Canada is on a determined pathway to develop and demonstrate next generation clean coal technologies – sophisticated systems that may eventually lead to near zero-emission coal-fired electricity production. • For Canada, it’s a one-two punch. In addition to capitalizing on global demand for steel, we stand to increasingly gain in a world seeking to reconcile its electricity needs and climate change concerns, including those of our own.
COAL PLAY
by Randall Anthony Mang
For some, the notion of producing clean energy from coal may be nearly unimaginable.
For the Canadian scientists and engineers aiming to zero emissions from coal-fired power generation, however, the goal is clear and
increasingly viable.
Various consortia involving provincial and federal authorities, academics, coal producers, electric utilities and others are working in
concert with others internationally to advance coal-fired power generation as both a cost-competitive and emissions-neutral energy source.
Canada’s motivation to pursue clean coal technology (CCT) development and its large-scale demonstration is strong.
In light of currently high oil and gas prices, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) reports that coal is Canada’s largest indigenous and lowest-cost fuel. Canada’s 6 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves store more energy than all of our oil, natural gas and oil sands combined.
NRCan research engineer Bill Pearson says Canada has much to gain from CCTs including helping meet our Kyoto greenhouse gas emission targets by capturing and storing the flue gas CO2. CCTs produce electricity as well as hydrogen and heat needed for oil upgrading and making chemicals and liquid fuels. They also produce CO2, a gas needed for the recovery of oil and gas and coalbed methane.
“Low-emissions coal-fired power plants would be a major source of clean power and commercial CO2,” says Mr. Pearson. “The need for these facilities is now.”
Canada’s CCT plans are well articulated in a recently completed Clean Coal Technology Roadmap (TRM), an initiative led by NRCan.
“The TRM is focused on identifying technologies and pathways for power plant retrofits and mid-term new construction, as well as technologies for the longer term where development, infrastructure planning and implementation are required,” says Mr. Pearson. “It considers what coal must do to position itself as a near zero emission technology, free of acid gas precursors such as NOx and SOx, particulates, as well as air toxics and CO2 concerns.”
National and international research organizations, manufacturers, electric utilities, coal producers, academics and other stakeholders contributed to the TRM. Among them are members of the Canadian Clean Power Coalition (CCPC), an industry association formed in 2001 that involves respected research centres and companies responsible for over 90 per cent of Canada’s total coal-fired generation capacity.
“As the challenge of potential climate change impacts became clear, Canadian coal and coal-fired electricity producers began to evaluate
strategies for net emission reduction and formed the CCPC to tackle that issue,” says CCPC executive director Bob Stobbs.
CCPC’s ultimate goal is to demonstrate commercial-scale technology
capable of controlling all emissions, including CO2, to meet all foreseeable regulatory requirements for use in new coal-fired power plants.
Engineering and feasibility studies are now underway to determine process technologies and configurations and their performance
characteristics and costs. Cynics expecting to see smoke and mirrors will be disappointed.
“The Phase 1 study has identified a range of technologies that will
allow a coal-fired plant to be as clean as a modern, natural gas-fired
gas turbine plant,” says Mr. Stobbs.“Our next steps are to select technology for the demonstration projects – the construction of a new
plant, planned for 2012.”
In addition to evaluating emissions reduction technologies for
existing coal-fired power plants, CCPC is also looking at Integrated
Gasification Combustion Cycle (IGCC) technology.
In an IGCC system, coal is gasified using pure oxygen, heat and
other processes to produce purified streams of CO2 and hydrogen (H2)
– a gas with many purposes.
H2 can be burned emissions free to produce electricity; it is also critical for oil upgrading. In a longerterm scenario, H2 could be used in
fuel cells – another emerging lowemissions technology – to produce
electricity for everything from small electronics to vehicles and buildings.
While this is all good, the bulk of coal produced in Canada has
heat and moisture values that are less than optimal for use in an
IGCC plant, and, as a result, reduce its efficiency.
While CCPC research is seeking to address this issue, it is also helping advance CO2 capture and storage technologies through its work with the Energy Innovation Network (INet).
Energy INet program director for CO2 Management Malcom Wilson,
of the University of Regina, says, “Energy coming out of coal
stations is getting cleaner and cleaner. When you remove the CO2, essentially you’re looking at nitrogen and water vapour as the only emissions.”
Underground CO2 is a proven capability. Western Canada’s spent
oil wells and saline aquifers offer excess capacity for CO2 storage.
Capturing CO2 at retrofitted plants, however, is a more perplexing
issue.
Dr. Wilson says Energy INet has identified CO2 capture systems that
could be retrofitted, but he cautions, “CO2 capture systems could add
significantly to consumer electricity cost.
“The work we’re doing is aimed at reducing this cost. We’ve come a
considerable distance towards optimizing the system, but there’s more
to be done.”
Looking to the future, Bill Pearson says the investment is worth it.
“If we don’t invest in new CCTs now, we’ll pay a penalty by having
to modify our power plants and our energy infrastructure down the
road.”
He expects Canada will prevail and emerge a leader in the largescale
demonstration of CCTs.
If that proves true, CCTs could deliver yet another benefit – advanced Canadian expertise marketable to a world starving for clean energy.
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