Coal
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
Assessing the Impact of Global Peak Oil on the Climate
September 10, 2008
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| Atmospheric carbon dioxide changes over time for the study’s five fossil fuel scenarios: business-as-usual (a), coal phase-out (b) and oil use and supply (c-e). Click to enlarge. Credit: NASA/Kharecha and Hansen |
A new paper by Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University Earth Institute shows that if proven conventional oil and gas reserves do not greatly exceed estimates of the Energy Information Administration—i.e., if conventional production peaks during the next few decades—it will be feasible to keep atmospheric CO2 from exceeding about 450 ppm by 2100, provided that emissions from coal, unconventional fossil fuels, and land use are constrained. Their paper was published 5 August in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles.
Although a limit of 450 ppm CO2 is one of the more ambitious emissions targets proposed by governments and corporations, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that even at that limit, there is a 20% likelihood that global temperatures will increase by 3.5º C or more. In April, Hansen called for a global target of 350 ppm. (Earlier post.)
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DOE to Provide $36 Million to Advance Carbon Dioxide Capture from Coal-Fired Power Plants
July 31, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $36 million for 15 projects aimed at furthering the development of new and cost-effective technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide from the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants. Research areas supported in the award include membrane technology; solvents; solid sorbents; oxycombustion, flue gas purification; oxycombustion boiler development; and chemical looping combustion.
Membranes. Membrane-based CO2 capture uses permeable or semi-permeable materials that allow for the selective transport and separation of CO2 from flue gas. Research projects in this area will address key technical challenges to the use of membrane-based systems such as large flue gas volume, relatively low CO2 concentration, low flue gas pressure, flue gas contaminants, and the need for high membrane surface area.
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DOE to Invest Approximately $1.3B to Commercialize CCS Technology in Revamped FutureGen Program
June 25, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to invest in multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or other advanced coal power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology under the Department’s restructured FutureGen program. (Earlier post.)
The solicitation is seeking multiple cost-shared projects to advance coal-based power generation technologies that capture and store the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). The Department anticipates $290 million will be available for funding of selected projects through fiscal year (FY) 2009 and an additional $1.01 billion is expected to be available in subsequent years, subject to appropriations by Congress.
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Senators Introduce Bill to Increase Domestic Oil and Natural Gas Production; Coal-Derived Fuel Mandate
May 04, 2008
US Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the American Energy Production Act of 2008 (S.2958) to increase domestic production of oil and natural gas and to fund the development of oil shale and coal-to-liquids technology. Eighteen other senators co-sponsored. Included in the bill is language for a coal-derived fuels mandate.
The bill would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as well as the Atlantic and Pacific regions of the Outer Continental Shelf for exploration and production; and lift the one-year moratorium on developing oil shale in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
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Sasol 100% CTL Synthetic Jet Fuel Approved for Use Internationally in Commercial Aviation
April 09, 2008
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| Sasol’s synthetic jet fuel is derived from four synthetic streams: Iso-paraffinic kerosene, Heavy naptha kerosene, Light distillate #1 and Naptha #2. Click to enlarge. |
Sasol’s synthetic jet fuel, produced by its proprietary Coal to Liquids (CTL) process, has received approval for full, unblended use in international commercial aviation. Sasol’s fully synthetic jet fuel (FSJF) is the first such fuel to be approved.
For the past nine years, Sasol has supplied a semi-synthetic jet fuel—a mixture of CTL components with petroleum-derived kerosene—to international airlines operating from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Based on the success of the alternative fuel blend and following a several-year period of testing and evaluation, international aviation fuel authorities including the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD), governing the Defence Standard DEFSTAN 91-91, approved Sasol’s fully synthetic jet fuel as Jet A-1 fuel for commercial use in all types of turbine aircraft.
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DOE Restructures Its Approach to FutureGen
January 30, 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is restructuring its commitment and approach to the planned $1.5-billion FutureGen project, which would have resulted in the construction and operation of a prototype 275 MW plant that would co-produce electricity and hydrogen from coal with essentially zero emissions, including carbon dioxide emissions, which would be captured and sequestered. (Earlier post.)
The restructured approach will focus on separating carbon dioxide for CCS in multiple future IGCC plants. DOE will support industry in building IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) plants by providing funding for the addition of CCS technology to multiple plants. The new approach does not include support for hydrogen production.
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BP Reinforces Commitment to China With Series of Agreements; Coal Conversion, Wind, Acetic Acid
January 19, 2008
BP has signed a series of agreements in China involving the strategic integration and commercialization of coal conversion technologies; wind power generation; and world-class acetic acid production.
The British Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, as well as officials from both the British and Chinese governments, witnessed the signing during a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
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FutureGen Plant to Be Sited in Mattoon, Illinois
December 18, 2007
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| 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.
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EU Research Project on Pre-Combustion Carbon Capture for Coal- and Gas-Fired Plants
November 21, 2007
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| Simplified process diagram of pre-combustion concept. Click to enlarge. Source: ENCAP |
Norway’s SINTEF will lead a European research project on advanced pre-combustion CO2 capture for coal- and gas-fired power stations. The DECARBit project, which will be coordinated by SINTEF Energy Research, will last for four years, with a total budget of NOK 120 million (US$22 million) , of which NOK 45 million will go to research at SINTEF and NTNU.
Pre-combustion capture is one of the three primary approaches to decarbonizing power generation from fossil fuels, the other two being oxy-fuel combustion and post-combustion capture. Pre-combustion technology is based on the separation of CO2 from a high H2 content gas mixture resulting from either coal gasification or the steam reforming of natural gas under high pressure.
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China and UK Launch Near Zero Emissions Coal Phase 1 Study
November 20, 2007
The governments of China and the UK formally launched the Near Zero Emissions Coal (NZEC) Phase 1 study in Beijing, China. The aim of the Phase 1 appraisal study is to look at the feasibility of building coal-fired power plants in China fitted with CO2 capture and storage (CCS). NZEC implements the vision of realizing a large scale Near Zero Emissions Coal demonstration in China as agreed at the EU-China Summit in September 2005.
Phase 2 of the NZEC project will define and design a demonstration project, and Phase 3 will build and operate that project. Outputs from Phase 1 will be important in determining further activities in Phases 2 and 3.
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NRG and Powerspan Announce Large-Scale Demonstration of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) for Coal-Fired Power Plants
November 02, 2007
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| Layout of an integrated ECO-ECO2 installation for pollution control and carbon capture. Click to enlarge. |
NRG Energy, Inc. and Powerspan Corp. will work together to demonstrate at commercial scale Powerspan’s ammonia-based carbon dioxide capture technology, called ECO2 (earlier post) from a conventional coal-fired electric power plant.
Under a memorandum of understanding, NRG and Powerspan will design, construct, and operate a 125-MW CO2 capture facility at the WA Parish Plant and supply the captured CO2 for safe transportation and permanent geological storage in order to demonstrate the technical, economic, and environmental performance of a large-scale CCS system that potentially could be deployed on existing coal-fueled generating facilities globally.
