According to Future Market Insights, an ESOMAR-certified market intelligence firm, the global demand for clean coal technology is expected to reach $3.8 billion by 2022, exhibiting growth at a CAGR of 4% during the forecast period 2022 to 2032.
Clean coal technologies are advanced coal utilization methods of the next generation that aim to improve the environmental acceptability and efficiency of coal mining, preparation, and use. Thus, companies are focusing on sophisticated CO2 reduction strategies to reduce emissions and dispel clean coal illusions.
It is worth noting that though the advancements in coal clean technologies shall benefit the end-user industries in several ways, their implementation would require substantial upfront investments and current operational costs. These technologies create revenue streams for end-user industries and reduce their environmental impact.
In this blog, various types of clean coal technology will be discussed. They are -
- Capture and Separation of Carbon Dioxide - Several methods are used for capturing carbon dioxide from the gas streams, but none of them has been optimized at the scale needed in coal-burning power stations. Historically, the emphasis has been on acquiring pure CO2 for industrial applications rather than lowering CO2 levels in power plant emissions. Recent advancements in this technology have led to the development of more cost-effective and efficient capture technologies.
- Carbon Sequestering Technology Will Gain Traction - Early breakthroughs in carbon capture and storage (CCS) focused on a single source connected to a specific storage location. An emphasis on hubs that combine, dehydrate, as well as transport CO2 fluxes from various sources, has emerged as a result of economies of scale. Also, coal seams are another way to sequester CO2 and use it for other purposes. Deployment of carbon sequestration technologies can stimulate economic growth by attracting investments, driving innovations, and promoting sustainable development.
- Coal Gasification Technology Will Help Carbon Be Converted into Syngas (Synthetic gas) - Coal gasification has been around for a long and is considered an effective clean coal technology. It is anticipated that the coal gasification process will be utilized more frequently for the manufacture of chemical raw materials and electricity, particularly because it offers clean coal technology with greater energy efficiency. Advancements in coal gasification technology include improved gas cleaning systems and gasifiers, along with increasing research on using biomass and other feedstocks along with to produce syngas. Low-grade coals, high in ash and inertinites, such as South African coals, may be treated more effectively in fluidized bed gasifiers than in traditional pulverised coal boilers.
- Coal-to-products and Coal-to-chemical Technologies- These technologies are used to create new products from coal waste that would otherwise be discarded. A primary element influencing the reactivity of coal/char in coal conversion processes is the modification of the organic and inorganic components in coal, which leads to a change in the carbonaceous structure. The chemical transformation involves the change in the organic chemical structure while the physical transformation involves a change in the char morphology and porosity.
- Coal Pyrolysis: It involves exposing coal to high temperatures of nearly 400 to 500 Degree Celsius, without any oxygen. This technology coverts waste to energy. The end products can be used for electricity generation. The in-product is used as fuel in industrial furnaces and boilers. As economic growth require energy growth, this technology will experience high demand due to its economical, non-polluting, and high energy efficiency attributes.
Conclusion – New methods for using coal called “clean coal technologies” are intended to increase the efficiency as well as acceptability of coal mining, preparation, and usage from an environmental standpoint and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) also have the ability to absorb CO2.
This blog was originally published in POWER MAGAZINE (News & Technology for the Global Energy Industry). To read the complete blog follow this link https://www.powermag.com/blog/fmi-market-report-clean-coal-technologys-impact-on-emissions-reduction/
