Japan Coal Energy Center

(1)Technical Research for CCT Development

We have been commissioned by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to carry out various surveys into technology that uses coal, such as collecting coal-related data from all over the world.

(2)Clean Coal Technology Development

1) New Coke Production Technology (SCOPE21)

(Joint Development with the Japan Iron and Steel Federation) In order to contribute to reducing the world's environmental problems, we succeeded in developing some groundbreaking coke-manufacturing technology which can cut CO2 by 20% compared with conventional methods.(2003) Applying this technology will not only reduce CO2 emissions, but by blending to 50% of it with steam coal, it will also allow us to cope with the soaring cost of coking coal.Productivity will increase 2.4 times and it is forecast that it will be commercially available in several years, making possible an 18% reduction in the cost of coke production cost. This technology won the Japan Institute of Energy's Technology Prize in 2004.

2) Efficient Co-Production with Coal Flash Partial Hydro-pyrolysis Technology (ECOPRO) Coal Flash Partial Hydro-pyrolysis Technology has a high pressure entrained bed reaction furnace comprising two chambers of the partial oxidation part (the lower part) and the reforming part (the upper part), and this arrangement gives us high energy efficiency by utilizing heat of high temperature gas from a gasifier for coal pyrolysis reaction. Further, light oil and hydrogen rich syngas are produced by one reaction furnace by making the reforming part hydrogen atmosphere. Light oil becomes chemical raw materials such as high value-added BTX or naphthalene, and a syngas is used for chemical synthesis (methanol) and clean synthetic fuel (GTL) production and integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC). Development of various CCT model for the field of chemistry / electricity / steel is enabled based on this technology. We carry out a operating study after the completion of a pilot plant in Kitakyushu city in August, 2006 and plan the business promotion that put international joint demonstration with Asian countries in a field of vision at the same time.

3) Hydrogen Production by Reaction-Integrated Novel Gasification Process (HyPr-RING)

We have developed a high-efficiency hydrogen production process from coal. The fundamental concept behind the process is the integration of a water-carbon reaction, water-gas shift reaction, and CO2 absorbing reaction in a single reactor, at a temperature of approximately 650℃ and a pressure of 3 MPa or greater. As shown in the diagram, the introduction of coal, an absorbent (CaO), and water into a high-pressure reactor accelerates the decomposition of coal, and, at the same time, the CO2 produced from this is fixed into CaCO3 by the absorbent. The subsequent reaction resolves the water to produce a large amount of hydrogen. After CaCO3 is calcinated, the CaO is again put into the reactor with the coal and the CO2 can be recovered.

4) Hyper Coal developing

We are developing ashless coal (hyper coal), in which the ash content and alkali concentration are very low, by processing the coal with ion exchange and solvent extraction and researching applications for pulverized coal-fired power generation, gas turbine, a raw material for coal gasification, agent for metallurgical refining and binder for coke production. For a combined cycle power generation system to burn it directly with a gas turbine, we expect to achieve a net efficiency of 48%. The amount of hyper coal by means of solvent extraction is about 60% of the original coal and the remaining 40% of the coal becomes residual coal with an ash content of about 15%. This residual coal can be used in existing thermal power systems with pulverized coal combustion. The overall efficiency when using both the hyper coal and the residual coal is expected to be 45 %, and the emission of CO2 could be reduced by 13% compared with existing coal-fired thermal power generation.

5) CO2 Capture from pulverized coal fired power station by apllying Oxy-fuel Combustion

We are working on a series of joint demonstration tests with Australia using oxy-fuel combustion at an existing coal fired power station (Callide A power plant in Australia) to capture CO2, and inject and fix it underground. This is the world’s first demonstration test of the CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technique that sequesters CO2 from a coal fired power station. The demonstration test was selected as a Flagship Project of the Asia Pacific Partnership (APP) on Clean Development and Climate. When the CCS technique is applied, coal fired power plants will use oxygen to burn coal instead of air which is usually used. Most of the flue gas discharged from this combustion system is CO2, which can be easily separated and captured. For this flue gas, smaller SOx and NOx removal systems are needed or can even be eliminated. The technique allows low-cost CO2 recovery in both existing and new power plants and CO2 storage in coal beds or underground aquifers. This will achieve clean coal-fired power generation free of CO2. (This technique won a prize from the Combustion Society of Japan.)

6) Development of Next-generation IGCC / IGFC (A-IGCC / A-IGFC)

Coal gasification technology can combine high efficiency with zero emissions. With coal gasification technology at the core, we can look forward to developments in diversified CCT model trials, such as high-efficiency IGCC and IGFC, the production of hydrogen, methanol, and DME, and the combined production of electric power with chemicals and iron. Instead of conventional IGCC and IGFC that integrate the partial combustion gasification furnace, solid fuel cells, steam turbines, and gas turbines in a cascade pattern, we are currently pressing ahead with developing the technology for A-IGCC and A-IGFC that reuse the exergy, recycling the exhaust heat of the gas turbine or solid fuel cell in an endothermic reaction within a steam reforming gasification furnace. It is estimated that recycling the exergy will improve efficiency by about 10%, and it is attracting attention as a process for reducing emissions to zero, with easy separation, collection, and fixation of CO2, and use of versatile energy sources.