Learn-About-Coal-Gasification

Coal was traditionally gasified to make lighting gas and for running gas engines. With improved pipelines, natural gas began to become popular in the 1940s in the US and so manufacturing gas from coal fell almost into obscurity.

In the 1980s a coal gasification plant was built in North Dakota, with the purpose of converting the local brown coal into high purity methane that could be used for domestic and industrial heating in the local community.

At the time it was built, oil was cheap and so the economics didn't quite work out.

However, one of the by-products of the gasification was large volumes of pure CO2, and a pipeline was built to run 205 miles north up into Sascatchewan, so that the CO2 could be used to pressurise an oil field and get another 20 years of production from the declining field.

The process is detailed here:

http://www.dakotagas.com/Companyinfo/Gasification_Process.html

Coal gasification will likely become a viable energy conversion technology and it has the following advantages:

1. It converts low calorific value brown coal into high energy natural gas that is easier to transport and use.
2. The by-products are easily separated from the process and have commercial value for fertilisers and phenol feedstocks.
3. The CO2 is captured and can be sequestered in oil wells allowing extended production
4. Waste products - toxic metals etc are separated from the mix and can be appropriately handled
5. There is no requirement for an exhaust stack so atmospheric pollution is low.

It is fairly obvious that the world will have to continue to use its coal reserves for producing primary energy - more so with declining petroleum reserves. Coal gasification could be one technique that greatly improves the utilisation of what is generally considered to be a dirty polluting fuel.

As coal fields are exploited, the most valuable grades are consumed first. Coal gasification allows the exploitation of the remaining poorer grades.

The natural gas can be added into the existing pipeline distribution network or can be used at the plant in a combined cycle gas turbine power plant. So the energy in the coal can be exported either as electricity or as methane.

If the coal gasification process runs continuously, the methane can fuel CCGT power plant at times of peak power demand, or compressed and stored at times of low power demand. So by storing the energy in the form of methane it allows you to meet the changing demands put on the power plant. Extra CCGT generators could be spooled up quickly using the stored methane when needed.

By locating these gasification plants close to the coalfields - coal transport costs could be reduced. Energy exported in the form of electricity - possibly using a new HVDC supergrid, would be in great demand during summer months for air conditioning, whilst in winter months, natural gas for home heating may be more appropriate. Either way there is flexability to tailor the exports to meet the changing demands.

Coal gasification is a scaleable technology. Plants could be designed to suit the output of the local coal fields and the demands of the population.

The ND plant uses nearly 6 million tons of lignite per year and from this produces 54 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year - enough to power a CCGT power plant of between 800MW and 1GW.

Oil-Crisis-The End-The Future-Fossil-Fuel-Crisis

Oil Crisis? The End? The Future?

Well we are now into 2008 on our humble home planet, Earth...

Some may ask why I created ‘Home Brew Power’. Was it to save the planet from self destruction? Was it for monetary gain? Was it to try and educate our children about the planet’s finite supply of fossil fuel? Could it have been to help others reduce their gross overuse of electricity and power in general?

All of the above are just some of the driving forces behind

www.HomeBrewPower.co.uk

Over 2007 I have actively been in discussion groups about the following topics.

1. CHP (Combined Heating & Power) Units using ‘Carbon Neutral’ Fuel Sources i.e. WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil), SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil), Ethanol, Wood, Wood Gas and more.

2. Generating Electricity with a Stirling Engine (Hot Air Engine) with the primary heat sources been either a ‘Wood Stove’ or a ‘Waste Oil Burner / Furnace’

3. The overall efficiencies of Solar PV ‘Solar Photovoltaic’s’ which currently runs commercially at around 14-16%. To put it in an easy to understand format, ‘If a 1000MM x 500MM solar panel facing the sun was receiving 1000W of radiant solar energy then of that we are currently able to harvest approx 140 – 160W in the form of direct current electricity.

4. Micro Co-Generation, on a domestic scale, grid-tied wind turbines producing mains electricity that in times of excess can be fed back into the national grid system automatically, crediting the consumer with a reduction in their electricity bill. Currently in the UK we are allowed to Grid-Tie up to 6KW (constantly) back into the national grid as domestic customers.

5. Learning how to live on a much reduced amount of fossil fuels for heating and power. It really has been an eye opener to see how much the average human consumes on a daily basis. We as a race are hopelessly dependent on fossil fuels; the things most take for granted consume huge amounts of power. For example taking a shower (Electric Shower), making a cup of tea (Electric Kettle) Central Heating (Gas / Oil Fired Combi Boiler) Watching TV for hours on end and leaving electrical appliances on standby 24/7.

The topics above have, for as long as I can remember, been extremely important to me but they are now making it into the mainstream public eyes via the TV, Radio & Internet. Right now the government are dressing up the ‘Green Schemes’ ‘Carbon Reduction Schemes’ creating yet another cash generating revenue for them.

Soon I imagine the hype will calm down and we will be back to the important issue of ‘Life After Fossil Fuels’

www.Homebrewpower.co.uk is currently decanting to a brand new Website Format, the existing Blog based website has served well for the previous 2 years but it is time to bring some new dimensions to our community