Utilization of a fuel cell power plant for the capture and conversion of gob well gas. Final report, June--December, 1995

Technical Report · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/244560· OSTI ID:244560

Przybylic, A R; Haynes, C D; Haskew, T A; Boyer, II, C M; Lasseter, E L

A preliminary study has been made to determine if a 200 kW fuel cell power plant operating on variable quality coalbed methane can be placed and successfully operated at the Jim Walter Resources No. 4 mine located in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration is to investigate the effects of variable quality (50 to 98% methane) gob gas on the output and efficiency of the power plant. To date, very little detail has been provided concerning the operation of fuel cells in this environment. The fuel cell power plant will be located adjacent to the No. 4 mine thermal drying facility rated at 152 M British thermal units per hour. The dryer burns fuel at a rate of 75,000 cubic feet per day of methane and 132 tons per day of powdered coal. The fuel cell power plant will provide 700,000 British thermal units per hour of waste heat that can be utilized directly in the dryer, offsetting coal utilization by approximately 0.66 tons per day and providing an avoided cost of approximately $20 per day. The 200 kilowatt electrical power output of the unit will provide a utility cost reduction of approximately $3,296 each month. The demonstration will be completely instrumented and monitored in terms of gas input and quality, electrical power output, and British thermal unit output. Additionally, real-time power pricing schedules will be applied to optimize cost savings. 28 refs., 35 figs., 13 tabs.

• Research Organization: Walter (Jim) Resources, Inc., Brookwood, AL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-95MC32188
• OSTI ID: 244560
• Report Number(s): DOE/MC/32188--5149; ON: DE96004453
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
03 NATURAL GAS
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
ALABAMA
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COAL SEAMS
DEGASSING
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DUAL-PURPOSE POWER PLANTS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS
LONGWALL MINING
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METHANE
NATURAL GAS FUEL CELLS
NUMERICAL DATA
ON-SITE POWER GENERATION
PERFORMANCE
POWER RANGE 100-1000 KW
PROGRESS REPORT
WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION