Successful Grantees of the NSW Clean Coal Fund

An ‘Expressions of Interest’ round was opened from 16 September 2009 until 4 December 2009. Based on a thorough assessment process and recommendations from the Clean Coal Council, the Minister for Mineral and Forest Resources, the Hon Paul McLeay, announced the successful grantees on the 8th June 2010 at the NSW Low Emissions Coal Technology Summit in Sydney.

A total of ten projects have been funded as part of a comprehensive $13 million Research and Development program to drive technological developments in low emissions coal technologies that cover the full breadth of coal application in NSW including:

1. Fugitive methane emissions from coal mines
2. Coal combustion and electricity generation efficiency
3. Post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂)
4. Storage of captured carbon dioxide (CO₂)
5. Public consultation and community awareness

Fugitive Methane Emissions from Coal Mines

Why methane emissions?

Methane is a key ingredient of natural gas and an important energy source but is also recognised as a potent greenhouse gas. Methane gas is formed underground during the natural process where biomass such as plant material is converted into coal. The gas is stored within coal seams and surrounding rock strata and can be released during natural erosion, faulting, and mining operations. As methane is recognised as a major greenhouse gas far more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, abating fugitive methane emissions from NSW coal mines results in substantial reduction in the State’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Two projects have been supported by the NSW Clean Coal Fund to drive innovation in tackling fugitive methane emissions from both open-cut and underground coal mines in NSW.

Project: Greenhouse Abatement Facility Demonstration

Grantee: Centennial (Coal) Mandalong Pty Ltd

Centennial Mandalong P/L will receive grant funding to trial an exciting new technology termed a VAM-RAB (Ventilation Air Methane Regenerative After Burner) that promises to mitigate fugitive methane emissions escaping from underground coal mines. These emissions are notoriously difficult to abate because the naturally-occurring gas becomes diluted in the large volumes of ventilation air that are flushed through the mine during standard mining operations. As methane typically constitutes less than 1% of the ventilation air expelled from the mine, the gas is in too low in concentration to either burn-off (often referred to as flaring) or process to generate electricity.

The VAM-RAB system overcomes this problem by directing the ventilation air through what is essentially a large industrial oven where it is heated up to approximately 1000º C. Using this oxidation technique almost all of the methane (> 99%) is converted to carbon dioxide and water. A key feature of the technology is the ability to be self-sustaining without the need for additional energy to maintain the temperature in the combustion chamber. This is accomplished by preventing the heat from migrating out of the chamber via a periodic change in direction of the flow of the ventilation air through the system; hence the title ‘Regenerative After Burner’.

Illustration of the VAM-RAB system or ‘pack’ showing key features of its design and the change or ‘reversal’ in airflow direction (green and red arrows). Courtesy of Centennial Mandalong.

This innovative NSW Clean Coal funded field study will demonstrate the capture of a portion of the fugitive methane emissions escaping from the Centennial Mandalong Mine. Ultimately, a bank of 12 VAM-RAB packs is proposed to capture and treat the entire mine’s fugitive emissions.

Project: Reducing Fugitive Emissions from Open Cut Coal Mines using Enhanced Drainage of Coal Mine Methane

Grantee: The CSIRO Centre for Environment, Social and Economic Research

The CSIRO Centre for Environment, Social and Economic Research will receive grant funding to undertake a ‘world-first’ trial to confirm whether the volume of methane gas drained from a NSW coal mine can be dramatically increased before open-cut mining commences. The ‘enhanced drainage’ technique embraces recent advances made overseas in effectively extracting methane from deep un-mineable coal seams by pumping inert gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide (CO₂) or flue gas into the seam. The inert gases act to flush out the methane from the coal seam where it is then drained using bore wells.

The novel NSW Clean Coal funded project is, in essence, a step towards creating a ‘greenhouse gas-less mine’. The experiment involves injecting inert gases into a shallow, coal seam in an attempt to flush out a much larger volume of methane than would other-wise be extracted by current ‘primary drainage’ techniques. The drained gas can be used for power generation rather than being uncontrollably released during the mining process into the atmosphere where it can become a problematic greenhouse gas.

Illustration of the Enhanced Drainage technique showing the injection well where inert gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide are injected (in red) and production wells where the methane gas is drained (in blue) Courtesy of CSIRO.

The proposed technique offers a real opportunity to abate fugitive methane emissions from both open-cut and underground mines. The technology may also be economically attractive. It has been shown that there is a positive business case for enhanced drainage above a greenhouse gas emissions penalty of $20/tonne CO₂-e. In contrast primary drainage never reaches breakeven and so is not feasible compared to allowing the methane to become fugitive.

Coal Combustion and Electricity Generation Efficiency

Why energy efficiency?

Concerted effort is currently focused on abating the greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power generation by developing ways of separating out and storing the CO₂ from the power station flue gas (termed ‘Carbon Capture and Storage’ or CCS). Just as importantly, there is considerable effort focused on reducing the amount of CO₂ that ends up in the flue gas in the first place by improving the efficiency by which energy is generated in the coal combustion process. Logically, it stands to reason, that the less coal used per unit of electricity generated the less CO₂ is produced.

One way to improve the efficiency of coal-fired electricity generation is to improve the efficiency by which the steam engines and gas turbines currently used in the generation process convert the heat released from burning coal into power or work i.e. the ‘thermal efficiency’. In fact, every one per cent increase in thermal efficiency results in a 2-3 per cent decrease in CO₂ emissions. This in turn, improves the performance of CCS programs and reduces the associated economic costs. Efficiency gains can also be made through, for example, developing completely novel and innovative ways to generate electricity from coal, or by reducing the amount of energy (and hence associated greenhouse gas emissions) required to power specific equipment at key steps in the electricity generation process.

Four projects have been supported by the NSW Clean Coal Fund to drive innovation in improving the efficiency and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and associated costs of coal-fuelled electricity generation and carbon capture and storage initiatives.

Project: Development and Optimisation of the Direct Carbon Fuel Cell

Grantee: University of Newcastle’s Discipline of Chemistry

The University of Newcastle’s Discipline of Chemistry will receive grant funding to research and develop a Direct Carbon Fuel Cell (DCFC). This technology is yet to be commercialised but is widely promoted as being the ‘holy grail’ of coal-fuelled electricity generation as it has the capacity to generate electricity with much higher thermal efficiencies (~70-80%) than engines and turbines (~35-55%). In addition, the fuel cell emissions are almost entirely pure CO₂ which is therefore ready for capture and storage without the need to firstly separate out other gases such as nitrogen which are present in the flue gases of exiting power plants.

In a DCFC, electricity is generated directly from coal through the chemical oxidation of coal which has been ground and purified of ash and other contaminants. This differs substantially to the way electricity is traditionally generated – coal is burnt to boil water to make steam to turn a turbine, to turn a generator, to produce electricity. In essence, a fuel cell can be compared to an electrochemical battery. They differ in that a battery stores electrical energy chemically whilst a fuel cell relies on the external supply of a fuel (in this case coal) which must be continually replenished. A DCFC works by chemically separating the component electrons and protons of the coal, and forcing the electrons to travel through a circuit thereby converting them to electrical power.

The DCFC is an exciting example of how electricity in NSW could potentially be generated in the future. In order to drive this promising area of research and development, this project will use NSW Clean Coal funds to develop a prototype DCFC system by 2015 with commercialisation estimated to result 5-10 years later.

Project: A Novel Chemical Looping Based Air Separation Technology for Oxy-Fuel Combustion of Coal

Grantee: The University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Energy

The University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Energy will receive grant funding to undertake research into a novel way of producing pure oxygen for use in the efficient burning of coal to generate electricity. The technology relies on the principles of ‘chemical looping’ and uses the cyclic interaction of a metallic compound (called a metallic oxide carrier) with air as a means of separating out the oxygen. The proposed technology promises to be a cost effective means of mitigating one of the major barriers to the adoption of carbon capture technologies such as oxy-firing as conventional air separation is notoriously expensive. The specific power requirements of the Chemical Looping Air Separation system are estimated to be about 26% (including heat losses to the ambient) of that of the most advanced cryogenic air separation unit. This equates to a corresponding oxygen production cost of 0.64 vs 2.4 ¢/m3 and greenhouse gas emissions of 72 vs 270 g/CO₂ per m3 of product oxygen.

The schematic diagram of the chemical looping air separation process showing the cyclic separation of oxygen from air in the oxidation reactor and release of the oxygen in the reduction reactor. Courtesy of the University of Newcastle

In addition to greatly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from air separation processes, the Chemical Looping Air Separation technology could accelerate the commercial-scale deployment to low emissions electricity generation utilising cost effective highly-advanced coal technologies currently being developed such as Oxy-Fuel Combustion. With support from the NSW Clean Coal Fund, a 5-year program will be pursued to get this innovative air separation technology commercially ready.

Project: Diesel Engine Development Project

Grantee: UCC Energy Pty. Ltd

UCC Energy Pty Ltd will receive grant funding to further develop their process of producing Ultra Clean Coal and assessing its use as a coal-water fuel for firing in diesel engines to generate electricity. As diesel engines have higher thermal efficiencies than most power plant combustion engines, funding will assess whether the energy and emissions used to develop Ultra Clean Coal can efficiently and effectively operate in diesel engines large enough to generate electricity in a redistributed energy network.

The UCC process already removes most of the coal’s impurities and ash through a chemical cleaning process. The end product is micronised refined coal that can be mixed with water and additives to form a slurry fuel for use in diesel engines. Further testing however needs to establish if the long term use of this fuel is viable and can operate in diesel engines.

This project has the potential to fuel small power stations (50-250 MW) based on diesel engines which could be strategically located within the grid. The advantages of this distributed power generation include reduced transmission line losses, fast start capability, and it could effectively provide a solid base to support renewable power sources like wind and solar which are prone to sudden stoppages. The findings of this project could provide an alternative pathway to low emissions power based on coal.

Post-Combustion Capture of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

What is Post-Combustion Capture?

The effective capture of CO₂ emitted in the flue gas from large point sources such as coal-fuelled power stations is an important strategy in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW. One of the most promising capture methods available is Post-Combustion Capture (PCC) which involves the separation and concentration of the CO₂ from flue gas obtained after the combustion of coal. This technology has a number of desirable advantages including that it is based on mature techniques currently used in oil refineries, petrochemical plants and other industries, and it can also be retrofitted to existing power stations. This negates the expensive task of constructing or substantially modifying existing power station facilities and hence provides an avenue for near-term CO₂ capture.

Various techniques are currently being developed throughout the world to effectively capture CO₂ in a cost efficient manner. The leading technology is liquid absorbent based capture technology which uses chemical liquids to specifically target and remove the CO₂ from the power station flue gas stream. Other technologies, such as membrane sieves and physical adsorption, are also being investigated as alternative or supplementary options to chemical liquid absorption.

Two projects have been supported by the NSW Clean Coal Fund to assist in readying the NSW fleet of coal-fuelled power stations to capture and abate their greenhouse gas emissions.

Project: Further Development of an Aqueous Ammonia Process for Post-Combustion Capture of CO₂ in the NSW Power Sector

Grantee: CSIRO Energy Technology

CSIRO Energy Technology will receive grant funding to support a research and development program dedicated to the chemical capture of CO₂ emitted in the flue gas from NSW coal-fired power stations. The program is specific tailored to focus on NSW black coals and the power stations in which they fuel and aims to optimise and improve the aqueous ammonia absorbent process under real working conditions (i.e. operating on an existing power station). The pilot-scale CO₂ capture plant used in the research is currently located at Delta Electricity’s Munmorah Power Station on the Central Coast, north of Sydney.

The CSIRO Post-combustion capture pilot plant located at Delta Electricity’s Munmorah Power Station. Courtesy of Delta Electricity.

This innovative project continues to be the only current research and development pilot program on liquid-based absorbent PCC technologies suitable for NSW power stations. The results also have applicability across the Australian black coal electricity generation sector. The NSW Clean Coal funds will assist in upgrading the pilot plant and moving it from Munmorah to Delta Electricity’s Vales Point Power Station so that this critical research program can continue.

The results from the CSIRO Post-combustion capture pilot program will feed into the NSW Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project.

Project: Site Trials of Novel CO₂ Capture Technology at Delta Electricity

Grantee: CSIRO Coal Technology

CSIRO Coal Technology will receive grant funding to investigate the ability of a novel, patented technology to physically separate out the CO₂ from the flue gas emitted from NSW coal-fired power stations. The technology uses HMCFC adsorbents which are a type of nano-structured Monolithic (i.e. one moulded component) Carbon Fibre Composite adsorbent material fabricated in a Honeycomb structure. The technology enables dry CO₂ capture at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and in dusty environments with low pressure drop, reducing the operational and maintenance cost of the post-combustion capture process. In addition, the heat in the flue gas can be utilised in the process thereby further reducing the electricity requirements of capturing CO₂. Thus, this technology promises to play a key role in the cost effective and environmentally responsible generation of electricity in the future.

Photos of fabricated HMCFC adsorbent (left) and microscopic carbon fibres that make up the adsorbent (right). Courtesy of CSIRO.

Through the support provided by the NSW Clean Coal Fund, an adsorption test unit will be installed at one of Delta Electricity’s power stations on the Central Coast, north of Sydney. The effect of real flue gas on the operation and performance of the test unit will be tested and the CO₂ capture process demonstrated. Information on the commercial application of the technology will also be generated from the field trial.

Storage of Captured Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

Why store CO₂?

The safe and secure long-term atmospheric isolation of the CO₂ captured from coal-fuelled power stations and other major emission sources is paramount to effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions in NSW. The main CO₂ storage options currently being investigated include geological storage in sub terrain reservoirs, ocean storage, algal and biosequestration, and mineral carbonation. Apart from the conventional geological storage of CO₂ which the NSW Government is undertaking with the State Wide Storage Capacity project and NSW CCS Demonstration project, NSW is also looking at non-conventional forms of CO₂ storage as part of the development of a portfolio of storage options available to meet differing requirements throughout the state.

Project: Permanent Large Scale CO₂ Storage by Mineral Carbonation in NSW

Grantee: GreenMag Group and the University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Energy

The GreenMag Group and University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Energy will receive grant funding to develop and optimise a promising method of disposing of carbon dioxide gas emitted from NSW coal-fired power stations. The Mineral Carbonation process takes advantage of a natural process whereby CO₂ is captured in mineral deposits resulting in it being stored in rocks. A key advantage of this process is that the CO₂ is permanently stored in the rocks. It would only re-enter the atmosphere if the rocks were subjected to extremely high temperatures. Building products and the extraction of noble metals left over from the mineral carbonation process may also assist in offsetting the economic costs of sequestering CO₂.

Illustration of the mineral carbonation process as proposed by the GreenMag Group and the University of Newcastle.

This cutting edge project will be a ‘world first’ in the building and operation of a mineral carbonation pilot plant. The pilot work will be supported by laboratory research to optimise and demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of two mineral carbonation processes to speed up the chemical reaction between concentrated CO₂, (that has been captured from power station flue gas, stripped and then pressurised) and finely ground rock (serpentinite mined in NSW). The underlying aim is to optimise the processes with a lower energy penalty.

Public Consultation and Community Awareness

The importance of an informed public

Increasing the public awareness and acceptance of the importance in low emission coal technologies is as critical as the technological developments themselves. Public confidence in these technologies is built on early, open and honest engagement, as well as evidence of effective and successful projects. A key initiative of the NSW Clean Coal Fund is to increase public awareness and acceptance of the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of low emission coal technologies.

Project: Managing Clean Coal Technology Project Risk: The Role of Public Awareness

Grantee: The University of Newcastle’s Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Well-being

The University of Newcastle’s Research Institute for Social Inclusion and Well-being will receive grant funding to use an innovative approach to understand the network of relations between industry, society and government that impact on public acceptance of low emission coal technologies.

Using a contemporary methodology of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) which can explain how technology and people interact over time, the research will identify and implement those contemporary public awareness methods, beyond traditional consultation and public relations, to increase the public awareness and positive social attitudes to support the adoption and applications of low emission coal technologies.

This project will undertake research in regional and metropolitan areas, and look at varying technological applications to implement solution focused mechanisms and strategies for government, society and industry to increase public awareness and acceptance.

Further Information

For further information on the NSW Clean Coal Fund and the above initiatives, please contact the NSW Clean Coal Council Secretariat by email on ccs.info@industry.nsw.gov.au.