Genesee Phase 3 would require approximately 1.6 million tonnes annually. The mine plan would be adjusted to reflect the increased rate of removal. The existing large-scale mining equipment and mobile fleet would be supplemented to handle the increased volumes of coal. At supercritical pressures, water does not boil in the conventional sense. Instead, it gradually turns to steam with no sudden expansion.
Water is passed through tubes in the boiler to absorb the heat from the burning coal.
During the combustion process, carbon and hydrogen in the coal are converted to carbon dioxide and water. The flue gas contains small non-combustible particles called fly ash. The filter removes more than 99.8 per cent of this particulate matter and reduces associated mercury emissions. Heavier ash falls to the bottom of the boiler where it is extracted as bottom ash. The recycled steam is returned as water to the boiler to repeat the cycle.