Thermodynamic and environmental assessment of integrated gasification and methanol synthesis (IGMS) energy systems with CO2 removal

Environmental and technical concerns arise from the extensive utilization of the huge world coal reserves. They can nowadays be overcome only resorting to advanced energy conversion technologies. Integrated coal gasification and methanol synthesis power plants can perform a load-following service, by producing and storing liquid methanol, and reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, by removing CO2 and disposing it outside the atmosphere. In this paper, a comparative performance analysis among the different IGMS power plants has been carried out, by evaluating the influence of the coal gasification and methanol synthesis technologies on the main performance characteristics, such as the methanol production, the specific CO2 emissions and the overall efficiency. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.