Filtration Makes Traditional Energy Sources Like Coal More Efficient
Posted by William Vander Plaats on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 @ 02:05 PM
The search for alternative sources of energy continues in earnest around the world, so that dependence on petroleum and other fossil fuels can be reduced. In the meantime, however, the abundance of coal and the ongoing development of “clean coal” technologies and other innovative processing techniques make coal a viable energy source for many years to come. Ensuring those processes are operating as efficiently and environmentally friendly as possible is a goal we can all embrace.
There are four main types of coal (anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite) and it is mined around the world in slightly different ways. China is the world’s top coal producing country, followed by the U.S. and Australia. The world’s first "clean coal" power plant went online in Germany in 2008.
But no matter which type or the location, there are 3 basic steps in the coal mining process:
- Mining, crushing, and separation/filtration
- Transportation and storage
- Processing and converting
It doesn't matter if the removal is accomplished through surface mining or deep mining, but the separation and filtration can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Innovative techniques like those being developed in Australia and Japan as well as other coal producing countries often involve more efficient handling and disposition of coal slurry. Avoiding events like the Kingston Fossil Plant disaster of 2008 and making the most efficient use of energy and water is the ultimate goal. Slurry is often transported outside a facility through pumps that must remain free of clogging to operate at maximum efficiency. Effective industrial water filtration to provide pump protection in these cases is critical.
The coal processing plant in one Northern Appalachian (USA) coal field uses high pressure piston pumps to pump gland water into centrifugal slurry pumps and out of the system. The local lake water is used as the source, but the water has to be cleaned of dirt and other solids before entering the piston pumps or premature pump failure would result. Industrial water filters are designed with this type of application in mind. Different solutions hab been tried, but none worked very well until a LAKOS Centrifugal Separator was installed. The results was an annual savings of $32,000 in preventative pump repairs. The LAKOS Separator paid for itself in 4 months!
Want to learn more?
Download the Coal Plant Case Study and read the details.