Evaluation of coal-gasification - combustion-turbine power plants emphasizing low water consumption

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

OSTI ID:5241932

Cavazo, R; Clemmer, A B; de la Mora, J A; Grisso, J R; Klumpe, H W; Meissner, R E; Musso, A; Roszkowski, T R

A cost and performance study was made of several integrated power plants using coal gasification technology now in advanced development and combustion turbines for power generation. The principal emphasis was placed on studying plants using air cooling and comparing costs and performance of those plants with water-cooled coal gasification-combined-cycle (GCC) and conventional coal-fired power plants. The major objective was to determine whether cost and performance penalties would be prohibitive for air-cooled plants that use yet-to-be-developed coal gasifiers and commercially available combustion turbines for topping cycle power. The results indicate the following: air-cooled GCC plants using conceptual designs of either the Texaco or the British Gas Corporation (BGC) slaging gasifier could have coal-to-net electric power efficiencies equivalent to that of a water-cooled conventional coal-fired plant; the air-cooled GCC plants could produce electricity at busbar cost 1 to 3 mills per kWh (1980 dollars) less than busbar cost in a water-cooled conventional plant and only up to 2 mills per kWh higher than busbar cost in a water-cooled Texaco GCC plant; and even a simple-cycle regenerative combustion turbine plant fueled with gas from the BGC gasifier could have a coal-to-net electric power efficiency of over 30% and a busbar cost competitive with that in a water cooled conventional plant. The principal reason that air-cooled power plants using combustion turbines could be competitive with conventional water-cooled, coal-fired steam plants is that a majority of net power is produced by the combustion turbines, which require no cooling water. This, in turn, leads to a reduced cost and performance penalty when bottoming steam-cycle condensers are air-cooled.

• Research Organization: Parsons (Ralph M.) Co., Pasadena, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5241932
• Report Number(s): EPRI-AP-2207; ON: DE82901861
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010404 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Gasification
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200102* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Power Cycles
COAL GASIFICATION
COMBINED-CYCLE POWER PLANTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONDENSERS
COOLING
COST
CRG PROCESSES
DATA
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
ENGINEERING
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
GAS TURBINES
GASIFICATION
INFORMATION
LURGI SLAGGING PROCESS
MACHINERY
NUMERICAL DATA
POWER
POWER PLANTS
STEAM CONDENSERS
TEXACO GASIFICATION PROCESS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
TOPPING CYCLES
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
VAPOR CONDENSERS
WATER REQUIREMENTS