Producing Fuel and Electricity from Coal with Low Carbon Dioxide Emissions

New energy technologies are needed to limit CO2 emissions and the detrimental effects of global warming. In this article we describe a process which produces a low-carbon gaseous fuel from coal. Synthesis gas from a coal gasifier is shifted to a gas mixture consisting mainly of H2 and CO2. The CO2 is isolated by a physical absorption process, compressed, and transported by pipeline to a depleted natural gas field where it is injected. What remains is a gaseous fuel consisting mainly of hydrogen. We describe two applications of this fuel. The first involves a combined cycle power plant integrated with the coal gasifier, the shift reactor and the CO2 recovery units. CO2 recovery and storage will increase the electricity production cost by one third. The second provides hydrogen or a hydrogen-rich fuel gas for distributed applications, including transportation; it is shown that the fuel can be produced at a cost comparable to projected costs for gasoline. A preliminary analysis reveals that all components of the process described here are in such a phase of development that the proposed technology is ready for demonstration. . ~'> --. ~ .,.,"" '"' ~ 0\ ~ 0\0 ;.., ::::. ~ ~ -.., 01) §~ .5 c ~ ~ ~ 0 .., '> '" .~ ~ ..::. ~ ~ '" '" --. "'~ 0\00 ~~ ""00 ...~~ Q. '~ ~ --. ~.., ~ ~ ""~ 0000 .00 t¥") $ ~ .9 ~~ ~ ...~ c ~ ~ ~ .~ O"Oe) """1;3 .0 .-> ...~ 0 ~ ,9 u u "0 ~ ...