WABASH RIVER INTEGRATED METHANOL AND POWER PRODUCTION FROM CLEAN COAL TECHNOLGIES (IMPPCCT)

The Wabash River Integrated Methanol and Power Production from Clean Coal Technologies (IMPPCCT) project is evaluating integrated electrical power generation and methanol production through clean coal technologies. The project is under the leadership of ConocoPhillips Company (COP), after it acquired Gasification Engineering Corporation (GEC) and the E-Gas gasification technology from Global Energy in July 2003. The project has completed Phase I, and is currently in Phase II of development. The two project phases include: (1) Feasibility study and conceptual design for an integrated demonstration facility at Global Energy's existing Wabash River Energy Limited (WREL) plant in West Terre Haute, Indiana, and for a fence-line commercial embodiment plants (CEP) operated at Dow Chemical or Dow Corning chemical plant locations; and (2) Research, development, and testing (RD&T) to define any technology gaps or critical design and integration issues. The Phase I of this project was supported by a multi-industry team consisting of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Dow Chemical Company, Dow Corning Corporation, Methanex Corporation, and Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation, while Phase II is supported by Gas Technology Institute, TDA Research Inc., and Nucon International, Inc. The WREL integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) facility was designed, constructed, and operated under a project selected and co-funded under the Round IV of the United States Department of Energy's (DOE's) Clean Coal Technology Program. In this project, coal and/or other solid fuel feedstocks are gasified in an oxygen-blown, entrained-flow gasifier with continuous slag removal and a dry particulate removal system. The resulting product synthesis gas is used to fuel a combustion turbine generator whose exhaust is integrated with a heat recovery steam generator to drive a refurbished steam turbine generator. The gasifier uses technology initially developed by The Dow Chemical Company (the Destec Gasification Process), and now acquired and offered commercially by COP as the E-Gas technology. In a joint effort with the DOE, a Cooperative Agreement was awarded under the Early Entrance Coproduction Plant (EECP) solicitation. GEC, and now COP and the industrial partners are investigating the use of synthesis gas produced by the E-Gas technology in a coproduction environment to enhance the efficiency and productivity of solid fuel gasification combined cycle power plants. The objectives of this effort are to determine the feasibility of an EECP located at a specific site which produces some combination of electric power (or heat), fuels, and/or chemicals from synthesis gas derived from coal, or, coal in combination with some other carbonaceous feedstock. The project's intended result is to provide the necessary technical, economic, and environmental information that will be needed to move the EECP forward to detailed design, construction, and operation by industry. The early entrance coproduction plant study conducted in Phase I of the IMPPCCT project confirmed that the concept for the integration of gasification-based (E-Gas) electricity generation from coal and/or petroleum coke and methanol production (Liquid Phase Methanol or LPMEOH{trademark}) processes was feasible for the coproduction of power and chemicals. The results indicated that while there are minimal integration issues that impact the deployment of an IMPPCCT CEP, the major concern was the removal of sulfur and other trace contaminants, which are known methanol catalyst poisons, from the synthesis gas (syngas). However, economic concerns in the domestic methanol market which is driven by periodic low natural gas prices and cheap offshore supplies limit the commercial viability of this more capital intensive concept. The objective of Phase II is to conduct RD&T as outlined in the Phase I RD&T Plan to enhance the development and commercial acceptance of coproduction technology. Studies will address the technical concerns that will make the IMPPCCT concept competitive with natural gas-based systems in the commercial marketplace. Efforts in Phase II will investigate the cleanup of the syngas by removing contaminants, particularly sulfur species, to a level acceptable for the methanol synthesis catalyst, and reducing the cost of the current sulfur removal system such as via warm gas cleanup methods. Laboratory testing followed by on-site testing at WREL with bench-scale slipstream units will be conducted. Actual syngas produced by the facility will be evaluated at system pressure and temperature. This report summarizes progress made during the period of October 1-December 31, 2003