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Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter – and Japan is our biggest customerClean Coal
Although worldwide renewable energy sources are growing, coal remains the mainstay of the global economy. It generates 39% of the world’s electricity – more than oil and gas combined – and is likely to do so for some decades.
Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) are designed to enhance the efficiency of coal extraction, preparation and use, while reducing the fuel’s environmental impact. CCTs will reduce emissions from coal production and use, reduce waste, and increase the amount of energy gained from each tonne of coal.
As the world’s fourth largest coal producer and its largest exporter, Australia is playing a major role in developing CCTs.
A coal-fired future
The International Energy Agency estimates that world demand for electric power will double over the next 20 years and that coal consumption will increase by 50% to meet this need. In Japan, the Institute of Energy Economics estimates Japanese demand for coal will rise 10% between 2000 and 2020. Australia produces 350m tonnes of coal a year from 82bn tonnes of proven coal reserves, and Japan is the largest importer of Australian coal, buying 57% of all exports to Asia.
Ultra Clean Coal
UCC uses a series of chemical leaching processes to achieve high levels of purity in coal. Firing UCC directly into a gas turbine with combined cycle generates very high thermal efficiency levels of up to 50% (most coal-fired stations achieve only 35-38%).
UCC-fired systems could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 25% at the power station.
New South Wales-based UCC Energy is a leading clean coal technology developer. Already producing UCC at a pilot plant in Cessnock, it has partnered with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Japan to develop its technology further.
Mitsubishi is developing the high temperature gas turbines that will be used to burn the UCC, and has plans to build a pilot UCC plant in Japan using coal supplied by UCC Energy. Commercial high-efficiency power plants in Japan, China and Australia may follow.
Coal gasification
Coal gasification uses a combination of chemical and mechanical technologies – including CO2 capture – to reduce emissions from coal-fuelled power plants. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power generating systems use excess heat to power steam turbines.
“Technologies like coal gasification and CO2 geosequestration will be crucial for reducing emissions in coming decades, along with increased use of renewables and improved energy efficiency,” says Mark O’Neill, Executive Director of the Australian Coal Association.
Making coal clean together
Australian industry and research bodies are world leaders in the development and implementation of Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs). The Australian Government is assisting with policy measures that respond to the challenge of climate change and sustainable energy use, while also maintaining the economic benefits of coal.
A September 2004 Memorandum of Understanding between 11 Japanese and Australian industry and research partners will in-crease the pace of CCT development. Japanese and Australian experts will conduct a two-year study to investigate the potential application of CCTs to electricity generation.
The consortium’s first project is a report on the conversion of Queensland’s Callide A power station (pictured). It will look at the upgrade of the pulverised-coal-fired boiler to an oxy-fired demonstration facility that will involve capture and geosequestration of CO2 emissions.
Cooperating on the project are Queensland-based CS Energy, Australian Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs), Clean Coal Utilisation Japan and Ishikawajima- Harima Heavy Industries .
Gasification systems can achieve efficiencies exceeding 50%, lower emissions, and less solid waste than traditional power plants. Coal gasification also has the potential to produce hydrogen as a pathway to a hydrogen economy.
Integrated Drying and Gasification Combined Cycle (IDGCC) technology is a generation process specifically for high moisture brown coals such as those of Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. Brown coal is dried and converted to a combustible gas, cleaned of impurities and burned in a gas turbine to produce electricity.
Carbon capture
CO2 or carbon geosequestration involves capturing CO2 emissions during coal-fuelled power generation for storage deep underground. In conjunction with other CCTs, CO2 geosequestration could yield near-zero emissions.
Australian initiatives
Extensive research programs are under way in Australia to make coal and other fossil fuels safer and more environmentally friendly.
The Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Coal in Sustainable Development – known as CCSD – brings together leading Australian coal researchers, sustainability experts and industry groups.
COAL21: National Action Plan is a partnership between federal and state governments, the coal and electricity industries, and research organisations. Developing advanced technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal use, COAL21 will also explore coal’s role as a source of hydrogen to power the hydrogen-based economy of the future.
CO2CRC: this CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies is a joint venture between industry, government and research institutions, investigating capture and geological sequestration of CO2 emitted by industrial systems.
The CRC for Clean Power from Lignite aims to produce commercially-viable technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from lignite-fired power stations. The CRC’s lignite dewatering process could reduce emissions from new lignite power stations by 30% over current stations.
CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship covers a broad range of technology initiatives to drive down greenhouse gas emissions, including a large investment with the Queensland Government to research CCT technology at the Centre for Low Emissions Technology. This centre is facilitating technologies that lower emissions from coal-fired electricity generation.
By taking responsibility for their energy usage, Australia and Japan are leading the charge for a cleaner environment. Combining the extraction, production and research strengths of both countries promises to reduce coal’s environmental impact and retain its economic benefits.
Article by Invest Australia.
>> www.investaustralia.gov.au
