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Title: Improving the quality of Lower Freeport Seam coal to reduce electricity costs, Coal Quality Development Center: Campaign Report No. 9: Interim report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5501764

This report presents the results of a characterization of the coal's response to cleaning and an assessment of how modifying the coal's quality affects a new power plant. The Lower Freeport Seam extends over large areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia - a reserve conservatively estimated to contain over five billion tons. The specific coal characterized is from an underground mine in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. The characterization involved cleaning the coal to two different quality levels: (1) intense cleaning to produce clean coal meeting an SO/sub 2/ emission limit of 1.20 lb/MBtu (1971 New Source Performance Standards) and (2) conventional cleaning aimed at reducing SO/sub 2/ as much as possible while recovering at least 80% of the raw coal's original energy. Intensive cleaning produced clean coal with an SO/sub 2/ emission potential of 1.26 lb/MBtu; approaching but did not meet the SO/sub 2/ emission potential target because of difficulty in removing sulfur from the finest size coal (100 mesh x 0). On the other hand, conventional cleaning reduced the SO/sub 2/ emission potential to 1.45 lb/MBtu (a 48.5% reduction) while recovering nearly 83% of the energy. Even with a delivered price nearly $10/ton more than the raw coal, the conventionally cleaned coal combined with partial flue gas scrubbing, provides a 0.5% lower 30-year levelized annual power plant capital, operating, and maintenance cost. This report also contains detailed laboratory washability data, identifies the degree of additional ash and sulfur liberation attainable by crushing the coal, and provides data on the response of the fine coal to cleaning by froth flotation. The report serves as an in-depth source of information about the quality and cleanability of Lower Freeport Seam coal from one mine. 18 refs., 20 figs., 15 tabs.

Research Organization:
Kaiser (Raymond) Engineers, Inc., Homer City, PA (USA). Homer City Office; Science Applications International Corp., Homer City, PA (USA). Homer City Office
OSTI ID:
5501764
Report Number(s):
EPRI-CS-5477; ON: TI88920138
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English