21. ENVIRONMENTAL
INNOVATIONS FOR FOSSIL ENERGY APPLICATIONS
The use of coal in energy utilization and conversion
systems suffers from a number of considerations with respect to the fuel itself.
Coal is a solid fuel containing components that are precursors of environmental
pollutants or materials that are potentially damaging to downstream components.
Further, coal contains mineral matter that is converted into ash, which can lead
to suspended particulates in air, erosion of or deposition in downstream
components, and problems of solid waste disposal. This topic seeks to
mitigate the environmental disadvantages of coal utilization, including its
potential impact on water quality and availability, through improvements in
various aspects of the coal utilization cycle. The research is expected to
provide high-quality scientific information on present and emerging
environmental issues for use in regulatory and policy decision-making.
Environmental considerations and the concomitant need for low-cost compliance
options are the primary drivers of the current research program.
Also the development of robust sensor networks for coal power systems,
using instrumentation that can withstand the harsh conditions of advanced power
generation systems. Grant applications to address these needs are solicited
only in the following subtopics:
a. Development of Technologies
to Reduce Freshwater Use and Consumption in Coal-Fired Power Plants—Electricity
production requires a reliable, abundant, and predictable source of freshwater
– a resource that is limited in many parts of the United States.
The process of thermoelectric generation from fossil fuels is water
intensive – an average of 25 gallons of water is needed to produce a kWh of
electricity, primarily for steam cooling purposes.
In addition, power plants also use water for operation of pollution
control devices such as flue gas desulfurization (FGD) technology as well as for
ash handling, wastewater treatment, and wash water.
Requiring more than 136 billion gallons of freshwater a day (USGS
Circular 1268, 2004), the existing fleet of fossil fuel fired power plants is
second only to agriculture (irrigation and livestock) in terms of fresh water
use in the United States.
In
addition to the significant amount of freshwater needed for the generation of
electricity, power plants may also impact water quality. Both the Clean Water
Act (CWA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulate the discharge of
pollutants from power plants to receiving waters as well as the intake of water
for cooling and other power plant needs. For
instance, the CWA contains Sections 316(a) and 316(b) which cover water thermal
discharge and cooling water intake structures.
Grant
applications are sought for reducing the
amount of freshwater required for coal power plant operations and minimizing the
potential impacts of plant operations on water quality.
Therefore, grant applications are sought in the following areas of
interest: 1) reduction in the
quantity of freshwater required for coal-fired power generation, 2) water
quality improvements in coal power generation, 3) reduction in the capital and
operating costs associated with power plant cooling towers and development of
hybrid wet-dry systems that optimize the advantages of wet and dry cooling
towers, and 4) development of novel, low-cost treatment technology to allow the
use of non-traditional waters (i.e. mine pool water, coal-bed methane produced
water, municipal wastewater) as process water for coal power plants.
Questions
- contact Sara Pletcher (sara.pletcher@netl.doe.gov)
b. Novel
Technologies for Sequestering Mercury in Flue Gas Desulfurization Solids Under
Disposal or Beneficial Use
Environments—More
than half of the electricity generated
in the
U.S.
is produced by coal-fired
facilities. In January of 2004, EPA
published another draft regulation that targets both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide emissions from power plants. To comply with this regulation, it is
anticipated that more units will be equipped with flue gas desulfurization (FGD)
technologies. In fact, FGD production in the U.S.
may increase by an order of
magnitude to almost 200 million tons, thus exceeding the production of all other
coal combustion products. The
partitioning of mercury in flue gas desulfurization (FGD) sludge is not
completely defined, with Hg oftentimes concentrating in fines,
rather than crystalline, portion of the solid gypsum.
However, Hg has also been found in the scrubber liquor and in the larger
crystalline structure. More
effective strategies are needed to concentrate and sequester Hg in FGD
solids so that it is not released to the environment either during disposal
or through re-use.
Grant
applications are sought to develop novel technologies and or products that
concentrate and sequester mercury in FGD solids under disposal or beneficial use
environments, particularly related to the use of flue gas desulfurization
materials (synthetic gypsum) in wallboard production.
Questions
– contact Robert Patton (patton@netl.doe.gov)
c. Novel
Approaches for Monitoring the Condition of Advanced Power Plants—Novel
approaches are sought for the development and design of on-line instrumentation
and sensors capable of monitoring the state of critical equipment and components
within an advanced power plant. Instrumentation
and sensors capable of monitoring in high temperature harsh environments for the
measurement of stress/strain, corrosion, thermal barrier coating wear, fouling,
and/or material fatigue/cracking are of interest.
New approaches to embedded sensor designs or non-destructive evaluation (
Grant
applications are sought for condition
monitoring sensor networks and software will improve system control, protect
capital equipment investment, and promote safety through prevention of
catastrophic equipment failure. Equipment
that could potentially benefit from the development of advanced condition
monitoring approaches include coal gasifiers, turbines, advanced coal combustion
systems, selective catalytic reduction systems and other critical or high
maintenance equipment commonly employed in energy and power generation systems.
Questions
– contact Susan Maley (susan.maley@netl.doe.gov)
References:
Subtopic
a: Development of Technologies to
Reduce Freshwater Use and Consumption in Coal-Fired Power Plants
1. “Water - Energy Interface,” U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory, http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/ewr/water/ (To see how this program fits into NETL; start at the NETL home page, http://www.netl.doe.gov/. On the left menu select “Technologies”. Under “Technologies,” select “Coal & Power Systems” then “Environmental & Water. In the center of the page select the third bullet, “Water-Energy Interface”. These instructions should bring the viewer to the same Web location, and give a broader perspective of this subtopic.)
2.
“Estimated Use of Water in the
United States
in 2000,”
United States
Geological Service (USGS), May 2004. (USGS
Circular 1268) (
Full text available at:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2004/circ1268/)
3.
“Clean Water Act Snapshot,” United
States Environmental Protection Agency Website. (URL:
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/cwa.htm)
4.
“Safe Drinking Water Act – Regulations and Guidance,”
United States Environmental Protection Agency Website.
(URL: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/regs.html)
Subtopic
b: Novel
Technologies for Sequestering Mercury in Flue Gas Desulfurization Solids Under
Disposal or Beneficial Use Environments
5.
Pflughoeft-Hassett, D.F., et al.,
“Barriers to the Increased Utilization of Coal Combustion/Desulfurization
By-Products by Government and Commercial Sectors – Update 1998,” Topical
Report,
6.
Moretti, C. J., "An Evaluation of Disposal and Utilization
Options for Advanced Coal Utilization Wastes,” American Power Conference, Chicago,
IL,
7.
Aljoe, W. W., et al., “The Fate of
Mercury in Coal Utilization By-Products - DOE/NETL's Research Program,” presented
at the China Workshop on Mercury Control from Coal Combustion, Beijing, China, Oct. 31 –
Subtopic
c: Novel Approaches for Monitoring
the Condition of Advanced Power Plants
8. Descriptions of the advanced power systems can be found on the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Website: http://www.netl.doe.gov/
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