What is gasification?
Gasification occurs in an Alter NRG Plasma Gasification System when carbon-containing feedstocks – such as coal, petroleum coke, municipal solid waste, biomass – are exposed to extremely high temperatures (over 5,000°C/9,000oF) in the presence of controlled amounts of steam, air and oxygen. The feedstock reacts in the gasifier with the steam, air and oxygen to produce a synthesis gas (syngas) and slag. Syngas, composed primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2) and other gaseous constituents, can be used for industrial purposes (as a substitute to natural gas) or to generate: • Steam • Electricity • Hydrogen • Transportation fuels such as diesel, naphtha or ethanol Non-gaseous, inorganic components in the gasified feedstock (i.e., the rocks, dirt and other impurities which do not gasify) separate and leave the bottom of the gasifier as a glass-like slag. Slag, which is environmentally benign and resembles glass, is a marketable aggregate material with a variety of uses in the con
Gasification is a flexible, reliable, and clean energy technology that can turn a variety of low-value feedstocks into high-value products, help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and natural gas, and can provide a clean alternative source of baseload electricity, fertilizers, fuels, and chemicals. It is a manufacturing process that converts any material containing carbon—such as coal, petroleum coke (petcoke), or biomass—into synthesis gas (syngas). The syngas can be burned to produce electricity or further processed to manufacture chemicals, fertilizers, liquid fuels, substitute natural gas (SNG), or hydrogen. (See Global Syngas Output By Feedstock). Gasification has been reliably used on a commercial scale worldwide for more than 50 years in the refining, fertilizer, and chemical industries, and for more than 35 years in the electric power industry.
Gasification is a process which can be used to turn a wide variety of substances into gas, by partially combusting these substances and reacting them with air to make a blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which is known as syngas or synfuel. Synfuel can be used to run an assortment of engines from gas turbines which generate electricity to the engines found in cars. Many proponents of clean and sustainable energy have promoted gasification as a process which should be considered, since it can be made carbon neutral and it can utilize a wide range of materials as fuel. On the industrial level, gasification is used to extract the maximum amount of energy from coal, especially weak veins of coal. Gasifying engines have also been built for personal use by enthusiasts of the technology, and some companies use gasification to consume waste products and power their facilities at the same time. During times of fuel scarcity, gasification has also been used on a widespread level to power thin
Gasification – conversion of low-value carboniferous feedstocks to higher-value gaseous fuels’, 300)” ;=”” onmouseout=”hideddrivetip()”>Gasification uses heat, pressure, and steam to convert any raw material (Feedstock – a raw material used by industry in the manufacture of a product’, 300)” ;=”” onmouseout=”hideddrivetip()”>feedstock) that contains carbon (Carbonaceous – Containing or yielding coal or carbon, an energy source’, 300)” ;=”” onmouseout=”hideddrivetip()”>carbonaceous) into synthesis gas – a gaseous mixture composed primarily of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). Carbon monoxide and hydrogen are colorless, odorless, highly flammable gases that can be used to create electricity, chemicals, pure hydrogen, and liquid transportation fuels. Gasification systems also increasingly are being used to turn feedstocks, such as coal into useful chemical products.
