Gasification Technology and IGCC – Programs and Progress Hot Topic for August 19, 2010

Steve Jenkins, Vice-president, Gasification Services at CH₂M HILL, Inc., provided an update on IGCC projects and technology. Improvements have been made to the technology and the new fleet will reflect:

• Improvements to gasifier refractory
• Better gasifier “burners”
• Use of more corrosion resistant piping ( for chlorides)
• Slag char recycle to improve overall conversion/efficiency
• Sparing and sizing of major systems
  • 2x50 percent size gasification trains
• Air integration between gas turbine and ASU
• Higher percent sulfur removal
• Mercury removal
• Adaptation of CO₂ capture technologies to IGCC
• Hydrogen-fired gas turbines

The number of IGCC projects has been greatly reduced and other than Edwardsport the others are conditional as shown below.

IGCC PROJECT STATUS

Keith Moore, President, Castle Light PR Corp., discussed how advanced, field-demonstrated coal gasification technology can be retrofit on power boilers to improve efficiency and reduce SO₂ and NO_x emissions. One of the interesting additional uses may be in conjunction with oxyfuel combustion.

Michael (Mike) Preston, Product Manager at SPX Flow Technology, discussed the material handling aspects of coal gasification processes. Coal gasification processes rely on moving coal (either dry or wet) to the gasifier. For wet processing of coal, the material is first slurried as a 63-65 percent solids mixture with water and additives.  This coal slurry exhibits pseudo-plastic (shear thinning) behavior upon mixing yet settles readily when un-agitated. The gasifier works best with a reliable and non-variable feed rate so mixers are used for storage of the coal slurry. Slurry rheology (study of the flow of matter) combined with the volume required to fuel a utility-scale power plant make design/engineering decisions a critical part of the plant and equipment selection. LIGHTNIN performs laboratory testing to determine the correct impeller type and accurate scale-up for agitation equipment in these large vessels.

Harry T. Morehead, Director IGCC and Gasification Sales and Marketing Americas at Siemens Energy, Inc., provided an update on Siemens gasification and gas turbine technologies for IGCC and the projects that have selected its technologies. Interest remains strong for those IGCC and gasification based projects that can address the related commercial and technical risks and in North America that have a carbon management plan. Several IGCC projects in North America continue to move forward through the permitting and FEED processes while addressing these issues.  The next IGCC project in North America could startup as early as 2014. 

Phil Amick, Director Gasification Commercialization at ConocoPhillips, updated participants on a few U.S. projects but pointed out that Asia is where the action is. He cited the following reasons:

• No low cost shale gas
• No anti-coal movement
• No climate change regulations
• Low capital costs
• Bib load growth
• Energy security concerns

China’s National Development Reform Council (NDRC) has approved four SNG plants and a dozen more have been announced.

The BIOS, ABSTRACTS AND PHOTOS can be viewed as follows: BIOS, PHOTOS, ABSTRACTS - AUGUST 19, 2010.htm

The individual slides can be viewed in the Universal Decision Tree as follows:

MIKE PRESTON – SPX FLOW TECHNOLOGY

KEITH MOORE – CASTLE LIGHT PR CORP.

HARRY MOREHEAD

STEVE JENKINS – CH2M HILL

PHIL AMICK - CONOCOPHILLIPS