Engineering development of coal-fired high-performance power systems. Progress report, April 1--June 30, 1996

In Phase 1 of the project, a conceptual design of a coal-fired, high-performance power system (HIPPS) was developed, and small-scale R and D was done in critical areas of the design. The current phase of the project includes development through the pilot plant stage and design of a prototype plant that would be built in Phase 3. The power-generating system being developed in this project will be an improvement over current coal-fired systems. It is a combined-cycle plant. This arrangement is referred to as the All Coal HIPPS because it does not require any other fuels for normal operation. A fluidized bed, air-blown pyrolyzer converts coal into fuel gas and char. The char is fired in a high-temperature advanced furnace (HITAF) which heats both air for a gas turbine and steam for a steam turbine. The fuel gas from the pyrolyzer goes to a topping combustor where it is used to raise the air entering the gas turbine to 1288 C. In addition to the HITAF, steam duty is achieved with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG) in the gas turbine exhaust stream and economizers in the HITAF flue gas exhaust stream. Progress during the quarter is described