A review of gasification for power generation

The paper is a review of the state of the art of gasification of coal for power generation. the major part of the review is a description, under the headings of fixed-bed gasification, fluidized-bed gasification, entrained gasification and molten-bath gasification, of the work currently in progress. The only large-scale operational plant is the Steag plant at Lunen in the Federal Republic of Germany, which is based on Lurgi fixed-bed technology. Another large-scale plant which seems certain to be built is the Commonwealth Edison plant at Pekin, and this too is to use Lurgi gasifiers. All other work is still in the development stage and unlikely to reach commercial scale for several years. Hopefully, this will roughly coincide with the time when gas turbines can withstand inlet temperatures of 1200°C or higher. The review briefly describes the current conventional methods of power generation, outlines the three basic types of combined cycle, and then explains why the juncture of gasification and a combined cycle is attractive. This is followed by a section on the quality of gas required for firing gas turbines, and a short outline of equipment available for gasification of coal.