Chemical Engineering 357

Professor Durrenberger

Gasification
Reference: EPA AP-42

By the end of these lectures you should:

Understand the basics of natural gas treatment

Understand the basics of coal gasification
Understand the basics of syngas cleanup
Understand the basics of sulfur recovery
Understand the basics of IGCC power plants

Natural Gas
Produced from oil and/or gas wells
When marketed normally a mixture of methane and ethane
Raw gas at the well head methane, ethane, butane, propane,
H2S (sour gas), CO2,water and other hydrocarbons.

Gas treating plant

Seperators remove hydrocarbon condensates
Dehydrator remove water
Gas sweetening plant removes acid gas (H2S and CO2)
Acid gas to sulfur recovery plant
Gas processing plant
removes liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)
butane and propane
removes other hydrocarbons

Gasifier history
First developed in 1792
1816 first coal gasification company in the US
Until about 1940 used extensively in US. Replaced by natural
gas.

Gasifer feed stocks

Coal,
petroleum coke,
biomass (wood),
waste (plastics)

Syngas
Produced by gasification
Final product is Hydrogen and CO
Raw gas at the exit from the gasifier hydrogen, CO,
methane, acid gases (H2S, COS, CS2, mercaptans, CO2),
nitrogen or ammonia, ash, sometimes tar and oils.

The composition of the raw gas depends on the gasifier

design, pressure, oxygen or air, operating temperature, type
and form of feed stock.

The gas has other names such as house gas, town gas,
producer gas, wood gas,

 If oxygen is used rather than air, then nitrogen in the

feedstock is converted to ammonia.
If the temperature is high enough, the waste solids are fused
into slag
A portion of the fuel is burned to create process heat.
The fuel may be fed as a slurry, lumps or pulverized

Syngas treatment
Removal of slag and other solids from the bottom of the
gasifer
Particulate removal from raw gas fly ash
Acid gas removal CO2 and H2S
Removal of other gases ammonia, methanol (and maybe
hydrogen)

Sulfur Recovery
Convert H2S into elemental sulfur
Claus Process
Burn 1/3 of H2S to form SO2
2 H2S + 3 O2 ->

2 SO2 + 2 H2O + heat

Combine SO2 with H2S with a catalyst

2 H2S + SO2 -> 3S + 2 H2O + heat
Usually use at least two stages. Can obtain removal of 90%
to 95% of the H2S.
Follow with tail gas cleanup.

Comparison between coal combustion and coal

gasification for electrical power generation
The coal combustion will use a boiler to generate steam for
a steam turbine
The coal gasification will be to generate syngas for a
combustion turbine
Gasification

Combustion

Sulfur in fuel

H2S
In syngas
Easy to remove
Removal about 99%
Elemental sulfur

SO2
in flue gas
difficult to remove
removal near 85%
scrubber waste hard
to dispose, usually in
landfill

Nitrogen in fuel

ammonia
In syngas
Easy to remove

NOx
in flue gas
difficult to remove

Waste minerals
In fuel

Most in Slag
Easy to remove

bottom ash or fly ash

hard to remove fly ash

CO2

In syngas
Easy to remove

In flue gas
Hard to remove

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Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Power Plant (IGCC)

IGCC Schematic - Wabash River

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