Coal-fired power plants process

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on Earth. Therefore, it is used in coal-fired power plants to produce electricity. The general process is that heat energy from the combustion of coal is converted into mechanical energy, which operates an electrical generator. See Fig. 1 [23]. It displays a typical coal-fired power plant process. 

F. 1 A typical coal-fired power plant process... 

Kneer, R Toporov, D., Forster, M. et al. (2010) OXYCOAL-AC Towards an integrated coal-fired power plant process with ion transport membrane-based oxygen supply. Energy Environmental Science, 3, 198-207. 

Emissions control systems play an important role at most coal-fired power plants. For example, PC-fired plants sited in the United States require some type of sulfur dioxide control system to meet the regulations set forth in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, unless the boiler bums low sulfur coal or benefits from offsets from other highly controlled boilers within a given utiUty system. Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) is most commonly accomphshed by the appHcation of either dry- or wet-limestone systems. Wet FGD systems, also referred to as wet scmbbers, are the most effective solution for large faciUties. Modem scmbbers can typically produce a saleable waUboard-quaUty gypsum as a by-product of the SO2 control process (see SULFURREMOVAL AND RECOVERY). 

Example 2.4 A typical 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant burns about 200 tons of bituminous coal per hour (50 kg s 1) with a heating value of 12,500 btu lb-1 (28,700 kJ kg-1). The high-temperature boiler operates at 538 °C while the heat exchanger cools the condensed steam to about 50 °C. Calculate the theoretical (maximum) efficiency of the process and compare with the efficiency that is actually achieved. 

Bayer MaterialScience (Germany) in the Project "Dream Production" combines part of waste streams of coal-fired power plants, CO2, with the production of polymers. The target is the design and development of a technical process able to produce C02-based polyether polycarbonate polyols on a large scale. The first step was to convert the C02 in new polyols, and these polyols showed similar properties such as products already on the market and can be processed in conventional plans as well (Figure 22). 

The German COORETEC CO2 Reduction Technologies) concept favours coal gasification with precombustion capture to introduce COj capture into coal fired power plants. The same capture process is suited to produce hydrogen from coal in an environmentally-friendly way. This technical option is outlined in the recently drawn up national vision on hydrogen technologies. The first projects in this area are to be funded in the near future. 

Co-burning is a commercially available, ex situ technology for the treatment of nonhazardous tar and tar-contaminated soils from former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. The process burns MGP waste with coal in existing utility boilers at coal-fired power plants. 

In summary, coal-fired power plants appear not to be the major source of most enriched elements on particles In urban areas, despite the great attention devoted to mechanisms by which those elements become preferentially attached to fine particles (e.g.. Refs. 18, 34). However, the detailed studies of processes In coal-fired plants are of considerable value, as the fundamentals should be applicable to other kinds of combustion sources. Furthermore, It may be necessary to use this fundamental approach to develop methods for predicting the source compositions for coal-fired power plants that have not been measured. Selenium Is much... 

Liem, H., Sandstroem, M., Wallin, T., Carne, A., Rydevik, U., Thurenius, B. Moberg, P. O. 1982. Studies on the leaching and weathering processes of coal ashes. In International Conference on Coal Fired Power Plants and the Aquatic Environment, CONF-8208123, Water Quality Institute, Hoersholm, Denmark, 338-366. 

A series of mercury mass balances was obtained at a coal-fired power plant by comparing the volatile and particulate mercury in the stack gas stream to the mercury initially in the coal, corrected for the mercury adsorbed and retained by the various ashes. These data were used to determine the fate of the mercury in the combustion process and to check the accuracy of the volatile mercury sampling procedure (gold amalgamation). The bottom ash had the lowest mercury concentration of the ash samples collected, and the mercury concentration increased as one proceeded through the ash collection system from the initial mechanical ash to the electrostatic ash. The mercury recovered in the various ashes represented about 10% of the total mercury introduced in the raw coal. 

Land releases of radium are related to atmospheric fallout of coal fly ash (see Section 5.2.1). For example, elevated radium-226 concentrations in snow have been detected near a coal-fired power plant in Poland (Jaworowski et al. 1971). Other land releases may include the disposal of coal fly ash, lime slurry derived from water softening processes, and uranium mine tailings and associated wind-blown dusts. However, no information was located on the total amount of land-released radium... 

Existing capture technologies, however, are not cost-effective when considered in the context of sequestering C02 from power plants. Most power plants and other large point sources use air-fired combustors, a process that exhausts C02 diluted with nitrogen and excess air. Flue gas from coal-fired power plants contains 10%-12% C02 by volume, while flue gas from natural gas combined cycle plants contains only 3%-6% C02. For effective carbon sequestration, the C02 in these exhaust gases must be separated and concentrated. 

Aluminum occurs naturally in soil, water, and air. It is redistributed or moved by natural and human activities. High levels in the environment can be caused by the mining and processing of its ores and by the production of aluminum metal, alloys, and compounds. Small amounts of aluminum are released into the environment from coal-fired power plants and incinerators. Virtually all food, water, and air contain some aluminum, which nature is well adapted to handle. 

CDDs are released into the air in emissions from municipal solid waste and industrial incinerators. Exhaust from vehicles powered with leaded and unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel also release CDDs to the air. Other sources of CDDs in air include emissions from oil- or coal-fired power plants, burning of chlorinated compounds such as PCBs, and cigarette smoke. CDDs formed during combustion processes are associated with small particles in the air, such as ash. The larger particles will be deposited close to the emission source, while very small particles may be... 

While the development of flue gas clean-up processes has been progressing for many years, a satisfactory process is not yet available. Lime/limestone wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber is the most widely used process in the utility industry at present, owing to the fact that it is the most technically developed and generally the most economically attractive. In spite of this, it is expensive and accounts for about 25-35% of the capital and operating costs of a power plant. Techniques for the post combustion control of nitrogen oxides emissions have not been developed as extensively as those for control of sulfur dioxide emissions. Several approaches have been proposed. Among these, ammonia-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has received the most attention. But, SCR may not be suitable for U.S. coal-fired power plants because of reliability concerns and other unresolved technical issues (1). These include uncertain catalyst life, water disposal requirements, and the effects of ammonia by-products on plant components downstream from the reactor. The sensitivity of SCR processes to the cost of NH3 is also the subject of some concern. 

Our goal is to gradually replace all coal and fossil fuel power plants with renewable energy ones, but while they exist (and probably will for most of this century), it is very important to reduce the damage they cause by optimizing their operation. In the United States, there are about 1000 coal preparation plants and coal-fired power plants. One key consideration in operating coalburning facilities is the control of C02 and sulfur dioxide (S02) emissions to the atmosphere. The characteristics of coal are monitored for environmental protection, quality assurance, and process control purposes. 

Solids flow measurement is more important in the control and optimization of coal-fired power plants than in alternative energy processes. The mass flow of solids can be detected by impact flowmeters, which are relatively low-accuracy devices (1-2% FS). Better accuracy and rangeability are provided by belt-type gravimetric feeders (0.5% AF over a 10 1 range), which measure both the speed and loading on the moving belt, as shown in Figure 3.89. 

Chromium released into the environment from combustion processes and ore processing industries is present mainly as chromium(III) oxide (Cr203). However, chromium(VI) has been detected in fly ash from coal-fired power plants (Stern et al. 1984) and from chromate manufacturing and user sites. 

---