This report, written by the Technical University of Hamburg, identifies the research and development (R&D) needs for CO2 mitigating technologies in coal-based power plants. The two approaches, technology paths that implement emission reduction by efficiency increase and technologies that employ CO2 capture and storage, are addressed.

CO2 emission reduction by efficiency increase offers the benefit of reduced fuel consumption and fuel cost, while keeping the net power generation constant. Yet, the resulting reduction in emissions is limited. Current efficiencies of coal-fired power plants have reached a plateau at which further efficiency increases demand a major effort in material development in case of the conventional steam power plant (SPP) or the commercial introduction and optimisation of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC). Efficiency increases in conventional SPP have been pursued continuously over recent decades, and both utilities and manufacturers are accustomed to this development path. The IGCC technology has been developed since the 1970s, but so far has not reached large-scale deployment in power plant industry.

Results from a survey of industry and academia. The orange line shows the overall preference ranking, the black line the opinion of industry and the green line that of Universities.

There are three technological pathways for CO2 capture: post-combustion capture, oxyfuel combustion and pre-combustion capture. Currently, there is no clear winner among these technologies and it is still uncertain which has the highest potential to reduce capture costs. Since each technology features a different approach to the CO2 capture, research and development needs are not common. All three CCS technology paths are described in detail together with the associated R&D needs for the deployment of these technologies.

Although coal-fired power plants implementing CCS technology will lead to an increase in fossil fuel consumption due to the inevitable decrease in overall process efficiency, achievable GHG emission cutbacks are by far superior to the reduction potential that is feasible through increases in plant efficiency.

IGCC and CCS technologies are adding new engineering dimensions to the field of power generation. Certain processes which are necessary for new power generation concepts differ fundamentally from the state-of-the-art power generation technology and originate from the (chemical) process industry. Therefore, in the development of future plants, not only will engineers from the field of power plant engineering be needed but engineers with chemical engineering skills will also play a major role. In order to find the optimal power plant configuration and design, a growing understanding and seamless communication between different branches of engineering are vital.

A survey of the power generation industry and academia showed that a combined mechanical and chemical process engineering education could usefully extend the traditional separate degree and specialisation courses. The latter should be preserved, however, to safeguard the continued availability of specialists still needed for research and development in advanced power plant engineering.

Research and development needs for clean coal deployment
Alfons Kather, Stylianos Rafailidis, Christian Hermsdorf, Mathias Klostermann, Andreas Maschmann, Karl Mieske, Jochen Oexmann, Imo Pfaff, Kathrin Rohloff, Jens Wilken
CCC/130, ISBN 978-92-9029-449-3, January 2008
£255 non-member countries
£85 member countries
£42.50 educational price