Abstract

Economic aspects of implementing coal gasification technology are considered. Many objective causes hindering the comparison of economic characteristics of the considered coal gasification technologies are outlined. The energy and economic efficiencies of producing synthesis gas (syngas) from coal are estimated. The factors having the most pronounced effect on the efficiency, such as gasifier type, specific oxygen consumption, and initial fuel cost, are found. According to the calculations, the cost of produced syngas is two to three times higher than the price of natural gas for consumers. Therefore, the use of syngas and hydrogen produced from it for the centralized generation of power and heat will not be economically feasible in the foreseeable future. Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) units are still not competitive with conventional coal-fired power plants, basically due to high specific capital expenditures, which are responsible for more than 2/3 of the price of delivered electricity. The issues of economic competition for hydrogen production from coal using alternative production processes are discussed in detail. It is demonstrated that hydrogen produced from cheap local coals (in Russia, these are coals from large coal deposits in Siberia and the Far East) can win the competition with hydrogen from natural gas. Nevertheless, activities should be continued to improve coal gasification processes and associated technologies, first of all, oxygen production technologies, to cut down capital and operating expenditures. Further development of coal chemical technologies involves high risks associated with the new global climate policy aimed at a drastic decrease in CO₂ emissions and the replacement of fossil fuels in the global fuel and energy balance by renewable energy sources. State support for the development of new coal technologies and for coal chemistry science is necessary to retain the domestic coal industry.

中文翻译：

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煤气化：在十字路口。经济展望

摘要

考虑了实施煤气化技术的经济方面。概述了阻碍比较所考虑的煤气化技术经济特性的许多客观原因。估计了由煤炭生产合成气（syngas）的能源和经济效率。发现了对效率有最显着影响的因素，例如气化炉类型，特定的氧气消耗量和初始燃料成本。根据计算，合成气的生产成本是消费者天然气价格的两到三倍。因此，在可预见的将来，将其产生的合成气和氢气用于集中发电和供热在经济上将不可行。整体气化联合循环（IGCC）装置仍然与传统的燃煤电厂相比仍然没有竞争力，这主要是由于较高的特定资本支出所致，这些支出占输电价格的2/3以上。详细讨论了使用替代生产工艺从煤炭生产氢气的经济竞争问题。事实证明，廉价的当地煤炭（在俄罗斯，这是来自西伯利亚和远东大型煤炭矿床的煤炭）产生的氢气可以赢得天然气制氢的竞争。尽管如此，应该继续开展活动以改善煤气化工艺和相关技术，首先是制氧技术，以减少资本和运营支出。₂排放与化石燃料在全球燃料和能源平衡中的可再生能源替代。国家对新煤炭技术和煤化学科学发展的支持对于保留国内煤炭工业是必要的。