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Tuesday, April 16, 2024

How can Pakistan learn from China’s success on zero emission coal power

Pakistan is home to the largest coal reserves on the planet; however, it failed to utilize it when it was not considered an environmental concern. So now Pakistan cannot bring international investments in the sector due to risk of emissions. However, Chinese model can be the solution.

China has independently researched and developed green coal power including an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power station located in Tianjin.

“Due to its difficulties, only a few western countries developed IGCC. As we are gradually completing the project, we’d love to share our research results, technologies, and devices with our iron brother, said Wang Xiang Ping, Vice President of Tianjin IGCC project.

Tianjin IGCC, a clean energy power generation demonstration project constructed by China HuaNeng Group (CHNG), was initiated in 2005 and put into operation on November 6, 2012. “IGCC is a fairly cutting-edge technology, and only a few Western countries have figured it out and kept it confidential. So CHNG has developed it independently and we already mastered the full range of technology now,” Wang introduced.

Read more: Global CO2 emissions to drop 4-7% in 2020: will it matter?

Tianjin IGCC Power Station was put into operation in November 2012. With an installed capacity of 265,000 kilowatts, it is currently the most environment-friendly coal-fired power station adopting a two-stage pressurized dry coal gasifier and a batch of most advanced technologies, China Economic Net (CEN) reported.

Through the devices and technologies, the waste gas produced by burning coal is filtered and purified into high-purity carbon dioxide, which is then captured and stored as industrial raw material.

CHNG’s Tianjin IGCC project has been maturing and achieved a new stage of this technology. In 2018, the project ran for 166 consecutive days, breaking the world record, and in 2020, it was non-stop for the first time all year round.

At the same time, through improved technology and equipment, the cost of power generation has been greatly reduced.

Read more: Is the Oil Industry trying to whitewash its carbon emissions by tree plantation campaigns?

Wang also indicated that considering their project in Pakistan, Sahiwal power station, and their new achievement in China, coal-fired power plants also are possible to achieve ultra-low, even zero carbon emission.

Courtesy: APP