Coal is one of the world’s fastest growing energy sources. It fuels almost 40% of electricity worldwide, with even higher percentages in several countries. However, coal is also the most unclean energy source in the world. Upon burning, coal releases a number of problem pollutants such as mercury, sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. These pollutants are not only harmful to breathe in, but are also avid greenhouse gases and contribute significantly to global warming.

Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) are defined as ‘technologies that enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use’. CCTs reduce emissions and waste, and increase the amount of energy gained from each ton of coal. CCTs can reduce greenhouse emissions from any industrial or mining process involving coal, but the international priority is reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-based electricity generation. There are two basic strategies to achieve this:

• Increasing the efficiency of electricity generation plants (a one percent improvement in thermal efficiency can yield two to three percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions). This approach will not work in isolation because a short-term reduction in emissions will be counteracted by the increasing demand for electricity;

• Capturing emissions and storing them underground (sequestration). This strategy is the most important in terms of achieving large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from coal-based power generation. Sequestration is supported by coal gasification technologies, which can deliver a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide, lending itself to capture and storage.

Clean Coal Technologies - the products of research and development conducted over the past 20 years - have resulted in more than twenty new, lower-cost, more efficient and environmentally compatible technologies for electric utilities, steel mills, cement plants and other industries.

Looking at the growing popularity of these technologies and of this industry, Energy Business Report presents an in-depth analysis of all the various technologies involved in cleaning coal and protecting the environment. This report on Clean Coal Technologies analyzes upcoming and present day technologies such as gasification, combustion, and others. This report looks at the various technological aspects, economic aspects, and the various programs involved in promoting these emerging green technologies.

Coal is one of the world’s fastest growing energy sources. It fuels almost 40% of electricity worldwide, with even higher percentages in several countries. However, coal is also the most unclean energy source in the world. Upon burning, coal releases a number of problem pollutants such as mercury, sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. These pollutants are not only harmful to breathe in, but are also avid greenhouse gases and contribute significantly to global warming.

Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) are defined as ‘technologies that enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use’. CCTs reduce emissions and waste, and increase the amount of energy gained from each ton of coal. CCTs can reduce greenhouse emissions from any industrial or mining process involving coal, but the international priority is reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-based electricity generation. There are two basic strategies to achieve this:

• Increasing the efficiency of electricity generation plants (a one percent improvement in thermal efficiency can yield two to three percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions). This approach will not work in isolation because a short-term reduction in emissions will be counteracted by the increasing demand for electricity;

• Capturing emissions and storing them underground (sequestration). This strategy is the most important in terms of achieving large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from coal-based power generation. Sequestration is supported by coal gasification technologies, which can deliver a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide, lending itself to capture and storage.

Clean Coal Technologies - the products of research and development conducted over the past 20 years - have resulted in more than twenty new, lower-cost, more efficient and environmentally compatible technologies for electric utilities, steel mills, cement plants and other industries.

Looking at the growing popularity of these technologies and of this industry, Energy Business Report presents an in-depth analysis of all the various technologies involved in cleaning coal and protecting the environment. This report on Clean Coal Technologies analyzes upcoming and present day technologies such as gasification, combustion, and others. This report looks at the various technological aspects, economic aspects, and the various programs involved in promoting these emerging green technologies.