Coal-Methanol

Fuel
Group 5
Evangelista| Magtoto|Reynoso|Rosuelo

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

COAL
One of the most abundant sources of energy,
more so than oil and natural gas
Coal is inexpensive when compared to other
fossil fuels (or alternative energy sources)
Burning coal can produce useful by-products
that can be used for other industries or
products
Produces carbon dioxide when burned
compared to burning oil or gas
Gives off sulfur dioxide, a kind of gas that
creates acid rain

OIL
Easier to extract from the
ground through the use of
pipes
Easily combustible, and
produces high energy upon
combustion
Causes pollution and poses
environmental hazards
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Methanol
Has technical advantages over other gas turbine fuels
Creates fewer pollutants
May be a potential standby fuel for gas turbines during fuel
supply disruptions
A combination of technical and cost factors prevent the
widespread use of coal and methanol mixtures as boiler fuel.
Extremely costly
Lower thermal efficiency than other boiler fuels

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Types of Coal Slurries

1. Coal-Oil Mixtures (COM)
2. Coal-Oil-Water (COW)
3. Coal-Water-Oil (CWO)
4. Coal-Water Fuels (CWF)
5. Coal-Methanol Fuel (CMF)
6. Coal-Methanol-Water (CMW)

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol Fuel (CMF)

Suspension of coal in methanol
Possess favorable properties
The cost of methanol has all but eliminated them from
further development
Methacoal process are low, and the slurry need not be
separated before combustion.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Specific Boiler Used

The study indicated that the
overfiring process can achieve
an effective reduction of NO,
emissions in residual oil-fired
boilers. It also indicated that
methanol was more effective
than natural gas in reducing NOx
emissions when used as a
secondary
fuel
in
boiler
reburning systems.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Sources:
Coal:
Mined coal available for or
delivered to a processing
plant. Many operations will
subject the mined coal to
sizing and pre-cleaning
with screening systems or
rotary breakers prior to
delivery to processing
plants.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Manufacturing:

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Process
Coal Preparation
Coal Gasification
Gas Cooling and Particulate Removal
Production of Methanol

Raw Gas Compression

Gas Shift Conversion
Acid Gas Removal
Methanol Synthesis and Purification
Sulfur Recovery
Oxygen Production
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal preparation
The coal is first crushed and then dried it will proceed to
the gasifier.
Particle size (3/8 x0)
Fluid bed dryer

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal Gasification
The gasifier is maintained as a fluidized bed operation
under moderate pressure. A mixture of steam and
oxygen is injected at several points within the bed to
gasify the coal while steam alone is injected into the
bottom most level to fluidize the coal and to cool the
larger ash particles discharging from the gasifier
bottom.
The unreacted carbon in the discharged ash is a
function of gasifier temperature and coal reactivity.
Generally, reactivity varies inversely with geological
age, lignites being the most reactive.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

 The primary coal gasification reactions are:

C
C
C
C
C

+
+
+
+
+

O2 CO2
.5O2 CO
CO2 2CO
H2O CO + H2
2H2O CO2 + H2

(EXOTHERMIC)
(EXOTHERMIC)
(ENDOTHERMIC)
(ENDOTHERMIC)
(ENDOTHERMIC)

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Gas cooling and Particulate Removal

The hot gases leaving the generator pass through the
heat recovery train where heat is removed from the gas
by generating and super-heating high pressure steam
and preheating boiler feedwater.
In combination, the heat recovery train and cyclones
are designed to remove approximately 85% of the
entrained solids. The char thus removed will be utilized
as supplementary fuel in the boiler house.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Raw Gas compression

The cooled and the dust free gas from the coal
gasification section is compressed to 1480 psig in steam
turbine driven compressors.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Gas shift conversion

The purpose of the shift conversion step is to adjust the ratio
of carbon monoxide to hydrogen to that required for the
methanol synthesis according to the exothermic shift reaction:
CO + H20 = C02 + H2
The compressed gas to the shift reactor is mixed with the shift
reaction steam to give a 1.0 ratio of steam to the dry gas and
preheated by heat exchange with the hot effluent gases from
the shift reactor prior to its introduction to the reactor which
contains a sulfur resistant catalyst. From the interchanger, the
shift effluent is cooled in a series of waste heat recovery
exchangers.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Acid Removal
The Rectisol process has been selected to remove the
acid gases as it has the advantage of using the plant
product as the scrubbing medium.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Methanol Synthesis and Purification

The unique feature of this process is the synthesis step, utilizing
a copper based catalyst specially developed by ICI, which gives
good yields of methanol at low temperatures (410F to 520'F).
Final traces of sulfur are removed from the synthesis gas by a
bed of zinc oxide after preheating to desulfurization
temperature.
The feed gas and the cold shot gas combine and react to form
methanol as they pass downwards over the catalyst. The
converter exit gas is first cooled in the converter interchanger
and subsequently in the crude methanol condenser where the
crude methanol product is condensed.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Methanol Synthesis and Production

The non-reactive components of the make-up gas, methane and
nitrogen are purged from the synthesis loop between the
separator and the point of makeup gas addition and are
subsequently used as boiler fuel.
The crude methanol collected in the separator is let down in a
single stage to the let down vessel and the resultant product
passes to the distillation plant.
Flash gas from the letdown vessel (mostly dissolved gases) is
mixed with the synthesis loop purge stream and used as fuel.
The crude methanol is processed in a single column system to fuel
grade methanol, and the overall efficiency of the distillation
system is expected to be 99% at the end of life conditions.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Market Prices
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Current Market Prices

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Current Market Prices

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics (Methanol Fuel)

Burn at low temperature
Has a high heat of vaporization
Low energy content of 19.7 MJ/kg andstoichiometricairto-fuel ratio of 6.42:1 mean that fuel consumption (on
volume or mass bases) will be higher than hydrocarbon
fuels.
Contain soluble and insoluble contaminant
Hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb water vapor directly
from the atmosphere
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics
Characteristics of coal mixtures is more complex than
its coal because other than the physico-chemical
characteristic of its original coal, the behavior of these
coal mixtures with water/oil has to be understood
through the science of rheology.
Burning coal mixtures in a furnace is achieved by
spraying or atomizing

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics (Viscosity)

Viscosity is the most important characteristic in the
storage and use of fuel oil. It influences the degree of
pre-heat required for handling, storage and satisfactory
atomization.
If the oil is too viscous, it may become difficult to pump,
hard to light the burner, and tough to operate.
Poor atomization may result in the formation of carbon
deposits on the burner tips or on the walls. Therefore
pre-heating is necessary for proper atomization.
Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics (Coal

Concentration)
For combustion, a good coal mixture shall have high
coal concentration because an existence of water will
increase heat losses for water evaporation.
However, high coal concentration will increase viscosity
of the coal mixture and in turn will create difficulties in
handling and atomizing the coal mixture.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Fuel Characteristics (Particle Size)

Particle size is especially important for it can have an
effect on the reliability of automatic feeding systems as
well as on the combustion efficiency of the boiler.
It has a direct effect on the cost of the energy
generated, and on the good running of the heating
appliance.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol
Combustion ByProducts

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol Combustion ByProducts

Fly Ash a non-combustible powdery inorganic matter
produced from burning coal

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol Combustion ByProducts

Bottom Ash by-product formed in furnaces

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol Combustion ByProducts

Boiler Slag often used as a wear-resistant component
in surface coatings of asphalt in road paving.

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel

Coal-Methanol Combustion ByProducts

Gypsum product of the flue gas desulfurization
process known as scrubbing

Green Boiler Technology: Coal-Methanol Fuel