FutureGen Plant to Be Sited in Mattoon, Illinois

18 December 2007

Overview of technologies and process for the FutureGen coal plant. Click to enlarge.

The FutureGen Alliance has selected Mattoon, Illinois as the site to host the FutureGen power plant. FutureGen is a prototype coal-based plant intended to establish the technical feasibility and economic viability of co-producing electricity and hydrogen from coal with essentially zero emissions, including carbon dioxide (via capture and sequestration). (Earlier post.)

The $1.2-billion (2006 dollars) FutureGen plant will be nominally rated at 275 MWe—roughly equivalent to a medium-size coal-fired power plant and sufficient to supply electricity to approximately 275,000 average US households. Carbon dioxide sequestration will be in the range of 1 to 2 million metric tons annually.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has established the following near-zero emissions goals for the gasification and power generation components of the facility:

• Greater than 99% sulfur removal;

• Greater than 90% mercury removal,

• Less than .05 pounds of nitrogen oxide per million BTU; and

• Less than .005 pounds of particulate matter per million BTU.

In addition, the goal is to capture and sequester 90% of the CO₂ produced at the power plant.

The basic concept is to use a gasifier to convert coal into syngas consisting mostly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide is reacted with steam (water gas shift) to produce additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The carbon dioxide will be separated from the hydrogen and permanently stored in deep geologic formations. The hydrogen will power a combustion turbine that will generate electricity; steam heated by the combustion turbine exhaust drives a second turbine to generate additional electricity. This dual-turbine system is an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle approach, but using hydrogen rather than directly burning the syngas as proposed in other coal IGCC systems.

Depending on the final technologies selected, FutureGen will produce either slag or ash from the non-combustible portion of the coal and a sulfur byproduct from captured hydrogen sulfide. Each of these byproducts may have commercial value depending on local market conditions. Additionally, the hydrogen used to produce electricity could also be used to power fuel cell vehicles of the future or as a feedstock for other industries.

Mattoon was one of four finalists for the site. The others were Tuscola, Illinois; Brazos, Texas; and Odessa, Texas.

The FutureGen Alliance represents some of the world’s largest coal companies and electric utilities including: American Electric Power Service Corporation; Anglo American Services (UK) Limited; BHP Billiton Energy Coal, Inc.; China Huaneng Group; CONSOL Energy Inc.; E.ON U.S. LLC; Foundation Coal Corporation; Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings (EFH); PPL Energy Services Group, LLC; Peabody Energy Corporation; Rio Tinto Energy America Services; Southern Company Services, Inc.; and Xstrata Coal Pty Limited. The Alliance is partnering with the US Department of Energy to design and build the facility.

Resources

• FutureGen Initial Conceptual Design Report (May 2007)