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Clean Coal CFB Project Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

POWER PLANT PROJECT UPDATE
posted on 03/20/08

BPU officials continue to work toward the proposed oxy-coal power plant announced on July 31 in Buffalo. The project was announced with Praxair, Inc., Ecology & Environment, University of Buffalo School of Engineering/Applied Sciences and Dresser-Rand.

In an effort to make the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) project as environmentally-friendly as possible, the BPU had contacted Praxair whose leaders had been seeking a good location for a demonstration of its oxy-coal technology.

The BPU and other companies involved with the project actively are working with New York State to determine if the project will receive state approval. If the project is state-approved, the team of companies will apply for federal funding to make the project fiscally-possible for BPU ratepayers. The oxy-coal integration project will not be possible without funding from outside the BPU service territory.

The oxy-coal technique cools air into a liquid in an air separation unit attached to a power plant. Nitrogen is removed, leaving pure oxygen. The oxygen is then combined with recycled flue gas and helps fuel the fire in the power plant. Since the nitrogen has been removed, the only by-products of the fire are carbon dioxide, ash and impurities.

The flue gas is recirculated back to the boiler where the oxygen is added for combustion. An amount of the carbon dioxide concentrated flu gas is sent to the carbon dioxide processing plant. There, the carbon dioxide is purified and compressed for transport and sequestration (storage).

The carbon dioxide can be sequestered deep into the earth in a supercritical (almost liquid) state. It can also be used to refract old oil and gas wells. The Jamestown project also would include research into beneficial reuse of the carbon dioxide, such as use in carbonated drinks or in the growth of algae which could be used as a biofuel (burned as fuel) in the electric plant.

If the project receives a go-ahead from the state, more legal permitting processes will be needed before the project can begin construction.