ACARP ACARP ACARP ACARP
Low Emission Coal Use

Environmental Regulations for Promotion of Clean Coal Technologies in APEC Economies (www.saic.com - go to publications)

Low Emission Coal Use » Low Emission Coal Use

Published: November 07Project Number: C15078

Get ReportAuthor: APEC Energy Working Group | Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ACARP provided a funding contribution to establish this international study under APEC.  It is not an ACARP report as such and hence will not be published in the normal manner.  Copies can be obtained from the APEC Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy web-site (www.saic.com - go to publications).

Report link: http://www.egcfe.ewg.apec.org/projects/EnvRegs_Final_2007.pdf

The objective of this study is to assess experience to date in developed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies regarding the interaction of environmental regulations with clean coal technology deployment and, based on this analysis, make recommendations on regulatory methods that promote investment in new commercial clean coal projects in developing APEC economies. Environmental regulations for coal-fired power are quite extensive and continue to evolve as new issues, such as water shortage, mercury emissions, and climate change have emerged. Particularly, the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, promises to have a significant impact on the future use of coal for power generation. This study examines both existing and emerging regulatory frameworks in order to determine which type of regulations that would be most effective at promoting clean coal technology adoption in developing APEC economies and would be practical to implement.

The pollutants and environmental regulations examined in the study cover the entire project cycle from permitting, construction, and operation of coal-fired plants and are generally categorized into three major groups:

  • Regulations targeting air emissions. These include regulations concerning local air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and coarse and fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5); mercury (Hg); and carbon dioxide (CO2) which is the major greenhouse gas (GHG) attributed to coalfired power generation.
  • Regulations targeting water use. Relevant regulations or guidelines affecting coal-fired power plants include: 1) water temperature, 2) water intake, and 3) effluent standards for water released from the power plant.
  • Regulations concerning coal combustion by-products. These typically involve 1) classification as hazardous or non-hazardous wastes, which determines subsequent treatment and disposal; 2) allowable uses and disposal practices, such as recycling in other products; and 3) management practices of toxics in disposed and recycled combustion products.

When considering the potential effect of existing and new environmental regulations on the adoption of clean coal we organized the analysis of technologies into three categories. These include:

  • Environmental control technologies. This typically includes flue gas desulfurization (FGD), selective catalytic or non-catalytic reduction (SCR/SNCR) systems, electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) or fabric filters)
  • High efficiency coal combustion technologies such as supercritical, ultrasupercritical, pressurized fluidized bed combustion (PFBC), and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology)
  • Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS). Capture technologies may include pre- and post-combustion capture and oxyfuel combustion. Storage of CO2 can be done in geological formations such as oil or gas fields, saline formations, or coal beds.

To target the recommendations towards APEC economies that would benefit the most from this analysis, we focused on developing and transition APEC economies that are expected to rely on coal for a large part of their future generating capacity. These economies include China, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Thailand, and Vietnam. Influenced by rising populations and increased standards of living, these APEC nations are turning to cheap energy sources to fulfill their energy demands and improve energy security. Coal will provide the fastest growing source of energy in all of these economies, except in Russia, where natural gas and nuclear will continue to represent the greatest share of power generation.

Underground

Health and safety, productivity and environment initiatives.

Recently Completed Projects

C34019Longwall Bretby Cable Handling Monitoring With Fibre Optics

This project examined the potential of using fibre optic sensing tec...

C27049Mine Machine Radar Sensor Integration

The aim of this project was to develop an integrated radar sensor an...

C29007Innovative Coal Burst System To Investigate The Influence Of Confinement Loss And Pre-Conditioning On Coal Burst Mechanism

The challenges associated with designing and operating a safe and pr...

Underground

Open Cut

Safety, productivity and the right to operate are priorities for open cut mine research.

Recently Completed Projects

C33035High Water Recovery, Low Cost Desalination Using PV-Powered Membrane Capacitive Deionisation (Mcdi)

Capacitive deionization is a robust, energy efficient and cost effec...

C28035Topsoil Deficits In Site Rehabilitation Accelerated Transformation Of Spoils To Functional Soils

The incorporation of commercial biological amendments (compost, worm...

C34036Tyre Handler Testing Rig Stage 2: Lifting Trials

Tyre handling is a major source of risk in surface mining operations...

Open Cut

Coal Preparation

Maximising throughput and yield while minimising costs and emissions.

Coal Preparation

Technical Market Support

Market acceptance and emphasising the advantages of Australian coals.

Recently Completed Projects

C34060In-Situ Investigation Of Coke Structure Formation Under Stamp Charged Coking Conditions

Stamp charged cokemaking has emerged as an effective technique to im...

C34062Improving The Classification Of Microstructure Distribution In Coke CT Images Using Deep Learning And Lineal Path Calculations

This project builds on a number of earlier projects that have helped...

C29071Source Of Variability Of Reactivity Of Coke In The CSR Test

The Coke Strength after Reaction (CSR) test is used worldwide to det...

Technical Market Support

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the production of coal.

Recently Completed Projects

C28076Selective Absorption Of Methane By Ionic Liquids (SAMIL)

This third and final stage of this project was the culmination of a ...

C29069Low-Cost Catalyst Materials For Effective VAM Catalytic Oxidation

Application of ventilation air methane (VAM) thermal oxidiser requir...

C23052Novel Stone Dust Looping Process For Ventilation Air Methane Abatement

This multi‐phase project is concerned with the mitigation of m...

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

Low Emission Coal Use

Step-change technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Recently Completed Projects

C17060BGasification Of Australian Coals

Four Australian coals were trialled in the Siemens 5 MWth pilot scale ga...

C17060AOxyfuel Technology For Carbon Capture And Storage Critical Clean Coal Technology - Interim Support

The status of oxy-fuel technology for first-generation plant is indicate...

C18007Review Of Underground Coal Gasification

This report consists of a broad review of underground coal gasification,...

Low Emission Coal Use

Mining And The Community

The relationship between mines and the local community.

Recently Completed Projects

C16027Assessing Housing And Labour Market Impacts Of Mining Developments In Bowen Basin Communities

The focus of this ACARP-funded project has been to identify a number...

C22029Understanding And Managing Cumulative Impacts Of Coal Mining And Other Land Uses In Regions With Diversified Economies

The coal industry operates in the context of competing land-uses that sh...

C23016Approval And Planning Assessment Of Black Coal Mines In NSW And Qld: A Review Of Economic Assessment Techniques

This reports on issues surrounding economic assessment and analysis ...

Mining And The Community

NERDDC

National Energy Research,Development & Demonstration Council (NERDDC) reports - pre 1992.

Recently Completed Projects

1609-C1609Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

Self Heating of Spoil Piles from Open Cut Coal Mines

1301-C1301Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development...

Stress Control Methods for Optimised Development and Extraction Operations

0033-C1356Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals...

Commissioned Report: Australian Thermal Coals - An Industry Handbook

NERDDC