The system removes sulfur and turns it into gypsum, the same product used in wallboard. The low firing temperature reduces the formation of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. The Reliant Energy Seward project is believed to be the largest power plant in the world burning waste coal using CFB technology. The facility also will be the first major coal-fired power plant built in Pennsylvania since 1980. The heart of a CFB system is a vertical chamber called the furnace.
Fuel is fed into the furnace where it is burned to produce heat.
The walls of the furnace are made of tubes containing water. These tubes absorb the heat from the burning fuel, in turn heating the water and converting it to steam. The steam is sent to a steam turbine. A steam turbine and generator convert the energy of the steam to electrical energy. A CFB uses a unique process to capture the sulfur dioxide gas produced when fuel is burned.