Presentation……

Coal
Conversion
Gasificatio &
Technology
n
Group Members…

1) Muhammad Athar
2) Idrees Khan
3) Raza ullah
4) Sanaullah
5) Nauman khan
6) Rohan Farooq
7) Hazrat Bilal
8) Muhammad Ahmad
Introduction to Gasification….

 Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil fuel based

carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon
dioxide. ... The resulting gas mixture is called syngas (from synthesis gas) or
producer gas and is itself a fuel.
 Introduction to Coal Gasification…

 Coal gasification:
 It is the process of producing syngas…
 Syngas is a mixture consisting primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen
(H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor (H2O)–from coal
and water, air and/or oxygen.
Composition of Syngas…
Gasification is carried out at high temperatures to
produce syngas by means of the chemical reactions
shown below.
Factors Effecting the Composition of
Syngas..
 Coal type
 Operating pressure
 Temperature
 Water ingress to the process
 Type of oxidant used (air or oxygen).
 Uses of Syngas…….

 Supply heating gas to cities and towns

 Generate electricity from gas turbine power stations
 Produce synthetic liquid fuels.
 Syngas contains hydrogen and methane and can also be used to
produce chemicals such as ammonia, methanol and dimethyl ether.
Types of Coal Gasification….

 Plant Coal Gasification

 Underground Coal Gasification
Plant Coal Gasification Process……
 Conceptually, coal gasification is a relatively simple process.
 A carbonaceous fuel—usually coal, petroleum coke with water and oxygen in a
reducing atmosphere at high pressure (up to 1,000 psig) to produce the desired
products of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). Sulfur in the form of H2S
and some amount of CO2 is also produced and removed in the process. This
gaseous mixture is commonly referred to as synthesis gas or syngas.
 The Rectisol process removes 99.5+% of sulfur and CO from the syngas. The
sulfur is recovered in elemental form using a combination of Claus SRUs
(sulfur recovery units) and SCOT (Shell Claus off-gas treating) processes. A
Linde AG-designed cold box is used to cryogenically separate CO from a
portion of the syngas
 Underground Coal Gasification….

 Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process which

converts coal into product gas ( methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and 
carbon dioxide) .

 UCG is an in-situ gasification process carried out in non-mined coal seams

using injection of oxidants, and bringing the product gas to surface through
production wells drilled from the surface.
 Process of UCG…..

1. Vertical wells are drilled into the coal and linked together
horizontally.

2. The coal seam is ignited and air or oxygen is pumped into a well
(the injection well) to allow for combustion of the coal.

3. Combustion produces heat, carbon dioxide and some syngas through partial
combustion.
4. Through a series of chemical reactions involving pressure,
heat and carbon dioxide from combustion, steam (generated
from water in the coal) and carbon from the coal, syngas is produced.

5. The syngas flows from the gasification chamber and flows to the surface through another well
(production well).
Site Characterization…

 Coal Seam >30 feet thick are suitable.

 Coal seam depth 3000 to 2 km below ground surface are considered as ideal.
Advantages of UCG

 UCG has several advantages compared with conventional coal mining

 It can be employed in areas where surface or underground mining is unable
to exploit coal deposits
 For example at great depths, where surface or underground mining is
unacceptable or not possible
 Or to exploit structurally complex, or unreachable, deposits that would
normally be unworkable.
Environmental Effects….

 Surface Subsidence
 Groundwater contamination
 Carbon capture & Sequestration
Surface Subsidence….

 Subsidence is the downward movement of surface material due to mining and

creation of an underground void that caves in.
Groundwater Contamination…
It is considered as the most serious potential environmental risk related to UCG…
Major groundwater pollutants include:
Ammonia
Sulphate
Calcium Polynuclear & Phenolic organic compound
Environmental Benefits...

 Minimal Surface disturbance

 No Open Cut Mining
 Little Infrastructures
 Personal health & safety
 High energy intensity
 Economical
Continued….

 No environmental impacts like traditional mining methods.

 Less atmospheric pollution as no direct release of toxic gases ( NOX, NOX
etc..)
 Lower carbon emission and solid waste
 Methane gas produced during UCG can be used as substitute for natural gas.
Types of gasifiers….

 Moving Bed Gasifier

 Fluidized Bed Gasifier
 Entrained Flow Gasifier
Moving Bed Gasifier……

 Moving bed gasifiers are countercurrent flow reactors .

 In which the coal enters at the top of the reactor and air or oxygen enters at
the bottom.
 As the coal slowly moves down through the reactor, it is gasified and the
remaining ash drops out of the bottom of the reactor.
 Because of the countercurrent flow arrangement, the heat of reaction from
the gasification reactions serves to pre-heat the coal before it enters the
gasification reaction zone.
 Consequently, the temperature of the syngas exiting the gasifier is
significantly lower than the temperature needed for complete conversion of
the coal.
Characteristics of Moving Bed Gasifiers..

 Low oxidant requirements;

 Relatively high methane content in the produced gas;
 Production of hydrocarbon liquids, such as tars an oils;
 High “cold gas” thermal efficiency when the heating value of the
hydrocarbon liquids are included;
 Limited ability to handle fines; and
 Special requirements for handling caking coal.
Fluidized Bed….

 A fluidized bed Gasifier is a back-mixed or well-stirred reactor

 In which there is a consistent mixture of new coal particles mixed in with
older, partially gasified and fully gasified particles.
 The mixing also fosters uniform temperatures throughout the bed. The flow of
gas into the reactor (oxidant, steam, recycled syngas) must be sufficient to
float the coal particles within the bed but not so high as to entrained them
out of the bed.
 However, as the particles are gasified, they will become smaller and lighter
and will be entrained out of the reactor.
Continued…

 It is also important that the temperatures within the bed are less than the
initial ash fusion temperature of the coal to avoid particle agglomeration.
 Typically a cyclone downstream of the Gasifier will capture the larger
particles that are entrained out and these particles are recycled back to the
bed.
 Overall, the residence time of coal particles in a fluidized bed Gasifier is
shorter than that of a moving bed Gasifier.
Characteristics ……

 Extensive solids recycling;

 Uniform and moderate temperature; and
 Moderate oxygen and steam requirements.
Entrained Flow Gasifiers…

 Finely-ground coal is injected in co-current flow with the oxidant.

 The coal rapidly heats up and reacts with the oxidant. The residence time of
an entrained flow Gasifier is on the order of seconds or tens of seconds.
 Because of the short residence time, entrained flow gasifiers must operate at
high temperatures to achieve high carbon conversion.
 Consequently, most entrained flow gasifiers use oxygen rather than air and
operate above the slagging temperature of the coal.
Characteristics……

 High-temperature slagging operation;

 Entrainment of some molten slag in the raw syngas;
 Relatively large oxidant requirements;
 Large amount of sensible heat in the raw syngas; and
 Ability to gasify all coal regardless of rank, caking characteristics or amount
of fines.
Gasification Compared to Combustion

 Gasification is a much cleaner process than combustion (incineration) for

converting carbonaceous materials to energy.
 In gasification, the fuel is first converted to a clean-burning gas (syngas) at
high temperatures.
 This gas can be used as a clean fuel or converted to chemicals such as
ammonia for industrial or agricultural use.
 The differences between gasification and combustion are best understood by
comparing the chemical reactions involved in each process.
Combustion…..

 Combustion is the total oxidation of carbon, hydrogen and other elements,

which releases thermal energy.
 Combustion is generally less thermally efficient than gasification
 Combustion produces a higher concentration of pollutant gasses such as SOx
and NOx than does gasification.
Gasification…

 Gasification is carried out at high temperatures in a reducing (O2 poor / H2

rich) environment to produce syngas by means of the chemical reactions
shown below.
THANKS