Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators is Hot Topic Feb. 24 and Feb. 25, 2010
“Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators” is “Hot Topic” on both Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 and Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010. Because of the number of persons that requested to make a presentation on this subject, we have separated the Hot Topic Hour into two sessions.
Despite all of the political pressure and regulations promulgated or proposed by states and the federal government to require renewable resources to provide a significant share of power consumed in the future, it is certain that coal combustion will continue to reliably and economically provide the energy we need for many years into the future. Therefore, operators of coal-fired power plants need to develop plans to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of coal.
There are many methods available for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. These include offsets from reforestation and recycling of coal byproducts, energy demand-side reduction, improving efficiency of transmission, switching to renewable energy sources, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and improving the efficiency of the entire process of producing electricity or process heat. Reforestation is easy to do but could be difficult to quantify. Beneficial use of coal byproducts could be a good choice because this may be an opportunity for utilities to generate an additional revenue stream while simultaneously addressing GHG emissions. Demand side reduction is always good but has limits.
Improving the efficiency of transmission can be expensive and require a long time. Utilization of renewable resources is good but it will take years before solar, wind and geothermal energy achieve will provide a significant amount of energy. CCS faces many technological, legal and risk issues and will not be economically viable for many years. The last method, improving combustion and process efficiency including co-firing of biomass (a renewable), should be considered a primary method and may be the best short and mid-term choice for several reasons. Improving combustion and process efficiency can lead to cost savings and the results can be more easily quantified and verified than some other methods such as offsetting. Co-firing of biomass will not only reduce plant emission of many criteria pollutants but offers a significant reduction in GHG’s.
Which of these options is really best and which methods are coal-fired plant operators incorporating into their strategies now? The speakers listed below will address the current state of development, the economics, the potential GHG reductions achievable and the advantages or disadvantages of these various options. We will also hear about the results of current demonstration projects and technologies that have been commercialized at power plants and the strategies that are being considered and adopted by utilities.
The speakers on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 are:
Frank Princiotta, Director, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, U.S. EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards will discuss the Carbon Capture and Storage Challenge for Coal Combustion. Retrofitting coal-fired units with CCS presents formidable challenges. On the capture side, challenges include: energy penalty, space and water requirements. On the sequestration side, they include availability of stable, appropriate geological sites and legal, liability and licensing hurdles.
Dr. James (Jim) E. Staudt PhD, President, Andover Technology Partners will discuss the current state of carbon capture technologies. To achieve significant reductions of CO2 in the US over the next few decades, it will be necessary to reduce CO2 emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. Carbon capture and sequestration will be a necessary and critical component of a larger electric power sector strategy that includes efficiency improvements, demand management as well as other sources of energy. In this presentation, Dr. Staudt will examine the state of carbon capture technologies with a specific emphasis on technologies applicable to existing coal-fired generation. The technologies that are likely to be deployed by the first users of carbon capture technology will be discussed, including performance of these technologies, obstacles to deployment, and retrofit issues, along with a discussion of advanced technologies that in the longer term will improve the performance of carbon capture systems.
Block M. Andrews, Strategic Environmental Solutions Associate at Burns & McDonnell Engineering will discuss the many greenhouse gas drivers that could potentially impact the electric utility industry. His presentation will identify these drivers as well as some strategies on system-wide and plant-wide levels that are currently being studied and implemented to reduce greenhouse gases.
Mark Schoenfield, Senior Vice-President of Operations and General Counsel of Jupiter Oxygen Corporation, an energy technology company will describe an economic pathway for carbon capture from fossil fuel power plants. Jupiter Oxygen has designed, built and operated a 15 MW thermal boiler test facility in Hammond, IN (USA). The boiler began operation in October of 2007. Jupiter Oxygen has completed a series of tests where oxygen has been combusted with coal and natural gas under different conditions. Tests and boiler operation were conducted where flame temperatures reached about 5000oF with and without recycle flue gas (while maintaining flame temperature) while burning natural gas. Tests and boiler operation where conducted with recycled flue gas mixed with oxygen resulting in flame temperatures closer to air fired conditions using natural gas. Baseline testing was established using air and natural gas for comparative purposes. Initial testing has also been completed where coal (Illinois No. 6) has been used with oxygen (with and without recycle) resulting in a high flame temperature in the boiler. Initial testing has been completed where the flue gasses from the combustion of coal with oxygen have been captured for the purpose of sequestration investigation. The results to date establish specific advantages for high flame temperature oxy-fuel combustion, indicating an economic pathway for carbon capture from fossil fuel power plants.
The speakers on Thursday Feb. 25, 2010 are:
Peter Spinney, Director, Marketing & Technology Assessment at NeuCo, Inc. will discuss the role of optimization software in improving power plant efficiency and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. NeuCo’s boiler optimizers streamline the combustion and sootblowing processes to improve boiler efficiency, steam temperatures and heat transfer. Its unit optimizers alert plant personnel to unit efficiency, capacity and equipment health degradation and expedite problem diagnosis and resolution. While optimization software can improve many different aspects of asset performance, placing a priority on heat rate can result in significant fuel efficiency improvements and GHG emissions reductions.
Chris Nichols, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will present “Abatement through Efficiency: Opportunities for Carbon Mitigation in the US Coal Fleet”. NETL conducted three distinct benchmarking analyses on coal-fired units in the US power generation fleet to characterize the operational potential for efficiency improvements. The results of these analyses indicate a potential improvement of approximately 4 percent in overall fuel consumption assuming a constant generation level. Such a fuel reduction would deliver a concomitant reduction in solid wastes such as fly ash, bottom ash, slag, gypsum and related wastes from sulfur removal; as well as reductions in airborne emissions such as particulate matter, acid rain species, mercury and greenhouse gases (primarily CO2). An efficiency increase of this magnitude would reduce CO2 emissions from the coal fleet by 4.1 percent, or 75 Teragrams of CO2 per year. This contribution represents approximately 1.3 percent of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the US economy. Furthermore, these efficiency improvements could be achieved before 2020, thereby contributing to the near-term efforts by the United States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Joe Sullivan, P.E., Managing Consultant, Trinity Consultants will discuss the EPA's Proposed GHG Tailoring Rule. Within the next few months, EPA is poised to begin regulation of GHGs under an upcoming EPA regulation pertaining to light duty vehicle (LDV) emissions. EPA has indicated when this occurs that the current regulatory framework of the Clean Air Act and implementing regulations automatically triggers regulation of these pollutants under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V operating permits programs. Since current emission thresholds triggering PSD and Title V permitting are very low for existing regulated pollutants, EPA is attempting to raise the PSD and Title V permitting thresholds for GHGs under the GHG Tailoring Rule, also scheduled for promulgation concurrently with the promulgation of the LDV Rule. This presentation provides an overview of the regulatory background for regulation of GHGs, the proposed Tailoring Rule, potential impacts of GHG regulation under the PSD and Title V program and uncertainties regarding implementation and timing.
Lorence Moot, Kela Energy LLC
To register for the “Hot Topic Hour” on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 and Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010 at 10 a.m. CST (Chicago time), click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm.
Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com