Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants can cut greenhouse gas emissions. One option is to replace some coal power with natural gas (NG) generation, a low carbon source of electricity, by increasing the power output from underutilized NG plants. This report provides an overview of the issues. Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Background on Gas-Fired Generation and Capacity: Trends; Factors Supporting the Boom in Gas-Fired Plant Construction; Carbon Dioxide Emissions; (3) Coal Displacement Feasibility Issues; Estimates of Displaceable Coal-Fired Generation and Emissions; Transmission System Factors; Long-Distance Transmission Capacity; Transmission System Congestion; NG Supply and Price; NG Transport. and Storage.

Coal-Fired Generation is a concise, up-to-date and readable guide providing an introduction to this traditional power generation technology. It includes detailed descriptions of coal fired generation systems, demystifies the coal fired technology functions in practice as well as exploring the economic and environmental risk factors. Engineers, managers, policymakers and those involved in planning and delivering energy resources will find this reference a valuable guide, to help establish a reliable power supply address social and economic objectives. Focuses on the evolution of the traditional coal-fired generation Evaluates the economic and environmental viability of the system with concise diagrams and accessible explanations

Advances in Ultra-low Emission Control Technologies for Coal-Fired Power Plants discusses the emissions standards of dust, SO2, NOx and mercury pollution, also presenting the key technologies available to control emissions in coal-fired power plants. The practical effects of ultra-low emissions projects included help the reader understand related implications in plants. Emphasis is placed on 300MW subcritical, 600MW subcritical, 660MW supercritical and 1000MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired units. The influence of different pollutant control units, such as wet electrostatic precipitator, desulfurization equipment and the electrostatic precipitator are also analyzed, and the pollutant levels before and after retrofitted ultra-low emissions are compared throughout. Provides a unique analysis of advanced technologies, such as dust-removal, desulfurization and denitrification used for ultra-low emissions in coal-fired power plants Introduces emission standards for dust, SO2, NOx and Mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants in China, the US and Europe Provides solutions to reducing emissions based on technological advances in China Analyzes the environmental and economic effects of these technologies

1. 1. Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1. 1. 1. Emissions and concentrations of greenhouse gases 3 1. 1. 2. Impact of increasing greenhouse gases concentration 4 1. 2. Options to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 5 1. 2. 1. Carbon dioxide removal 8 1. 3. Scope of the thesis 10 1. 4. Outline of the thesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1. 4. 1. General evaluation method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 1. 4. 2. Some notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 II. Simulation and optimization of carbon dioxide recovery from the flue gases of a coal-fired power plant using amines 14 Abstract 19 2. 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2. 2. The chemical absorption process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2. 2. 1. General process description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2. 2. 2. Types of absorbent 23 2. 2. 3. Effects of flue gas contaminants 24 2. 3. Simulation of the scrubber in ASPEN PLUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2. 3. 1. ASPEN PLUS for flow sheet simulation 26 2. 3. 2. Simulation of the performance for the base-case design . . 26 the scrubber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 2. 3. 3. Optimization of 2. 3. 4. Design and results 32 2. 3. 5. Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2. 4. Integration of the scrubber in the power plant 35 2. 4. 1. Power loss caused by steam extraction 36 2. 4. 2. Power saved by avoiding preheating boiler feed water . . . 38 2. 4. 3. Power consumption by the carbon dioxide scrubber . . . . . 38 2. 4. 4. Power consumption for carbon dioxide compression . . . . . 38 2. 4. 5. Calculation of plant efficiency losses " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 2. 5.

Since the beginning of the Obama Administration, conservative politicians have railed against the President's "War on Coal." As evidence of this supposed siege, they point to a series of rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency that aim to slash air pollution from the nation's power sector . Because coal produces far more pollution than any other major energy source, these rules are expected to further reduce its already shrinking share of the electricity market in favor of cleaner options like natural gas and solar power. But the EPA's policies are hardly the "unprecedented regulatory assault " that opponents make them out to be. Instead, they are merely the latest chapter in a multi-decade struggle to overcome a tragic flaw in our nation's most important environmental law. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which had the remarkably ambitious goal of eliminating essentially all air pollution that posed a threat to public health or welfare. But there was a problem: for some of the most common pollutants, Congress empowered the EPA to set emission limits only for newly constructed industrial facilities, most notably power plants. Existing plants, by contrast, would be largely exempt from direct federal regulation-a regulatory practice known as "grandfathering." What lawmakers didn't anticipate was that imposing costly requirements on new plants while giving existing ones a pass would simply encourage those old plants to stay in business much longer than originally planned. Since 1970, the core problems of U.S. environmental policy have flowed inexorably from the smokestacks of these coal-fired clunkers, which continue to pollute at far higher rates than their younger peers. In Struggling for Air, Richard L. Revesz and Jack Lienke chronicle the political compromises that gave rise to grandfathering, its deadly consequences, and the repeated attempts-by presidential administrations of both parties-to make things right.