INTEGRATION OF COAL UTILIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL-CONTROL IN INTEGRATED GASIFICATION COMBINED CYCLE SYSTEMS

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) systems are a new generation of coal-fueled power generation technologies which embody the concept of integrated environmental control. IGCC systems are capable of significantly lower discharge rates of gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes relative to conventional coal-based systems. However, because few IGCC concepts have been demonstrated at a commercial scale, there is significant uncertainty regarding the technical and environmental performance of many of these systems in full-scale applications. Examples of IGCC system concepts involving both cold and hot gas cleanup are evaluated probabilistically to provide insights into the resulting differences in plant performance, emissions, and cost. For the specific technologies evaluated here, hot gas cleanup offers the potential for higher efficiency and lower cost than cold gas cleanup, but additional considerations may be required to reduce NO(x) emissions.