The Carnegie-Krupp Template for Coal Deployment Optimisation Part II
Editor’s Note: As part of the Coalblog’s continuing commitment to bringing you new and innovative editorial and ideas, I have invited Walter James O’Brien to expand on his 2010 American Coal magazine article, “Carbon Compliance Using the Carnegie Model.” In this new article, O’Brien expands on the theme of using CO2 to promote industrial development. Please feel free to comment and suggest other means of making CO2 pay.
Transforming green obstacles into profit centers with near-zero capital outlay can be done through intelligent deals-based outsourced capabilities and/or partnership agreements. Expanding on an earlier essay on the Carnegie-Krupp paradigm for industrial development, there are a variety of ways of meeting shareholder demands while satisfying and exceeding the vagaries of environmental regulation.
Tools for executing the optimum transformation to full profit mode consist of the following:
- Chemical manufacture using byproducts of coal combustion onsite using mobile chemical byproduct skids as provided by Marsulex, Johnson Matthey, and a variety of other custom manufacturers such as the following custom skid fabricators and designers: http://www.cfidallas.com and http://www.c-p-s.com For ammonia manufacture through positioning a small coal gasification unit onsite, Kellogg Brown and Root lead the world in both licensable technology and investment as partners in development of new plant.
http://www.kbr.com/Technologies/Ammonia-and-Fertilizer/Recent-Ammonia-Plant-Experience- Hybrid modifications of subfunctions of power plant operations. Amongst such activities can be included using Siemens/Solel all-weather solar arrays to pre-heat boiler feedwater while heat sinking and storing thermal power in their patented thermal salt storage devices. Please see
http://www.energy.siemens.com/hq/en/power-generation/renewables/solar-power/concentrated-solar-power/solutions.htm- Aggressive co-marketing while establishing co-location of production resources with power generation through working out cooperative arrangements for steam sales and usage onsite with food canning and processing operations http://www.pickheaters.com/food_industry.cfm, absorption chiller-driven refrigerated food warehousing operations http://contractingbusiness.com/commercial/cb_imp_6116 , industrial-scale laundries, textile manufacturers, clothing manufacturers and processors, and steam kilns for wood products processing and manufacture http://www.louisvilledryer.com
- Transforming the small and medium coal fueled plant into an integral part of the industrial and civic community infrastructure through development and construction of district heating and cooling systems;
http://www.veoliaenergyna.com/solutions/district-energy/district-heating and
- Participation in the dynamics of municipal riverine flood mitigation efforts which presently afflicts dozens of U.S. communities by partnering in integrated hydroelectric project development as fully vested partners and as an extension of existing coal plant operations after the model of the Garrison Dam project http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/Lake_Proj/garrison/welcome.html as an addition to the present coal plant owner’s portfolio. Many firms such as SNC-Lavalin at http://www.snc-lavalin.com are eager and willing to participate in partnership with existing U.S. coal utilities to facilitate full exploitation of hydroelectric resources.
For all options given above there is a large U.S. base of developers, which is growing due to the migration away from speculative, into underwritten long-term stable investment in needed infrastructure.
To make the efforts of small to medium coal power plant development a reality several research initiatives need to be implemented:
Design of scalable Fischer-Tropsch coal gasification rigs for retrofit to existing power plants needs to be the focus of a single design house serving the associations of coal plant operators on a common basis. At present this is done on a one-by-one basis where standardized arrays in pre-defined output ranges are in demand to reduce costs and make selection and operation simpler for the coal plant owner/operator.
Systems simulation templates and programs for running financial scenario comparisons need also to be designed and shared through this and other coal user service organizations.
—–Walter James O’Brien
Power plant construction cost analyst
307 Main Avenue South, Mail Stop Five
Fargo, North Dakota 58103-1976
Tel: 607-343-7452
e-mail: w_james_obrien@myway.com