Electric Power Generation:

Fossil Fuel
JÁNOS M. BEÉR
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

bottom of the bed. Steam-generating tubes immersed in

1. Background the fluidized bed extract heat and maintain the bed at a
2. Fossil Fuel Utilization Systems low (o1100 K) combustion temperature. This favors
the reduction of SO2 and NOx emissions.
3. Coal-Fired Power Generation premixed flame A combustion system in which fuel and
4. Pollutant Emission Control in Coal-Fired Plants oxidant are mixed prior to ignition. The rate of
5. Natural Gas-Fired Plants combustion is determined by the chemical rates of
6. Power Cycles of Increased Thermodynamic Efficiency combustion reactions, and hence by the reactant
7. Conclusions concentrations and the temperature.

Power generation can be fueled by coal or natural gas.

Glossary Pulverized coal and fluidized bed coal combustion are
used for steam generation in the Rankine cycle; natural
coal pyrolysis The process of heating coal in an oxygen- gas is used in gas turbines for power generation in the
deficient atmosphere.
Brayton cycle. These techniques, including the pro-
combined cycle A combination of Brayton (gas turbine)
blems of combustion-generated pollution and the
and Rankine(condensing steam turbine) cycles; exhaust
heat from gas turbines generates steam for steam progress in pollution control technologies, are dis-
turbines, and electric power is produced in both cycles. cussed in this article. The current status of advanced,
The efficiency of the combined cycle is high because of high-efficiency power-generating cycles, capable of
the complementary temperature ranges of the Brayton lowering significantly emissions of sulfur oxides,
and Rankine cycles. nitrogen oxides, mercury, and CO2, is highlighted
cycle efficiency The energy output of an energy conversion and their potential for deployment and the critical
cycle expressed as the percentage of the energy input. needs of research and development are examined.
diffusion flame The flame produced when fuel and oxidant
are separately injected through a burner, are only
partially mixed prior to ignition, and their mixing
continues during combustion. The overall rate of 1. BACKGROUND
combustion of the fuel is determined by the rate of the
fuel/oxidant mixing in the flame. The provision of electric power is one of the
excess air The air required in addition to the theoretical prerequisites of prosperity; there is strong correlation
combustion air to burn the fuel completely (usually between electric power-generating capacity and per
expressed as a percentage of the theoretical combustion capita gross domestic product (GDP) (Fig. 1). Across
air). the world, economic indicators signal that there will
flue gas desulfurization The postcombustion reduction of
be continued growth and increased electricity demand;
SOx emissions. Most systems involve wet scrubbing of
the flue gas with lime to produce calcium sulfate as the
during the next 15 years, 1200 GW of new capacity is
waste. Capable of 95% or higher sulfur removal. projected to be added to the world’s present electric
fluidized bed combustion The combustion of millimeter- generation capacity of about 3500 GW.
sized size coal particles in a dense bed of limestone (SO2 The U.S. Energy Information Administration
sorbent) particles. The particles are suspended in a (EIA) data for 2001 show that 54% of the electricity
column of air supplied through a distributor plate at the supply in the United States was generated by coal,

Encyclopedia of Energy, Volume 2. r 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 217
218 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

15000
Coal as an energy source has the attraction of
29 Countries
broad availability (there are large reserves in several
Electric Generating Capacity Per Capita (W)

10000
900 Million
5000 People countries around the world), low cost, and economic
2000 35 Countries utilization by mature technologies. The disadvan-
800 Million
1000
People
13% tages are due mainly to environmental and health
59 Countries 15% impacts at the mining phase and in the course of coal
750 2800 Million
500
People utilization. Both the mining and the utilization of
47%
250 35 Countries
25% coal are subject to increasingly tightening standards
1500 Million by governmental regulations. Because there is no
125 People
presently acceptable practical alternative to coal and
0
500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 7500 15000 30000
natural gas, industrial research and development
GNP per Capita (2000 U.S.$)
programs are concentrated on methods of reducing
FIGURE 1 Prosperity and electricity in 2003. Generating pollutant emissions, especially SO2, NOx, and fine
capacity (watts) per capita as a function of gross national product particulates, from coal-fired plants, and NOx from
(GNP; U.S. dollars) per capita. From EPRI (2003). natural gas-fired combustion turbines. New environ-
mental technologies developed and demonstrated
under the Clean Coal Technology Program of the
3500 History
Projections
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) during the past
Electricity demand 4804 15 years have become commercial and are being
3000
applied worldwide. Major advances have also been
Billion kilowatt-hours

1392
2500 Coal made in stationary gas turbine technology by increas-
2000 1970 2020 ing the inlet gas temperature to the turbine and by
Natural
gas
significantly reducing nitrogen oxide emissions.
1500 The reduction of CO2 emission remains a chal-
1000 lenge. Research aimed at CO2 capture and seques-
Nuclear tration is receiving governmental and industrial
500 Renewables
support, but it may take a decade before an
0 Petroleum
economically feasible solution is found. In the mean
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
time, the most practical approach to this problem is
Year
the improvement of electric power-generating effi-
FIGURE 2 United States electricity supply by fuel type from ciency. Improved efficiency will reduce the amount of
1970 through 2020. From Annual Energy Outlook (2000). fuel used for the generation of a given electric energy
output and hence will reduce the emissions of all of
12% by natural gas (increasing to an estimated 32% the pollutants.
by 2020), and about 2% by oil, with the rest
produced by nuclear power (21%), hydro power
(9%), and by renewable solar or wind (2%).
Electricity generation (billion kilowatt-hours) by fuel 2. FOSSIL FUEL
type from 1970 to 2020 in the United States is UTILIZATION SYSTEMS
illustrated in Fig. 2. The increase in the use of coal
and, especially, natural gas for power generation The steam (Rankine) cycle and the gas turbine
projected for the period from 2000 to 2020 is to meet (Brayton) cycle are the two main thermodynamic
growing demand for electricity and to offset the cycles in utility power generation. In the Rankine
projected retirement of nuclear power plants. cycle, steam is created in a boiler, and part of the
Because of the large coal reserves in major enthalpy of the high-pressure superheated steam is
developing countries such as China, India, and converted to shaft work in a steam turbine that
Indonesia, where most of the new power-generating drives an electric generator. In the Brayton cycle,
plants are being installed, it can be expected that coal high-pressure and high-temperature gaseous combus-
will remain the dominant source of power generation tion products enter directly a gas turbine, where part
worldwide during the first half of this century. There is of their enthalpy is converted to shaft work. The gas
also a strongly growing demand for natural gas, a turbine drives a compressor and the electric power
clean fuel capable of being used in power generation generator. Because of the direct entry of the
with high efficiency. combustion products into the turbine, the gas turbine
 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel 219

cycle is highly sensitive to the quality of fuel and is the burners, is fully integrated with the boiler. For
restricted to the use of natural gas or distillate fuel lower reactivity coals, the fineness of grind is
oil. Boilers in the steam cycle are, by contrast, fairly increased to create a larger specific surface area so
tolerant to fuel quality and are capable of being as to improve conditions for ignition and combustion.
fueled even by low-quality coal or waste fuels. The powdered coal is pneumatically transported to
Combustion is the prevailing fuel utilization technol- burners and injected via particle-laden jets into the
ogy in both of these cycles. In future central power combustion chamber. The transport air that carries
plants, there are good prospects for application of the coal from the mill to the burners is a small fraction
gasification, which enables coal use in gas turbines, of the total combustion air. It is kept at low
because of the environmental advantages and the temperature, limited to about 373 K, for reasons of
promise of higher cycle efficiency. safety against ignition and explosion in the mill and in
During the past decade, there has been a growing the powdered coal transport pipeline between the mill
trend toward distributed generation. Compared to and the burners. The rest of the combustion air, which
large, centralized utility plants, power plants of smaller can be preheated to higher temperatures, is injected
capacity, can be sited close to consumers, thereby separately and admixed with the already ignited coal
reducing electricity transmission losses and improving particle-laden jet in the combustion chamber. A
operational flexibility. Being situated near population schematic illustration of a PC combustion boiler is
centers, these smaller plants have to be highly efficient shown in Fig. 3. The combustion chamber is typically
and use a clean fuel, usually natural gas. Natural gas is of parallelepiped shape; the dimensions of a 300-MW
free of sulfur and ash, and because of a carbon content coal-fired boiler would be approximately be
lower than that in coal or oil, the CO2 emission from 15  15 m2 of cross-sectional area and 45–50 m in
natural gas combustion is also lower. height. The combustion chamber walls are completely
High-efficiency utilization is achieved by com-
bined gas turbine–steam cycles. Also, being close to Air temperature
industrial and population centers opens the oppor- 2 and 5 control duct
Flue gas Regenerative
tunity for combined heat and power (CHP) genera- outlet air heater
tion, which further enhances the plant’s energy Forced 4
draft fan
Induced
efficiency. An example of distributed generation draft fan
and CHP is the Massachusetts Institute of Techno-
6 Heated air
logy’s natural gas-fired gas turbine/steam Cogen to burners 3 7 Feedwater
plant, which provides the campus with 22 MW of entering
boiler drum
electric power and 80 t/hr of steam for heating or
Reheater
cooling at an energy efficiency above 80% and with inlet 9
very low emissions. This plant replaced a low- Primary
Superheated
efficiency, more polluting, and more costly energy steam to 8 10 convection
high-pressure drainable
system in which steam was produced on campus in turbine superheater
oil-fired boilers and electric power was purchased Reheated steam
from a utility. to low-pressure
turbine
Radiant reheater Feedwater inlet
11
to economizer
Radiant
pendant
3. COAL-FIRED superheater
2
POWER GENERATION Water walls
Pulverized coal
burners 1 and 6
3.1 Pulverized Coal Combustion (tangential,
titable)

Pulverized coal (PC) combustion is presently the 1 and 6

Coal
system of choice for coal-fired power-generating 2 Solid ash trough feeder
Coal
plants. In PC combustion, the coal is dried and is and removal pulverizer
equipment
ground to a specified fineness, with a maximum and dryer

particle size of 250–300 mm, depending on the

reactivity of the coal. Coal preparation, which 3 Radiation loss

involves feeding, drying, and grinding of the coal,

and the pneumatic transport of the pulverized coal to FIGURE 3 Utility boiler fired with pulverized coal.
220 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

cooled by steam-generating tubes. As the pulverized

coal particles burn, the flame transfers heat, mainly by
thermal radiation, to the steam-cooled tube walls of
the boiler. The design of the combustion chamber has
to provide for sufficient residence time of the burning
particle to complete combustion, and for the cooling
of the residual fly ash particles to below their
‘‘softening temperature’’ before entry to narrow con-
vective heat exchanger passages, to prevent the build-
up of sticky ash deposits. At regular intervals, friable Heat
deposits are removed by soot blowing using steam. exchanger
tubes
Although there are a great variety of burners in PC
combustion boilers, the most widespread types are the Sorbent
circular burners and the vertical nozzle arrays. (limestone)
Circular burners are usually positioned perpendicu- Fine
larly to the combustion chamber walls, whereas recycle
vertical nozzle arrays are in the corners, firing
Spent Coal
tangentially onto the circumference of an imaginary sorbent
cylinder in the middle of the combustion chamber.
Designs utilizing circular burners are more concerned
Air
with the tailoring of the individual burner flame,
whereas vertical nozzle arrays in tangentially fired FIGURE 4 Fluidized bed coal combustion with sorbent
injection for sulfur capture, and heat extraction by means of
furnaces are designed to rely more on the furnace
steam-generating tubes immersed in the bed. From Sarofim and
volume for the mixing of the fuel and air streams. Beér (1978).
Complete combustion with a minimum (typically less
than 15%) of excess air is a challenging task for a coal As the airflow through the bed increases, the drag lifts
combustion system. The excess air, usually expressed and separates the particles from one another, and the
as the percentage of the theoretically required pressure drop across the bed becomes sufficient to
combustion air, is the additional air needed for support the weight of the bed; the bed is incipiently
complete burnout of the fuel. The significance of the fluidized. Further increase of the velocity causes the
excess air is that the heat carried by the stack gases air to form bubbles that rise in the bed like gas in
into the atmosphere, the largest heat loss (about 10%) liquid. The bubbles stir the bed by carrying pockets of
of boiler operation, is directly proportional to the particles on their tops and in their wake. The particles
volume of the flue gas and, hence, to the excess air. are released and are returned to the bed as the
The fly ash formed in pulverized coal combustion is bubbles burst on the top of the fluidized bed. Less
removed from the flue gas in the form of dry than 2% of the bed material is coal; the rest is coal
particulate matter; a small proportion (B10%) of ash and additive limestone, capable of capturing
the coal ash that falls off the tube walls as semimolten sulfur after the calcination of the additive limestone
agglomerated ash is collected from the bottom hopper and the formation of lime (CaO). Due to the excellent
of the combustion chamber (‘‘bottom ash’’). Ash gas–solid contact, the fluidized bed is a favorable
particles are molten in the high-temperature regions of reactor for the combustion of millimeter-size coal
the flame, but cool and solidify as they reach heat particles and for sulfur capture in the combustion
exchange surfaces of the boiler, forming friable process. The bed is cooled to a temperature of 1050–
deposits that are easily removed by soot blowing. 1170 K by immersed steam-generating tubes. This
relatively low combustion temperature prevents the
3.2 Fluidized Bed Combustion softening of the coal ash and the chemical decom-
position of CaSO4, the product of sulfur capture.
In fluidized bed combustion (FBC) (Fig. 4), crushed
coal, 5–10 mm in particle size, is burned in a 1000-
mm-deep bed of 0.5- to 3.0-mm particles consisting 3.2.1 Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion
mainly of additive sorbents (limestone or dolomite) In circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC)
and coal ash. The bed is fluidized by a blast of air (Fig. 5), the gas velocity is higher than in FBC, and
through a distributor plate at the bottom of the bed. a large part of the solid particles is carried over from
 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel 221

Ozone Photochemical
Convective pass layer Acid rain oxidants
(backpass) depletion (visibility)

Cyclone
CFB furnace N2O SOx
NOx VOCs

CO2
Secondary FIP
air

Global Health effects

warming
Coal and To baghouse
limestone Fluidized bed or ESP Combustion
heat exchanger
FIGURE 6 Combustion-generated pollutants; environmental
Bottom Primary and health effects. VOCs, volatile organic compounds; FIP, fine
ash air Fluidizing air inorganic particles.

FIGURE 5 Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) furnace. ESP,

electrostatic precipitator. From Scott and Nilsson (1999).

the bed into a tall riser, where the particles aggregate 4.1 Sulfur
into clusters that reflux at the wall. Particles that are
carried over from the riser are precipitated by a high- Sulfur in coal will oxidize to SO2, a precursor of acid
temperature process cyclone and are recirculated into rain. Methods of sulfur capture in the combustion
the riser. With the higher gas velocity, the bed cross- process involve the reactions of sorbents such as
sectional area becomes smaller than in FBC, for a calcined limestone (CaO) with SO2 to produce
given performance. This, in turn, leads to a smaller CaSO4, a stable, disposable solid waste. In the
number of coal feed points required for maintaining high-temperature, fuel-lean environment of pulver-
uniform coal concentration over the bed cross- ized coal flames (Tpeak B2000 K), however, CaSO4 is
sectional area, a significant operational convenience. unstable; it decomposes, which leaves flue gas
Also, because of the higher gas velocity and the desulfurization (FGD) as the viable option for sulfur
somewhat smaller sorbent particle size, less additive capture from PC combustion. The development of
sorbent is required in CFBC for a given percentage fluidized bed combustion provided the opportunity
sulfur capture. to effectively retain sulfur in the combustion process,
FBC and CFBC are commercial, mature technolo- because CaSO4, is stable at the lower FBC operating
gies; primarily applied to the use of low-grade fuels in temperature of 1050–1170 K. Sulfur capture in
smaller unit sizes. The main advantages of CFBC are fluidized combustion ranges between 70 and 90%,
the capability of capturing sulfur in the combustion with even higher capture efficiencies obtained for
process by additive sorbents and the lack of sensitivity subbituminous coals of high calcium content. FGD
to fuel type or fuel quality variation. Due to the technologies are mature and commercially proven;
refractory lined process cyclone circulating fluidized 99% SO2 reduction has been achieved at some
bed combustors do not lend themselves easily to scale- plants, with 90–95% reduction as routine. Sulfur
up to the larger utility boiler sizes (Z660 MW). dioxide emissions from utility plants in the United
States have been reduced 40% since 1980, even
though electricity production increased by 35%
during the same period. This was achieved by
4. POLLUTANT EMISSION switching to coals of lower sulfur content and by
CONTROL IN COAL-FIRED PLANTS retrofitting some of the existing coal-fired power
plants with scrubbers. This process will have to
The combustion-generated pollutants of concern are continue to satisfy the constraints of the Clean Air
mercury, fine inorganic particulates, and oxides of Act Amendment of 1990, which requires further
sulfur and nitrogen. Figure 6 is an illustration of the reductions in SO2 emissions in the Phase 2 imple-
pollutants and their effects. mentation that began in the year 2000.
222 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

4.2 Nitrogen Oxides combustion chamber and mixed with the NO-
bearing coal combustion products. The NO is
Nitrogen oxides as pollutants deserve special atten- reduced by reactions with hydrocarbon fragments,
tion, because of their wide-ranging effect on the CH and CH2, that are formed in the course of
environment, including contribution to acid rain, the pyrolysis of the natural gas. Control of NOx
reduction of atmospheric visibility, production of emissions by combustion process modifications and
tropospheric (ground level) ozone, and, in the case of their combinations can yield up to 70% reduc-
N2O, depletion of stratospheric ozone. It is also tions. These technologies are successfully applied in
noteworthy that NOx emissions are amenable to the utility industry; more than 188 GW of electric
reduction by combustion process modifications. The power-generating capacity currently in operation
main routes of NO formation in coal flames are the internationally has been fitted by these combustion
attack of atomic oxygen on molecular nitrogen in measures.
high-temperature, fuel-lean flames (‘‘thermal NO’’), Further reductions in NOx emissions can be
and the oxidation of the organically bound nitrogen obtained by the injection of additive ammonia into
in the coal (‘‘fuel NO’’). It is noteworthy that fuel- the combustion products. At high temperature
bound nitrogen and NO can be converted to (1060–1350 K), no catalyst is needed in the selective
molecular nitrogen and, hence, rendered innocuous noncatalytic reduction (SNCR) process for the
for NOx emission by coal pyrolysis, a process in removal of up to 40% of the NO formed during
which coal is maintained at high temperature in an coal combustion. In selective catalytic reduction
oxygen-deficient atmosphere. To complete combus- (SCR), the ammonia vapor is injected over a catalyst
tion, the rest of the combustion air, called ‘‘overfire bed situated at the boiler economizer outlet, where
air’’ (OFA), ought then to be admixed to the products the flue gas temperature ranges from 600 to 650 K. In
of the pyrolysis reactions. In this burnout stage of the the presence of the catalyst, the ammonia chemically
flame, the temperature needs to be controlled to reacts with NOx to form water vapor and N2. The
levels sufficiently high to complete combustion but cost of SRC installation is higher than that of SNCR,
insufficient for significant thermal NO formation. but much less ammonia has to be injected, and NOx
NOx emission control by combustion process reductions in excess of 90% can be obtained,
modification is accomplished by OFA, low-NOx depending on the type of coal burned.
burner, and NO reburn technologies. In low-NOx
burners (LNBs) (Fig. 7), air staging is achieved by
4.3 Fine Particulates
aerodynamically tailored mixing of the fuel jet with
airstreams supplied through each individual burner, Fine particulates are removed by electrostatic pre-
rather than through the splitting of the combustion cipitators (ESPs) or by baghouse (BH) filters. In the
chamber into fuel-rich and fuel-lean combustion ESP, particles with an electric charge are attracted to
zones by the use of OFA. LNBs and OFA represent collecting electrodes in a high-voltage field. The
the most cost-effective methods of achieving reduced precipitation efficiency is high, in the 10- to 300-mm
NOx emissions from new plants and also from size range, but it falls off for smaller particles,
existing boilers by retrofit. especially those in the submicrometer range. These
NO reburning involves a secondary fuel, usually ultrafine particulates have important health effects
natural gas; the gas, amounting to 10–20% of the and their emissions will likely be regulated. Baghouses
total heat input to the boiler, is injected into the are fabric collectors in which the dust-laden gas flows

burnout zone

staged air

primary flame
fuel and
primary air

internal
recirculation zone

FIGURE 7 Schematic of a low-NOx burner. From Soud and Fukusawa (1996).

 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel 223

through a cloth tube, where particles are captured by of the lower C:H ratio, CO2 emissions from the
sieving action. As a ‘‘filter cake’’ forms by deposition, combustion of natural gas are significantly lower
particles much smaller than the interstices of the cloth compared to the heat equivalent of other fossil fuels.
are captured. The particles are then removed by In the gas turbine cycle, the gaseous combustion
reversed air flow or shaking, and are collected in a bin product is the direct working medium of power
below the cloth filter tubes. Baghouses are capable of generation. The gas turbine (GT) consists of a
precipitating submicrometer particles and fumes with compressor, combustor, turbine, and heat exchanger
high efficiency. Their flow resistance is higher than (Fig. 8). Combustion takes place at elevated pressure
that of the ESP and their operation is, therefore, in the combustor. Large amounts of excess air are
somewhat more costly. used as diluent, to ensure that the combustion
product temperature at entry to the gas turbine does
not exceed the limit set to protect the structural
4.4 Mercury
integrity of the turbine. However, because the cycle
Mercury has been identified by the U.S. Environ- efficiency is proportional to GT entry temperature,
mental Protection Agency (EPA) as a toxic substance concerted research and development efforts are in
of great concern, because of its adverse health effects. progress to permit higher inlet temperatures by
Regulations for mercury removal from coal-fired means of improved construction materials and more
utility plants are expected to be issued by the end of effective turbine blade cooling technologies. As a
2004. Significant research and development efforts result, gas turbine entry temperatures have risen
by the U.S. DOE and industry are in progress to find almost steadily over the past two decades to a state-
cost-effective ways for the removal of mercury from of-the-art value of 1570 K. Further increases can be
stack gases. Potential solutions include SO2 scrub- expected by the introduction of advanced ceramic
bers that will also capture a high percentage of materials to GT technology.
soluble (oxidized) mercury, SCR catalysts for NOx
removal to oxidize elemental mercury for subsequent
capture by electrostatic precipitators or fabric filters, 5.1 Nitrogen Oxides Emission Control in
and the absorption of vapor-phase mercury by beds Natural Gas-Fired Gas Turbine Plants
of activated carbon or particles injected into the flue There is no nitrogen organically bound to fuel
gas and subsequently removed by gas–solid separa- molecules in natural gas; NO forms primarily by
tion devices. The cost of mercury removal is the ‘‘thermal NO’’ process. In the conventional
significantly lower in integrated coal gasification method of combustion, fuel and air are separately
combined cycle (IGCC) plants than it is in PC plants injected into the combustor and mix in the course of
because the treated volume of syngas in IGCC plants combustion (diffusion flame). This process is prone
is much smaller, compared to the flue gas in PC to high rates of thermal NO formation because near-
plants. However, this affects mainly the choice of stoichiometric (theoretical air:fuel ratio) mixtures
new power plants, because of the small number of prevail on the boundaries of fuel-rich and fuel-lean
IGCC plants presently in operation. turbulent eddies in such flames. In contemporary

5. NATURAL GAS-FIRED PLANTS Air

Natural gas is a premium fuel; because of its relatively

high price, in the past it was used primarily for ‘‘peak-
shaving’’ in gas turbine plants. Reassessment of the Compressor Turbine
long-term availability of natural gas, the development
of gas turbine–steam combined cycle (GTCC) plants
with high cycle efficiency, environmental pressures for
‘‘decarbonization’’ of the fuel supply, and the rapid
growth of distributed power generation have made
natural gas the choice fuel for base load power Fuel
Recuperator
generation. Natural gas has no sulfur, and the
carbon:hydrogen ratio of its composition is much
lower than that in petroleum fuels or in coals. Because FIGURE 8 Gas turbine cycle with regenerator.
224 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

combustion technology’s response to this problem, expands through the last stages of the steam turbine,
the fuel gas and air are premixed prior to their entry the steam has to be reheated by taking it back from
into the combustor, creating a strongly fuel-lean the turbine to the boiler. Reheating, once or multiple
mixture that corresponds to the combustor exit gas times, will raise also the thermodynamic efficiency of
temperature. This, so-called ultralean premixed the power cycle because it further increases the mean
combustion results in very low NOx emissions, but temperature of heat addition. Advanced supercritical
because the combustor is operated at mixture ratios steam power plants with steam parameters of
close to the lean blow-off limit of the fuel gas/air 300 atm pressure, temperatures of 866 K, and cycle
mixture, the flame stability may be impaired. For efficiencies up to 43% are expected to play a major
restoring flame stability, a small amount of non- role in new power generation in the near future. As
premixed fuel, say 10%, is injected into the the steam temperature approaches 973 K, the effi-
combustor to form a pilot flame and act as a stable ciency may reach 47%, but new advanced designs
source of ignition. Further reduction of NO can be and materials for the boiler, the steam turbine, and
obtained by steam injection into the combustor. the associated piping will be required; development
Although steam injection will depress the cycle will likely yield commercial applications after 2010.
efficiency on account of loss of the latent heat of
steam, this effect is somewhat compensated for by
the fact that the steam represents additional mass 6.2 Gas Turbine–Steam Combined Cycles
flow through the turbine without the need for In gas turbine–steam combined cycle plant, the
expending additional compression work. gas turbine exhaust, typically 750 K and containing
13–15% O2, raises steam in a heat recovery steam
generator for producing power in a steam turbine
6. POWER CYCLES OF INCREASED and/or heat in cogeneration. Because of the com-
THERMODYNAMIC EFFICIENCY plementary temperature ranges of the Brayton
(1600–900 K) and Rankine (850–288 K) cycles, their
Pollutant emissions from electric power-generating combination can produce significantly improved
plants are inversely proportional to the thermody- thermodynamic cycle efficiency, approaching 58%
namic cycle efficiency of power generation. Some in modern commercial plants. When coal or residual
power plants with advanced thermodynamic cycles fuel oil is added as a supplementary fuel in the heat
are in commercial use, others have the potential to be recovery steam generator of a GTCC plant (Fig. 9),
applied in the near and medium term, and there are there is considerable gain in operational flexibility,
also long-term research and development programs albeit at the expense of a small reduction in the cycle
for very high-efficiency and ‘‘zero-emission’’ cycles in efficiency. Due to a low first cost ($400–500/kW, less
power generation. It has to be borne in mind that in than one-half of the approximate first cost of a PC
addition to technical feasibility, a novel electric plant), high efficiency, and low emissions, GTCC
power-generating system needs to be successfully plants are the favored choice for new power plants,
demonstrated at a commercial scale for years, and despite the gas/coal price differential and the
must be economically viable, before it is accepted for uncertainty of future gas prices.
application by the utility industry.
Steam to
power/process
Natural gas
6.1 Pulverized Coal Combustion in heat

Supercritical Steam Cycle

Pulverized coal-fired supercritical steam boilers (e.g. Boiler
kW C T
250 atm, 2  853 K), have been in use since the exhaust
1930s, but improvements in materials and increasing
demand for higher efficiency are making this system
the choice of new coal-fired utility plant worldwide. Air
Their increased efficiency is due to the higher mean Pulverized
temperature of heat addition in the supercritical coal

steam cycle. Because of a strong increase in the FIGURE 9 Gas turbine–steam combined cycle with fired heat
moisture content of high-pressure steam as it recovery steam generator. C, compressor; T, turbine.
 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel 225

Gas turbines can be used also for retrofitting Air Hot exhaust to generator
existing steam plants by injecting the gas turbine for raising steam for
power or process heat
(GT) exhaust through the boilers’ coal burners (‘‘hot Compressor Gas
turbine Power
wind box repowering’’), or applying it to partial Topping
boiler-feed water heating, thereby allowing more of Fuel vapor combustor
the steam flow in the steam turbine to expand to
Hot gas
condenser pressure instead of being bled for regen- Air cleanup
erative-feed water heating. This will then result in
Steam to
both higher efficiency and increased electric power- Pyrolysis power or heat
Coal unit
generating capacity. Water
Char
Booster Pressurized
6.3 Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion compressor fluidized bed
combustor
In pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC), the FIGURE 10 Pressurized fluidized bed combined cycle with
advantages of sulfur capture by additive sorbents in topping combustion. From Robertson et al. (1989).
the bed and an operation insensitive to fuel quality
are combined with increased efficiency of the fluidized bed carbonizer, and the fuel gas, after being
combined steam and gas turbine cycle. Compared cleaned of particulates and alkali, is burned in the
to FBC, the heat release rate per unit bed area in topping combustor to increase the temperature at the
PFBC is several times higher, making the ‘‘footprint’’ inlet to the gas turbine to 1470 K. This temperature
of the pressurized power plant smaller. The bed rise increases the cycle efficiency up to about 45%.
height in the PFBC is 3–4 m instead of the typical bed Further improvements in efficiency can be obtained
height of 1 m in FBC. Under atmospheric pressure, by the application of advanced gas turbine technol-
the acceptable pressure drop of about 100 mbar ogy and, on the steam side, by advanced steam
limits height across the bed. In the PFBC–GT cycle, a parameters. An additional advantage of this cycle is
300 mbar pressure drop represents less than 3% of that the N2O emission is eliminated because the N2O
the total pressure ratio. A consequence of the formed in the pressurized fluidized combustor
increased bed height is a larger carbon inventory in decomposes at the elevated temperature in the
the bed and lower NO emission due to the reduction topping combustor. The successful application of
of the NO formed by solid carbon. The high carbon this cycle requires further demonstrations of the hot
load, however, does not reduce the emission of gas clean up and the topping combustor. The PCFBC
nitrous oxide, N2O, which is still stable at the with topping combustor is expected to be ready for
relatively low temperature (B1050 K) in the PFBC. commercial application after 2010.
A further disadvantage of this temperature is that it is
also low for efficient gas turbine applications. The
efficiency of the PFBC combined cycle units in
6.4 Integrated Gasification
operation is about 41%. Further increases in
Combined Cycle
efficiency can be obtained by raising the turbine inlet
temperature using a topping combustor. IGCC involves the total gasification of coal, mostly
with oxygen and steam, to produce a medium-
6.3.1 The Second Generation of PFBC calorific-value fuel gas for use in a gas turbine cycle.
The second generation of PFBC is a response to the The fuel gas, after being cleaned of particulates,
need for increasing the gas temperature at the inlet to alkali, and sulfur compounds, is burned in a low-
the gas turbine. In this cycle (Fig. 10), coal, usually in NOx combustor. The gasifier also produces steam for
the form of a coal–water slurry, is injected into a a steam power cycle. A schematic arrangement of
pressurized fluidized bed carbonizer, where it under- IGCC equipment (gasifier, gas-cleaning tanks, steam-
goes mild gasification to produce char and a low- raising tanks, and power-generating apparatus) is
calorific-value gas. The char is burned in a pressur- illustrated in Fig. 11.
ized circulating fluidized bed combustor (PCFBC) IGCC is the cleanest presently available advanced
with high levels of excess air. Sulfur is captured in the coal technology. It is working with no major
PCFBC by additive dolomite and the flue gas is operational problems. The future of IGCC depends
cleaned of particulates and alkali at high temperature on whether it will be possible to reduce its first cost
before entry to the GT. Sulfur is also captured in the and to increase the cycle efficiency. The cost is
226 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

Slurry Entrained
plant flow gasifier
Coal slurry Product
Oxygen gas Conventional
Cyclone cooler Hot-gas
plant gas
cleanup cleanup
Steam
To HRSG
N2
To combustor Fuel
gas Combustor
N2
Feed
water Particulates Air
Generator
Steam
Gas turbine Hot gas
Sulfur Exhaust
Heat recovery gas
removal steam
Disposal and Steam generator
Stack
recovery

Steam
Generator
Sulfur
by-product Steam turbine

FIGURE 11 Integrated gasification combined cycle. HRSG, heat recovery steam generator. From Ruth (1998).

presently high, mainly because of the oxygen plant power generation by using fuels of very low or
needed for the oxygen-blown gasifier and also even negative cost (the waste fuel cost is negative
because of the less than complete integration of the if it stands against the cost of disposal).
various subsystems, such as the gasifier air separation
system, fuel gas cooler and cleanup, and gas turbine
and steam plants. Existing IGCC demonstration
plants in the United States have efficiencies under 6.5 Hybrid Gasification/Fuel Cell/Gas
40%, but two newly commissioned European IGCC Turbine/Steam Combined Cycles
demonstration plants have higher design efficiencies
of 43 and 45%. These higher cycle efficiencies are 6.5.1 The DOE’s Vision 21 Cycle
mainly due to improved gas turbine and steam plant One of the promising coal-fired advanced cycles
efficiencies and also to better subsystems integration. expected to be ready for demonstration in the period
Further improvements yielding cycle efficiencies up between 2010 and 2015 is the Vision 21 Cycle of the
to 50% are possible. U.S. DOE. (Fig. 12). The fuel gas produced in an
Even with improved cycle efficiencies, however, oxygen-blown gasifier at elevated pressure is cleaned
IGCC plants are presently not competitive with other at a temperature of 1273 K. The gas, composed
advanced coal-burning systems, such as PC-fired mainly of H2 and CO, enters a solid oxide fuel cell
supercritical steam plants, because of the higher (SOFC) on the anode side, while air from a
installation costs of IGCC plants. Nevertheless, the compressor exhaust, preheated in a recuperator,
following considerations may eventually tilt the enters on the side of the cathode. The hydrogen is
balance in favor of IGCC applications: used to generate electricity in the SOFC, and the CO
burns in a combustion turbine that drives the
*
The cost of mercury removal in IGCC plants is compressor. Electric power is produced in another
lower because the treated volume of syngas is SOFC and gas turbine, at a lower pressure down-
much smaller than that of the flue gas in PC-fired stream of the high-pressure turbine, with more
plants. power added by a bottoming steam cycle. The
*
IGCC lends itself to more efficient removal of efficiency could reach 60% in this ‘‘zero-emission’’
CO2 from high-pressure fuel gas. scheme. Concerted research and development efforts
*
By broadening the fuel supply to the ever- by a DOE/industry/university program aim at the
increasing volume of refinery wastes (heavy development of individual modules of this cycle and
residual oils and petroleum coke), IGCC could the complex control system required for flexible load
become attractive for clean and efficient central following.
 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel 227

Raw fuel gas

Air
Transport-bed Compressor Turbine
desulfurization
Cathode
Zinc oxide Anode
Anode
Water polisher SOFC
Anode
HP clean fuel gas Turbine
Fuel-gas Cathode
cooler Expander
Coal/water
slurry SOFC Power turbine
Entrained generator
flow IP clean fuel gas
gasifier Steam Recuperator
ASU Exhaust HRSG
Slag Reheat steam
turbine bottoming
cycle

= Off the shelf = Technology change

= Integration development = Technology development

FIGURE 12 Vision 21. Gasification/gas turbine/fuel cell/steam combined cycle plant. SOFC, solid oxide fuel cell; HRSG,
heat recovery steam generator; HP, high pressure; IP, intermediate pressure; ASU, air separation unit. From Ruth (1998).

7. CONCLUSIONS need to be finalized and are expected to be ready for

demonstration by 2010.
Coal is the prevailing fuel of power generation IGCC is the cleanest of advanced coal-fired
worldwide, and it is likely to remain important well technologies. The demonstration plants in the United
into the next century. Natural gas in gas turbine States were designed with relatively low cycle
combined cycle plants will, in the short and medium efficiency (B40%), but IGCC is capable of higher
terms, replace some coal-fired capacity, especially in efficiencies through the application of advanced gas
distributed power generation and in heat and power turbine technology and better subsystem integration.
cogeneration. Because of coal’s role in pollution, and The disadvantage of presently higher installation cost
especially due to the expected future limitations on compared to PC-fired plants could be compensated
CO2 emissions, clean coal utilization technology for in the future by lower cost of mercury removal
with high thermodynamic efficiency will have to be and more favorable conditions for CO2 capture.
applied for new coal-fired central power stations. Interest in gasification has also continued to increase
Pulverized coal combustion in supercritical steam because of favorable prospects for achieving a zero-
boilers (300 atm, 2  866 K) can play a major role in emission and near-60% cycle efficiency system by
new power generation because of reduced emissions, combinations of coal gasification, fuel cell, and gas
improved efficiency (43%), and the long experience turbine technology (e.g., Vision 21).
with pulverized coal combustion technology. As
steam temperatures approach 973 K, efficiency may Acknowledgments
reach 47%, but new advanced designs and materials
Parts of this article have been published in a paper entitled
for the boiler, the steam turbine, and the associated Developments in Power Generation in Response to Environmental
piping will be required; development will likely yield Challenges, in the journal Progress in Combustion and Energy
commercial applications after 2010. Science. Permission of Elsevier to use this material is acknowl-
Several small, 70-MWe pressurized fluidized edged with thanks.
combustion combined cycle plants have been operat-
ing satisfactorily since 1991. Efficiencies are around
41% and emissions are low, except for N2O (50–100 SEE ALSO THE
ppm). A larger plant of 360 MWe capacity began FOLLOWING ARTICLES
operation in 1999 in Japan. Combustion of fuel gas
produced by pregasification of coal increases turbine Electrical Energy and Power  Electric Power: Critical
inlet temperature to 1470 K, with efficiency increas- Infrastructure Protection  Electric Power Generation:
ing to 45% in the topping cycle (second-generation Valuation of Environmental Costs  Electric Power
PFBC). N2O is eliminated at the elevated tempera- Measurements and Variables  Electric Power Reform:
ture in the topping combustor. Enabling technolo- Social and Environmental Issues  Electric Power
gies, e.g., hot gas cleanup and topping combustors, Systems Engineering  Electric Power: Traditional
228 Electric Power Generation: Fossil Fuel

Monopoly Franchise Regulation and Rate Making  Herzog, H. J., and Drake, E. M. (1993). ‘‘IEA Greenhouse Gas
Electric Power: Transmission and Generation R&D Program, IEA/93/0E6.’’ International Energy Agency,
Cheltenham, U.K.
Reliability and Adequacy  Hazardous Waste from Robertson, A., Garland, R., Newby, R., Rehmat, A., and
Fossil Fuels  Investment in Fossil Fuels Industries Rebow, L. (1989). ‘‘Second Generation Pressurized Fluidized
Bed Combustion Plant’’. Foster Wheeler Dev. Corp. Rep.
FWC/FWDC-TR 89/11 to the U.S. DOE, DE-AC21-
86MC21023.
Further Reading
Ruth, L. A. (1998). ‘‘U.S. Department of Energy Vision 21
Beér, J. M. (1988). ‘‘H. C. Hottel Plenary Lecture,’’ Symp. (Int.) Workshop.’’ DOE Federal Energy Technology Center, Pitts-
Combust., 22nd, pp. 1–16. The Combustion Institute, Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania.
burgh, Pennsylvania. Sarofim, A. F., and Beer, J. M. (1978). Symp. (Int.) Combust.,
Beér, J. M. (1996). Low NOx burners for boilers, furnaces and gas 17th, pp. 189–204. The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh,
turbines. Combust. Sci. Technol. 121, 169–191. Pennsylvania.
Blum, R., and Hald, J. (2000). ‘‘ELSAM.’’ Skaerbaek, Denmark. Scott, D. H., and Nilsson, P. A (1999). ‘‘Competitiveness of Future
Boyce, M P. (2002). ‘‘Handbook for Cogeneration and Combined Coal-Fired Units in Different Countries.’’ IEA Coal Research,
Cycle Power Plants.’’ ASME Press, New York. CCC/14, London.
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). (2003). ‘‘Electricity Soud, H. N., and Fukusawa, K. (1996). ‘‘Developments in NOx
Technology Roadmap.’’ [www.epri.com]. EPRI, Palo Alto, Abatement and Control.’’ IEA Coal Research, London
California. Steinbach, C., Goudeaux, D., Troger, C., and Moore, R. (2000).
Energy Information Administration. (2000). ‘‘Annual Energy ‘‘Operation Experience with Alstom Power’s GT10 Gas Turbine
Outlook 2001 with Projections to 2020.’’ U.S. Department of and Ultra Low NOx Combustion System.’’ PowerGen Con-
Energy, Washington, D.C. ference, Orlando, FL.
Folsom, B., Hong, C., Sommer, T., and Pratapas, J. M. (1993). U.S. National Coal Council Report to the Secretary of Energy.
Report TR103265-V2. Proc. Joint Symp. Stationary Combust. (2003). ‘‘Coal Related Greenhouse Gas Management Issues.’’
NOx Control, 1993, pp. 7A; 15–34. Electric Power Research Washington, DC.
Institute (EPRI), Palo Alto, California. Wendt, J. O., Sternling, C. V., and Mafovich, M. A. (1973). Symp.
‘‘Fuel Cell Handbook,’’ 5th ed. (2000). DOE National Energy (Int.) Combust., 14th, pp. 897–904. The Combustion Institute,
Technology Laboratory (NETL), Morgantown, WV. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Haupt, G., and Karg, J. (1998). Proc. Conf. Electric Power Supply Wiswanathan, R., and Bakker, W. T. (2000). ‘‘Materials for Ultra
and Industry (CEPSI), 12th. Pattaya/Thailand. Supercritical Fossil Fuel Plants.’’ EPRI Report TR-114750.