Concept screening of coal gasification CAES systems. Final report. [Compressed air energy storage]

This report documents technical and economic concept screening studies of advanced compressed air energy storage (CAES) power plants incorporating coal gasification. The purpose of the study was to provide identification of integrated gasification/CAES systems which appear most attractive for further detailed study. The thermal characteristics of coal gasification and fuel gas cleanup systems were matched to the requirements of CAES systems. Four air-blown gasifiers (Foster Wheeler/BCR, Texaco, U-Gas, and Kellogg molten salt) and two clean-up systems (Selexol and Conoco) were selected for integration with CAES systems. A number of integrated system configurations were studied using the Foster Wheeler/BCR gasifier to determine the configuration exhibiting the best combination of overall performance, economics, and low-risk hardware design. Results are presented which describe the round trip heat rate and net power output of the different configurations examined. Also, three other selected gasifier systems were substituted for the Foster Wheeler/BCR gasifier in the selected configuration. Capital and operating costs were calculated for the four selected coal gasification/CAES systems and compared to alternative power plants. These results lead to recommendations regarding the direction of future coal gasification/CAES investigation.