coal gasification and its applications

[...]... 60,000 Coal reserves, millions of tons Figure 1.4 Coal reserves versus cost in the Gillette Coal Field.15 70,000 80,000 13 14 The Nature of Coal In-situ coal gasification is the process of partially burning a coal seam in place to produce a synthesis gas This technology may greatly expand coal reserves, because deeply buried coal seams may be exploited at a reasonable cost In-situ coal gasification has its. .. Heating and Cooking vs Industrial Use Coal Combustion Pollutants Pulverized Coal Combustion Supercritical Pulverized Coal Combustion Carbon Capture with Pulverized Coal Combustion Plants Oxy-combustion Sargas Coal- to-liquids ENCOAL Direct Hydrogenation of Coal References 17 17 19 20 21 24 27 28 28 30 33 HOME HEATING AND COOKING VS INDUSTRIAL USE The simplest use of coal is to burn it for heat Coal was... When applied to coal, the different coal types are known as macerals Table 1.1 lists coal macerals, and shows how they are derived from plant material COAL ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION Coal is used primarily as a fuel, so its most important property is its heat of combustion Gross calorific value, also known as higher heating value (HHV), is determined by measuring the heat released when coal is burned... nitrogen, sulfur, and ash are measured The remainder of the coal sample is assumed to be oxygen COAL RANK In the coalification process, the coal rank increases from lignite to anthracite, as shown in Figure 1.1 Coal rank is useful in the market, because it is a quick and convenient way to describe coal without a detailed analysis sheet A more detailed description of coal rank is shown in Tables 1.2 and 1.3 Bituminous... relatively cost-effective means of using coal while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions xi CHAPTER 1 The Nature of Coal Contents The Geologic Origin of Coal Coal Analysis and Classification Coal Rank Ash Thermal Properties Coal as a Porous Material Spontaneous Combustion Reserves, Resources, and Production References 1 2 4 5 9 10 11 15 THE GEOLOGIC ORIGIN OF COAL Coal is fossilized peat A peat bog is a... peat is converted to coal when high pressure and elevated temperature is applied to the buried layer This process is known as coalification The physical and chemical structure of the coal changes over time As shown in Figure 1.1, the youngest (least converted) coal is known as lignite, which can be further converted to sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and finally anthracite These coal types strongly... may be used to further extract coal Luppens et al estimated the volume of coal available in the Gillette Coal Field versus price, and these data are shown in Figure 1.4 At the 2008 production rate of 464 million tons/year, the coal reserves in the Gillette Coal Field will last only 21 years if coal is priced at $10/ ton If the price of coal rises to $60/ton, then the coal will last 176 years at the... coal types strongly influence the properties and use of coal, and will be discussed further Peat Lignite Increasing age, conversion Sub-bituminous Bituminous Anthracite Figure 1.1 Coalification Coal Gasification and Its Applications ISBN B978-0-8155-2049-8.10001-4, doi:10.1016/B978-0-8155-2049-8.10001-4 Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved 1 2 The Nature of Coal Petrography is the visual inspection of... made wood scarce The technology of coal use developed to the point that coal became a major source of chemicals, fuel gas and transportation fuel These coal uses fell out of favor when natural gas and crude oil became abundant and inexpensive in the mid twentieth century Current interest in coal technology is largely the result of rising natural gas and crude oil prices and concern about future energy... area Some coal, particularly bituminous coal, has the tendency to cake With increasing temperature, coal particles simultaneously pyrolize and partially melt, causing the coal particles to stick to one another Some gasification reactors, especially moving bed and fluidized bed gasifiers, are limited to processing coal that does not cake Table 1.2 Classification of anthracitic and bituminous coals by rank . be further converted to sub-bitu- minous coal, bituminous coal, and finally anthracite. These coal types strongly influence the properties and use of coal, and will be discussed further. Peat Lignite. applied to coal, the different coal types are known as macerals. Ta ble 1.1 lists coal macerals, and shows how they are derived from plant material. COAL ANALYSIS AND CLASSIFICATION Coal is used. that it deserves its own chapter, underground coal gasification, covered in Chapter 5. Instead of mining coal and transporting it to a gasifier, the coal is left in place underground, and the reactant