Coal-fueled diesel system for stationary power applications -- Technology development. Final report, March 1988--June 1994

Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Cooper-Bessemer and Arthur D. Little have developed the technology to enable coal-water slurry to be utilized in large-bore, medium-speed diesel engines. The target application is modular power generation in the 10 to 100 MW size, with each plant using between two and eight engines. Such systems are expected to be economically attractive in the non-utility generation market after 2000, when oil and natural gas prices are expected to escalate rapidly compared to the price of coal. During this development program, over 1,000 hours of prototype engine operation have been achieved on coal-water slurry (CWS), including over 100 hours operation of a six-cylinder, 1.8 MW engine with an integrated emissions control system. Arthur D. Little, Inc., managed the coal-fueled diesel development, with Cooper-Bessemer as the principal subcontractor responsible for the engine design and testing. Several key technical advances which enable the viability of the coal-fueled diesel engine were made under this program. Principal among them are the development and demonstration of (1) durable injection nozzles; (2) an integrated emissions control system; ad (3) low-cost clean coal slurry formulations optimized for the engine. Significant advances in all subsystem designs were made to develop the full-scale Cooper-Bessemer coal engine components in preparation for a 100-hour proof-of-concept test of an integrated system, including emissions controls. The Clean Coal Diesel power plant of the future will provide a cost-competitive, low-emissions, modular, coal-based power generation option to the non-utility generation, small utility, independent power producer, and cogeneration markets. Combined cycle efficiencies will be approximately 48% (lower heating value basis) and installed cost will be approximately $1,300/kW (1992 dollars)