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Introduction
It is not use of coal, but how coal is used that must be the focus of action. World Coal Institute
Table 13.1 Coal Production and its Share in Total Electricity for Selected Countries Country Coal production in 2006 (Mt) 2380.0 1053.6 447.3 373.2 309.8 256.9 197.2 156.1 Share of coal in electricity generated in 2007 (in per cent) 81 49 68 76 70 94 49 93
Coal as a fuel meets 29 per cent of the global primary energy needs and 39 per cent of the global electricity requirements. The total global coal resource is estimated to be 11,000 billion tonnes (Bt) and the extractable reserve at 909 Bt is less than 10 per cent. In 1992, about 2,000 million tonnes (Mt) of coal was used for 850 GW of electricity production worldwide. Total coal and lignite production in 2007 rose to 6,475 Mt. Coal productions in select countries and share of coal in electricity generation are shown in Table 13.1. Evidently, coal is a key fuel option to overcome energy shortages in the foreseeable future. As worlds third largest producer of coal, India has a share of about 8 per cent of the global coal reserves.1 The resources, however, are much less, at about 2.5 per cent of global resources. The coal inventory for India as on January 2010, down to the depth of 1200 m is shown in Figure 13.1. Total coal resources and recoverable reserves are 270.9 Bt and 92.4 Bt respectively. Over 90 per cent of proven reserves are available up to a depth of 600 m. The majority of these (almost 96 per cent) belong to the Permian category (Gondwana coal). The remaining are in Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary categories. The
total coal-bearing area is estimated to be 16,000 sq km, mostly in the south-eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. The lignite resource is 39 Bt with recoverable reserves of 3.9 Bt. It is found mainly in Tamil Nadu, with small quantities in Rajasthan, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Pondicherry, and Kutch regions of the north-west. Nearly 85 per cent of coal produced in India is for electricity generation. Coal-based power generation capacity at 81000 MW in 2009 constituted about 53 per cent of the total installed capacity at 153,000 MW and will
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continue to retain its dominant share in the decades to come. Total coal requirement for 20245 has been assessed as 1267 Mt with indigenous production of 1086 Mt. Coal use implies emission of high levels of carbon dioxide, oxides of sulpur, and oxides of nitrogen, as well as huge solid waste generation. One tonne of coal combustion per day (equivalent to about 0.4 GW of installed electricity capacity) generates 0.9 tonne of carbon dioxide. Inert matter is intermeshed with coal structure, which is dicult to remove and gets converted into ash during combustion.
widely used for underground mining are board and pillar, arcs wall shearer, shortwall and longwall face mining. Hydraulic mining, shield mining, and blasting gallery mining have also been tried for increasing coal production. Other specialized techniques need to be pursued for improvement in productivity and conservation of resources. Open-cast mining, on the other hand, is a technique for mining at shallow depths of up to 150 m through removal of overburden. Large-scale blasting and emulsion-based composite explosives are used for breaking the ground. Coal is extracted using a combination of scraper, dragline and shovel dumpers. Open-cast mining consumes a comparatively large surface area of the earth, leading to increasing risk of land subsidence and land degradation. The coal quality is also inferior. This aspect needs to be addressed.
Coal Extraction
Coal extraction deploys both underground and open-cast mining techniques. Underground mining allows access to deeper coal seams (up to 600 m depth). The techniques
Coal Transport
Coal, a bulk commodity, is transported from the mine to the place of its utilization using surface transportation and is a high energy consuming process. Rail over road
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India Infrastructure Report 2010 Reduce carbon dioxide and other pollutant emissions in the environment through Renovation and Modernization (R&M).
is the preferred mode of coal transport and constitutes a signicant part of coal delivery. It is said that transporting the annual production of coal would require as many numbers of rail wagons as required to encircle the earth once. About 56 per cent of the countrys coal is transported by rail, 19 per cent by road, and 23 per cent by other means. Application of coal water slurry transported through underground pipelines, wherever feasible, can reduce the need for surface transportation infrastructure and is also environmentally less onerous. Ways to minimize long distance transport need to be look into. Global coal movement depends on ships, and with growing coal imports in India it is crucial that the existing port capacity is expanded and infrastructure of Oshore Stockyard & Berths (OSBs) created, for handling bulk cargo of up to 4 to 5 Mt at a time. Presently, of the 12 major ports in the country, only Mundra can handle cape-size vessels.
Coal Power
In view of Indias rapid economic growth at 810 per cent, the energy requirement to meet the basic needs of its people is also growing. Power generation is majorly dependent on coal. The projected growth in the use of fossil fuels in 20312 (the installed capacity approaching 800 GW as per the Integrated Energy Policy of India 2006) indicates coal requirements for three dierent scenarioscoal dominant, reference, and renewable dominant scenarios, with coal demand in 20312 expected to grow up to 2.6 Bt, 2.0 Bt, and 1.6 Bt respectively. Power generation is the major source of carbon emissions, which accounted for about 38 per cent of total GHG emissions in 2007. Emission from a power plant depends on total generation, fuel consumption eciency, and fuel quality. Of the 200 thermal power plants of dierent size and capacity about 40 per cent are older than 20 years and would cause more pollution. Most of the installed coal-based power plants up to 500 MW are based on pulverized red units. A few circulating uidized bed boilers using high sulphur lignite are also being operated. The clean coal technology is of the utmost importance because: (i) coal is abundant and will remain a major source of energy for future years, (ii) emission from coalbased generation is a matter of serious concern. Thus, clean coal research has begun to: Improve the quality of non-coking coal at the precombustion stage for use in power generation by value addition, Adopt new coal combustion and conversion technology for improving eciency of coal utilization, and
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Table 13.3 Wet Coal Beneciation Processes Wet Process Baum Jig Batac Jig Water Cyclone Heavy Media Cyclone Spiral Concentrator Vorsyl Separator Froth Flotation Principle Medium and coarse coal are layered by specic gravity with the help of water propelled through a xed sieve. Particle size (5020 mm) Improvement on Baum Jig, uses automatic controls and can be used for both coarse and ne coal washing (200.5 mm). Cyclone washer uses a centrifugal force which can be up to 10002000 times greater than g. For imbedded impurities in coal, use of oil as heavy media in place of water. Particle size (130.5 mm). Reduction in coal size gives better eciency. Under the inuence of centrifugal force, coal particles migrate to the outer rim of the spiral while denser impurities go to the inner part and get discharged in two separate streams. Improvement on spiral concentrator with a vortex nder which prevents short-circuiting of the feed directly into the overow. More suited to ne coals of 3 mm to 0.15 mm in size. It relies on hydro-phobicity properties of coal and is suited for coal nes of <0.5 mm. Chemical reagents are used to enhance recovery of coal. Coal has a naturally oily surface and when air bubbles are passed, coal particles form bubbles and are buoyed to the surface as froth. The two main techniques are: mechanical cell otation and column otation. Column otation uses long columns with air sparger and allows extended retention time in the cell for achieving higher eciency. Similar to froth otation but uses high doses of specied oils such as diesel oil or tar oil. It requires very ne mesh of coal 0.1 mm and is not suitable for low grade coals. Finer coal particles get agglomerated, forming large globules that become oil-coated coal particles and coalesce. Globules are easier to separate while tailings remain in water as sludge.
separators, multi-stage density separators, and microbial leaching. In India, coal beneciation has been a key infrastructure issue between coal producers and coal users. The policy guidelines restricting the use of unwashed coal in thermal power plants situated more than 1,000 km away from the mine site as well as those located in critical, sensitive, and urban areas were introduced in 1997. Advanced coal cleaning processes to suit the indigenous coal for power generation have been developed. These are cost-eective and can reduce the ash content by about 10 per cent or more. Use of washed coal is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from 0.326 to 0.266 kg/kWh of electricity generation, besides other benets. Research has been initiated and eld trials were made for ROMJIG and RAMDARS systems for cleaning and deshaling of coal at the Bina and Yellandu mines, respectively. From a coal
handling plant producing 4.5 Mt coal per annum installed at Bina, it was reported that for coal having up to 44 to 45 per cent ash, the ROMJIG can give 67 per cent yield with ash content of 31.6 per cent. Field trials were initiated to demonstrate the application of vorsyl separators for recovery of clean coal from middling and rejects from Dugda Coal Washery. Coal majors have targeted the use of 100 per cent washed coal in thermal power generation by 2017.
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India Infrastructure Report 2010 of 660 MW, in addition to seven ultra mega-power plants using super-critical technology, are in dierent stages of construction.
century most thermal power generation around the world was from direct combustion of coal in boilers. In India too, most coal-based power generation with installed capacity up to 500 MW is based on pulverized coal-red units, while some use gas turbines. Average gross eciency of generation from coal-based power plants is 30.5 per cent. Eorts have been made to render coal combustion more ecient and less polluting. Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) uses a uidized bed of ne coal particles suspended in air. At high pressures solid coal behaves like a uid and allows rapid transfer of heat. The eciency of the burning process gets enhanced because the motion of coal brings a constant supply of hot particles to the surface. The heat is extracted and utilized in a conventional power generation cycle. It works at lower temperatures than the Pulverized Fuel (PF) process, and hence, reduces NOx emissions in the atmosphere. Two operating versions of FBC are Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) and Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC). In Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion coal particle size is reduced to 0.070.3 mm and the uidization velocity is kept at 510 m/sec, so that the particles are ablated in the steam gas. Since the gasier is compact, higher heat release rate per unit area can be achieved. The CFBC can utilize low grade coal with high ash, or even lignite, and has been adopted in India. Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion uses crushed coal with a limestone suspension as a sorbent (to absorb the sulphur content in the coal). As air pressure inside the boiler is increased to 16 to 20 bars at a temperature around 850C, the limestone sorbent captures the sulphur in the coal and forms a dry paste, which gets collected at the bottom of the boiler and can be removed. This technique is particularly suitable for high sulphur coals. Super-Critical combustion and Ultra-Super-Critical combustion are thermo-dynamic cycles that improve thermal eciency of coal combustion. A steam cycle with pressure above 226 bars and temperature above 537oC is called supercritical. Ultra-super critical combustion technology, operating at 357 bars/625oC, is also being developed. It is expected to achieve 55 per cent eciency by 2020. In India CFBC has been developed for high ash coals having high heat value less than 3000 kcal/kg. The rst CFBC boiler of 175 t/h capacity was commissioned by BHEL at Sinarmas Pulp and Paper (India) Ltd. in Pune. It has proved to be a promising technique for increasing eciency of power generation, and its use in commercial systems is growing rapidly. India has also embarked on a major plan to introduce super-critical combustion technologies. Nine super-critical coal pulverization units
Coal Gasication
Coal gasication is considered an important strategy for low carbon energy development. The product of the gasication process is a producer gas, which is a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and some methane. It can be utilized in ways similar to natural gas in an environmentfriendly manner. Its caloric value (33.12 MJ/cu. m.) is lower than natural gas (49.0 MJ/cu. m.). Gasication reactors are designed to suit coal characteristics. Three well-known congurations are the xed bed, uidized bed, and entrained bed systems. Fixed Bed Gasier reactor has dierent zones for each operation such as drying, devolatilizing, gasication, and combustion. Coal of 1050mm size is fed from the top and air or oxygen is blown through the fuel bed. The crude gas leaves the gasier from above. This type of gasier obviates the need for a heat exchanger, has lower oxygen consumption, and has the lowest energy requirement of all gasication processes. This technology has been commercialized and about 200 xed bed gasiers are operating around the world. The best-known name commercially is Lurgi Process or British Gas Lurgi. Fluidized Bed Gasier works on the counter-current principle and allows coal particles to move vigorously. It consists of a vertical cylindrical refractory lined vessel with recycle cyclone. The temperature in the reactor goes up to 8501,050C. It is a non-slagging gasier and has been tested with all types of coal and lignite, and is found attractive for high ash coals as well as high reactive coals. The chemical reaction in this gasier is accelerated by turbulent mixing and close contact. There are no separate de-gasication and gasication zones. Dust-laden gas leaves the reactor at the top, and is cooled and puried before use. Entrained Bed Process is the third conguration. Finely ground coal of 0.1 mm is entrained at high temperatures of the order of 1,400 to 1,600C. Coal gasies instantly and volatile matter in coal also contributes to the gas at
Implementing Clean Coal Technology in India the reaction temperatures. The product gas has almost 80 per cent of the energy of the feed coal. The ash in the coal melts and runs down the refractory-lined walls of the gasier as liquid slag in the water tank. Dierent versions of entrained bed gasiers have been developed as Koppers-Totzek and ve dierent versions of it are Shell, Texaco, Dow, Prento, and Destec. The rst coal gasication test facility in India came up when a 10 MW captive power plant used gas from coal washery rejects by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) at the TISCO Jamadova Colliery in 1987. A number of trials have been made subsequently. Fertilizer plants at Ramagundum and Talcher installed entrained bed gasication technology for utilizing indigenous coal for production of ammonia. However, these plants have encountered some practical diculties. From the experience gained from operating and testing facilities, two CFB gasiers of 390 tonnes/(t/h)/capacity have been installed successively at Gujarat Industries Power Co. Ltd. for their Surat Lignite Power Plant (SLPP). The Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. has also installed a circulating uidized bed gasier based on the Wrinkler process to demonstrate the use of lignite. Coal India and Gas Authority India Ltd. have jointly started work in 2010 to set up a large surface coal gasication plant.
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has a production capacity of about 150 thousand barrels of oil per day. In India, laboratory-scale investigations on coal liquefaction began in the 1950s at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, with the objective of developing indigenous catalysts. In the FischerTropch synthesis syngas was rst produced using xed bed gasication process at 800900oC. A number of chemicals as catalysts were tested, including zeolite supported iron catalyst and resulted in the output of 4 litres of oil per day. Coal liquefaction research has also been pursued in R&D laboratories on a bench scale unit of 2 kg/h. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. at Duliajan, in Assam has put up a pilot plant for conversion of low sulphur Assam coal to oil in 2005. Assam coal with its low ash content show better liquefaction characteristics. A contract has been signed recently with Coal India to set up a commercial-scale coal liquefaction plant of 3.5 Mt per annum coal capacity.
Post-combustion Technology
Post-combustion technology is the fourth stage alternative in which end-of-pipe pollutants such as SOx, NOx, and CO2 are captured and removed from the atmosphere. Desulphurization and de-NOx operations have been tested in conventional power generation plants. Advanced clean coal technologies (CCT) are also perspective greenhouse gas mitigation technologies. These are discussed below. The CO2 capture technologies are also discussed.
Coal Liquefaction
Coal liquefaction is possible by raising the hydrogen-tocarbon ratio. It can be achieved either by direct conversion or by indirect conversion of coal through the gasication route. In the direct process hydrogen is dissolved in coal in the presence of a catalyst and the process is known as hydrogenation. In the indirect method, coal is rst gasied and the hydrogen produced during gasication is converted to oil in a catalytic converter. This produces hydrocarbons such as methanol, ethanol, and diesel oil and methane-rich gas as by-products. The genesis of the indirect process (called FischerTropsch Synthesis) took place as a result of the discovery by F. Fischer and H. Tropsch in 1925. The most important property of coal in order to predict liquid yield from coal is the percentage of volatile material in it. The ratio of liquid yield from coal varies between 35 and 45 per cent. One tonne of coal can produce about one to three barrels of oil and 200 to1,000 cu.m. of gas. Wide ranges of by-products are obtained in dierent liquefaction processes. These can be used as chemical feedstock or for industrial process heating. The biggest coal liquefaction plant based on the FischerTropsch synthesis is operated by South Africa Synthetic Ltd. at its Sasol Plant. It
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India Infrastructure Report 2010 Pressurized Pulverized Coal-red Combined Cycle (PPCC) uses pulverized coal ring in gas turbines. The gas is cleaned at very high temperatures of 14001600oC and a high pressure of 18 bar. The molten ash accumulates on the edge of the slagging chamber due to the centrifugal force. Low grade fuels, including biomass or lignite, or a mixture of both, can be used to enable combined heat and power generation. In combined heat and power generation with a waste heat recovery system, the eciency is expected to reach 4647 per cent, along with reduction of CO2, NOx, and SO2 by 10, 20, and 30 per cent respectively. The economics and eciency of ve main advanced clean coal technologies is depicted in Table 13.4.
Table 13.4 Expected Eciency, Cost of Clean Coal Technologies, and Future Projections Technology Installed Capacity in MW 650 Eciency in the year in per cent 2000 2030 44 4952 Capital Cost in ECU /kW 2000 2030 1268 968
A bottoming cycle, in which heat utilization is followed by electricity generation. A combined cycle, which uses both topping and bottoming cycles for achieving maximum eciency. Examples of combined cycle power generation techniques are IGCC, IGHAT, and PPCC, etc. Integrated Gasication Combined Cycle (IGCC) has two main components: (i) Coal gasier system and (ii) Combined cycle power generation cycle, with gas turbine and steam turbine for coal gas and steam, respectively. Coal is gasied in the presence of oxygen/air under high pressure (30 bars) maintained above 1000oC. Synthetic or syngas comprising mainly of CO and H2 is produced, which needs to be cooled and cleaned of impurities before it is burnt in the gas turbine. The heat from the gasier and hot gases is recovered in the heat recovery steam generator and used to run the steam turbine in a combined cycle. Mineral matter in the coal is separated as slag from the bottom of the gasier. The overall eciency is high and pollution is less due to reduction in emission of NOx, SOx, and CO2. The rst IGCC plant of 250 MW capacity using the shell gasication process came up in 1994 in the Netherlands at Buggenum. So far 28 demonstration and pilot plants of capacity up to 300 MW have been installed worldwide and a few others using coal or renery residue are in the pipeline. Eorts to commercialize IGCC are on. In 1988, India became the rst country in Asia to construct a 6.2 MW IGCC demonstration plant. This closed loop combined cycle unit with air-blown uidized-bed gasier was put up by BHEL. It was unique in terms of testing coal with up to 40 per cent ash at temperatures of 960oC and 1050oC at 0.8 MPa in a uidized bed gasier. These early studies are forming the basis of scaleup and a demonstration power plant of 125MW capacity is planned to be set up in the near future. Gujarat Sanghi Steam Works and Ahmedabad Electric Co., have also developed IGCC technology. Integrated Gasication Humid Air Turbine (IGHAT) is an advanced version of the IGCC technology. It uses a humid air turbine and intercoolers on a multi-stage compressor, to produce low grade heat. Warm water is used to humidify air in the turbine. The latent heat in the moist air is released and provides increased mass ow, resulting in higher eciency. The IGHAT cycle is proposed to eliminate the steam turbine and utilize heat to warm water in various heat recovery sections. A combined process of integrated gasication with humid air turbine increases the net power output, thereby reducing emissions.
46 40 43 46
Implementing Clean Coal Technology in India Igniting coal seam using Controlled Refractory Injection Point (CRIP) technology Injecting gasifying uids such as air, oxygen, or steam for the recovery of coal gas. Though technology- and cost-intensive, UCG has tremendous economic signicance; it does not require coal beneciation and there is no problem of ash disposal. Through this method huge quantities of coal deposits located at great depths, which cannot possibly be extracted by conventional coal mining methods, can be utilized. The technology has been pursued in several countries, including India. In India prospects of development of UCG technology are high, with total energy potential of UCG estimated at 15,000 billion cu. m. of gas. Gujarat coal and lignite deposits with an estimated resource of 63 billion tonnes, the South Karanpura coal elds, as well as the lignite elds in Rajasthan appear suitable for this from geological and hydrological survey data considerations. Detailed physico-mechanical measurements and borehole data have also been acquired for carrying out feasibility studies at promising lignite sites.
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molecules. Dierent methods are adopted for extracting methane. If a source is detected in an operational mine, conventional techniques such as open hole, vertical jet slot, hydraulic fracturing, and perforation type of drilling at the coal seam depths, can be used for draining the gas before the mining starts. In an abandoned mine, carbon dioxide sequestration by pumping ue gas from a power plant (containing CO2) into the coal seam under pressure is being considered a possibility. The carbon dioxide molecules get attached to coal and the trapped methane molecule is released. Those mines graded as saturated CBM reservoirs require better understanding of the reservoir mechanism for a controlled drainage of gas, as they may contain ve times the amount of gas available in an ordinary coal mine. With the advancement in the technology of gas recovery from underground, CBM mining is becoming feasible. Several coal basins are currently being developed for CBM around the world. Coal found in India mostly belongs to the Gondwana, Cretaceous, and Tertiary deposits, which contain medium level methane. Gondwana coal deposits may have 8.5 cu. m. of CBM per tonne of coal, while Tertiary deposits of coal have 2.8 cu. m. per tonne. Coal India has oered 26 blocks for CBM exploration covering 13,600 sq. km. of area with estimated CBM reserves of 1,374 billon cu. m. The rst CBM recovery was demonstrated in 2009 with the Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd. (GEECL), an energy company signing contract for commercial production from the Raniganj coalelds near Burnpur. Recovery of coal mine methane (CMM) has been attempted for producing 500 kW of power through underground boreholes in Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.
For CBM recovery, water in the coal bed must be removed so as to reduce the pressure on methane
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India Infrastructure Report 2010 without stripping from the ue gas stream. A further advantage revealed in pilot-scale tests is substantially reduced NOx emissions. For coal-red combustion, the oxy-fuel technology was suggested in the1980s. However, there are no full-scale plants using oxy-fuel combustion in operation yet. The cost of producing oxygen for combustion is high. Theoretical studies combined with laboratory and pilot-scale studies (typically 30100 MWe) have been announced or are planned. With the introduction of CO2 sequestration technology, oxy-fuel has become the centre of renewed interest. In India BHEL proposes to establish a pilot plant on oxy-fuel combustion. Sucient experience exists in the Indian industry on atmospheric or circulating uidized bed coal combustion processes to be able to integrate these eorts towards oxy-fuel and make it a business proposition. Another promising development in coal combustion that needs to be mentioned is Chemical Looping technology. This has a fuel recycle option, while reducing the cost of oxygen separation. Chemical Looping has two reactors; a fuel reactor, where a metal oxide is reduced by reaction with coal. Reduced metal oxide is circulated to an air reactor where it is oxidized and regenerated. Exit gases from the fuel reactor contain CO2 and H2O, from which pure CO2 can be separated, while H2 is combusted. Flue gas from the air reactor contains N2 and unreacted O2. Tested on the laboratory scale, Chemical Looping in a circulating uidized bed combustion process (which has already been tested on indigenous coal) appears to facilitate a better CO2 capture option as compared to IGCC. However, this area needs further investigation.
The Kentucky Pioneer Energy project has subsequently operated a 2 MW carbonate fuel cell in USA. Integrated with an IGCC plant, IGMCFC is under development. Research and development of 1 kW MCFC using coal gas was also initiated in India.
Magneto-hydro-dynamic Power
In a magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) power system exceedingly high temperatures are needed so that the fuel gets ionized. In the presence of oxygen-enriched air, at high temperatures of 2,000oC coal gas turns into plasma gas and electrical energy is produced without using a mechanical turbine. The construction of a generator requires a long duct or channel with both side walls made of metal. The bottom is made of an insulator. The electrically conducting plasma gas uid is passed through a duct. A strong transverse magnetic eld applied across the duct, induces a magnetic eld in the moving uid. According to Faradays law a moving conductor in a magnetic eld produces an electric current in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion. When the electrical power density of the plasma gas is equal to the maximum achievable power density, the eciency of the MHD generator becomes 50 per cent. Higher eciency can be obtained if the waste heat coming out of the duct is further utilized to run a steam turbine. The feasibility of a coal-based MHD generator has been established. Cost-eective, high-strength magnets capable of generating a high magnetic eld are the prime requirements for commercial deployment. The length of the generator decreases as the magnetic eld increases. Three types of MHD generator cycles have been conceptualized: (i) open cycle, (ii) close cycle, and (iii) liquid metal generator. Development of high temperature superconducting magnets and attainment of high temperatures are some of the challenges which are being addressed. MHD research facilities exist in Russia (then USSR), as well as in many other countries, namely, USA, Germany, Australia, Poland, China, Japan, the Netherlands, and India. In India, an experimental 5 MW water-gas red open cycle generator was built in collaboration with USSR at Tiruchirapally a few years ago at the Bhabha Atomic Energy Research Centre jointly with other academic and research institutions.
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Carbon Capture
CO2 capture technology as an end-of-pipe solution to power generation is based on chemical absorption, membrane separation, physical adsorption, and cryogenic separation methods. Chemical absorption process requires the use of chemical solvents. Mono-ethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), mixed amines, and tertiary amines have been investigated. Notwithstanding the regenerative capability of the solvent, the energy penalty and additional equipment requirements for circulating large volumes of liquid absorbents add signicantly to the cost, thus limiting applications of the process. Physical processes are based on cryogenic cooling or solid adsorbents. Solid adsorbents have better promise as they reduce regeneration and recirculation costs and increase binding capacity for CO2. The adsorption of CO2 gas by use of molecular sieves (zeolites) is based on signicant intermolecular forces between gases and surfaces of certain solid materials. Both Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) and Temperature Swing Adsorption (TSA) have been attempted; however, the ecacy of the process depends on plant parameters with variation in pressure in one case and temperature in other. These early eorts are aimed at development of cost-eective regenerative adsorbents and membrane materials.
most cost-eective means of reducing atmospheric levels of CO2. Terrestrial storage would result in aorestation and can also enhance crop productivity. Advance crop species and cultivation practices could be designed to increase the uptake of CO2 by terrestrial as well as coastal ecosystems through enhanced rate of photosynthesis. Studies are underway to optimize resource use with a view to quantifying the impact of dened changes in land use on carbon sequestration. Assessment of carbon pool and sequestration in the soil and vegetation in the forest ecosystems of Manipur and north-eastern India reveal that soil carbon stock ranged from 27.73 to 48.03 tonnes of carbon per hectare and emission of carbon dioxide from the soils varied from 1.697 to 4.462 tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year in dierent forest ecosystems. The carbon stock in the vegetation ranged from 9.89 tonnes of carbon per hectare to 295.50 tonnes of carbon per hectare in the dierent forest types of Manipur. The study shows that soil carbon pool and emission of CO2 are highly inuenced by vegetation types and environmental factors.2
CO2 Storage
The idea to cage CO2 in natural geological surroundings for its storage has taken shape as a means to permanently removing it from the atmosphere. Both active and passive underground trapping of CO2 are envisaged. It can be done by burying it in deep saline aquifers and in rocks and minerals. Rapid developments are taking place in evaluation of results of CO2 storage in the underground deep aquifers and in the sedimentary basins under the sea bed. Sleipner, Norway has achieved tremendous success in this. It has injected 1Mt of CO2 every year in saline aquifers under the sea bed, since 1996. To understand the reaction taking place between CO2 and mineral rocks, active storage in basaltic rocks is being pursued for better integrity for CO2 storage. Calcium and magnesium silicates react to form carbonate minerals. A process of geochemical trapping can eectively eliminate risk of CO2 leakage. Each geological setting is dierent and underground CO2 trapping studies require geomorphology studies. There is a need to develop methodologies for long-term tracking of CO2, once injected.
CO2 Bio-Sequestration
Application of the ue-gas treatment using algae bioprocesses for the absorption of CO2 is a growing eld of research. Triangular air-lift bioreactors have been designed as the most suited for algae growth. From the rst series of experimental data obtained for two dierent algal species in a pilot-scale unit supplied with ue gases from a small power plant, removal eciency of CO2 was reported as approximately 80 per cent. Preliminary cost analysis suggested that micro algae bioxation from a 550 MW coal-red power plant could sequester 25 per cent of the CO2 cost-eectively, if the value recovered from the harvested algae was priced at approximately $100 per tonne. Design of a solar bioreactor has been proposed that uses computational uid dynamics. In this case scaling-up can be done much more easily than using algae bioxation, which requires thousands of acres of space to soak up the CO2 from one coal plant.
Terrestrial Sequestration
The terrestrial biosphere is estimated to sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide and is thought to be one of the
2
Yadava (2010).
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India Infrastructure Report 2010 critical phase (Prasad et al. 2008). Recent experiments are reported in the southwest Atlantic sector jointly by the National Institute of Oceanography, India and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany. LOHAFEX (LOHAiron, FEXFertilization Experiment) experimentally tests the ecacy of iron fertilization in southern oceans by CO2 sequestration. Exploratory investigation of gas hydrates as future CO2 absorbers in the marine environment, as well as modelling and simulation studies for producing diethyl ether as fuel are underway. There is a need to begin geo-modelling of terrestrial and geological sequestration of CO2. In terrestrial sequestration, development of technologies for quantifying carbon stored in a given ecosystem and manipulation of ecosystems to increase the carbon sequestration rate beyond current conditions require modelling research. For underground sequestration modelling of geo-chemical, geophysical and hydrodynamic trappings processes, which are unique to local condition, form a pre-requisite for CO2 storage site-selection.
properties will help ush out remaining reserves making it ow easily. At the surface the gas mixture containing both CO2 and natural petroleum gas will have to be separated from the oil before it is sent for rening. The stripped CO2 can be recycled back into the oil elds to extract more oil. CO2 management through this approach will be a highly challenging task. It will have to be adopted when all the conventional methods of enhanced oil recovery have failed. A CO2-EOR (CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery) project designed to minimize CO2 emissions back to the atmosphere with appropriate incentives would have an important role in assuring energy security. Like oil elds, unmineable coal seams can also prove to be potential reservoirs for CO2 storage. On average three molecules of CO2 are absorbed for displacing one molecule of methane (CH4). By injecting CO2 in coal seams, coal bed methane recovery can be enhanced. Globally, research in CCS has grown by almost 100 per cent in the past ve years as compared to rst ve years of the current decade. In India, research is still in its infancy. Under the National Programme on CO2 Sequestration (NPCS), research started in DST in 2006; the following thrust areas are identied: CO2 Sequestration through Micro-algae Bio-xation Carbon Capture Process Development Terrestrial Agro-forestry Sequestration Modelling Network Policy Development Studies
Table 13.6 Technology/Parameter Chemical absorption Physical adsorption Membrane separation Source: IPCC report (2005). CO2 recovery (in per cent) 90 90 90
Economics of Post-combustion CO2 Capture Options CO2 purity achieved (in per cent) > 98 44 43 Energy penalty (in per cent) 36 47 52 Capture cost $/tonne CO2 47 61 78
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Depleted oil elds Depleted gas elds Unmineable coal beds Deep saline formations
A time-bound CCT Road Map drawn to establish the required R&D infrastructure for implementing it with the ultimate goal of achieving emission-free electricity generation. The proposed is as follows: Ongoing and near-term (up to 2012): Improved coal recovery, coal beneciation, reduction in cost. More emphasis on uidized bed combustion; supercritical power plant boilers, IGCC demonstration. Enhanced energy recovery from coal: CBM, CMM, etc. Pilot scale studies on coal liquefaction. Medium-term (201217): IGCC, PFBC, Ultra-super-critical power plants. Enhanced energy recovery from coal: CBM, UCG. Commercial-scale coal liquefaction. Zero Emission Technologies (ZETs) pilot scale. Carbon sequestration pilot scale.
reactor and converted into CO2 and H2. The CO2 is then separated (present in high concentration) and can be xed away from the atmosphere at the pre-combustion stage itself. This reduces the cost of capture and also the energy penalty. Preliminary economic assessments of capture costs show that IGCC costs become 63 per cent higher with capture than without capture. (For IGCC and high ash coal without capture, cost is 21 per cent higher than pulverized coal ring and 12 per cent higher than ultrasuper-critical.) Large-scale CCS projects are infrastructure-intensive. The plants are located farther than possible locations for storage. We cannot aord such a steep increase in the price of electricity, unless learning curves bring down the cost through R&D support and success is achieved in the recovery of a value added products through CO2 sequestration.
Long-term (2017 and beyond) Zero Emission Technologies (ZETs) commercialization. Carbon sequestration demonstration plant. IGFC and production of hydrogen fuels from coal. Source: CCT InitiativeRoadmap for future development, CCT DST-BHEL Workshop, 267 Ocotober 2006.
Barriers to Implementation
On a world-wide basis, prospects of CCT are good in view of the advantages such as higher eciency of power generation and lower GHG emissions per kW of installed capacity. The clean coal technology has been advancing rapidly to achieve goals of zero emission technology. In India eorts towards clean coal technology development began more than two decades ago, but have not kept pace with the global developments. Research eorts carried out in the country for the past several years have shown that as compared to IGCC, the quality of coal requirement in CFBC is less demanding. Yet IGCC has been given highest attention. There have been other barriers and constraints in the advancement of CCT, such as (i) High cost involved to support development of Clean Coal Technology to proving stage, (ii) Amenability of advanced technologies to available coal with high ash content (iii) Inadequate R&D infrastructure in academic institutions and national laboratories, (iv) Lack of academicindustry interaction for new coal-based technology, (v) Constraints in development of coal blocks in the absence of adequate equipment infrastructure and (vi) lack of sucient coal evacuation facilities, among others.
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Although policies have been introduced from time to time suggesting creation and implementation of R&D Fund for energy, key questions are: who should invest and why invest in clean coal technology development, is it the responsibility of the coal producer or coal user? Capacity building eorts have also not kept pace with the rapid developments taking place elsewhere. Moreover, many CCTs are proprietary and protected by strong patent regimes. New coal technologies are not proven and involve higher capital investment. In the absence of appropriate marketing strategies for adoption of clean coal for power generation, many new researches have not moved out of the laboratory.
Way Forward
Nevertheless prospects of CCTs are becoming high as a result of global warming concerns. Actually both local as well as global environmental concerns can be addressed better through the use of CCT. The costs are coming down, although it may take long to establish their economic competitiveness. A long-term clean coal policy to address the issues of installation of thermal power plants based on CCTs, R&D, and transfer of technology are imperatives for growth. Most CCTs are research intensive and are still evolving, therefore, joint research ventures should be considered for technology transfer. In super-critical and ultra-super-critical coal red plants, much higher eciency can be achieved. The super-critical technology is already under development in our country. These eorts need to be augmented for ultra-super-critical combustion capabilities.
Conclusion
This article provides brief description of various coal processes and technologies, explores early initiatives, bottlenecks and current status of clean coal technology in India. Coal is a dominant resource for electricity in India. At present nearly 85 per cent of the coal produced is consumed in the power sector. Opportunities are explored in coal extraction, coal transport, and coal beneciation and critical clean coal technologies with the progress made in them are described. Research eorts have been initiated in India in almost all coal utilization technologies. Carbon capture and storage research has also begun as CCT enabler, its policy and cost implications are discussed. A clean coal technology R&D roadmap for identifying near and medium-term priorities towards zero emission technology as long-term solution is presented. The challenge of implementing CCT on large scale however, remains as daunting as ever. There are many barriers. Coal gasication and coal liquefaction are less pollution emitting technologies, but for their implementation on industrial scale a number of trade-os between nancial and technological considerations continue, mainly arising from quality of coal resource. There are nancial, infrastructural, and regulatory barriers to be tackled in almost entire coal chain starting from coal extraction to coal utilization and pollution abatement.
References
CCT InitiativeRoadmap for future development (2006). CCT DST-BHEL Workshop, 267 October. Goel, Malti (2007). Barriers to Deployment of Clean Coal Technology: Key Issues and Perspectives, 6th Annual Conference on Carbon Sequestration, 711 May, Pittsburg, USA. (2008). Carbon Capture and Storage, Energy Future and Sustainable Development: Indian Perspective, in Malti Goel, B. Kumar, and S.N. Charan (eds) Carbon Capture and Storage R&D Technologies for Sustainable Energy Future, Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi, pp. 314. (2009). Recent Approaches in CO2 Fixation Research in India and Future Perspective towards Zero Emission Coal Based Power Generation, Current Science, 97, pp. 162533.
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