Coal-Fired Generators Can Be Green
Emissions from coal-fired power plants can be as low as desired. It is just a function of cost. In fact, coal plants can be net reducers of particulate matter and can actually generate water rather than consume it. Data supporting these claims is included in “Power Plant Knowledge System” supplied by the McIlvaine Company.
Unpaved roads are the source of more fine particulate matter than are power plants. The way to reduce these emissions is to apply calcium chloride twice a year. However, states do not have the funds to buy this expensive chemical. ,Power plants now discharge hydrogen chloride into the air or water. By using chloride pre-scrubbers, the HCl could be captured and nearly one million tons of calcium chloride could be made available for reducing fine particulate from unpaved roads. The end result would be that the coal-fired power plant would be a net reducer of fine particulate.
The water consumption of coal-fired power plants is a concern. However, by using dry cooling one large demand for water is eliminated. By using a condensing heat exchanger, the scrubber can become a net producer of water (using the hydrogen in the coal) rather than a consumer. The only problem with this approach is the need for an outlet for all the waste heat captured. Given the price of natural gas, some industries are moving offshore. A cheap source of heat could inspire a manufacturer to move next to a power plant rather than to another country. Also district heating and cooling would be a perfect use of this heat.
A further potential use of this waste heat is to extract drinking water from seawater in a low temperature process presently being funded by DOE. The net benefit of the condensing heat exchanger is not only the water savings but the improvement in the efficiency of the generation system. This results in the equivalent reduction of greenhouse gases.
The co-firing of biomass with coal makes the coal-fired power plant a renewable energy provider. , Many plants in Europe and some in the U.S. are co-firing wood waste, sewage sludge, agricultural waste and other biomass forms. The Didcot plant in the UK has contracted with local farmers to grow biomass in sufficient quantity to account for 10 percent of the total fuel.
Contrary to the popular belief a new pulverized coal plant can achieve emissions of NO x , SO 2 , particulate and mercury close to that of a coal gasification system and with supercritical boiler technology can limit CO 2 emissions to comparable levels.
Pulverized coal plants should be given consideration along with other alternatives. The decision should be made based on the cost to achieve certain emission levels and not to exclude one source as being inherently dirtier.
For more information on the Power Plant Knowledge System click on http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/energy.html#44I or contact:
McIlvaine Company
191 Waukegan Road – Suite 208
Northfield , IL 60093
Tel: 847-784-0012, Fax: 847-784-0061
Send an email
www.mcilvainecompany.com
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