Gasifier feed - Tailor-made from Illinois coals

The main purpose of this project is to produce a feedstock from preparation plant fines from an illinois coal that is ideal for a slurry fed, slagging, entrained-flow coal gasifier. The high sulfur content and high Btu value of Illinois coals are particularly advantageous in such a gasifier; preliminary calculations indicate that the increased cost of removing sulfur from the gas from a high sulfur coal is more than offset by the increased revenue from the sale of the elemental sulfur; additionally the high Btu Illinois coal concentrates more energy into the slurry of a given coal to water ratio. The Btu is higher not only because of the higher Btu value of the coal but also because Illinois coal requires less water to produce a pumpable slurry than western coal, i.e., as little as 30--35% water may be used for Illinois coal as compared to approximately 45% for most western coals