Focus on Coal
New technologies reduce environmental impacts of coal-fired plants
Robert S Giglio looks at the reality of clean coal in our energy future.
Robert S Giglio explora la realidad del carbón limpio en nuestro futuro energético.
Robert S. Giglio untersucht die Realität sauberer Kohlekraftwerke in der Zukunft unserer Energie.
C
Fig. 1. Coal accounts for about 50 per cent of electricity production in the United States.
oal-fired power plants play an important role in providing energy at low prices. Te reality is that coal is abundant, efficient, and less expensive than most other energy
options and will remain an important part of our energy future.
Coal accounts for about 50 per cent of electricity production in the US, and, as shown in Fig. 1, it remains the lowest cost energy source for US residences. However, coal-fired plants do emit carbon ), a greenhouse gas (GHG) into the
dioxide (CO2
atmosphere, and efforts are underway to improve coal’s environmental performance so we can take full advantage of this plentiful resource. ‘Clean coal technology’ describes a new generation of energy processes, some currently available and others being developed, which have the ability to sharply reduce air emissions and other pollutants. Tese new technological breakthroughs make it possible for new and older coal-burning power plants to produce power in
an economical and environmentally responsible manner.
Among the key options under development for use alone or in combination are:
l Optimising existing plants so they reduce emissions and increase the amount of electricity produced with the same amount of coal.
l Continuing to develop and refine best- available combustion technology, including circulating fluidised-bed (CFB) technology, which includes supercritical and ultra supercritical combustion. Tis option may also include burning biomass as a fuel, thus reducing the level of CO2
l Gasification - turning coal into a gas and removing impurities from the coal gas before it is combusted.
combustion for collecting CO2
l Carbon capture and storage (CCS) – capturing the carbon dioxide from the flue gas and storing it underground or reusing it.
emissions, and oxy- -rich flue gas.
Source: Average U.S. residence energy consumption of 936 kWh per month derived from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Table 5 U.S. Average Monthly Bill by Sector, Census Division and State 2007. Cost comparison data derived from cost comparison prepared by Black & Veatch and cited in Cost Works Against Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources in Time of Recession, New York Times, March 28, 2009.
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