• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Ready By Winter; Dirt-Free, Coal-Fired Power Plant on; Kiwis Could Save Millions

Posted on: Thursday, 17 November 2005, 18:00 CST

By FEA, Sue

THE PROCESS No chimney required The carbon dioxide is electrically charged, splitting the oxygen molecules from the carbon Oxygen enhances the burning process Sulphur, the chemical emitted when burning coal and a major cause of acid rain, is collected in the ash Particulate and other emissions are greatly reduced The black carbon is collected as a byproduct and sold for use in things such as tyres "Green coal" is cleaner and produces 10 percent more warmth than raw coal.

QUEENSTOWN -- A Queenstown entrepreneur is planning a $4 million zero emission coal-fired energy plant, the first of its type in New Zealand, in a disused Makarewa tannery.

Basil Walker said the first "green coal" produced from a special processing chamber at the plant would be available for industrial and domestic purchase by winter.

The new technology is internationally patented by American professor Robert Holcomb, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee.

Mr Walker has set up a joint venture with an Auckland businessman who has secured the New Zealand rights to the technology.

Mr Walker said he had signed an unconditional contract to buy the Makarewa tannery, which already had all the consents and boilers.

"It will be the world's first patented demonstration zero emission coal-fired energy plant -- this has huge implications for industry nationally and globally." The coal was pre-treated before combustion using "naturally environmentally friendly products" , greatly reducing carbon and sulphur emissions.

The technology offered huge potential savings to power companies and industry and the price of the coal was similar to black coal.

Eight Canterbury industrial companies, in the process of renewing their resource consents for discharge, were already excited about the technology, Mr Walker said.

The Makarewa plant would be used as a prototype for the upscaling of other industrial plants to "green-coal" power.

"It can be attached to existing operations by capping the chimney and redirecting the emissions through the plant." Scientists and industrial users from throughout New Zealand could examine the Southland plant, which would then be used as a marketing tool to commercialise the technology nationally.

"We are in the final stages of designing the coal treatment chambers and plan to set these up throughout the country," Mr Walker said.

A global economic impact report prepared for Dr Holcomb by New Zealand environmental emission engineers says the technology will lower power costs and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Their report estimates the economic benefits of the technology to be $US212 million to New Zealand and $US223 billion globally.

Environment Southland general manager Lindsay McKenzie said it did not surprise him that Mr Walker was investigating the new technology. "Basil's typically a kilometre or two ahead of the rest of us," Mr McKenzie said.

It could do very well in an industrial setting, he said.

Source: Southland Times, The

More News in this Category