City

COAL GASIFICATION
Imran Nazir
PhD Scholar
Split PhD Program under INSPIRE Project of HEC
Mehran University of Engineering & Technology Jamshoro &
Shenyang Aerospace University, China

Contents
Introduction
Clean

Coal Technologies
Coal Gasification
Mechanism of Gasification
Types of Gasification
Applications
Future of Thar Coal
Current Research in Coal Gasification

INTRODUCTION
What is Coal?

Coal is a black or brown rock that can be ignited

and burned to produce energy in the form of heat.

INTRODUCTION
Rank of Coal?

Coal is ranked from PEAT to ANTHRACITE

INTRODUCTION
Carbon content of Coal w.r.t. Rank

Lignite (brown coal) - 25% to 35% carbon,

around 70% when dry
Subbituminous
35% to 45% carbon
Bituminous
45% to 86% carbon
Anthracite (black coal) 86% to 98% carbon

INTRODUCTION
Rank-wsie uses of Coal

INTRODUCTION
Coal Mining

INTRODUCTION
Power Generation from Coal

INTRODUCTION
Issues with Conventional Technologies of Coal

Less power generation capacity

Environmental Concerns
Coal Mining is difficult/costly

CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGIES

Coal washing
Wet scrubbers
Low NOx burners
Electrostatic precipitators
Gasification
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Fuel Cells
Magneto-hydrodynamics

COAL GASIFICATION

COAL GASIFICATION
Coal

gasification is a process that converts solid coal into a combustible

gas, composed primarily of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, by adding an
oxidizing agent.

Coal

gasification offers a practical means of utilizing coal for meeting

stringent environmental control requirements (Clean-Energy US, 2005).

In

the gasification process sulfur present in the coal is converted to

hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and minor amounts of carbonyl sulfide (COS)
and can be easily and economically removed from gas streams by a wide
variety of commercially available processes.

Nitrogen

oxides (NOx) are not formed to any appreciable extent in the

reducing atmosphere of coal gasification. The particulate content in the
fuel gas after gasification is negligible since the gas-cleaning steps
capture almost all particulate emissions (Rao, 2005).

COAL GASIFICATION

COAL GASIFICATION: Mechanism

Gas Phase
Reactions

Gas-Solid Phase
Reactions

TYPES OF COAL GASIFICATION

Coal
Gasification

Surface
Gasification

Underground Coal
Gasification (UCG)

Surface Gasification
Basic types of Surface Gasifier

Underground Coal Gasification

Application of Gasification

Application of Gasification: IGCC

Future of Thar Coal

NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF COAL

Energy crisis in Pakistan:

Severe shortage of electricity and natural gas has badly
affected the industrial and social activities.

COAL- A cheap source of energy:

Widely used throughout the world for power generation,
cement and other process industry.

The world energy consumption by fuel:

Highest share in electricity generation and the second highest
in primary energy consumption

Future of Thar Coal

NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF COAL

World Energy Consumption by Fuel

Electricity

Fuel/ Resource

Primary Energy
Consumption

Consumption

Coal

30.3%

37%

Gas

23.7%

16%

Oil

33.1%

9%

Renewable

8.0%

21%

Nuclear

4.9%

17%

Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2012

Future of Thar Coal

NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF COAL
Coal Reserves in Province of Sindh, Pakistan:
Field wise coal reserves of Sindh are as follows

a) Thar Coal Field

b) Lakhra Coal Field
c) Thatta Sonda
Total

=
=
=
=

175.60 billion tons

1.64 billion tons
7.46 billion tons
184.70 billion tons

Thar coalfield Potential:

It has the potential to meet the energy requirement of the
country for more than a century

Future of Thar Coal

NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF COAL

Utilization of Coal in Pakistan:

Source: Munawar A. Sheikh (2010), Energy and renewable

energy scenario of Pakistan, Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 354363.

Future of Thar Coal

NATIONAL AND STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF COAL
Ground Realities for Non-Utilization of Thar Coal:
Multifarious reasons, including Technical, Financial, Geopolitical and
Law & order.
o
o
o
o
o

Non-availability of fresh water at Thar

Presence of highly saline ground water
Poor strata conditions
High stripping ratio
High Moisture in Coal

What are the OPTIONS to Utilize Thar Coal Economically?

GASIFICATION

Current Research in Coal Gasification

Use of modern computer techniques (like
CFD) to improve the overall efficiency of
Gasification.
Biological Gasification
Flameless Gasification
Co-gasification

Current Research in Coal Gasification

My Research Work.

Current Research in Coal Gasification

Coal Gasification in our Department

Thank
you