Coal Gasification Processes for Retrofitting Military Central Heating Plants: Overview

Federal Legislation has mandated that Department of Defense (DoD) installations double their coal consumption in an effort to lower fuel costs at central heating plants. Most plants now use natural gas as fuel, which can cost two to three times as much per British thermal units (BtU) as current coal supplies. However, gas-fired boilers normally cannot be modified to burn coal directly; widespread replacement of the gas-burning equipment would be prohibitively expensive. Coal gasification is technology that could potentially resolve this problem. Coal gasifier equipment is available in a wide variety of capacities that could be retrofitted to gas-fired boilers. To help installations select optimal processes and equipment, this report reviews: coal gasification fundamentals and equipment, plant demonstration programs, and industrial boiler conversions to use low-Btu from a coal gasification process. It is recommended that coal gasification technology be considered wherever a coal-based heating plant is required. The gasifier technologies are reliable are potentially cost- competitive with new coal-fueled plants and natural gas-fired plants.