Alstom technology makes coal more efficient

October 02, 2013 | 14:00

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On October 2 Alstom, the world’s leading hydropower equipment and service supplier unveiled its Advanced Circulating Fluidised Bed boiler technology at Asia’s premier industry expo, Power-Gen Asia in Thailand.

The product is aimed at markets that often use lower quality fuel, particularly coal.

According to Alstom’s announcement, it thinks the technology will be ideal for areas of Vietnam into anthracite mining, as well as similar production areas in Turkey, India, and Eastern Europe.

The company believes Indonesia is a key market with its production of high moisture lignite, and South Africa as well with large amounts of waste bituminous coal.

Coal would continue to be the dominant fuel for markets such as China, India, South East Asia, Poland, and South Africa. This is due to coal being low in cost and providing greater security of supply, it emphasised.

It added that where coal is the primary source of fuel, the company’s circulating fluidised beds (CFB) technology is ideal.

One issue the company noted was the declining quality of coal being mined, recent supplies are lower in heat content and have more ash and moisture; also producers are looking to waste products and biomass as fuels to save cost.

CFB technology is well positioned to take advantage of the above as over the last 30 years Alstom has developed considerable experience in the combustion of low-grade fuels, particularly using its CFB technology.

Alstom is leveraging its CFB expertise to expand the product portfolio to higher outputs – up to 660 megawatts for lignite, and even more for hard coal as well as supercritical or ultra-supercritical steam parameters to improve efficiency, reduce the cost of electricity, and reduce the environmental footprint.

By By Bich Ngoc

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