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Title: Phase I: The Pipeline Gas Demonstration Plant: Coal Fines Briquetting Study

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6278120· OSTI ID:6278120
 [1]
  1. Continental Oil Company, Stamford, CT (United States)

Normally fixed-bed gasifiers require a sized coal feed (ca. 2'' x 1/4''), and the run-of-mine coal must be crushed and screened to yield the requisite coal feed. This coal preparation step produces a coal fines (1/4'' x 0) by-product. A recent pilot plant test run has disclosed that the British Gas/Lurgi slagging gasifier can process Pittsburgh No. 8 coal containing a large percentage of coal fines without a reduction in throughput, and therefore a plant based on this process may not yield a coal fines by-product. This finding will be evaluated in more detail in the Phase III (Demonstration Plant Operations) of the project. In the interim, a preliminary design of a commercial plant has been completed based on the assumption that a sized coal feed is required for the process and that the coal fines by-product can be sold at a price equivalent to 90 percent of the cost of the run-of-mine coal. One promising alternative to selling the coal fines is to briquet them using a pitch or asphalt binder to produce a sized feedstock for the gasifier. This report evaluates this alernative. A preliminary design of a briquetting plant to handle 4,058 tons per day of coal fines has been completed. The briquetting plant is estimated to increase the erected plant cost for a commercial plant by about $7.5 million (0.8 percent). The cost of the resultant pipeline quality gas isincreased by about two percent in the most pessimistic case, and remains essentially unchanged in the most optimistic case.

Research Organization:
Continental Oil Co., Stamford, CT (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
EF-77-C-01-2542
OSTI ID:
6278120
Report Number(s):
FE-2542-11
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English