Power Plant Retrofits
Today, coal is a “dirty” energy source. In truth, it is also an abundant and indispensable source. Many nations rely heavily on coal for their energy production. For example, in the U.S., 49% of electricity is produced using coal. In Poland, it’s 93%. And while we can’t keep operating at this level, we can’t shut down plants until a reliable electricity alternative is established.
Plasma gasification represents an incremental solution. Using the existing infrastructure of current coal-fired facilities, plasma gasification technology can process both coal, biomass and waste reducing environmental and health impacts of traditional coal plants while creating clean, sustainable base load power.
Currently, coal plants directly burn coal which includes sulphur and mercury. A plasma gasification refuelled coal plant gasifies coal and biomass to create a syngas which is cleaned of sulphur and mercury. The clean syngas is then burned, resulting in emissions of SO2 and mercury that are 95% less than older traditional coal plants. The biomass portion of the feedstock creates carbon neutral energy, producing lower emissions and a smaller carbon footprint. And because no coal ash is generated, plasma gasification does not add to growing coal ash pond issues.
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THE DIRTY TRUTH
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Nation
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Percentage of Energy Generated Through Coal
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Poland
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93%
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China
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81%
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India
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68%
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Germany
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49%
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United States
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49%
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United Kingdom
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32%
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