Coal gasification: an overview

Continued intermediate and long-term price escalation for conventional fuels seems certain. This situation increases the attractiveness of coal gasification and reduces its economic risk. Near-commercial and promising advanced gasifiers need to be demonstrated so that their potential advantage over commerially proven gasifiers can be realized and not postponed. An approach for minimizing technical uncertainties and for training personnel in coal gasification operations is to build a plant based on technology which could be expanded to include new types of gasifiers as they become available. This approach would enable the industry to take advantage of technology development and of increasing fuel prices while controlling the risk of obsolescence. 3 figures, 3 tables.