economic as well as environmental benefits. Indeed, extensive simulations have shown that there is a significant reduction of NOx emission, as expected, with the addition of relatively small amounts of natural gas. Experiments will now be carried out in a test facility that will provide accurate physicochemical properties of the mixed fuel for more reliable simulations. 19 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Near-term implications of a ban on new coal-fired power plants in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Newcomer, Adam; Apt, Jay

2009-06-01

Large numbers of proposed new coal power generators in the United States have been canceled, and some states have prohibited new coal power generators. We examine the effects on the U.S. electric power system of banning the construction of coal-fired electricity generators, which has been proposed as a means to reduce U.S. CO2 emissions. The model simulates load growth, resource planning, and economic dispatch of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (ISO), Inc., Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and PJM under a ban on new coal generation and uses an economic dispatch model to calculate the resulting changes in dispatch order, CO2 emissions, and fuel use under three near-term (until 2030) future electric power sector scenarios. A national ban on new coal-fired power plants does not lead to CO2 reductions of the scale required under proposed federal legislation such as Lieberman-Warner but would greatly increase the fraction of time when natural gas sets the price of electricity, even with aggressive wind and demand response policies.

Oxy-coal combustion in an entrained flow reactor: Application of specific char and volatile combustion and radiation models for oxy-firing conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Álvarez, L.; Yin, Chungen; Riaza, J.

2013-01-01

The deployment of oxy-fuel combustion in utility boilers is one of the major options for CO2 capture. However, combustion under oxy-firing conditions differs from conventional air-firing combustion, e.g., in the aspect of radiative heat transfer, coal conversion and pollutants formation....... In this work, a numerical study on pulverised coal combustion was conducted to verify the applicability and accuracy of several sub-models refined for oxy-fuel conditions, e.g., gaseous radiative property model, gas-phase combustion mechanism and heterogeneous char reaction model. The sub-models were...... implemented in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations of combustion of three coals under air-firing and various oxy-firing (21-35% vol O2 in O2/CO2 mixture) conditions in an EFR (entrained flow reactor). The predicted coal burnouts and gaseous emissions were compared against experimental results...

Understanding China’s electricity market reform from the perspective of the coal-fired power disparity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mou, Dunguo

2014-01-01

In China, electricity consumption has grown quickly, supply is highly dependent on coal-fired power, and the prices of electricity are determined by the government, which increases the need for reform to enhance efficiency. In response to disputes about China’s electricity market reform, this paper analyses the efficiency of China’s coal-fired power plants using the Data Envelopment Analysis—Slack Based Measure (DEA-SBM) method on three levels: groups, provinces, and plants. The results indicate that there are both coal-electricity efficiency disparities and generation-hour arrangement unfairness across groups; the disparity across provinces is obvious and long-lasting, as indicated by capacity surpluses and coal-electricity efficiencies; and the disparities are displayed in detail by the estimation at the plant level. The disparities are primarily caused by the generator combination and generation hour arrangement. Competition may be able to solve the disparities, but a further comparison indicates that competition at the national level will enhance the efficiency to a greater degree than competition at the regional level. These results demonstrate that both competition and a united electricity market are necessary for further electricity market reform. - Highlights: • This paper analyses the coal-fired electricity efficiency from three levels. • There are efficiency disparities and hour arrangement unfairness at group level. • The disparities and unfairness are long-lasting across provinces. • The disparities and unfairness are detailed by analysis at plant level. • Competition at national market can improve the efficiency better than at regional market

Life assessment and emissions monitoring of Indian coal-fired power plants. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-07-01

At the request of the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) of the United States Department of Energy (USDOE), the traveler, along with Dr. R. P. Krishnan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee spent three weeks in India planning and performing emissions monitoring at the coal-fired Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS). The coordination for the Indian participants was provided by BHEL, Trichy and CPRI, Bangalore. The trip was sponsored by the PETC under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Government of India (GOI)P Alternate Energy Resources Development (AERD) Project. The AERD Project is managed by PETC, and ORNL is providing the technical coordination and support for four coal projects that are being implemented with BHEL, Trichy. The traveler, after briefing the USAID mission in New Delhi visited BHEL, Trichy and CPRI, Bangalore to coordinate and plan the emissions test program. The site selection was made by BHEL, CPRI, TVA, and PETC. Monitoring was performed for 4 days on one of the 4 existing 210 MW coal-fired boilers at the VTPS, 400 km north of Madras, India.

Co-firing of coal with biomass and waste in full-scale suspension-fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dam-Johansen, Kim; Frandsen, Flemming J.; Jensen, Peter A.; Jensen, Anker D. [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of chemical and Biochemical Engineering

2013-07-01

The energy policy in Denmark has for many years focused on lowering the net CO{sub 2} emission from heat and power production by replacing fossil fuels by renewable resources. This has been done by developing dedicated grate-fired boilers for biomass and waste fuels but also by developing coal-based suspension-fired boilers to accept still higher fractions of biomass or waste material as fuels. This last development has been challenging of many reasons, including pre-treatment of fuels, and solving potential emission and operational problems during the simultaneous development of supercritical steam cycles with steam temperatures close to 600 C, providing power efficiencies close to 50% (Hein KRG, Sustainable energy supply and environment protection - strategies, resources and technologies. In: Gupta R, Wall T, Hupa M, Wigley F, Tillman D, Frandsen FJ (eds) Proceedings of international conference on impact of fuel quality on power production and the environment, Banff Conference Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 29 Sept-4 Oct, 2008). For 25 years the CHEC (Combustion and Harmful Emission Control) Research Centre at DTU Chemical Engineering, has attained a leading role in research, supporting power producing industry, plant owners and boiler manufacturers to optimize design and operation and minimize cost and environmental impact using alternative fuels in suspension fired boilers. Our contribution has been made via a combination of full-scale measuring campaigns, pilot-scale studies, lab-scale measurements and modeling tools. The research conducted has addressed many issues important for co-firing, i.e. fuel processing, ash induced boiler deposit formation and corrosion, boiler chamber fuel conversion and emission formation, influence on flue gas cleaning equipment and the utilization of residual products. This chapter provides an overview of research activities, aiming at increasing biomass shares during co-firing in suspension, conducted in close collaboration with

Combined Heat and Power: Coal-Fired Air Turbine (CAT)-Cycle Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee Recca

1999-01-01

By combining an integrated system with a gas turbine, coal-fired air turbine cycle technology can produce energy at an efficiency rate of over 40%, with capital and operating costs below those of competing conventional systems. Read this fact sheet to discover the additional benefits of this exciting new technology

The coal fired power plant of Vado Ligure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrara, V.

1987-01-01

The problem of radiological impact from radioactive effluents released by the forecast new coal-fired power plant of Vado Ligure, is examinated. Using health physic metodologies of evaluation, the highest levels of dose equivalents to the population are computed. Taken into account the possible errors due to conservative models adopted, it is concluded that the induced radiological risks are to be considered negligible, both referring to the actual natural radiological levels in the environment, and considering the maximum permissible levels stated in international raccomandations

CONTROL OF NOX EMISSIONS FROM U.S. COAL-FIRED ELECTRIC UTILITY BOILERS

Science.gov (United States)

The paper discusses the control of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from U.S. coal-fired electric utility boilers. (NOTE: In general, NOx control technologies are categorized as being either primary or secondary control technologies. Primary technologies reduce the amount of NOx pr...

Emission of CO2 Gas and Radioactive Pollutant from Coal Fired Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ida, N.Finahari; Djati-HS; Heni-Susiati

2006-01-01

Energy utilization for power plant in Indonesia is still depending on burning fossil fuel such as coal, oil and gaseous fuel. The direct burning of coal produces CO 2 gas that can cause air pollution, and radioactive pollutant that can increase natural radioactive dosage. Natural radionuclide contained in coal is in the form of kalium, uranium, thorium and their decay products. The amount of CO 2 gas emission produced by coal fired power plant can be reduced by equipping the plant with waste-gas treatment facility. At this facility, CO 2 gas is reacted with calcium hydroxide producing calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate then can be used as basic material in food, pharmaceutical and construction industries. The alternative method to reduce impact of air pollution is by replacing coal fuel with nuclear fuel or new and renewable fuel. (author)

Pollution control technologies applied to coal-fired power plant operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maciej Rozpondek

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Burning of fossil fuels is the major source of energy in today's global economy with over one-third of the world's powergeneration derived from coal combustion. Although coal has been a reliable, abundant, and relatively inexpensive fuel source for mostof the 20th century, its future in electric power generation is under increasing pressure as environmental regulations become morestringent worldwide. Current pollution control technologies for combustion exhaust gas generally treat the release of regulatedpollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter as three separate problems instead of as parts of one problem. Newand improved technologies have greatly reduced the emissions produced per ton of burning coal. The term “Clean Coal CombustionTechnology” applies generically to a range of technologies designed to greatly reduce the emissions from coal-fired power plants.The wet methods of desulfurization at present are the widest applied technology in professional energetics. This method is economicand gives good final results but a future for clean technologies is the biomass. Power from biomass is a proven commercial optionof the electricity generation in the World. An increasing number of power marketers are starting to offer environmentally friendlyelectricity, including biomass power, in response to the consumer demand and regulatory requirements.

Slag processing system for direct coal-fired gas turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Pillsbury, Paul W.

1990-01-01

Direct coal-fired gas turbine systems and methods for their operation are provided by this invention. The gas turbine system includes a primary zone for burning coal in the presence of compressed air to produce hot combustion gases and debris, such as molten slag. The turbine system further includes a secondary combustion zone for the lean combustion of the hot combustion gases. The operation of the system is improved by the addition of a cyclone separator for removing debris from the hot combustion gases. The cyclone separator is disposed between the primary and secondary combustion zones and is in pressurized communication with these zones. In a novel aspect of the invention, the cyclone separator includes an integrally disposed impact separator for at least separating a portion of the molten slag from the hot combustion gases.

Comprehensive assessment of toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, T.D.; Schmidt, C.E.; Radziwon, A.S.

1991-01-01

The Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) has two current investigations, initiated before passage of the Clean Air Act Amendment (CAAA), that will determine the air toxic emissions from coal-fired electric utilities. DOE has contracted with Battelle Memorial Institute and Radian corporation to conduct studies focusing on the potential air toxics, both organic and inorganic, associated with different size fractions of fine particulate matter emitted from power plant stacks. Table 2 indicates the selected analytes to be investigated during these studies. PETC is also developing guidance on the monitoring of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS) to be incorporated in the Environmental Monitoring plans for the demonstration projects in its Clean Coal Technology Program

Application of Coal Thermal Treatment Technology for Oil-Free Firing of Boilers

Science.gov (United States)

Aliyarov, B.; Mergalimova, A.; Zhalmagambetova, U.

2018-04-01

The theoretical and practical introduction of this kind of firing boiler units in coal thermal power plants is considered in the article. The results of an experimental study of three types of coals are presented in order to obtain the required gaseous fuel. The aim of the study is to develop a new, economically and ecologically more acceptable method for firing boilers at thermal power plants, which is able to exclude the use of expensive and inconvenient fuel oil. The tasks of the experiment are to develop a technological scheme of kindling of boilers at thermal power plants, using as a type of ignition fuel volatile combustible substances released during the heating of coal, and to investigate three types of coal for the suitability of obtaining gaseous fuels, in sufficient volume and with the required heat of combustion. The research methods include the analysis of technical and scientific-methodological literature on the problem of the present study, the study of the experience of scientists of other countries, the full-scale experiment on the production of volatile combustible substances. During the full-scale experiment, the coal of 3 fields of Kazakhstan has been studied: Shubarkul, Maikuben and Saryadyr. The analysis has been performed and the choice of the most convenient technology for boiler kindling and maintenance of steady burning of the torch has been made according to the proposed method, as well as the corresponding technological scheme has been developed. As a result of the experiment, it can be stated that from coal in the process of its heating (without access to oxygen), it is possible to obtain a sufficient amount of combustible volatile substances. The released gaseous fuel has the necessary parameters and is quite capable of replacing an expensive fuel oil. The resulting gaseous fuel is quite convenient to use and environmentally cleaner. The piloting scheme developed as a result of the experiment can be introduced in pulverized-coal

Measurements and simulation for design optimization for low NOx coal-firing system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E. Bar-Ziv; Y. Yasur; B. Chudnovsky; L. Levin; A. Talanker [Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel)

2003-07-01

The information required to design a utility steam generator is the heat balance, fuel analysis and emission. These establish the furnace wall configuration, the heat release rates, and the firing technology. The furnace must be sized for (1) residence time for complete combustion with low NOx, and (2) reduction of flue gas temperature to minimize ash deposition. To meet these, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of the combustion process in the furnace were performed and proven to be a powerful tool for this purpose. Still, reliable numerical simulations require careful interpretation and comparison with measurements. We report numerical results and measurements for a 575 MW pulverized coal tangential firing boiler of the Hadera power plant of Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). Measured and calculated values were found to be in reasonable agreement. We used the simulations for optimization and investigated temperature distribution, heat fluxes and concentration of chemical species. We optimized both the furnace flue gas temperature entering the convective path and the staged residence time for low NOx. We tested mass flow rates through close-coupled and separate overfire air ports and its arrangement and the coal powder fineness. These parameters can control the mixing rate between the fuel and the oxidizer streams and can affect the most important characteristics of the boiler such as temperature regimes, coal burning rate and nitrogen oxidation/reduction. From this effort, IEC started to improve the boiler performance by replacing the existing typical tangential burners to low NOx firing system to ensure the current regulation requirements of emission pollutions.

Analysis and study on the membrane method of CO2 removal of coal-fired boilers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fangqin, Li; Henan, Li; Jianxing, Ren; Jiang, Wu; Zhongzhu, Qiu

2010-01-01

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is one kind of harmful substances from the burning process of fossil fuel. CO 2 emissions cause serious pollution on atmospheric environment, especially greenhouse effect. In this paper, CO 2 formation mechanism and control methods were researched. Membrane technology was studied to control CO 2 emissions from coal-fired boilers. The relationship between CO 2 removal efficiency and parameters of membrane contactor was analyzed. Through analysis and study, factors affecting on CO 2 removal efficiency were gotten. How to choose the best parameters was known. This would provide theoretical basis for coal-fired utility boilers choosing effective way of CO 2 removal. (author)

Analysis of the use of waste heat obtained from coal-fired units in Organic Rankine Cycles and for brown coal drying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Łukowicz, Henryk; Kochaniewicz, Andrzej

2012-01-01

The ever-increasing restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions have created a need for new energy technologies. One way to meet these new requirements is to optimise the efficiency of power units. This paper presents two energy technologies that, if used, will increase the efficiency of electricity generation. One of the most effective ways to improve the efficiency of brown coal-fired units is by drying the coal that is fed into the boiler. Here, we describe a technology that uses the waste heat obtained from exhaust gases. This paper also presents an analysis of the feasibility of and potential for using waste heat obtained from exhaust gases to feed Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). Several low-temperature working fluids were considered, which were selected based on properties that were best suited for these types of cycles. The impact of these working fluids on the efficiency and capacity of the ORC was also examined. The calculations for ORCs fed with waste heat obtained from exhaust gases from hard coal- and brown coal-fired boilers were compared. -- Highlights: ► We describe a technology that uses the waste heat obtained from exhaust gases. ► The impact of using different working fluids with a low boiling point is examined. ► We describe integrating the ORC with the power unit. ► The use of waste heat from boiler exhaust gases to dry brown coal is proposed. ► We demonstrate a possible increase in power unit efficiency.

Bioremediation for coal-fired power stations using macroalgae.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, David A; Paul, Nicholas A; Bird, Michael I; de Nys, Rocky

2015-04-15

Macroalgae are a productive resource that can be cultured in metal-contaminated waste water for bioremediation but there have been no demonstrations of this biotechnology integrated with industry. Coal-fired power production is a water-limited industry that requires novel approaches to waste water treatment and recycling. In this study, a freshwater macroalga (genus Oedogonium) was cultivated in contaminated ash water amended with flue gas (containing 20% CO₂) at an Australian coal-fired power station. The continuous process of macroalgal growth and intracellular metal sequestration reduced the concentrations of all metals in the treated ash water. Predictive modelling shows that the power station could feasibly achieve zero discharge of most regulated metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) in waste water by using the ash water dam for bioremediation with algal cultivation ponds rather than storage of ash water. Slow pyrolysis of the cultivated algae immobilised the accumulated metals in a recalcitrant C-rich biochar. While the algal biochar had higher total metal concentrations than the algae feedstock, the biochar had very low concentrations of leachable metals and therefore has potential for use as an ameliorant for low-fertility soils. This study demonstrates a bioremediation technology at a large scale for a water-limited industry that could be implemented at new or existing power stations, or during the decommissioning of older power stations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coal fired power plant fireside problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, P.; Manolescu, A.V.

1984-01-01

This paper describes the recent experience with fireside problems in coal fired subcritical boilers at Ontario Hydro*, and is concerned with boiler tube wastage. Problems with other components such as burners, air pre-heaters and ''back-end'' ductwork are not discussed. In most utilities, boiler tube failures account for a sizable portion of the total forced outages (typically about25%) as well as a very large part of the maintenance outages. The failures shown under the external deterioration category are of interest because they indicate the proportion of problems caused by the tube metal wastage processes initiated on the fireside of the boilers. Fireside problems remain an important cause of boiler tube failures year after year in spite of concentrated efforts to mitigate them

Control of mercury emissions from coal fired electric uitlity boilers: An update

Science.gov (United States)

Coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are known to be the major anthropogenic source of domestic mercury emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently proposed to reduce emissions of mercury from these plants. In March 2005, EPA plans to promulgate final regulat...

PROTOTYPE SCALE TESTING OF LIMB TECHNOLOGY FOR A PULVERIZED-COAL-FIRED BOILER

Science.gov (United States)

The report summarizes results of an evaluation of furnace sorbent injection (FSI) to control sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-fired utility boilers. (NOTE: FSI of calcium-based sorbents has shown promise as a moderate SO2 removal technology.) The Electric Power Research I...

Computer aided seismic and fire retrofitting analysis of existing high rise reinforced concrete buildings

CERN Document Server

Hussain, Raja Rizwan; Hasan, Saeed

2016-01-01

This book details the analysis and design of high rise buildings for gravity and seismic analysis. It provides the knowledge structural engineers need to retrofit existing structures in order to meet safety requirements and better prevent potential damage from such disasters as earthquakes and fires. Coverage includes actual case studies of existing buildings, reviews of current knowledge for damages and their mitigation, protective design technologies, and analytical and computational techniques. This monograph also provides an experimental investigation on the properties of fiber reinforced concrete that consists of natural fibres like coconut coir and also steel fibres that are used for comparison in both Normal Strength Concrete (NSC) and High Strength Concrete (HSC). In addition, the authors examine the use of various repair techniques for damaged high rise buildings. The book will help upcoming structural design engineers learn the computer aided analysis and design of real existing high rise buildings ...

Evaluation of AFBC co-firing of coal and hospital wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-02-01

The purpose of this program is to expand the use of coal by utilizing CFB (circulating fluidized bed) technology to provide an environmentally safe method for disposing of waste materials. Hospitals are currently experiencing a waste management crisis. In many instances, they are no longer permitted to burn pathological and infectious wastes in incinerators. Older hospital incinerators are not capable of maintaining the stable temperatures and residence times necessary in order to completely destroy toxic substances before release into the atmosphere. In addition, the number of available landfills which can safely handle these substances is decreasing each year. The purpose of this project is to conduct necessary research investigating whether the combustion of the hospital wastes in a coal-fired circulating fluidized bed boiler will effectively destroy dioxins and other hazardous substances before release into the atmosphere. If this is proven feasible, in light of the quantity of hospital wastes generated each year, it would create a new market for coal -- possibly 50 million tons/year.

INDUSTRIAL BOILER RETROFIT FOR NOX CONTROL: COMBINED SELECTIVE NONCATALYTIC REDUCTION AND SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION

Science.gov (United States)

The paper describes retrofitting and testing a 590 kW (2 MBtu/hr), oil-fired, three-pass, fire-tube package boiler with a combined selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The system demonstrated 85% nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction w...

Thermodynamic analysis and economic evaluation of a 1000 MW bituminous coal fired power plant incorporating low-temperature pre-drying (LTPD)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Cheng; Xu, Gang; Zhu, Mingming; Dong, Wei; Zhang, Yang; Yang, Yongping; Zhang, Dongke

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An improved design of coal pre-drying using flue gas waste heat was proposed. • 0.4% energy efficiency increase was achieved with the proposed system. • The additional net economic benefit of the proposed system is $1.91 M per year. • Proposed concept can be widely applied to improve coal-fired power plant efficiency. - Abstract: Low-temperature pre-drying (LTPD) of lignite has been identified as an effective approach to improve the efficiency of lignite fired power plants. In this study, an improved concept for the pre-drying of medium moisture bituminous coals using flue gas waste heat was proposed and its feasibility was assessed. In the proposed configuration, the boiler exhaust flue gas is drawn to dryers to heat and pre-dry the raw coal, removing a large proportion of the coal moisture and leading to an improvement in the energy efficiency of the power plant. Thermodynamic analysis and economic evaluation were performed based on a typical 1000 MW bituminous coal fired power plant incorporating the proposed LTPD concept. The results showed that the net power plant efficiency gain is as much as 0.4 percentage point with additional net power output of 9.3 MW as compared to the reference plant without coal pre-drying. This was attributed to the reduction in the moisture content from 10.3 to 2.7 wt%. The additional net economic benefit attained due to the coal pre-drying was estimated to reach $1.91 M per year. This work provides a broadly applicable and economically feasible approach to further improve the energy efficiency of power plants firing coals with medium moisture contents.

The Clean Coal Technology Program 100 MWe demonstration of gas suspension absorption for flue gas desulfurization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, F.E.; Hedenhag, J.G. [AirPol Inc., Teterboro, NJ (United States); Marchant, S.K.; Pukanic, G.W. [Dept. of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center; Norwood, V.M.; Burnett, T.A. [Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga, TN (United States)

1997-12-31

AirPol Inc., with the cooperation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) under a Cooperative Agreement with the United States Department of Energy, installed and tested a 10 MWe Gas Suspension Absorption (GSA) Demonstration system at TVA`s Shawnee Fossil Plant near Paducah, Kentucky. This low-cost retrofit project demonstrated that the GSA system can remove more than 90% of the sulfur dioxide from high-sulfur coal-fired flue gas, while achieving a relatively high utilization of reagent lime. This paper presents a detailed technical description of the Clean Coal Technology demonstration project. Test results and data analysis from the preliminary testing, factorial tests, air toxics texts, 28-day continuous demonstration run of GSA/electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and 14-day continuous demonstration run of GSA/pulse jet baghouse (PJBH) are also discussed within this paper.

Coal-fired power plant: airborne routine discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeevaert, T.

2005-01-01

The radiological impact from non-nuclear industries is a growing matter of concern to stake holders and regulators. It has been demonstrated that atmospheric discharges from coal-fired power plants can lead to higher dose-impacts to critical groups of the population than nuclear power plants. In Belgium, in the frame of an agreement between electricity producers and national authorities, measures were taken in conventional power plants to restrict airborne discharges of SO 2 , NO x and suspended particles. In the 500 MWe coal-fired power plant of Langerlo, a flue gas purification system was installed, consisting of a denitrification unit and a desulphurization unit, next to the electrostatic dust filter units. These measures have also an important effect on the radioactive atmospheric discharges. The objective of this study was to assess the radiological impact of the airborne releases of the power plant under normal working conditions and in particular the influence of the installation of the flue gas purification system. As a first step, we measured the natural radioactivity content of the coal and the radium content of the fly ash . The quantities of the other radioelements discharged through the chimney, were estimated, assuming the same behaviour as radium, except for the more volatile lead and polonium, which will condense preferably on finer ash particles, against which the electro filters are less effective. (A concentration factor of 4 has been adopted). The radon, present in the coal, is assumed to be discharged completely through the chimney. The atmospheric transport, dispersion and deposition of the discharged radionuclides were modelled, applying the bi-Gaussian plume model IFDM. For the calculations, we used hourly averages of the meteorological observations at Mol over the year 1991. The transfers of the radionuclides from air and soil to the biospheric media, exposing man, were calculated with our biosphere model and the radiological impact to the

Mitsubishi latest coal fired USC boiler technology (CFE Pacifico 700 MW)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashimoto, T.; Sakamoto, K. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Nagasaki (Japan). Power Systems; Fujitab, M. [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Yokohama (Japan). Power Systems

2013-07-01

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has successfully completed commissioning work for CFE (Comision Federal de Electricidad) Pacifico 700 MW coal-fired unit in March 2010 which is the first supercritical unit in Latin America. This supercritical boiler was designed with state of the art technologies such as low NOx burners, high fineness pulverizers, advanced vertical furnace wall technology and so on. Especially the advanced vertical furnace wall technology with some improvements is a key technology to realize swift load changes such as 5% load per minute ramping rate with assuring dynamic characteristics. Recently the requirement of the high efficiency and the swift load changes for the power boilers has been increased so that even a coal-fired unit needs flexible operation characteristics for balancing variety of power sources. One of the challenges for the swift load change is to keep the furnace wall metal temperature low during the load change, which the advanced vertical furnace wall could realize. The report describes the features of the unit and commissioning result including load swing test results in details.

Optimal Level of Woody Biomass Co-Firing with Coal Power Plant Considering Advanced Feedstock Logistics System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sangpil Ko

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Co-firing from woody biomass feedstock is one of the alternatives toward increased use of renewable feedstock in existing coal power plants. However, the economic level of co-firing at a particular power plant depends on several site-specific factors. Torrefaction has been identified recently as a promising biomass pretreatment option to lead to reduction of the feedstock delivered cost, and thus facilitate an increase in the co-firing ratio. In this study, a mixed integer linear program (MILP is developed to integrate supply chain of co-firing and torrefaction process and find the optimal level of biomass co-firing in terms of minimized transportation and logistics costs, with or without tax credits. A case study of 26 existing coal power plants in three Great Lakes States of the US is used to test the model. The results reveal that torrefaction process can lead to higher levels of co-firing, but without the tax credit, the effect is limited to the low capacity of power plants. The sensitivity analysis shows that co-firing ratio has higher sensitivity to variation in capital and operation costs of torrefaction than to the variation in the transportation and feedstock purchase costs.

Understanding selected trace elements behavior in a coal-fired power plant in Malaysia for assessment of abatement technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mokhtar, Mutahharah M; Taib, Rozainee M; Hassim, Mimi H

2014-08-01

The Proposed New Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulation 201X (Draft), which replaces the Malaysia Environmental Quality (Clean Air) 1978, specifies limits to additional pollutants from power generation using fossil fuel. The new pollutants include Hg, HCl, and HF with limits of 0.03, 100, and 15 mg/N-m3 at 6% O2, respectively. These pollutants are normally present in very small concentrations (known as trace elements [TEs]), and hence are often neglected in environmental air quality monitoring in Malaysia. Following the enactment of the new regulation, it is now imperative to understand the TEs behavior and to assess the capability of the existing abatement technologies to comply with the new emission limits. This paper presents the comparison of TEs behavior of the most volatile (Hg, Cl, F) and less volatile (As, Be, Cd, Cr, Ni, Se, Pb) elements in subbituminous and bituminous coal and coal combustion products (CCP) (i.e., fly ash and bottom ash) from separate firing of subbituminous and bituminous coal in a coal-fired power plant in Malaysia. The effect of air pollution control devices configuration in removal of TEs was also investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of abatement technologies used in the plant. This study showed that subbituminous and bituminous coals and their CCPs have different TEs behavior. It is speculated that ash content could be a factor for such diverse behavior In addition, the type of coal and the concentrations of TEs in feed coal were to some extent influenced by the emission of TEs in flue gas. The electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and seawater flue gas desulfurization (FGD) used in the studied coal-fired power plant were found effective in removing TEs in particulate and vapor form, respectively, as well as complying with the new specified emission limits. Implications: Coals used by power plants in Peninsular Malaysia come from the same supplier (Tenaga Nasional Berhad Fuel Services), which is a subsidiary of the Malaysia

Report on results of contract research. 'Research on MHD generation system'; MHD hatsuden system no kenkyu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1982-03-01

'Research on MHD generation system' was implemented by its expert committee in the electric joint study group, with the results of fiscal 1981 reported. This year, technological reexamination was conducted for a 2,000 MWt commercial MHD generation plant, with evaluation carried out on the cost performance including the construction and operation cost. In addition, for the purpose of intermediate R and D towards the practicability, examination was also conducted on a system structure, concrete specifications of component element, cost of R and D including operation expenses for example, concerning an 100 MWt class experimental plant and a 500 MWt class plant. In the investigation of the overseas trend, information was summarized in detail on the experimental devices, combustors, generation channels, electrode materials, electrode phenomena, theoretical analyses, seeds, slag, component equipment, instrumental technologies, conceptual designs of generation plant, commercial plant, etc., in Soviet Union, China, Holland, India and EPRI, on the basis of the materials from the 19th MHD symposium held in UTSI and from the coal MHD specialist conference held in Sydney. (NEDO)

Energy utilisation of biowaste - Sunflower-seed hulls for co-firing with coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raclavska, Helena; Juchelkova, Dagmar; Roubicek, Vaclav; Matysek, Dalibor [VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15, CZ-70833 Ostrava (Czech Republic)

2011-01-15

Sunflower-seed hulls (SSH) represent a source of combustible biomass characterised by high contents of potassium and phosphorus and a low silica content. The relatively high net calorific value of 20 MJ/kg d.m. is mainly influenced by the lignin content. Potassium and phosphorus are very important elements in biomass combustion for fuel, influencing slagging and fouling problems. Mixtures with different ratios of brown coal and sunflower-seed hulls (0-22% SSH) were co-fired in the Olomouc power plant. The behaviour of elements in the fly ash and the bottom ash (SiO{sub 2}, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, K{sub 2}O, P{sub 2}O{sub 5}, Zn, Cu and Cd) varied in relation to the amount of SSH added to the coal. The fly ash from the co-firing of 20% SSH with coal had a high content of water-leachable sulphates and total dissolved solids. The utilisation of fly ash in civil engineering (land reclamation) should fulfil criteria established by the Council Decision 2003/33/EC for non-hazardous waste. To ensure that the required water-leachable sulphate concentrations are within regulatory limits the fuel may contain a maximum of 14% SSH. (author)

ANN-GA based optimization of a high ash coal-fired supercritical power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suresh, M.V.J.J.; Reddy, K.S.; Kolar, Ajit Kumar

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Neuro-genetic power plant optimization is found to be an efficient methodology. → Advantage of neuro-genetic algorithm is the possibility of on-line optimization. → Exergy loss in combustor indicates the effect of coal composition on efficiency. -- Abstract: The efficiency of coal-fired power plant depends on various operating parameters such as main steam/reheat steam pressures and temperatures, turbine extraction pressures, and excess air ratio for a given fuel. However, simultaneous optimization of all these operating parameters to achieve the maximum plant efficiency is a challenging task. This study deals with the coupled ANN and GA based (neuro-genetic) optimization of a high ash coal-fired supercritical power plant in Indian climatic condition to determine the maximum possible plant efficiency. The power plant simulation data obtained from a flow-sheet program, 'Cycle-Tempo' is used to train the artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the energy input through fuel (coal). The optimum set of various operating parameters that result in the minimum energy input to the power plant is then determined by coupling the trained ANN model as a fitness function with the genetic algorithm (GA). A unit size of 800 MWe currently under development in India is considered to carry out the thermodynamic analysis based on energy and exergy. Apart from optimizing the design parameters, the developed model can also be used for on-line optimization when quick response is required. Furthermore, the effect of various coals on the thermodynamic performance of the optimized power plant is also determined.

Logistics, Costs, and GHG Impacts of Utility-Scale Co-Firing with 20% Biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nichol, Corrie Ian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2013-06-01

This study analyzes the possibility that biopower in the U.S. is a cost-competitive option to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, net greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted in the United States was equivalent to 5,618 million metric tons CO₂, up 5.6% from 1990 (EPA 2011). Coal-fired power generation accounted for 1,748 million metric tons of this total. Intuitively, life-cycle CO₂ emissions in the power sector could be reduced by substituting renewable biomass for coal. If just 20% of the coal combusted in 2009 had been replaced with biomass, CO₂ emissions would have been reduced by 350 million metric tons, or about 6% of net annual GHG emission. This would have required approximately 225 million tons of dry biomass. Such an ambitious fuel substitution would require development of a biomass feedstock production and supply system tantamount to coal. This material would need to meet stringent specifications to ensure reliable conveyance to boiler burners, efficient combustion, and no adverse impact on heat transfer surfaces and flue gas cleanup operations. Therefore, this report addresses the potential cost/benefit tradeoffs of co-firing 20% specification-qualified biomass (on an energy content basis) in large U.S. coal-fired power plants. The dependence and sensitivity of feedstock cost on source of material, location, supply distance, and demand pressure was established. Subsequently, the dependence of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) on feedstock costs, power plant feed system retrofit, and impact on boiler performance was determined. Overall life-cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas emissions saving were next evaluated and compared to wind and solar energy to benchmark the leading alternatives for meeting renewable portfolio standards (or RPS).

Thermal Integration of CO{sub 2} Compression Processes with Coal-Fired Power Plants Equipped with Carbon Capture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edward Levy

2012-06-29

Coal-fired power plants, equipped either with oxycombustion or post-combustion CO{sub 2} capture, will require a CO{sub 2} compression system to increase the pressure of the CO{sub 2} to the level needed for sequestration. Most analyses show that CO{sub 2} compression will have a significant effect on parasitic load, will be a major capital cost, and will contribute significantly to reduced unit efficiency. This project used first principle engineering analyses and computer simulations to determine the effects of utilizing compressor waste heat to improve power plant efficiency and increase net power output of coal-fired power plants with carbon capture. This was done for units with post combustion solvent-based CO{sub 2} capture systems and for oxyfired power plants, firing bituminous, PRB and lignite coals. The thermal integration opportunities analyzed for oxycombustion capture are use of compressor waste heat to reheat recirculated flue gas, preheat boiler feedwater and predry high-moisture coals prior to pulverizing the coal. Among the thermal integration opportunities analyzed for post combustion capture systems are use of compressor waste heat and heat recovered from the stripper condenser to regenerate post-combustion CO{sub 2} capture solvent, preheat boiler feedwater and predry high-moisture coals. The overall conclusion from the oxyfuel simulations is that thermal integration of compressor heat has the potential to improve net unit heat rate by up to 8.4 percent, but the actual magnitude of the improvement will depend on the type of heat sink used and to a lesser extent, compressor design and coal rank. The simulations of a unit with a MEA post combustion capture system showed that thermal integration of either compressor heat or stripper condenser heat to preheat boiler feedwater would result in heat rate improvements from 1.20 percent to 4.19 percent. The MEA capture simulations further showed that partial drying of low rank coals, done in combination

Wasteless combined aggregate-coal-fired steam-generator/melting-converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pioro, L.S.; Pioro, I.L.

2003-01-01

A method of reprocessing coal sludge and ash into granulate for the building industry in a combined wasteless aggregate-steam-generator/melting-converter was developed and tested. The method involves melting sludge and ash from coal-fired steam-generators of power plants in a melting-converter installed under the steam-generator, with direct sludge drain from the steam generator combustion chamber. The direct drain of sludge into converter allows burnup of coal with high ash levels in the steam-generator without an additional source of ignition (natural gas, heating oil, etc.). Specific to the melting process is the use of a gas-air mixture with direct combustion inside a melt. This feature provides melt bubbling and helps to achieve maximum heat transfer from combustion products to the melt, to improve mixing, to increase rate of chemical reactions and to improve the conditions for burning the carbon residue from the sludge and ash. The 'gross' thermal efficiency of the combined aggregate is about 93% and the converter capacity is about 18 t of melt in 100 min. The experimental data for different aspects of the proposed method are presented. The effective ash/charging materials feeding system is also discussed. The reprocessed coal ash and sludge in the form of granules can be used as fillers for concretes and as additives in the production of cement, bricks and other building materials

Environmental implications of United States coal exports: a comparative life cycle assessment of future power system scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohnengel, Barrett; Patiño-Echeverri, Dalia; Bergerson, Joule

2014-08-19

Stricter emissions requirements on coal-fired power plants together with low natural gas prices have contributed to a recent decline in the use of coal for electricity generation in the United States. Faced with a shrinking domestic market, many coal companies are taking advantage of a growing coal export market. As a result, U.S. coal exports hit an all-time high in 2012, fueled largely by demand in Asia. This paper presents a comparative life cycle assessment of two scenarios: a baseline scenario in which coal continues to be burned domestically for power generation, and an export scenario in which coal is exported to Asia. For the coal export scenario we focus on the Morrow Pacific export project being planned in Oregon by Ambre Energy that would ship 8.8 million tons of Powder River Basin (PRB) coal annually to Asian markets via rail, river barge, and ocean vessel. Air emissions (SOx, NOx, PM10 and CO2e) results assuming that the exported coal is burned for electricity generation in South Korea are compared to those of a business as usual case in which Oregon and Washington's coal plants, Boardman and Centralia, are retrofitted to comply with EPA emissions standards and continue their coal consumption. Findings show that although the environmental impacts of shipping PRB coal to Asia are significant, the combination of superior energy efficiency among newer South Korean coal-fired power plants and lower emissions from U.S. replacement of coal with natural gas could lead to a greenhouse gas reduction of 21% in the case that imported PRB coal replaces other coal sources in this Asian country. If instead PRB coal were to replace natural gas or nuclear generation in South Korea, greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electricity generated would increase. Results are similar for other air emissions such as SOx, NOx and PM. This study provides a framework for comparing energy export scenarios and highlights the importance of complete life cycle assessment in

77 FR 30467 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Washington; Regional Haze State...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-23

... coal from the Power River Basin in Wyoming. Powder River Basin coal has a higher heat content requiring less fuel for the same heat extraction, as well as a lower nitrogen and sulfur content than coal from... Available Retrofit Technology (BART) determination for the TransAlta Centralia Generation LLC coal-fired...

Economic assessment of coal-fired and nuclear power generation in the year 2000 -Equal health hazard risk basis-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, Ki Bong; Lee, Byong Whi

1989-01-01

On the basis of equal health hazard risk, economic assessment of nuclear was compared with that of coal for the expansion planning of electric power generation in the year 2000. In comparing health risks, the risk of coal was roughly ten times higher than that of nuclear according to various previous risk assessments of energy system. The zero risk condition can never be achievable. Therefore, only excess relative health risk of coal over nuclear was considered as social cost. The social cost of health risk was estimated by calculation of mortality and morbidity costs. Mortality cost was $250,000 and morbidity cost was $90,000 in the year 2000.(1986US$) Through Cost/Benefit Analysis, the optimal emission standards of coal-fired power generation were predicted. These were obtained at the point of least social cost for power generation. In the year 2000, the optimal emission standard of SO x was analyzed as 165ppm for coal-fired power plants in Korea. From this assessment, economic comparison of nuclear and coal in the year 2000 showed that nuclear would be more economical than coal, whereas uncertainty of future power generation cost of nuclear would be larger than that of coal. (Author)

Field test corrosion experiments in Denmark with biomass fuels Part II Co-firing of straw and coal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montgomery, Melanie; Larsen, OH

2002-01-01

undertaken where coal has been co-fired with 10% straw and 20% straw (% energy basis) for up to approx. 3000 hours. Two types of exposure were undertaken to investigate corrosion: a) the exposure of metal rings on water/air cooled probes, and b) the exposure of a range of materials built into the existing...... and potassium sulphate. These components give rise to varying degrees of accelerated corrosion. This paper concerns co-firing of straw with coal to reduce the corrosion rate from straw to an acceptable level. A field investigation at Midtkraft Studstrup suspension-fired power plant in Denmark has been...... for 100% straw-firing. The corrosion products and course of corrosion for the various steel types were investigated using light optical and scanning electron microscopy. Catastrophic corrosion due to potassium chloride was not observed. Instead a more modest corrosion rate due to potassium sulphate rich...

Enginnering development of coal-fired high performance power systems phase II and III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This report presents work carried out under contract DE-AC22-95PC95144 ''Engineering Development of Coal-Fired High Performance Systems Phase II and III.'' The goals of the program are to develop a coal-fired high performance power generation system (HIPPS) that is capable of: thermal efficiency (HHV) >47%; NOx, SOx, and particulates 65% of heat input; all solid wastes benign; cost of electricity <90% of present plants. Phase I, which began in 1992, focused on the analysis of various configurations of indirectly fired cycles and on technical assessments of alternative plant subsystems and components, including performance requirements, developmental status, design options, complexity and reliability, and capital and operating costs. Phase I also included preliminary R ampersand D and the preparation of designs for HIPPS commercial plants approximately 300 MWe in size. This phase, Phase II, involves the development and testing of plant subsystems, refinement and updating of the HIPPS commercial plant design, and the site selection and engineering design of a HIPPS prototype plant. Work reported herein is from: Task 2.2 HITAF Air Heaters; Task 6 HIPPS Commercial Plant Design Update

Spatial Distribution and Trend of CH4, NO2, CO and Ozone during 2003-2015 over Coal Fired Power Plants in US

Science.gov (United States)

de Azevedo, S. C.; Reyes, C.; Singh, R. P.

2016-12-01

Coal fired power plants are the sources of atmospheric pollution and poor air quality in many parts of the world especially in India and China. The greenhouse emissions from the coal fired power plants are considered as threat to the climate and human health. About 572 coal fired power plants (up to 2012) are operational, especially in the mid and eastern parts of US. We have analyzed satellite measured carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and meteorological parameters for the period 2003-2015. In this study, we have considered 30 power plants, covering 10 x10surrounding area and over 11 regions of US in a grid of about 50 x50 to 60 x60. In general, most of the coal fired power plants show a decreasing trend of CO, whereas NO2 follow a similar trend over the power plants located in the eastern parts. Our analysis shows that the clean air act is strictly followed by the coal fired power plants in the eastern US compared to power plants located in the mid and western parts. The CH4 concentrations over the eastern parts show higher concentrations compared to mid and western regions in the period 2003-2015. Higher concentrations and seasonal variability of greenhouse gases is dependent on the prevailing meteorological conditions.

The effects of pf grind quality on coal burnout in a 1 MW combustion test facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richelieu Barranco; Michael Colechin; Michael Cloke; Will Gibb; Edward Lester [University of Nottingham, Nottingham (United Kingdom). School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering, Nottingham Fuel and Energy Centre

2006-05-15

A study was carried out to determine the effect of pf particle size distribution on coal burnout propensity in a 1 MW pulverised fuel burner. The specific aim of the work was to assess the improvement in combustion performance achievable by retrofitting commercially available high performance static or dynamic classifiers to existing plants. Two coals were used and were selected as representative of extremes in fuel characteristics experienced by coal importing utilities in Europe. Each coal was fired in the unit at a range of grind sizes to determine the overall impact of a variable performance from a mill. The levels of unburnt carbon in the resultant flyashes for the two coals showed significantly different behaviour. For the higher volatile coal, the unburnt carbon was found to be insensitive to grind quality. However, the coarser grinds of the other coal produced significantly lower unburnt carbon than expected when compared with the finest grinds. Generally the results indicate that the installation of improved classification technology, leading to a finer product, will help to lower unburnt carbon levels. Nevertheless, further work will be necessary to establish the levels of diminishing returns for grind size, burnout performance and grind costs. 21 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs.

Integrating multi-objective optimization with computational fluid dynamics to optimize boiler combustion process of a coal fired power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xingrang; Bansal, R.C.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A coal fired power plant boiler combustion process model based on real data. • We propose multi-objective optimization with CFD to optimize boiler combustion. • The proposed method uses software CORBA C++ and ANSYS Fluent 14.5 with AI. • It optimizes heat flux transfers and maintains temperature to avoid ash melt. - Abstract: The dominant role of electricity generation and environment consideration have placed strong requirements on coal fired power plants, requiring them to improve boiler combustion efficiency and decrease carbon emission. Although neural network based optimization strategies are often applied to improve the coal fired power plant boiler efficiency, they are limited by some combustion related problems such as slagging. Slagging can seriously influence heat transfer rate and decrease the boiler efficiency. In addition, it is difficult to measure slag build-up. The lack of measurement for slagging can restrict conventional neural network based coal fired boiler optimization, because no data can be used to train the neural network. This paper proposes a novel method of integrating non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA II) based multi-objective optimization with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to decrease or even avoid slagging inside a coal fired boiler furnace and improve boiler combustion efficiency. Compared with conventional neural network based boiler optimization methods, the method developed in the work can control and optimize the fields of flue gas properties such as temperature field inside a boiler by adjusting the temperature and velocity of primary and secondary air in coal fired power plant boiler control systems. The temperature in the vicinity of water wall tubes of a boiler can be maintained within the ash melting temperature limit. The incoming ash particles cannot melt and bond to surface of heat transfer equipment of a boiler. So the trend of slagging inside furnace is controlled. Furthermore, the

Calculating analysis of firing different composition artificial coal liquid fuels (ACLF) in the cyclone primary furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsepenok, A. [Novosibirsk State Technological Univ. (Russian Federation); Joint Stock company ' ' ZiO-COTES' ' , Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Ovchinnikov, Yu. [Novosibirsk State Technological Univ. (Russian Federation); Serant, F. [Joint Stock company ' ' ZiO-COTES' ' , Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)

2013-07-01

This chapter describes the preparation technologies, results of computer simulation of combustion processes in a cyclone primary furnace during firing of artificial coal liquid fuels prepared from different coal grades and results of live testing. As a result the values of unburned carbon, NO{sub x} emissions and other concentrations in the outlet section primary furnace were estimated.

Neural networks improve performance of coal-fired boilers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radl, B.J. [Pegasus Technologies Ltd., Painesville, OH (United States)

1999-03-01

Work sponsored by the US Department of Energy through its NICE{sup 3} programme, and co-funded by industry partners First Energy Corp. (host organisation and co-funder) and Pegasus Technologies (inventor, developer and supplier), has resulted in the development of online, real-time neural networks which help coal-fired utility boilers to dynamically adjust combustion setpoints. The payoff is a system which helps reduce NOx emissions up to 60%, while improving heat rate up to 2% overall. The system has avoided or postponed large capacity expenditures while meeting environmental compliance requirements. 3 figs., 1 tab.

Natural radionuclides near a coal-fired power station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith-Briggs, J L

1984-06-15

An experiment was carried out to measure the specific activity of Pb-210 and Po-210 in livers from cattle that had grazed in a field near Didcot coal-fired power station. Livers from cattle in the Cotswold region were measured for comparison. The specific activities of Pb-210 and Po-210 in soil and grass samples from both areas were also measured at 3-monthly intervals over a year. No statistically significant increases were observed in the Pb-210 and Po-210 levels in liver, soil or grass samples which could be attributed to the operation of the power station.

The level of air pollution in the impact zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using the data of geochemical snow survey (Republic of Kazakhstan)

Science.gov (United States)

Adil'bayeva, T. E.; Talovskaya, A. V.; Yazikov, Ye G.; Matveenko, I. A.

2016-09-01

Coal-fired power plants emissions impact the air quality and human health. Of great significance is assessment of solid airborne particles emissions from those plants and distance of their transportation. The article presents the results of air pollution assessment in the zone of coal-fired power plant (Karaganda City) using snow survey. Based on the mass of solid airborne particles deposited in snow, time of their deposition on snow at the distance from 0.5 to 4.5 km a value of dust load has been determined. It is stated that very high level of pollution is observed at the distance from 0.5 to 1 km. there is a trend in decrease of dust burden value with the distance from the stacks of coal-fired power plant that may be conditioned by the particle size and washing out smaller ash particles by ice pellets forming at freezing water vapour in stacks of the coal-fired power plant. Study in composition of solid airborne particles deposited in snow has shown that they mainly contain particulates of underburnt coal, Al-Si- rich spheres, Fe-rich spheres, and coal dust. The content of the particles in samples decreases with the distance from the stacks of the coal-fired power plant.

Development and Testing of Industrial Scale Coal Fired Combustion System, Phase 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bert Zauderer

1998-09-30

Coal Tech Corp's mission is to develop, license & sell innovative, lowest cost, solid fuel fired power systems & total emission control processes using proprietary and patented technology for domestic and international markets. The present project 'DEVELOPMENT & TESTING OF INDUSTRIAL SCALE, COAL FIRED COMBUSTION SYSTEM, PHASE 3' on DOE Contract DE-AC22-91PC91162 was a key element in achieving this objective. The project consisted of five tasks that were divided into three phases. The first phase, 'Optimization of First Generation 20 MMBtu/hr Air-Cooled Slagging Coal Tech Combustor', consisted of three tasks, which are detailed in Appendix 'A' of this report. They were implemented in 1992 and 1993 at the first generation, 20 MMBtu/hour, combustor-boiler test site in Williamsport, PA. It consisted of substantial combustor modifications and coal-fired tests designed to improve the combustor's wall cooling, slag and ash management, automating of its operation, and correcting severe deficiencies in the coal feeding to the combustor. The need for these changes was indicated during the prior 900-hour test effort on this combustor that was conducted as part of the DOE Clean Coal Program. A combination of combustor changes, auxiliary equipment changes, sophisticated multi-dimensional combustion analysis, computer controlled automation, and series of single and double day shift tests totaling about 300 hours, either resolved these operational issues or indicated that further corrective changes were needed in the combustor design. The key result from both analyses and tests was that the combustor must be substantially lengthened to maximize combustion efficiency and sharply increase slag retention in the combustor. A measure of the success of these modifications was realized in the third phase of this project, consisting of task 5 entitled: 'Site Demonstration with the Second Generation 20 MMBtu/hr Air-Cooled Slagging Coal Tech

Leaching and geochemical behavior of fired bricks containing coal wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, Yassine; Benzaazoua, Mostafa; Edahbi, Mohamed; Mansori, Mohammed; Hakkou, Rachid

2018-03-01

High amounts of mine wastes are continuously produced by the mining industry all over the world. Recycling possibility of some wastes in fired brick making has been investigated and showed promising results. However, little attention is given to the leaching behavior of mine wastes based fired bricks. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the geochemical behavior of fired bricks containing different types of coal wastes. The leachates were analyzed for their concentration of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn and sulfates using different leaching tests; namely Tank Leaching tests (NEN 7375), Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and pH dependence test (EPA, 1313). The results showed that the release of constituents of potential interest was highly reduced after thermal treatment and were immobilized within the glassy matrix of the fired bricks. Moreover, it was also highlighted that the final pH of all fired samples changed and stabilized around 8-8.5 when the initial pH of leaching solution was in the range 2.5-11.5. The release of heavy metals and metalloids (As) tended to decrease with the increase of pH from acidic to alkaline solutions while Mo displayed a different trend. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of computational intelligence approaches for NOx reduction of coal-fired boiler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Zhongbao; Li, Xiaolu; Xu, Lijun; Cheng, Yanting

2013-01-01

This paper focuses on NO x emission prediction and operating parameters optimization for coal-fired boilers. Support Vector Regression (SVR) model based on CGA (Conventional Genetic Algorithm) was proposed to model the relationship between the operating parameters and the concentration of NO x emission. Then CGA and two modified algorithms, the Quantum Genetic Algorithm (QGA) and SAGA (Simulated Annealing Genetic Algorithm), were employed to optimize the operating parameters of the coal-fired boiler to reduce NO x emission. The results showed that the proposed SVR model was more accurate than the widely used Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model when employed to predict the concentration of NO x emission. The mean relative error and correlation coefficient calculated by the proposed SVR model were 2.08% and 0.95, respectively. Among the three optimization algorithms implemented in this paper, the SAGA showed superiority to the other two algorithms considering the quality of solution within a given computing time. The SVR plus SAGA method was preferable to predict the concentration of NO x emission and further to optimize the operating parameters to achieve low NO x emission for coal-fired boilers. - Highlights: • The CGA based SVR model is proposed to predict the concentration of NO x emission. • The CGA based SVR model performs better than the widely used ANN model. • CGA and two modified algorithms are compared to optimize the parameters. • The SAGA is preferable for its high quality of solution and low computing time. • The SVR plus SAGA is successfully employed to optimize the operating parameters

Experimental Investigation into the Combustion Characteristics on the Co-firing of Biomass with Coal as a Function of Particle Size and Blending Ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lkhagvadorj, Sh; Kim, Sang In; Lim, Ho; Kim, Seung Mo; Jeon, Chung Hwan [Pusan National Univ., Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Byoung Hwa [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Ltd., Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-01-15

Co-firing of biomass with coal is a promising combustion technology in a coal-fired power plant. However, it still requires verifications to apply co-firing in an actual boiler. In this study, data from the Thermogravimetric analyzer(TGA) and Drop tube furnace(DTF) were used to obtain the combustion characteristics of biomass when co-firing with coal. The combustion characteristics were verified using experimental results including reactivity from the TGA and Unburned carbon(UBC) data from the DTF. The experiment also analyzed with the variation of the biomass blending ratio and biomass particle size. It was determined that increasing the biomass blending ratio resulted in incomplete chemical reactions due to insufficient oxygen levels because of the rapid initial combustion characteristics of the biomass. Thus, the optimum blending condition of the biomass based on the results of this study was found to be 5 while oxygen enrichment reduced the increase of UBC that occurred during combustion of blended biomass and coal.

Local Impacts of Mercury Emissions from the Three Pennsylvania Coal Fired Power Plants.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sullivan,T.; Adams,J.; Bender, M.; Bu, C.; Piccolo, N.; Campbell, C.

2008-02-01

The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) as proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when fully implemented will lead to reduction in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70 percent to fifteen tons per year by 2018. The EPA estimates that mercury deposition would be reduced 8 percent on average in the Eastern United States. The CAMR permits cap-and-trade approach that requires the nationwide emissions to meet the prescribed level, but do not require controls on each individual power plant. This has led to concerns that there may be hot-spots of mercury contamination near power plants. Partially because of this concern, many states including Pennsylvania have implemented, or are considering, state regulations that are stricter on mercury emissions than those in the CAMR. This study examined the possibility that coal-fired power plants act as local sources leading to mercury 'hot spots'. Soil and oak leaf samples from around three large U.S. coal-fired power plants in Western Pennsylvania were collected and analyzed for evidence of 'hot spots'. These three plants (Conemaugh, Homer City, and Keystone) are separated by a total distance of approximately 30 miles. Each emits over 500 pounds of mercury per year which is well above average for mercury emissions from coal plants in the U.S. Soil and oak leaf sampling programs were performed around each power plant. Sampling rings one-mile apart were used with eight or nine locations on each ring. The prevailing winds in the region are from the west. For this reason, sampling was conducted out to 10 miles from the Conemaugh plant which is southeast of the others. The other plants were sampled to a distance of five miles. The objectives were to determine if local mercury hot spots exist, to determine if they could be attributed to deposition of coal-fired power plant emissions, and to determine if they correlated with wind patterns. The study

The Net Climate Impact of Coal-Fired Power Plant Emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Shindell, D.; Faluvegi, G.

2010-01-01

Coal-fired power plants influence climate via both the emission of long-lived carbon dioxide (CO2) and short-lived ozone and aerosol precursors. Using a climate model, we perform the first study of the spatial and temporal pattern of radiative forcing specifically for coal plant emissions. Without substantial pollution controls, we find that near-term net global mean climate forcing is negative due to the well-known aerosol masking of the effects of CO2. Imposition of pollution controls on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides leads to a rapid realization of the full positive forcing from CO2, however. Long-term global mean forcing from stable (constant) emissions is positive regardless of pollution controls. Emissions from coal-fired power plants until 1970, including roughly 1/3 of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions, likely contributed little net global mean climate forcing during that period though they may have induce weak Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude (NHml) cooling. After that time many areas imposed pollution controls or switched to low sulfur coal. Hence forcing due to emissions from 1970 to 2000 and CO2 emitted previously was strongly positive and contributed to rapid global and especially NHml warming. Most recently, new construction in China and India has increased rapidly with minimal application of pollution controls. Continuation of this trend would add negative near-term global mean climate forcing but severely degrade air quality. Conversely, following the Western and Japanese pattern of imposing air quality pollution controls at a later time could accelerate future warming rates, especially at NHmls. More broadly, our results indicate that due to spatial and temporal inhomogeneities in forcing, climate impacts of multi-pollutant emissions can vary strongly from region to region and can include substantial effects on maximum rate-of-change, neither of which are captured by commonly used global metrics. The method we introduce here to estimate

Constructing a sustainable power sector in China: current and future emissions of coal-fired power plants from 2010 to 2030

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, D.; Zhang, Q.

2017-12-01

As the largest energy infrastructure in China, power sector consumed more coal than any other sector and threatened air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement target. In this work, we assessed the evolution of coal-fired power plants in China during 2010-2030 and the evolution of associated emissions for the same period by using a unit-based emission projection model which integrated the historical power plants information, turnover of the future power plant fleet, and the evolution of end-of-pipe control technologies. We found that, driven by the stringent environmental legislation, SO2, NOx, and PM2.5 emissions from China's coal-fired power plants decreased by 49%, 45%, and 24% respectively during 2010-2015, comparing to 14% increase of coal consumption and 15% increase in CO2 emissions. We estimated that under current national energy development planning, coal consumption and CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants will continue to increase until 2030, in which against the China's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) targets. Early retirement of old and low-efficient power plants will cumulatively reduce 2.2 Pg CO2 emissions from the baseline scenario during 2016-2030, but still could not curb CO2 emissions from the peak before 2030. Owing to the implementation of "near zero" emission control policy, we projected that emissions of air pollutants will significantly decrease during the same period under all scenarios, indicating the decoupling trends of air pollutants and CO2 emissions. Although with limited direct emission reduction benefits, increasing operating hours of power plants could avoid 236 GW of new power plants construction, which could indirectly reduce emissions embodied in the construction activity. Our results identified a more sustainable pathway for China's coal-fired power plants, which could reduce air pollutant emissions, improve the energy efficiency, and slow down the construction of new units. However, continuous

Transport of the radionuclides and doses for some coal fired power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antic, D.; Telenta, B.; Sokcic-Kostic, M.

1994-01-01

The radiation exposure of the public in the vicinity of the selected coal fired power plants near from Belgrade has been studied. The contents of natural radionuclides according to experimental data have been used and dose rates from inhalation have been calculated using a two dimensional version of the cloud model. (author)

MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS LOCAL IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH RISK.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

SULLIVAN, T.M.; BOWERMAN, B.; ADAMS, J.; LIPFERT, F.; MORRIS, S.M.; BANDO, A.; PENA, R.; BLAKE, R.

2005-12-01

A thorough quantitative understanding of the processes of mercury emissions, deposition, and translocation through the food chain is currently not available. Complex atmospheric chemistry and dispersion models are required to predict concentration and deposition contributions, and aquatic process models are required to predict effects on fish. However, there are uncertainties in all of these predictions. Therefore, the most reliable method of understanding impacts of coal-fired power plants on Hg deposition is from empirical data. A review of the literature on mercury deposition around sources including coal-fired power plants found studies covering local mercury concentrations in soil, vegetation, and animals (fish and cows). There is strong evidence of enhanced local deposition within 3 km of the chlor-alkali plants, with elevated soil concentrations and estimated deposition rates of 10 times background. For coal-fired power plants, the data show that atmospheric deposition of Hg may be slightly enhanced. On the scale of a few km, modeling suggests that wet deposition may be increased by a factor of two or three over background. The measured data suggest lower increases of 15% or less. The effects of coal-fired plants seem to be less than 10% of total deposition on a national scale, based on emissions and global modeling. The following summarizes our findings from published reports on the impacts of local deposition. In terms of excesses over background the following increments have been observed within a few km of the plant: (1) local soil concentration Hg increments of 30%-60%, (2) sediment increments of 18-30%, (3) wet deposition increments of 11-12%, and (4) fish Hg increments of about 5-6%, based on an empirical finding that fish concentrations are proportional to the square root of deposition. Important uncertainties include possible reductions of RGM to Hg{sub 0} in power plant plumes and the role of water chemistry in the relationship between Hg

Health and environmental effects of coal-fired electric power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, S.C.; Hamilton, L.D.

1984-05-01

This paper describes health and environmental impacts of coal-fired electric power plants. Effects on man, agriculture, and natural ecosystems are considered. These effects may result from direct impacts or exposures via air, water, and food chains. The paper is organized by geographical extent of effect. Occupational health impacts and local environmental effects such as noise and solid waste leachate are treated first. Then, regional effects of air pollution, including acid rain, are analyzed. Finally, potential global impacts are examined. Occupational health concerns considered include exposure to noise, dust, asbestos, mercury, and combustion products, and resulting injury and disease. Local effects considered include noise; air and water emissions of coal storage piles, solid waste operations, and cooling systems. Air pollution, once an acute local problem, is now a regional concern. Acute and chronic direct health effects are considered. Special attention is given to potential effects of radionuclides in coal and of acid rain. Finally, potential global impacts associated with carbon dioxide emissions are considered. 88 references, 9 tables

Asia's coal and clean coal technology market potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, C.J.; Binsheng Li

1992-01-01

The Asian region is unique in the world in having the highest economic growth rate, the highest share of coal in total primary energy consumption and the highest growth rate in electricity generation capacity. The outlook for the next two decades is for accelerated efforts to control coal related emissions of particulates and SO 2 and to a lessor extent NO x and CO 2 . Only Japan has widespread use of Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) however a number of economies have plans to install CCTs in future power plants. Only CCTs for electricity generation are discussed, and are defined for the purpose of this paper as technologies that substantially reduce SO 2 and/or NO x emissions from coal-fired power plants. The main theses of this paper are that major increases in coal consumption will occur over the 1990-2010 period, and this will be caccompanied by major increases in coal related pollution in some Asian economies. Coal fired electricity generation is projected to grow at a high rate of about 6.9 percent per year over the 1990-2010 period. CCTs are projected to account for about 150 GW of new coal-fired capacity over the 1990-2010 period of about one-third of all new coal-fired capacity. A speculative conclusion is that China will account for the largest share of CCT additions over the 1990-2010 period. Both the US and Japan have comparative advantages that might be combined through cooperation and joint ventures to gain a larger share of the evolving CCT market in Asia. 5 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs

A comparative study of health hazards and environmental impacts for electricity generation through nuclear energy hidroelectricity and coal fired thermoeletrical generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guimaraes, C.A.

1982-01-01

Environmental impacts and health hazards were comparatively assessed in regard to electricity generation via nuclear energy, hidraulic dams and coal firing. The main aspects covered the nuclear reactor and its associated nuclear fuel cycle, coal fired thermoelectrical power plant its associated coal industry, and hidroelectrical power plant and its dam. Besides specific comparisons of impacts in the air, water, soil and health hazards an evaluation for the Brazilian case was made based on a forecast of electricity demand up to the year 2020. For the nuclear option the consequences were analysed based on American data since no data is yet available for Brazil. Coal firing option was also analised for based heavily on American data due to small Brazilian experience in this sector of energy generation. For hydroelectrical option Brazilian data were used mostly from CESP for comparative purposes. These alternatives for generation of electricity considered in this study are the most relevant for the next four decades for Brazil. (Author) [pt

Development of a high-performance, coal-fired power generating system with a pyrolysis gas and char-fired high-temperature furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shenker, J.

1995-11-01

A high-performance power system (HIPPS) is being developed. This system is a coal-fired, combined-cycle plant that will have an efficiency of at least 47 percent, based on the higher heating value of the fuel. The original emissions goal of the project was for NOx and SOx to each be below 0.15 lb/MMBtu. In the Phase 2 RFP this emissions goal was reduced to 0.06 lb/MMBtu. The ultimate goal of HIPPS is to have an all-coal-fueled system, but initial versions of the system are allowed up to 35 percent heat input from natural gas. Foster Wheeler Development Corporation is currently leading a team effort with AlliedSignal, Bechtel, Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, Research-Cottrell, TRW and Westinghouse. Previous work on the project was also done by General Electric. The HIPPS plant will use a high-Temperature Advanced Furnace (HITAF) to achieve combined-cycle operation with coal as the primary fuel. The HITAF is an atmospheric-pressure, pulverized-fuel-fired boiler/air heater. The HITAF is used to heat air for the gas turbine and also to transfer heat to the steam cycle. its design and functions are very similar to conventional PC boilers. Some important differences, however, arise from the requirements of the combined cycle operation.

Development of a high-performance, coal-fired power generating system with a pyrolysis gas and char-fired high-temperature furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shenker, J.

1995-01-01

A high-performance power system (HIPPS) is being developed. This system is a coal-fired, combined-cycle plant that will have an efficiency of at least 47 percent, based on the higher heating value of the fuel. The original emissions goal of the project was for NOx and SOx to each be below 0.15 lb/MMBtu. In the Phase 2 RFP this emissions goal was reduced to 0.06 lb/MMBtu. The ultimate goal of HIPPS is to have an all-coal-fueled system, but initial versions of the system are allowed up to 35 percent heat input from natural gas. Foster Wheeler Development Corporation is currently leading a team effort with AlliedSignal, Bechtel, Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, Research-Cottrell, TRW and Westinghouse. Previous work on the project was also done by General Electric. The HIPPS plant will use a high-Temperature Advanced Furnace (HITAF) to achieve combined-cycle operation with coal as the primary fuel. The HITAF is an atmospheric-pressure, pulverized-fuel-fired boiler/air heater. The HITAF is used to heat air for the gas turbine and also to transfer heat to the steam cycle. its design and functions are very similar to conventional PC boilers. Some important differences, however, arise from the requirements of the combined cycle operation

Bio-coal, torrefied lignocellulosic resources – Key properties for its use in co-firing with fossil coal – Their status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agar, D.; Wihersaari, M.

2012-01-01

Bio-coal has received generous amounts of media attention because it potentially allows greater biomass co-firing rates and net CO 2 emission reductions in pulverised-coal power plants. However, little scientific research has been published on the feasibility of full-scale commercial production of bio-coal. Despite this, several companies and research organisations worldwide have been developing patented bio-coal technologies. Are the expectations of bio-coal realistic and are they based on accepted scientific data? This paper examines strictly peer-reviewed scientific publications in order to find an answer. The findings to date on three key properties of torrefied biomass are presented and reviewed. These properties are: the mass and energy balance of torrefaction, the friability of the product and the equilibrium moisture content of torrefied biomass. It is these properties that will have a major influence on the feasibility of bio-coal production regardless of reactor technology employed in production. The presented results will be of use in modelling commercial production of bio-coal in terms of economics and green-house gas emission balance. -- Highlights: ► A technical note on torrefaction research results. ► Presents experimental values on three key properties. ► Mass-energy balance, grindability, equilibrium moisture content of torrefied biomass. ► Results useful for modelling bio-coal production schemes.

Radiological impact of airborne effluents of coal-fired and nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McBride, J.P.; Moore, R.E.; Witherspoon, J.P.; Blanco, R.E.

1977-06-01

Radiological impact of naturally occurring radionuclides in airborne effluents of a model coal-fired steam plant is evaluated assuming a release to the atmosphere of 1 percent of the ash in the coal burned and compared with the impact of radioactive materials in the airborne effluents of model light-water reactors. The principal exposure pathway for radioactive materials released from both types of plants is ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs. For nuclear plants immersion in the airborne effluents is also a significant factor in the dose commitment. Assuming that the coal burned contains 1 ppM uranium and 2 ppM thorium together with their decay products and using the same impact analysis methods used in evaluating nuclear facilities, the maximum individual dose commitments from the coal plant for the whole body and most organs (except the thyroid) are shown to be greater than those from a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) and, with the exception of the bone and kidney doses, less than those from a boiling-water reactor (BWR). With the exception of the bone dose, the maximum individual dose commitments from the coal plant are less than the numerical design guideline limits listed for light-water reactors (LWRs). Population dose commitments from the coal plant are higher than those from either nuclear plant