Clean coal
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Clean coal is the name attributed to coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting gases treated with steam, with the purpose of almost completely eradicating sulphur dioxide and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable. The carbon dioxide can then be captured and stored instead of being released into the atmosphere - see Carbon capture and storage. However, the byproducts of this treatment are very hazardous to the environment if they're not properly contained. This is seen to be the technology's biggest hurdle from both a practical and public relations point of view.
The primary example of clean coal is the proposed US FutureGen plant - a zero-emissions coal-fired power plant.
It is also widely believed that some process similar to the natural gas fuel cell or microbial fuel cell (charged from biomass or sewage) may be practical using coal as fuel. Those technologies are used mostly for stationary fuel cells as charging is slow. A large power plant in a coal mine might be the most energy efficient approach and require the least transport of coal to the users, though the return of the coal chute and use in homes is also not impossible in some places, especially if home sewage or natural gas lines can be tapped as well by an improved fuel reformer technology such as that used already to convert methanol, gasoline to the natural gas form.
Clean Coal and Politics: Clean Coal has been mentioned by President Bush on several occasions, including his latest State of the Union Address. Bush's position is that clean coal technologies should be encouraged as one means to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. Senator Hillary Clinton has also recently (May-June 2006) mentioned coal as something to look into. If Clean Coal continues to grow in popularity, Ohio -- a notorious swing state in the Presidential Election -- is one state that stands to benefit.
See also
- Syngas
- Carbon capture and storage
- Town Gas
- Fluidized bed combustion
- Energy Policy Act of 2005
- Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate
External links
- [British article on ultra-clean coal]
- [BBC article on Clean coal technology]
- [CNNMoney story on clean coal economics]
- ["Beyond Kyoto" Initiative]
- [National Energy Technology Laboratory compendium homepage]
- [Uranium Information Centre paper on "Clean Coal" Technologies]
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