Is there anyone working on IGCC?

- There is great enthusiasm for IGCC in the country, with over 20 proposed projects. So far, the National Development and Reform Commission has only approved the IGCC for Tianjin’s green coal power project. This project utilizes the two-stage dry coal powder gasification technology developed by Xi’an Thermal Power Institute, featuring primary high-temperature gasification and secondary chemical quenching gasification, which ensures high efficiency and low CO2 production. The detailed engineering design for this project was carried out by Ningbo Engineering Company, while the gasifier was manufactured by Shanghai Boiler Factory. According to a report on People’s Daily website dated March 24, 2010: “Reporters learned yesterday (March 23) from the Lingang Industrial Zone in Binhai New Area, Tianjin, that the ‘green coal power’ project, which has received a loan of $135 million from the Asian Development Bank, is progressing smoothly. The construction of the plant’s facilities is already well under way, and the zoning of different areas within the plant has been largely completed. Equipment installation will be finished by the end of the year, after which the plant will enter the testing phase.” 　　Led by Huaneng Group, this project is the first of its kind in China and the sixth in the world to feature an IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power plant. It will see the construction of China’s first IGCC generator set with a capacity of 250,000 kilowatts; this unit can achieve a power generation efficiency of 48% and a desulfurization efficiency of over 99%. Compared to conventional 300,000-kilowatt coal-fired power plants, it will result in a reduction of 70,000 tons in annual coal consumption and a 90% decrease in carbon dioxide emissions. It is reported that the ADB loan of $135 million has a repayment period of 26 years, including a 6-year grace period, and can meet 32% of the funding needs for the first phase of the green coal power project. (Reporter Su Xiaomei, correspondents Wang Xuedong and Fang Mu) “There’s also the IGCC project in Dongguan, with a capacity of around 200MW; it is said that KBR’s TRIG gasifier was ordered for use there, but it seems that no progress has been made on this project at present.” The other one is the IGCC project in Banshan, Hangzhou, with a capacity of around 100 MW; the construction of this project is on hold. Everyone’s eyes are now fixed on the results of green coal power. If the results are good, there will be more subsequent projects. If it doesn’t work well, most of the other projects will likely have to be delayed.

In China, current IGCC projects include the Green Coal Power Tianjin project, with a capacity of around 250 MW. It uses a two-stage furnace designed by TPRI, as well as Siemens’ SGT5-2000E (LC) gas turbines. The installation work is currently in progress; completion of the mechanical construction is expected by June 2011, with trial operation to take place by the end of 2011. For Dongguan Electrochemical Group’s 120MW IGCC retrofit project, KBR’s TRIG gasifier has been selected; work has already begun on the on-site coal storage area, and it is said that the foundation design for the gasifier is nearly complete. Yankuang and Shanxi Lu’an have diverted a stream of syngas from their chemical synthesis units for use in combined-cycle power generation; Yankuang’s facility was put into operation in 2005, while Lu’an’s has already started construction, and both use 6B units. Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemicals’ project for hydrogen production and power generation via slag oil gasification uses furnaces from Shell and 9E-class gas turbines from GE, and it is now in operation for power generation. There are still over 20 other preliminary tasks remaining; most of them are currently on hold, mainly due to high investment costs and high electricity prices, as well as the Commission’s cautious approach to approvals.

To what extent has it been accomplished now?

The gasification section of the Huaneng Green Coal Power Tianjin IGCC Power Plant project was designed by Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Co., Ltd., while the power generation section was designed by Northwest Electric Power Design Institute. The two-stage dry coal powder gasification process package from Xi’an Thermal Power Institute was selected; the IGCC power generation in Tianjin involves issues related to integration with the power grid. This poses a significant challenge to the industrialization of IGCC; primarily, the requirement for load adjustment by the power grid represents a test for the gasification furnace. At present, construction work on site is in full swing. The slag oil gasification hydrogen production and power generation project at Sinopec Fujian Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. uses furnaces supplied by Shell and 9E-class gas turbines from GE. It was designed by Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Co., Ltd., and is already in operation for power generation; there is no issue related to feeding the generated electricity into the grid, as it is used solely for the needs of the factory.

The long-term development of IGCC is limited due to its low energy efficiency, which is much lower than that of supercritical coal power generation; although it has a nice name, its economic viability needs to be carefully evaluated

Reply to 6# HT008: May I ask what industry you are in? Why is it considered that IGCC has low energy efficiency? I would appreciate your guidance.

Is the efficiency of IGCC really low, or is it due to the excessive number of by-products produced in the process?

Tianjin Huaneng Green Coal Power has completed the hydrostatic testing of the steam system; the next step is to conduct individual tests on each system. We must create a miracle of IGCC on the land of China.

Learn*, support the development of new environmental protection projects! IGCC technology combines an efficient gas-steam combined cycle power generation system with clean coal gasification technology, offering both high power generation efficiency and excellent environmental performance; it is a promising clean coal power generation technology. At the current level of technology, the net efficiency of IGCC power generation can reach 43%–45%, with even higher levels expected in the future. The pollutant emissions are only 1/10 those of conventional coal-fired power plants, with a desulfurization efficiency of up to 99%, and sulfur dioxide emissions at around 25 mg/Nm3. (Presently, **sulfur dioxide levels are 1200 mg/Nm3**); nitrogen oxide emissions are only 15%–20% of those in conventional power plants, and water consumption is only 1/2 to 1/3 of that in conventional power plants, which is beneficial for environmental protection.

This is a bit exaggerated, maybe it’s said in the feasibility study, but in reality... . .