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6 Coal Combustion and Pollution Control
Pages 187-206

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From page 187...
... There are a variety of combustion processes in both countries that have variable impacts on the environment. Traditional processes tend to dominate the energy scenario, although both countries are paying increasing attention to energy efficiency and to cleaner technologies, in order to address rising fuel costs and concerns over emissions.
From page 188...
... Another domestic supercritical demonstration plant with a capacity of 1,000 MW -- Zhejiang Yuhuan -- is under construction. Table 6-1 illustrates the growth of China's power generation industry since 2000, and highlights the dominant role of thermal power, 98.7 percent of which comes from coal combustion.
From page 189...
... . FBC's popularity is ascribed to its fuel flexibility as well as to its ability to control SO2 and NOx emissions independent of costly add-on controls.
From page 190...
... thermal efficiency in contrast to many PC plants. While initial capital costs are typically higher than the cost range for a PC plant, other factors, specifically add-on pollution controls, make FBC plants cost-competitive (World Bank, 2006a)
From page 191...
... At present, they are working on changing gas and steam combined-cycle power generation sets with a capacity of 100 MW into an independent intellectual property rights IGCC system, with a capacity of 120 MW. New coal power plants are long-term construction projects, requiring 3-4 years to place into service after groundbreaking.
From page 192...
... 192 TABLE 6-2  Generation Performance Comparison Bituminous Coal Subbituminous Coal Lignite Coal Performancea IGCC Sub- Super- Ultra- IGCC Sub- Super- Ultra- IGCC Sub- Super- Ultra Slurry critical critical Super- Slurry critical critical Super- Solid critical critical Super Feed PC PC critical Feed PC PC critical Feed PC PC critical PC PC PC Net Thermal 41.8 35.9 38.3 42.7 40.0 34.8 37.9 41.9 39.2 33.1 35.9 37.6 Efficiency, percent Net Heat Rate, 8167 9500 8900 8000 8520 9800 9000 8146 8707 10,300 9500 9065 Btu/kWh Gross Power, 564 540 540 543 575 541 541 543 580 544 544 546 MW Internal Power. 64 40 40 43 75 41 41 43 80 44 44 46 MW aBased on a net 500 MW plant.
From page 193...
... By exploring current technologies on coal gasification, electricity generation, emissions control, carbon dioxide capture and storage, and hydrogen production the FutureGen plant will be a pioneer in the field of hydrogen power research by testing all of these technologies at one facility. By converting the carbon within coal into a gas, the FutureGen plant will produce a gas that is primarily made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, thus producing an environ mentally clean by-product for use in powering turbines to produce electricity.
From page 194...
... Federal, state, and local support may be required to coordinate permitting and approvals, and regulatory and permitting agencies need to support the introduction of each generation of new technology. BOX 6-2 Comparing Clean Coal Technologies Several clean coal technologies are currently available, categorized as ad vanced high-efficiency combustion-based technologies and gasification-based technologies, and technologies are being developed that will allow capture of carbon dioxide in both advanced combustion and gasification plants.
From page 195...
... This of course does not diminish the importance of retrofitting existing facilities with pollution controls, but as both countries consider expanding power generation capacity, much of this coal-fired, there is a significant opportunity to plan for these pollution controls at the outset. While this entails higher initial costs, as experience has shown, costs and installation times increase significantly for retrofits.
From page 196...
... At present more than 96 percent of the coal power plants in China have ESP. Fabric Filters Fabric filters, alternately referred to as baghouses, have been employed more widely than ESP since the 1970s, largely at the industrial scale (IEA, 2006c)
From page 197...
... Dry FGD's efficiency is slightly lower than wet FGD (70-90 percent) , but capital costs are also lower, and the scrubbers are easier to operate and maintain.
From page 198...
... China possesses independent intellectual property rights on the limestone-gypsum desulfurization process, which has cut additional costs to $25/kW, with a desulfurization efficiency above 95 percent -- thereby significantly decreasing the proportion of desulfurization technologies in terms of total investment. The electric power industry has made the limestone-gypsum desulfurization technique the main technique for thermal power plant FGD.
From page 199...
... Because of fuel processing and other environmental control equipment, total mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants in the United States were approximately 45 tons -- representing a 40 percent reduction relative to "as received" coal. Approximately 30 percent of the mercury in eastern bituminous coal is typically removed by coal washing before shipping to the plant.
From page 200...
... Since the 1990s, methods for capturing mercury from coal-fired power plant flue gases have been the subject of considerable R&D and demonstration initiatives in the United States. Up until now, control of mercury emissions from coal-fired plants has been achieved primarily as a co-benefit of existing pollution controls.
From page 201...
... However, plants that burn sub-bituminous coals and are equipped with fabric filters report relatively high mercury removal levels of 60 to 99 percent (Grover et al., 1999; Butz et al.
From page 202...
... However, for units burning sub-bituminous coal that had both a spray dryer absorber for SO2 control and a fabric filter, the average mercury removal dropped to 25 percent. Injection of powdered activated carbon (PAC)
From page 203...
... Commercially available technologies can capture over 90 percent of the CO2, but are capital intensive, impose an electric power output reduction, and cause energy efficiency penalties. The current costs for carbon capture for all coal technologies are substantial and would significantly increase the cost of electricity.
From page 204...
... 2003. A Review of DOE/NETL's Mercury Control Technology R&D Program for Coal-Fired Power Plants.
From page 205...
... 2006c. Supercritical Coal Fired Power Plants.


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