Coal Power for progress

CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGIES

C lean Coal Technologies (CCTs) are defined

as ‘technologies designed to enhance both
the efficiency and the environmental
Most CCTs concentrate on power
generation from coal, as more than 50% of coal
produced is used to generate electricity. An
acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and impressive array of technologies is already
use’.These technologies reduce emissions, commercially viable, and a large number of
reduce waste, and increase the amount of others will become available in the near future.
energy gained from each tonne of coal.
CCT programmes are being vigorously Coal Extraction and Preparation
pursued by many countries, with many billions of CCTs for the extraction of coal are readily
US dollars equivalent being spent annually on available. Improved exploration methods, such as
Technology driven efficiency developments in utilisation techniques.These geophysics and seismic techniques, minimise any
improvements dramatically technologies will enable coal use to be environmental impact, while improving mine
reduce emissions from coal increasingly efficient and environmentally planning by reducing geological uncertainties.
combustion. acceptable as a vital world energy source Improved mining technologies aim to maximise
Source: IEACR throughout the next century. extraction efficiencies while minimising energy
usage. Measures to reduce noise and dust levels
2.0 are standard practice, thus minimising risks to
CO2 emissions per MWh of electricity
1.8 produced from coal at various efficiency levels the operators. Mining can release methane gas
Emissions from coal, which can be a potential hazard.
1.6 Coal used
Emissions/Coal used (tonnes)

Various means to drain the gas are used, and in

1.4 Coal consumed / MWh = 1 / (efficiency x CV)
some cases it is being developed as an energy
CO2 emissions in t / MWh = 1 / efficiency x 44 / 12 x %C in fuel x 1 / CV
1.2 CV = 7.4 MWh / t of coal source. Mine plans include provisions to avoid
Coal = 70% carbon
the risk of ground water contamination and in
1.0
some cases the back-filling of mined space with
0.8
coal washery discard or power station ash and
0.6 other residues.
0.4 CCTs for the preparation of coals can
reduce their ash content, and clean them of
0.2
impurities such as dirt and sulphur. New
0.0 technologies are being developed to improve
20 30 40 50 60
Efficiency % the efficiency and cost of these operations, while
improving the quality of any waste water.

FGD removes 90-97% of the oxides of sulphur To stack

from flue gases.
Flue gas
Steam desulphurisation
Electricity generator plant
Steam
turbine

Precipitator Induced Air

heater
draught
Generator Pulverised fan
coal

Condenser
Limestone
Typical coal-fired power station and water
Forced
Ash draught fan Air Gypsum
with Flue Gas Desulphurisation. Ash

World Coal Institute 24

 Coal
NV EPZ Amer Power Plant
Unit 9, the Netherlands.This
unit incorporates Flue Gas
Desulphurisation, low NOx
burners and electrostatic
precipitation.
25 World Coal Institute
Power for progress
Stack Gas Treatment – applied to gaseous
emissions from Pulverised Fuel (PF)
Combustion
Pulverised Fuel (PF) combustion is the most
widely used method for burning coal for power
generation. In PF combustion, coal is milled to a
powder and blown into the boiler with air. As a
powder, the coal has a large surface area and is
easily combusted in burners.This provides the
heat which is used to produce superheated
steam to drive turbines and hence generate
electricity. At present, nearly all of the world’s
coal-fired electricity is produced using
PF combustion systems.
Emissions from PF combustion can be
reduced by post-combustion CCTs. Electrostatic
precipitators and/or fabric filters can remove
more than 99% of fly ash from flue gases. Flue
gas desulphurisation (FGD) methods can
remove 90-97% of the oxides of sulphur (SOx)
from flue gases, and can convert it into gypsum
for use in the building trade.
Among the key CCTs for PF combustion
that reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx)
are low-NOx burners, which modify emissions
by up to 40%, and reburning techniques.
Together these modify the combustion process
to reduce NOx emissions by up to 70%, and are
being widely adopted as they can be installed
into existing plant. Selective catalytic NOx
Courtesy of NV EPZ Holland/Hein V Gils, Hooge Zwaluwe
reduction, a post-combustion technique, can
achieve reductions of 80-90%.
Advanced Pulverised Fuel (PF)
Combustion
Industry has continuously striven to increase
efficiencies of such conventional plant; for
example, the average thermal efficiency of US
power stations has increased from 5% in 1900,
to around 35% currently. Presently in China
where most power plants are relatively small,
average efficiency is about 28% compared to an
OECD average of 38%. New conventional
PF power plants achieve above 40% efficiency.
Advanced modern plants use specially developed
high strength alloy steels, which enable the use
of supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam
(pressures >248 bar and temperatures >566°C)
and can achieve, depending on location, close to
45% efficiency. Application of new advanced
materials to PF power plant should enable
efficiencies of 55% to be achieved in the future.
This results in corresponding reductions in CO2
emissions as less fuel is used per unit of
electricity generated.
Fluidised Bed Combustion (FBC)
Fluidised bed combustion is a method of
burning coal in a bed of heated particles
suspended in a gas flow. At sufficient flow rates,
the bed acts as a fluid resulting in rapid mixing
of the particles. Coal is added to the bed and
the continuous mixing encourages complete
combustion and a lower temperature than that
of PF combustion.The advantages of fluidised
beds are they produce less NOx in the outlet
gas, because of lower combustion temperatures,
and they produce less SOx when limestone is
continuously added with the coal.They can also
use a wider range of fuels than PF combustion.
Atmospheric-pressure fluidised beds are
commercially available now as two types,
bubbling-bed (known as Atmospheric Fluidised
Bed Combustion – AFBCs) and circulating-bed
(CFBCs).The efficiency of most fluidised beds
used for power generation is similar to that of
conventional plant. However, use of this
technology has been stimulated by its better
environmental performance when utilising lower
 Coal Power for progress

Air to
combustor

Air

Electricity addition to a gas turbine. Existing commercial

Gas turbine
systems achieve efficiencies close to 45%.
Gas cleaning
With recent advances in gas turbine
Combustor Compressor Generator technologies these systems are capable of
Ash reaching above 50%. IGCC systems additionally
produce less solid waste and lower emissions of
Exhaust gas
Steam
Coal and Heat exchanger SOx, NOx and CO2. Over 99% of the sulphur
limestone
Steam turbine Electricity
and generator present in the coal can be recovered for sale as
Air
chemically pure sulphur.

Exhaust steam
Condenser
Pressurised Fluidised Bed
Water
Combined Cycle.

Courtesy of International Combustion Ltd

grade fuels. Pressurised fluidised beds, which can
achieve efficiencies of up to 45%, are now in
commercial operation. As with PF plants,
employing higher steam conditions would
further boost efficiency.
Modern Clean Coal Technologies reduce CO2 emissions
per unit of electricity by up to 30%.
Low NOx burner
Gasification and IGCC
An alternative to coal combustion is coal Hybrid and Advanced Systems
gasification.When coal is brought into contact Hybrid combined cycles are also under
with steam and oxygen, thermochemical development.These combine the best features
reactions produce a fuel gas, largely carbon of both gasification and combustion
monoxide and hydrogen, which when combusted technologies, using coal in a two-stage process.
can be used to power gas turbines. Integrated The first stage gasifies the majority of the coal
Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and runs a gas turbine, the second stage
power generating systems are presently being combusts the residual ‘char’ to produce steam.
developed and operated in Europe and the USA. Efficiencies greater than 50% are possible.
These systems give increased efficiencies by In addition to these CCTs, a development
Integrated Coal Gasification using waste heat from the product gas to which can apply to all of the generating systems is
Combined Cycle Unit. produce steam to drive a steam turbine, in the co-firing with coal of biomass or wastes.This
Nitrogen to
involves burning or gasifying such materials
gas turbine Steam
Air
separation
together with coal. Benefits can include
plant Cool solids free gas

Air feed
for quenching Steam
turbine
reductions in CO2, SOx and NOx emissions
from gas Generator Electricity
turbine relative to coal-only fired plants, and recovery of
and/or
separate air Syngas
compressor cooler useful energy from biomass and wastes at high
Solids Condenser Boiler
Exhaust gas efficiencies can be achieved, without the need for
removal
feed
water building dedicated plant. Hence, the coal-fired
Oxygen
G
A
power industry can support the renewable
S Heat
Nitrogen I
F
Flyslag recovery energy and waste industries.
steam
I generator
E The use of fuel cells has been
Raw R
coal
Gas treatment Gas turbine Generator demonstrated at the 2 MWe size and plans are
Electricity
Milling
Drying underway to use hydrogen from coal gasification
Pressurisation
in this and other technologies.Together with
Combustor
sequestration of CO2 in isolation this CCT
Clean Syngas
provides a nil CO2 option. However, lower cost
Air Courtesy of Shell
Boiler feed Slag Boiler feed Sulphur To air equipment and more particularly markets for
water water Nitrogen for separation
NOx control plant
hydrogen need to be developed.

26 World Coal Institute