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W.A. Parish Post-Combustion CO{sub 2} Capture and Sequestration Project Phase 1 Definition

For a secure and sustainable energy future, the United States (U.S.) must reduce its dependence on imported oil and reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). To meet these strategic challenges, the U.S. wiU have to create fundamentally new technologies with performance levels far beyond what is now possible. Developing advanced post-combustion clean coal technologies for capturing CO{sub 2} from existing coal-fired power plants can play a major role in the country's transition to a sustainable energy future, especially when coupled with CO{sub 2}-enhanced oil recovery (CO{sub 2}-EOR). Pursuant to these goals, NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) submitted an application and entered into a cost-shared collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Round 3 of the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) to advance low-emission coal technologies. The objective of the NRG W A Parish Post-Combustion CO{sub 2} Capture and Sequestration Demonstration Project is to establish the technical feasibility and economic viability of post-combustion CO{sub 2} capture using flue gas from an existing pulverized coal-fired boiler integrated with geologic sequestration via an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. To achieve these objectives, the project will be executed in three phases. Each phase represents a distinct aspect of the project execution. The project phases are: • Phase I. Project Definition/Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) • Phase ll. Detailed Engineering, Procurement & Construction • Phase III. Demonstration and Monitoring The purpose of Phase I is to develop the project in sufficient detail to facilitate the decision-making process in progressing to the next stage of project delivery. Phase n. This report provides a complete summary of the FEED study effort, including pertinent project background information, the scope of facilities covered, decisions, challenges, and considerations made regarding configuration and performance of the facility, along with the conceptual design and estimate results. The findings of this report should be considered conceptual in nature and are conditioned on the statements contained herein. The cost of preparing this report (including the FEED study described herein) was funded in part by a $167-million grant provided by the U.S. DOE.

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Economic Extraction, Recovery and Upgrading of Rare Earth Elements from Coal-Based Resources (Final Report)

The overall objective of this project is to produce a rare earth elements product with greater than 8% rare earth elements from coal-based resources using an economically viable and environmentally benign processing methodology. The objective of the coal processing work will be to acquire appropriate coal feed and produce a viable clean coal product, a concentrated REE feed stream, and a pyrite stream (where available) that can be used to enhance leaching. The objective of the bio-oxidation portion of the project is to utilize bacteria to oxidize sulfide minerals and ferrous ions to ferric ions to accelerate leaching and remove the sulfides to prevent future acid mine drainage and related liabilities. The objective of the solution conditioning work is to remove iron and control leaching solution conditions to facilitate extraction of REEs without significant thorium extraction. The objective of the column leaching work is to engineer/model and simulate heap leaching to demonstrate low-cost extraction of REEs from coal-based resources. The objective of the solvent extraction work is to selectively extract and recover through controlled stripping of REEs that are solubilized through leaching. The objective of the precipitation portion of the project is to recover the REEs from the solvent extraction stripping solutions and dry them to achieve the final product of rare earth elements that is > 8 % REEs. The objective of the technical, economic, and environmental analysis is to determine the overall viability of the processing approach that is demonstrated in this project

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The National Carbon Capture Center at the Power Systems Development Facility

The Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) is a state-of-the-art test center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and dedicated to the advancement of clean coal technology. In addition to the development of high efficiency coal gasification processes, the PSDF features the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) to promote new technologies for CO 2 capture from coal-derived syngas and flue gas. The NCCC includes multiple, adaptable test skids that allow technology development of CO 2 capture concepts using coal-derived syngas and flue gas in industrial settings. Because of the ability to operate under a wide range of flow rates and process conditions, research at the NCCC can effectively evaluate technologies at various levels of maturity and accelerate their development path to commercialization. During the calendar year 2012 portion of the Budget Period Four reporting period, efforts at the NCCC focused on testing of pre- and post-combustion CO 2 capture processes and gasification support technologies. Preparations for future testing were on-going as well, and involved facility upgrades and collaboration with numerous technology developers. In the area of pre-combustion, testing was conducted on a new water-gas shift catalyst, a CO 2 solvent, and gas separation membranes from four different technology developers, including two membrane systems incorporating major scale-ups. Post-combustion tests involved advanced solvents from three major developers, a gas separation membrane, and two different enzyme technologies. An advanced sensor for gasification operation was evaluated, operation with biomass co-feeding with coal under oxygen-blown conditions was achieved, and progress continued on refining several gasification support technologies.

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Laboratory-Scale Coal-Derived Graphene Process (Final Report)

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) conducted a laboratory-scale coal-derived graphene (CDG) project focused on developing a technological process for making graphene from four U.S. domestic coal or coal wastes, including lignite from North Dakota, subbituminous coal from Wyoming, bituminous coal from Utah, and anthracite from Pennsylvania. The project was divided into two performance or budget periods (BPs), with BP1 comprising the up-front laboratory experiments to make graphene materials from coal beginning on May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2022. BP2 was conducted from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023, and was focused on analyzing the CDG process economic feasibility and the technical gaps for technological scale-up and commercialization. During this project, a few different coal-derived high-value products have been demonstrated, including graphite, graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphene quantum dots (GQDs). A new graphite microstructure was discovered and named “croissant graphite” because of the exterior morphological and textural resemblance to croissant food items sold in commercial groceries stores. The new graphite structure and the associated preparation from coal or coal waste feedstocks has been the subject of a U.S. patent application. The systematic experimental processes involving coal cleaning, upgrading, and conversion to high-value carbon products culminated into a developed upgraded coal-to-products (UCP) technology that is being pursued for potential fast-track commercialization, if funding is available. It is envisioned that commercialization of the UCP technology would increase consumption of U.S. domestic coals or coal wastes to make environmentally sustainable high-value products for the electronics industry, high-energy-storage applications, and clean energy technologies such as electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), for which graphite has become a critical mineral commodity. Croissant graphite microstructures, when observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), display wavy surface morphology and often grow from a base that is made of graphitized particles with honeycomb-like layers, which are believed to be graphene layers. While more studies are needed to fully ascertain the mechanisms of the croissant graphite microstructure formation, it is postulated that their growth may begin from curling of the graphene sheets into ribbon-like structures, and continuous growth and densification of the ribbon-like structures forms croissant microstructures. Additional studies are ongoing to evaluate the electrochemical performance of croissant graphite for LIB applications and to determine the experimental conditions necessary to tune on/off croissant formation so that it can be either optimized or suppressed depending on performance evaluation results. In addition to the discovery of croissant graphite, the graphitization process from the four coal ranks in general was successful. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the degree of graphitization (DoG) ranged from 12% to 80% in an early sample set, and further optimization on lignite coal produces a DoG of about 92%, which was spectacular to see as lignite is the lowest-rank coal. Thus, it is expected that the graphitization performance for higher-rank coals will be similar or better when optimized as well. The coal-derived graphite was used to make GO and rGO. Analytical characterization, e.g., by methods such as Raman spectroscopy, XRD, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and FESEM, showed that the sequence of converting the coal to graphite, exfoliating it to GO, and then chemically reducing the GO to rGO was successful. Although coal naturally contains aromatic compounds and some relatively small-sized condensed aromatic units, it does not contain graphene sheets. In the UCP process, the aromatic domains in the coals, particularly low-rank coals, are concentrated and condensed further into graphene sheets, which are ordered into a 3D stack during graphitization. The synthesized graphite is then unpacked by methods such as exfoliation to various graphene products. GQDs were synthesized from all four coal types, and their optical properties were demonstrated to be tunable by the coal precursor preprocessing treatments. In all four coal types, enhanced optical properties were observed for the produced GDQs with incremental improvements made to the coal precursors. GQDs produced from raw coal samples displayed lower ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy absorbance intensity compared to those obtained from cleaned and upgraded coal residues. The photoluminescence (PL) intensities also varied with pretreatment conditions and with the concentration of GQDs in aqueous solutions. GQDs obtained from anthracite show longer emission wavelengths and can be excited by visible light as opposed to GQDs derived from the other coal ranks. UV fluorescence 3D maps and spectra revealed that the emission wavelength at which the GQDs solutions display the highest intensity was slightly redshifted based on the coal precursor pretreatments. In low-rank coal (lignite and subbituminous) samples, two clusters were observed in the maps for GQDs, which may suggest that there are potentially two types of fluorophores in solution or two main size populations. The ability to tune the properties of GQDs based on processing methods can be exploited to make GQDs for various optical display or optoelectronics applications. The results also highlight the importance of removing coal-borne impurities to improve the quality of the coal precursor for preparation of graphene products. Coal and/or coal wastes preprocessing methods were developed and applied to clean and upgrade the coal precursors prior to graphitization and subsequent conversion to graphene products. The preprocessing methods involve high specific-gravity separations, mineral acid cleaning (no hydrofluoric acid), and subsequent upgrading by reducing the coal-borne heteroatom (nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen) content using proprietary chemical agents. Analytical characterization revealed that the preprocessing steps were successful, with ash reductions that range from 38% to 80% and residual ash content that was below the 5 wt% initial target. Based on proximate and ultimate analysis, the heteroatom reduction reactions produced upgraded coal residues with the oxygen content reduced by 8% to 24%, with additional reductions in the nitrogen and sulfur contents. An initial assessment of the waste streams from the UCP process shows very small to negligible environmental impact due to CO 2 , NO x , and SO x because most process steps are performed under inert atmosphere with argon. Consequently, reactive oxygen environments that tend to create these species are avoided. The inorganic and potentially hazardous species are released into aqueous waste streams that are easy to handle for proper disposal. The liquid waste streams were found to contain low-level concentrations of rare-earth elements (REEs), which could be concentrated and recovered as value-added by-products. Additionally, the volatile and gaseous fractions from carbonization and heat treatment contain useful organic compounds that can also be recovered as potential valuable by-products. Thus, the UCP technology is considered an environmentally sustainable and promising emerging technology for making high-value products from coal and coal wastes, with potential additional value-added by-products. Analysis of potential markets for the coal-derived carbon products shows a strong demand in both niche market sectors and across a wide variety of other industrial sectors. Graphite is currently considered a critical mineral commodity that has a large and growing demand in the LIB industry for EV applications. Based on data from Fortune Business Insights (2022) and Marketwatch (2023) reports, the average global graphite market is projected to reach about 33 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 7%, with much of this growth expected to be in the LIB industry. GO and rGO have strong market potentials in various application areas, such as coatings for anticorrosion, anti-icing, and antimicrobial protection, thermal barriers, wear resistance, sensors, additive manufacturing such as 3D inks, and others. GQDs are the emerging key player in the bioimaging, photovoltaics, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) applications, with the potential to replace traditional semiconductor quantum dots (SQDs), which are based on metallic systems that are more toxic and more expensive. Biomedical applications of GQDs are becoming more attractive because of low to no toxicity and extremely low cost compared to SQDs. The major challenges for scale-up and commercialization of coal-derived carbon products such as graphene vary from the inherent attributes of graphene itself to reluctance to accept graphene in new manufacturing processes because of the uncertainty of the unknown. The 2D nature of graphene materials with a thickness of one atom presents significant challenges to proper handling/processing, and process scale-up becomes difficult because it requires high-end, expensive equipment, even for routine handling and analysis for quality assurance and control. Pristine graphene can also be extremely difficult to work into other matrices, thus hindering downstream processibility, especially at large scale. Currently, the cost of graphene and graphene products is still high and presents an economic risk that tends to slow down investment in scaling up emerging technologies. The lack of a standard for graphene materials for quality assurance and quality control poses a great challenge not only for the markets but also for commercialization efforts. A first-look economic feasibility analysis of the UCP technology provided valuable information that suggests the UCP process would be feasible, especially when it is scaled to a pilot scale and could be more competitive at the full scale. Graphitization was found to be the most energy-consuming and most capital-intensive step in the overall process. In small laboratory- and bench-scale experiments, labor is a significant contributor to the total process costs. Although these energy, capital, and labor constraints contribute to a higher selling price for the product, a preliminary economic model suggests that the process would be feasible at large scale when the process is fully integrated, optimized, and automated.

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Collaborative simulations and experiments for a novel yield model of coal devolatilization in oxy-coal combustion conditions

Oxy-coal combustion is an emerging low-cost “clean coal” technology for emissions reduction and Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools is crucial for the development of cost-effective oxy-fuel technologies and the minimization of environmental concerns at industrial scale. The coupling of detailed chemistry models and CFD simulations is still challenging, especially for large-scale plants, because of the high computational efforts required. The development of scale-bridging models is therefore necessary, to find a good compromise between computational efforts and the physical-chemical modeling precision. This paper presents a procedure for scale-bridging modeling of coal devolatilization, in the presence of experimental error, that puts emphasis on the thermodynamic aspect of devolatilization, namely the final volatile yield of coal, rather than kinetics. The procedure consists of an engineering approach based on dataset consistency and Bayesian methodology including Gaussian-Process Regression (GPR). Experimental data from devolatilization tests carried out in an oxy-coal entrained flow reactor were considered and CFD simulations of the reactor were performed. Jointly evaluating experiments and simulations, a novel yield model was validated against the data via consistency analysis. In parallel, a Gaussian-Process Regression was performed, to improve the understanding of the uncertainty associated to the devolatilization, based on the experimental measurements. Potential model forms that could predict yield during devolatilization were obtained. The set of model forms obtained via GPR includes the yield model that was proven to be consistent with the data. Finally, the overall procedure has resulted in a novel yield model for coal devolatilization and in a valuable evaluation of uncertainty in the data, in the model form, and in the model parameters.

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Coal desulfurization with iron pentacarbonyl

Coal desulfurization with iron pentacarbonyl treatment under mild conditions removes up to eighty percent of organic sulfur. Preliminary tests on treatment process suggest it may be economical enough to encourage investigation of use for coal desulfurization. With mild operating conditions, process produces environmentally-acceptable clean coal at reasonable cost.

Hsu, G. C.↗

RETHINKING THE FUTURE GRID: INTEGRATED NUCLEAR-RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

The 2013 electricity generation mix in the United States consisted of ~13% renewables (hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal), 19% nuclear, 27% natural gas, and 39% coal. In the 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama set a clean energy goal for the nation: “By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal we will need them all.” The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Offices of Nuclear Energy (NE) and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) recognize that “all of the above” means that we are called to best utilize all available clean energy sources. To meet the stated environmental goals for electricity generation and for the broader energy sector, there is a need to transform the energy infrastructure of the U.S. and elsewhere. New energy systems must be capable of significantly reducing environmental impacts in an efficient and economically viable manner while utilizing both hydrocarbon resources and clean energy generation sources. The U.S. DOE is supporting research and development that could lead to more efficient utilization of clean energy generation sources, including renewable and nuclear options, to meet both grid demand and thermal energy needs in the industrial sector. A concept being advanced by the DOE-NE and DOE-EERE is tighter coupling of nuclear and renewable energy sources in a manner that better optimizes energy use for the combined electricity, industrial manufacturing, and the transportation sectors. This integration concept has been referred to as a “hybrid system” that is capable of apportioning thermal and electrical energy to first meet the grid demand (with appropriate power conversion systems), then utilizing excess thermal and, in some cases, electrical energy to drive a process that results in an additional product. For the purposes of the present work, the hybrid system would integrate two or more energy resources to generate two or more products, one of which must be an energy commodity, such as electricity or transportation fuel. Subsystems would be integrated ‘‘behind’’ the electrical transmission bus and would be comprised of two or more energy conversion subsystems that have traditionally been separate or isolated. Energy flows would be dynamically apportioned as necessary to meet grid demand via a single, highly responsive connection to the grid that provides dispatchable electricity while capital-intensive generation assets operate at full capacity. Candidate region-specific hybrid energy systems selected for further study and figures of merit that will be used to assess system performance will be presented.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Conversion of Low-Rank Wyoming Coals into Gasoline by Direct Liquefaction

Under the cooperative agreement program of DOE and funding from Wyoming State’s Clean Coal Task Force, Western Research Institute and Thermosolv LLC studied the direct conversion of Wyoming coals and coal-lignin mixed feeds into liquid fuels in conditions highly relevant to practice. During the Phase I, catalytic direct liquefaction of sub-bituminous Wyoming coals was investigated. The process conditions and catalysts were identified that lead to a significant increase of desirable oil fraction in the products. The Phase II work focused on systematic study of solvothermal depolymerization (STD) and direct liquefaction (DCL) of carbonaceous feedstocks. The effect of the reaction conditions (the nature of solvent, solvent/lignin ratio, temperature, pressure, heating rate, and residence time) on STD was investigated. The effect of a number of various additives (including lignin, model lignin compounds, lignin-derivable chemicals, and inorganic radical initiators), solvents, and catalysts on DCL has been studied. Although a significant progress has been achieved in developing solvothermal depolymerization, the side reactions – formation of considerable amounts of char and gaseous products – as well as other drawbacks do not render aqueous media as the most appropriate choice for commercial implementation of STD for processing coals and lignins. The trends and effects discovered in DCL point at the specific features of liquefaction mechanism that are currently underutilized yet could be exploited to intensify the process. A judicious choice of catalysts, solvents, and additives might enable practical and economically efficient direct conversion of Wyoming coals into liquid fuels.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Design and Test of a Pintle Injector for Oxy-Coal Combustion

This paper presents the design and fluid spray profile of a modular pintle injector for pressurized oxy-coal combustion systems. Although pintle injectors have been traditionally used in rocket engines, it presents a promising approach in clean coal combustion technology due to effectiveness and enhanced performance. Thus, a detailed design of a pintle injection developed for pressurized oxy-coal combustion has been presented in this work. Additionally, the fluid injection and spray angles have been characterized through shadowgraph imaging. Furthermore, droplet size, Reynolds number, Weber number and Ohnesorge number have also been characterize through shadowgraphy. At the highest mass flow of gaseous propellant, the spray presents the smallest droplet size. Comparisons between different concentrations of weight are achieved. Ohnesorge and Reynolds are compared to determine atomization mechanisms

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Evaluation of Dry Sorbent Injection Technology for Pre-Combustion CO{sub 2} Capture

This document summarizes the work performed on Cooperative Agreement DE-FE0000465, “Evaluation of Dry Sorbent Technology for Pre-Combustion CO{sub 2} Capture,” during the period of performance of January 1, 2010 through September 30, 2013. This project involves the development of a novel technology that combines a dry sorbent-based carbon capture process with the water-gas-shift reaction for separating CO{sub 2} from syngas. The project objectives were to model, develop, synthesize and screen sorbents for CO{sub 2} capture from gasified coal streams. The project was funded by the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory with URS as the prime contractor. Illinois Clean Coal Institute and The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were project co-funders. The objectives of this project were to identify and evaluate sorbent materials and concepts that were suitable for capturing carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from warm/hot water-gas-shift (WGS) systems under conditions that minimize energy penalties and provide continuous gas flow to advanced synthesis gas combustion and processing systems. Objectives included identifying and evaluating sorbents that efficiently capture CO{sub 2} from a gas stream containing CO{sub 2}, carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) at temperatures as high as 650 °C and pressures of 400-600 psi. After capturing the CO{sub 2}, the sorbents would ideally be regenerated using steam, or other condensable purge vapors. Results from the adsorption and regeneration testing were used to determine an optimal design scheme for a sorbent enhanced water gas shift (SEWGS) process and evaluate the technical and economic viability of the dry sorbent approach for CO{sub 2} capture. Project work included computational modeling, which was performed to identify key sorbent properties for the SEWGS process. Thermodynamic modeling was used to identify optimal physical properties for sorbents and helped down-select from the universe of possible sorbent materials to seven that were deemed thermodynamically viable for the process. Molecular modeling was used to guide sorbent synthesis through first principles simulations of adsorption and regeneration. Molecular dynamics simulations also modeled the impact of gas phase impurities common in gasified coal streams (e.g., H{sub 2}S) on the adsorption process. The role of inert dopants added for mechanical durability to active sorbent materials was also investigated through molecular simulations. Process simulations were conducted throughout the project to help determine the overall feasibility of the process and to help guide laboratory operating conditions. A large component of the program was the development of sorbent synthesis methods. Three different approaches were used: mechanical alloying (MA), flame spray pyrolysis (FSP), and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). Sorbents were characterized by a host of analytical techniques and screened for SEWGS performance using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). A feedback loop from screening efforts to sorbent synthesis was established and used throughout the project lifetime. High temperature, high pressure reactor (HTPR) systems were constructed to test the sorbents at conditions mimicking the SEWGS process as identified through process modeling. These experiments were conducted at the laboratory scale to examine sorbents for their CO{sub 2} capacity, conversion of CO to CO{sub 2}, and impacts of adsorption and regeneration conditions, and syngas composition (including impurities and H2O:CO ratio). Results from the HTPR testing showed sorbents with as high as 0.4 g{sub CO{sub 2}}/g{sub sorbent} capacity with the ability to initially shift the WGS completely towards CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}. A longer term experiment with a simple syngas matrix and N{sub 2}/steam regeneration stream showed a USP sorbent to be stable through 50 adsorption-regeneration cycles, though the sorbent tested had a somewhat diminished initial capacity. The program culminated in a technoeconomic assessment in which two different approaches were taken; one approach was intended to be technically conservative while the second required several key engineering challenges to be met in order to succeed. The project team is confident that, with the proper support, those challenges could be met. The second approach relies on a slipstream of H{sub 2} from the shifted syngas and O{sub 2} from an air separation unit (ASU) to be combusted in the presence of the sorbent for regeneration; termed a regenerating boiler. The approach also makes use of the heat of adsorption to generate >400 MW of turbine quality steam; total plant gross energy output as high as 1 GW was estimated for an IGCC with an initial gross energy output of 737 MW, without any additional coal usage. The regenerating boiler concept could benefit further from additional heat integration, but the results of this effort show a COE of $97.50 per MWh for a rational combination of operating parameters and sorbent lifetime as well as conservative estimates for steam turbines, gas turbine, and ASU. If the COE of CO{sub 2} transmission, storage and monitoring ($5.60 / MWh) is added to the base case for an IGCC ($81.30 / MWh for Case 5 from the DOE Bituminous Coal Report), the cost of CO{sub 2} capture for the regenerating boiler was only $10.60 / MWh; other regenerating boiler cases are as low $6.90 / MWh. The project met all agreed upon milestones and was completed within budget, more than 25% cost share provided by the project team. Results from the program showed that the SEWGS process has great promise, and with further study and evaluation could become a component of a comprehensive carbon capture program. SEWGS requires a paradigm shift in the traditional approach to carbon capture because the regenerating boiler concept is not a ‘back-end’ solution to CO{sub 2} mitigation. Rather, it is an integral part of the plant operations and is responsible for generating more electricity than the IGCC itself. Schemes could be envisioned where the H{sub 2} production is used exclusively to regenerate the sorbent, with any excess sold as a commodity, and the heat of adsorption serving as the primary driver for power generation. Further work with sorbent evaluation, process modeling and heat integration, and scale-up would be needed to more fully vet SEWGS, but the culmination of this program indicates that additional study is warranted.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Analysis Baseline for United States Coal Mining and Delivery

The goal of this study is to highlight the environmental impacts from upstream coal production to its delivery at a power plant. This study is meant to characterize different coal basins, coal types, and mine types used to produce electric power in the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) regions in the United States using a functional unit of 1 kg of coal. The boundary of this study includes underground or surface extraction, water use at the mine, ventilation, coal handling, coal cleaning, mine tailing disposal, and transportation via conveyer belt, truck, ocean vessel, barge, and train. See the following URLs for accompanying documents: NETL Coal Baseline Model - Transportation Inventories: https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=27ea1ba4-6ea9-4ee5-8b32-d7fce7f4e1e0. NETL Coal Baseline Model - Basin Inventories: https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=0f290eed-5e4b-4b5f-bec0-36b0ea89c6e5. NETL Coal Baseline Model - Excel file: https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=0dc18730-4214-4878-8a0f-d1941c45123c. NETL Coal Baseline Model - Open LCA model: https://www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analysis/details?id=0c0dde04-0d3c-4c7f-bd33-2745e061b8e0.

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Long Term Environment and Economic Impacts of Coal Liquefaction in China

The project currently is composed of six specific tasks – three research tasks, two outreach and training tasks, and one project management and communications task. Task 1 addresses project management and communication. Research activities focused on Task 2 (Describe and Quantify the Economic Impacts and Implications of the Development and Deployment of Coal-to-Liquid Facilities in China), Task 3 (Development of Alternative Coal Gasification Database), and Task 4 (Geologic Carbon Management Options). There also were significant activities related to Task 5 (US-China Communication, Collaboration, and Training on Clean Coal Technologies) as well as planning activity performed in support of Task 6 (Training Programs).

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Characterization of Oxy-Coal Swirl Injector

The article presents the design and testing of a coal-slurry swirl-pintle injector for high pressure oxy-coal combustion systems. Pressurized oxy-coal combustion-based systems have the potential to improve efficiency by recovering latent heat of the steam in flue gas and achieve 90% CO2 capture. In oxy-coal combustion, coal is burned in the presence of pure oxygen, which results in higher efficiency and less greenhouse gas in the exhaust. With the advancement of pressurized oxy-coal combustor research, there is a need to investigate injector technology suitable for this unique combustion approach. Effective atomization and mixing of coal-slurry and oxidizer pose a challenge for the efficient burning of coal particles. A swirl-pintle type injector was designed and tested to enhance the atomization of the coal-water slurry spray by adding a swirl to the oxygen flow path. Although pintle type injectors are traditionally used in rocket engines, they present a promising approach in clean coal combustion technology due to higher mixing effectiveness and enhanced performance. The mixing behavior of three pintle injectors with different swirl numbers (S = 0, 0.9, and 1.2) was tested using a high-speed shadow sizing technique. Mixture ratios of 30% (by mass) coal-water slurry were studied. The droplet diameter and dispersion characteristics were determined from shadow images of coal-water spray. The jet breakup length, droplet number, total moment ratio (TMR), and Ohnesorge number were then calculated to compare the performance of different injectors. The paper presents an empirical correlation of the TMR with droplet size and spray regimes. For a pintle injector with S = 1.2 swirler, the droplets diameter was found to be in the range of 1 mm to 12 mm. The jet breakup length was also shorter in comparison to S= 0 and 0.9 injectors. A second atomization zone was also observed at 2 and 5 diameters downstream of injector exist at spray edge and jet core respectively

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

SUBTASK 3.12 – GASIFICATION, WARM-GAS CLEANUP, AND LIQUID FUELS PRODUCTION WITH ILLINOIS COAL

The goal of this project was to evaluate the performance of Illinois No. 6 coal blended with biomass in a small-scale entrained-flow gasifier and demonstrate the production of liquid fuels under three scenarios. The first scenario used traditional techniques for cleaning the syngas prior to Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis, including gas sweetening with a physical solvent. In the second scenario, the CO2 was not removed from the gas stream prior to FT synthesis. In the third scenario, only warm-gas cleanup techniques were used, such that the feed gas to the FT unit contained both moisture and CO2. The results of the testing showed that the liquid fuels production from the FT catalyst was significantly hindered by the presence of moisture and CO2 in the syngas. Further testing would be needed to determine if this thermally efficient process is feasible with other FT catalysts. This subtask was funded through the EERC–U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-08NT43291. Nonfederal funding was provided by the Illinois Clean Coal Institute.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Final Performance Report

U.S./China Energy and Environmental Technology Center (EETC), Payson Center for International Development, Law School of Tulane University was officially established in 1997 with initial funds from private sector, US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy (DOE.) Lately, DOE has provided EETC funds for operations with cost share from the Ministry of Science and Technology, China. EETC was created to facilitate the development of friendly, broad-based U.S./China relations. Tulane University signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (1995) to promote the formation of Chinese partners for EETC. EETC’s original goal is to enhance the competitiveness of US clean fossil energy technology in China so that, as her economy expands, local and global environment are well protected. Specifically, through the demonstration and broadly deployment of US developed clean coal technology for power generation, transmission, and emission reductions in China. EETC is also focused on US industry partnerships for local economic development. One of the main the objectives of the EETC is to promote the efficient, responsible production and utilization of energy with a focus on clean fossil energy, promote US clean energy and environmental technologies, and encourage environmental performance while improving the quality of life in China. Another objective is to assist China with environmental and energy policy development and provide supports for China’s development with expertise (best practices) from US industry.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗