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More Electricity, Lower Emissions
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced the testing of the Lignite Fuel
Enhancement System, a new process that could dramatically reduce air emissions
from certain coal-based power plants while boosting overall generating capacity.
The project, conducted by Greater River Energy, will test the Lignite Fuel
Enhancement System and is expected to boost the generating capacity and efficiency
of power
plants that burn high-moisture lignite coal, thereby reducing air pollutants
and greenhouse gases. The new technology uses “waste” heat to dry
nearly a quarter of the moisture in the coal before it is fed into the power
plant boiler.
“President Bush is committed to improving air quality throughout the nation,” Secretary
Abraham said. “This project demonstrates that environmental protection
and energy production are not competing priorities. With advanced clean-coal
technologies, we can enjoy clear skies while maximizing our use of our most
abundant domestic energy resource.”
The Great River Energy project is one of eight selected in the initial phase
of President Bush’s Clean Coal Power initiative, a 10-year, $2 billion
commitment to clean coal technology and a key component of the National Energy
Policy. The program competitively seeks commercial-scale technology demonstrations
to continue and expand the use of coal as a fuel source.
Great River Energy and its research partners will conduct the project at
Great River Energy’s Coal Creek Station in Underwood, ND. The $25.6 million project
will be administered by the Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy,
and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The Energy Department
is expected to provide $11 million for the project over its 45 month duration.
In the project’s first phase, a prototype module will be designed to
dry about one-sixth of the coal fed to a 546-megawatt (MW) unit at the Coal
Creek
Station. Following successful demonstration of the prototype, Great River Energy
will design, construct, and perform full-scale, long-term operational testing
on a complete set of dryer modules needed for full power operation of one of
the 546-MW units. The coal will be dried to several different moisture levels.
The effects of coal drying on plant performance will be measured, and optimum
operating conditions will be determined.
The researchers will use North Dakota lignite, which typically contains about
40 percent moisture. By drying the lignite first, they expect to lower its
moisture content by at least10 percentage points, resulting in an estimated
2.8 percent
to 5 percent efficiency improvement in the plant. This improvement translates
into 25 percent less emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2), and 7 percent less
emissions of mercury, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates
per unit
of electricity output.
Successful commercial application of the technology could result in striking
benefits nationwide. In the United States today, 35 power-generation units,
with an installed capacity of 15-gigawatts (GW), burn lignite; 250 units,
with an
installed capacity of about 100-GW, burn Powder River Basin coal, a subbituminous
coal with a high moisture content. Over the next two decades, the capacity
of power plants burning high-moisture coals is projected to increase by
another 100-GW.
If applied by power plants totaling just 10-GW, the technology would significantly
reduce air emissions in the United States, estimated at 6,890 tons per
year of NOx. 18,360 tons per year of SO2, more than seven million tons
per year
of carbon
dioxide, 9,340 tons per year of particulates, and almost 300 pounds per
year of mercury.
In addition to the Energy Department and Great River Energy, project
partners include the Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto,
CA; Lehigh University,
Bethlehem, PA; Barr Engineering, Minneapolis, MN; and Falkirk Mining
and Couteau Properties, Underwood, ND.
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