Plasma Gasification of Coal in Different Oxidants

Oxidant selection is the highest priority for advanced coal gasification-process development. This paper presents comparative analysis of the Powder River Basin bituminous-coal gasification processes for entrained-flow plasma gasifier. Several oxidants, which might be employed for perspective commercial applications, have been chosen, including air, steam/carbon-dioxide blend, carbon dioxide, steam, steam/air, steam/oxygen, and oxygen. Synthesis gas composition, carbon gasification degree, specific power consumptions, and power efficiency for these processes were determined. The influence of the selected oxidant composition on the gasification-process main characteristics have been investigated.