AN EVALUATION OF THE GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION POTENTIAL THROUGH THE CO-FIRING OF COAL AND MICROALGAE BIOMASS

NOKUTHULA E. MAGIDA, BEN ZEELIE, GARY DUGMORE
2017 Energy and Sustainability VII   unpublished
South Africa is heavily depended on coal to meet its energy requirements. There is therefore a significant incentive to develop and implement clean coal combustion technologies that would reduce the environmental impact of energy generation from coal. For power generation, the co-firing of renewable biomass fuels at conventional coal-fired power stations is recognised as one of the lowercost, lower-risk options to achieve significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. The aim of study
more » ... to evaluate the GHG emission reduction potential through the co-firing of coal and microalgae biomass. Coal to microalgae mass ratios of 95:5 and 90:10 were prepared, combusted in a fixed-bed reactor and compared to pure coal. The emission concentration of CO2 (%), NOx (ppm) and SO2 (ppm) of coal and Coalgae ® blends (a composite material containing coal and microalgae biomass) were measured during the combustion of the three materials using Lancom 4 portable flue gas analyser. The results have shown significant reduction in CO2, SO2 and NOx levels when Coalgae ® was burned. Emission reductions of 8.4%, 17.5% and 10.4% for CO2, SO2 and NOx were achieved with Coalgae ® 5%, respectively. Reductions of 10.7%, 21.4% and 15.4% for CO2, SO2 and NOx were achieved with Coalgae ® 10%, respectively. Moreover, the combustion efficiency of Coalgae ® was maintained at 97.60% slightly below 99.26% (1.7% difference) obtained from the pure coal. Based on the above findings, the co-firing of coal and microalgae biomass was necessary for the reduction of GHG emissions. As such, Coalgae ® can be considered as an alternative fuel in any coal driven process for energy generation.
doi:10.2495/esus170241 fatcat:g3gor7zxafgzrkm3atdilem7y4