An Illinois scientist believes he has found a way to help coal gasification power plants like the Wabash River plant in Terra Haute, Ind., remove sulfur emissions while significantly cutting capitol costs and increasing power plant revenues. Zinc titanate can remove the sulfur from coal gas at about 1,000 degrees. Coal gasification plants using this sorbent will have much smaller cooling systems and will use the remaining thermal energy to produce power more efficiently.
Hot gas clean up using zinc titanate works just as well as cold gas clean up.
Swisher estimates that hot gas clean up can increase power generation revenues by 3 percent or 4 percent. Good reports from Tampa Electric could help solidify the future of coal gasification and the Illinois coal industry. Utilities in the U.S. and Europe are constantly looking for cheaper and cleaner ways to make electricity. This power estimate translates into more than 427 million tons of energy rich coal a year. Much of that coal would come from Illinois, which has 78 billion tons in energy-rich coal reserves.