Small, modular, low-cost coal-fired power plants for the international market

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:682312

Zauderer, B; Frain, B; Borck, B ^[1]; Baldwin, A L ^[2]

---

1. Coal Tech Corp., Merion Station, PA (United States)
2. Dept. of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center

This paper presents recent operating results of Coal Tech`s second generation, air cooled, slagging coal combustor, and its application to power plants in the 1 to 20 MW range. This 20 MMBtu/hour combustor was installed in a new demonstration plant in Philadelphia, PA in 1995. It contains the combustion components of a 1 MWe coal fired power plant, a 17,500 lb/hour steam boiler, coal storage and feed components, and stack gas cleanup components. The plant`s design incorporates improvements resulting from 2,000 hours of testing between 1987 and 1993 on a first generation, commercial scale, air cooled combustor of equal thermal rating. Since operations began in early 1996, a total of 51 days of testing have been successfully completed. Major results include durability of the combustor`s refractory wall, excellent combustion with high ash concentration in the fuel, removal of 95% to 100% of the slag in the combustor, very little ash deposition in the boiler, major reduction of in-plant parasitic power, and simplified power system control through the use of modular designs of sub-systems and computer control. Rapid fuel switching between oil, gas, and coal and turndown of up to a factor of three was accomplished. All these features have been incorporated in advanced coal fired plant designs in the 1 to 20 MWe range. Incremental capital costs are only $100 to $200/kW higher than comparable rated gas or oil fired steam generating systems. Most of its components and subsystems can be factory assembled for very rapid field installation. The low capital, low operating costs, fuel flexibility, and compatibility with very high ash fuels, make this power system very attractive in regions of the world having domestic supplies of these fuels.

• Research Organization: National Mining Association, Washington, DC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 682312
• Report Number(s): CONF-970121--Vol.2; ON: DE97007477
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
COAL
COMBUSTORS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUEL OILS
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
MARKET
NATURAL GAS