Refined coal is the product of the application
of a coal upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants
from lower-rank coals such as sub-bituminous and lignite (brown) coals and
raising their calorific values.Coal refining
or upgrading technologies are typically pre-combustion treatments and/or
processes that alter the characteristics of a coal before it is burned. The
goals of pre-combustion coal upgrading technologies are to increase efficiency
and reduce emissions when coal is burned. Depending on the situation,
pre-combustion technology can be used in place of or as a supplement to
post-combustion technologies to control emissions from coal-fueled boilers.
A primary benefit of refined coal is the capacity to reduce the net volume of
carbon emissions that is currently emitted from power generators and would
reduce the amount of emissions that is proposed to be managed via emerging
carbon sequestration methodologies. Refined coal technologies have primarily
been developed in the United States, several similar technologies have been
researched, developed and tested in Victoria, Australia, including the
Densified coal technology (Coldry Process)
developed to alter the chemical bonds of brown coal to create a product that is
cleaner, stable (not prone to spontaneous combustion), exportable and of
sufficiently high calorific value to be a black coal equivalent.
Evergreen Energy constructed a full-scale coal refinery near
Gillette, Wyoming that began operation in late 2005. Designed originally to be
a commercial plant, the facility encountered design and operational problems.
Evergreen idled the facility in March 2008 and instead used the plant as a
process development platform with its engineering, construction and procurement
contractor Bechtel Power Corporation.
Evergreen is now seeking to construct a coal refinery using
the improved Bechtel design at locations in the Midwestern United States and in
Asia.
Calleja Group constructed a full-scale
16,000 tonne per annum pilot demonstration plant at JBD Business Park at MaddingleyMine near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria that began
operation in early 2004. From 2005 ECT Limited upgraded the facility, added a
water recovery process with Victorian Government funding in 2007 and operated
the plant as a process development platform with its engineering partner ARUP.
In 2009 ECT Limited secured and agreement with Thang Long Investment
Company(Tincom) of Vietnam to finalise
commercial feasibility ahead of construction of a 2 million tonne pa export
plant by 2014 and 20 million tonne pa export by 2020. ECT Limited is using the
ARUP improved design to secure technology licensing agreements with brown coal
suppliers in China, India, Indonesia, Poland, Greece and Russia.