Tom Alley

Vice President, Generation, EPRI

2012 Summer Seminar

August 5-7, 2012

Next Generation Technologies for

Environmental Control

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Effect of Environmental Controls on

Emissions

-100%

-50%

0%

50%

100%

150%

200%

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Coal kWh

NOx tons

SOx tons

Perc

ent C

hange

Significant reduction in emissions with increased generation

Source: EPA and EIA

+217%

-67%

-85%

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Environmental Controls Technology

ESPs

$75-150/kW

LNBs

$20-40/kW

FGD’s

$250-$600/kW

Typical ranges of

EC equipment costs

SCR’s

$150-$300/kW

Deployment of present technologies are capable of compliance in existing units

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CCRs

(Metals)

Effluent Guidelines

CWA §316 (a) (b)

Possible Future Requirements for

Environmental Controls

(Hg, Se, B

TMDLs, WQC)

NAAQS MATS

CSAPR Regional Haze

(NOx, SO2

Hg, PM,

Ozone)

NSPS ESPS International

Treaties (CH4, CO2

N2O)

Technology innovation needed to prepare for the future

Water Quality

Air Quality

Carbon Control

Solid Waste

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Air Emissions Control – Key Challenges

Compliance with New Regulations

• NOx, SO2:

– Cross State Air Pollution Rule

(CSAPR)

– Large Combustion Plant Directive

(Europe)

• Hazardous Air Pollutants/Particulate

Matter (HAPs/PM):

– Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

(MATS)

• Solid Wastes

• Cycling Impacts on Control

Capability

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Improving NOx Control – What’s next? Advanced Boiler I&C, Feedback Loop

• Low NOx operation requires

improved fuel/air distribution and

mixing

• Combine multi-point measurements

with an optimizer for minimal NOx

– Maintain more uniform O2, CO

and NO

– Reduce O2 within acceptable

CO, unburned carbon

Novel I&C technologies can improve cycling capability

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Carbon Composite

PMscreen

Air Emission Controls – What’s Next?

SAP

Researching novel multi-pollutant controls and enabling

concepts to reduce costs or impacts

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Carbon Capture and Storage – Key Challenges

Reduce Energy and Water Use

• Significant reduction in energy

use requirements needed

• Large relative footprint for

equipment requires novel

designs

• Compounds the challenge of

water management

• Storage demonstrations to

validate permanence, allay

other concerns

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Innovative Approaches to Carbon

Capture

• Develop process simulations

– Identify ideal capture

material properties

– Very broad minimum;

thousands of promising

new compounds identified

• No single defining material

characteristic

• Theoretical minimum

capture/compression penalty

is ~11% or about 390 kJ/kg

CO2*

MEA

Needed breakthroughs require fundamental science

informed by process engineering

* For a typical US based plant. Percentage will vary based

on the plants overall efficiency

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Water Management – Key Challenges Reduce water withdrawal and consumption

• Use Less Water

• Use Water More Efficiently

• Reuse / Recycle Water and

Wastewater

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Power Plant Water Management –

What’s Next?

Many opportunities to reduce water use

Additional 1000+ gpm water

savings possible through fuel

moisture recovery innovations

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Water Use Efficiency Innovations

• Improve steam plant condenser

efficiency

• Increase power generation

efficiency

– Improved efficiency of steam

condensation process

– Potential for lowering turbine

back-pressure

Nano and micro-structured features

promote drop-wise condensation

Use less water for cooling

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Water Reuse Innovations – Moisture

Recovery Technology

• Moisture Recovery Membranes

– Recovery/reuse of water losses

– Recovery/reuse of FGD evaporator losses

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Innovative Waste Water Treatment

Systems

• Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD)

– Potential mandate or least-cost for

stringent limits

– Capture metals and salts for proper

disposal

– Recover water for power plant reuse

• Radical De-ionization Electro-coagulation

– Concentration of high dissolved solids

streams with no fouling or chemicals

– Less energy than existing

technologies

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Generation – Call for Innovation

• Advancing emissions controls

– SO2, NOx, Hg/HAPs,

Particulate, CO2

• Reducing water withdrawal

and consumption

• Maintaining plant reliability

and low costs with added

environmental controls

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Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity