Environmental impact gasification

Coal used in power stations has the potential to be partly replaced by fuels derived from pre-treated plastics and paper waste, reducing both dependency on fossil fuels and reliance on landfill. APME reports on a project in the Netherlands which it co-sponsored to develop a substitute fuel from plastics. The environmental assessment of the project compared the environmental impacts of coal substitution with other plastics recovery methods, including gasification in feedstock recycling and energy recovery from plastics waste in cement kilns. The study also compared coal substitution with the generation of power from burning biomass. 

The Vision 21 program is focused on new concepts for coal-based energy production where modular plants could be configured to produce a variety of fuels and chemicals depending on market needs with virtually no environmental impact outside the plant s footprint. Membranes would be used to separate oxygen from air for the gasification process and to separate hydrogen and carbon dioxide from coal gas. 

Great Plains Gasification Project. Final Environmental Impact Statement. U.S. Department of Energy, August, 1980. DOE EIS-0072F, Volume 1. 

A similar opportunity exists for the public utility industry in the potential of LBG and MBG. The reduced environmental impact of a coal gasification plant which produces a perfectly clean fuel equivalent to natural gas, compared to direct combustion of coal may allow increased use of coal in areas where increased pollutant emission is barred. As these PSD areas increase in number, the advantages of coal gasification become more apparent. The potential of more efficient combined cycle generation systems which can be used with coal-derived gases is an added factor for implementing coal gasification. 

None of these current processes has a distinct advantage over the other two in all situations of coal gasification. However, we believe that the Winkler is best suited for the production of methanol because it yields a clean gas with a low inerts content. Other advantages include the plant s low environmental impact, the minimal coal preparation required and the simple construction of the Winkler gasifier. 

High reliability, acceptable capital and operating costs, and minimal environmental impact are requirements for gasification systems proposed for utility applications. Operating costs can be minimized by using a gasifier that is... 

There are environmental impacts to consider in connection with biomass production, collection (e.g. by forestry) and transport to gasification site, from the gasification and related processes and finally from the use made of the gas. The gasification residues, ash, char, liquid wastewater, and tar have... 

Parallel to the above work, a detailed resource, social and environmental impact study (5J was initiated to see the effect of power production via wood gasification plants on Northern Communities in the province. 

Gasification technologies, in combination with advancements in hot gas cleanup technologies, allow for hydrogen production with little environmental impact. 

Historically, gasification has been used as industrial processes in the creation of chanicals, with power production as a secondary and subordinate process. In the last decade, the primary application of gasification to power production has become more common due to the demand for high efficiency and low-environmental impact. 

Williams, A., et al. Combustion and Gasification of Coal New brk Taylor Sc Francis, 2000. Provides an overview of coal combustion and gasification with special attention to the properties of coal, combustion mechanism of coal, combustion in fluidized beds, the gasification process, industrial applications, and environmental impact. 

Anaerobic digestion had the lowest impacts on respiratory inorganics and acidification. Anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis-gasification had least overall environmental impact. 

D. Simbeck, "Town Gas and Coal Gasification in China. Presented at Workshop on the Efficiency and Environmental Impact of Coal Use in China, Beijing, China, September 10-13, 1991. 

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