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FRONT END ENGINEERING DESIGN

2012-09-05

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GENSER POWER GHANA

FRONT END
ENGINEERING DESIGN

EMMA BENJAMINSON
7/9/2012

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Table of Contents
Table of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... 4
A. COAL GASIFICATION SYSTEM ................................................................................................................. 5
List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Phase 1 ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 6
A1 Coal Delivery System ........................................................................................................................ 9
A1.1 80T Coal Storage Hopper ........................................................................................................... 9
A1.2 20T Coal Storage Container ..................................................................................................... 11
A1.3 Coal Feeding Hopper ............................................................................................................... 12
A2 Gasifier and Blast Medium Supply .................................................................................................. 13
A2.1 Air Blower ................................................................................................................................ 13
A2.2 Blending Chamber for Blast Medium ....................................................................................... 13
A2.3 Steam Tank (3 Bar)................................................................................................................... 14
A2.4 Steam Tank (0.5 Bar)................................................................................................................ 14
A2.5 Gasifier .................................................................................................................................... 16
A2.6 Hydraulic Ash Handling System................................................................................................ 19
A3 Gas Cleaning Equipment ................................................................................................................. 20
A3.1 Cyclone .................................................................................................................................... 21
A3.2 Heat Exchanger ........................................................................................................................ 23
A3.3 Air Cooler................................................................................................................................. 25
A3.4 Electrostatic Precipitator 1 ...................................................................................................... 27
A3.5 Indirect Cooler ......................................................................................................................... 28
A3.6 Electrostatic Precipitator 2 ...................................................................................................... 30
A3.7 Pressure Adder ........................................................................................................................ 31
A4 Phenolic Water System................................................................................................................... 31
A4.1 Phenolic Water Supply Pool ..................................................................................................... 31
A5 Tar Disposal System ........................................................................................................................ 32
A6 Waste Water System ...................................................................................................................... 32

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A7 Soft Water System .......................................................................................................................... 32


A7.1 Sodium Ion Exchanger ............................................................................................................. 32
Phase 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 33
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 33
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 34

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Table of Figures
Figure 1: Gasification System Layout ......................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2: Engineering Drawing of Gasifier ................................................................................................ 15
Figure 3: Cyclone ..................................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 4: Heat Exchanger ......................................................................................................................... 23
Figure 5: Engineering Drawing of Air Cooler ............................................................................................ 25
Figure 6: C-60 Electrostatic Precipitator 1................................................................................................ 27
Figure 7: Indirect Cooler .......................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 8: C-97 Electrostatic Precipitator 2................................................................................................ 30

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A. COAL GASIFICATION SYSTEM


List of Acronyms
SP
D
CF
CS
CSC
CFH
H
AB
BB
SD1
SD2
G
A

Suction Pump
Dust Plant
80T Coal Feeder
Coal Sifter
20T Coal Storage Container
Coal Feeding Hopper
Hoister
Air Blower
Blending Bin for Blast Medium
3 Bar Steam Drum
0.5 Bar Steam Drum
Coal Gasifier
Hydraulic Ash Handling System

Cyclone

Heat Exchanger

AC

Air Cooler

ESP1
IC
ESP2
PA
PW

C-60 Electrical De-Tarrer


Indirect Cooler
C-97 Electrical De-Oiler
Pressure Adder
Phenolic Water Pool

PWP
I
TT

Phenolic Water Pump


Phenolic Water Incinerator
Tar Tank

TP
CWT
CWP
SWT
SWP
SIE

Tar Pump
Cold Circulation Water Tank
Circulating Water Pump
Soft Water Tank
Soft Water Pump
Sodium Ion Exchanger

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Phase 1
Introduction
The coal gasification system takes coal as an input fuel and outputs synthetic gas (referred to as
syngas) to be fired by the supplementary burners that produce steam for the steam turbine. Coal
gasification is the first step in power generation. It involves taking the coal from the tipper trucks and
delivering it to the gasifiers, burning the coal to produce syngas, and then removing tar and dust from
the syngas and sending it on to the supplementary burners.
The coal gasification system consists of a coal delivery sub-system, a gasifier, and a gas cleaning subsystem. During Phase 1 four gasifiers will be in operation, supplied by one central coal delivery subsystem and soft water, waste water and phenolic water sub-system. However, each gasifier will have its
own set of gas cleaning equipment.
The coal delivery sub-system uses an 80 ton coal storage hopper to collect coal from tipper trucks. The
tipper trucks will deposit the coal on the ground near the hopper, and a pay-loader will transfer the coal
into the hopper. The coal is deposited onto a conveyer belt and sent to a coal sifter that separates coal
dust from the optimum-sized briquettes. The acceptable coal is then sent to a 20 ton storage hopper
which deposits coal into a coal feeding bucket. The bucket is hoisted to the top of the gasifier tower and
deposits coal into the gasifier.
As coal enters the gasifier, it is goes through four separate processes. These processes occur at gradually
higher temperatures as the coal descends to the bottom of the gasifier where complete combustion
takes place. First, the coal is dried near the top of the gasifier chamber and then it undergoes pyrolysis,
where the coal is converted to coke. Pyrolysis will produce some upstage gas which is piped out of the
upper part of the gasifier; the flow will carry a high percentage of tar vapors out with the syngas. The
coke next will undergo incomplete combustion, or gasification. The rest of the gas is produced at this
stage, and it will have a high dust content as it is piped out of the gasifier. The remaining coal
particulates will drop to the bottom of the gasifier and burn on top of a fire grate, which produces the
heat for the gasifiers reactions.
The upstage and downstage gases are cleaned separately because they carry different contaminants.
The upstage gas passes through an electrostatic precipitator which cleans the gas of tar vapors. The
downstage gas passes through a cyclone to remove the dust particles, and then a heat exchanger and an
air cooler to cool the gas so that it will be at about 100C when it enters the indirect cooler and mixes
with the upstage gas, which will also enter the cooler at 100C. From the indirect cooler, the mixed gas
passes through a second electrostatic precipitator to better clean the gas. Finally, the gas passes through
a series of pressure adders which raise the pressure of the syngas entering the supplementary burners.

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Below is a conceptual layout of the gasification system.

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Figure 1: Gasification System Layout

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A1 Coal Delivery System


The coal delivery system takes coal from the tipper trucks and conveys it to the top of the gasifiers.
Tipper trucks offload the coal onto the ground near the coal storage shed, and a pay-loader transfers it
into an 80T coal hopper which deposits the coal onto a conveyer belt that carries it to a coal sifter. The
sifter removes coal powder from the supply of coal that is passed on to a 20T coal storage hopper. The
storage hopper can be periodically opened to fill the coal feeding bucket, which is hoisted up to the top
floor of the gasification tower.
There is a piping system installed alongside this system which is connected to a suction pump; the pipes
suck up coal dust that is generated and store it in a sealed dust plant. The piping system has outlets at
the dispenser where coal from the feeder drops onto a rising conveyer belt, at the coal sorter and at the
coal storage hopper. The dust plant (as well as the coal powder from the sifter) is periodically emptied
into a truck and taken to the Kojokrom coal storage facility to be disposed of.
A1.1 80T Coal Storage Hopper
The pay-loaders load coal into the 80T coal storage hopper which dispenses the coal onto a horizontal
conveyer belt. The hopper is manually opened and closed to dispense coal onto the conveyer. One
tipper truck can carry 40T of coal, so two trucks can fill the hopper to capacity. One gasifier consumes
3.2T of coal per hour, so the total quantity of coal consumed in a day is:

Where:
= coal consumption rate for 1 gasifier
= number of gasifiers
= total coal consumption rate
= operational period (i.e. 24 hours)
= total amount of coal consumed in operational period
For this situation, the total amount of coal required for a 24 hour operational period is 307.2T. The total
number of trucks needed to deliver 307.2T of coal every day is:

Where:
= mass of coal carried by 1 truck
= number of trucks

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From this calculation, 8 truckloads of coal need to be delivered to the plant every day, and this will fill
the hopper to capacity about 4 times.
Coal Feeders
There are two main types of coal feeders in industry: volumetric and gravimetric flow feeders.
Volumetric feeders control the flow of the coal by the volume that passes through the feeder. There are
four main types of volumetric feeders: screw, belt, rotary valve and vibrating pan feeders. Gravimetric
feeders control the mass flow rate of the coal, in two ways: continuously, by modulating the mass flow
over time, or in batches, by depositing a certain mass of coal and then shutting off. Gravimetric feeders
can be either loss-in-weight or weigh belt feeders.
Coal is heterogeneous in its properties; the density and heating value of different pieces of coal within a
sample can vary significantly, which can introduce variation in the performance of the gasifier. For
example, denser coal with a higher heating value will produce more gas and create higher internal
temperatures and pressures than lighter coal with a lower heating value.
Volumetric flow control will allow both the variations in density and heating value to affect the
performance of the gasifier, because the flow of coal is controlled by volume, not by weight. Conversely,
gravimetric flow control eliminates the error due to density variation in the coal, because it sends a
constant mass of coal to the gasifier. As a result, gravimetric flow control is more accurate than
volumetric flow control, and facilitates more efficient operation of the gasifier. Other advantages of
gravimetric flow control include:
- Greater accuracy in controlling combustion reaction
- Improved efficiency
- Improved pressure control
- Reduced fuel consumption
- Less coal slag, which reduces clogging in the gasifier
- Less NOx produced, which reduces environmental impact
- Less corrosion of equipment
- Improved stability and rapidity of response from combustion controls
- Reduced O&M costs
- Improved overall performance
- Safer operation
Advantages and Disadvantages
There are some advantages and disadvantages to Gensers choice to use a manually-controlled coal
feeding system with the 80T hopper:

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Low maintenance:- The manual feeder has fewer moving parts and is a simpler design so it will
require less maintenance than an automated feeder system.
Inexpensive:- Again, the manual feeders simple design reduces the capital and installation costs
for this system.
Easier installation:- The manual feeder will not need to be connected to the main control
system because it is not automated. In addition, it will have fewer parts and will be more
compact than an automated feeder.
Requires operator attendance:- Since the feeder is not automatic, an operator will have to open
and close it during operation; this could add personnel costs and time delays in comparison with
an automated system.
Less precise coal feeding:- The manual feeder has no mechanism for measuring the mass or
volume of the coal that is being sent to the gasifier, so the operator will not be able to precisely
control the flow of coal into the gasification system.

A1.2 20T Coal Storage Container


This 20T coal storage container is used to store the coal from the sifter, and to load coal into the feeding
bucket. The coal delivery system works as a batch process. An operator will run the delivery system until
the coal storage container has been filled up to a certain level, then the delivery system will be switched
off. The container can be opened manually to allow coal to fill the feeding hopper. When the storage
container is nearly empty, an operator can restart the coal delivery system to refill the container.
The 20T coal storage hopper has an electromagnetic vibrator screen to filter dust out of the coal supply
before it enters the gasifier, and to improve the movement of coal from the container to the hopper. It
is important to remove the dust before it enters the gasifier because it can clog the gasifier and prevent
gas from circulating in the gasifier and leaving it.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The vibrating pan feeder that is used with the 20T coal storage container is a volumetric flow control
device, which has some disadvantages as well as advantages:
Volumetric flow control is less precise:- As described in the previous section, volumetric flow
control allows both the density and the heating value of the coal to vary, which causes greater
variations in gasifier performance than would be obtained using a gravimetric flow control
device. However, since the 20T coal storage container does not feed directly into the gasifier,
the error that the volumetric feeder introduces can be mitigated by further flow controls down
the line.
Material can pack instead of flow:- A vibrating pan feeder can sometimes cause the material in
the hopper to pack, instead of flow outwards.

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Robust design:- The vibrating pan has a simple, rugged design which is ideal for this equipment
since it will be outside for several years. The feeder can also be enclosed so that coal dust does
not escape into the atmosphere.
Continuous coal discharge:- The vibrating pan feeder provides continuous coal discharge into
the feeding hopper while its operating.

A1.3 Coal Feeding Hopper


The feeding hopper receives coal that has been sorted and delivers it to the gasifier. The feeding bucket
has a diameter of about 1.5m and is about 1.1m high, so its total capacity is:

Where :
= diameter of the feeding bucket
= height of the feeding bucket
= volume of the feeding bucket
This feeding buckets total capacity is 6.9 m3. Bituminous coal has an approximate density of 830kg/m3,
so a capacity of 6.9m3 equates to a total mass of:
Where:
= density of bituminous coal
= total mass of coal that feeding bucket can contain
According to these calculations, each bucket of coal can therefore deliver about 5.7T of coal to the
gasifier.
The hoister for the bucket is electrically operated; an operator has to activate the hoister. There is a reel
system that carries the bucket up to the top of the gasification tower and across to the coal bunker at
the top of the gasifier. An operator has to then manually tip the bucket to offload the coal into the
bunker.
There are two buckets that service the four gasifiers, although one bucket is usually on standby. The
hoister will lift the coal bucket to the top of the gasification tower and then a reel system can carry the
bucket to all four gasifiers to fill the coal bunkers. If the gasifiers are operating at full capacity, then the
second bucket can be added to the system to increase the rate of coal delivery. The system is organized
this way because one bucket can deliver coal to all four gasifiers at a faster rate than the gasifiers can
consume the coal. Therefore, the reel system is built so that one bucket can be hoisted up to feed one

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gasifier, and then refilled and hoisted up to feed a second gasifier, and so on. The bucket will refill the
first coal bunker before it has exhausted its supply of coal.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Low maintenance:- This system is simple because it uses at most two coal buckets and one
hoister, so it will require less maintenance than if each gasifier had its own bucket and hoister.
Less expensive:- Again, the simple design reduces the capital cost of the bucket and hoister
system.

A2 Gasifier and Blast Medium Supply


The coal gasifier takes coal as its primary input, but it also requires a blast medium to fuel the
combustion in the fire grate. The blast medium is composed of steam and air. A series of 3 air blowers
sends air to a blending chamber to be mixed with 0.5 bar steam. The blast medium then flows from the
blending chamber to the bottom of the gasifier.
When coal is burned on the fire grate, it produces ash as a final product; this ash is collected in an ash
tray at the base of the gasifier. A hydraulic ash handling system empties the tray of ash continuously to
prevent the gasifier from clogging up.
A2.1 Air Blower
The air blowers supply compressed air to the blast medium for the combustion process in the gasifier.
There are three air blowers in the system which feed all four gasifiers. They send air to the blending bins
at a temperature of 30C, at 12 m/s with a pressure of 11.776 kPa. Only two air blowers are operating at
any time; the third is a standby in case another blower fails.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Simple and robust design:- The engineering team decided to use three air blowers to supply the
entire system (with two operating and one on standby) because this design was adequate for
the needs of the system. The extra air blower on standby makes the system more robust
because if one blower fails, the gasification system will still be able to run at full capacity.
A2.2 Blending Chamber for Blast Medium
The blending chamber collects both compressed air and steam and allows them to mix before they are
passed on to the gasifier. The chamber is just a container that allows the air and steam to combine. It is
important to control the proportion of steam in the blast medium. If too much steam is used, it can stifle
the combustion process since water vapor does not burn.

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The blending chamber does not need to be insulated because the air and steam do not circulate inside
the chamber for very long, so there is no significant heat transfer out of the system. The temperature of
the gases inside the chamber is also monitored using several temperature transmitters.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Effective mixing of blast medium:- The blending chamber ensures the blast medium meets the
operating specifications of the gasifier so that combustion can be carried out smoothly. The
blast medium supplied to the gasifier is the primary means of controlling the combustion
process. The Genser engineers can modify the amount of blast medium (via the blending
chamber) entering the gasifier to control the temperatures, pressures and gas outputs of the
system.
A2.3 Steam Tank (3 Bar)
This steam tank holds steam at 3 bar (or 300kPa) which is used for purging the pipes throughout the
gasification system. The 3 bar steam tank circulates soft water through a second water jacket that cools
the gasifier. This water jacket is lower on the gasifier, closer to the fire grate; consequently the steam in
this line is at 133C, and circulates at 25m/s. Both steam drums are made of carbon steel and are
insulated.
The steam from this tank can be used to purge the pipes by blowing them out. The 3 bar steam tank is
connected to the main header steam pipe for the gasification system (labeled as LS-DN100 on the P&ID);
this header pipe is connected to four branches that serve each of the four gasifiers (the branches are
labeled as LS-DN50 pipes). Each branch connects to all the pieces of equipment in each gasifier package
(these branches are labeled as LS-DN25) so that any piece of equipment can be purged with 3 bar steam
if necessary. Normally this steam line is full in order to supply steam to the base of the de-tarrer (ESP1).
The steam prevents the tar from cooling, solidifying and blocking the pipeline coming out of the ESP1.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Multipurpose design:- The 3 bar steam tank is able to supply steam to multiple lines both to
blow them out and to heat the tar; this design reduces the cost of the entire system because
one piece of equipment can serve two functions.
A2.4 Steam Tank (0.5 Bar)
This steam tank contains steam at a pressure of 0.5 bar (or 50 kPa), and circulates steam through a
water jacket on the outside of the gasifier, as well as through the blending bin. The 0.5 bar steam is
produced by passing soft water through a water jacket that covers the outside of the upper part of the
gasifier. The upper part of the gasifier is cooler (because it is farther from where there is complete
combustion in the fire grate) so the steam produced here is at a relatively low temperature and

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pressure. The steam contained in the tank is at a nominal temperature of 116C, and it flows through
the line at about 18m/s.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Cools gasifier:- It is important to cool the gasifier using the water jackets because there should
be a uniform heat distribution across the gasifier at every level. The uniform heat distribution
ensures that all the coal entering the gasifier undergoes the same processes at the same time.
Cooling the walls of the gasifier also prevents coal briquettes from sticking to it and creating hot
points that could damage the walls or affect the heat distribution in the gasifier.

Coal Bunker

Surge Bin
Stoking Valves

Upstage Gas
Downstage Gas

Ash Tray

Figure 2: Engineering Drawing of Gasifier

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A2.5 Gasifier
The gasifier takes coal as an input and produces two streams of syngas which will serve as fuel for the
Power Generation System. The gasifier is 5 storeys high or about 25.7m tall. Coal is dropped in through
the top of the gasifier and as it falls, it undergoes a series of chemical processes that produce syngas,
which is sent out through a series of pipes to be cleaned. There is a fire grate in the base of the gasifier
that burns the coal remnants and produces heat which drives the chemical processes.
Coal is delivered to the gasifier by the feeding hopper, and drops into a 2-way double faucet stoking
system. The first series of rotary valves is opened to allow the coal to fall into a surge bin and then they
are closed again. The second series of rotary valves at the base of the surge bin will then open and allow
coal to enter the gasifier chamber, and then they will close. The opening and closing of the valves
happens at 6 second intervals. The stoking valves that control the flow of coal into the gasifier can be
operated automatically or manually. However, in automatic mode, the valves can be programmed to
operate at a certain rate, but this rate remains constant until the user changes the inputs to the program
logic control (PLC). The valves do not change their operating rate automatically in response to variations
in the gasification system.
The coal is not fed directly into the gasifier because it would allow too much oxygen to enter the
gasifier; the double faucet system and rotary valves limit the amount of air that can enter the gasifier.
The chemical processes that take place inside the gasifier have to occur in the absence of oxygen, which
is why it is important to control the flow of air into the gasifier chamber.
The fire grate at the base of the gasifier is where complete combustion takes place. There the remnants
of the coal burn, fuelled by the blast medium of hot air and steam. This is the hottest part of the gasifier
and it supplies heat to the rest of the chamber; the temperature decreases near the top of the gasifier,
which is at 150C.
When the coal enters the gasifier, it is first carbonated (dried), so that any moisture in the coal is
removed. At this point the coal composition is:
Compound
CO
H2
CH4
CnHm

Percent Composition
29-31%
17-19%
1-3%
0.2-0.4%

As it continues to fall downwards, the coal undergoes pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is an organic decomposition
reaction which occurs in the absence of oxygen. The weaker chemical bonds in the coal are broken,

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releasing volatile gases; the remaining high molecular weight char continues to fall downwards to fuel
other reactions in the gasifier. The reactions that occur during pyrolysis are:
CnHm CH4 + C + H + tars
C + 2H2 CH4
The methane gas (CH4) that is produced is drawn off at this stage; it is referred to as upstage gas.
Upstage gas (as shown in the chemical equations above) contains tar vapors when it is drawn off from
the gasifier, so it is sent to a separate line from the downstage gas that is designed specifically to
remove these tar vapors. The upstage gas is at a temperature of 120C, flowing at 8m/s and a pressure
of 3.5kPa.
Below pyrolysis, gasification takes place. Gasification is an incomplete combustion reaction in the
absence of oxygen which produces more gas, as well as other by-products. At this stage the coal
composition is:
Compound
Percent Composition
CO
31-33%
H2
9-10%
CH4
0.4-0.5%
The chemical reactions are:

Reaction Description
Gasification with steam
Water-gas reaction
Gasification with carbon dioxide
Boudouard Reaction
Gasification with hydrogen
Methanation Reaction

Chemical Equation
C + H2O

Energy

H2 + CO

+131 MJ/kmol

C + CO2

2CO

+172 MJ/kmol

C + 2H2

CH4

-75 MJ/kmol

However, if there is a high rate of carbon conversion, these three reactions will be reduced down to two
reactions:

Reaction Description

Chemical Equation

Energy

Water-Gas-Shift Reaction

CO + H2O

CO2 + H2

-41 MJ/kmol

Steam-Methane-Reforming
Reaction

CH4 + H20

CO2 + 3H2

+206 MJ/kmol

The syngas produced at this stage contains dust as its main impurity, so when this downstage gas is
drawn off from the gasifier, it is sent to a separate line that will remove the dust. The syngas comes out
at a temperature of 600C, at a speed of 6m/s and a pressure of 4.5kPa. Since the downstage gas is also

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at a much higher temperature than the upstage gas, it has to go through a series of cooling processes
before it can be combined with the upstage gas.
After passing through the gasification process, the remnants of the coal then undergo complete
combustion in the fire grate, as described above. The ash that is produced falls through the grating to an
ash tray. Blast medium is supplied continuously to maintain combustion in the fire grate.
Gasifier Basic Design
There are three main types of gasifiers in industry today. They are:
- Fixed bed
- Entrained flow
- Fluidized bed
Genser uses a fixed bed gasifier. Fixed bed gasifiers operate at atmospheric pressure; the coal is fed in
through the top of the unit and the blast medium is fed through the bottom, underneath the grate.
Combustion takes place on the fire grate, which is a ceramic inverted conical cup, where the blast
medium is released from the top of the cone to fuel combustion. The fixed bed gasifier is simple in
design and can operate with a variety of feedstock. It provides gas at low output temperatures, and is
very efficient.
Alternatively, entrained flow gasifiers introduce both the blast medium and the feedstock at the top of
the gasifier at high temperature and pressure. This is difficult for Genser to do; the high temperatures
also significantly reduce the lifetime of the components. And while gas is produced quickly at a high
throughput, it is usually necessary to add fluxes or tightly control the feedstock so that the slag
continuously flows out of the gasifier.
The fluidized bed gasifier suspends feedstock particles in oxygen-rich gas, so that the mixture acts like a
fluid. This facilitates a high heat transfer rate within the system, but the lower operating temperature
means that this type of gasifier can only use highly reactive coal types.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Operates at low pressure:- This one of the main reasons Genser chose a fixed bed gasifier,
because Genser would have serious difficulties in providing the high pressure flows that an
entrained flow gasifier requires.
Can use a variety of feedstock types:- This is advantageous because Genser will eventually
introduce biomass into the fuel supply.
Double valve system in coal bunker acts as an airlock:- The double valve system prevents
oxygen from entering the gasification chamber and increasing the combustion rate beyond

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design specifications. The rotary valves used in the coal bunker are designed to act as airlocks
when feeding coal into high or low pressure chambers.
Continuous supply of coal from bunker to gasifier:- The two sets of valves enables the coal
bunker to alternate which set is releasing coal into the gasifier, so that there is a continuous
stream of feedstock into the blast chamber.
Can reach dangerous pressure levels:- The fixed bed gasifier can explode if the pressure within
the chamber is not monitored.
Syngas needs to be cleaned:- The syngas that the gasifier produces still needs to be cleaned to
remove coal residue and sulphur, which adds cost to the overall system.
Risk of clogging the system:- The feedstock supply has to be carefully controlled so that the slag
continues to flow out of the base of the gasifier and does not clog the system.
Rotary valves are volumetric flow devices:- The rate of combustion could vary because the coal
that enters the chamber has a varying range of densities and heating values. In addition, rotary
valves are not as good at handling bulk solids as other types of feeders. However, it is more
important to prevent extra oxygen from disrupting the combustion process than to control the
density of the coal entering the gasifier, which is why rotary valves are the best choice for this
system.

A2.6 Hydraulic Ash Handling System


The ash handling system removes ash from the bottom of the gasifier. There is a large ash tray at the
base of the gasifier which catches all the coal ash produced during complete combustion. It is filled with
waste water (as opposed to soft water) to dampen the ash and prevent it from flying out of the tray. The
tray is rotated by a ratchet wheel connected to the tray on the underside of its base; a hydraulic motor
connected to the ratchet spins the tray. As the tray rotates, the ash gathers against a knife, which is
essentially a stationary wall inside the tray. A pile of ash will form against the knife and eventually spill
out of the tray. The ash will fall down to the ground where there will be a receptacle (such as a
wheelbarrow) that is ready to collect the ash. An operator will periodically empty the receptacle.
The engineering team chose to fill the ash trays with waste water instead of soft water because soft
water is expensive to produce and is not necessary in this application. The waste water flowing to the
ash tray is not hot (so it is not likely to form scale at a rapid rate) and will be contaminated with ash at
any rate, so there is little need to use soft water in this case.
There is an ash storage facility that can store up to a months worth of ash produced in the four
gasifiers. Genser is in the process of obtaining a permit to sell ash to construction companies that
manufacture bricks, concrete or work in road construction, as well as cement companies.

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Types of Ash Handling Systems


Ash can be handled either pneumatically or mechanically in a power plant. Pneumatic handling systems
will use a series of blowers and suction pumps to collect ash in a piping system and store it in a dust silo.
Pneumatic systems can use either a vacuum or high pressure to force ash through the system.
Mechanical systems use a conveyer system to carry away coal ash from dust collectors and gasifiers.
Usually mechanical systems are divided into two categories, for collecting bottom ash (from a gasifier)
and fly ash (from dust collectors) separately. Bottom ash collectors are usually submerged underwater
to wet the ash as it falls onto the conveyer belt, and then carry the ash up an incline to drain the water.
Fly ash will either be transferred directly to an enclosed conveyer belt system, or mixed with water in a
mixer before being discharged onto a conveyer system.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Environmentally friendly:- The mechanical ash handling system that Genser uses dampens the
bottom ash so that dust does not fly out into the atmosphere during disposal.
Low cost:- The mechanical system costs less than an equivalent pneumatic system because it
uses fewer moving parts and has a simpler design.

A3 Gas Cleaning Equipment


After upstage and downstage gas is funneled out of the gasifier, the two streams are cleaned separately
before they are mixed together and sent to the supplementary burners.
The downstage gas (which is mainly contaminated by coal dust) is sent first to a cyclone to eliminate
most of the dust; then it is sent to a heat exchanger and an air cooler. The upstage gas (which mainly
contains tar vapor) is sent to an electrostatic precipitator to remove the tar vapor, and then mixes with
the downstage gas in the indirect cooler. From there the mixed gas passes through a second
electrostatic precipitator before it is pressurized by a series of pressure adders, and sent to the
supplementary burners.

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To heat
exchanger

Downstage gas
enters here

Gas swirls around


central pipe

Water seal to prevent


gas from escaping

Figure 3: Cyclone

A3.1 Cyclone
The cyclone removes dust from the downstage gas flow. The downstage gas enters the cyclone at 6m/s,
and is guided around a central pipe in a spiral motion. As the gas cycles around, the heavier dust
particles drop out because they have a higher inertia and cannot follow the gas flow in a curve; the dust
particles impact the cyclone wall and drop to the bottom of the cyclone. The cyclone narrows towards
its base, so as the gas spirals around the smaller diameter at the base, even the lighter dust particles will
drop out because they will not be able to follow the tight turns. The base of the cyclone is submerged in
water to form a water seal that prevents gas from escaping from the cyclone.

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To collect fly ash in the dust cyclone, water is sprayed at the gas inlet, and the dust particles mix with
the water to form slurry which collects at the bottom of the cyclone. The slurry is then manually
removed from the cyclone as part of the regular maintenance schedule.
The downstage gas flows from the cyclone to the heat exchanger.
Types of Dust Collectors
There are five main types of dust collectors:
- Inertial separators
- Fabric filters
- Wet scrubbers
- Electrostatic precipitators
- Unit collectors
A dust cyclone is an inertial separator more specifically, it is a centrifugal separator. Industry uses both
single and multiple centrifugal cyclones, and Genser uses a single cyclone design. Although multiple
cyclones are more efficient because they are longer (so the gas circulates for a greater amount of time)
and have a smaller diameter (so smaller particles are forced out), they cause a greater pressure drop as
the gas passes through them.
Fabric filters can also be up to 99% efficient and cost effective, but they would require more machinery
or more maintenance to clean the filters on a regular basis. Wet scrubbers are too costly and more
efficient than necessary for this application, since the gas passes through several cleaning devices, not
just the dust collector. Electrostatic precipitators are used elsewhere in the gasification system, to
augment the work done by the dust cyclone. Unit collectors are low cost and compact, but they require
frequent maintenance to clean and empty them because they do not have much storage space, and
cannot be emptied onto a conveyer system the same way a cyclone can.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Reduced pressure drop:- Genser chose to use a single cyclone which has less impact on the gas
pressure flowing through the device, but is still a very efficient dust collector design.

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Downstage gas
enters from cyclone

To wind cooler

Pipes with soft water


for cooling gas

Water seal to prevent gas


from escaping

Figure 4: Heat Exchanger

A3.2 Heat Exchanger


This is used to cool downstage gas. Gas enters the heat exchanger from the cyclone at 6m/s and passes
through a series of vertical pipes. The pipes are surrounded by soft water at 30C, which absorbs heat
transferred from the gas and exits as 0.5 bar steam at 116C. The gas cools to about 300C; as it cools
some water condenses and drops to the bottom of the heat exchanger, and dust can also drop out. The

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heat exchanger also has a water seal at the base which prevents gas from escaping. The heat exchanger
is a shell and tube design.
The downstage gas flows from the heat exchanger to the air cooler.
Types of Heat Exchangers
There are many different types of heat exchangers used in industry, and just within this gasification
system, the heat exchanger, air cooler and indirect cooler are all different types of heat exchangers.
There are two main categories of heat exchangers: parallel flow and counter flow exchangers. In parallel
flow exchangers, both fluids flow in the same direction; in counter flow exchangers, the opposite is true.
Counter flow exchangers, like the one used in this system, are more efficient because there is a greater
average temperature difference across the length of the pipe, so the heat transfer rate is faster.
Some different types of heat exchangers include:
- Shell and tube
- Plate
- Plate and shell
- Plate fin
Shell and Tube
Shell and tube exchangers, such as the one used in this system, are designed to operate at high
temperatures and pressures. Shell and tube exchangers are also very robust because of their shape,
which means this piece of equipment will have a long life span.
Plate
Plate heat exchangers have thin, slightly separated plates with a very large overall surface area, which
facilitates a fast rate of heat transfer. While plate exchangers are therefore very efficient, they also
require gaskets to seal them, and this exposes plate exchangers to leaks if the gaskets fail, therefore
they were not chosen for this application, when the gas and fluid both flow at high pressure.
Plate and Shell
Plate and shell exchangers are a hybrid of the two designs, and consequently have a high heat transfer
rate, can operate at high temperature and pressure, and are compact. This design also does not need
gaskets, so it is not prone to leaks.
Plate Fin
Plate fin exchangers are plate exchangers with fins between the plates to guide the gas for more
efficient cooling. The material used to make this design has a high heat transfer efficiency so plate fin
exchangers generally operate at lower temperatures than exist in this gasification system, which is why
they were not used.

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Advantages and Disadvantages


Robust design:- The shell and tube heat exchanger is designed to withstand high temperatures
and pressures, so it can withstand the cooling water that is pumped at high pressure through
the exchanger, and the syngas, which is also at a high temperature as it comes out of the
cyclone.

Downstage gas
enters here

Gas circulates
through pipes to cool

Water seal to prevent


gas from escaping
Figure 5: Engineering Drawing of Air Cooler

A3.3 Air Cooler


The air cooler is used to further cool the downstage gas. The air cooler is simply a series of pipes that
circulates the downstage gas and exposes it to the outside air. As the air passes through the pipes, it
transfers heat to the air, and cools from 300C to 100C. Fly ash from the air cooler is removed as a
slurry the same way it is removed from the heat exchanger.

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It is necessary to have a dust cyclone, a heat exchanger and an air cooler in the gasification system
they cannot be consolidated into fewer pieces of equipment. The dust cyclone has to be in the system to
remove the dust from the downstage gas. The heat exchanger is necessary because it cools the gas and
also produces more 0.5 bar steam, which is supplied to the 0.5 bar steam drum. The air cooler both
cools the gas and removes any remaining dust; although the dust cyclone and the heat exchanger also
have these functions, if either piece of equipment fails, the air cooler will be able to take over their
function and the system can continue to operate. In other words, having an air cooler in the system
makes it more robust and less likely to shut down.
The downstage gas from the air cooler passes to the indirect cooler to mix with the upstage gas.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Low cost:- This design has all the advantages of a typical shell and tube exchanger, with the
added benefit that, since the design is simpler, the capital and installation costs are lower
because a second fluid does not need to be piped through the air cooler.

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To indirect cooler

Gas enters here

Positively
charged pipes
Negatively
charged wires
Figure 6: C-60 Electrostatic Precipitator 1

A3.4 Electrostatic Precipitator 1


This cleans the upstage gas by removing tar vapor. The electrostatic precipitator 1 (ESP1) is also referred
to as the de-tarrer. It has a series of vertical negatively charged wires running through positively charged
pipes. The ESP1 is supplied with 412VAC, which is converted to 60000 VDC in the electrodes. The electric
field within these pipes ionizes the tar particles. The tar ions are negatively charged, so they are
attracted to the inner surface of the pipes, where they condense and drip to the slanted base of the
ESP1. The tar is then piped out to a tar tank.
The upstage gas from the ESP1 flows to the indirect cooler to be mixed with the downstage gas.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Appropriate type of dust collector for the tar vapor in syngas line:- An ESP was used here
because it can remove tar vapor as well as dust, which is important since the gas flowing
through the ESP1 mainly contains tar, not dust.

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Energy efficient:- An ESP was used instead of a wet scrubber because wet scrubbers apply
energy directly to the fluid flow, but ESPs apply energy directly to the contaminant particles,
which is more energy efficient.

Gas enters here

Phenolic water is
sprayed out here

To ESP2

Soft water is circulated


for cooling

Figure 7: Indirect Cooler

A3.5 Indirect Cooler


The indirect cooler mixes the upstage and downstage gases, cools them to 35-45C and scrubs the gases
to remove tar vapor. The upstage and downstage gases flow into the indirect cooler at about 100C, and
flow through vertical pipes. Phenolic water is sprayed into the gas flow, and it mixes with the tar and
dust particles in the gas and carries them out the bottom of the cooler into a phenolic water tank. There
are pipes filled with soft water in between the syngas pipes, which cool the gas. The soft water moves as
a counter current up the indirect cooler, and is heated from about 30C at the inlet to 40C at the outlet.
As the syngas cools, any remaining water vapor or light oil fog condense and drain out with the phenolic
water.

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The incoming phenolic water is simply waste water. The chemical name for the tar products carried with
the syngas is phenol, C6H5OH, which is soluble in water. So when the phenolic water is sprayed into the
syngas flow, it dissolves the phenol and carries it to a phenolic water tank. When the phenolic water
reaches saturation, it is incinerated.
The mixed syngas from the indirect cooler flows to the electrostatic precipitator 2.
Indirect vs. Direct Cooling
In direct cooling, the gas has to come in direct contact with the cooling medium, usually in a packed
cooling tower; this process can be used to clean the gas as well as cool it. Indirect cooling, on the other
hand, involves passing the gas counter-current to the cooling medium, while separating the two flows
by a pipe wall.
The indirect cooler is another type of heat exchanger called a fluid heat exchanger, because the gas to
be cooled flows with a cleaning fluid spray in the same chamber. To clarify, the phenolic waters
purpose is to clean the gas, not to cool it, which is why this device is an indirect cooler, since the cooling
fluid is contained in separate pipes from the gas.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Multipurpose design:- This type of heat exchanger was chosen specifically because it cleaned
the gas as well as cooled it.

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Gas enters here

To pressure adders

Figure 8: C-97 Electrostatic Precipitator 2

A3.6 Electrostatic Precipitator 2


This also removes any remaining tar from the mixed syngas. The electrostatic precipitator 2 (ESP2), also
referred to as the de-oiler, is designed the same way as ESP1. It is called the de-oiler because at this
stage, most of the remaining tar vapor in the syngas has the consistency of oil.

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Advantages and Disadvantages


Ensures syngas is clean:- A second electrostatic precipitator was included because the syngas
coming out of the indirect cooler would still have some contaminants that needed to be
removed.
A3.7 Pressure Adder
The pressure adders increase the pressure of the syngas flowing to the desulphurization system. The
syngas flowing into the pressure adders has a pressure of 2kPa, and exits at a pressure of 39.2kPa. There
are three pressure adders for the entire gasification system, but only two are ever in operation; the third
is a backup compressor on standby.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Maintain high pressure for desulphurization unit:- The pressure adders increase the pressure
of the syngas to 39.2kPa so that the gas will travel the long distance to the desulphurization
unit. If the gas were sent at 2kPa, it would take more time to reach the desulphurization unit.
Over the entire distance, the pressure drops only 500-1000Pa.

A4 Phenolic Water System


The phenolic water system supplies water to the indirect cooler to remove tar from the syngas. Waste
water is stored in a tank and pumped through the indirect cooler where it dissolves the tar, forming
phenolic water. This water is then re-circulated through the system until it reaches its saturation point;
at that point, the water is incinerated in the incinerator, since the tar cannot be sold at this time.
A4.1 Phenolic Water Supply Pool
The phenolic water supply pool contains the phenolic water used to remove tar from the syngas. The
tank is connected both to the indirect cooler to supply it with phenolic water, as well as to the
incinerator. When the phenolic water is saturated, the valve connecting the tank to the incinerator will
be opened and the phenolic water will be burned off to dispose of the tar.
During the operational phase of the plant, the engineering team will test the phenolic water supply to
determine when the water reaches saturation and needs to be incinerated. They will also determine
how much water should be incinerated in a single pass, and how to incinerate the saturated phenolic
water in the system while still supplying phenolic water to the indirect cooler.

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Advantages and Disadvantages


Stores tar before arriving at incinerator:- It would be inefficient to have the incinerator
operating continuously; the water supply pool stores the tar until there is a significant quantity
and then it is sent to the incinerator, operating in a batch process method.

A5 Tar Disposal System


The tar disposal system collects tar from the electrostatic precipitators and collects it in a tar tank. Two
pumps pump tar through the system.

A6 Waste Water System


The waste water system supplies water to equipment that is not using steam. This includes the indirect
cooler, the ash trays, and the water seals on the cyclone, the heat exchanger and the air cooler. The
waste water is stored in a tank, and pumped throughout the gasification system by a series of three
pumps.

A7 Soft Water System


The soft water system supplies water to the equipment that uses steam, because soft water does not
form the pipe-clogging scale that hard water deposits in hot environments. The system consists of one
soft water tank, one sodium ion exchanger, and two pumps.
A7.1 Sodium Ion Exchanger
The sodium ion exchanger softens water so that it will not form scale on the inside of the steam pipes,
which could clog them. It is important to soften the water flowing in the steam pipes because when hard
water is heated, the mineral carbonates in the water can precipitate out and form a scale that clogs
pipes. If there is a significant amount of scale in the pipes, it can also act as a thermal insulator,
preventing heat transfer from the gasifier walls to the water in the pipes. This can cause the pipes to
overheat and fail catastrophically.
The sodium ion exchanger will attract the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions that form this scale and bind them,
replacing those ions with Na+ ions, forming soft water.
The sodium ion exchanger and soft water tank are located in the water treatment plant (WTP) section of
the power plant, but they are part of the gasification system. The ion exchanger and tank are located in
the WTP to save space in the gas station; during the expansion from Phase 1 to Phase 2, there will need
to be space for cranes to move around, and the ion exchanger and water tank could block their
movement. The soft water is pumped over to the gas station for use in the steam pipes.

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Advantages and Disadvantages


Resin beads are low cost:- This sodium ion exchanger uses resin beads, not lime, which is more
economical, because the resin beads can be regenerated by spraying them with the correct
chemical. If the ion exchanger used lime, then Genser would have to purchase large amounts of
lime to replenish the exchanger on a regular basis.

Phase 2
Introduction
In Phase 2 four gas turbines will be added to the plant, so the gasification system will have to increase in
size during Phase 2 to supply these four turbines with syngas. This is to say that two new gasification
units and their accompanying parts will be added to the existing facilities in Phase 2. Three new air
blowers and new soft water and phenolic water systems will also be added in Phase 2. Therefore, Phase
2 will be identical to Phase 1, except that it will be larger and supply more gas to the desulphurization
system.

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