Burning coal produces substantial carbon dioxide emissions.
Industrial Processing
The costs and risks of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide — or the prospects of taxes associated with carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere — have added to the incentives for nuclear energy. The high temperature gas-cooled reactor can be used for a broad range of commercial production to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. Refining fuels and manufacturing plastics and fertilizer all require high temperatures that have been achieved by burning fossil fuels. A high temperature gas-cooled reactor can supply the heat for these processes without producing carbon dioxide.
The abundant coal reserves in the U.S. can be converted to a fuel for refineries, petrochemical and chemical plants. The Fischer-Tropsch process developed in the 1920s is a proven technology for converting coal. However, the Fischer-Tropsch process requires burning coal to provide the steam and produces substantial carbon dioxide emissions. A high temperature gas-cooled reactor can be integrated with the process to form a coal-to-liquids plant that uses 40 percent less coal and produces significantly less CO2 emissions. 1
1 INL/EXT-06-11667
More Information
- The Wedge from Capturing CO2 at Coal-to-Synfuels Plants
- Sasol targets carbon, BEE
- Newsweek "Special Energy Edition", Dec 2006- Feb 2007
- David Gray, NRCB on Energy and Environmental Systems Workshop, October, 2005
- "Sasol Plans Two Coal-to-liquid Fuel Projects", published in China Daily on January 30, 2007