Coal-mixture fuels for utility and industrial applications

Technical Report · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6978805

In support of DOE/FE's Office of Planning and Environment, MITRE has reviewed the technology status and potential economic and strategic impact of coal-mixture fuels for displacing the use of premium fuels in utility and industrial applications. The major contribution of this effort to DOE's mission has been the development of a series of analytical models for estimating the performance (efficiency, emissions, auxiliary power needs), capital cost, and levelized, life-cycle cost of product (electricity or steam) for utility steam power plants and industrial steam boilers. Inputs for the analysis include: fuel composition and cost; combustion parameters; plant size; emissions control strategy (equipment); and, financial parameters. MITRE's analysis shows coal-oil and coal-water mixtures to offer substantial (10 to 30%) savings in levelized cost of electricity when retrofitted to existing oil-fired utility power plants; for large industrial boilers, coal-mixture retrofits are shown to yield savings of 8 to 19% in the levelized cost of steam. For new industrial steam plants, coal-water mixtures can offer significant (20%) savings over oil-fired alternatives. The projected economic benefits of coal-mixtures are shown to depend on two assumptions: (1) that the real escalation rate for oil prices over the plant lifetime is two (2) percentage points greater than that for coal; (2) that stack gas scrubbing will not be required for the coal-mixture-fueled plants. For new utility plants, it will be difficult for coal-water mixtures, even without stack gas scrubbers, to compete with new, more conventional coal-fired plants with scrubbers. 28 references, 14 figures, 21 tables.

• Research Organization: USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Washington, DC. Office of Management, Planning and Technical Coordination
• OSTI ID: 6978805
• Report Number(s): DOE/FE-0038; ON: DE84009879
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200108* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Fuels-- (1980-)
ALCOHOLS
BOILERS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL PREPARATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COAL
COAL PREPARATION
CORRELATIONS
DEASHING
DESULFURIZATION
DISPERSIONS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUEL GAS
FUEL OILS
FUEL SLURRIES
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LIQUID FUELS
MARKET
MATERIALS
METHANOL
MIXTURES
NATURAL GAS
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
POWER PLANTS
PRICES
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RETROFITTING
SCRUBBERS
SIZE
SLURRIES
SUSPENSIONS
SYNTHESIS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
THERMAL POWER PLANTS