The Application of Low Rank Coal on IGCC Plant by the Developed Simulation Model

Nowadays, IGCC power plant that uses the gasification technology is emerging in many countries because this system has the characteristic of high efficiency without air pollutant emissions. Though bituminous and sub-bituminous coals are the main feedstock of IGCC in the present years, which only accounts for around 50%, the high consumption of coal will lead to an inevitable tendency that people focus their eyes on low rank coal which holds abundant reserves throughout the world in the future.

In the previous work, the IGCC model based on the Texaco gasification power system has been developed, and the developed model has a good match with the pulverized dry coal. There are five blocks in the simulation model of IGCC plant, such as fuel pretreatment, gasification, ash removal, AGR and combined cycle. Present investigation focuses on the application of low rank coal based on the developed model of 300 MW gasification plant comparing with Illinois#6 (high rank coal). Illinois#6 (IC6) and IBC (Indonesia lignite) are chosen as the feedstock of gasification. To evaluate the application of low rank coal, the evaluating parameters are chosen as cold gas efficiency (CGE) and carbon conversion (CC) of gasifier, composition content of syngas, power output and efficiency of combined cycle. It indicates that IBC coal which has 46.6% of plant net efficiency has relatively superiority over 40.93% of the IC6 under the same evaluating parameters.