Commercial Operation of IGCC
Korea Western Power Co. announced on August 22 that the company started the commercial operation of Taean IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) Power Plant on August 19. The IGCC Power Plant project was pushed ahead with as the government’s Korean-type demonstration plant development project in order to secure greenhouse gas emissions reduction technology and clean coal utilization technology.
This is the Korean government’s largest research project involving Doosan Heavy Industries, domestic research organizations and colleges among others. Six IGCC power plants are in operation in the US, Japan and Spain.
Since breaking ground in November 2011, 610,000 man-days and 49,000 pieces of construction equipment were put into the construction of the Taean IGCC Demonstration Plant for 57 months. The power plant began to generate power with a natural gas-powered gas turbine in April of last year. After the first ignition at the gasification plant in November of last year, a comprehensive test run and a legal inspection were completed.
Finally they are about to begin the plant’s commercial operation.
IGCC power generation technology can significantly reduce the amount of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and dust, main pollutants from coal-fired power generation to the level of natural gas-powered power generation before combustion after production of syngas. This technology can be applied to technology that produces substitute natural gas (SNG), coal to liquids (CTL), hydrogen and various chemical materials.
In case that a system that produces various fuels and materials at the same time is built at the gasification plant, it can cut cost and raise energy conversion efficiency. Furthermore, it is possible to connect various technologies such as the application of integrated gasification fuel cell (IGFC) which mixes syngas and fuel cells.