A global platform for accelerating coal efficiency (PACE)

The World Coal Association released this concept paper in December 2014 on establishing a Platform for Accelerating Coal Efficiency (PACE). The vision of PACE would be that for countries choosing to use coal, the most efficient power plant technology possible is deployed. The overriding objective would be to raise the global average efficiency of coal-fired power plants and so minimise CO2 emissions which will otherwise be emitted while maintaining legitimate economic development and poverty alleviation efforts. Key points - In the lead-up to COP21 in Paris there is no evidence to suggest that mitigation action arising from any climate treaty will come close to achieving emissions reductions necessary to limit atmospheric concentration of CO2 to 450ppm. - As developing and developed economies grow and urbanisation increases, demand is growing for affordable, reliable and secure forms of energy in order to combat energy poverty and ensure competitive economies. - This has meant that coal remains the world\u27s fastest growing fossil fuel. Its current contribution to global primary energy consumption (30.1%) is its highest since 1970. In Southeast Asia alone demand is expected to grow by 4.8% a year through to 2035 as the region turns to coal to fuel its growing energy needs. - There appears to be no concerted international government action to integrate the global priorities of reducing energy poverty and supporting economic competitiveness through affordable energy with global ambitions on climate change. - Moving the current average global efficiency rate of coal-fired power plants from 33% to 40% by deploying more advanced off-the-shelf technology could cut 2 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions now, while allowing affordable energy for economic development and poverty reduction. - Deploying high efficiency, low emission (HELE) coal-fired power plants is a key first step along a pathway to near-zero emissions from coal with carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS). - There should be coordinated global action to support developing and emerging economies already choosing to use coal to do so with the lowest possible emissions profile. To that end the World Coal Association proposes a Platform for Accelerating Coal Efficiency (PACE)

Global Coal Risk Assessment: Data Analysis and Market Research

Coal-fired power plants are the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. In 2010, 61 countries produced coal and 104 countries consumed it. Global coal production reached 7,228.712 million tonnes that year and coal consumption reached 7,238.028 million tonnes. More than 60 percent of the coal consumed was used to generate power.This working paper assesses current global coal risks to the climate. It identifies the countries and companies involved in global coal production and consumption, and sheds light on global trends by mapping the proposed new coal power plants and related infrastructure. The paper is organized into five parts. Part 1 lists the proposed new coal-fired plants around the world, based on available data. Part 2 lists existing coal-fired plants. Part 3 offers an overview of the global coal trade, including analyses of country trends. Part 4 summarizes available studies of coal financing. Part 5 notes data gaps that can be filled by future research

Tendencies of Coal Industry Development in Ukraine

Ukraine is a country with vast coal reserves of all grades. The estimated coal reserves in Ukraine are around 4% of the world coal reserves. We have three coal basins located on the territory of Ukraine: Donetsk, Lviv-Volyn and Dniprovsky. Donetsk coal basin is the largest of them. It contains 85% of all Ukrainian coal resources. Not a secret to anyone that coal takes over 95% of Ukrainian energy resources

Development of coal-feeding systems at the Morgantown Energy Research Center

Systems for feeding crushed and pulverized coal into coal conversion reactor vessels are described. Pneumatic methods for feeding pulverized coal, slurry feeders, and coal pumps, methods for steam pickup, and a method for drying a water-coal slurry in a steam fluidized bed subsequent to feeding the coal into a reactor vessel are included

How Responsive Are EU Coal-Burning Plants to Changes in Energy Prices?

The European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System (ETS) has implicitly made it more expensive to burn coal relative to natural gas because coal has a higher carbon content. Therefore, it is important to understand how much plants reduce their coal usage in response to higher coal prices to assess the effectiveness of the ETS in reducing carbon emissions. We analyze a novel panel of coal-burning large combustion plants from a subsample of eight EU countries and found that, holding constant the natural gas price, a 1% increase in the coal price results in a 0.36% decrease in coal consumption. At current ETS prices, this implies that the average large combustion plant in our sample EU countries is burning 7% less coal than it would be absent in the ETS. This suggests that the ETS has significantly reduced carbon emissions from coal-fired plants for the eight countries represented in our sample

Continuous coal processing method

A coal pump is provided in which solid coal is heated in the barrel of an extruder under pressure to a temperature at which the coal assumes plastic properties. The coal is continuously extruded, without static zones, using, for example, screw extrusion preferably without venting through a reduced diameter die to form a dispersed spray. As a result, the dispersed coal may be continuously injected into vessels or combustors at any pressure up to the maximum pressure developed in the extrusion device. The coal may be premixed with other materials such as desulfurization aids or reducible metal ores so that reactions occur, during or after conversion to its plastic state. Alternatively, the coal may be processed and caused to react after extrusion, through the die, with, for example, liquid oxidizers, whereby a coal reactor is provided

Coal desulfurization process

A method for chlorinolysis of coal is an organic solvent at a moderate temperautre and atmospheric pressure has been proven to be effective in removing sulfur, particularly the organic sulfur, from coal. Chlorine gas is bubbled through a slurry of moist coal in chlorinated solvent. The chlorinated coal is separated, hydrolyzed and the dechlorinated. Preliminary results of treating a high sulfutr (4.77%S) bituminous coal show that up to 70% organic sulfur, 90% hyritic sulfur and 76% total sulfur can be removed. The treated coal is dechlorinated by heating at 500 C. The presence of moisture helps to remove organic sulfur

Toward a global coal mining moratorium? A comparative analysis of coal mining policies in the USA, China, India and Australia

To stop global warming at well below 2° C, the bulk of the world’s fossil fuel reserves will have to be left in the ground. Coal is the fossil fuel with the greatest proportion that cannot be used, and various advocacy groups are campaigning for a ban on the opening of new coal mines. Recently, both China and the USA implemented temporary moratoria on the approval of new coal mining leases. This article examines whether these coal mining bans reflect the emergence of a global norm to keep coal under the ground. To that end, we review recent coal mining policies in the four largest coal producers and explain them comparatively with a framework based on interests, ideas and institutions. We find that the norm of keeping coal in the ground remains essentially contested. Even in those countries that have introduced some form of a coal mining moratorium, the ban can easily be, or has already been, reversed. To the extent that the norm of keeping coal in the ground has momentum, it is primarily due to non-climate reasons: the Chinese moratorium was mostly an instance of industrial policy (aiming to protect Chinese coal companies and their workers from the overcapacity and low prices that are hitting the industry), while the USA’s lease restrictions were mainly motivated by concerns over fiscal justice. We do not find evidence of norm internalisation, which means that the emerging norm fails to gain much traction amid relevant national actors and other (large) coal producing states. If proponents of a moratorium succeed in framing the issue in non-climate terms, they should have a greater chance of building domestic political coalitions in favour of the norm

Coal desulfurization by aqueous chlorination

A method of desulfurizing coal is described in which chlorine gas is bubbled through an aqueous slurry of coal at low temperature below 130 degrees C., and at ambient pressure. Chlorinolysis converts both inorganic and organic sulfur components of coal into water soluble compounds which enter the aqueous suspending media. The media is separated after chlorinolysis and the coal dechlorinated at a temperature of from 300 C to 500 C to form a non-caking, low-sulfur coal product