Coal : Fuel of the Past or Fuel for the Future

Tomasz S. WiltowskiAdvanced Coal and Energy Research Center and

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Processes

Southern Illinois UniversityCarbondale, IL 62901

Clean Coal Technologies

Grand Challenges for Next 50 Yearsfrom Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley (1943-2005)

1. ENERGY2. WATER3. FOOD4. ENVIRONMENT 5. POVERTY6. TERRORISM & WAR7. DISEASE8. EDUCATION9. DEMOCRACY10. POPULATION 2004 6.5 Billion People

2050 ~ 10 Billion People

Crowdedthe United States population on May 15, 2015 was: 315,857,050the World population on May 15, 2015 was 7,085,613, 221

http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

Mumbai, India - Rush Hour

China = 1.37BIndia = 1.17BAmerica = 0.94BAfrica = 0.92BEurope = 0.82BThe Rest = 1.56B

US growth rate 18 births every 4 minutes World growth rate 615 births every 4 minutes

Our Interest - Sustainable Development

• “development that meets the needs of the present generation without undermining the capacity of future generations to meet their needs.”

Coal’s Sustainability Challenge

• Economic and social criteria make a compelling case for coal – the issue is environmental performance

• Climate change concerns present a complex challenge for the continuing use of fossil fuels and coal in particular

Clean Coal Technologies:

-Gasification-Oxycombustion-Chemical Looping-Coal to Liquids-CO2

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)

Gasification is essentially partial oxidation under pressure

IGCC + Carbon Capture and Storage

IGCC + CCS + Poly generation

Barriers to IGCC Commercial Deployment

• Cost → 10-20% penalty for bituminous coal• Traditional PC can meet current environmental standards• IGCC financing costs higher than PC – perceived risk profile• No reward for risk taking – new plants largely being built

by regulated utilities• Excess capacity in many regions - NGCC overbuild• IGCC needs more project development than NGCC or PC

– To date no standard IGCC design - this will change with GE entry

• Lack of familiarity with IGCC in the power industry (it is a chemical plant)

“NOVEL” COAL COMBUSTION

Combustion Efficiency and

Pollutants Emission Improving efficiency levels increases the amount of energy that can be extracted from a single unit of coal. Increases in the efficiency of electricity generation are essential in tackling climate change.

Background In most conventional combustion processes, air is used as the

source of oxygen; Nitrogen is not necessary for combustion and causes problems

by reacting with oxygen at combustion temperature; A high concentration of nitrogen in the flue gas can make CO2

capture unattractive; With the current push for CO2 sequestration to ease climate

change, it is imperative to develop cost-effective processes that enable CO2 capture;

The use of pure oxygen in the combustion process instead of air eliminates the presence of nitrogen in the flue gas, but combustion with pure oxygen results in very high temperatures

Oxycombustion

Coal

Oxycombustion

Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC)

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) has emerged as one of the most promising technologies for low-cost CO2 capture technologies for solid fuels. CLC provides the possibility of CO2 capture without the requirement of an air separation unit or an absorption process.

What is Chemical LoopingBasic concept

What is Chemical Looping and does it work?

Limestone based Chemical Looping Process

Chemical Looping features:

up to 100% CO2 capture efficiency,

highly concentrated stream of CO2 ready for sequestration,

no NOx emissions,

no costs or energy penalties for gas separation,

CLC uses well-established boiler technology, which

means that costs can be assessed with great accuracy, and

higher efficiency is because chemical looping systems use solids to carry the oxygen in and out of the process, leaving essentially no thermodynamic penalty associated with either the carbon separation or oxygen production.

Efficiency of Chemical Looping

CRITICAL PROBLEM WITH SOLID FUEL:

Can the fuel particles and oxygen carrier particles be readily separated? If not, there is carryover of solid fuel to the oxidation reactor and emission of CO2 in the air regenerating the carrier particles.

Hence, solids require a modified strategy

FISHER – TROPSCH Synthesis Of Liquid

Fuels

Synfuels: 1-2 barrels of oil per ton of coal

Coal To Transportation Liquids (CTL)

Coal Gasification Fischer-Tropsch

What are the challenges that must be overcome before coal to liquids

becomes a reality? 1. Uncertainty regarding crude oil prices-oil at $70,

make a bundle: oil at $40 lose your shirt.2. Reducing the cost of conversion process: some

uncertainty remains.3. Climate change: coal releases more CO2 than

other fuels. CO2 injection? CO2 conversion?4. Usage in engines-who will certify fuels?

CO2 emissions vs fuel type

NREL technical report NREL/TP-840-400665

lbs

per

MW

hCoal

Natural gas564

331

CO2 Chemical Utilization

CO2

High-addedValue materials

Organic carbonates& carboxylates

organics

Renewable fuels & chemicals

CH4. CH4, CH3OH, HCOOHhn

H2O

ChemicalsLight olefins

ODH

SynfuelsCH3OH

CH3OCH3

HCOOHH2

SyngasH2/CO

RWGS

SynfuelsHydrocarbons

&alcohols

FT Dry Reforming

THANK YOU!