With a dark cloud being cast over all "Clean Coal" or "Coal Upgrading" Technologies, it is essential to understand why our Technology is different.
Our Patented Upgrading Process contains only two primary steps; Immersion and Drying, thus very simple
The process is both about 50% the Capital and Operating Costs of the failed economically justified competing Technologies.
With Coal qualities decreasing year after year and mining costs increasing, our Technology will reverse this devastating trend
Carbon Alternative Technologies (CAT) was formed to work with and exploit the CBA Environmental Services (CBA) Remedial Coal Solutions (RCS) Technology on upgrading coals. CAT is a Licensee of CBA. The Technology was born out a need; the continuing worldwide trend of higher quality coals being mined out and as time progresses, mining coals of lesser and lesser quality is ongoing. While this trend is inevitable, as companies have always mined the highest quality coals first, they are now left with mining of the decreasing quality – higher mining cost coals or low cost mining of low quality coals. This technology means the coal no longer needs to stay of a lesser quality. CAT can upgrade virtually any low quality coal such as sub-bituminous and lignite so that it is of a higher quality than the coal mined at the best qualities. The technology involves a simple two-step process of immersing coal in a low strength amino-solvent and then drying it. For more information about the technology, please visit the next page - ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY
The technology Carbon Alternate Technologies (CAT) employs is a patented process designed to remove moisture from coal. The process would be most cost-efficient located as close to the mine as practical. This allows savings in all aspects of handling and transportation costs, but can be located at any site that makes logistical sense. The first step is immersion, where the sized coal chunks are immersed in an amino-solvent. The second step is drying, where the coal is dried in a thermal dryer. The entire process takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, is run in a continuous flow, and produces a lower moisture coal. In addition to savings in transportation and handling costs from removing the water weight there will be 3-5% boiler efficiency gains when consuming the coal, reductions in emissions, and virtually no Spontaneous Combustion characteristics. No secondary operations are needed to attain these benefits. The best economic models show the Technology is best placed as close to the mining operations as practical.
There are many benefits to the CAT Upgrading Technology:
1. Removal of moisture from the coal increasing its calorific quality
2. Reduction of transportations costs in the supply chain due to not moving water weight
3. Reduction in operating costs due to handling less qualities of coal due to increased quality
4. No Spontaneous Combustion after upgrading
5. Consuming coal with less moisture leads to an increase of boiler efficiency of 3-5%
6. Environmental emissions are reduced such as NOx, Co2 and CO
7. Minimal reduction of coal sizes (existing upgrading technologies require the pulverizing of coal into fine particles)
8. No secondary operations (existing upgrading technologies require briquetting or pelletizing to prevent moisture reabsorption)
Our technology is simple, economical, and efficient. There have been many failed attempts at coal upgrading in the past, and all of them required many more complex and costly processes than this Technology. Simple is almost always better, and we believe our technology has solved the coal upgrading problem.
Q1: What materials does this technology work with?
A1: Coal and Biomass
Q2: What types of coals does this process work with?
A2: Sub-bituminous and lower rank coals from around the world have been successfully upgraded with this technology.
Q3: What primary and secondary steps are needed for this process to work?
A3: The coal needs to be sized to about 1.5-2″ (50mm x 0) prior to the process. Other than that, no secondary operations are required.
Q4: How long does it take to upgrade coal?
A4: The technology is a flow through system. Once the system is full and with a steady outflow of material, the product will be in the system for about 10 minutes.
Q5: What is the final moisture percentage of the upgraded coal?
A5: Upgraded coal will have around 5-10% moisture directly after exiting the process, and will gain another few percentiles of moisture while sitting at atmospheric conditions. The final moisture percentage can be controlled based on customer requirements.
Q6: Will weather affect the upgraded coal?
A6: No, our testing has shown rain and other weather effects will not significantly change or affect the upgraded coal.
Q7: Has this technology been vetted by outside agencies?
A7: Yes. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and Combustion Resources Inc (CRI) have performed testing on Indonesia and US Powder River Basin Coals documenting increases in quality and reductions in emissions.
Q8: What is the maximum pressure in the technology?
A8: With the exception of water and air pressures, all pressures are measured in inches H2O (about 1 PSI or 7 kPa)
Q9: Where would be the most economic place to put an upgrading plant?
A9: A plant can be placed anywhere, but we suggest as close to the mine as possible. This will allow for the greatest economic benefits in regards to transportation costs and logistics. Reducing the moisture percentage of the coal as soon as possible will show a lower cost on a $/MMBTU basis for all remaining transportation steps due to the removal of water weight at the plant.
Q10: What size plant can be used in a commercial operation?
A10: This depends on the coal type and customer requirements, but about 180 MTHr.
Q11: What kind of fuel is needed to run a commercial plant?
A11: Coal (including leftover fines from mining), propane (or other gas), diesel fuel (or other fuel liquid), and waste heat from any process can be used.
If your question was not answered, or if you would like more information, please contact us.
July 8-9, 2020
Our Email dave@carbonalttech.com
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