Economic Evaluation of the UCSRP-HP Process in IGCC Applications

Abstract

With financial assistance from the US Department of Energy and the Illinois Clean Coal Institute, Gas Technology Institute (GTI) has been working with the University of California, Berkeley, for further development of their UCSRP-HP (University of California Sulfur Recovery Process-High Pressure) technology. The key focus of the UCSRP-HP technology is integrated multi-contaminant removal of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), ammonia (NH3), chlorides and heavy metals present in coal-derived syngas. The process has two major components: 1) removal of various trace components with a solvent (e.g., diethylene glycol or water) using a high-pressure scrubbing unit and 2) removal of H2S as sulfur via reaction with SO2 (in the presence of a solvent mixed a small quantity of a homogeneous catalyst) at 120?C to 150?C and at any syngas pressure. During this research, data critical to developing and evaluating UCSRP-HP technology for multi-contaminant removal from syngas derived from Illinois #6 coal were obtained. In this paper, we have presented key economic evaluations of the UCSRP-HP process, including potential integrations with other technology options for CO2 and hydrogen separations, for a nominal Illinois #6-coal-based 550-MWe Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) facility with CO2 capture and sequestration. GTI is exploring various options to demonstrate this technology in a pilot plant using actual syngas from a coal gasifier.